Tag Archives: food

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Global Food Crisis: Red Bug invades United States, recently noticed in California, but has been seen in Idaho since late 1990s!

03 October 2012, a Red Bug (actually the official non-scientific name in the U.S.) was first reported in California in 2009, however, I moved to Idaho in 1997 and have seen the bug in the area since then.

Scantius aegyptius, aka Lodosiana (=Scantius) aegyptius, is native to the Mediterranean area.  It feeds on the seeds of plants, mainly plants that completely die out at the end of the year and can only be grown from seeds, which makes Red Bug a threat.

Red Bug was noted by BugGuide as being first reported in California in 2009 (as I said earlier, they’ve been in Idaho since late 1990s).

They are considered invasive, because of lack of predators.  People in California report that even their chickens stay away from them.  Harvester ants seem to be their main foe, however, here in Idaho I’ve noticed that our ants have been less and less active every year, possibly due to the ongoing drought (now in its 12th year).

This year the Red Bug swarms were so large I had to find out what they were.  Their growing swarms seem to correlate to the declining ant population!

When my youngest children were attending Chubbuck Elementary (years prior to the official 2009 California discovery) they said all the kids called them Fire Bugs, because they looked like they were on fire.

After all these years the Red Bugs haven’t touched my small victory garden in the backyard. So far they’ve relegated themselves to the driveway/south side of the house area, which is the warmest spot on the property.

I wounder if they have anything to do with my wide variety of bulb plants refusing to sprout this year (they are planted in the same area that these Red Bugs like to swarm)?

Idaho, U.S.

U.S. West Nile Virus update, 01 October 2012: Now being called a ‘disaster’! Humans, horses and now chickens! Medical media calls outbreak over, then suddenly 400 new cases! No insurance, no treatment?

“To judge from past reporting trends, these figures suggest that this year’s West Nile virus outbreak will be among the largest ever recorded!”-Lyle Petersen, CDC

“…disturbingly unpredictable, disagreeable, and difficult to control.”-CDC statement

“At first they said West Nile would remain concentrated along the Eastern Seaboard. Then, as it moved westward, they said it wouldn’t spread beyond the Midwest. In 2006, seven years after the virus was detected in New York, it infected several residents here in Washington. Now it’s been reported in every state except Hawaii and Alaska.”-Terry McElwain, Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

In the last week of September 2012, 400 new cases of West Nile virus were reported throughout the United States.

At least 3,545 cases in 48 states, with 147 deaths, and that’s what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting.  What the CDC reports is at least a week behind what’s happening on the ground.

Incredibly, during the middle of September, some medical media sources reported that the West Nile virus outbreak had peaked out, and was on the decline!

70% of cases are in Texas, South Dakota and Mississippi.

Mississippi: 197 human cases, five deaths: “We are in the middle of the worst epidemic of West Nile virus infection in the state of Mississippi ever and one of the worst in terms of the United States!”-Art Leis, Methodist Rehab Center

Ohio: Clark County Combined Health District confirmed an elderly man died from West Nile virus.  Computer problems prevented the release of details. Ohio Department of Health reports 93 human cases, so far.

Texas: Morris County reports first case of West Nile in horses: “The horse exhibited ataxis, which is lack of muscle coordination, fever, and depression.”-Dennis Seymore, veterinarian

So far this year there have been 39 cases of equine West Nile virus in Texas.   “It should also be noted that vaccination for West Nile Virus does not protect a horse from other mosquito-borne diseases such as Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis.”-Dennis Seymore, veterinarian

A Texas woman is suffering doubly, not only has West Nile left her partially paralyzed, but she has no way to pay for medical care.  The Fort Worth hospital she is in is trying to send her away. She needs 24 hour care, but hospital staff say it ain’t gonna happen without money: “Ideally, we’re usually able to get them transferred to a rehab facility or somewhere they can have impatient care. However, due to her limited funding status, we have to plan for her to go home.”-Melody Argueta, Huguley Memorial Medical Center

Louisiana: 29 more human cases reported.  So far 280 people infected, 11 deaths.

Iowa: Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Iowa Department of Public Health report large number of horses infected.  More than 20, last year there was only one equine case.

Oklahoma: Nine people have died from West Nile so far. 154 human cases.

California: Reporting 182 human cases, 10 deaths. Health officials warning to stay away from dead birds.  So far 1,273 dead birds, in California, have tested positive for West Nile.  Rodents, like squirrels, also testing positive.

Florida: Alachua County Health Department discovered West Nile virus in several chicken flocks, and one horse.  More than 40 human cases statewide.

Massachusetts: “The Massachusetts Department of Public Health risk assessment level has been raised from ‘Moderate’ to ‘High’ in the towns of Stoneham and Winchester in efforts to raise awareness regarding this arbovirus in the closing weeks of the warm season.”

New York:  An elderly man from New York was diagnosed with West Nile while visiting friends in Canada. He is in critical condition.

Idaho: 11 human cases, at least five equine cases.

Illinois: DuPage County Health Department reports fourth human death.  138 human cases statewide.

Michigan: Department of Community Health reports two more human deaths, 170 cases.

New Jersey:   At least 22 human cases, one death.

Virginia:   First equine case, the horse had to be killed.

Georgia: Two new human cases, one fatal, in Gwinnett County.  At least 43 cases statewide.

Maryland:  30 human cases.

Tennessee: At least 21 human cases. Rap singer, Brabo Gator, fell into a coma after being infected. Doctors say he will probably never sing again because of damage to his lungs.

Rhode Island: Reporting third human case.

Wisconsin: Two confirmed human cases, 23 possible.

Colorado: Three human deaths, 92 cases.

 

 

U.S.

Pacific Ring of Fire getting hammered? Why is FEMA running emergency preparedness PSA specifically about the 1989 Loma Prieta quake?

Video

Recently I saw a emergency preparedness public service announcement (PSA) on TV, it was specifically warning about a major earthquake, using the 1989 Loma Prieta (San Francisco bay area) earthquake as an example.

The latest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) PSA is part of a new series called The Day Before.  Past PSAs were more general in their warnings, why would FEMA now issue a PSA so specific?

Several reports have come out this year, from federal Department of Homeland Security agencies, as well as state agencies, which discuss major earthquakes and tsunamis, including the 1989 Loma Prieta quake.  They also reveal a concern about how such things are predicted. As a result many state and local governments (from Virginia to California) have been asked to better prepare for another similar quake.

A July 2012 report by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, called Spectral Damping Scaling Factors for Shallow Crustal Earthquakes in Active Tectonic Regions, basically says that current ground motion measurement formulas used to predict earthquakes are not accurate, specifically when it comes to shallow quakes (California has a lot of those, on a weekly basis).  Of course they’ve recommended a new formula.

In June 2012, a TsuInfo Alert (Tsunami Information Alert) was presented by Washington State Department of Natural Resources.  It concerns the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which affects the North American west coast from northern California up to British Columbia.

The report quotes one scientist who has concerns about how PSAs should be used to prepare the public: “There is no one flyer, no one commercial that’s
going to reach all of these audiences. They all have to be engaged individually, and they have to be approached with something that shows what’s in it for them.”-John Schelling, Washington State Emergency Management Division

The June TsuInfo Alert was packed with warnings about the underestimated effects that earthquakes have in generating tsunamis, not just on the west coast of North America, but including Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico.  The overriding advice for the public is, as one official from New Zealand was quoted: “….don’t wait around, head for higher ground!”-Fred Mecoy, Emergency Preparedness
Manager, Wellington

Officials from the U.S. state of Oregon suggested three basic rules for surviving after a major earthquake/tsunami: “…one can survive three minutes without oxygen, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food.” 

Don’t forget hypothermia (part of the “shelter” rule), especially if your dragged out to sea.  Many of the tsunami deaths in the March 2011 disasters in Japan were the result of hypothermia, not drowning!

In February I predicted 2012 would be a busy year for earthquakes, specifically around the Pacific Ring of Fire.   I count the number of 6.5 magnitude+ quakes, reported by the U.S. Geological Survey as Significant Earthquakes, and so far for 2012 there’ve been plenty.

I count at least 31 6.5+ quakes from 01 January 2012 to 05 September 2012, all  of them around the Pacific Ring of Fire!

I counted 13 Significant Earthquakes between 5 and 6.4 magnitude, all around the Pacific Ring of Fire (including some tectonic plates directly in contact with Pacific Ring plates).

When compared to 2011, 31 6.5+ quakes doesn’t seem out of the norm. I counted about 34 such quakes for 2011 (on the USGS Significant list). But remember, 2011 was the year of the great disasters in Japan. Seven of those are quakes and/or aftershocks of the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan disasters (and I only counted up till 05 September).

For Significant quakes between 5 and 6.4 magnitude, I counted only four.

For 2011 there was a total of 38 Significant Earthquakes, from 01 January to 05 September.  For 2012 there have been a total of 44 Significant Earthquakes, six more than 2011 during the same time period.

So, while the number of 6.5+ quakes for 2012 are slightly lower than 2011, the number of quakes between 5 and 6.4 are higher (USGS does state that their lists are to be considered “incomplete”).  The Gregorian/Western/Christian calender year of 2012 isn’t over, yet.

International, U.S.

Fluoride Update, 24 September 2012: Portland officials ignore what the voters want! EPA and HHS admit too much fluoride is bad! Argentina says it causes diabetes! Japan says it causes cancer! China (and Harvard) says it reduces intelligence!

“Even if fluoridation reduced cavities, is tooth health more important than brain health? It’s time to put politics aside and stop artificial fluoridation everywhere!”-Paul Beeber, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

By the year 2014, Portland, Oregon, will cease being the last major U.S. city without fluoridated water. On 12 September 2012, and in a unanimous decision that seemed to go against voter sentiment, the Portland city council approved fluoridation of the water supply.

Supporters of the plan claim that residents of Portland has a higher number of dental problems than other parts of Oregon.  However, a state study proved the reverse!

Most all of Oregon’s water supply already has naturally occurring fluoride.

To top that, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have come out and admitted that too much fluoride can be bad for you!  Not only that, past fluoridation levels in the United States were too high!!!

But guess what? Those admissions came out at the beginning of 2011!  Where was the main stream media coverage?

HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, said fluoride levels should be no more than 0.7 parts per million (ppm) per liter of water (this is the level the city of Portland, Oregon, says it will use).  Up ’till 2011 municipalities were being told to use as much as 1.2 ppm per liter!

“The new EPA assessments of fluoride were undertaken in response to findings of the National Academies of Science (NAS).  At EPA’s request, in 2006 NAS reviewed new data on fluoride and issued a report recommending that EPA update its health and exposure assessments to take into account bone and dental effects and to consider all sources of fluoride.”-joint EPA/HHS statement, 07 January 2011

Fluoride is claimed to protect your teeth, but according to HHS, too much fluoride actually does the reverse, causing tooth decay, as well as bone fractures,  and skeletal fluorosis.  Is this why the state study in Oregon showed higher dental problems in areas with fluoridated water?

But wait, there’s more!  The EPA actually said stop using sulfuryl fluoride. Sulfuryl fluoride is used as an insecticide (’cause it’s a fumigant neurotoxin), and cities have been using it to fluoridate their water!

Portland, Oregon, isn’t the only U.S. state obviously in the pockets of the fluoride industry.  Right now in Pinellas County, Florida, the issue of fluoridation has got a local dentist threatening to run for public office, to force fluoridation of the water.  One of his campaign billboards reads: “Want Fluoride…..?”

A in the pockets of the fluoride industry Florida newspaper (The Daytona Beach Journal) published an opinion piece on 20 September, applauding cities that add fluoride to their water.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is even giving out awards to cities, it’s called Water Fluoridation Quality Award.

But wait, there’s more!

A study in Argentina (done at the Rosario National University in Santa Fe, Rosario) concluded that ‘artificial’ fluoride use causes insulin resistance, leading to type 2 diabetes!  Gee, isn’t the United States suffering from a high rate of diabetes?

What’s really significant, relating to the new fluoride levels issued by HHS, is that the Argentine study shows that the onset of type 2 diabetes occurrs regardless of the amount of fluoride. Even at a fraction of a ppm, after 60 days insulin resistance is the result!

A study out of Japan (by the University of Tokyo) shows that fluoride use increases the rate of cancers of the “….oral cavity and pharynx, colon and rectum, hepato-biliary and urinary organs.”  Gee, doesn’t the United States have a problem with increased cancers?

The Japanese researchers looked at cancer rates in the United States in comparison with fluoridated water supplies, from 1978 to 1992.  They found that two thirds of the people with cancer lived in areas with lots of fluoridated water.  In the majority of the sites studied, they concluded that 64% of them had a direct connection between cancer and fluoride!

Another study from the Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua, China, backs up a Harvard study released earlier this year.  Fluoride makes ‘mericans dumber than a stump!  Gee, isn’t the United States suffering from too much of that!!!

The Chinese study found that the higher the dose rate of fluoride, the dumber you get.  Back in July, 2012, Harvard University published the results of their study, it not good: “Fluoride readily crosses the placenta. Fluoride exposure to the developing brain, which is much more susceptible to injury caused by toxicants than is the mature brain, may possibly lead to damage of a permanent nature.”

But this info was known before these latest studies.  I’ve posted how a study in India blamed idiocy on fluoride, and that was based on naturally occurring fluoride.  But here’s what the National Research Council (NRC) stated in 2006, about ‘artificial’ fluoride: “It’s apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain.”

 

 

 

International, Opinion, U.S.

World War 3: Palestinians trapped in the Israeli/Palestinan Authority controled West Bank death camp taking to the streets!

“We staged these strikes because of prices, tax rates and the fact that the Palestinian Authority steals tax revenue……..We pay double taxes, both to the Transportation Ministry and to the Ramallah municipality. Why is that?”-West Bank taxi driver

15 September 2012, people in the United States don’t understand life in the slow motion death camp known as West Bank.  Unfortunately for many people in the United States they see nothing wrong with double or even triple taxation (local, state and federal taxes for the same things, like fuels, roads and education)!

Unlike the Gaza Strip, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) routinely use Palestinians as target practice on a weekly, if not daily basis (never reported in U.S. main stream media), the Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to extreme economic controls (similar to what the NAZIs did to the Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War 2).

Many West Bankers (which include Palestinian Christians and Jews, not just Muslims) are blaming the Palestinian Authority (PA), the political party in charge within the West Bank.  The PA has a policy of trying not to piss off its Israeli masters.  Many taxes collected by the PA end up going to the Israeli government, after PA officials skim off what they can for themselves!

It’s gotten so bad that commentators on West Bank TV recently tried to criticize the PA, live on television, their audio was cut off.

A veteran Palestinian ‘peace negotiator’ stated that the only way for West Bank Palestinians to rise up against Israel is to get rid of the PA.

One of the games Israel has been playing is to hold back on tax reparations, calling it “measured assistance”.  Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says this is the only way to control the West Bankers.  Measured assistance also creates an economy so bad that West Bankers are willing to work for peanuts inside Israel, if the Israeli government will let them.  Recently the Israeli government approved 5,000 work permits for desperate West Bankers.

According to the World Bank there are almost three million people living in West Bank (many international organizations say it’s much more), which is 5,628 square kilometers (2,173 sq mi) in size.  But the Palestinians are being squeezed out almost weekly.  For the past few years the Israeli government has authorized the building of hundreds of internationally illegal settlements in West Bank, which means illegally evicting the Palestinians.  Many Israelis are evicting Palestinians on their own and building their own settlements without government authorization.

On 12 September Israeli courts allowed the expansion of one settlement onto private Palestinian land.  The settlers had used an old military order to justify their expansion.  However, that order was modified in 1979, to state that the military can not take land for civilian use.  The courts claim that Palestinians will be compensated for the land, but, where can they go after they’re forced to sell it?

West Bank just saw the end of a week of protests against the economic conditions there (did you see mentions of it in the U.S. main stream media?), now more protests because of a anti-Islam movie, made by a pro-Israeli right wing U.S. christian con artist.  Will there finally be intifada against the Israeli puppet Palestinian Authority?

Business/Economics, U.S.

Class Warfare & What Economic Recovery? Federal Reserve says the U.S. is doomed? Implements QE3 out of desperation!

“Fewer than half of the eight million jobs lost in the recession have been restored……If the fiscal cliff isn’t addressed, as I’ve said, I don’t think our tools are strong enough to offset the effects of a major fiscal shock….”-Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve (the privately run Central Bank of the United States)

13 September 2012, while the Federal Reserve was issuing harsh warnings about the lack of economic recovery, the U.S. Department of labor reported that weekly first time unemployment applications went up by 15,000 people!

In an act of utter desperation, the Federal Reserve announced they will implement a third round of easy money for the Too Big to Fail banks, known as QE3.  Recent reports out of the United Kingdom revealed that quantitative easing does not help the overall economy, it only makes the super rich richer!

The U.S. Central Bank said it would inject cash into the markets by attempting to buy $40 billion USD worth  “…of agency mortgage backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases and employ its other policy tools as appropriate….” every month!

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.”-James 5:1-3, New International Version of the Bible

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Global Food Crisis & What Economic Recovery? Despite record Ag exports, many East Idaho farmers being done in by drought more than a decade on! New version of Tale of Two Cities

10 September 2012, officially Idaho’s drought began in the Gregorian/Western/Christian calender year of 2000. It’s still on 12 years later!

According to the latest drought data, the Eastern Highlands of Idaho are in “severe drought”, while the Upper Snake River plain is suffering “extreme drought”.  The rest of Idaho is in moderately dry to moderately wet.

Across the United States, the worst drought in at least 50 years is helping to keep commodity speculators bidding high for the food we eat.

Click on pics to make bigger.

Recently a joint report by National Public Radio (NPR) and Idaho media sources, explained how the drought in Idaho is becoming a Tale of Two Cities.

In Idaho you have what’s called dry farming and irrigated farming. Dry farmers don’t have access to year round irrigation, they have to rely on rain.

Despite the 12 year drought, there’s still enough water in rivers and aquifers for the irrigated farms. Keep fingers crossed for more snow this winter!

The dry farmers are losing crops and money, the irrigated farms are growin’ big crops and makin’ big money.

Because of the panicking commodity speculators, crop prices are way up, and even though dry farms are losing out, overall crop production is up in Idaho: “We dumped 325 trucks yesterday which is roughly 175,000 bushels. That’s a lot of wheat.”-John Peake, superintendent General Mills grain elevators in American Falls, Idaho

Peake said the lack of crops from dry farms will have no impact on Idaho crop production, but it sucks to be a dry farmer: “I mean, being a dry land farmer in southeast Idaho is a tough deal. It was a windy year, it was hot early.  It was just a tough year to be a dry land farmer.”

So the moral of this tale is that while overall crop production might be down for the whole of the U.S., having plenty of farms with enough water to weather a drought means that the Idaho agricultural industry, overall, will benefit from the higher commodity prices.  No food shortage in Idaho, so far.

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Voter Incompetence & Government Evil: Indiana County officials demand city leaders put fluoride in their water! Oregon mayor wants fluoridation! Study contradicts pro-fluoride claims! Arizona residents fire officials who ended fluoridation!

09 September 2012, the controversy over unnatural nuclear industry based fluoride (as opposed to the naturally occurring kind, which can also be bad in large amounts) continues in Arizona, Indiana and Oregon.

A Saint Joseph County Health Officer, in Indiana, is lambasting three cities for their ending of fluoridation of drinking water.

Walkerton town stopped fluoridation because of increased evidence that it is actually causing harm.  President of the town council, Karol Jackson, pointed out that people are already exposed to enough fluoride: “It’s also in toothpaste, and some naturally occurs in the groundwater….”

The cities of Lakeville and North Liberty cited the growing financial burden on local taxpayers.  By ending fluoridation of drinking water the two towns, combined, will save $2,000 per year: “I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but we’re a small town and we’re trying to keep our rates low.”-Martha Tyler, Lakeville Town Council President

The Saint Joseph County Health Officer is ignorant, firstly because it turns out the local school district/corporation is still adding fluoride to the drinking water in the schools!  Secondly, the health official claims that studies show fluoride protects childrens’ teeth. Tell that to the officials who got surprising results from their own study in Oregon!

In Portland, Oregon, city officials are trying to convince the voters to accept fluoridation of their drinking water.  Portland is the largest city in the United States that, so far, refuses to fluoridate their water supply!

The dumb (and probably in the pockets of the fluoride industry) mayor, along with some city councilpersons, are trying to get residents of Portland to approve the fluoridation of their water.  They’re claiming that the children of Portland suffer from dental problems.

The problem with that claim is that a 2007 study by the Oregon Department of Human Services shows the opposite.  The study looked at dental problems of children in Portland and compared them to children outside of Portland.

The rate of urgent dental care in children outside of Portland was 1 in every 17.  What about inside Portland, where fluoride is not used in the water supply?  Only 1 in 100 needed urgent dental care!!!  “Portland has better teeth!”-Kim Kaminski, member of anti-fluoridation group

Some non-white/European residents of Portland claim the city leaders’ closed door meetings on the issue smacks of racism: “I don’t appreciate you trying to alleviate your white guilt by putting toxins in our water!”-Frances Quaempts-Miller

But despite the mountains of eveidence that fluoridation is bad (remember, it’s mainly the English speaking countries that add the radioactive chemical to water, most other industrialized countries refused after their own research) residents of one Arizona town have fired two officials for stopping the use of fluoride!

The people of Gilbert has force the Public Works director to retire, and got the Water Manager fired.  This after the officials decided to end the use of fluoride in the local water supply.

The end came when the fluoridation system was found to be so corroded that it need to be replaced.  That was in July 2011, and it still hasn’t been replaced.

Get this, the Gilbert fluoridation system had been leaking for three years prior.  It got so bad that a white powder was building up on the equipment, and Public Works employees were complaining of extreme irritation to the skin, nose and eyes.  And this is the stuff you’re drinking!

The guttsy Water Manager explained the decision that got him fired: “It was my call to stop fluoridation until the issues with the room were resolved. Fluoride comes into the plant on the raw side naturally, so it’s not like there is no fluoride in the water.”-Chris Ochs

Don’t blame city officials for the nuclear industry fluoridation of Gilbert’s water supply, the dumb voters approved it by 54%, in the 2000 elections.

 

Fukushima, International

Eating in Japan: Beware disease & radiation. International standards don’t exist! Are you worse off in the United States?

For the past few years Japan has been struggling with food problems, from diseases to radiation contamination.

The latest problem is an outbreak of E Coli in imported Chinese pickled cabbage. At least six people have died, 100 people are sick. The outbreak seams to be contained to northern Japan.

Since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster rice from northern Honshu has been found to be contaminated with radiation.  However, 28 August 2012, Fukushima Prefecture has cleared this year’s rice crop for sale.  The rice was harvested last week.  The Prefecture claims it will check all 360,000 tons of harvested rice for radiation contamination.

However, news is not good for fish.  Just in the past 24 hours the Japanese government banned the sale of Pacific cod.  The fish were caught 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the GE designed reactors in Fukushima.  When the fish were tested in port, they were found to be contaminated with twice the Japanese government’s current safe levels for cesium.

A week ago Tokyo Electric Power Company said they found fish near the nuclear plant that had a record 258 times the safe levels for cesium!

An even bigger concern is fresh water fish.  It’s been discovered that on average Japanese fresh water fish, caught in northern Honshu, are far more radioactive than salt water fish.

Recently, and sneakily, the central government of Japan changed the radiation safe limits for food, so that foods that were considered unsafe, are now safe.  Prior to the change the maximum safe limit was 370 becquerels per kilogram of cesium, now the maximum safe limit is 600 becquerels!  So even if you’re told the food is officially safe…..

Many other Asian countries, that rely on food from Japan, are crying foul.

Just two weeks ago Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety (CFS) discovered that oatmeal from Japan was contaminated with cesium 137.  CFS officials stated the amount of cesium was less than that of a chest x-ray, but made the announcement as part of their daily Food Surveillance Program of food coming from Japan.

But get this, Japan’s new radiation safety standards are still more strict than the Codex Alimentarius.

Codex Alimentarius is the United Nations’ World Health Organization’s, and Food & Agricultural Organization’s, international food safety standards.  According to reports in the Hong Kong media, the Codex Alimentarius allows up to 1,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium in your food!   (I’ve tried to read the PDF’s from Codex Alimentarius, it’s as if it was written for extraterrestrials, no average human could understand the info!)

By the way, Codex Alimentarius just changed their international food safety rules at the beginning of August 2012.  One suggestion, by participating countries, is that the Codex Alimentarius logo will be displayed on food considered safe.

Vietnam’s Department of Food Hygiene and Safety announced they will start testing baby formula from Japan.  This is because Hong Kong officials reported finding radioactive iodine in Japanese baby formulas.  Hong Kong officials said the amounts were below the Codex Alimentarius limits.

Another interesting development is that six months after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a new International Basic Safety Standards (aka BSS).  Most of what I found on the internet is the old 1996 version.  It is a complicated publication that seems to say a lot without really saying much (see my comment about Codex Alimentarius above)!  Basically the IAEA tells governments to set their own standards!

Oh, and don’t try using a Geiger Counter on your food, it doesn’t work.

So when it comes to radiation contamination in the food we eat, it’s a crap shoot, whether we’re in the United States or Japan.

For cattle raised in southern Japan it seems everything is OK. Radiation hasn’t affected the cows that far south, and, last week U.S. and Japanese officials declared the two year foot & mouth disease of no more concern. Japan is set to resume exporting their beef to the U.S.

Interesting that Japan is resuming beef exports to the U.S., while Australia is now beating out the U.S. as the main supplier of beef to Japan.  In 2003 Japan banned U.S. beef because of Mad Cow (bovine spongiform encephalopathy/BSE).  Since 2006 only U.S. beef from cows younger than 20 months are allowed into Japan.

This year the Japanese government is considering further relaxing the restrictions on U.S. beef imports.

Australia has some of the strictest health standards for their meat industries, and is one reason they’ve escaped problems with Mad Cow.  It’s also why their beef exports are booming.  From July 2011 to July 2012, Australian beef exports to Japan increased 4%, Japanese are now the number one consumers of Australian beef.  But here’s really interesting news, Australian beef exports to the United States, for the same time period, went up 40.2%!

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. overall beef exports to the world have dropped by 15.4% from last year.  Mmm, wonder what’s wrong with the U.S. beef?

Foodborne illness, in Japan, is a more immediate threat (than radiation), according to a memo published on the U.S. Embassy (Tokyo) website.  The memo says the top two reasons for foodborne illness in Japan are improper handling, and improper storing of food.  The third reason is improper cooking of food.

A 2010 study that compared Korea (south) to Japan, showed that Japan had a high rate of foodborne disease (FBD).  The causes are basically the same as stated by the U.S. Embassy memo.

To put it in perspective, how high is the FBD rate in the United States?   According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) numbers, about one in every six people (or 48 million!) get sick with FBD every year in the U.S.

Don’t rely on the central government of Japan for help in determining where to eat.  The discoveries of radiation contaminated food, last year, was made by prefectural and local governments, as well as by businesses, and individuals who paid for the tests out of their own pockets. Most Prefectures, local governments, and even local Japanese businesses, have taken matters into their own hands, providing information on radiation contamination and other health issues regarding food.  So check with the locals when seeking safe food in Japan. It’s a clear example of how a central government is useless.

For U.S. citizens traveling to Japan, who are concerned about being able to get safe food, and who think U.S. food products exported to Japan are safer, the USDA provides information about U.S. food suppliers doing business in other countries, so you might check that out.  But just because it’s from the United States doesn’t mean it’s safe.  Remember the drop in U.S. beef exports?

You can also check out the website Where Food Comes From.

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Evidence Fukushima Daiichi damaged by earthquake, BEFORE tsunami hit. Radioactive water never ending!

27 August 2012, Tokyo Electric power Company (TEPCo) officials announced they need more storage tanks for contaminated water coming from the nuclear reactors.

Since the 11 March 2011 disaster began almost 220,000 tons of contaminated water has been stored, and the GE designed disaster reactors are putting out 400 tons per day!  TEPCo says it’ll run out of storage tanks in three months.

A new order for more tanks will provide TEPCo with storage only until November 2013.  The problem now is no space for more storage tanks, unless nearby forests are felled.

So where is all the water coming from?  Ever since the 11 March 2011 disaster began it was noticed that more water is coming out compared to water being pumped in.

TEPCo officials now say it is groundwater flooding into the basements of the reactors through cracks in the basement walls.  Cracks probably caused by the 9.0 earthquake, not the tsunami.