Follow up email from Florida's Natural

From :
FNatural
Sent :
Thursday, August 30, 2007 10:24 AM
To :

Subject :
Re: FloridasNatural.com Contact Form Submission

Dear Ms. Cinqmars,
We appreciate your visiting our Florida's Natural Brand web site, inquiring on the source of our vitamin D. We use the D3 which is from Lanolin. This is the oily secretion from the skin of the sheep that becomes trapped in the sheep's wool. When the sheep is shorn the wool is washed, processed and the Lanolin Oil extracted and refined into the D3.

We do appreciate your support of our Florida's Natural Brand products.



Best Regards,Kathy Groves
Consumer Affairs>>>
FNGSubmissions@floridasnatural.com


_____________________

GROSS!!!!!!!! But at least they got back to me quickly. Also, wtf...her last name is "Groves" ? You are kidding me, right???

Just found out I've been drinking O.J. fortified w/ sheep skin *pukes*

I truly learn something new every day. I've emailed Florida's Natural (the brand I was drinking) http://www.floridasnatural.com/for a confirmation on the following, I will post when (if) they reply.

I've been thinking I've been drinking fortified orange juice as a good calcium source. Turns out it is also fortified with Vitamin D3. What the heck is that?

D-2 (ergocalciferol) is derived from yeast, while D-3 (cholecalciferol) is derived from lanolin (from sheep) or fish. D-2 and D-3 are both used to fortify milk and other dairy products. Some D-3 vitamin supplements are made with fish oil. D-3 can also be produced by plants and fungi, but this isn't as common as using lanolin or fish as a source. " from www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htmfor the physiology of d3 (how your body makes vit d and turns it into a hormone) see: www.vitamindcouncil.com/vitami...y.shtml

The commercial production of vitamin D3 is completely dependent on the availability of either 7-dehydrocholesterol or cholesterol. 7-Dehydrocholesterol can be obtained via organic solvent extraction of animal skins (cow, pig or sheep) followed by an extensive purification. Cholesterol typically is extracted from the lanolin of sheep wool and after thorough purification and crystallization can be converted via a laborious chemical synthesis into 7-dehydrocholesterol. It should be appreciated that once chemically pure, crystalline 7-dehydrocholesterol has been obtained, it is impossible to use any chemical or biological tests or procedures to determine the original source (sheep lanolin, pig skin, cow skin, etc.) of the cholesterol or 7-dehydrocholesterol.
http://vitamind.ucr.edu/milk.html

"SOURCES OF VITAMIN D IN ORANGE JUICE

Several VRG members have contacted us asking about the vitamin D which is being added to some brands of orange juice. We contacted Tropicana and Florida’s Natural Growers. Tropicana said, “The form of vitamin D added to Tropicana products is vitamin D3. It is a synthetic powder and is the same form that is added to milk. Our source of vitamin D is not derived from an animal.... The form we use of vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol. It is made synthetically from 7-dehydocholesterol which is also made synthetically. This does not come from an animal source.” We were unable to obtain more information about the starting material of their 7-dehydocholesterol.
Florida’s Natural Growers said, “The vitamin D3 that we use in our calcium added orange juice is synthetically made. However, the starting material used to produce this Vitamin D3 is Lanolin (a type of fat).” Lanolin is obtained from sheep’s wool.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that is needed for healthy bones. Food sources of vitamin D include breakfast cereals, soymilk, and rice milk that have been fortified with vitamin D. Vitamin D is also produced following sunlight exposure. At least 10-15 minutes of summer sun on hands and face (without sunscreen) two or three times a week is recommended for adults so that vitamin D production can occur. Sunscreen should be used at all other times.
If you cannot spend time outside routinely or if you live in the North in the winter and your diet does not include vitamin D sources regularly, a vitamin D supplement is needed. Current recommendations for vitamin D are 5 micrograms (200 IU) for children and for adults 19 through 50 years old, 10 micrograms (400 IU) for 51- through 70-year-olds, and 15 micrograms (600 IU) for those 71 and older."
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2004issue3/vj2004issue3notesscidept.htm

sushi chefs are contemplating switching to horse meat

June 25, 2007
Waiter, There’s Deer in My Sushi
By MARTIN FACKLER

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/business/worldbusiness/25sushi.html?ex=1188532800&en=54ce445f7842f66a&ei=5070

TOKYO, June 24 — Sushi made with deer meat, anyone? How about a slice of raw horse on that rice?
These are some of the most extreme alternatives being considered by Japanese chefs as shortages of tuna threaten to remove it from Japan’s sushi menus — something as unthinkable here as baseball without hot dogs or Texas without barbecue.
In this seafood-crazed country, tuna is king. From maguro to otoro, the Japanese seem to have almost as many words for tuna and its edible parts as the French have names for cheese. So when global fishing bodies recently began lowering the limits on catches in the world’s rapidly depleting tuna fisheries, Japan fell into a national panic.
Nightly news programs ran in-depth reports of how higher prices were driving top-grade tuna off supermarket shelves and the revolving conveyer belts at sushi chain stores. At nicer restaurants, sushi chefs began experimenting with substitutes, from cheaper varieties of fish to terrestrial alternatives and even, heaven forbid, American sushi variations like avocado rolls.
“It’s like America running out of steak,” said Tadashi Yamagata, vice chairman of Japan’s national union of sushi chefs. “Sushi without tuna just would not be sushi.”
The problem is the growing appetite for sushi and sashimi outside Japan, not only in the United States but also in countries with new wealth, like Russia, South Korea and China. And the problem will not go away. Fishing experts say that the shortages and rising prices will only become more severe as the population of bluefin tuna — the big, slow-maturing type most favored in sushi — fails to keep up with worldwide demand.
Last year, dozens of nations responded by agreeing to reduce annual tuna catches in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans by 20 percent in an effort to stabilize populations. But the decision only seemed to crystallize growing fears in Japan about tuna shortages, helping to push up prices of the three species of bluefin — northern, Pacific and southern — that are considered the best tuna to eat raw.
Since the start of last year, the average price of imported frozen northern and Pacific bluefin has risen more than a third, to $13 a pound, according to Japan’s Fisheries Agency.
Wholesalers say that competition from foreign fishing fleets and buyers has made the top-quality tuna increasingly hard to come by here. Tadashi Oono, who sells big red slabs of tuna from a stall in the sprawling Tsukiji fish market of Tokyo, said that three years ago, he routinely sold two or three top-grade bluefin every day. This year, he said, he sometimes finds only two or three tuna of that quality to sell in a month.
Some culinary enthusiasts say the anguish over tuna shortages may also reflect deeper anxieties in Japan about its recent economic decline, especially when compared with neighboring China.
After World War II, tuna became a symbol of the economic might that allowed Japan to dominate the buying of tuna on world markets from Boston to Cape Town. Japan now consumes about 60,000 tons a year of the three bluefin species, or more than three-quarters of the world’s annual catch, according to the Fisheries Agency.
But as more top-grade tuna ends up in other countries, there are concerns that Japan could one day lose its status as global tuna superpower.
“Fish that would have gone to Tokyo are now ending up in New York or Shanghai,” said Sasha Issenberg, the author of “The Sushi Economy” (Gotham, 2007). “This has been devastating to Japan’s national esteem.”
The tuna shortage is also having a more concrete effect on menus at Japanese sushi bars. Fukuzushi, a midpriced restaurant in a residential neighborhood in Tokyo, is having a tougher time finding high-quality fish at reasonable prices.
The restaurant’s owner, Shigekazu Ozoe, 56, said the current situation reminded him of the last time he had no tuna to sell — in 1973, during a scare over mercury poisoning in oceans when customers refused to buy it. At that time, he tried to find other red-colored substitutes like smoked deer meat and raw horse, a local delicacy in some parts of Japan.
“We tasted it, and horse sushi was pretty good,” he recalled. “It was soft, easy to bite off, had no smell.”
If worse comes to worst, he said, he could always try horse and deer again. The only drawback he remembered was customers objecting to red meat in the glass display case on the counter of his sushi bar.
“One customer pointed and said: ‘You have something four-legged in your fish case? That’s eerie!’ ”
So far, top sushi restaurants have avoided the shortages by paying top yen for premium bluefin caught off domestic ports like Ouma in northern Japan.
“The prices of top-name tuna like Ouma are already as high as they can go,” said Yosuke Imada, owner of Kyubey in the upscale Ginza district of Tokyo. “What will happen is that the prices of lower grades of tuna will rise to catch up.”
That prospect worries Mr. Yamagata of the union of sushi chefs.
Mr. Yamagata, 59, has been experimenting with more creative tuna alternatives at Miyakozushi, a restaurant catering to the business lunch crowd that has been in his family for four generations. He said his most successful substitutes were ideas he “reverse imported” from the United States, like smoked duck with mayonnaise and crushed daikon with sea urchin. He said he now made annual visits to sushi restaurants in New York and Washington for inspiration.
“We can learn from American sushi chefs,” Mr. Yamagata said. “Sushi has to evolve to keep up with the times.”

Almonds Next Victim of Frankenfood Industry

Organic almond supporters roast pasteurization plan
George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, August 23, 2007

A new food regulation that mandates the pasteurization of California almonds leaves a bad taste in the mouth of Jesse Schwartz, a purveyor of raw organic almond butter and other natural foods in Berkeley.
For 25 years, as president of Living Tree Community Foods, he has done business with small Central Valley farmers, and now, effective Sept. 1, he'll have to buy raw nuts for processing from Italy, Spain and Turkey - almonds of lesser quality, he will tell you.
"Almonds are a part of the heritage of the American people, and it makes me very sad that they're about to dump a fumigant on our American heritage," Schwartz said, referring to a method of pasteurization that involves chemicals.
After two outbreaks of salmonella bacteria poisoning that were traced to almonds - in 2001 and 2004 - the Almond Board of California, the industry's trade association, proposed to the Department of Agriculture that mandatory sterilization be imposed in the name of consumer safety. The government agreed, the rule was written and was scheduled to take effect next month.
On Aug. 1, the Almond Board's directors, fearing there was insufficient sterilization equipment and too few operators in place to treat the nuts and deliver an uninterrupted supply, petitioned for a postponement of the rule to March 1.
This week, the government denied the request, confident the deadline can be met.
The rule that was more than three years in the making - one that burnishes the almond industry's reputation for safety or sullies the noble nut, depending upon your view - will apply to about 500 million pounds of almonds sold in the United States annually.
All the nation's almonds, 1.3 billion pounds this year, are produced in the Central Valley. More than half are exported, and those are exempt from the pasteurization rule. Growers at farmers' markets and those selling from roadside stands are also exempt and can sell raw, unpasteurized almonds to consumers. But the share of the crop sold in the U.S. market - to retailers and food processors, for example - is covered.
In most cases, almond handlers - middlemen who buy nuts from growers and sell to customers - will have responsibility for the pasteurization, and some of the work will be done by food processors or third-party companies.
Some of those almonds will be sterilized by oil roasting and blanching. Organic growers will submit their crops to steam heating, a method approved by organic overseers, although many organic growers are still queazy about the rule.
The most common method of sterilizing almonds is propylene oxide fumigation, using a chemical compound that is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen and that was briefly used as a racing fuel that added oxygen molecules to gasoline.
The National Hot Rod Association put a stop to that in 1993 because of propylene oxide's association with cancer, according to a spokesman.
"The only people who can use that stuff are dressed in space suits with rubber hands and masks," said Schwartz, the raw foods advocate who says the pasteurization rule is an overreaction to the two outbreaks and that "nature provides almonds to us in sterile form" protected by husk and shell.
However, propylene oxide has been used for food sterilization - particularly in nuts, spices and cocoa power - since 1958 and is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.
In the 2001 salmonella incident, several dozen people were sickened in Canada. In 2004, several dozen people were sickened in the United States and eight other countries. In both cases it is believed the almonds came into contact with bacteria at processing plants.
"We said that is unacceptable, that both consumers and our industry are at risk," said Richard Waycott, the chief executive officer of the Almond Board of California, in Modesto. "We said, 'Let's figure out what we can do.' "
California almonds handled by Blue Diamond Growers in Sacramento, the largest nut processing and marketing company in the world, representing 3,000 growers, have been pasteurized for four years. The sterilization was a response to the outbreaks. "This is to assure consumers that our products are safe to eat," said Susan Brauner, director of public affairs for the company.
She said the majority of almonds are consumed either as an ingredient in other products and therefore roasted or heated to a temperature that effectively achieves pasteurization. Uncooked almonds are less than 10 percent of the total market, she said.
It's a passionate sector, nonetheless. Advocates in the raw foods and organic movement have prompted more than 15,000 people to sign petitions seeking a halt to enforcement of the pasteurization rule.
"This rule is the brainchild of a subset of the industrial agricultural community" and generated only 18 public comments before critics turned their attention to it, said Mark Kastel, executive director of the organic watchdog group Cornucopia Institute, which is fighting the government's ruling.
"It's more of a ploy by the big outfits, the big handlers, to drive the small guy out of business, because it's easier for them to do the treatment on a large scale," said Hendrik Feenstra, an almond handler in Orland (Glenn County).
Glenn Anderson, an organic almond grower in Hilmar (Merced County) for the past 18 years, said, "It feels like somebody has really done a number on us here. My customers tell me they want to buy the same product they have bought from me for the last 18 years, and I would like to have the right to do that, if that's what the consumer wants. Seems like the American way to me."
Anderson and other organic growers also object to the rule because they believe sustainable farming methods they use, including mulching rather than controlling weeds with chemicals, naturally prevent bacteria.
There will be a cost for the treatment, estimated at 3 to 5 cents per pound, and growers may absorb those costs, said Dave Phippen, a co-owner of Travaille and Phippen, growers, packers and shippers of almonds in Manteca (San Joaquin County).
"That's the way it should be, to advance a very healthy product," said Phippen, a former chairman of the almond board.
He said that objections from raw foods and organic advocates were considered in the rule-making process and that is why the heating process was added to the other methods of sterilization.
"The flip side of that is if there is another outbreak, usually the press does not distinguish between organic and nonorganic - they just made someone sick," said Phippen. "So the consensus was that all almonds would have to go through the kill step because with an outbreak we would have a blemish on the California almond name whether organic or not."
Waycott, the Almond Board's chief executive, said that "a prerequisite was that there would be no degradation of the product" in the pasteurization process. He said nutrition specialists have tested almonds pre- and post-pasteurization and have not found differences in "sensory attributes."
That's a tough sell for Schwartz of Berkeley.
"Before long, it seems," he writes on his Web site, "all the food sold in the Untied States will be genetically modified, irradiated, pasteurized, homogenized, hydrolyzed and packaged for a two-year shelf life and it will all be labeled as 'All Natural.' "

Online resources

Anderson's Web site
www.andersonalmonds.com

Schwartz's Web site
www.livingtreecommunity.com

Cornucopia Institute
www.cornucopia.org

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

http://www.bostonveg.org/foodfest/

12th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival!
Saturday, Oct. 20, 200710 a.m. – 6 p.m.Reggie Lewis Athletic Center

1350 Tremont Street, Boston

Free parking • Subway stop across the street

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Resigns, Michael Chertoff Likely Replacement

August 27, 2007
Embattled Attorney General Resigns
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and PHILIP SHENON

WACO, Tex., Aug. 27 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, announced his resignation in Washington today, declaring that he had “lived the American dream” by being able to lead the Justice Department.
Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation for months, submitted it to President Bush by telephone on Friday, a senior administration official said. There had been rumblings over the weekend that Mr. Gonzales’s departure was imminent, although the White House sought to quell the rumors.
Mr. Gonzales appeared cheerful and composed when he announced that he was stepping down effective Sept. 17. His very worst days on the job were “better than my father’s best days,” he said, alluding to his family’s hardscrabble past.
“Thank you, and God bless America,” Mr. Gonzales said, exiting without responding to questions.
In Waco, President Bush said he had accepted the resignation reluctantly. He praised his old friend as “a man of integrity, decency and principle” and complained of the “months of unfair treatment” that preceded the resignation.
“It’s sad,” Mr. Bush said, asserting that Mr. Gonzales’s name had been “dragged through the mud for political reasons.”
The president said the solicitor general, Paul D. Clement, would serve as acting attorney general until a permanent replacement was chosen.
Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the senior administration official said early this morning. Among those being mentioned as a possible successor were Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security who is a former federal prosecutor, assistant attorney general and federal judge; Christopher Cox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Larry D. Thompson, a former deputy attorney general who is now senior vice president and general counsel of PepsiCo Inc.
Mr. Bush repeatedly stood by Mr. Gonzales, an old friend and colleague from Texas, even as Mr. Gonzales faced increasing scrutiny for his leadership of the Justice Department over issues including his role in the dismissals of nine United States attorneys late last year and whether he testified truthfully about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs.
Earlier this month, at a news conference, Mr. Bush dismissed accusations that Mr. Gonzales had stonewalled or misled a Congressional inquiry. “We’re watching a political exercise,” Mr. Bush said. “I mean, this is a man who has testified, he’s sent thousands of papers up there. There’s no proof of wrong.”
But Democrats cheered Mr. Gonzales’s departure. “Alberto Gonzales was never the right man for this job,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader. “He lacked independence, he lacked judgment, and he lacked the spine to say ‘no’ to Karl Rove.”
Senator Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat who sits on the Judiciary Committee and has been calling for Mr. Gonzales’s resignation for months, said this morning: “It has been a long and difficult struggle, but at last the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down. For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually nonfunctional, and desperately needs new leadership.”
Senator Schumer said that “Democrats will not obstruct or impede a nominee who we are confident will put the rule of law above political considerations.”
Another Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who has been highly critical of Mr. Gonzales, Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, said the next attorney general must be a person whose first loyalty is “to the law, not the president.”
But a Republican senator who has known Mr. Gonzales for years, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, paid tribute to the Harvard-educated Mr. Gonzales, the first attorney general of Hispanic heritage. “He has served in difficult times and I believe is a good, honest man who has worked hard in public service all his life,” the senator said in a statement.
Mr. Gonzales’s resignation is the latest in a series of high-level departures that has reshaped the end of Mr. Bush’s second term. Mr. Rove, the political adviser who is another of Mr. Bush’s close circle of aides from Texas, stepped down two weeks ago.
The official who disclosed the resignation in advance today said that the turmoil over Mr. Gonzales had made it difficult for him to continue as attorney general. “The unfair treatment that he’s been on the receiving end of has been a distraction for the department,” the official said.
A senior administration official said today that Mr. Gonzales, who was in Washington, had called the president in Crawford, Tex., on Friday to offer his resignation. The president rebuffed the offer, but said the two should talk face to face on Sunday.
Mr. Gonzales and his wife flew to Texas, and over lunch on Sunday the president accepted the resignation with regret, the official said.
On Saturday night Mr. Gonzales was contacted by his press spokesman to ask how the department should respond to inquiries from reporters about rumors of his resignation, and he told the spokesman to deny the reports.
White House spokesmen also insisted on Sunday that they did not believe that Mr. Gonzales was planning to resign. Aides to senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said over the weekend that they had received no suggestion from the administration that Mr. Gonzales intended to resign.
As late as Sunday afternoon, Mr. Gonzales himself was denying through his spokesman that he was quitting. The spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, said Sunday that he telephoned the attorney general about the reports of his imminent resignation “and he said it wasn’t true — so I don’t know what more I can say.”


Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, is rumored to be Gonzales' replacement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Chertoff

Market Crash Forecast Suggests New 9/11

Market Crash Forecast Suggests New 9/11

Mystery trader bets on huge downturn that could only be preceded by catastrophe

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet

Monday, August 27, 2007

A mystery trader risks losing around $1 billion dollars after placing 245,000 put options on the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 index, leading many analysts to speculate that a stock market crash preceded by a new 9/11 style catastrophe could take place within the next month. The anonymous trader only stands to make money if the market crashes by a third to a half before September 21st, which is when the put options expire. A put option is a financial contract between two parties, the buyer and the writer (seller) of the option, in which the buyer stands to benefit only if the price of the asset falls. "The sales are being referred to by market traders as "bin Laden trades" because only an event on the scale of 9-11 could make these short-sell options valuable," reports financial blogger Marc Parent. Dow Jones Financial News first reported on the story. The trader stands to make around $2 billion from their investment should an event trigger a market crash before the third week in September. Such a cataclysmic jolt could only happen as a result of two factors, China dumping its vast dollar reserves in reaction to the sub-prime mortgage collapse, which it has threatened to do, or a massive terror attack on the same scale or larger than 9/11. 9/11 itself was foreshadowed by unprecedented put options that were placed on United and American Airlines. Though the Securities and Exchange Commission refused to reveal who placed the options, private researchers traced the investments back to the Deutsche Bank owned Banker’s Trust, which was formerly headed by then Executive Director of the CIA, Buzzy Krongard.
Put options on Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, two of the World Trade Center's most prominent occupants, also spiked in the days before 9/11. News of the suspicious trades is dovetailed by the comments of Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers yesterday, who told ABC News that the risk of a recession in the U.S. was greater that at any time since 9/11.

Beware of Ener-G Egg Replacer..has bad chemicals in it...

Nutritional info for Ener-G egg replacer reveals Phenylalanine is an ingredient in this product.

https://www.ener-g.com/pop/nutritionalfacts.aspx?ProductId=219

https://www.ener-g.com/pop/phenylalanine.aspx

http://www.ener-g.com/Faq/medicalfaq.aspx

As we learned from my previous post, aspartame is, to be blunt, very bad for you. Read the article below for the Phenylalanine - Aspartame connection.

As healthy vegans, or people who do not consume eggs, this is information that we should know about.

Phenylalanine - Aspartame

Phenylalanine is a hidden danger to anyone consuming aspartame. Most consumers don't know that too much Phenylalanine is a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death.
ADD/ADHD, emotional and behavioral disorders can all be triggered by too much Phenylalanine in the daily diet. If you are one in ten thousand people who are PKU or carry the PKU gene, Phenylalanine can cause irreversible brain damage and death, especially when used in high quantities or during pregnancy. Phenylalanine is 50% of aspartame, and to the degree humans consume diet products, Phenylalanine levels are reaching a dangerous peak.
It is important to learn about the ingredients within your foods, especially isolated amino acids like Phenylalanine. They are in combination within nature for a reason - they don't belong in isolated form for the healthy human diet.
Aspartame Information:
Aspartame Side Effects
Aspartame Case Histories
Artifical Sweeteners
Phenylalanine
Phenylketonuria
Aspartame Detoxifcation:
How to Detox
Read about SweetPoison
Contact Janet Hull
Phenylalanine - Aspartame
Nutrition fact about Phenylalanine in aspartame:
The 1976 Groliers encyclopedia states cancer cannot live without phenylalanine. Phenylalanine makes up 50% of aspartame.
Phenylalanine is one of the essential amino acids found in proteins, but I am one of the believers that amino acids should be eaten in combination, not in isolated form. Nature provides amino acids in combination; only man isolates them for processing purposes.
Phenylalanine is found naturally in foods such as eggs, milk, bananas, and meat. If you are PKU (Phenylketonuric) or sensitive to phenylalanine, you will react to the phenylalanine in aspartame. You may want to get a blood test to check for this condition. Over the past 20 years, humans have become more aware of PKU reactions because human beings began using isolated phenylalanine to the degree it is harmful to some individuals, many as aspartame side effects. My suggestion would be to research PKU and phenylalanine extensively. Phenylalanine can be very harmful to diabetics.
Read all food labels and avoid anything with isolated amino acids. You want to buy products with at least eight amino acids in combination.

source: http://www.sweetpoison.com/

There are many other egg replacers that can be used and do not contain harmful chemicals.

Egg Replacements

Tofu: Tofu is great for egg substitutions in recipes that call for a lot of eggs, like quiches or custards. To replace one egg in a recipe, purée 1/4 cup soft tofu. It is important to keep in mind that although tofu doesn’t fluff up like eggs, it does create a texture that is perfect for “eggy” dishes.
Tofu is also a great substitute for eggs in eggless egg salad and breakfast scrambles.
In Desserts and Sweet, Baked Goods: Try substituting one banana or 1/4 cup applesauce for each egg called for in a recipe for sweet, baked desserts. These will add some flavor to the recipe, so make sure bananas or apples are compatible with the other flavors in the dessert.
Other Egg Replacement Options
• 1 egg = 2 Tbsp. potato starch

• 1 egg = 1/4 cup mashed potatoes

• 1 egg = 1/4 cup canned pumpkin or squash

• 1 egg = 1/4 cup puréed prunes

• 1 egg = 2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. oil + 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 egg = 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp. water

• 1 egg white = 1 Tbsp. plain agar powder dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water, whipped, chilled, and whipped again

Egg Replacement Tips
• If a recipe calls for three or more eggs, it is important to choose a replacer that will perform the same function (i.e., binding or leavening).

• Trying to replicate airy baked goods that call for a lot of eggs, such as angel food cake, can be very difficult. Instead, look for a recipe with a similar taste but fewer eggs, which will be easier to replicate.

• When adding tofu to a recipe as an egg replacer, be sure to purée it first to avoid chunks in the finished product.

• Be sure to use plain tofu, not seasoned or baked, as a replacer.

• Powdered egg replacers cannot be used to create egg recipes such as scrambles or omelets. Tofu is the perfect substitute for eggs in these applications.

• If you want a lighter texture and you’re using fruit purées as an egg substitute, add an extra 1/2 tsp. baking powder. Fruit purées tend to make the final product denser than the original recipe.

• If you’re looking for an egg replacer that binds, try adding 2 to 3 Tbsp. of any of the following for each egg: tomato paste, potato starch, arrowroot powder, whole wheat flour, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, instant potato flakes, or 1/4 cup tofu puréed with 1 Tbsp. flour.

I <3 KRS ONE

"Beef" Lyrics
Artist: Boogie Down Productions
Album: Edutainment

Beef what a relief
When will this poisonous product cease?
This is another public service announcement
You can believe it or you can doubt it
Let us begin now with the cow
The way it gets to your plate and how
The cow doesn't grow fast enough for man
So through his greed he makes a faster plan
He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
Through the stress the cow gets sicker
Twenty one different drugs are pumped
Into the cow in one big lump
So just before it dies, it cries
In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
And there it is, in your local supermarket
Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
And you wonder about heart attacks?
Come on now man let's be for real
You are what you eat is the way I feel
But, the Food and Drug Administration
Will tell you meat is the perfect combination
See cows live under fear and stress
Trying to think what's gonna happen next
Fear and stress can become a part of you
In your cells and blood, this is true
So when the cow is killed, believe it
You preserve those cells, you freeze it
Thaw it out with the blood and season it
Then you sit down and begin eatin it
In your body, it's structure becomes your structure
All the fear and stress of another
Any drug is addictive by any name
Even drugs in meat, they are the same
The FDA has America strung out
On drugs in beef no doubt
So if you think that what I say is a bunch of crock
Tell yourself you're gonna try and stop
Eatin meat and you'll see you can't compete
It's the number one drug on the street
Not crack, cause that was made for just black
But brown beef, for all American teeth
Life brings life and death brings death
Keep on eatin the dead and what's left
Absolute disease and negative
Read the book 'How to Eat to Live'By Elijah Muhammad, it's a brown paperback
For anybody, either white or black
See how many cows must be pumped up fatter
How many rats gotta fall in the batter
How many chickens that eat shit you eat
How much high blood pressure you get from pig feet
See you'll consume, the FDA could care less
They'll sell you donkey meat and say it's
FRESH!
For nineteen-ninety, you SUCKERS

Rupert Murdoch-- Mainsteam Media Monopoly

This guy is evil. Pure and simple.

Read on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch

http://alexconstantine.blogspot.com/2007/08/rupert-murdochs-pillaging-of-media.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/business/media/25murdoch.html?ex=1340424000&en=52d9c4ebe26c5876&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

HORMONES PUMPED INTO COWS ARE BAD FOR YOU

source: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/rbgh_hormo.cfm
This is a GREAT website. check it out!

rBGH/Hormones
With little regard for the cows or the humans that eventually eat them, the beef industry pumps growth hormones into upwards of 80 percent of beef cattle raised in the U.S. each year. These hormones are intended to boost growth rates and increase body mass--think cows on steroids. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not allow producers to treat chickens or pigs with hormones, the agency does permit the practice for cattle and sheep.
In addition to hormones used to increase milk production (see rBGH / rBST), there are six hormones approved for use in beef cattle. Two of these hormones, estradiol and zeranol, are likely to have negative human health effects, including cancer and impacts on child development, when their residues are present in meat. Concerns about these potential health impacts have left many scientists doubtful of the safety of hormone use in meat production.
The negative environmental impact of hormones entering waterways from livestock feedlots also is cause for alarm. Researchers have found that fish can exhibit significant effects from this pollution, e.g., females begin to exhibit male characteristics, and vice versa, in areas of high hormone concentrations.
The European Union has criticized the use of hormones in meat production since the 1980s due to strong concerns about their safety. The EU prohibited the use of hormones for non-therapeutic purposes in 1985, and banned the importation of U.S. beef in 1988 to avoid importing hormone-treated meat. Since then, there has been a heated dispute between the United States and the EU over the ban, and, in a 1999 ruling, the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided in favor of the US. However, in April of that year, the EU's Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public Health (SCVPH) released a report indicating that the use of the six growth hormones posed a risk to consumers. The EU ban remains in place.

Your Right to Know: Does your Milk have Artificial Hormones?
http://ga3.org/campaign/rBGH

OR DRINK SOY, RICE, ALMOND AND HEMP MILKS FOR WHICH THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SAY "HELL NO" to GMO's (Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms)

And please watch the film "Future of Food"...if you think "An Inconvenient Truth" is a very important film...then you really should check this one out as well.....

"There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America -- a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvLBMXC_D0Q

EARTHLINGS

click the picture above or go to www.isawearthlings.com

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.

With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. There are many worthy animal rights films available, but this one transcends the setting. EARTHLINGS cries to be seen. Highly recommended!

Download it (in it's entirety!!!) at http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings

HBOMB'S FAMOUS VEGAN LASAGNA

I make meat eatin' boys cry over this. FACT.

1 package sliced mushrooms (I use portobella)
2 garlic cloves, diced
TWO 26-oz jars of your favorite vegan tomato sauce (I like Hunt's mushroom and pepper in a can)
9 'no need to cook me' lasagna noodles
Saute the garlic in a medium pot with bit of olive oil or cooking spray; in a minute or two add mushrooms; stir occasionally for 5 minutes....pour in both jars of sauce. Stir and simmer on low while you make the filing:

Filling:
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 jar roasted red peppers, drain them rinse them and slice them thin

1 lb tofu, drained (firm, reduced-fat recommended--not silken)

Sea salt and black pepper (few dashes of each)

3 tbsp. nutritional yeast (adds a cheesy taste and B vitamins!)

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder1 tsp. basil (fresh is best)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (3 shakes is enough!)

Mix all together reaaaal good in a big bowl with your clean hands
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.Spread half of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x12-inch pan. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce, using three dry noodles and leaving a little space in between them. Spread half of the tofu mixture on the noodles (I drop it by spoonfuls and then spread it). Cover with another layer of 3 noodles and then spread the remaining tofu mixture over them. Top with a final layer of noodles, and pour the remaining sauce over this. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with soy Parmesan and sliced black olives if you want. The lasagna will cut better if you allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

If you can stand it, let it cool for a few hours covered in foil on your kitchen counter. Place in fridge overnight and reheat whole thing at 300 degrees for about 40-60 minutes. It makes a big difference, as the noodles "set" and it serves up magnificently.
I loathe black olives but here is a picture to get you salivating...also this is pretty low cal and nutritious...I could eat a whole one in like 2 days time, no joke. Overall it's pretty cheap to make too!
xoxoxooxox
Hbomb

NOT CHO MORPHINE CHEESE SAUCE (heh heh get it??)

VEGAN NACHO "CHEESE" SAUCE

http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2006/10/nacho-cheese-dip.html

VEGAN BANANA-BLUEBERRY LOAF

SO.GOOD.

INGREDIENTS
2-3 ripe bananas (the riper the better my friends)
2 tablespoons oil
½ cups sweetner (I used brown sugar, you can use sugar in the raw if you want)
½ cups applesauce
2 cups flour (whole wheat or white) -wheat for me
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
A couple handfulls of blueberries (dried, fresh, frozen, whatev)
Nuts (optional...on my chin)

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until very mushy, then add the oil, applesauce, sweetener and stir together.
In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, blueberries, baking powder and soda.
Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and mix together gently until "just mixed".
Spoon in to a lightly oiled loaf pan. I got all fancy pants and threw some raw almonds in the blender, blended them into a fine dust and sprinkled it with cinnamon on the top of the loaf for a nice top crust. It was worth the extra step! Bake for 50 minutes. Test with a knife to see if done. (Knife will come out clean)

Let cool and devour with glass of soy milk. This loaf smells so good when it is in the oven.

Excuse me, there's a hair in this bagel...

Lately I've been doing a lot of research and you'd be surprised by what you put in your body, most of the times unknowingly. I love bagels but found out something less than appetizing. Read on:
Do you know what L-cysteine is?
L-Cysteine is From Human Hair L- Cysteine is a non essential amino acid used in bakery products as dough conditioner. It helps keep the dough from shrinking in case of pizza crust and pita breads. It is also used in bagels. It also reduced mixing time. The L-Cysteine is made from human hair, chicken feathers and synthetic material.
Also known as l-cystine, our research indicates that the source of cysteine is human hair. Cystine is an amino acid needed by humans, which can be produced by the human body. A very small quantity is used in less than 5% of all bread products. Often the hair of third world women is used.

If you found a hair in your food, you would demand a refund and send it back, right? So why are you buying something that already has hair in it?
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/lcy_0088.shtml
DESCRIPTION
L-cysteine is a protein amino acid naturally present in the proteins of life forms. L-cysteine is a sulfur amino acid and contains a sulfhydryl group. Although most cysteine is found in proteins, small amounts of free cysteine are found in body fluids and in plants. The normal diet contributes approximately 1 gram of L-cysteine daily.
L-cysteine is considered a nonessential amino acid, meaning that, under normal physiologic conditions, sufficient amounts of this amino acid are formed from the dietary essential amino acid L-methionine and the nonessential amino acid L-serine via a transsulfuration reaction. L-cysteine is a conditionally essential amino acid under certain circumstances, for example, for preterm infants.
L-cysteine serves as a precursor for synthesis of proteins, glutathione, taurine, coenzyme A and inorganic sulfate. Glutathionine itself has a number of biochemical functions, including maintenance of normal cellular redox state. Certain conditions, e.g. an acetaminophen overdose, can deplete hepatic glutathione, and this can be life-threatening. The antidote to an acetaminophen overdose is L-cysteine, in the delivery form of N-acetylcysteine. The L-cysteine derived from N-acetylcysteine helps to restore hepatic glutathione.
L-cysteine is also known as L-2-amino-3-mercaptopropanoic acid, 2-amino-3-mercaptopropanoic acid, beta-mercaptoalanine, 2-amino-3 mercaptopropionic acid and alpha-amino-beta-thiolpropionic acid. L-cysteine is represented by the following chemical structure:
http://www.albalagh.net/halal/col2.shtml

Your bakery product may contain human hair and you may not even realize it. It comes in the form of L-Cysteine, a non-essential amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 amino acids of which 8 are essential for human growth. The amount of these essential amino acids in a protein determines its quality. Casein, a milk protein, has the highest quality of protein whereas wheat proteins are lacking in amino acid Lysine, so they have less quality than milk protein.
L is refers to levorotatory a type of optical rotation of a compound under plane-polarized light.
L-Cysteine is used as a reducing agent in bakery products. It is used to:
Reduce the mixing time of the flour dough.
Stop shrinking of pizza crust after it is flattened.
Help move the dough through various bakery processing equipments or dough conditioners.
L-Cystein is used in Bagels, Croissants, Hard Rolls, Cake Donuts (from human hair in Dunkin Donut's cake donuts only, Yeast raised donuts do not contain L-Cysteine), Pita Bread, some Crackers and Melba Toast. It is also used as a nutrient in baby milk formula and dietary supplements.
The source of L-Cysteine is human hair, chicken feathers, cow horn, petroleum by-products and synthetic material. It was reported by a food company that a Rabbi refused to Kosher certify L-cysteine from human hair obtained from a temple in India where hairs are cut because of religious rituals.
L-Cysteine is manufactured in Japan, China and Germany only. Human hair is the cheapest source for L-cysteine.
..>
Majority of L-Cysteine used in USA is from human hair, which is its cheapest source. There is no pressure from consumers in USA and Canada to ban it...>
Some reports suggest that European Union countries are thinking to ban the use of L-Cystiene from human hair in food products. There is no pressure from consumers in USA and Canada to ban the L-Cysteine from human hair. It is a haram product for Muslims because it is a part of human body. Islam does not allow to consume any part of human body. Some Rabbis accept it as Kosher ingredient saying it is dead part of the body but some do not.
Majelis Ulema of Indonesia has halal certified L-Cysteine from synthetic material for Ajinomoto Company and this L-Cysteine is used in USA by Caravan Products of New Jersey in their mixes for bakery industry.
Majority of L-Cysteine used in USA is from human hair, so please read the ingredients on the package, if you find it call or write to manufacturer and find out the source of L-Cysteine and also tell them that you can not use it from human hair.

___________________________
L-Cysteine From Human Hair L- Cysteine is a non essential amino acid used in bakery products as dough conditioner. It helps keep the dough from shrinking in case of pizza crust and pita breads. It is also used in bagels. It also reduced mixing time. The L-Cysteine is made from human hair, chicken feathers and synthetic material.
Read your labels...Pepperidge Farm bagels definitely have L- Cysteine

repost: "summer express :: 101 simple vegan meals ready in 10 minutes or less"

http://urbanvegan.blogspot.com/2007/07/summer-express-101-simple-vegan-meals.html

AND NOW FOR THE FOOD!!

feckin’ yummy guy
Test drove 2 new recipes tonight with great results!
Cookbook:Macaroni & Nutritional Yeast
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Jump to: navigation, search.. start content -->
Cookbook Recipe Index Vegan cuisine Pasta Recipes
Macaroni & Nutritional Yeast is a vegan alternative to Macaroni and Cheese.

[edit] Ingredients
1/2 Cup Margarine
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
3 1/2 Cup Water (or Rice Milk)
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Pinch of Turmeric
2 Tbsp. Soy sauce
1/4 pound dry Macaroni

[edit] Procedure
Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, add salt to taste, and add the macaroni.
Melt the margarine over low heat. Beat in flour with a wire whisk. Continue to beat over medium heat until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
Whip in boiling water (or rice milk). Then add salt, garlic powder, soy sauce, and turmeric to the liquid.
The sauce should cook until it thickens and bubbles. When that happens, beat in nutritional yeast flakes (if the sauce is too thick, add more water). For a variation, add mustard.
When the macaroni is cooked, drain and add the sauce. Serve immediately. .. Saved in parser cache with key enwikibooks:pcache:idhash:5565-0!1!0!default!!en!2 and timestamp 20070814174444 -->
Retrieved from "http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Macaroni_&_Nutritional_Yeast"

Cookbook:Anarchist Oatmeal Cookies
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Jump to: navigation, search.. start content -->
Cookbook Recipe Index Vegan Cuisine Dessert
This recipe originates with the New York chapter of Food Not Bombs. These delicious cookies are very simple to make, and they require no unusual ingredients.

[edit] Ingredients
¾ cup vegetable oil
1½ cup brown sugar
? cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup white flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda

[edit] Procedure
Put the oil, sugar, water, and vanilla together in a bowl.
Mix well.
Add the oats, flour, salt, and baking soda.
Place on a greased baking sheet in lumps about 1 inch across and about 3 inches apart.
Bake at 191 °C (375 °F) for 10 to 12 minutes, and serve if the cookies have begun to brown.

[edit] Notes, Tips, and Variations
Leftover dough can be spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and baked, turning every 4 or 5 minutes, to make a tasty and crunchy granola. .. Saved in parser cache with key enwikibooks:pcache:idhash:36708-0!1!0!default!!en!2 and timestamp 20070814181148 -->
Retrieved from "http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Anarchist_Oatmeal_Cookies"

Hbomb sez:
I also added chopped almonds, dried cranberries, raisins and about a 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon. I made a huge mess but left some cookies for my floormates and even got a really nice thank you card as a result. Awww! Don't forget to pour yourself a nice glass of vanilla soy milk

CHEESE IS MORPHINE

here is an excerpt from an article in the Orlando Sentinel July 13 2003:
Of all the potentially addicting foods, cheese may be the most complex. In research studies using vegan and vegetarian diets to control cholesterol or reduce body weight, most participants soon forget the lure of ice cream, sour cream, and even burgers and chicken. But for many people, the taste for cheese lingers on and on. Yes, 70 percent of its calories may come from waist-augmenting fat, and, ounce for ounce, it may harbor more cholesterol than a steak. But that cheese habit is tough to break.
Why is cheese so addicting? Certainly not because of its aroma, which is perilously close to old socks. The first hint of a biochemical explanation came in 1981, when scientists at Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, N.C., found a substance in dairy products that looked remarkably like morphine. After a complex series of tests, they determined that, surprisingly enough, it actually was morphine. By a fluke of nature, the enzymes that produce opiates are not confined to poppies -- they also hide inside cows' livers. So traces of morphine can pass into the animal's bloodstream and end up in milk and milk products. The amounts are far too small to explain cheese's appeal. But nonetheless, the discovery led scientists on their search for opiate compounds in dairy products.
And they found them. Opiates hide inside casein, the main dairy protein. As casein molecules are digested, they break apart to release tiny opiate molecules, called casomorphins. One of these compounds has about one-tenth the opiate strength of morphine. The especially addicting power of cheese may be due to the fact that the process of cheese-making removes water,lactose and whey proteins so that casein is concentrated. Scientists are now trying to tease out whether these opiate molecules work strictly within the digestive tract or whether they pass into the bloodstream and reach the brain directly.
The cheese industry is miles ahead of them, having gone to great lengths to identify people who are most vulnerable to addiction. It dubs them "cheese cravers," and tracks their age, educational level and other demographics so as to target them with marketing strategies that are tough to ignore. With a $200 million annual research and marketing budget, the dairy industry is not content to have you just sprinkling a little mozzarella on your salad. It is looking for those Americans who will eat it straight out of the package, whatever the cost to their waistlines or cholesterol levels.
At a "Cheese Forum" held Dec. 5, 2000, Dick Cooper, the vice president of Cheese Marketing for Dairy Management Inc., laid out the industry's scheme for identifying potential addicts and keeping them hooked. In his slide presentation, which was released to our organization under the Freedom of Information Act, he asked the question, "What do we want our marketing program to do?" and then gave the answer: "Trigger the cheese craving." He described how, in a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the dairy industry launched Wendy's Cheddar Lover's Bacon Cheeseburger, which single-handedly pushed 2.25 million pounds of cheese during the promotion period. That works out to 380 tons of fat and 1.2 tons of pure cholesterol in the cheese alone. A similar promotion with Pizza Hut launched the "Ultimate Cheese Pizza," which added an entire pound of cheese to a single pizza and sold five million pounds of it during a six-week promotion in 2000. The presentation concluded with a cartoon of a playground slide with a large spider web woven to trap children as they reached the bottom. The caption had one spider saying to another, "If we pull this off, we'll eat like kings."

other resources in this regard:
http://www.pike27.net/rfn/?p=57
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/barnard_food_seduction.htm
Compassionate Cooks Podcast (HIGHLY RECCOMMEND!)
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=219126619

DEATH BY DIET COKE

My man is a hottie smarty pants and took a toxicology class last semester...he recently enlightened me to the dangers of aspartame poisoning....I used to drink a lot of Diet Coke and drinks with that chemical in it...well no more! Read on....your government doesn't care about your health, you know....

Aspartame... the BAD news!
Article courtesy of: Mark Gold mgold@tiac.net(researcher for twenty years on such subjects)

Aspartame was not approved until 1981, in dry foods. For over eight years the FDA refused to approve it because of the seizures and brain tumors this drug produced in lab animals. The FDA continued to refuse to approve it until President Reagan took office (a friend of Searle) and fired the FDA Commissioner who wouldn't approve it. Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed as commissioner. Even then there was so much opposition to approval that a Board of Inquiry was set up. The Board said: "Do not approve aspartame". Dr. Hayes OVERRULED his own Board of Inquiry.
Shortly after Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., approved the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages, he left for a position with G.D. Searle's Public Relations firm.
Long-Term Damage. It appears to cause slow, silent damage in those unfortunate enough to not have immediate reactions and a reason to avoid it. It may take one year, five years, 10 years, or 40 years, but it seems to cause some reversible and some irreversible changes in health over long-term use.
METHANOL (AKA WOOD ALCOHOL/POISON) (10% OF ASPARTAME) Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison. People may recall that methanol was the poison that has caused some "skid row" alcoholics to end up blind or dead. Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame encounter the enzyme chymotrypsin.
The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when aspartame-containing product is improperly stored or when it is heated (e.g., as part of a "food" product such as Jello).
Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." The recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.
The most well known problems from methanol poisoning are vision problems. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication, and causes birth defects. Due to the lack of a couple of key enzymes, humans are many times more sensitive to the toxic effects of methanol than animals. Therefore, tests of aspartame or methanol on animals do not accurately reflect the danger for humans. As pointed out by Dr Woodrow C. Monte, Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University, "There are no human or mammalian studies to evaluate the possible mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic effects of chronic administration of methyl alcohol."
It has been pointed out that fruit juices and alcoholic beverages contain small amounts of methanol. It is important to remember, that the methanol in natural products never appears alone. In every case, ethanol is present, usually in much higher amounts. Ethanol is an antidote for methanol toxicity in humans. The troops of Desert Storm were "treated" to large amounts of aspartame-sweetened beverages which had been heated to over 86 degrees F. in the Saudi Arabian sun. Many of them returned home with numerous disorders similar to what has been seen in persons who have been chemically poisoned by formaldehyde. The free methanol in the beverages may have been a contributing factor in these illnesses. Other breakdown products of aspartame such as DKP, may also have been a factor.
In a 1993 act that can only be described as "unconscionable", the FDA approved aspartame as an ingredient in numerous food items that would always be heated to above 86°degrees F (30°Degrees C).
Much worse, on 27 June 1996, without public notice, the FDA removed all restrictions from aspartame allowing it to be used in everything, including all heated and baked goods.

The truth about aspartame's toxicity is far different than what the NutraSweet Company would have you readers believe. In February of 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the listing of adverse reactions reported to the FDA (DHHS 1994). Aspartame accounted for more than 75% of all adverse reactions reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS). By the FDA's own admission fewer then ONE PERCENT of those who have problems with something they consume ever report it to the FDA. This balloons the almost 10,000 complaints they once had to around a million. However, the FDA has a record keeping problem (they never did respond to the certified letter from the WEBMASTER of this site... a major victim!) and they tend to discourage or even misdirect complaints, at least on aspartame. The fact remains, though, that MOST victims don't have a clue that aspartame may be the cause of their many problems! Many reactions to aspartame were very serious including seizures and death. Those reactions included:

Abdominal Pain
Anxiety attacks
arthritis
asthma
Asthmatic Reactions
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)
Breathing difficulties
burning eyes or throat
Burning Urination
can't think straight
Chest Pains
chronic cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive Thirst or Hunger
fatigue
feel unreal
flushing of face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Headaches/Migraines dizziness
Hearing Loss
Heart palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Impotency and Sexual Problems
inability to concentrate
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
laryngitis
"like thinking in a fog"
Marked Personality Changes
Memory loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)
Muscle spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Other Allergic-Like Reactions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
poor memory
Rapid Heart Beat
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight gain

Aspartame Disease Mimics Symptoms or Worsens the Following Diseases
Fibromyalgia
Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Parkinson's Disease
Lupus
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
Diabetes and Diabetic Complications
Epilepsy
Alzheimer's Disease
Birth Defects
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Lymphoma
Lyme Disease
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Panic Disorder
Depression and other Psychological Disorders
How it happens:
Methanol, from aspartame, is released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame encounters the enzyme chymotrypsin (Stegink 1984, page 143). Free methanol begins to form in liquid aspartame-containing products at temperatures above 86 degrees F.. also within the human body.
The methanol is then converted to formaldehyde. The formaldehyde converts to formic acid, ant sting poison. Toxic formic acid is used as an activator to strip epoxy and urethane coatings. Imagine what it does to your tissues!
Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, 90% of aspartame, are amino acids normally used in synthesis of protoplasm when supplied by the foods we eat. But when unaccompanied by other amino acids we use [there are 20], they are neurotoxic.
That is why a warning for Phenylketonurics is found on EQUAL and other aspartame products. Phenylketenurics are 2% of the population with extreme sensitivity to this chemical unless it's present in food. It gets you too, causing brain disorders and birth defects! Finally, the phenyalanine breaks down into DKP, a brain tumor agent.
In other words: Aspartame converts to dangerous byproducts that have no natural countermeasures. A dieter's empty stomach accelerates these conversions and amplifies the damage. Components of aspartame go straight to the brain, damage that causes headaches, mental confusion, seizures and faulty balance. Lab rats and other test animals died of brain tumors.
Despite the claims of Monsanto and bedfellows:
1. Methanol from alcohol and juices does not get converted to formaldehyde to any significant extent. There is very strong evidence to confirm this fact for alcoholic beverages and fairly strong evidence for juices.
2. Formaldehyde obtained from methanol is very toxic in *very small* doses as seen by recent research.
3. Aspartame causes chronic toxicity reactions/damage due to the methanol to formaldehyde and other break down products despite what is claimed otherwise by the very short, industry-funded experiments using a test substance that is chemically different and absorbed differently than what is available to the general public. "Strangely enough", almost all independent studies show that aspartame can cause health problems.
4. A common ploy from Monsanto is to claim that aspartame is "safe" yet a few select people may have "allergic" reactions to it. This is typical Monsanto nonsense, of course. Their own research shows that it does not cause "allergic" reactions. It is there way of trying to minimize and hide the huge numbers of toxicity reactions and damage that people are experiencing from the long-term use of aspartame.
Summary
Given the following points, it is definitely premature for researchers to discount the role of methanol in aspartame side effects:
1. The amount of methanol ingested from aspartame is unprecedented in human history. Methanol from fruit juice ingestion does not even approach the quantity of methanol ingested from aspartame, especially in persons who ingest one to three liters (or more) of diet beverages every day. Unlike methanol from aspartame, methanol from natural products is probably not absorbed or converted to its toxic metabolites in significant amounts as discussed earlier.
2. Lack of laboratory-detectable changes in plasma formic acid and formaldehyde levels do not preclude damage being caused by these toxic metabolites. Laboratory-detectable changes in formate levels are often not found in short exposures to methanol.
3. Aspartame-containing products often provide little or no nutrients which may protect against chronic methanol poisoning and are often consumed in between meals. Persons who ingest aspartame-containing products are often dieting and more likely to have nutritional deficiencies than persons who take the time to make fresh juices.
4. Persons with certain health conditions or on certain drugs may be much more susceptible to chronic methanol poisoning.
5. Chronic diseases and side effects from slow poisons often build silently over a long period of time. Many chronic diseases which seem to appear suddenly have actually been building in the body over many years.
6. An increasing body of research is showing that many people are highly sensitive to low doses of formaldehyde in the environment. Environmental exposure to formaldehyde and ingestion of methanol (which converts to formaldehyde) from aspartame likely has a cumulative deleterious effect.
7. Formic acid has been shown to slowly accumulate in various parts of the body. Formic acid has been shown to inhibit oxygen metabolism.
8. The are a very large and growing number of persons are experiencing chronic health problems similar to the side effects of chronic methanol poisoning when ingesting aspartame-containing products for a significant length of time. This includes many cases of eye damage similar to the type of eye damage seen in methanol poisoning cases.
Toxicity Effects of Aspartame Use Selection of Health Effects from Short-term and/or Long-Term Use Note: It often takes at least sixty days without any aspartame NutraSweet to see a significant improvement. Check all labels very carefully (including vitamins and pharmaceuticals). Look for the word "aspartame" on the label and avoid it. (Also, it is a good idea to avoid "acesulfame-k" or "sunette.") Finally, avoid getting nutrition information from junk food industry PR organizations such as IFIC or organizations that accept large sums of money from the junk and chemical food industry such as the American Dietetic Association.
If you are a user of any products with aspartame, and you have physical, visual, mental problems... take the 60-day no aspartame test. If, after two months with no aspartame your symptoms are either gone, or are much less severe, please get involved to get this neurotoxin off the market. Write a letter to the FDA, with a copy to Betty Martini (for proof of how the FDA doesn't keep proper records). Write your congressmen. Return products containing aspartame to the point of purchase... for a FULL refund. Make a big stink if they WON'T give you a full refund! Tell all your friends and family... and if they stop using aspartame and also "wake up well"... get them involved in the same way.
Aspartame is an "approved sweetener" because of a few greedy and dishonest people who place profits above human life and well-being. With the FDA and our Congress culpable, only an INFORMED and ACTIVE public will affects its reclassification from "food additive" to TOXIC DRUG, and removed from the human food chain.
Link to a printable report form:
http://www.aspartamekills.com/reportform.html
Addresses:
Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Carol Guilford
C/0 KUNSAK
13351-D Riverside Drive 351
Sherman Oaks, CA. 91423 USA
Internet E-mail: carolg8@att.net
Links for additional information:
http://presidiotex.com/aspartame Aspartame Victims Support Group http://www.aspartametruth.com The truth about Aspartame http://www.nancymarkle.com The "Nancy Markle" e-mail and aspartame informationhttp://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame More in-depth Information

awesome podcast here:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=160595823
http://www.fatguyradio.com/?s=diet+coke

Zeitgeist / Alex Jones

Please watch this...it's a 3 part film which debunks Christianity, 9/11, and the Federal Reserve...truly outraging information
http://zeitgeistmovie.com/



Despite numerous warnings, President Woodrow Wilson signed the 1913 Federal Reserve Act. In his book he writes:

"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." - Woodrow Wilson


Alex Jones has a great podcast
http://www.infowars.com/listen.html

more resources:
http://prisonplanet.tv/
http://stopspp.com/stopspp/

more to follow.....

Hello and welcome!

I realized my output of blogs on myspace was getting a bit out of hand...as I have too much to say and report about these days...so here's my new blog site with the dumbest play on words ever...heh...
Vixen Vegan was already taken by a vegan shoe co., which is rad except it's 2AM, I've had 3 glasses of wine and my wits aren't so quick-like.

For now I will copy and paste those myspace gems here and launch like a crazy bird into blog land. Hope you will join me!

xoxox
Heather Mars