Dear mom who feels like she wants to quit.

This is a must read.



dear mom who feels like she wants to quit.

A Youtube video "The Secrets of Food Marketing"

A look at factory farming from Compassion in World Farming

Holistic way to heal Conjunctivitis

Using Warm Milk & Honey to Treat Conjunctivitis 
(Pink Eye)

Honey has amazing anti-bacterial properties. Making an eyewash with warm milk and honey can help to soothe and treat conjunctivitis. Use equal parts of both honey and milk, making sure the milk is warm (not boiling). Mix together the remedy and keep stirring until the honey becomes smooth in the milk. Use an eyedropper and drop 2-3 drops into your eye several times a day. Alternatively, you can use this mixture as a compress. The anti- bacterial properties in the honey and the soothing effects of the milk will start to work immediately and within 24 hours your pink eye should be cleared up.

Tips for Treating Conjunctivitis

In addition, there are a few natural ways to help provide relief and promote faster healing without any unwanted side-effects.

• Add a few drops of honey to your eye wash as honey has antibacterial properties. Honey will also soothe the eye and promote faster healing.
• Grate a potato and place on the affected eye for 15 minutes. Potato is a natural astringent and will help reduce eye inflammation.
• Replace the water of your eyewash or compress with warm milk
• For itchy eyes, try cooled tea bags on the eyes. The tannin in tea will help sooth itchiness and reduce inflammation. Using chamomile tea bags is an even better idea as chamomile is well known as an effective eye tonic.

(Like anything else, check with a doctor)

Maine: Second state to pass GMO labeling!!!

Maine becomes the second state to pass a law requiring food producers to label GMO food, but other states must follow before it goes into effect.

By Steve Mistler smistler@pressherald.com
Staff Writer for Kennebeck Journal (Wednesday January  20, 2014

Gov. Paul LePage has signed a bill that would require food producers to label foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. The law makes Maine the second state in the country to pass such a measure. However, other states must adopt similar legislation before Maine’s labeling provision goes into effect.

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A label on a snack item at a Portland supermarket indicates it is certified organic and does not contain any genetically modified ingredients.

2013 Staff File Photo/Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

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The governor promised last year to sign the bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington. His signature is symbolic because legislative rules don’t allow the law to go into effect until the Legislature adjourns later this year. However, supporters of the bill hailed the law’s eventual passage as a victory for advocates of laws mandating the labeling of genetically modified foods. Such proposals have been introduced in nearly 30 states as part of a national effort to compel Congress to enact a comprehensive labeling law.

Previous GMO labeling efforts have been staunchly opposed by agribusiness and the biotech food products industry, which have also spent millions to defeat ballot measures and state legislation. Industry argues that labeling genetically engineered products unfairly stigmatizes modified foods despite a dearth of scientific research proving that they are any less healthful than those that are grown conventionally.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 70 percent of the products sold in American supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients. The Food and Drug Administration regulates genetically modified foods, but regulators have left testing to the industry that is producing them.

Maine Conservation Voters’ Executive Director Maureen Drouin said in a news statement that the new law “will give Maine people the information they need to make informed decisions about the food they and their families eat.”

She added, “We thank Gov. LePage for recently signing the bill into law and thank Maine’s Legislature for passing the bill with overwhelming support last year.

“We are thrilled that Gov. Le- Page has signed the GMO labeling bill,” said Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association Executive Director Ted Quaday. “MOFGA supporters have worked tirelessly, organizing five different legislative campaigns on this issue since the early 1990s. The time was right for a diverse and collaborative effort to take hold and move the discussion forward. People want and have the right to know what’s in their food.”

Still, the Maine GMO labeling law faces another challenge. The law doesn’t go into effect unless five contiguous states, including New Hampshire, pass labeling laws. Late last year, the prospects of a New Hampshire law dimmed when a committee broke along party lines to oppose a labeling measure there.

The New Hampshire Legislature will take up the bill this winter.

The national battle over labeling laws has pitted activists in the organic food movement against a consortium led by the biotech industry and corporate food producers, such as General Mills, Nestle USA and Monsanto.

It appeared that industry heavyweights were initially taken aback by activists who introduced labeling legislation this year in at least 30 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, reports from New Hampshire indicate that the industry has rallied and become more effective.

The Maine bill brought together such factions as libertarian Republicans and liberal Democrats, creating strong support. So far, that hasn’t happened in New Hampshire and the bill has become more partisan there.

The provision requiring passage in contiguous states was added to the Maine bill to help build broad support.

Proponents of the bill said the provision would quell concerns about an almost-certain lawsuit by industry groups and Monsanto, which vowed to challenge the laws in Maine and Connecticut on the basis that they violate the free speech and interstate commerce provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills told lawmakers last year that the bill was almost certain to face a legal challenge, and said she could not guarantee that her office could defend its constitutionality.

Already 64 countries around the world label foods that contain genetically modified ingredients, including all of Europe, Russia, China, Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia.

Steve Mistler can be contacted at 791-6345 or at:

smistler@pressherald.com