Jeffrey Smith Discusses The Future of GMO Labeling

Posted by June Stoyer on May 10th, 2012
Submit to reddit

What Happens In Ct, Doesn’t Stay In CT

It was news that went viral all over the internet. Connecticut was very close to making history by mandating the labeling of genetically modified organisms in food. RightToKnowCT.org which lead the fight had the support of the public (90% of residents surveyed were in favor!)

However, in lieu of the recent events in the state of Connecticut regarding HB 5117 which would have required the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was downgraded, removing a key provision requiring the labeling of all foods containing GMOs, it is clear that the battle for consumers to rightfully know whether or not food contains genetically modified ingredients is going to be intense. This news also spread quickly with angry citizens demanding that their voices be heard and for legislators to take action.

“Despite the will of the people and the intent of the legislators, the GMO labeling bill surprisingly did not go through, was an eye-opening experience, “ said Tara Cook-Littman, Esq., co-founder of RightToKnowCT.org.

Tara Cook-Littman, Esq

RightToKnowCT.org Co-founders, Analiese Paik and Tara Cook-Littman, Esq, along with dedicated legislators: Representatives Susan Johnson, Kim Fawcett, Richard Roy, Jonathan Steinberg, Fred Camillo, Brenda Kupchick, Tony Hwang, and William Wadsworth

 

Why Aren’t They Proud?

With biotech stocks remaining strong combined with all of the elaborate advertising promoting GMO’s as “being able to feed the rapidly growing overpopulated world” the question still remains, why won’t the biotech industry label something they are so proud of?

biotech should be proud enough to label GMO's in food

Why isn't biotech proud to label GMO's in food?

If farmers can look forward to a lucrative and sustainable future, why are there so many law suits popping up against the biotech giants filed by farmers who won’t fall in line? Has biotech monopolized agriculture in such a way that farmers have no choice but to succumb to the rules set by these corporations with deep pockets prohibiting the possibilities for a future in organic farming?

Meet Jeffrey Smith

Jeffrey Smith Talks About The Future of GMO Labeling!

Jeffrey Smith

Bestselling author, Jeffrey M. Smith who has been praised as, “the best science communicator alive today” is the leading consumer advocate promoting healthier non-GMO choices. His first nonfiction book, Seeds of Deception, which reads like a fantastical whodunit, quickly became the world’s bestselling and number-one rated book on the subject. His second book, Genetic Roulette, demystifies the 65 health risks of GM foods with simple tables and sidebars. Smith has spoken in more than 30 countries and has been quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time magazine. Smith is the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, a world leader in GMO education, and publisher of the Non-GMO Shopping Guide. Smith lives with his wife in Iowa, surrounded by genetically modified corn and soybeans.

The Interview

Tune in to this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, as host, June Stoyer is joined by Jeffrey Smith to discuss the battle to label gmo’s in your food! Click here to listen to the interview!

Read More »

Jump Start To Juicing

Posted by June Stoyer on May 9th, 2012
Submit to reddit

It’s Summer!

Summer is just around the corner! As we increase our activity, especially during these warm summer months, proper hydration is key. By making better food choices, we can get the natural vitamins and minerals that we need. One way we can properly hydrate our bodies is by juicing.  Properly formulated juicing recipes can help us bathe our cells with vital nutrients and enzymes with each glass!

easter juice

The Easter Juice Recipe is colorful and delish!

Healthy Food=Good Health!

Rawpreneur, Marie-Claire Hermans started her company Ravishing Raw after she cured herself of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia with raw food. She outsmarted doctors who told her she could never be cured. Firm in her belief she studied the body, mind and spirit, their connection to each other. She invests on a constant basis in her education as a raw food coach, in her own personal growth and in how to be of service to others.

organic juice recipes

It's Gourmet All The Way!

What distinguishes Marie-Claire from other coaches is that she only specializes in raw food. She specializes in working with people who are struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia, empowering them to strengthen their body so it can heal itself and with artists (actors, singers, jazz musicians) who are challenged by their demanding, irregular lifestyle to help them resolve their health issues. What these groups have in common is that they are suffering from tremendous stress and in need of easy, yet effective solutions to increase their energy levels so they can live and perform fully. By concentrating in these particular areas, Marie-Claire offers proven and specific step-by-step coaching programs with personalized guidance on how exactly you can improve your health and lifestyle. As a result, those who work with her can feel the difference in only a short time and are able to build a new lifestyle or find a healthy balance within a busy profession.

Marie-Claire Hermans

Marie-Claire Hermans

Tune in to this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, as host, June Stoyer is joined by  Marie-Claire Hermans to discuss how you can kick off your summer season with a healthier start by juicing!

Easter Juice Recipe

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • Any juicer will do

INGREDIENTS FOR ONE BIG WINE GLASS

  • 1 grapefruit
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 or 2 oranges
  • 1 Forsythia flower is yours is still blooming

THE MAKING OF…

  • Juice, top off with a flower and serve in your best glasses!

Deep Purple Recipe (Red Cabbage Recipe)

Simple is wonderful! Try out my red cabbage juice and you will be delighted to have found something completely “different”. The first time I juiced red cabbage I was wondering how to make it palatable and thought of the delicious cooked cabbage of my grandmother. She made it with apples and so…

red cabbage juicing recipe

Marie-Claire's Red Cabbage Juicing Recipe

It makes a wonderful treat for any unexpected guest. But what is more; cabbage is the best vegetable to help you cure stomach ulcers!

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • Any juicer will do!
  • 1 red organic cabbage
  • 2 apples (of course organic)
  • Juice and indulge!

Juicy Stuff Recipe

Juicy Stuff Recipe

Juicy Stuff Recipe

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A Juicer
  • A sharp knife and a cutting board

INGREDIENTS

  • Two big apples, cored
  • One pear
  • One kiwi
  • About 6 to 8 carrots
  • A BIG chunk of ginger (I love ginger! so if you don’t, you can leave it out or add less)
  • One lime

Wild Juice Recipe

“One is tempted to say that the most human plants, after all, are the weeds.” — John Burroughs

wild juice everywhere

Wild Juice Everywhere!

Go wild and drink your weeds! These are your true medicines and they are for free! If you are trying to coop with  a tight budget, wild edibles are the ideal solution to nourish your body, to regain or sustain your health without robbing your purse. So what are you waiting for? Take a hike through the woods, the fields or if you have a garden, have a close look at what nature is offering right under your nose.

  • Dandelion (you can use everything. Juice the roots with the leaves to “ground” so you don’t get high on juice
  • Lambs quarter
  • Stinging Nettles (use the tops, don’t use anymore when they produce seeds; the kidneys can’t handle those)
  • Wild grasses (all cereal grasses with wide blades are good, not the ornamental grasses from your lawn)
  • Outdoor wheatgrass
  • Clover
  • Chickweed
  • Barley
  • Purslane
  • Cattail
  • Mallow or Malva Neglecta
  • Plantain
  • A slow juicer
  • If you don’t have one, blend the greens with a little bit of water and strain it through a sieve or nut milk bag
  • Bunch of stinging nettles (they have a soft spinach-like taste so you can use as many as you like)
  • 2 dandelion plants with roots
  • A whole bunch of wild cereal grasses!
  • 2 to 3 narrow plantain plants, 1 wide blade plantain (is more bitter)
  • 2 hands full of chickweed (soft taste)
  • A hand full of clover
  • 4 stalks of white celery
  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 apples
  • About a one inch piece of ginger (to taste)
  • 1 fennel (juice their stalks with greens as well)
  • 1/2 head of broccoli
  • 1 lemon with peel (only if it is organic!)
  • 1 TBSP Spirulina (optional but great)
  • Some greens such as collard greens, a few kale leaves,…
  • Start with juicing the grasses, stinging nettles and throw this pulp on your compost
  • Juice all the other ingredients (you can use this pulp for crackers)
  • A Juicer
  • A sharp knife and a cutting board
  • Two big apples, cored
  • One pear
  • One kiwi
  • About 6 to 8 carrots
  • A BIG chunk of ginger (I love ginger! so if you don’t, you can leave it out or add less)
  • One lime
Read More »

Connecticut Caves To Biotech, Ignores Consumers Right To Know About GMO’s

Posted by June Stoyer on May 5th, 2012
Submit to reddit

Who’s Buying The Lie?

“Qui transtulit sustinet” or “He who is transplanted still sustains”. This is the motto of the great state of Connecticut. Perhaps the motto should be changed to “Foods which are genetically modified still remain.” Thanks to the recent events eviscerating HB 5117, An Act Concerning Genetically Engineered Foods, the bill may be alive but no longer requires the labeling of GE foods. As of last night, the labeling provision was removed.

GMO's Want You To Go Green

 

90% Ignored!

The battle to mandate GMO labeling in the state of Connecticut looked very promising. 90% of the CT residents polled supported mandatory GMO labeling. Early vote counts within the legislature showed the majority of legislators were in favor of this bill. However, with this action the legislators have clearly demonstrated that what Connecticut residents want does not matter.

Right To Know CT Rally

Right to Know CT rallied in support of Rep. Richard Roy's GE Foods bill at the Capitol on May 4, only to withdraw support the next morning after learning that the labeling provision had been removed.

According to former New York City prosecutor Tara Cook-Littman, “The constitutional argument is absurd, and everyone knows it.  As long as Connecticut law makers had a legitimate state interest that was reasonably related to the labeling of products produced from the process of genetic engineering, the GMO labeling bill would be considered constitutional by any court of law.”

Biotech’s Hidden Agenda

Cook-Littman, a CT resident, is the co-founder of Right To Know CT, along with Analiese Paik. She stated that representatives and senators who learned of Friday night’s political maneuverings are equally disgusted. Littman says, “it appears that the biotech industry’s influence was in place all along, waiting for this tactic to be deployed at the last minute, with no time to argue before the vote.”

Representative Richard Roy also added, “I feel very strongly that someone or some state has to challenge the use of the Bill of Rights, designed to protect we individuals, from using it to thwart the sharing of information and the subjugation of a whole industry. Residents of more than 50 other countries get simple information saying that GMOs are present in a product. The freest society in the world cannot get that simple sentence.

gmo pantry

If GMO labeling were mandated, 90% of the foods in this pantry would not be here!

The labeling provision was eliminated from the bill due to fears that it opened the state up to a lawsuit. The attorneys for the leadership and Governor’s office felt that the Constitutional Rights of Monsanto gave them the power to successfully sue the state. Their main duty was to protect the welfare of the state.”

Listen To The Interview:

Listen to this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, as host, June Stoyer is joined by special guests Analiese Paik, Tara Cook-Littman co-founders of Right To Know CT. Also joining the conversation will be renowned GMO activist, Jeffrey Smith, Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology.

Please note: Although an invitation had been extended to Governor Molloy’s press staff to participate in this interview, no response was received.

Read More »

Countdown and Cupcakes! Celebrate Celiac Awareness Throughout May!

Posted by June Stoyer on May 4th, 2012
Submit to reddit

Countdown and Cupcakes is an event is sponsored by the American Celiac Disease Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that advocates for the needs of celiac and gluten-sensitive patients. Last year, this community built a cake to celebrate their success. This year, they are making it more personal and are encouraging people to bake one cupcake for each gluten-free year!

1 in 33

 

Mandate Gluten Free Labeling!

Last year, on August 2, the anniversary of the passage of the Food Allergen Labeling and Protection Act (FALCPA) and two months after the Gluten Free Labeling Summit, FDA announced it would allow 60 more days of comments on the gluten free labeling proposal. When the comment period closed in October, the agency had received hundreds and hundreds of comments. Among the letters was one signed by nearly 5,000 individuals urging the FDA to require products labeled gluten-free to meet a set standard not to exceed 20ppm, the same standard adopted for use in the international community. Please visit 1in133.org to make a donation in order to help continue  their efforts and with the countdown.

Listen To The Interview!

The month of May has been designated Celiac Awareness month. In this segment of The Organic View, best-selling author, Beth Hillson, founder of Gluten-Free Pantry, President of the American Celiac Disease Alliance and editor of Living Without Magazine talks about this initiative on Friday, May 4th at 4pm EST/1pm PST. Click here for the live link to the show!

Beth Hillson

Author, Beth Hillson

 

Join The Fun & Win! 1 Cupcake = 1 Year Of Being Gluten-Free!

The celiac community is inviting everyone to make cupcakes as a way to celebrate their success and inspire others begin their journey to good health.  The idea is to make one cupcake for each year that you have been gluten-free.  Please share your joy and post a picture on the American Celiac Alliance Face Book Page! People will vote by “liking” the photos.  Categories include: best presentation, most unique decorations and years of being gluten-free. The winners will receive prizes of gluten-free products and coupons.  Let the baking begin!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcakes Recipe by Beth Hillson

Beth Hillson's Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcake Recipe

photo courtesy of Beth Hillson

 

Yields: 24 to 28 cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 2 ¼ cups organic cake and pastry Flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened organic fair trade cocoa
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ cups organic granulated sugar
  • 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted organic butter or organic non-dairy buttery spread, at room temperature
  • 3 large organic, free range and hormone free eggs, at room temperature
  • 1½ teaspoons organic vanilla extract
  • 1 cup organic milk, organic gmo-free soy milk, or organic gmo-free rice milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease or oil two 12-cup muffin tins or line with paper liners. Combine the cake flour, cocoa, baking powder; and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate. Blend in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in 3 batches, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling a little more than half full. Smooth the tops and bake on the center rack for 16 to 18 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely before frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOM FROSTING

  • 1 cup smooth organic peanut butter (any gluten-free brand)
  • ½ cup organic milk
  • 4 ounces low-fat organic cream cheese
  • 1 tablespoon organic vanilla
  • 3 cups organic confectioners’sugar
  • ½ cup (about 6) organic peanut butter cups, crumbled (optional)

Directions: Beat the peanut butter, milk, cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle with crumbled peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Cake and Pastry Flour

  • 1 cup sweet white sorghum flour (4 ounces)
  • 1 cup organic white rice flour (5.4 ounces)
  • ¾ cup cornstarch (3.4 ounces)
  • 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum (or guar gum)
  • ½ teaspoon organic sea salt

Shortcut: This blend makes very light pastries and cookies with a fine crumb but, if you are pressed for time, you may use 2 ½ cups of any organic all purpose flour blend. Add the xanthan gum and sea salt if they are not already in the blend.

Read More »

What’s In Your Food, Connecticut? Mandate GMO Labeling Now!

Posted by June Stoyer on April 30th, 2012
Submit to reddit

History Must Be Made

Right To Know CT

Mandate GMO Labeling In CT Now!

The pressure is on to mandate gmo labeling in the United States! Which will be the first state? The folks in Connecticut certainly have been working hard to label GMO’s on food labels. Leading the fight are Analiese Paik & Tara Cook-Littman, the founders of the Right to Know CT, a campaign to support HB 5117 and the mandatory labeling of Genetically Engineered foods.

The Petition Has Gone Viral      
Thanks to social media, once again, the word is getting out. All over social media the news has been spreading about the fight in Connecticut to mandate GMO labeling. Click here to take action and sign the petition that thousands of others have signed!

Where’s The Beef? Talk About “Whole Support!”

Considering the fact that conscious consumers do look at the labels and do demand that the food they buy is certified organic and gmo-free, Tara found a whole lot of frustration when she reached out to Whole Foods corporate with no success in obtaining their support.

“I ask you Whole Foods, if this is your policy, why are you not advocating for GMO labeling in CT and other states who are trying to clearly label packaging???”

GMO-Krispies

Consumers have the right to know what is in their food!

The Interview

Tune in to this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, as host, June Stoyer is joined by special guests Analiese Paik & Tara Cook-Littman founders of the Right to Know CT, a campaign to support HB 5117 and the mandatory labeling of Genetically Engineered foods. Click here to listen to the interview!

Listen to  The Organic View  M-F 4pm EST/1pm PST

 

Meet The Dynamic Duo!  

Analiese Paik and Tara Cook-Littman        

Analiese Paik is a sustainable food advocate, founder and editor of the award-winning website FairfieldGreenFoodGuide.com. The site is Fairfield County’s premier destination for local and sustainable food resources, news and events. Paik is one of the founders of the Right to Know CT, a campaign to support HB 5117 and the mandatory labeling of Genetically Engineered foods. Paik holds a Master of Business Administration degree and worked in marketing management positions in various sectors of the financial services industry before attending culinary and wine schools. She is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, and studied wine at the International Wine Center in New York City where she received a certificate in wine from the UK’s Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Paik is an avid organic gardener and home cook and delights in teaching these skills to her two school-aged sons. Analiese is a board member of Slow Food Metro North, a local chapter of Slow Food USA, and a member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (NOFA), Aspetuck Land Trust, Friends of Ambler Farm, and a registered American Farmland Trust and Seafood Watch Advocate.

Tara Cook-Littman is a certified Holistic Health Counselor from The Integrative Institute for Nutrition based in New York City.  She currently has a private practice as a Health Counselor guiding clients on a journey to wellness by helping them learn about healthful eating, managing stress levels, feeding their families better and helping them stay active.  Tara is also a member of the staff at the Institute For Responsible Technology, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).  Tara began her career as a New York City Prosecutor and is putting her public speaking and advocacy skills to use as a health counselor by leading seminars and also advocating for better food policy within our government. Please visit her blog

Read More »
« Older Entries