Healthy Life Choices

A typical weed is annoying to us, we are always trying to kill them and get rid of them. (On top of getting rid of something that may be helpful we are destroying them with dangerous chemicals.) But weeds are not evil like we are made to think they can surprisingly be helpful. There are many weeds outside around our houses and green space that actually are used to treat illness. Weeds have been used of many hundreds of years for medicinal purpose.

Take Sheep sorrel for example. It is a perennial plant from the buckwheat family that grows throughout most of the world. Sheep sorrel has been used to treat many different issues from inflammation and diarrhea to scurvy and cancer. Sheep sorrel is considered a rich source of vitamin C, E, beta-carotene, and other cartenoids. In fact, sheep sorrel has been cited as one of the most potent antioxidant herbs. In a study this WEED was found to be responsible for the destruction of cancer cells in the body, and inhibited metastasis by actually causing cancer cells to return to the original tumor site.

How crazy is this, weeds are considered to be a problem when they can possibly help treat serious health problems. This is just one example there are many many more helpful weeds out there.

It is absolutely ridiculous that these dangerous chemicals are being approved to be used our food.  Food is supposed to be a source of the nutrients our bodies need to be healthy and survive.  Instead food is becoming a major threat to our lives inflicting horrible disease and even death.

Can you believe what they do to the food we consume, these chemicals are seriously affecting our health.

In the last year alone, new studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-engineered Bt insecticide corn has not only created a new breed superbugs tolerant of the plant’s genetically engineered insecticide, but that those Bt toxins have also been found in the blood of 93 percent of woman and 80 percent of fetal blood samples in a Canadian study, despite Monsanto’s claims that this was not be possible.[1][2]

At the same time, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soybeans and their flagship herbicide have been linked to an increase in crop disease and livestock infertility.[3] If that weren’t enough, the excessive use of Roundup has led to the rampant rise of superweeds, which have grown tolerant to the herbicide and have infested millions of acres of farmland, threatening the livelihoods of America’s farmers.[4]

Now, Dow Chemical is petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the approval of a new genetically engineered “Agent Orange” corn that tolerates the extremely toxic chemical herbicide 2,4-D, a major component of the Vietnam War era defoliant Agent Orange.[5]

Numerous studies have linked exposure to 2,4-D to major health problems that include cancer (particularly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), lowered sperm counts, liver disease and Parkinson’s disease.[6] In addition, dozens of peer-reviewed studies have found the use of 2,4-D to contribute to hormone-disrupting activity linked to reproductive problems and thyroid dysfunction.[7]

Now they want to spray this chemical on our crops and fields!

Considering the serious human health concerns, the threat to the environment and family farmers themselves, the USDA should move quickly to reject approval for Dow Chemical’s 2,4-D corn. Not only does it not serve the public interest, but it will lead to an ever increasing reliance on deadlier and more toxic chemicals to grow our food.