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G_j Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:09 AM
Original message
7 Foods Banned in Europe Still Available in the U.S.
7 Foods Banned in Europe Still Available in the U.S.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-foods-banned-in-europe-still-available-in-the-us.html

By Christine Lepisto, TreeHugger

Genetically Modified Foods

Although the E.U. is continuously coming under attack for policies banning GM foods, the community is highly suspicious of genetically modified foods, and the agro-industrial pressures that drive their use. The problem with GM foods is that there is simply not sufficient research and understanding to inform good public policy. In spite of widespread GM use without apparent negative impacts in other countries, the recent public reaction to trans-fats are reason enough to support a precautionary principle for the food supply chain.

Pesticides in Your Food

The E.U. has acted against the worst pesticides typically found as residuals in the food chain. A ban on 22 pesticides was passed at the E.U. level, and is pending approval by the Member States. Critics claim the ban will raise prices and may harm malaria control, but advocates of the ban say action must be taken against the pesticides which are known to cause harm to health and nevertheless consistently found in studies of food consumption.

Bovine Growth Hormone

This drug, known as rBGH for short, is not allowed in Europe. In contrast, U.S. citizens struggle even for laws that allow hormone-free labeling so that consumers have a choice. This should be an easy black-and-white decision for all regulators and any corporation that is really concerned about sustainability: give consumers the information. We deserve control over our food choice.

Chlorinated Chickens

Amid cries that eating American chickens would degrade European citizens to the status of guinea pigs, the E.U. continued a ban on chickens washed in chlorine. The ban effectively prevents all import of chickens from the U.S. into Europe. If chicken chlorination is “totally absurd” and “outrageous” for Europeans, what does that mean for Americans?

..more..
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Lorien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:20 AM
Response to Original message
1. The reasons why these aren't banned here should be obvious. The EU has every
reason to work to keep it's citizens healthy, since the government pays to one degree or another for Socialized medicine. Our government, being of, by, and for the corporations, has every reason to keep profits high at all costs-and keeping us sick helps ensure that our for profit privatized system continues to benefit the wealthiest 1%.
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G_j Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:21 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. well said nt
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Donnachaidh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:24 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. dead on!
didn't mean that literally, of course :rofl:
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:32 AM
Response to Reply #1
9. Corporate interests have everything to do with it, but Canada has socialized medicine --

and mostly everything on that list is legal there too. Socialized medicine is financed by the people, not some mysterious government goose laying gold eggs, so it's still the populace paying for it one way or another.
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Canuckistanian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #9
23. rBGH has been banned in Canada for decades
More and more townships are banning certain pesticides, although it's not national yet. And we banned bisphenol-A last year.

Although we do have GMO foods, there are some of us fighting for clear labeling laws. I'll have to find out about "chlorinated chickens".
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 02:15 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. I'd be interested to know if you can find anything.

Google didn't help me any.

But see page two for all the rest of the banned substances. Far as I know, Canada hasn't banned these.
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truedelphi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 10:47 PM
Response to Reply #9
51. But in nations that care enough about their citizens to NOT cater to
Edited on Mon Mar-01-10 10:57 PM by truedelphi
Parasitic rat bastards like the Big Insurers (whose wishes control our lives and our time of death here in the USA), in those more humane and democratic nations the governments are quite decent and they therefore don't want their citizens to pay through the roof costs for such nonsense as the dangerous GMO's.

In the European nations, the important science principle known as the Preventative Principle prevails. Research such as that of Puzstai is analyzed and that research is used, and thus the scientific community in Europe urges caution. Whereas here the Corporate controlled scientists are quite happy to discredit Puzstai and to discard his important findings because the Industry controlled scientists of Britain and the USA want to hear about how the GMO's are safe. (Puzstai's research showed that there were indications that the stomach lining of rats were inflamed by the ingestion of the leptin modified potatoes. This inflammation can be an indication that the rats who consumed the GMO's would go on to have stomach cancer.)

This Preventative Principle states that before you can put a product on the shelves to be consumed, it must be proven SAFE. Whereas here in the grand ol' USA, since we ignore such a common sense principle, the products are put on the shelf for our consumption, labeled as being safe, and then thirty years later when it is obvious (finally) that the products weren't safe, the corporations say "Oops! Sorry!"

And our Corporate Controlled media is creating huge gaps in people's brains so that they cannot even examine the issue correctly. Look at the dastardly frame that goes into one of the subtle arguments at the beginning of the above OP - that after all, people here are eating the GMO's and we thus can see how the GMO food items are safe. (And never mind that often certain cancers take up to twenty years or more to come about - that is one science fact the OP author doesn't mention.)

Can we? Really? Why do we have drugs for conditions like acid reflux that was not in such an epidemic numbers twenty years ago? Why are diseases like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and ALS on the rise?

Is there perhaps a connection between the GMO stuff we are eating and the rampant increase in older diseases and the creation of all the new diseases. (No one I knew ever mentioned having "fibromyalgia" twenty years ago - now about one third of my older women friends have it to some degree.)

A Japanese researcher at an international health conference was overheard by a friend of mine saying to another Japanese researcher - "Well, in twenty years time, we will indeed have all the research we need to truly come to conclusions about the safety of vaccines. And that research will trace children from their first day on earth till age twenty."

My friend was horrified and went up to this scientist and said, "Does your government really do testing on babies and young children? That is horrible! If that is indeed something you are doing."

The scientists said, "You are right. It would be horrible. But I am not talking about our government doing tests on our children. I am talking about the fact that your government is insisting on using vaccines on day old children, without knowing in any way shape or measure whether the vaccines are safe or not, and rather than letting this experience and valuable data go to waste, we here in Japan will be studying the results of those programs."

Think about the meaning of this if you will.

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JawJaw Donating Member (574 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 10:39 AM
Response to Reply #51
60. Quick Personal Note Re: Acid Reflux
I was getting regular acid reflux up until a few months ago, when I started food combining and cutting down on processed/starchy food. Problem has disappeared completely.
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truedelphi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 04:09 PM
Response to Reply #60
71. That is a great solution & one that I am glad that you stumbled upon it.
Edited on Tue Mar-02-10 04:10 PM by truedelphi
Or maybe some health care coordinator helped you figure it out.

I never really had acid reflux, but had a huge problem with burping until I quit eating wheat. So I understand what you are saying.

But then again, if so much of the wheat out there wasn't GMO contaminated, maybe wheat would not be bothering me. wheat certainly did not bother me in any way shape or form until about 2002.
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dustbunnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:13 AM
Response to Reply #51
64. Oh I don't need to be convinced. I fully understand that corporate interests are --

very well represented at the super market and elsewhere. I was just remarking that Canada has socialized medicine, as does the UK, and yet there are allowances made for at least some of these corporate driven food manufacturing procedures and food product development anyway.

I guess at least Canada has plenty of PSAs airing regularly to balance and counteract the negative impact of corporate interference in our food, along with health concerns like overeating, etc.

Note about fibromyalgia: It was around plenty twenty years ago, except it was poo pooed by many doctors as a symptom of female depression and wasn't taken particularly seriously. As someone else said, acid reflux can in most cases be cured by changing one's bad diet to something cleaner and better.
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omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 02:30 PM
Response to Reply #1
27. That's an excellent OP right there, Lorien. Spot on.
:yourock:
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Crabby Appleton Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:51 PM
Response to Reply #1
34. Why don't they ban tobacco then? nt
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Lorien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 10:12 PM
Response to Reply #34
49. Because that would bring riots in the street!
Edited on Mon Mar-01-10 10:16 PM by Lorien
They also won't ban sugar or white flour or other items that are less than healthy but still part of tradition. The government fears the people over there, not vice versa. Millions won't riot over the banning of certain pesticides, but they sure as hell would come out in droves if you took away their cigarettes or pastries!
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anigbrowl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 10:26 PM
Response to Reply #34
77. More than one EU government operates a state tobacco co.
Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain...I'm probably leaving several out.
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depakid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 07:03 PM
Response to Reply #1
40. The EU used the precautionary principle
While the US presumes many things to be "safe" unless there's clear evidence to the contrary.

Europe learned you see, from the experience with thalidomide- whereas America allowed itself to fall further into corruption.
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Vincardog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 07:59 PM
Response to Reply #1
41. WRONG the profit privatized system continues to benefit the wealthiest 1/2%.
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Lorien Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 10:11 PM
Response to Reply #41
48. True that. nt
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BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 09:36 PM
Response to Reply #1
45. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!!!!
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
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AllyCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 09:47 PM
Response to Reply #1
46. +1
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Betty Karlson Donating Member (902 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 06:39 AM
Original message
Concise, and correct.
Well put, madam.
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lonestarnot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 09:48 AM
Response to Reply #1
59. Astute observation. Always figure in the bucks.
K & R!
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truebrit71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #1
65. BINGO!
..you nailed it...
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adoraz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:35 AM
Response to Reply #1
68. This.
Was going to say something similar, but this was perfectly put.
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bulloney Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-03-10 06:33 AM
Response to Reply #1
80. "My desire to make a buck supersedes your right to exist." - the U.S. credo.
Any time a corporation wants to bring a product on the market, the U.S. government, which is supposed to be a watchdog for the people, just rubber stamps it for approval.

I contend that this is a big reason why there are so many health issues in this country.
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
4. Sicko empire
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ensho Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
5. kick
nt
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itsrobert Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
6. And what's ban in the US and legal in Europe?
??
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:47 AM
Response to Reply #6
13. Here's a few;
Fugu (a potentially poisonous pufferfish)
Casu Marzu (pecorino cheese filled with maggots, legal in some non-EU parts of europe)
Wild beluga caviar
Salumi (a European headcheese produced in non-certified slaughterhouses)
Horse meat (only banned in a few states but basically unavailable anywhere)
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muriel_volestrangler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:59 AM
Response to Reply #13
17. Definition of salumi:
"The word salumi means Italian-style cured or preserved meats. Most are made from pork, but some are beef, lamb or other meats. Salumi means about the same as the French charcuterie. It can refer to meats that are salt-cured, smoked and fermented as well as meats that are preserved in fat (confit), cooked sausages and pates. Within the category are hundreds of specific kinds of salumi.

Salami is a type of salumi, and it's a general term for sausages that are dry-cured, meaning they're salted, fermented and hung to dry."

http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-09-21/food/17391371_1_meats-sausages-fermented

"Salumi: A general word for cured meats including those made with ground meats, such as salami and mortadella, and whole, bone-in meats, such as prosciutto."

http://www.foodnetwork.com/regional-international/italian-cooking-glossary/index.html
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 12:01 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. Most salumi
seems to be made in small artisan slughterhouses that aren't US certified.
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muriel_volestrangler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 12:41 PM
Response to Reply #18
20. Maybe in the stores where you shop
but it's nothing to do with the definition; neither is it 'headcheese' (there may be one particular type that is, but the word refers to the whole family of cured meats). Salumi is clearly available in the US, anyway.
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alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 10:09 PM
Response to Reply #20
47. We called headcheese souse. It was cured in vinegar.
It was quite tasty. Liver sausage and blood sausage mixed in scrambled eggs was the breakfast of champions. Cow Tongue was a favorite of mine. You can't find any good tongue around here.
Tongue on a Kaiser Roll, a cup of coffee in a diner cup, and a waitress that keeps the cup filled is the nice way to fill up and sober up before going home.
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mopinko Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #18
25. chicago is on the war path about salumi
they have shut down a couple of smoke houses, and cracked restaurants that smoke their own bacon, etc. really sad. there was a great little place that would smoke anything that you brought them. they don't seem to allow it under any circumstances.
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AngryAmish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 04:19 PM
Response to Reply #25
73. The war on smoked meats is a little different than you describe
Did Bayless get some bacon taken? Yes. But it was unlabled and undated. Is every high-end restuarant doing their own charcuterie? Most of them - I have had it recently at Blackbird and another place that shall remain nameless and tasty. I'm going to Sola tomorrow and will report back.

Anyway, one FDA inspector got a bug up his rear end and raided Tompolobampo, that place on Kedzie whose name I can't remember and another place. Then it stopped.

This guy took the position that all in house smoked and cured (mostly cured) meat was verboten without a FDA license. But everyone kinda ignored the guy. No fines, no litigation.

BTW, if you want something smoked try Hagan's on Montrose just west of Central. They will smoke anything. Or just join WSM nation like the rest of us!
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Canuckistanian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #17
37. And "charcuterie" is a butcher shop that sells horse meat
So that "salumi" could include horse meat. It's perfectly acceptable in Europe.
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:59 PM
Response to Reply #37
39. Animals is animals.
Eat them all or don't eat any of them. (Endangered status aside, of course.)
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muriel_volestrangler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 08:24 PM
Response to Reply #37
42. A charcuterie sells cured meats, mainly pork products
There may be some cured horse products; but horse meat is also sold in butchers (ie a boucherie), eg http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannl/615571432/

It would be wrong to claim that either charcuteries or salumi have any special link with horse meat. And wrong to translate salumi as headcheese, as well. And wrong to say it's banned in the US.
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AngryAmish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 04:12 PM
Response to Reply #37
72.  thought characterize just meant prepared meats
Cured somehow. Anyway, it sure is tasty and you can't make it without a FDA license.
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MineralMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 12:42 PM
Response to Reply #13
21. Certain aged cheeses can be added along with other items:
Norwegian Gamelost (stinky old cheese) can't be imported, although some is made here.
You won't find tinned Steak & Kidney pies any more in the stores here.
You can't import haggis from Scotland, although haggis is made here. Organ meats are the problem.
Traditional headcheese has disappeared from the marketplace. A pity, that.
Most organ meat products can't be imported into the US.

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Jkid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:53 PM
Response to Reply #13
35. Fugu (a potentially poisonous pufferfish)
I heard of Fugu for the first time in a Simpsons episode. It's definitely poisonous if you do not prepare it in the right way.
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:58 PM
Response to Reply #35
38. Some folks in Japan
have managed to develop a way of farming fugu that prevents them from becoming poisonous. I guess if they are never exposed to certain bacteria that don't absorb the toxins that make them so dangerous.
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AsahinaKimi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-03-10 06:30 AM
Response to Reply #38
79. If that is true
Then of course I would love to try it, when I visit Japan again. (When ever that will be.. :shrug: )
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Quantess Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 12:07 AM
Response to Reply #13
52. Horse meat. I ate it once, in Canada. Age 10.
Edited on Tue Mar-02-10 12:07 AM by Quantess
Family / friends lied to me and said it was venison.

Then we all went for a road trip, stopped to get ice cream cones, and someone told me it was actually horsemeat.

That I was sitting in the back seat was what caused the nausea and vomiting, more than the news that I had just eaten horse meat.
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paulsby Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:49 AM
Response to Reply #6
15. GHB for example
Edited on Mon Mar-01-10 11:51 AM by paulsby
legal in many places in europe


canada fwiw bans a lot of stuff that is not banned here, mostly food supplement stuff. it's frigging ridiculous. thankfully we have DSHEA.

politicians (like biden and mccain) try to get around DSHEA such as during the Great Ephedra Scare (tm) but they were slapped down by the courts


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tammywammy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:41 PM
Response to Reply #6
33. Non-pasturized dairy products. n/t
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PreacherCasey Donating Member (717 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 09:01 AM
Response to Reply #33
57. Luckily they're still ok in PA... here's a list of where to get them.
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TreasonousBastard Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
7. The EU bans Stevia? Wow! But, while it bans...
chlorine-rinsed chickens, (an old-fashioned way of cleaning them up to avoid common poisonings) does it ban chickens with antibiotics or arsenic in its food?



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Bluenorthwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:35 AM
Response to Reply #7
10. Stevia was just cleared as an ingredient here last year or the
one before. I don't know if the Euro ban is similar. Here you could buy it and use it, but it could not be used in products until very recently.
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Brewman_Jax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
8. It's all about the money
since most of the US government agencies are owned by corporate interests, there's no cause to ban anything.
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lebkuchen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:37 AM
Response to Original message
11. that's why cigarette smoking in public places was recently banned
in most of Europe, about two decades after the US had at the very least set up non-smoking sections.
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lebkuchen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:40 AM
Response to Original message
12. Unfortunately, Europe is starting to use high fructose corn syrup
Nearly all the store-bought ice creams and yogurts have it right now.

Another downside to Europe's food industry is that they don't have to list salt content on the labels. Hopefully that will change.
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:49 AM
Response to Original message
14. Not all GMOs are banned in Europe.
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backtomn Donating Member (424 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 10:59 AM
Response to Reply #14
62. GM Companies from Europe
A couple of the largest developers of GM crops are in Europe, although not the EU (Switzerland)
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itsrobert Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 11:50 AM
Response to Original message
16. Maybe the EU can't compete with the US in Food Production?
So they have invented some clever laws to keep the US and other countries out.
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Vidar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 12:06 PM
Response to Original message
19. K&R.
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Greyhound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 01:05 PM
Response to Original message
22. Sick and dead Americans cost industry almost nothing, in fact the sick one's are
lucrative profit centers. Why would "our" government do anything to help us remain healthy? Where's the profit?
:kick: & R

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Greyhound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 01:07 PM
Response to Original message
24. BTW, Americans can get hormone, preservative, and anti-biotic free dairy products at Trader Joe's
for about half the price of frankenfood in the corporate supermarkets.


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lovelyrita Donating Member (213 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:36 PM
Response to Reply #24
30. Only Americans who live in the nine states that have
Trader Joe's.
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Greyhound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 10:24 PM
Response to Reply #30
50. Only nine? I just figured since I'd seen them in IL & NY that they were nationwide.
:shrug:
:kick:

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lovelyrita Donating Member (213 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 06:39 AM
Response to Reply #50
54. Would be nice if they were.
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cascadiance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 03:05 PM
Response to Original message
28. And U.S. and Canada is still way behind Europe and Japan in Mad Cow disease prevention

U.S. crony capitalist regulators still don't do sufficient testing of its animals for mad cow disease, and both U.S. and Canada, while preventing feeding of cattle back to cattle that was an obvious cause of Mad Cow disease, still don't prohibit feeding cattle remains to poultry and pork, who though they don't catch Mad Cow disease, have been shown to be carriers! And then the U.S. and Canada feed poultry and pork remains to cattle, which completes the circle to still allow for this disease to be able to spread.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/greger123103a.cfm

Here's a petition to sign on this issue.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1248
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G_j Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 04:32 PM
Response to Reply #28
29. this is definitely cause
for concern, but greatly under reported.
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Happy Hippy Donating Member (163 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:38 PM
Response to Original message
31. Witty one liner.
From what I understand Red Bull is banned in some countries as well.
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:40 PM
Response to Reply #31
32. Pithy rejoinder.
Red Bull is icky.
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upi402 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 06:53 PM
Response to Original message
36. I thank Reagan. All the teabaggers seem overweight and graying
The very people who try to help teabaggers in their upcoming medical care - are the teabaggers' enemy. But yeah, Republican utopia cometh. Ironically, Republican useful idiots will be the weakest in the coming desperation. Eat healthy DUers!

These folks: http://www.organicconsumers.org/
are very helpful.
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Quantess Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 08:38 PM
Response to Original message
43. My friend bought the DVD "Food, Inc"
and I watched some of it with her. Now she says she's going to become a vegan, from being a meat-eater.
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BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Mar-01-10 09:33 PM
Response to Original message
44. Only 7? And how many drugs?
Edited on Mon Mar-01-10 09:34 PM by BrklynLiberal
Our government is bought and owned by corporations. Profit is all that matters.
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maryf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 06:31 AM
Response to Original message
53. I recall reading Aspartame was banned in EU too...
as it has been shown to form a film on the brain...K&R
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muriel_volestrangler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 08:07 AM
Response to Reply #53
55. No, aspartame has been available for years
And still is. There was a review in 2006, and that concluded it was still OK.

Aspartame has been used as a sweetener in foods and as a table-top sweetener for more than 20 years in many countries throughout the world. In Europe, it was first authorised for use by several Member States during the 1980s and was approved for use throughout the European Union in 1994, following thorough safety evaluations by the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Food (SCF).
...
The Panel considers that no significant new data have emerged since 2002 on aspects other than carcinogenicity and there is therefore no reason to review the previous SCF opinion on aspartame.

The Panel notes that dietary exposure to intense sweeteners in the population has been assessed in a number of European countries. In all of these studies, dietary exposure to aspartame was well below the ADI of 40 mg/kg bw (up to 10 mg /kg bw), even in high consumers.

In summary, the Panel concludes, on the basis of all the evidence currently available from the ERF study, other recent studies and previous evaluations that there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI for aspartame of 40 mg/kg bw.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1178620765743.htm
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maryf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 09:46 PM
Response to Reply #55
76. Not for children anyway
Edited on Tue Mar-02-10 09:48 PM by maryf
Aspartame banned in Europe for children's products

On the European Common Market, Aspartame is banned for all children's products. Why is this not the case in Canada and the U.S.? Because Monsanto - which owns the NutraSweet Company which manufactures Aspartame - pays off the FDA, the American Medical Association, The American Dietetic and Diabetic Associations, Congressmen and Senators and virtually anyone who gets in the way, and in other countries too. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation caught them red handed and aired a program where Monsanto was trying to bribe Canadian Doctors at Health Canada.


link on edit... http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/aspartame.htm
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muriel_volestrangler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Mar-03-10 06:23 AM
Response to Reply #76
78. No, that web page is just making that up
Not restrictions on aspartame in food or drink in Europe: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/faqs/faqaspartame.htm

For example, Britvic advertised its children's drinks as containing no artificial colours or flavours; a complaint was made to the Advertising Standards Authority, pointing out they contain aspartame. Britvic's defence was that 'flavours' refers to things to give a particular fruit taste, not sweeteners.

http://www.asa.org.uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2007/5/Britvic-Soft-Drinks-Ltd/TF_ADJ_42604.aspx
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Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 12:15 PM
Response to Reply #53
70. A film on the brain?
Riiiiight. How would that even work, considering the brain is already encased in a tough membrane?
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maryf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 09:42 PM
Response to Reply #70
75. Weeeelllll
It happens through ingestion...when you ingest toxins it can get into the brain...like alcohol? Hey, I only said what I read...just sayin'
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sce56 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 08:15 AM
Response to Original message
56. Here is one thing you can do tell the FDA to say no to Monsanto!
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/monsanto_alfalfa/?rc=fb_share1



Stop Monsanto's GMO Contamination

During the Bush administration, Monsanto illegally won USDA approval for its genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa by convincing regulators to bypass a mandatory environmental review. In response to a lawsuit by consumer groups, the courts then stepped in and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA followed the law.

In December, the USDA released its belated review of Monsanto's GE alfalfa seed and determined that Monsanto's alfalfa met the Obama Administration's standards, despite the risk of organic contamination.

This conclusion came despite the acknowledgment by USDA researchers that GE alfalfa is virtually certain to "contaminate" normal seeds. Cross-contamination is the number one concern with genetically engineered crops.

Organic contamination is devastating for organic farmers, especially organic dairy farmers, most of whom use organic alfalfa for feed. The presence of even the smallest amount of GE material can cause a farm to lose its organic certification. And court documents indicate that early plantings of GE alfalfa did contaminate conventional alfalfa. Yet the USDA maintains that Monsanto's existing safety protocols are good enough. This is ridiculous!

Even worse, the USDA concluded that the possibility of contamination of organic fields is of no concern, since consumers won't care if their organic food or milk contains genetically engineered components. Yet central to the definition of the USDA Organic label is the total absence of genetically modified ingredients. An overwhelming majority of consumers buy organic to avoid GE products and would be shocked to learn the USDA is so cavalier about the risks of transgenetic contamination.

The USDA is accepting public comments on Monsanto's application through Wednesday, March 3. Make your voice heard today.


Here is there Letter they will send for you!

I am writing in regard to Docket APHIS-2007-0044, and I demand that the USDA reject Monsanto's application to market genetically engineered alfalfa. The USDA may not believe it matters if GE alfalfa contaminates organic and other non-GE crops, but I certainly do.

Consumers must be able to avoid genetically engineered products. Farmers must be free of the threat of contamination and the USDA must not put organic farmers' livelihoods at risk. The USDA admits that approval of GE alfalfa will make transgenic contamination inevitable. This is unacceptable.

Therefore, I urge you to reject Monsanto's application to sell genetically engineered alfalfa.
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earcandle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 09:30 AM
Response to Original message
58. Google GM Foods cause organ failure in rats
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itsrobert Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 10:44 AM
Response to Original message
61. The reason these are banned is for ECONOMIC benifet of the EU
They want to restrict competition and this is the way it's done. The EU did not have any heartburn selling my family and friends "mad cow" meats and milk while I was stationed in England in the 1990's.

All your other reasons in this thread why European food is better and they want to keep health care cost down is talking out your collective rear ends.
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ElsewheresDaughter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:08 AM
Response to Original message
63. Anyone know where I can watch Food Inc online?
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lovelyrita Donating Member (213 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:49 AM
Response to Reply #63
69. If you have Netflix, they have it streaming online.
It's really a wonderful movie.
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backtomn Donating Member (424 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:30 AM
Response to Original message
66. For a little balance.......
1. Two of the bigger companies producing GM Seeds are from Switzerland, not EU, but European
2. Addition of pesticide in the U.S. is regulated, including when it can be added. Also, food ingredients are routinely tested for pesticide residues.
3. rGBH is a synthetic version of a hormone already present in cattle. According to Federal Law (FDA regulations), milk can NOT be labeled as "hormone-free" (because that is not true) and NOT as "rGBH-free" (since research has shown no difference between the natural and synthetic versions of the hormone.
4. Chlorinating: I am not certain how many companies actually do this, relative to steaming or irradiation, but I suspect that the amount of chlorine might not exceed that in our water.
5. Surprise, surprise....people are trying to ban another artificial sweetner. Saccharin has been removed from the ban list (although people will be scared to ever use it again), NutraSweet has been investigated thoroughly.....but with no data supporting a ban. Some people just don't like "artificial" anything.

I notice that there has also been an effort to "inform" people of the ills of High-Fructose Corn Syrup, which appears to have no basis in science. I wonder if that might have something to do with the vast majority of it being produced in the U.S.

I am for proper investigation of every new food ingredient, before and AFTER approval. However, I am opposed to trying to bring people to their knees, in the interest of being "anti-corporate". Real people work for corporations too....and can be hurt.
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backtomn Donating Member (424 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 11:30 AM
Response to Original message
67. For a little balance.......
1. Two of the bigger companies producing GM Seeds are from Switzerland, not EU, but European
2. Addition of pesticide in the U.S. is regulated, including when it can be added. Also, food ingredients are routinely tested for pesticide residues.
3. rGBH is a synthetic version of a hormone already present in cattle. According to Federal Law (FDA regulations), milk can NOT be labeled as "hormone-free" (because that is not true) and NOT as "rGBH-free" (since research has shown no difference between the natural and synthetic versions of the hormone.
4. Chlorinating: I am not certain how many companies actually do this, relative to steaming or irradiation, but I suspect that the amount of chlorine might not exceed that in our water.
5. Surprise, surprise....people are trying to ban another artificial sweetner. Saccharin has been removed from the ban list (although people will be scared to ever use it again), NutraSweet has been investigated thoroughly.....but with no data supporting a ban. Some people just don't like "artificial" anything.

I notice that there has also been an effort to "inform" people of the ills of High-Fructose Corn Syrup, which appears to have no basis in science. I wonder if that might have something to do with the vast majority of it being produced in the U.S.

I am for proper investigation of every new food ingredient, before and AFTER approval. However, I am opposed to trying to bring people to their knees, in the interest of being "anti-corporate". Real people work for corporations too....and can be hurt.
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Pisces Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Mar-02-10 04:22 PM
Response to Reply #67
74. Eat this shit to your hearts content, however, some on this board will continue to use their brains
and investigate on their own, with scientific research to back them. Anyone trying to sell the idea the High Fructose Corn Syrup is good for you has lost all credibility. It is produced here in such large quantities due to corn subsidies.
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