CONTENTS
1) Editorial
2) Feature: My Organic Summer
3) Issue Updates
--Codex Update from Rome
--Great Lakes Remain Unprotected Under New Agreement
--Clear-cutting Canadian Rainforests
--Control through Contamination: US Forcing GMO Corn and Free Trade on Mexico and Central America, 2003
--Genetically Engineered Crops and Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Nine Years, 2004
--Canadian Community Health Survey: Obesity Among Children and Adults, 2004
4) Media Watch
--Kiss Your Vitamins Goodbye
--Codex Commission Adopts Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements in Final Form
--Codex Adopts International Guidelines for Vitamins and Minerals
--Americans Endure 4 Million Drug Reactions a Year
--Canada Drug Export Ban Could Change Rx Landscape in US
--Drug Lobby Second to None: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Gets its Way in Washington
--Interview with Dr. Michael T. Murray, ND: Natural Alternatives to Vioxx
--Acupuncture Offers Short-term Osteoarthritis Relief
--Fetal, Childhood Secondhand Smoke Can Spur Asthma
--Western Australian GM Crops Moratorium to Remain
--Why Does Organic Food Cost More than Conventional?
--Diabetes Association Defends Cadbury Schweppes Deal
--Vitamin C Does NOT Cause Kidney Stones
--UK Health Website Launches Online Diagnosis
--Exercise May Make You a Better Worker
--Breast Cancer Therapy May Give Rise to Leukemia
--Group Calls for Heavy Warnings on Soft Drinks
--Harvard Fluoride Findings Misrepresented?
--Consumers Beware: Teflon Can Give You Cancer
4) Calendar of Events
--BC Herb Grower’s Association Annual 2005 Summer Networking Event
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1) Editorial
Happy summer HANS members & friends!
You’ll be happy to know HOW Insurance is coming right along. New HANS Authorized Providers are joining almost daily. It seems that a blended health coverage package--including chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, massage therapy and traditional Chinese therapy--is just what a lot of people need to help them get back on the road to health.
All these details are at www.hans.org. If you’re a business, think about how HOW might work for you. HOW Brokers are the people to answer your technical questions. Their contact information is at www.hans.org/membership/insurancebrokers.shtml.
Hope you enjoy this issue of e-News, especially the story of a new organic gardener. What a great time to read stories that value the love and attention put into growing by local organic enthusiasts.
Enjoy!
Lorna Hancock
Founding Member & Director
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2) MY ORGANIC SUMMER
by Michelle Hancock
The word “organic” takes on a whole new meaning once you’ve spent a summer under a hot sun chasing wildlife away from your lettuce, and planting, watering, and digging - and more watering - until you’ve got calluses on your palms the size of quarters.
When Chris Wells of Influence Organics posted his “Apprentice Farmer Wanted” notice on an online organic chat-group, I was just disillusioned enough with city life to jump at the opportunity. A typical Vancouverite, I thought it’d be fun to unplug from e-mail and get back to nature by accepting a seasonal job in Saanich, BC. Besides, I’d always been interested in the organics movement, and bought organic groceries whenever possible. Getting my hands dirty, literally, seemed a logical, soulful step.
I was right about the experience being fun. But it was a lot more, too. It was an eye-opening education that started on that first tiring, eight-hour workday in June 2003, during which Chris, two friends and I “mulched” around what would eventually become a pumpkin and herb patch.
Mulching involves adding a protective layer of either organic matter (grass clippings, compost, straw) or inorganic matter (stones, brick chips) to a garden. This nourishes the soil, protects against erosion, prevents weed growth and even conserves water. Mulching is just one organic technique I learned about; all organic farming is intended to enhance biodiversity and maintain ecological harmony. Non-toxic pesticide alternatives and special planting techniques are preferred over chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified seeds.
As my farm-girl weeks continued, we dug trenches, created paths with stones and wood chips, mucked out a sheep barn, built compost bins, installed irrigation pipes and mended fences. And let’s not forget the crops themselves. We planted squash, kale, collards, quinoa (an ancient grain), chard, radishes and potatoes. There were tomatoes, tomatilloes, and row upon row of golden, hard-neck garlic shoots, which I’d never before seen planted and resembled mini bamboo trees with six fibrous leaves.
All the weeding and much of the watering was done by hand; my upper arms have never looked so toned. When an unknown pest was munching on our baby patty-pan squashes, we did some midnight investigating by flashlight and discovered… earwigs. Corrugated cardboard traps quickly cleared up that problem.
Market days were long but offered more insight into the organic farmer’s laborious lifestyle. Many Saturdays and Thursdays, we’d pack Chris’s ancient red Ford to the brim with seedlings, just-picked greens, and blackberries so fresh you could still see the blue stains under our fingernails. In terms of sales, some days were good, others not so great. What struck me most was the closeness of the organic community, with its blend of new health-conscious converts and green-thumbed savants who seemed to possess the answers to any and all gardening questions.
Now back in Vancouver, I have new respect for the farmers and families who make up the organic scene. No longer is a tomato just a tomato. The next time I hit my local market, you can bet I’ll be wondering who planted that beet, who kept those greens safe from rabbits, and who got up at the crack of dawn to pick that basket of ripe berries.
Reprinted with author permission. Originally appeared in Canada’s Healthy Living Guide, June 2004 issue.
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2) ISSUE UPDATES
Codex Update from Rome
The Codex Alimentarius Commission has voted to adopt potentially restrictive guidelines for vitamin and mineral supplements proposed by the Codex Nutrition Committee.
In its 28th session in sun dried, heat plagued Rome, the planet’s supreme food regulator has given a nod to industry in approving guidelines for food supplements over the strenuous opposition of consumer representatives. Several associations representing consumers and health practitioners were present under the banners of the National Health Federation: Friends of Freedom from Canada, the Europe-based Alliance for Natural Health, Danish MayDay, La Leva from Italy, the US Health Freedom Coalition as well as the Dr. Rath Health Foundation.
Visit www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2005/07/04/codex_alimentarius_adopts_vitamin_guidelines.htm
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Great Lakes Remain Unprotected Under New Agreement
PRESS RELEASE - JUNE 30, 2005
TORONTO – The second draft of the Great Lakes Annex Implementing Agreement continues to threaten the health of the Great Lakes and significantly weakens Canadian sovereignty over these shared waters.
“This agreement seriously jeopardizes Canada’s ability to protect the Great Lakes,” says trade lawyer Steven Shrybman. ”Neither Canada nor the provinces would be able to veto diversions, regardless of their duration, scale, or impact on the waters of this shared ecosystem.”
“As we’ve seen with Devils Lake and now with the Great Lakes, the federal government is totally losing control over its shared waters with the United States. Increasingly, the federal government's lack of leadership on these issues is allowing the US to make unilateral decisions on international problems and the provinces to enter into piecemeal agreements with US states. This is completely unacceptable,” says Eduardo Sousa of the Council of Canadians. “The federal government must take responsibility for protecting Canada’s waters.”
The second draft poses serious threats to the health of the Great Lakes. Despite their "no diversions” proclamation, the Agreements allow for exceptions, notably the Chicago Diversion, the largest withdrawal from the Great Lakes. Illinois’ desire to substantially increase its Chicago diversion within the next few years is extremely problematic given the uncertainty around the sustainability of current uses of the Great Lakes.
“The Chicago diversion is the elephant in the room here. These agreements make special allowances for the biggest diversion to go on completely unchecked,” says Sousa. “If we’re going to protect the Great Lakes, this diversion must be included in the overall management plan and be subject to restrictions under the Annex.”
Also problematic are exclusion clauses that allow diversions to “straddling communities,” or counties that have a portion of their territory within the Basin.
“Communities or counties that ‘straddle’ the Great Lakes basin are allowed the same legal right to Great Lakes waters as those within it. This agreement erases the ecological boundary that defines the Great Lakes and substitutes a political one. But political boundaries are relative, and entirely open to redefinition,” says Shrybman. “Moreover, under NAFTA, discriminating between one investor and another because of the jurisdiction in which it resides is simply not permitted. For this reason, a NAFTA tribunal may see little difference between straddling communities, straddling states, or straddling countries, and find that companies located elsewhere in the US are unfairly discriminated against.”
Canadians are urged to contact the Council of Great Lakes Governors and their local MPs to express their concerns about the second draft Agreements. Concerned citizens can also visit to Council of Canadians’ website at to download a card demanding that the federal government protect Canada’s waters.
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5
Tel: 613-233-2773; Toll-free: 1-800-387-7177
Fax: 613-233-6776
E-mail: inquiries@canadians.org
Web: www.canadians.org
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Clear-cutting Canadian Rainforests
Contrary to public perception that Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest has been saved, persistent logging continues. Since 2001, more than 300 cut blocks have been mostly clear-cut, according to a recent report by the David Suzuki Foundation.
Seventy-four percent of approved and logged sites logged in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii continue to be done by clear-cutting. Only 26 per cent of areas retain some trees.
The David Suzuki Foundation has analyzed the degree to which different logging companies are using clear-cut practices. These results, as well as an interactive logging map of Canada, are at www.canadianrainforests.org.
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Control through Contamination: US Forcing GMO Corn and Free Trade on Mexico and Central America, 2003
Free trade agreements force genetically engineered (GE) foods into Mexico and Central America, contends S’re DeSantis in this report, which also discusses the dangers that GE crops and foods pose to human health and the environment.
Available as a free download through Northeast Resistance against Genetic Engineering at www.asej.org/index.php?name=home&ID=59.
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Genetically Engineered Crops and Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Nine Years, 2004
Farmers use more pesticides on the top three genetically engineered (GE) crops – corn, soybeans and cotton – than on conventional varieties, notes this report by Charles M. Benbrook. The author predicts that herbicide use on GE crops isn’t likely to subside.
Available through the Union of Concerned Scientists as a free download at http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/biotechno....
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Canadian Community Health Survey: Obesity Among Children and Adults, 2004
Obesity rates among children and adults have increased substantially during the past 25 years, according to new results from the Canadian Community Health Survey, which directly measured the height and weight of respondents.
In 1978/79, three per cent of children aged two to 17 were obese. By 2004, eight per cent, an estimated 500,000 children, were obese. Among adults, the growth in obesity was even more dramatic. In 1978/79, the age-adjusted adult obesity rate was 14 per cent. A quarter century later, 5.5 million individuals, representing 23 per cent of adults, were obese.
Visit http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050706/d050706a.....
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3) MEDIA WATCH
Kiss Your Vitamins Goodbye
http://newswithviews.com/guest_opinion/guest60.htm
Codex Commission Adopts Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements in Final Form
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=7759
Codex Adopts International Guidelines for Vitamins and Minerals
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=61...
Americans Endure 4 Million Drug Reactions a Year
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&e=8&u=/...
Canada Drug Export Ban Could Change Rx Landscape in US
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&e=8&u=/...
Drug Lobby Second to None: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Gets its Way in Washington
http://www.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=72...
Interview with Dr. Michael T. Murray, ND: Natural Alternatives to Vioxx
http://www.newstarget.com/008528.html
Acupuncture Offers Short-term Osteoarthritis Relief
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?artic...
Fetal, Childhood Secondhand Smoke Can Spur Asthma
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&e=9&u=/...
Western Australian GM Crops Moratorium to Remain
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseactio...
Why Does Organic Food Cost More than Conventional?
http://www.enn.com/biz.html?id=779
Diabetes Association Defends Cadbury Schweppes Deal
http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/diabetes051605...
Vitamin C Does NOT Cause Kidney Stones
http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v01n07....
UK Health Website Launches Online Diagnosis
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=2&u=...
Exercise May Make You a Better Worker
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8160459/
Breast Cancer Therapy May Give Rise to Leukemia
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=1&u=...
Group Calls for Heavy Warnings on Soft Drinks
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=3&u=...
Harvard Fluoride Findings Misrepresented?
http://www.ewg.org/issues/fluoride/20050627/index.ph...
Consumers Beware: Teflon Can Give You Cancer
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/dupont070...
For more current stories, check out ‘News’ at www.hans.org.
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4) CALENDAR OF EVENTS
BC Herb Grower’s Association Annual 2005 Summer Networking Event
Who: BC Herb Grower’s Association
When: August 12-14
Where: Kelowna Land & Orchard Facilities
E-mail: info@bcherbgrowers.com
Web: www.bcherbgrowers.com
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Founded in 1984, Health Action Network Society is a membership-based, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to gathering and disseminating health promotion information.