Kellog’s using GM ingredients

Fuel vs Food

(NaturalNews) The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has called for a boycott of the Kellogg Company, also known as Kellogg’s, after the company refused to sign a pledge refusing to use genetically modified sugar in its cereal products.

Sugar from genetically modified sugar beets hit the U.S. market for the first time this year, making the beets the first genetically engineered crop to enter the U.S. food stream since the widespread introduction of modified corn and soy in the 1990s. The sugar has been modified by the Monsanto Corporation to be resistant to the company’s signature herbicide, Roundup.

“These GE sugar beets do not provide any environmental, nutritional or food quality benefits whatsoever,” the OCA said. “They are created by Monsanto to withstand massive doses of herbicides and keep farmers on a never ending pesticide treadmill that is bad news for rural communities, the environment and consumers. The bottom line is that there are numerous options to GE sugar beets.”

More than 73 food producers and retailers have signed a pledge not to use genetically modified sugar in their products. When asked by the OCA to make such a pledge, however, Kellogg’s said it had no intention of doing so. While the company will make sure not to use modified sugar in any of its European products — the European Union has not approved sugar from the beets for human consumption — Kellogg’s insists that U.S. consumers do not care if their food is genetically modified.

“However, poll after poll have demonstrated that Americans want GE foods labeled and restricted,” the OCA said.

The OCA said that it decided to launch a Kellogg’s boycott only after the company refused to heed more than 15,000 letters asking the company not to use the modified beet sugar. In addition, the company clearly has the logistical ability to avoid genetically modified sugar, since it is already doing so for its European products.

• About the boycott: www.organicconsumers.org

• About biotechnology and U.S. food labeling: www.fda.gov

Solar power cells to be affordable in the near future.

A group of Korean scientists have developed a solar cell that will boost the alternative energy industry and solve our problem of depleting fossil fuels.

Industry sources say the efficiency of converting solar power to electricity should be at least seven percent for commercialization, which up until now has never been achieved.

The researchers plan to double the cell’s efficiency and commercialize the technology by 2012. The plastic solar cell is rated to have 6.5 percent efficiency which is sufficiently high for commercial products.

This innovation sounds promising to me and it will be good to see these solar cells making its way into common place consumer goods! Go Korea !

Beijing to take a million cars off the street !

In a bid to ensure cleaner air, Beijing is planning to ban a million cars from the city’s streets as preparation for next year’s Olympics. The test run will last 2 weeks in Beijing from August 7-20.

This two-week period is crucial to Olympic planners, as it roughly coincides with the time that the Games will be held next year, from August 8-24.  As per official statistics around 15 billion dollars has allready been spent on a massive pollution clean-up in the run-up to the Olympics.

Air quality remains a key concern.

Rama Sethu : Scientific facts

The Ram Sethu (which was re-christened Adams Bridge by the Brits) is facing serious threat of being hurriedly destroyed, paying no heed to protests. Ironically it is the Indian Government that argues that there is no documentary evidence to prove the heritage. Its time that UNESCO, Greenpeace and some of the global organizations start making a racket about this.

In this exclusive podcast, by Dr.S.Kalyanaraman, an eminent researcher on Indian heritages produces all documentary evidences for the existence of a man made bridge. He also warns that if the bridge is destroyed, it would cause damage to ecology and also create a greater risk to western India, if next Tsunami occurs.

One Acre At a Time

Okay so the global warming threat is now in our faces more than ever.

We have all seen the film “An Inconvenient Truth”. (If not, I suggest you do ASAP). If not checked, the repercussions include a dangerous rise in sea levels, unstable weather conditions (tsunamis, hurricanes), failed crops, depletion of natural resources, and the extinction of species (possibly humans!)

If you are not already doing your bit towards a greener, cleaner planet then hopefully you can put your money where your mouth is and check out the Raintrust Foundation.

Film – “An Inconvenient Truth” : Must see!!

Almost certain to be the most important film you will see this year. Craftily put together by Al Gore in a devastating way that the impact is enormous. A documentary film dealing with the debate of global climate change.

Hempcar : Transamerica!

Hemp car was an alternative-fuel project car that utilized hemp biodiesel for fuel. Industrial hemp would be an economical fuel if hemp were legal to cultivate in the United States. Industrial hemp has no psychoactive properties and is not a drug. Hemp Car demonstrates the concept of hemp fuels on a national level and promotes the reformation of current law.