Which cereal brands are truly committed to producing clean, organic food

(www.gmo-news.blogspot.com) The non-profit family farm advocacy group Cornucopia Institute (CI) recently released its Organic Cereal Scorecard, a comprehensive analysis of many popular "natural" and organic breakfast cereal brands that highlight both the best and worst players in the industry.

In the report, CI provides not only a detailed listing of the many companies producing phony "natural" products, but it also outlines those that are committed to producing and selling only clean, organic food to their customers.

You can view our first announcement about the report here: (http://www.naturalnews.com/033838_breakfast_cereals_GMOs.html).

Some health food stores and even conventional grocery stores continue to sell "natural" cereal brands that secretly contain chemical pesticide and herbicide residues, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and various other deadly toxins. These products are often marketed as being more "natural" than conventional brands, and are even priced at a premium -- but in reality, they are often no different than less expensive conventional brands (http://www.naturalnews.com/033838_breakfast_cereals_GMOs.html).

In order to better assist NaturalNews readers in making smart food choices and help them to avoid the "natural" product trap, we have provided a detailed listing of some of the best cereal brands available. These brands are considered to be fully trustworthy and committed to organics, and tests of their products have revealed that their labels truly do match their content. As a result, CI has awarded them top scores in each category, and they all have a full "Wheat Rating."

Brands that are fully committed to producing organic, GMO-free cereal and granola

• Ambrosial (Ambrosial Organic Inc. / Independent Company)

• Country Choice Organic (Country Choice Organic / Independent Company)

• Farm to Table (Farm to Table Foods, Inc. / Independent Company)

• Go Raw (Freeland Foods / Independent Company)

• Grandy Oats (Grandy Oats / Independent Company)

• Great River Organic Milling (Great River Organic Milling / Independent Company)

• Kaia (Kaia Foods / Independent Company)

• Laughing Giraffe (Laughing Giraffe Inc. / Independent Company)

• Lydia's Organics (Lydia's Organics / Independent Company)

• Nature's Path (Nature's Path / Independent Company)

• Tierra Farm (Tierra Farm / Independent Company)

• Two Moms in the Raw (Two Moms in the Raw / Independent Company)

Each one of these brands scored full points in all seven rating categories, including the organic status of their products; commitment by their corporate owner(s) to organics; policies against GMOs as a brand; policies against GMOs by corporate owner; level of hexane found in products; stance over use of agrichemicals by brand and product; and stance over use of agrichemicals by owner(s).

Some of the largest and most well-known brands in this category include Country Choice Organic, Kaia Foods, and Nature's Path.

Other companies that scored slightly less than perfect, but that deserve a mention for their commitment to organics, include Eco-Planet, Grawnola, Green Barn Organics, Food for Life, and Erewhon. Each one of these brands sells only 100 percent organic cereal and granola products (except for Grawnola and Erewhon).

To view the entire CI Cereal Scorecard and learn more about the criteria used to rate each brand, visit:
http://cornucopia.org/cereal-scorecard/by: Ethan A. Huff

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Monsanto partners with USAID to push GM corn in Nepal

(www.gmo-news.blogspot.com) The southeast Asian country of Nepal is once again having to fight against foreign interests that are trying to take over its agricultural system. Biotechnology giant Monsanto apparently has its sights set on bringing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) to this sliver of a country just north of India, and it is allegedly working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a so-called humanitarian group, and officials in Nepal to make it happen.

USAID issued a statement on Sept. 13, 2011, saying that it had partnered with Nepal's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoACs) and Monsanto to "promote hybrid maize (corn) seeds among 20,000 farmers of Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kavre districts and provide training to them." Media across Nepal quickly picked up on the story, and massive public outcry ensued.

GMOs are not widely cultivated in Nepal, and the country has always taken a very cautious approach to adopting them. In fact, when it was discovered that some GMO ingredients had potentially already contaminated the nation's food supply back in 2003, government officials quickly made precautionary recommendations at the time to require GMO labeling on all food items.

But with multinational corporations and the US government working overtime to force GM corn on Nepali farmers, Nepal appears to be getting pushed to the brink of no return. Though Nepal still imports some of its corn from elsewhere, the country is having no problems with the conventional, organic, and heirloom varieties it currently cultivates, and has no need whatsoever for GM varieties.

Since the controversy erupted, Nepali officials have reportedly backed off from the plan. Hari Dahal, joint secretary at MoACs, told reporters recently that his agency had "no idea why USAID issued the statements saying that the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives was partnering with Monsanto" because "no agreement had been signed."

USAID was a little more ambiguous about whether or not MoACs was specifically involved in the matter, but the agency did make it very clear that it is working with Monsanto to promote GMOs around the world, including in Nepal. And based on the way Monsanto continues to thrust GMOs on the people of India just to the south, there is no doubt that the biotech giant is doing the same thing to people of Nepal as we speak.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2011/11/8/Nation/18676

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90064942?Monsanto%20focus%20of%20...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034203_Monsanto_Nepal.html#ixzz1lfMetokc

by: Jonathan Benson

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Local residents sue DuPont for GMO pesticide 'dust' blowing on homes, children

(www.gmo-news.blogspot.com) For over ten years, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., an Iowa-based genetically-modified (GM) seed company owned by DuPont, has been carelessly allowing GM crop pesticide dust to blow onto homes, cars, streets, yards, and children living in residential areas of Kauai, Hawaii. This is according to a new lawsuit.

The Associated Press reports that 150 local residents of Waimea (on Kauai), are suing Pioneer for using undisclosed and potentially deadly pesticides on GMO crops in open-air tests. The plaintiffs claim the company has routinely failed to control the spread of these contaminants as is required by state and county law, as well as identify them publicly.

Pioneer has several GM crop test fields in the Waimea area that are located very close to residential neighborhoods. Especially on windy days, residue from pesticide sprays travels from the fields into nearby neighborhoods, according to local residents, and contaminates practically everything. And despite having filed a petition with Pioneer back in 2000 to have the situation remedied, Pioneer has allegedly done nothing over all these years to curb the uncontrolled spread of pesticide poisons.

"[T]he influx of dust and chemicals from Pioneer's fields has continued while Waimea residents fight a daily battle to keep their homes and property free of dust and chemicals. They continue to suffer on a daily basis," says the lawsuit. It goes on to state that "pesticides and fugitive dust from Pioneer's GMO Test Fields are recognized pollutants that present known and unknown risks to human health and the environment associated with acute, sub-chronic, and chronic exposure."

After filing its initial petition back in 2000, Pioneer responded by promising to clean up the problem and do what it could to prevent the spread of these airborne toxins. But more than ten years later, the problem still persists, according to the plaintiffs, which is why they have no choice but to pursue remedies through the legal system.

Worse, Pioneer has refused to disclose which pesticides it is even using in the test trials, so there is no way to know exactly what is being sprayed, and what dangers they pose. Forcing Pioneer to disclose the identities of these pesticides is the primary goal of the lawsuit, which could later develop further into a case concerning the health effects of exposure to them.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20111216_Dust_from_GMO_crops_spurs_res...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034488_DuPont_GMOs_pesticides.html#ixzz1lFDsT4l1

by: Jonathan Benson

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