New National Survey Shows Majority of Americans from all political parties agree
We ought to know when we are buying Genetically Engineered Food

Washington, D.C. (March 27, 2012) – The Just Label It (JLI) Campaign announced today that a record-breaking one million Americans of all political persuasions have called on the FDA to label genetically engineered (GE) foods. The campaign also announced a new national survey revealing that Americans across the political spectrum stand united in support of labeling food that has been genetically engineered. This is a striking contrast to the partisan divisions plaguing our political system.

“Pink slime, deadly melons, tainted turkeys, and BPA in our soup have put us all on notice that what we eat and feed our families is critically important,” said Ken Cook, President of the Environmental Working Group, a JLI partner. “Americans overwhelmingly demand safety, transparency and labeling of genetically engineered foods. It’s time for the FDA to come clean and restore public confidence in our food system.”

Since October, JLI, (www.justlabelit.org), the national campaign to require GE-food labeling and its more than 500 partner organizations have spearheaded an historic number of public comments for a GE-foods labeling petition (Docket #FDA 2011-P-0723-001/CP). March 27 is the date when the FDA is required to respond to the petition.  It took less than 180 days to accumulate the record number of comments.

“In recent years, Americans have shown a real interest in knowing more about our food and now there is a clear mandate for the labeling of genetically engineered foods. This petition asks the FDA to stand up for the rights of average Americans, and not just a handful of powerful chemical companies. It’s time for the FDA to give Americans the same rights held by citizens in forty nations, including all of our major trade partners, to know whether our foods have been genetically modified.  The FDA needs to restore confidence in our food and our right to know about the food we eat and feed our families,” said Gary Hirshberg, chairman of Stonyfield, a JLI partner.

Dear Sproutman,

At your seminar in Toronto last November you  displayed the Freshlife Sprouter and we bought 1 as well 2 additional barrels, anyway  growing Alfalfa works well with suggested 6 TBS. But Buckwheat and sunflower seeds seem very sparse in the suggested booklet seed amounts even though about 100% of the seeds are growing. What is the maximum amount of buckwheat and sunflower seeds that I can grow on 1 Freshlife sprouter tray to make if look as full as the ones you displayed for us? Also on alfalfa, how high should it grow?—Frank Falsetti, Toronto.

Dear Frank,

Like any kind of gardening, we are in control of managing the size of our crops. Most folks want less so I recommend low rather than high. But it is a matter of trial and error. I suggest you make it 8 tablespoons. Or just add more each time until you get to the right amount that suits you. Alfalfa- depending on how much you plant, the height with be between 2-4 inches. By the way, I’ll be coming back to Toronto in Mid April. See you then.—Sproutman

Dear Sproutman
My wife has CLL and was using Sheldon Farms freeze dried wheatgrass juice concentrate. I can’t find it anywhere so I called them, was told that they’re closed, and they recommended I contact you. Can you advise if you have the same type product? I see the powder but she particularly liked their product in the freeze dried formula. Thanks, Ken from Mansfield, TX

Dear Ken,
Sadly, Sheldon Farms made the last Freeze Dried Wheatgrass Juice Powder available. Currently no other manufacturer is provide juice powder freeze dried. Freeze drying is the most expensive drying process and the volume produced is very low because of the extremely low temperatures in a small vacuum chamber.
The current wheatgrass juice powder that I sell uses a cold temperature drying process that is the best that I can find in this price category. Try it. As an alternative, please consider frozen wheatgrass juice which has some superior qualities. For a full comparison of the different grasses, please read my commentary in the healing chapter of Wheatgrass Nature’s Finest Medicine. —Sproutman

Sproutman's Pea Shoot Sprouting Seeds

Dear Sproutman
I ordered some green peas for sprouting from another company (tho they were sproutman seeds) and they have dark spots all over them- are they stale or moldy or is that how the green peas look?

Dear Andrea,
That is speckling and those are speckled peas. That’s their look. There are literally thousands of members of the pea family. And most of them have a unique look—just like people!
The harder part is whether they make great pea shoots. Pea shoots are 10+inch tall micro-greens. It requires a lot of selectivity to find the peas that will fit the bill for shoots. I like my shoots to be leafy as opposed to spindly. Here is a photo of a great batch of leafy peas I found some months back. Unfortunately, nature provides a different look with every new crop. So, that means Sproutmen like me, must keep on testing.
—Happy Sprouting, Sproutman Steve Meyerowitz

By Mark Bittman, Feb. 13, 2012, New York Times

There are more than a few improvements McDonald’s could make to better the treatment of its customers and workers, of the animals that provide the meat it sells and of the environment. On Monday, after years of internal and external pressure, the company announced a laudable course of action regarding the sows (female pigs) in their supply chain: McDonald’s is requiring, by May, that its suppliers of pork  provide plans for phasing out gestation crates. Once those plans are delivered, says Bob Langert, the company’s vice president of sustainability, McDonald’s will create a timetable to end the use of gestation crates in its supply chain. “Considering that 90 percent [of the pregnant sows] in the United States are in gestation stalls, this is a huge issue,” he says, and he’s right.

This is important for the animals and for the entire meat-selling industry. Let’s start with the sows: a gestation crate is an individual metal stall so small that the sow cannot turn around; most sows spend not only their pregnancies in crates, but most of their lives. For humans, this would qualify as “cruel and unusual punishment,” and even if you believe that pigs are somehow “inferior,” it’s hard to rationalize gestation crates once you see what they look like. (For the record, defenders of the system suggest that crates prevent sows from fighting in group pens. There’s no space to argue that here, but it’s nonsense.)

Read the rest of this column here.