Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Check out the ingredients:
Raw organic Almonds, Raw organic Oat Groats, Raw organic Agave Nectar, Raw organic Dates, Raw organic Goji Berries, Raw organic Flax Seeds, Raw organic Coconut Oil, Raw organic Mesquite Meal, Raw organic Vanilla Bean, Raw organic Celtic Sea Salt, Raw organic Nutmeg, Raw organic Cardamon, Raw organic Fennel.
(The Cardamon / Nutmeg mixture will send you on a taste sensation vacation, believe me. Unless you're big into raw foods, you've probably never tasted food like this.)
When it comes to raw, nutritious foods, it doesn't get any better than this, folks. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 It just means the food item in question met the definition of "organic" according to some standards group that was, of course, influenced heavily by the food companies. It's sort of like the food industry certifying itself that all its additives qualify as organic because, well, just 'cuz.
I find it interesting that on some products, Amy's Kitchen goes out of its way to steer clear of yeast extract and fully inform the consumer of that fact. The company's new Meatless Breakfast Patties, for example, contain no yeast extract whatsoever. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Even the popular brands showing happy cows and claiming to be organic are under intense fire by the organic Consumers Association (www.OrganicConsumers.org) for exploiting certain loopholes that allow non-organic cows to be suddenly considered "organic" on the day they're giving milk.
Processed cow's milk is bad for your health and bad for the cows who give it. It's great for corporate profits, however, and that's why milk continues to be so heavily marketed as a nutritional beverage. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Are organic fruit juices healthier than non-organic?
Yes! organic fruits have much higher concentrations of phytonutrients (natural plant medicines), vitamins and minerals. organic farming is also better for the environment. But even non-organic superfruits are very good for your health, and in my opinion, the health benefits of the natural fruit juices far outweighs the cancer risk of pesticide residues.
#4: Why do you call apple juice and grape juice "junk juices? |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 And to make matters worse, powerful food corporations are constantly trying to water down the definition of "organic" to include the agricultural use of obscene substances such as raw human sewage. (Fortunately, that was not ultimately allowed under the "organic" label, but the food companies tried to sneak it in!)
The only way to truly know where your food comes from is to know your local farmers. When you know the people growing your food, and you can meet them face to face, then you know what you're getting. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 The other organic requirements mean that the end product is going to be healthier as well. They are not going to have antibiotic residues or genetically engineered hormones. They are not going to be spreading mad cow disease and so on. We, right now in the United States, have an excess of milk being produced by family-scale dairy farmers who are not yet organic. It would be very simple to help those who want to make the transition do so if we were to force the government to give us a fair share of our subsidies to help these farmers do that. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Will you join me in letting Amy's know that we don't want yeast extract in our organic food? If so, post a comment at the Amy's Kitchen website and let them know you don't want this processed taste enhancer substance in your food!
Specifically, we want no yeast extract, no MSG, no hidden MSG, and no hydrolyzed or autolyzed ingredients. As organic food consumers, we wish to protect our health, not compromise it. We want our brains to work at peak performance, not to spend hours throbbing in pain due to yeast extract side effects. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Even the popular brands showing happy cows and claiming to be organic are under intense fire by the organic Consumers Association (www.OrganicConsumers.org) for exploiting certain loopholes that allow non-organic cows to be suddenly considered "organic" on the day they're giving milk.
Processed cow's milk is bad for your health and bad for the cows who give it. It's great for corporate profits, however, and that's why milk continues to be so heavily marketed as a nutritional beverage. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| However, now this controversy has reached such a state, with the mass media covering it and retail stores across the country starting to drop Horizon and Aurora organic, that the USDA is finally making noises that they will clear up this situation and promulgate federal regulations that actually require the animals to be pastured.
They will make sure that the animals were not imported from some conventional dairy farm where they were weaned on blood, fed antibiotics, slaughterhouse waste and chicken manure and then called "organic. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Because if consumers are going to drink pus and blood, they have every right to know whether it's organic or not, don't you think?
Glass of "organic" milk, anyone? And while you're pondering whether you should be eating animal liquids or flesh as part of your diet, take a look at these horrifying processed meat photos: http://www.newstarget.com/phototour_mystery_meat_1.html
And be sure to read What's In Your Milk by Dr. Sam Epstein. |
| Pester the USDA with concerned letters and refuse to be suckered by a wealthy dairy corporation that has now made the organic Consumers Association its enemy.
One final question: If Aurora really cared about being organic, why wouldn't they simply agree to meet the standards described by the OCA? Why does Aurora send in the legal team instead of upgrading its operations in a way that would earn the goodwill of the OCA? There is nothing, in my opinion, being asked by the OCA that isn't reasonable. But it appears that Aurora has no intention of changing its ways. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Mike: Are you certified organic?
Heine: We're certified organic by BioGrow New Zealand, which is accredited by IFOAM International.
IFOAM rep: The IFOAM accreditation of BioGrow probably has international recognition or recognition in the States. BioGrow New Zealand is the accrediting body in New Zealand, and it is IFOAM certified. IFOAM is The International Federation of organic Agricultural Movements. It is a third party agreement between the USDA and BioGrow New Zealand.
Mike: Does IFOAM review the documentation or the product? |
The Editors of FC&A
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| Organic - contains 95 percent or more organically produced ingredients
• Made with organic ingredients - at least 70 percent of the product is organic
• If less than 70 percent of the product is organic, the word "organic" can\qt appear on the front of the package, but it can appear in the list of ingredients.
Healthy fats play starring role
Fats, like many actors, have been typecast. They're always the heavies. But in the ideal script for good nutrition, fats aren't just bad guys. Certain fats can even play the role of hero. |
Bill Sardi
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 There are two basic types of selenium: selenium bound to organic proteins in foods and some supplements, (selenomethionine, selenocysteine) and inorganic selenium, or sel-enite, which does not support higher tissue concentrations. Furthermore, one study showed that inorganic selenium (selenite) was ineffective when combined with vitamin C, whereas the organically bound form (selenomethionine) had a strong anti-cancer effect in the presence of vitamin C. [Journal National Cancer Institute 77: 299-303, 1986] Therefore, organically bound selenium is preferred. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| What if it's an "organic" product that's been flown half-way around the world, burning up fossil fuels that contribute to global warming? How do you decide what's better: A conventional apple grown locally with chemical pesticides, or an organic apple from another continent?
This is a common conundrum among consumers: How do you decide which grocery products are best for not just your own personal health, but also the health of the planet? It's a more complex decision than it might first seem. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 I always tell a person if you are making a choice between some processed food versus fruits and vegetables, and you can't afford the organic, go with the non-organic. You are still better off than buying the processed foods.
Ben: Right, so all the health detriments that a traditionally grown vegetable might have, it's still not as bad as red meat.
Mike: Absolutely. I'd take non-organic produce over packaged foods any day of the week, if I didn't have the funds or the choice of organic foods. Now, of course, I support organic foods very strongly. That's your best choice. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Specifically, we want no yeast extract, no MSG, no hidden MSG, and no hydrolyzed or autolyzed ingredients. As organic food consumers, we wish to protect our health, not compromise it. We want our brains to work at peak performance, not to spend hours throbbing in pain due to yeast extract side effects. And we want a company we can genuinely trust, so that we don't have to read every single label for every food product we buy from the same company. We'd like to be able to trust just one honest food company to not use these questionable food additives. |
| It's sort of like the food industry certifying itself that all its additives qualify as organic because, well, just 'cuz.
I find it interesting that on some products, Amy's Kitchen goes out of its way to steer clear of yeast extract and fully inform the consumer of that fact. The company's new Meatless Breakfast Patties, for example, contain no yeast extract whatsoever. It does contain "spices," but even that ingredient is specifically explained as, "100% pure herbs & spices (no hidden ingredients)."
That's an interesting phrase: "No hidden ingredients. |
| That changed today when I purchased and ate an Amy's Kitchen "Vegetable Pie in a Pocket Sandwich," a product that claims, "NO Bioengineered Ingredients" on its label and says it is, "Made with organic vegetables & grains."
As it turns out, Amy's Vegetable Pie pocket sandwich is also made with yeast extract. Yep, you heard me correctly. Yeast extract. It's right on the label, right after "spices" and right before "turmeric." And as I write this, I have a screaming headache that was caused by it, and which will last probably for another six hours. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| This was going too far, so starting in early April, we called on consumers across the country to start boycotting the products of Horizon organic and Aurora organic, and to boycott the brand names that the leading retailers are selling from Horizon and Aurora at Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway, Giant, Publix, and Wild Oats. |
| If you look at the statistics, about 12 cents of every grocery store dollar are going for foods that are labeled as either natural or organic.
Mike: Well, that is a substantial sum. That is growing at what, about 20 percent a year or something?
Ronnie: Growing at 20 percent a year, whereas conventional food sales tend to grow about 2 percent a year. This 20 percent a year growth has been steady ever since 1991. It appears that it will continue through the end of this decade, so by then most food sold in grocery stores will have a label that says natural or organic. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Jay's whey protein, for example, comes from cows not treated with rBGH (synthetic hormones), and I learned from talking to Jay this morning that he's working hard on introducing organic protein products in both categories (organic whey and organic egg protein). Once those are available, they will become the obvious choice for consumers seeking organic, natural protein products with no junk and no chemical additives. (We'll report on these products here at NewsTarget as soon as they're announced.)
Jay's products are also known for what they don't contain. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 In order to protect Monsanto, the manufacturer of hormones used in the industry, the USDA currently bans organic milk producers from claiming their milk comes from cows that were not treated with synthetic hormones. Even organic milk is now under fire as the organic Consumers Association says Horizon milk products are falsely labeled as organic. See Horizon milk, Wild Oats named in consumer boycott of "false" organic products. (The solution to all this? Drink raw almond milk instead. Make it yourself with a Vitamix, water and a nut milk bag.)
9. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| For more than a year now, I've been recommending Amy's Kitchen as a source of quality, organic frozen foods made without yeast extract. As you may recall, yeast extract is a natural-sounding additive that food companies use as a flavor enhancer replacement for MSG. Yet it contains free glutamate, and for many people, it has the same effect as MSG -- migraine headaches, chemical taste enhancement and harm to the nervous system according to doctors like Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins.
Editors' Note: This story has been updated with new information from Amy's Kitchen. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| If you get into organic fruits and vegetables, yes, they can be more expensive. I always tell a person if you are making a choice between some processed food versus fruits and vegetables, and you can't afford the organic, go with the non-organic. You are still better off than buying the processed foods.
Ben: Right, so all the health detriments that a traditionally grown vegetable might have, it's still not as bad as red meat.
Mike: Absolutely. I'd take non-organic produce over packaged foods any day of the week, if I didn't have the funds or the choice of organic foods. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Mike: So what you are hoping to see, then, is an organic labeling law or regulation in the personal care products industry that's similar to the food industry?
Bronner: Exactly. Superficially, everyone says that's what they want, but in practice they're saying, "Here, we'll just do this branding. We don't really care what the ultimate personal care standard works out to be. We're just going to work around it and brand 'organic' on the products we're going to make."
Mike: If it deceives the consumer, the consumer buys it and the manufacturer profits.
Bronner: Exactly. |
| People trust that organic program, and these personal care companies are ripping off the integrity and rigor of the program, and ultimately they're going to compromise it and create lack of trust in the whole program for food as well as body care.
Mike: What are some of the ingredients that consumers should watch out for on the labels of these shampoos or soaps that kind of give away that they are not organic products?
Bronner: Well, definitely if you see anything that ends in "eth. |
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