Food Labels
The Skinny on Natural Trans Fat Vs. Artificial
Trans fats, or trans fatty acids, raise "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lower "good" (HDL) cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease, and why they're one of our Scary Seven foods to avoid. However, not all trans fats are necessarily a dan...
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Label Loophole: Why Trans Fat-Free Foods Are Often Far From It
Trans fats are bad news—it’s undisputed. Most doctors agree that there is no safe limit for ingestion. They raise bad cholestreol (LDL), lower good cholesterol (HDL), increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, and have been linked to type 2 diabetes, and even some for...
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France Will Double Organic Farming By 2017
France has a goal of doubling the area of organic farming by 2017, Reuters reports. The French government plans to reach this goal partly through increasing subsidies for organic farmers to 160 million euros a year on average between 2014 and 2020, from 90 million euros l...
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Connecticut Passes GMO Labeling Law
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy is expected to sign into law the nation's first bill that would require the labeling of food products that contain genetically modified ingredients.“This bill strikes an important balance by ensuring the consumers’ right to ...
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Worst Ingredients in Food
Do you know what's in your foods? Label reading is key for healthy eating, and we believe in it so much we made it a key part of our book, Unjunk Your Junk Food (Gallery Books). If you're just starting to read labels, we want to make it easy for you to recognize the ...
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GMOs Connected with SIDS, Botulism and Rising Infertility Rates
A recent article on Farm Wars examines the connection between genetically modified food and a slew of health effects. There are a number of studies which support the article's exertions. Let's look at some studies that indicate GMOs, and the herbicide glyphosate...
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GMO Joke: Misleading Marketing at its Worst
Misleading marketing is particularly disconcerting to me because so much of my career has been spent helping others understand the ingredients in the products they buy. Truly understanding ingredient and nutrition labels is difficult enough, but companies that intentional...
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2013 Farm Bill Becomes a Battleground for State GMO Labeling Laws
When it comes to the fight to label genetically modified foods, the 2013 Farm Bill is proving to be a battleground. The House Agriculture Committee passed an amendment to the Farm Bill on May 15 that would prohibit states from passing laws that put conditions on the means...
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The Dangers GMOs Pose to Children
For the past couple of years, an excerpt from advocate and activist Jeffrey M. Smith's book about the dangers genetically modified (GMO) foods pose to children has circulated virally on the internet. Taken from the book titled, "Genetic Roulette: The Documented ...
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Vermont Passes GMO Labeling Bill
The Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill (H.112) that will require labeling of GMO foods sold in the state. The House voted 107 to 37 on May 10. This is the farthest any bill requiring labeling has made it through the legislative process in the U.S. Since the Ho...
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Worldwide Rallies Planned To Protest Monsanto on May 25th
Back in March, Congress passed a provision in a government funding bill that allows biotech companies including Monsanto to bypass judiciary hearings and makes it easier for genetically modified (GMO) food to be allowed on the market. Specifically, the provision, commonly...
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The Naturally Savvy Seal of Approval
When people perceive a food as nutritious, they tend to let their guard down, especially when it comes to portion control. This is called the “health halo” and marketing and advertising companies take full advantage of it.Products might be labeled ‘trans fat free’ e...
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UNPA: GMOs More Significant Than Companies Think
The United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) has come forward explaining that dietary supplement companies should “consider the implications of possible GMO labeling initiatives," as many supplements on the market contain genetically modified ingredients and consumer ...
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Abbott Laboratories Shareholders Reject Resolution to Remove GMOs
Abbott Laboratories, maker of the popular infant formula, Similac, voted down a shareholder resolution to remove genetically modified (GMO) ingredients from its products. The shareholders voted on the resolution on April 26 during Abbott's annual meeting at the compa...
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How to Read Labels for Added Sugar
With all of the regulations about food labeling, it would seem that reading ingredient lists on packaged food would be pretty simple. But if there’s a way to sneak around the rules to make labels more seductive to consumers, you can generally bet that food and beverage ma...
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Smart Phone App Highlights Gluten-Free Products
People with the autoimmune disease celiac disease (CD) experience a toxic reaction when they eat gluten, the common name for the proteins in certain grains. The toxic reaction does damage to the small intestine, and doesn't allow food to be absorbed properly. People ...
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Whole Foods, Trader Joe's Sued Under California's Prop 65 Law
The state of California filed a lawsuit against food retailers, including Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, claiming that the retailers are selling ginger and plum candies containing lead, but lack the warning labels required by state law. The office of Attorney General ...
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Nestlé Wants to Patent Medicinal Uses of Nigella Sativa
A petition by the Sum of Us demands that Nestlé "stop trying to patent a natural cure." The natural cure is Nigella sativa, commonly known as fennel flower, which has been used in traditional medicine for over 3,000 years. The petition states that Nestlé is &q...
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The Truth About Whole Foods GMO Labeling
Earlier this month, a major shift occurred in the grocery industry when Whole Foods Market announced that by 2018 it would require every product in its U.S. and Canadian stores that contains GMO ingredients to be labeled as such. It is the first national grocery chain to ...
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Whole Foods Commits To Full GMO Labeling
A major development in the fight to label GMO foods occurred on March 8, 2013. Whole Foods Market announced at the Natural Products Expo West that all products with GMO ingredients sold in its U.S. and Canadian stores will be labeled by 2018. It is the first national grocer...
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Campaign Urges Soda Giants To Go GMO Free
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are two of the biggest soda manufacturers on the planet. Last fall, both companies spent over $4.1 million to defeat Californias GMO labeling ballot initiative, Prop 37. Pepsi contributed $2,485,400 and Coca-Cola contributed $1,700,500. A national co...
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Artificial Sweeteners Coming To Our Milk?
If two organizations have their way, artificial sweeteners will be added to milk and certain dairy products without requiring a special label. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) filed a petition with the FDA ...
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GMO Labeling Battles Continue
The fight to require genetically modified foods (GMOs) to be labeled continues. One congressional member decided to take the fight to the federal level. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) plans to introduce a congressional bill that would require GMO foods to be labeled. Polis annou...
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Why Ben & Jerry's Is Going Non-GMO
Ben s parent company, Unilever spent $467,100 against Californias ballot measure to label GMO foods, Prop 37. However, the ice cream company supports GMO labeling. The companys website states that Ben s is proud to stand with the growing consumer movement for transparency...
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Wait, Is That Really Just Honey?
When you buy a bottle of honey, it should contain only one ingredient - honey. Unfortunately, that may not always be the case. A recent study found that honey is among the top ingredients for food fraud. The study was compiled by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), which ...
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Holding Obama Accountable On GMO Labeling
When President Obama campaigned for president in 2007 he promised to label GMO foods. Here’s what I’ll do as president… we’ll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying, Obama declared. Some folks want to h...
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6 Ingredients to Avoid if You're Vegan
Food shouldnt be complicated. Just a few generations ago, it rarely was. But our modern predilection for salty, crunchy things in foil bags has changed the game. So we modify, if ever so slightly…we swear to home-cook more often, we read labels for suspect ingredients, perhaps...
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Big Food Companies Joining GMO Labeling Fight?
The fight to label GMO products is one that continues to wage, and organizations like Organic Consumers Association (OCA) are fighting it. The OCA even managed to get over 200,000 signatures on a petition directed to Michelle Obama, urging her to ask her husband to fulfill his...
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The Fight To Label GMO Foods Continues
The fight to label food products that contain GMO ingredients continues despite the defeat in November of Californias ballot initiative, Prop 37. Common Dreams reports that two northeast states plan to introduce GMO labeling bills this year. Vermont legislators will introduce ...
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North Americans Want Labeling For GMO Foods
When it comes to GMO crops, Canadians are divided, a recent survey found. Nanos Research surveyed 1,000 Canadians on December 3 and 4 asking them how much they trusted scientists quoted in the news in four areas: GMO crops, medicine, climate change and new energy technologies....
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Fight to Label GMOs Continues in Washington
Americans have the right to know what is in the food they eat. Unfortunately, large agricultural companies like Monsanto pumped millions of dollars into the campaign against Californias failed GMO labeling ballot initiative. The fight to label GMO food has moved two states up ...
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Cheerios Feels Impact Of Anti-GMO Activists
We mentioned in an article last week that activists flooded a Facebook app Cheerios created to interact with its customers. The story is worth more than a mention for it proves that activists using social networks are a force to be reckoned with. Lets take a closer look at wha...
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AriZona Iced Tea Lawsuit Moves Forward
The FDA guidelines for use of the term ‘natural’ on product labels has not been updated since 1993, and despite the prevalence of recent cases against food product companies for misleading use of the word, they have yet to develop a definitive list of do’s and don’ts.Cons...
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November Recap
Ah November, you flew by so quickly. A big election, a big storm, a big Thanksgiving meal... In case you missed them, here is a recap of this months top stories:Hot Topics Prop 37 Failed. Whats Next for GMOs? Right to Know Assistant Media Director, Zack Kaldveer d...
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Calling All Californians: Vote For Prop 37
Californias ballot initiative, Proposition 37 requires food products that are genetically modified to be labeled as such. It would also require that food packaging containing GMO ingredients cant be labeled as natural. That is a good thing because Californians have a right to ...
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Non-GMO Project Sales Surge
Recent polls show that more than 90% of Americans want to know whether or not their food contains GMOs. If food companies and retailers refuse to label products containing GMOs, then why not label the products that do not contain them?The Non-GMO Project verified seal doe...
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Which Foods are Genetically Modified?
Only a few crops are genetically modified; but before you get too excited, consider the thousands of foods that are made from these crops:Soybean - Most of the soybean crop is used for animal feed and to make soybean oil. Youre likely to find a soy by-product in more than...
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Reading Food Labels Helps to Prevent Obesity
We believe in reading food labels at Naturally Savvy - this is why we wrote Unjunk Your Junk Food. The results of a recently published study links reading nutrition labels with preventing obesity. The international team of researchers, headed by the University of Santiago de C...
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National Support Building for Prop 37
The new French study showing the long-term health effects of rats eating GMO corn, most notably, the formation of deadly tumors, is adding fuel to the already smoking-hot GMO issue worldwide.If Prop 37, or The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act is ap...
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What is a GMO?
What do you get when you cross genes from bacteria with genes from an animal? Not sure? Neither is anyone else, including the scientists and researchers behind genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. What exactly is a GMO? A GMO is created by taking genes from organ...
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