New Study Calls Out 17 Common Chemicals Linked to Breast Cancer

Published on Monday, May 12, 2014 by Common Dreams

"Studies that address toxic chemical exposure account for just a drop in the bucket of money spent on breast cancer."

- Andrea Germanos, staff writer

The researchers recommend reducing exposure to fumes from gasoline, which contain breast cancer-causing chemicals. (Photo: Upupa4me/cc/flickr)A new study spotlights the ubiquity of environmental toxins, identifying 17 common chemicals that should be the target of breast cancer prevention efforts, and marking a "huge step forward" in the research called for by a federal committee.

The study by researchers at the Silent Spring Institute and Harvard School of Public Health was published Monday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

"Every woman in America has been exposed to chemicals that may increase her risk of getting breast cancer. Unfortunately, the link between toxic chemicals and breast cancer has largely been ignored," Julia Brody, PhD, study author and Executive Director at Silent Spring Institute, said in a statement.

More than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. each year, but the SSI states that only "5‐10 percent of those are due to high‐risk inherited genes," emphasizing the need for research on environmental exposure-related diagnoses.

Yet "studies that address toxic chemical exposure account for just a drop in the bucket of money spent on breast cancer," Brody stated.

The new study also found that the same chemicals that have been found to cause mammary cancer in lab rats were also linked to breast cancer in women.

The researchers identified chemicals women may be commonly exposed to and that are rodent mammary carcinogens, and placed those into 17 groups.

They include chemicals in gasoline, diesel and other exhaust, flame retardants, stain-resistant textiles, paint removers, and disinfection byproducts in drinking water. Among the specific chemicals on the list of 17 are benzene, which can be found in gasoline, vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke and solvents; styrene, found in building materials and consumer products made from polystyrene, indoor air, cigarette smoke, polystyrene food packaging; and PFOA and related compounds, which can be found in grease-, water- and stain-proof coatings, or contaminated drinking water. The list also includes endocrine disruptors, which have received increased attention in recent years due to their connection to products containing BPA.

"The study provides a road map for breast cancer prevention by identifying high-priority chemicals that women are most commonly exposed to and demonstrates how to measure exposure. This information will guide efforts to reduce exposure to chemicals linked to breast cancer, and help researchers study how women are being affected," added study author Ruthann Rudel, MS, Research Director of the Silent Spring Institute.

Last year, a report from a federal committee, the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC ), emphasized the need for more research into the environmental causes of breast cancer, including the "cocktail of carcinogens and endocrine disruptors" people are exposed to every day.

"Prevention is the key to reducing the burden of breast cancer," said Jeanne Rizzo, President and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund, the leading national organization working to prevent breast cancer by eliminating our exposures to toxic chemicals and radiation linked to the disease. "That was the conclusion reached by the 2013 federal IBCERCC committee I co-chaired, which also recommended research on the effects of chemical and physical factors that influence the risk of breast cancer. This review is a huge step forward in that research."

Echoing study author Rudel, Rizzo said "this review will be a vital reference tool for scientists looking to evaluate the causes of breast cancer."

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Fluoride Does NOT Help Prevent Tooth Cavities

Article By Dr. Mercola

Some Illinois dentists are reportedly worried that their patients' decision to drink bottled water in lieu of fluoridated tap water means they're not getting enough of this verified poison on a daily basis.

The report, which was published by WGEM News out of Quincy, Illinois, includes so many misnomers and widely propagated fluoridation myths that it would be laughable… except that it's entirely serious – and probably going to spur some people to unnecessarily think they "need" to get fluoride from their tap.

So let me set the record straight. Your body doesn't need fluoride anymore than it needs rat poison (and did you know that rat poison is another common use for fluoride?).

While there are many reasons why I don't recommend drinking bottled water, the fact that it's not fluoridated isn't one of them. Many bottled waters actually make a point of adding fluoride back into the water, so if you are drinking bottled water please make sure yours is fluoride-free.

Fluoride Is Not the Dental Miracle 'Experts' Want You to Think It Is

It's often stated as fact that fluoridated drinking water prevents cavities. In the featured article, an area dentist stated that if you don't get enough fluoride when you're young, your teeth will be more prone to cavities for the rest of your life.

Fluoride advocates, too, often claim that the reduction in tooth decay that's occurred since the 1950s is a benefit of fluoridated water, but the facts just don't add up.

For example, in 1999 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claimed that dental cavities declined precipitously during the second half of the 20th Century. But what they failed to mention is that tooth decay rates "precipitously declined" in ALL Western nations, regardless of whether or not fluoridation was used – and most of those countries did NOT fluoridate!1

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, the US, which fluoridates about two-thirds of public water supplies, actually has higher rates of tooth decay than many countries that do not fluoridate their water, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden.2

Furthermore, if fluoride were effective in preventing caries, you would expect to see an increase in tooth decay when fluoridation is stopped. Yet, this is not what we see! The following demographic studies and fluoridation trends make it clear that fluoridation has very little to do with whether or not you develop cavities.

• In Japan, fluoridation has been virtually nonexistent since the 1970s, yet rates of dental caries have declined since that time.3
• In the town of Tiel in the Netherlands, water fluoridation was discontinued in 1973, and by 1993, rates of dental caries had declined.4
• In the town of Kuopio, Finland, water fluoridation was stopped after 1992. In 1995 and 1998, dental caries had either decreased or stayed the same.5
• In two towns in former East Germany, a significant fall in the prevalence of dental caries was seen in the 20 years following cessation of water fluoridation.6
• In Canada, "the prevalence of caries decreased over time in the fluoridation-ended community while remaining unchanged in the fluoridated community."7

A Lack of Fluoride Is Not a Cause of Cavities

If you've been drinking non-fluoridated water, you needn't fear that you've ruined your teeth. Dental caries are caused by demineralization of your teeth (enamel and dentin) by the acids formed during the bacterial fermentation of dietary sugars.

Demineralization is countered by the deposit of minerals from your saliva, or remineralization, which is a slow process. Enthusiasts report that fluoride prevents dental caries by enhancing mineralization. However, dental caries are not caused by a lack of fluoride, just as depression is not caused by a lack of Prozac. Some of the true primary causes of tooth decay cited in the literature include:

• Consistent use of refined sugar, sugary soft drinks, and processed foods in general
• Children going to bed with a bottle of sweetened drink in their mouth, or sucking at will from such a bottle during the day
• Poor dental hygiene and poor access to and utilization of dental health services, usually related to socioeconomic status
• Mineral deficiencies, like magnesium, which can weaken bones and teeth8
• More than 600 medications promote tooth decay by inhibiting saliva

By far, excess dietary sugar is the most significant factor in driving dental decay. WHO and most dental experts agree upon this fact.9 The massive consumption of sugar in the Western diet, particularly fructose in high fructose corn syrup, fuels the fire of tooth decay.

Fluoride Is Most Important for Children? You Mean Most Harmful

The featured article states that getting adequate fluoride in drinking water is most important for children between the ages of six and 14. But the science clearly demonstrates that fluoride is a toxic chemical that accumulates in your tissues over time, wreaks havoc with enzymes, and produces a number of serious adverse health effects, including neurological and endocrine dysfunction.

Children are particularly at risk for adverse effects of overexposure. Scientists from the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory have classified fluoride as a "chemical having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity," and 25 studies have now reported an association between fluoride exposure and reduced IQ in children.

Young children are those who need to be protected from fluoride the most, and as for the featured article's assertion that fluoride is "most important to develop stronger teeth," this, too, is highly questionable. It's often said that fluoride helps to re-mineralize your teeth and make them stronger. But a groundbreaking study published in the journal Langmuir uncovered that the fluorapatite layer formed on your teeth from fluoride is a mere six nanometers thick.10

To understand just how thin this is, you'd need 10,000 of these layers to get the width of a strand of your hair!  Scientists now question whether this ultra-thin layer can actually protect your enamel and provide any discernible benefit, considering the fact that it is quickly eliminated by simple chewing. They wrote: "…it has to be asked whether such narrow… layers really can act as protective layers for the enamel."

Health Risks from Fluoride Are Not Reserved for 'Extreme Levels'

According to the Quincy dentist quoted in the featured article:11 "There is a lot of information on the internet saying that it [fluoride] can cause various diseases and breaking the bones, but that is at such an extreme level of fluoride that we just don't see that within our community or within our patients."  Really?

Some of the 25 studies linking fluoride with diminished IQ were at exposure levels as low as 0.3 to 3 parts per million (ppm), which overlaps the range in many US communities (0.7 to 1.2 ppm). And, according to the CDC, 41 percent of American adolescents now have dental fluorosis — unattractive discoloration and mottling of the teeth that indicate overexposure to fluoride. According to Dr. David Kennedy, who produced and directed the documentary film Fluoridegate — An American Tragedy:

"One of California's highest paid and most prolific Fluoridation advocate admits that giving an infant a formula made with fluoridated tap water will overdose the baby and cause the teeth to come in spotted and fluorotic. One can only wonder why such insanity persists in our country when it has been banned in so many other more advanced democracies."

To suggest that there are no health risks from drinking fluoridated water at the levels found in many US communities is misleading, at best. It's important to understand that even at levels deemed "safe" by health officials, fluoride may still pose a significant risk to your health. The fluoride added to municipal water supplies is a toxic byproduct from the fertilizer industry—a rarely discussed fact that effectively nullifies most if not all studies pertaining to fluoride. They simply have not studied the exact same type of fluoride being added to our water. What we do know is that fluoride toxicity is associated with the wide-ranging problems listed below.

Increases lead absorption	Disrupts collagen synthesis	Increases manganese absorption, which is also linked to lower IQ in children	Crippling skeletal fluorosis and bone fractures
Genetic damage and cell death	Increased tumor and cancer growth	Disrupts immune system	Inhibits antibody production
Brain damage and lowered IQ	Dementia	Arthritis	Severe eye problems, including blindness
Impaired thyroid function	Bone cancer (osteosarcoma)	Inactivates 62 enzymes	Muscle disorders

Did You Know Many US Communities Are Banning Water Fluoridation?

Water fluoridation is quickly falling out of favor now that increasing numbers of people recognize the facts:

1. Water fluoridation does not work to prevent cavities
2. Fluoride works when topically applied only (and even then with only minimal "benefits")
3. There are unacceptable risks involved in the practice of water fluoridation

Despite the scientific evidence against the practice, the US lags far behind other nations in acknowledging the mistake and ending this tragic "public health" measure. As a result, individual communities around the US have taken up the fight to end water fluoridation in their own local areas. For instance, in Wichita, Kansas, they won 60 percent of the votes in the referendum, despite being considerably outspent by the fluoride proponents. The states of Connecticut, South Carolina, and Minnesota are also looking at lifting mandatory fluoridation rulings.

The move to end water fluoridation is also gaining speed worldwide. Over the past five years, a literal avalanche of Queensland, Australia communities has stopped fluoridating their water supplies. There are now 15 regional councils in Queensland that are either stopping fluoridation or refusing to start. That affects about 50 different townships. That, of course, has encouraged people not only in Queensland but throughout Australia. In New Zealand, several communities have also stopped fluoridation over the last few years.

The most recent was Hamilton, which is the second largest city in New Zealand. Also worthy of note is the news that the Ministry of Health in Israel announced it will lift the mandatory requirement for fluoridation in 2014. Not only that, but the Supreme Court of Israel also ruled that the new regulations will put an end to all fluoridation, whether mandatory or voluntary.

A More Sane Solution to Better Dental Health

Water fluoridation is ineffective and may offer no benefit at all for your teeth, not to mention placing your overall health in jeopardy. There's no reason to risk it. Here are my basic guidelines for optimizing your dental health, safely and naturally:

• Avoid fluoridated water and fluoridated toothpaste.
• Minimize your sugar and grain consumption. Keep your fructose intake to less than 25 grams per day. Avoid processed foods.
• Make sure you consume a diet rich in fresh, whole foods, fermented vegetables, and grass-fed meats, which will ensure you're getting plenty of the minerals that are so important for strong bones and teeth.
• Practice good oral hygiene and get regular cleanings from a mercury-free natural dentist.
• Consider oil pulling with coconut oil, which is a powerful inhibitor of a large variety of pathogenic organisms.

Join the Fight to Get Fluoride Out of Drinking Water

There's no doubt about it: you should NOT swallow fluoride. At least when it comes to topical application, you have a choice. You can easily buy fluoride-free toothpaste and mouthwash. But you're stuck with whatever your community puts in your water, and it's very difficult to filter out of your water once it's added. Many do not have the resources or the knowledge to do so.

The only real solution is to stop the archaic practice of water fluoridation in the first place. Fortunately, the Fluoride Action Network has a game plan to END water fluoridation, both in the United States and Canada. Clean, pure water is a prerequisite to optimal health. Industrial chemicals, drugs and other toxic additives really have no place in our water supplies. So, please, support the anti-fluoride movement by making a donation to the Fluoride Action Network today.

Losing the War on Super-Bugs

NEW STUDY

“A post-antibiotic era—in which common infections and minor injuries can kill—far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st Century.” – World Health Organization

The super-bugs are gaining on us. And if we don’t stop our reckless use of antibiotics, they’re going to win.

The World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time issued a report on the global state ofantimicrobial resistance (AMR)— which is a fancy name for what happens when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites evolve in ways that make them able to survive the medications we used to use to kill them.

What are some of the infections that we may soon be unable to treat, according to the report? Pneumonia, bloodstream infections, urinary infections, gonorrhea, and infections in newborns and intensive-care unit patients.

Maybe it’s time to stop dousing millions of animals in factory farms with antibiotics. The report says that when it comes to animal agriculture, “major gaps” exist in the surveillance and data sharing related to the emergence of antibiotic-resistance in food-borne bacteria and its potential impact on both animal and human health. Could it be the factory farms have something to hide?

Read the study

Photo Credit: NIAID via Compfight cc

The Environmental Not-Protecting-the-Bees Agency

ACTION ALERT

The Environmental Not-Protecting-the-Bees Agency

For years, the EPA has done nothing to stop Bayer and Monsanto, the leading bee-killers.

Now, the EPA is considering petitions from Dow and Syngenta to expand and increase the use of two insecticides, sulfoxaflor and thiamethoxam. Both belong to the neonicotionid class of pesticides implicated in the mass die-off of bees, known as Colony Collapse Disorder.

Dow wants the EPA to allow sulfoxaflor residueson food.

Syngenta wants the EPA to allow it to use 200 times more thiamethoxam on alfalfa than is currently allowed.

Meanwhile, a new study hot off the presses from the Harvard University School of Public Health again confirms the link between low doses of two widely used neonicotinoid pesticides and the mass die-off of bees. Of course, the folks at Bayer, which sells millions of dollars worth of neonics, is spinning its own tale of how the cold winters and pests—not the company’s poisons—are really to blame, according to POLITICO.

TAKE ACTION: Deadline Midnight May 23: Tell EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy: Don’t Let Dow and Syngenta Kill More Bees! 

Photo Credit: ViaMoi via Compfight cc

The Great Boycott: Monsanto and the GMA

The Great Boycott: Monsanto and the GMA

• By Ronnie Cummins 
  Organic Consumers Association, May 14, 2104 

For related articles and information, please visit OCA's Genetic Engineering page, and our Millions Against Monsanto page.

Defying repeated threats of a lawsuit from Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), on May 8, Peter Shumlin, Governor of Vermont, signed a historic bill requiring food manufacturers to label genetically engineered (GE) foods, and to drop the practice of labeling GE foods as “natural” or “all natural.”

On May 9, true to its word, the GMA confirmed that it will sue Vermont in federal court to overturn H. 112.

Vermont is prepared to fight back. The state has already established a “food fight” legal defense fund. Legal analysts sayVermont will likely win.

Vermont isn’t the only state up against the multi-billion dollar lobbying group. The GMA, whose 300-plus members include Monsanto and Dow, Coca-Cola and General Mills, is pushing a bill in Congress that would preempt all states from passing GMO labeling laws.

It’s time for consumers in every state to band together to defeat the GMA’s full-on assault, not only on Vermont, not only on consumers’ right to know what’s in our food, but on states’ rights and on our basic freedoms to protect our health and our communities.

Here’s how we do it. We boycott every product, including the natural and organic brands, owned by members of the GMA. We flood their Facebook pages, tarnish their brand names. We pressure financial institutions, pension funds and mutual funds to divest from Monsanto and the other GMA companies.

Our motto for Monsanto and GMA products must become: Don’t buy them. Don’t sell them. Don’t grow them. And don’t let your financial institution, university, church, labor union or pension fund invest in them.

As soon as the GMA files a lawsuit against Vermont, the Organic Consumers Association, joined by a growing coalition of public interest groups, will launch a boycott and divestment campaign directed against all of the 300 GMA companies and their thousands of brand name products—including foods, beverages, seeds, home and garden supplies, pet food, herbicides and pesticides.

A new balance of power

Monsanto and the GMA have until now successfully blocked popular GMO labeling legislation in over 30 states. They’ve defeated, by a razor-thin margin, two high-profile ballot initiatives, in California (2012) and Washington (2013). And they’ve intimidated Connecticut and Maine into including trigger clauses in those states’ GMO labeling laws, successfully delaying their implementation.

Funding for this anti-consumer, anti-right-to-know lobbying and advertising effort topped $100 million in 2012-2014, including $12 million in illegally laundered donations to I-522, the Washington State GMO labeling ballot initiative of 2013. All of that money has come from the 300 chemical, seed, supermarket, grain, pharmaceutical and food corporations, including Monsanto and the other Gene Giants, who make up the GMA.

Until now the GMA colossus has ruled, not only in Washington D.C., but in all 50 states. But now that Vermont has passed a trigger-free GMO labeling law, and Oregon is poised to do the same in November, the balance of power has shifted.

Monsanto, the GMA and their allies are in panic mode. Because they know that when companies are forced to label or remove GMOs, and also are forced to drop the fraudulent practice of labeling GE-tainted foods as “natural” or “all natural,” in one state, they will have to do it in every state. Just as they’ve been forced to do in Europe, where mandatory GMO labeling has been in effect since 1997.

GMA members and corporate agribusiness hate labeling, because it forces them to reveal all of the hazardous GMOs, chemicals and drug residues lurking in the billions of dollars of foods, beverages, seeds, grains and pesticides they sell. It’s no wonder that Monsanto and GMA’s bill in Congress--a bill they’ve named the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014—has been renamed the “DARK” (Denying Americans the right to know) Act.

Let the boycott begin

We absolutely must defeat the impending GMA lawsuit against Vermont. This will require us to raise money and provide legal help to the state.

Equally important, we need to intensify our mass education, grassroots lobbying and marketplace pressure so we can defeat Monsanto and the GMA Big Food/Chemical lobby in the court of public opinion, too. If you would like to donate to this effortclick here.

But there are other ways we can use our dollars to defeat the GMA. We can refuse to invest, even indirectly through retirement and mutual funds, in those companies. We can pressure institutional investors like Fidelity, Vanguard and State Street to dump their stock in these companies.

And we can boycott all of the 300 GMA companies and their more than 6,000 brand name products—including foods, beverages, seeds, home and garden supplies, pet food, herbicides, and pesticides. 

Where to start? As part of this Great Boycott, pro-organic consumer groups will put a special emphasis on boycotting the “Traitor Brands,” those organic and so-called “natural” brands owned and marketed by GMA members.

Health-conscious and green-minded consumers often inadvertently support the GMA when they buy brands like Honest Tea, Kashi, Odwalla and others whose parent companies, all members of the GMA, have donated millions to defeat GMO labeling initiatives in California (Prop 37) and Washington State (I-522). (Take the boycott pledge here.)

These Traitor Brands include, among others:

PepsiCo ($4.8M) - IZZE, Naked Juice, Simply Frito-Lay, Starbucks Frappucino
Coca-Cola ($3.2M) - Honest Tea, Odwalla
Nestle ($3M) - Gerber Organic, Sweet Leaf tea
Kraft/Mondelez ($2.4M) - Boca Burgers, Green and Black's
General Mills ($2.1M) - Cascadian Farm, Larabar, Muir Glen
ConAgra Foods ($2M) - Alexia, Pam organic cooking sprays
Kelloggs ($1.1M) - Bear Naked, Gardenburger, Kashi, Morningstar Farms
Campbells ($980k) - Plum Organics, Wolfgang Puck organic soups
Smuckers ($900k) - R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz organic, Smuckers Organic
Hershey's ($880k) - Dagoba
Bimbo Bakeries ($560k) - Earthgrains bread
McCormick ($400k) - Simply Asia, Thai Kitchen - See more at: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8959#sthash.rJNvUYvM.dpuf

PepsiCo ($4.8M) - IZZE, Naked Juice, Simply Frito-Lay, Starbucks Frappucino
Coca-Cola ($3.2M) - Honest Tea, Odwalla
Nestle ($3M) - Gerber Organic, Sweet Leaf tea
Kraft/Mondelez ($2.4M) - Boca Burgers, Green and Black's
General Mills ($2.1M) - Cascadian Farm, Larabar, Muir Glen
ConAgra Foods ($2M) - Alexia, Pam organic cooking sprays
Kelloggs ($1.1M) - Bear Naked, Gardenburger, Kashi, Morningstar Farms
Campbells ($980k) - Plum Organics, Wolfgang Puck organic soups
Smuckers ($900k) - R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz organic, Smuckers Organic
Hershey's ($880k) - Dagoba
Bimbo Bakeries ($560k) - Earthgrains bread
McCormick ($400k) - Simply Asia, Thai Kitchen - See more at: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8959#sthash.rJNvUYvM.dpuf

PepsiCo ($4.8M) - IZZE, Naked Juice, Simply Frito-Lay, Starbucks Frappucino
Coca-Cola ($3.2M) - Honest Tea, Odwalla
Nestle ($3M) - Gerber Organic, Sweet Leaf tea
Kraft/Mondelez ($2.4M) - Boca Burgers, Green and Black's
General Mills ($2.1M) - Cascadian Farm, Larabar, Muir Glen
ConAgra Foods ($2M) - Alexia, Pam organic cooking sprays
Kelloggs ($1.1M) - Bear Naked, Gardenburger, Kashi, Morningstar Farms
Campbells ($980k) - Plum Organics, Wolfgang Puck organic soups
Smuckers ($900k) - R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz organic, Smuckers Organic Hershey's ($880k) - Dagoba Bimbo Bakeries ($560k) - Earthgrains bread McCormick ($400k) - Simply Asia, Thai Kitchen

Why not just boycott the conventional GMA parent company brands?

Because those of us who support organics rarely buy products like Coca-Cola, Diet Pepsi, or Kellogg’s Genetically-Modified-Sugar-Coated Frosted Flakes, or a packet of Monsanto seeds or a spray bottle of Roundup or 2, 4-D. The only way to pressure Big Food and the Gene Giants is to get millions of conscious consumers to boycott the brands we actually buy.

Let’s be clear. Junk Food and beverage companies who are members of the GMA are gobbling up organic and “natural” brands because they recognize the huge profit potential in the fast-growing organic and natural markets. They want our business. If we stop buying their brands, they know there’s a good chance we’ll find alternative brands. And we might never look back.

Seven ways to fight back

There are about 50 popular organic and natural “Traitor Brands” (owned by GMA members). It’s easy for most of us to boycott those brands. But how do we boycott the entire 6,000-product inventory of GMA member-owned brands, especially those of us who don’t shop for those brands in supermarkets?

Here are seven ways to fight back against Monsanto and all the Corporate Bullies of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

(1)    Stop buying all non-organic processed foods. Even if they are certified organic, don’t buy any Traitor Brand processed foods or beverages. Ninety percent of the foods Americans buy or consume are heavily processed, deliberately laced with sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, contaminated with dyes, preservatives, pesticides, GMOs, and drug residues. If you want to be healthy, if you want to avoid cancer, heart attacks, or obesity, build your diet around whole foods, especially raw fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, (coconut oil, avocadoes, pastured meat, dairy, and eggs, nuts, and whole grains) and nuts.

(2)    Patronize grocers, coops and community restaurants that serve organic, cooked-from-scratch, local food.
Many restaurants, especially chain restaurants (Chipotlé is a rare exception), sell many of the brands owned by GMA members.

(3)    Cook at home with healthy organic ingredients.

(4)    Buy only heirloom, open-pollinated, and/or organic seeds.

(5)    Boycott all lawn and garden inputs (chemicals, fertilizers, etc.) unless they are “OMRI Approved,” which means they are allowed in organic production.

(6)    Read the labels on everything you buy. If a GMA member company owns the product, don’t buy it. Given the greed and reckless disregard for public health and the environment typical of GMA corporations, chances are these products aren’t good for you and the environment anyway.

(7)    Download the Buycott app for your smartphone and join OCA's new campaign, "Buy Organic Brands that Support Your Right to Know" so you can scan products before you buy them.

In this age of the Internet and social media, consumer boycotts, divestment campaigns and other forms of marketplace pressure are more powerful than ever. Please join and support the Organic Consumers Association’s “Great Boycott” of Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association today. Let’s show Monsanto and the GMA we mean business.

Ronnie Cummins is the National Director for the Organic Consumers Association

Erick Bennett for United States Senate

INFORMED voting is a MUST

for government to gain back Americans' TRUST!

It is intelligence that a politician will lack,

if he thinks that We the People won't take our country back

because of his corrupt and evil ways

Just remember back of the good old 1776 days.

We did it then that's all she wrote

So politicians beware of We the People's vote!

- Debby Reagan

If you live in Maine and are in the southern district, please consider voting for Eric Bennett for US Senator instead of Susan Collins! Thank you!

Erick Bennett for United States Senate

Erick Bennett is the founder and director of the Maine Equal Rights Center, an organization devoted to restoring our Constitutional rights and raising awareness about current policy issues. Erick Bennett is challenging Susan Collins in the Republican primary on June 10th for the U.S. Senate to offer Republicans a choice and to restore the power of government back to the people. Erick is running in the Republican primary as a declared write in candidate registered with the state of Maine and Federal Elections Commission.  Winning the primary will automatically put him on the ballot in November.

Erick Bennett on the Issues

Gun Rights – Erick Bennett believes the only people not allowed to protect themselves are slaves and prisoners. Susan Collins has voted for all of Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and Diane Feinstein’s gun grabbing laws and stripped our Veterans of their gun rights for talking to their doctors about symptoms of PTSD.

Budget - Here is how we eliminate poverty in 5 years: cut ALL federal spending on departments, agencies and programs that are not authorized by the U.S. Constitution and return those trillions of dollars back to the states. Problem solved. Susan Collins voted for s256 making it harder for people to erase debt by declaring bankruptcy, but she voted for all the stimulus packages and bailouts forcing taxpayers to bail out the "to big to fail" corporations. That is not fair or equal and is certainly not in the best interest of the people of Maine. Susan Collins also voted for the "bipartisan" budget deal that just cut our Veterans pensions by 6 billion dollars and gave 4 billion in tax credits to illegal aliens.
“I would never support this as it only grows the government and supports unsustainable debt. I will not support any new taxes or spending. I will not fund anything that the U.S. Constitution does not authorize me to.” – Erick Bennett

Energy – The people of Maine really need to know about Susan Collins energy strategy. Collins just voted to ban 80 percent of all wood stoves on the market, regulate cow farts (yes you read that right) and to regulate almost every single cook stove sold, all in the name of climate change (a.k.a. global warming). Remember that short and warm winter we just had…..Then, once these regulations have passed Collins is voting to force crony capitalist green energy laws on us.

Medicare - A bipartisan group of 40 senators recently sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) urging the Medicare agency to protect seniors by maintaining current payment levels in 2015. Unfortunately Susan Collins did not find this to be a useful letter as she was not one of the 40 to sign it. The U.S. government is going to make deep cuts for insurer-run Medicare plans in 2015 which will mean higher co-pays and fewer benefits for seniors. Erick will oppose any cuts made to our seniors and will fight to keep payments at a minimum.

Obama Care – Do not comply, end of story.

Parental Rights – Susan Collins voted to allow 13 year old girls that have been sexually assaulted to cross state lines and get an abortion with the rapist giving the medical consent. This allows the rapist to avoid being charged and convicted. When you hear about all the rapes that go unreported this is why. If elected, Erick will work on protecting those rights under the Tenth Amendment.

Free Trade - Erick believes in free trade and is strongly opposed to protectionism. “I do not believe NAFTA or CAFTA are in our best interests. These policies increased the size of government, eroded U.S. sovereignty, and are unconstitutional. The more jobs we ship overseas the worse our economy becomes.” – Erick Bennett

Foreign Aid – “I will not vote for any funding of foreign aid as it is not authorized in the U.S. Constitution.” – Erick Bennett. The only foreign aid Erick believes the American government should provide is humanitarian for disaster relief. It’s time to end the welfare to countries that do not like us, and give that money back to the states.

Civil Rights – Collins supports the NDAA, & Patriot Act two programs which have stripped Americans of more of their constitutional rights than any other program in the past 40 years. “I will not support any of these measures.” – Erick Bennett

Marriage Equality – Erick’s view on marriage equality is very simple. When marriage fidelity poster child President Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law he legalized discrimination. Since it was a federal law that caused the problem it is a federal law that must be repealed.
This can be summed up in three points.
1. Marriage is not a right; you need a license to get married. You don't need a license for your rights.
2. Rights are not benefits. We don't want to give up our rights to limit and control the federal government in exchange for benefits (which can be cut) from the government.
3. Changing state law does not change federal law. All changing state law does is legitimize the discrimination President Clinton enacted so that when a state changes the legal definition it allows that state to join a class action lawsuit against the federal government. Since passing same sex marriage does not lead to equality we must ask what it does. Same sex marriage only legalizes discrimination.

Education – The U.S. Constitution provides a specific set of enumerated powers that the government may spend money on. Education is not one of them. Erick Bennett is opposed to Common Core and his organization the Maine Equal Rights Center is putting it to a Citizens Initiative to repeal Common Core in our state.

***For more information or to help with the campaign: Erick Bennett 415 Congress Street Suite 202 Portland, ME 04102 erick@erickbennett.com 207-776-2648