Lifestyle Hub
GMO crops are big big business in Hawaii
In a scary story published by Pacific Business News on Friday, July 10, 2009 the size of Hawaii's GMO industry, and its growing importance to the Hawaii economy was detailed.
Oscar G. Mayer dies at 95
| Innocent AnimalsJuly 8, 2009: Oscar G Mayer, retired chairman of the Wisconsin-based meat processing company that bears his name, has died at the age of 95. He was the third Oscar Mayer in the family that founded Oscar Mayer Foods, which was once the largest private employer in Madison. Mayer retired as chairman of the board in 1977 at age 62 soon after the company recorded its first $1 billion year. The company was later sold to General Foods and is now a business unit of Kraft.
Maui County Council to Vote on GMO Taro
| GMOs, | Industry LegislationThis Thursday, July 16, the Maui County Council is scheduled to vote on a bill to protect taro from genetic modification. Maui residents should contact their council member to ask them to vote in favor of protecting taro. The following is from KAHEA's, The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, email dated July 9, 2009:
Meat selling retailers win "Most Humane Grocery Store" award
Grocery stores selling "humane meat" won awards for being the most humane grocery stores. Now that is an oxymoron (according to Wikipedia an oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms) if ever I heard one, "humane meat", there is no such thing, give me a break. (Warning graphic language concerning the reality of meat follows) meat is brutally murdered animal flesh, and no matter how you look at it, raising an animal simply to kill and eat it is not "humane".
Burger King removes ad, apologizes.... Now if only they would stop killing cows....
| Innocent AnimalsIn a surprise move Burger King quickly responded to the complaint from the Hindu American Foundation concerning the use of a Hindu Goddess to promote their burgers, apologized, and stated it would cease the advertising campaign.
Bottled water banned in move to protect environment
| EnvironmentBottled water is coming under even more pressure following the action of a small Australian town to ban sales of bottled water. Bottled water sales, once a major growth industry, has slowed considerably as people have considered the adverse environmental impacts of the plastic bottles, production costs, and trucking and transportation involved. It is cheaper and more environmentally sound to properly filter tap water. The following is from the Associated Press story:
Go to hospital; instead of needed painkillers get salt water and Hep C
| Health & WellnessIn a scary case that makes it even more worrying to go to hospital, a medical worker injected the painkillers intended for patients into herself, then filled the used syringes with saline solution and injected the patients with that, exposing them to Hep C.
Burger King misuses Hindu Goddess to sell burgers
| Healthy EatingBurger King, the international hamburger chain, has offended hundreds of millions of Hindus by misusing an image of a Hindu Goddess to promote the sale of burgers. A principal tenet of Hinduism is vegetarianism, thus the use of a Hindu deity in this way is highly offensive to them. The following is from an article posted on the Hindu American Foundation's website:
Bulk is green
| EnvironmentThe following is from Progressive Grocer magazine: A recent study conducted by the Bulk Is Green Council confirms what the Little Rock, Ark.-based advocacy group is seeking to advance with consumers: that retail prices of bulk foods vs. their packaged counterparts are an average of 35 percent lower. Indeed, bulk foods were lower for all of the 16 foods compared, with savings ranging from 3 percent to 96 percent. Additionally, the majority of bulk foods compared in the study were organic while their packaged counterparts were often not.
Oh oh, Monsanto working with Dole to "improve vegetables"
| GMOsI sense big trouble ahead. Monsanto and Dole are teaming up to "improve" our vegetables. While Monsanto says this won't include genetic engineering others are sceptical (now I wonder why that is?).