Sproutman Steve Meyerowitz will be appearing at
Fairview’s Heart Healthy Evening for Women
held at and co-sponsored by
Berkshire South Community Center in Great Barrington, Mass.
Friday, February 3, 6-9 pm. 413-528-2810

Visit with Sproutman and practitioners doing massage, acupuncture, and nutrition. Get a fitness assessment. Get snacks Bola Granola, Guido’s, Domaney’s and information from American Red Cross, and many more health related organizations. Last year over 200 folks attended.

Dear Friends
You know that labeling laws in the U.S. are notoriously inconsistent and favor those corporations that are eager to disguise what’s in their products – because if you really knew what went into those products they’d never make it into your shopping basket. So, in a country that labels everything from cosmetics to cleaning agents, it probably won’t surprise you that there are no laws in the U.S. requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods.

Many other countries including Japan, Australia, the European Union and even China require labeling of genetically engineered foods – yet we do not, even though 93% of Americans believe GE foods should be labeled. I don’t think that’s right.

Please join this movement sponsored by CITIZENS FOR HEALTH and sign the petition to label these foods.

Take Action Now!

Genetically engineered (GE) foods (also referred to as genetically modified, or GMOs) are, according to one of their biggest champions, biotech company Monsanto, “Plants or animals that have had their genetic makeup altered to exhibit traits that are not naturally theirs,” or could even occur naturally.

Citizens For Health has joined an effort with hundreds of organizations representing millions of Americans called the “Just Label It: We Have A Right to Know” campaign. It supports a petition to the FDA that calls for products that use ingredients produced with genetic engineering to disclose this information on their labels. Click here and take a moment to watch the video Just Label It: We Have A Right to Know.

If you agree, as we do, that you have a right to know if the food you are eating has been genetically engineered, join us in this effort. We must make sure the FDA hears loud and clear that Americans want access to truthful, non-misleading information about what we put into our bodies – we want GE foods labeled. It is your right to know what is in your food!

Take Action Now! Support this effort by Citizens for Health joining with dozens of other organizations to fight back against corporate control of what we eat. -Sproutman

Dear Sproutman,
Having recently quit smoking, my partner and I intend to embark on a life changing juice fast, but naturally I have some concerns regarding my under-active thyroid. I am a 36 year old Irish woman and was diagnosed a little under two years ago. At the moment I take 100mgs of eltroxin every day. Can you tell me if it is safe for me to do a juice fast?

Dear Rosie,

I don’t have any specific experience with fasters with under active thyroids. When you have medical concerns, I recommend you do a fast under the counsel of a clinic with health professionals that can monitor your daily numbers. My guided fasts online do not provide that level of service.

You may do better with my GREEN SMOOTHIE CLEANSE starting February 8 which is NOT a strict fast. You will cleanse, but it is not as dramatic a cleanse as a true fast and so you can continue taking your medcine. That would be my recommendation. Again, true fasting, I recommend a clinic where your condition can be monitored or some other arrangement you can make where you can be monitored.

As far as a cure goes, I recommend a vigorous exercise program. That is KEY. Combine it with cleansing and a careful diet including herbal support and together it will give you your best chance for normalizing thyroid function.  -Sproutman

by Alexis Baden-Mayer and Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association   www.organicconsumers.org

Last week the New York Times published an article applauding the FDA for regulating antibiotic use on livestock in an attempt to curb the increasing bacterial resistance to common antimicrobial drugs used to treat a host of human illnesses including pneumonia, strep, bronchial and urinary tract infections. This left us scratching our heads, as just the week before, the Guardian in the UK published an article reporting that during the holiday season, while no one was paying attention, the FDA quietly scaled back its regulations on antibiotics in animal feed.

So which is it? Well, if you know anything about the FDA, you would probably guess that the Guardian article was correct, and, you’d be right. The FDA’s decision was to continue to regulate one class of antibiotics called cephalosporins (which constitute a mere .3% of antibiotics used in animal feed), but to scale back its controlled use of all other drugs in hopes that industry would do the right thing and chaperone itself.

Sound familiar? How often, in recent years, have government agencies such as the FDA, USDA, and EPA deferred to corporations to police themselves? (See OCA alert: Stop USDA’s Plans for Monsanto to Police Itself! as just one example.)

Tell the FDA to do their job and regulate the reckless and irresponsible use of antibiotics on factory farms. Otherwise we might find ourselves in a time warp back to the 1920s, when simple things like cuts and minor infections could be deadly.