ConAgra Law Suit: Labeling GMO Oil as Natural

Although the term “natural” is not legally defined in the food service industry, I am pretty certain that for most consumers “natural” would not include “plants or animals that have had their genetic makeup altered to exhibit traits that are not naturally theirs” (a definition of GMO).

Yet that is what ConAgra claims on the labels of its Wesson brand oils.

This is not a single occurrence, of course. Up to 70-percent of the US processed food supply may contain genetically modified ingredients. Yes. Seventy-percent (an estimate by the Center for Food Safety). How many of those processed food items display a notice indicating that they were made with GMOs? None.

The same applies to unprocessed foods such as corn, soybeans, potatoes and other vegetables and fruits that have become the latest designer toys in the hands of scientists. I am yet to see an ear of sweet corn that clearly states it has been engineered, yet it is estimated that up to 90-percent of the corn in the US has been genetically engineered (and this can include sweet corn sold in stores – but as they aren’t labeled, it’s rather hard to know for sure!).

There are plenty of studies supporting the arguments of both GMO proponents and GMO opponents. Proponents say it is the safest and best way to ensure the sufficiency of the food supply while opponents focus on the health and environmental risks GMOs create (such as allergies, antibiotic resistance, and biological pollution).

Either way, as consumers we should be given the opportunity to decide! Let’s see how the ConAgra suit turns out.

Tags: genetically engineered foods, GMO foods, GMOs, pfocessed foods

This entry was posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 at 8:21 am and is filed under General Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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My Favorite All Natural Beauty Products

It is that time again! You already know what my favorite face care products are, and after two years and six months of testing (and I mean serious testing of at least one hundred foundations and other products…), I finally settled on some fantastic eco-friendly and non-toxic beauty products that work better than anything else on the market. It was not easy – the various chemical ingredients in the “commercial” brands make most of them work well at least temporarily, and even though they do not promote healthy skin, they can make it look good while you are wearing them. But I finally found some natural make-up products that work at least as well as the “nasties” – and in most cases even much bettere.

Best foundation: RMS Beauty “Un” Cover-up and Vapour Organic Beauty Atmosphere Luminous Foundation. Nothing works as well as these two (not even top of the line “commercial” brands). RMS is soft and creamy, but light as air as it glides onto your skin, perfectly filling the tiniest (and largest pores) without the need for a moisturizer. It evens your skin tone and you won’t be able to tell that you have foundation on your face. My skin is combination and RMS works wonders on colder days and drier spots. Worth every penny! Vapour is just as great and the only difference is the formulation. Vapour is drier (it comes in a stick) but it still blends like mousse into your skin. It will keep your face clean and oil free without looking like you are wearing foundation. Perfect for humid days, even with sunblock under it (another subject but check out Coola Suncare – they have an all natural matte sunblock with cucumber).

Best mascara: BareMinerals Flawless Definition. Natural. Eco-friendly. Smudge-free. Flake-free. Intense color. Enough said.

Best eye shadow: RMS Beauty Cream Eye Shadow. Can’t get enough of this brand… Apply it with your fingers, just a thin veil of it. The color bleds in beautifully, even into the creases, and will stay on all day. You won’t notice you are wearing any. I also love Evening Primrose & Sunflower Oil Antioxidant Eye Quad from Korres, and the one reason it is not in a tie for #1 is that it flakes at the time of application just the tiniest bit since it is in powder form. Just in case you need a third favorite – check out BareMinerals High Shine Eye Color. Fantastic colors with great staying power – but super hard to apply as the powders fly all over your face and deposit under your eye. But for special occasions it is worth it to make it work!

Best eye liner: I have yet another tie! ZuZu Luxe (by Gabriel Cosmetics). The colors are true and clean, the tips are just the right consistency (neither too soft nor too hard) and they won’t feather or smudge by noon. As a matter of fact, they won’t smudge at all, even when applied on top of eye lotion. My other go to is 100% Pure’s CreamPearlstick (which is actually an eye shadow but I think it is perfect as a liner). It is a bit softer than Zuzu, but still easy to apply. It stays on all day and the colors are beautiful (check out the periwinkle).

Best lip stick/lip gloss: This was very difficult as I do not use a lot of lip stick (I am more of a chap stick with a shine kind of person, but that is yet another post). In addition, my favorite Dr. Hauschka Lip Stick Novum was discontinued. However, after a considerable amount of testing Vapour‘s Siren Lipstick became my new best friend. It goes on like silk, neither cakey nor feathery, and neither sticky nor flavored. Just perfect. My other favorite (Alverde) is only available in Europe.

Tags: all natural cosmetics, all natural make-up, eco-friendly beauty products, organic beauty products, organic make-up

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 30th, 2011 at 9:19 pm and is filed under personal care products, smart mommy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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