Scary Food Fact #1001: New studies indicate the animal manure used to fertilize most vegetable crops is leeching antibiotics into the food chain.
January 2006 | Whole Life News
Asparagus With a Side of Antibiotics
Listen up, vegetarians—this goes for you, too. According to a recent study by the University of Minnesota, not even herbivores are safe from antibiotics in the food chain. And that’s no bull.
Turns out, vegetables grown in fields fertilized with animal manure (i.e., most vegetables commercially available), are likely to pick up traces of antibiotics. The study, published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, analyzed whether three vegetables—corn, cabbage and green onions—absorbed chlortetracycline from a manure fertilizer obtained from treated pigs.
All three of the veggies contained antibiotic residue—a finding that raises health concerns for consumers. As with meat and dairy, the ingestion of antibiotics in this manner can cause humans to become drug-resistant.
Even organics, while a safer alternative, are not necessarily immune to the risk—many organic and sustainable farmers rely heavily on manure as a source of organic matter to improve soil quality. However, since USDA rules require organic farmers to apply manure at least 90 days before harvest, and the test crops were harvested within 42 days of manure application, it’s unclear whether or not the study’s findings apply. —Andi McDaniel
This is What Peace Sounds Like
Back in May, WLT reported on the Community Self-Determination Institute (CSDI), local peace activist Aqeela Sherrill’s organization to ease gang violence in war-torn Watts. Since then, CSDI has been neck-deep in community peace efforts, one of the more creative of which has taken the form of an album of locally produced music CSDI is billing as “the theme music for peace.”
The compilation record, Peace Warriors, features rap, R&B, dancehall, gospel and jazz selections entirely created, produced and marketed by Watts community members. “The Peace Warriors album is about real people who grew up facing real life-threatening situations rapping about how gang violence is nothing to glorify and how rappers pretending to be gangsters do not truly represent the reality of the street,” says Douglas Roddy of Watts Records, the record label CSDI supported to create the project. Adds Sherrill’s, “This music captures what it is to live and struggle in an urban war zone. These young peace warriors want to remind people that the greatest heroes are champions of peace, not perpetrators of violence, that peace is not a refuge of the soft and weak, but a noble ideal both positive and powerful.”
Visit wattsrecords.com to listen to samples of Peace Warriors or to add the album to your collection. Proceeds from album sales will go to funding continued peace outreach efforts in Watts and beyond. —Eliza Thomas
New Road Takes Toll on Surf Spot
Surfers may have a rep for being slackers, but a proposed 241 Toll Road extension in south Orange County has roused the ire of environmentally conscious wave riders, who recently staged a “paddle out protest” to raise awareness for their cause.
Dubbed the “Highway From Hell” by its challengers, the proposed extension, connecting Oso Parkway to I-5 at the world-famous surf spot Trestles, could not only cause environmental woes, but may possibly change the shape of the breaks that made the spot so famous.
Opponents claim the proposed road will degrade wave quality due to changes in sediment flow, pollute the watershed and threaten endangered species while literally paving the way for more urban development.
“That’s where we go to feel the nature in our sport. There’s no more nature left in surfing if they start screwing with Trestles,” said pro- surfer and environmentalist Jericho Poppler to the Associated Press in November. Visit surfrider.org/savetrestles to learn more. —Jessica Ridenour
Fishy Farming: The Truth About Salmon
Salmon is good for you. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids and high in protein, the benefits of eating this fish are, in theory, clear. But a host of alarming reports concerning the pink-fleshed fish say that much of the salmon commercially available show traces of mercury and carcinogenic toxins and have been farm-raised with methods that make Peter Singer’s 1975 expose on chicken farms (Animal Liberation, Random House) seem tame. So, should you eat salmon?
According to a study recently released by the American Society of Nutrition, the reports of toxins in farm-raised salmon have not been overstated. David Carpenter, the co-author of the report, goes so far as to say that for most farm-raised fish, the cancer risks outweigh the health benefits.
But before banning farmed salmon from your diet, research the feeding methods of your regional salmon farmer. Farmed salmon that have been fed fish oil are a no no, as fish oil contains varying but regularly unhealthy levels of contaminants. But if you’re recovering from coronary problems, scientists and health specialists speculate the cancer risks are probably worth it. Now that’s reassuring.
The Environmental Working Group recommends that you choose wild salmon, eating farmed salmon (taking care to completely trim the fat) no more than once a month.
So salmon is still healthy. Just be sure to eat it only in moderation, paying special attention to where it was raised, what it’s been fed and if its fat has been trimmed. And since that’s quite a mouthful to question of your waiter, you may want to stick to eating salmon only at home. Hey, no one said healthy living was simple. —Tyghe Trimble
Y.O.G.A: Your Own Greatness Affirmed
Love yoga? Dig reggae? Worry about our children’s future? Here’s a chance to groove to some hot music while doing the right thing. On Saturday, 1/14, feel good and do good at One Joy One Dream One Love, a Reggae Celebration to benefit LA’s Y.O.G.A. for Youth. The musical lineup includes reggae artists Trusted Republic, Wadada Khufu and Jeremy Sole’s Musaics.
The concert, to be held at Golden Bridge in Hollywood, kicks-off Y.O.G.A’s (Your Own Greatness Affirmed) first annual week-long “I Am the Dream” campaign honoring the 20th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In keeping with Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolence, equality and respect, Y.O.G.A. for Youth adds seva, the yogic principle of selfless service, to the observance. From 1/15 through 1/21, yoga teachers nationwide are invited to donate proceeds from their classes to support Y.O.G.A. programs and help kids fulfill their promise.
Y.O.G.A. for Youth promotes city kids’ self-discovery through yoga and meditation. Since 1998, thousands of incarcerated teens, pregnant and parenting teens, and urban teens involved in after-school programs have taken Y.O.G.A. classes, developing discipline and respect for themselves and others. For $20 advance concert tickets or more info visit yogaforyouth.org or call 323.735.0500. —Sara Nuss-Galles
Climate Change Body Checks Canadian Pastime
George W. Bush may not be taking climate change seriously, but for Canadian youth it really hits home—manifesting in melting, slushy hockey rinks. Realizing that Canada without hockey is like pancakes without maple syrup, an environmental group is rallying youth to fight for the future of their environment—and their beloved national pastime.
Generation Kyoto is an emerging youth action clearinghouse supporting a host of different green causes. The website’s Action Centre, in alliance with Sierra Youth Coalition, Global Exchange, Energy Action and Forest Ethics, features campaigns on greening one’s campus, improving fuel efficiency and, in true Canuck spirit, saving hockey.
To coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Generation Kyoto staged hockey games, as well as a mock funeral for the sport, outside the six Canadian NHL rinks in early December. The Save Hockey Action Centre offers a PSA, downloadable postcards and details for organizing your own “Save Hockey” event.
Generation Kyoto gets their name from the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty in which countries commit to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases that lead to global warming. Pres. Bush famously refused to ratify the accord because he believes it would harm the US’s economy. Ironically, the US is considered the top polluter in the world.
Don’t be a hoser. Get involved at generationkyoto.org, eh? —JR
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