Asparatame in Milk?

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have filed a petition with the FDA asking the FDA to alter the definition of “milk” to secretly include chemical sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose. Importantly, none of these additives need to be listed on the label. They will simply be swept under the definition of “milk,” so that when a company lists “milk” on the label, it automatically includes aspartame or sucralose. And if you’re trying to avoid aspartame, you’ll have no way of doing so because it won’t be listed on the label. Researchers have found a wide range of side effects produced by fake sweetners, including altering people’s brain chemistry, making them crave higher-calorie foods, which in turn makes them more prone to obesity and diabetes. The dairy lobby argues the opposite, claiming that allowing aspartame in milk would make it a healthier product and reduce childhood obesity by offering milk with fewer calories. The move comes as milk’s popularity is in serious decline and other beverages, including soy and rice milk, take on more market share.

Shell Stops Arctic Drilling

Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday, February 27th that it would not return to the Arctic in 2013. The company?s two drill ships suffered serious accidents as they were leaving drilling sites last fall and winter and are being sent to Asia for repairs. Shell acknowledged in a statement that the ships would not be repaired in time to drill during the short summer window this year. Greenpeace, which has been leading the charge to protest and hopefully prevent Shell’s Arctic drilling operations, is claiming the halt as a victory. Although, the president of Shell, Marvin E. Odum, made it clear that Arctic offshore drilling was a long-term project that the company would continue to pursue.

Shell had planned to drill as many as 10 wells in 2012 but was able to start only two. Federal regulators barred the company from drilling into oil-bearing formations because it did not have adequate spill prevention and cleanup equipment available. Both ships involved in the drilling, the Noble Discoverer and the Kulluk, suffered serious accidents while moving to or from the oil fields. In addition, Coast Guard inspectors found numerous violations on the Discoverer and have referred the matter to federal prosecutors for investigation. The setback is most certainly a sigh of a relief.

?Monsanto?s Roundup: Even Worse than We Thought

A new study has found that the most widely used herbicide in the world, Roundup, is even more toxic than we thought. The reason? Roundup contains ?confidential? ? and unlabeled ? ingredients that affect all living cells, including human cells, according to a new study in the scientific journal, Toxicology. Turns out that industry regulators and long-term studies look at glyphosate in isolation, instead of looking at Roundup?s full formulation, which includes the secret added ingredients. In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released figures showing that at least 208 million tons of Roundup had been used on GE crops, lawns and roadsides in the years 2006 and 2007. It?s safe to assume that number is much higher now. Hundreds of millions of tons of poison, containing unlabeled ?secret? toxic ingredients. This is another example of how important it is to avoid GMO’s and choose organic.