Let's Talk Story - Down to Earth Blog

Two weeks ago, with the First Lady looking on, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids act in a special ceremony at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington D.C. The passage marked an important victory for Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign, and President Obama joked that had he not managed to get it passed, he would have been sleeping on the couch. But other than a well-rested President, what effect will this legislation have on the day-to-day life of the nations schoolchildren?

GMOs are, without a doubt, the most important issue of our generation. The decisions made now will have a decisive and irreversible impact on food security and health for uncountable numbers of generations in the future. Following a drawn out legal challenge to biotech industries by concerned farmers, the USDA recently announced that they are considering total or partial deregulation of GM alfalfa. Please educate yourself about this vital issue.

I hope you had a chance to catch the quick, fifteen-minute segment on GMOs on Dr. Oz’s show this morning. Dr. Oz, whose show reaches over three and a half million people, featured three guests – Dr.

Congress is expected to vote today on an important piece of legislation regarding child nutrition. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently urged Congress to renew funding for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, historically known as the Child Nutrition Act. Signed into law in 1966, this landmark bill created a federally subsidized lunch program for low income students.

A new book criticizing vegetarianism and veganism is making a splash in the UK. Reviewers have called it "groundbreaking" and "life changing." After reading the book, George Monbriot, a well known environmentalist and advocate of veganism, has reversed his position and is now advocating eating animal flesh, as long as the animal has been sustainably raised. The book causing all the fuss was written by Simon Fairlie, a farmer with experience in permaculture, which is a type of agriculture that seeks to mimic natural ecosystems. The book is called Meat: A Benign Extravagance.

You may have noticed an article floating around the web recently with the provocative headline “Eat a Carrot, Hurt the Economy? Sometimes.” Reporter Maria Cheng went on to describe a recent study apparently demonstrating that a global initiative to promote a healthy diet could result in dramatic losses for the economies of meat-exporting countries like Brazil.

When I first read a description of the symptoms of Morgellons Disease, it sounded too bizarre to be true. People describe itching, burning and the sensation of bugs crawling underneath their skin. Lesions develop that never heal, and parasites crawl out from open sores. Fibers of unknown origin and various colors appear beneath the skin and sometimes protrude, causing sharp pains. Could this be real? People suffering from Morgellons report that they are frequently diagnosed as delusional and prescribed antidepressant or antipsychotic medication.

Over the last month, while the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign was in full swing, some have questioned the effectiveness of what they call “pink washing,” or slapping everything from lipstick to a Ford Mustang with a pink ribbon and selling it in the name of breast cancer advocacy.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so I thought I'd share some great tips for breast cancer prevention from an article by Dr. Alan Gaby.

Jeffrey Smith, whose work we’ve been featuring for the past week, has posted a petition at the website of the Institute for Responsible Technology that I urge you to read and sign here. Instead of being addressed to a government agency, as many petitions are, this one is addressed to members of the food service industry.