Friday Finds: OMG, GMOs

Sneezing salmon, farmers’ market fake-out, stinky CAFOs

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FDA’s food policy makes people sneeze
On the heels of the FDA’s decision to approve genetically engineered or GE salmon, a number of consumer and environmental advocacy groups are raising the alarm that genetically modified foods could be more allergenic due to the splicing and dicing of one food’s genes into another, according to a recent Mother Jones’ article. The concern is just one among many over GE foods, which is why Earthjustice is currently fighting to keep foods like genetically engineered sugar beets out of U.S. farms and off of Americans’ plates.

Obama makes a stink over CAFOs
The Obama administration recently thumbed its nose at the Illinois EPA’s oversight of confined animal feeding operations, aka CAFOs, which create mountains of manure equal to that of small cities and have fouled air and water supplies across the state. According to the Chicago Tribune, the agency has one month to clean up its mess. If it doesn’t, the EPA will soon be wading knee-deep into the issue.

Farmers’ market fakes out customers
Child-toting moms may soon start seeing "Farmers’ Market" signs in the produce aisle of their favorite chain grocery store, according to the Washington Post. Stores like Safeway recently began posting the signs in an effort to cash in on the burgeoning local and organic foodie movement, but small farmers and their supporters are ready to throw tomatoes, arguing that the misleading tactic is unfair to customers and farmers alike.

Teen spirit takes on toilet water
Mall rats and shopaholics familiar with the headache-inducing smell of boy band cologne wafting out of Abercrombie and Fitch stores are fighting back by protesting the company’s practice of requiring employees to repeatedly douse their store and its clothes with the company’s perfume. According to Grist, the company’s “manly” signature scent is full of nasty chemicals like endocrine disruptors, which have been proven to take men’s sperm counts down a notch. Besides, aren’t the posters of scantily-clad boys splattered across the stores manly enough?

HuffPo offers green options to sanity rally
New Yorkers looking to limit their carbon footprint while making their way to Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington, D.C. in late October can now bus it to the event, eco-style. Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, recently announced that she will provide as many buses as needed for people traveling to the event from NYC. For those who somehow haven’t heard of the event, which is expected to draw more than 100,000 people, check out the details here.

 

Jessica is a former award-winning journalist. She enjoys wild places and dispensing justice, so she considers her job here to be a pretty amazing fit.