When the French scientist, Gilles-?ric S?ralini, first published disturbing findings of cancer in rats fed GMO corn (in the peer-reviewed Food and Chemical Toxicology journal), the blowback from the biotechnology industry, and related scientists, was so intense that the journal, in a virtually unprecedented step, withdrew the article. After going through two more review processes a second peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Sciences Europe, has now re-published the study. Scientists associated with the biotechnology industry will, undoubtedly, again attack the veracity of S?ralini’s work.? Other scientists have already defended his research while other independent researchers take a more nuanced and skeptical view of his paper. There is no doubt that not enough research has been done assuring the public that consuming genetically engineered food, organisms that have never existed on Earth before, let alone as a part of the human diet, are safe for our families to consume.? Although politically popular with the Congressional crowd, public money should be funding bulletproof studies so that the subject matter can focus on the research rather than dueling press releases.

Documents obtained from the Food and Drug Administration show that since late 2012, 17 previously unreported deaths have been linked to the controversial caffeinated beverages known as energy drinks. According to event reports collected by the agency since 2004, a total of 34 deaths have now been linked to energy drinks. Of those, 22 deaths have been linked to 5-Hour Energy, 11 deaths have been linked to Monster, and one death, a first, has been linked to Rockstar. Excluding a suicide, these deaths include the 17 deaths previously disclosed by the agency and reported on by the New York Times and other media outlets in the fall of 2012. And these deaths don’t necessarily include other deaths reported in the media, such as that of 16-year-old Lanna Hamman of Arizona, who died on vacation on June 14 in Mexico after consuming several cans of Red Bull. And, of course, some deaths might have been caused by energy drinks without doctors making that association. The reports do not prove that energy drinks actually caused the deaths. Two years ago the FDA told Congress that it was investigating the reports that it had received, but it has not yet released a report to Congress or the public. In addition to the newly disclosed deaths, 56 previously undisclosed injuries have been reported to the FDA through its adverse event reporting system. These and other serious events resulted in 54 hospitalizations, as recorded in the adverse event reports, with consumers experiencing high blood pressure, convulsions, heart attacks, and other problems after drinking energy drinks. The documents were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act requests by the nonprofit, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and a lawyer representing the parents of a Maryland teenager who died after consuming two 24-ounce Monster beverages. CSPI asked FDA commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, to require warning labels on energy drink containers notifying consumers of the risk of heart attack, convulsion, and other adverse reaction to energy drinks. As a further precaution, the group asked the agency to require manufacturers to lower caffeine levels in the drinks to 0.02 percent, or 71 milligrams per 12 ounces?the maximum amount the FDA considers safe in cola-style beverages. Besides the health risks posed by the combination of caffeine and supplement ingredients in energy drinks, some products are also high in sugars. All energy drinks should be avoided, especially by children.

Hobby Lobby Ruling Boosts Eden Foods’ Insurance Fight

Eden Foods, a natural foods company, appears on track to win its fight with the federal government over funding insurance coverage of contraception in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Hobby Lobby ruling. Last week, after its ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a judgment against Eden Foods and sent a lawsuit back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for further consideration. Eden Foods claims the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is violating the company’s religious beliefs by requiring the company to pay for health care services, including contraception. The Eden Foods case was separate from the Hobby Lobby case but argued similar issues. Eden Foods Founder and CEO, Michael Potter, who has compared contraceptives to “lifestyle drugs,” is a devout Catholic who does not believe companies should be forced to fund insurance that includes that coverage. The Supreme Court ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that some family-owned or other closely held businesses can opt out of a federal requirement to pay for contraceptives in health coverage for their workers. Founded 46 years ago, Eden Foods has grown into a company with about $55 million in annual sales that bills itself as the oldest natural and organic food company in North America and the largest independent manufacturer of dry grocery organic foods. Eden Foods’ lawsuit is one of more than 50 such cases filed nationally. ” The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against Eden Foods in October when it said that “a secular, for-profit corporation, cannot establish that it can exercise religion.” But that ruling is now likely to be overturned in the wake of the Hobby Lobby case and the Supreme Court’s decision to send the case back to the lower court.