The mention of fur causes the majority of us to scowl a little. Most of us know how cruel, barbaric, and inhumane the fur trade is. But what about leather? It’s time to shed light on the leather industry.

Leather is a cloth-like material made from the hide or skin of an animal. Cows provide the bulk of leather we use, but goats, pigs, and sheep are in high demand, and reptile skins are also sold at a premium. If you’re like most consumers, you assume that leather is a byproduct of the meat industry, save the reptile skins.

And, the fact is that most of the cow leather that comes from cows is taken from those cows slaughtered for their meat or from dairy cows that no longer produce enough milk. But, that’s not the whole story. It’s assumed that the hide is ‘leftover’, and it will go to waste if it’s not used. This is a common misconception. Also, much of cow leather and in many other animals hides that are produced and sold do come from animals that are killed primarily, or only, for their skins. Leather makes up around 10% of a cows total value. This means that the hide of a cow, not the meat, is the most valuable part of the cow, pound for pound.

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The demand for leather is increasing, along with the demand for more exotic, luxurious leather goods. The more sought-after, expensive, and  “luxurious” (i.e. soft and thin) hide-material comes from veal calves. The leather sometimes comes from unborn calves taken prematurely from their mother’s wombs. In countries where animal protection laws are weak or non-existent, animals are often killed only for their hides, even when endangered or threatened. Thank consumer demand.

Leather production damages local ecosystems. The chemicals used to produce leather are extremely volatile. The toxic waste from making leather is often dumped illegally, polluting groundwater and rivers.

India and China are two of the biggest producers of leather in the world, and welfare laws there are either non-existent, lax, or seldom if ever enforced. China is the world’s leading exporter of leather, and they aren’t picky about their choices of animal hide. An estimated two million cats and dogs are killed for their skins, and most consumers have no idea what country these hides are coming from, or even from which animals the hide came from.

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https://www.facebook.com/lightmoveme/videos/1177183282403351/

Even worse, the production of leather involves unbelievable barbarity and cruelty. Even the animals one would suspect were hunted (pythons, alligators, lizards, stingrays, etc) may have been farm raised for their skins in abysmal conditions. In India, a PETA investigation witnessed the practice of breaking the cows’ tails and rubbing chili pepper and tobacco into the cow’s eyes in order to force them to get up and walk after collapsing from exhaustion on the way to their slaughterhouse.

Let’s take a moment to consider that last fact. Can you imagine going out like that? Can you imagine your last days on this miserable planet consisting walking to your death at the behest of chili peppers and tobacco in the eyes? We’re well past beleiving that animals don’t feel pain, right?

Much of the most heinous abuses are due to the fact that the world leather trade is mostly clandestine and illegal – and the authorities that could stop it are routinely bribed to let it continue. Hindus hold the cow in special esteem, and Jains, a hindu sect, regard all life as so sacred that they avoid hurting insects. But investigations have shown that all pf India’s major communities are complicit in the cruel treatment of their sacred cows.

If you don’t want to contribute to the leather industry, don’t! Natural and synthetic cruelty-free alternatives are available, Checkout MooShoes, Beyond Skin, Vegan Essentials, Alternative Outfitters and Vaute Couture. Vote with your wallet, read the labels, Google the companies, and support smaller ethical companies that consider their impact on the planet.

Excerpt from Peta’s 14 Things the Leather Industry Doesn’t Want You to See

1. Every year, the global leather industry slaughters more than a billion animals.

2. If you’re wearing leather, it probably came from China or India.

In China, there are no penalties for abusing animals on farms.

3. Along with cattle, other animals—including sheep, dogs, and cats—are killed for their skin in China.

Dog and cat leather is often intentionally mislabeled, so you could be wearing dog leather and not even know it.

4. In India, animals fare no better.

India’s animal-protection laws are also rarely enforced.

5. In India, cows are forced to march for days—without food or water—to their own deaths.

6. Cattle who collapse from exhaustion have their tails broken or chili peppers rubbed into their eyes in order to force them to keep moving.

7. There’s virtually no way to tell where leather comes from.

Even if a product says that it was made in Italy or the U.S., the raw materials probably came from India or China.

Click here for the rest of 14 Things the Leather Industry Doesn’t Want You to See

Sources:

• The Global Leather Trade – PETA
• Vegan Guide to Leather Alternatives 2018 Edition – The Vegan Resource Group
• Is your leather from China? It might be made of dog or cat skin – The Guardian

A 33-foot sperm whale carcass surfaced near a lighthouse in Cabo de Palos on Spain’s southeastern coast in February. Washington Post reported that a necropsy revealed the whale had “trash bags, polypropylene sacks, ropes, net segments and a drum, among other things,” located in the stomach and intestines.

Local authorities report that the whale animal died due to peritonitis, inflammation of the abdominal lining, due to blockage from the trash.

The picture, shared by a local environmental group, shows a severely underweight sperm whale. Reports place the animal’s weight at 14,300 pounds. Adult sperm whales are supposed to weight between 77,000 and 130,000 lbs.

Sperm whales reside in the ocean at around 2,000 feet below sea level and feed off of large squid, sharks, and fish. This certainly isn’t the first time. For decades, whales and other marine life have been washing ashore full of plastic.

A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 77% of grocery store purchases were made up of processed foods, with about 61 percent of purchases being “ultra-processed” foods. This indicates that the average American ingests more than 1,000 calories a day of processed foods. In the UK, they fare slightly better, with a study showing 51% of their diet is made up of “ultra-processed” foods.

Ultra-processed foods are foods with man-made ingredients, food additives invented by food technologists.

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Research by global nutrition experts shows how our food has evolved from real food too salty, refined, artificially flavored, chemically preserved foods like sugary cereals, industrially-made breads, desserts, sugar-laden microwaveable meals, instant noodles, reconstituted heavily processed meats, and sweetened (or chemically sweetened) soft drinks, etc.

A new study that’s making waves in the medical community shows that a 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods correlates with a 12% increase in overall cancer rates and an 11% increase in breast cancers. The study, led by researchers based at the Sorbonne in Paris, looked at eating habits and the medical records of nearly 105,000 adults.

‘Examples of NOVA Group 4 foods include “mass produced packaged breads and buns; sweet or savoury packaged snacks; industrialised confectionery and desserts; sodas and sweetened drinks; meat balls, poultry and fish nuggets, and other reconstituted meat products transformed with addition of preservatives other than salt (for example, nitrites); instant noodles and soups; frozen or shelf stable ready meals; and other food products made mostly or entirely from sugar, oils and fats, and other substances not commonly used in culinary preparations such as hydrogenated oils, modified starches, and protein isolates’ – in short, many of the foods sold in supermarkets.” – BMJ 2018;360:k322

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Related Reading:

• How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

Sources:

• Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort – The BMJ
• Over half US grocery store purchases are highly processed foods, says study – Fox News
• ‘Ultra-processed’ products now half of all UK family food purchases – The Guardian

Much of the discussion surrounding microplastics in the environment have focused on our oceans, but a new report from Germany confirms that these tiny bits of plastic are also entering the food chain through organic fertilizers. Reducing and reusing waste are key elements of a healthy ecosystem, but proper pretreatment of waste destined for organic fertilizer is essential to avoid contributing microplastics to the soil. Professor Ruth Freitag from the University of Bayreuth in Germany, one of the study’s authors, identifies that pretreatment as a key to minimizing the impact of plastics on the soil.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors – Organic Lifestyle Magazine

We have plants where they use a lot of precautions and there we find hardly any plastic particles, and other plants where they simply use a shredder to prepare everything and break it down – there you find a lot…One example is people use plastic bags and then put everything together in the bin, and then this is entering the waste treatment plant and ending up in the fertilisers…”

Germany’s Recycling Efforts

Germany leads the world in recycling, with 65% percent of the population using the country’s color-coded bins. Almost 12 million tons of food and garden waste are composted or turned into bio-gas yearly. The researchers examined fertilizer samples from different types of waste treatment plants, finding samples from those plants converting biowaste contained plastic particles of varying sizes and concentrations. On the other hand, agricultural energy crop digesters tested for comparison only had isolated particles, suggesting that plastics are entering fertilizers through improperly sorted compost waste. Samples tested had low levels of plastic, with a maximum of around 150 microplastic particles per kilogram found.

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Plastics Are Everywhere Now

There are six different bins to divide your recycling into in Germany. 317.7 million metric tons of waste were recycled in 2015. They are the worldwide leaders in refining personal recycling systems. Now they’re finding microplastics in organic fertilizers, a scary proposition.

We know that plastics like BPA and BPS disrupt the endocrine system and cause other health issues, but we still don’t know how they affect our health. We likely won’t have the full picture until well after it’s too late. Plastic is in our drinking water, the fish eat, and the soil we grow our food in. How soon will we be talking about how much plastic people can safely ingest before something serious occurs?

Related Reading:

• Drinking Bottled Water Means Drinking Microplastics, According To Damning New Study
• Many Hand-me-down Plastic Toys Are Toxic for Kids
• Microplastics in Sea Salt – A Growing Concern

Sources:

• Organic fertilizer as a vehicle for the entry of microplastic into the environment – Science Advances
• Microplastics found in fertilizers being applied to gardens and farmland – Independent
• Germany Gleefully Leads List of World’s Top Recyclers – New York Times

Aluminum is an adjuvant used in vaccines licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration. James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., wanted to know how did the FDA determined what the safe levels are for aluminum in vaccines.

For most of my adult life, I never gave vaccine safety a second thought. Sure, I spaced my sons’ vaccines out, and none of the pediatricians in three states gave us a hard time. We were never kicked out of practice because we exercised our rights to choose if, how, and when to consume vaccine products.

But after writing a chapter on vaccines in one of my books, I grew increasingly concerned about whether something, or somethings were very wrong with my understanding of vaccines and how they were developed.”

Dr. Lyons-Weiler’s LinkedIn profile states that he is a long-time veteran in the areas of genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and evolutionary biology. “He earned a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology, and won a US DOE/Sloan Postdoc in Computational Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University…”

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Dr. Lyons-Weiler’s published a study, Reconsideration of the immunotherapeutic pediatric safe dose levels of aluminum, that says the recognized safe aluminum levels in vaccines are based on immune efficacy and ignore body weight. James says that several critical mistakes have been made in the consideration of pediatric dosing of aluminum and that safety inferences of vaccine doses of aluminum have relied solely on dietary (ingested, not injected) exposure studies of adult mice and rats.

On Day 1 of life, infants receive 17 times more aluminum than would be allowed if doses were adjusted per body weight.

The FDA states that 850 mcg of aluminum is safe for an adult. With his research, James found that a series of errors led to the guidelines that state 850 mcg of aluminum is safe for an adult.

The first serious problem (Problem #1) is that a provisionally tolerable weekly limit assumed to be safe was, by a series of errors and bad assumptions, transformed into a daily limit that appeared to be backed by studies. The studies used were not up to date, and the FDA’s determination used spurious estimates to transform safety information from dietary studies of adult mice into injected safe limits in human infants. These errors were made, in part, in the pediatric limit consideration by the FDA, who used outdated information not consistent with other organizations like World Health Organization.

To add to the confusion, the 1 mg/kg/week was also then changed to 2 mg/kg/week. The ATDSR used information from one study, assumed 1 mg/kg/week, adjusted using arbitrary functions that are without a doubt as good as a bad guess.

The provenance of these errors is reviewed further below, and in our newly published study.”

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

We came across this study last week on Medium. It has since been deleted, along with Jame’s account. We checked on web.archive.org to see if the page had been preserved; it had not. We searched Google, but it’s gone from search results, but we did find the article republished by James on LinkedIn.

This Open Letter originally appeared on Medium.com. Due to their censorship, it is ported here.= JLW. It is based on peer-reviewed studies.” – Dear FDA: Please Reconsider “Safe” Levels of Aluminum…

We also noticed that Jame’s Medium account has been suspended. And Bing is a little slower to eliminate the search results. If you want, click here to see their Cached version while it’s still available, but you can also read the full article republished on LinkedIn.

Related: Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research

The Trump administration is considering allowing states to require drug testing for some food stamp recipients. The plan would narrowly target and affect mostly “able-bodied” people, according to an anonymous administration official, AP reports. The rule would apply to around five percent of those enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to AP’s source. In addition, the plan would target people without dependents who are seeking certain specialized jobs, the AP reported.

Conservatives have been pushing for mandatory drug testing for people who receive SNAP benefits for years. Federal law prevents states from implementing their own conditions for individuals to be eligible for SNAP.

Secretary Sonny Perdue wants to provide states with “greater control over SNAP.”

As a former governor, I know first-hand how important it is for states to be given flexibility to achieve the desired goal of self-sufficiency for people. We want to provide the nutrition people need, but we also want to help them transition from government programs, back to work, and into lives of independence.”

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order calling for federal agencies to establish expand on existing work requirements for individuals on federal welfare programs.

Ed Bolen, the senior policy analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities think tank thinks implementing drug testing for SNAP recipients is legally murky.

Are people losing their food assistance if they don’t take the test, and in that case, is that a condition of eligibility, which the states aren’t allowed to impose? And does drug testing fall into what’s allowable under a state training and employment program, which typically lists things like job search or education or on-the-job experience? This is kind of a different bucket.”

Utah did its own welfare drug testing on 4,730 applicants from Aug 2012 to July 2013 for their Temporary Assistance For Needy Families program. Less than one percent were found to be using illegal drugs.

Remeber that Keystone crude oil pipeline leak in rural South Dakota last November? The spill size is nearly double the original estimate. The spill was considered said to be the largest spill in South Dakota, but now this estimate makes it the seventh largest inland spill in the whole U.S. since 2010.

Previous reports had estimated the spill to be about 5,000 barrels or 210,000 gallons. Robynn Tysver, a spokeswoman for Calgary-based TransCanada Corp, which owns the pipeline, told the Aberdeen American News now states that 9,700 barrels of oil leaked, or 407,400 gallons.

Keystone has leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.” – Reuters

The Keystone Pipeline is 2,687-miles long.  It runs from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska, where it then splits, going to Illinois and Texas. The pipeline is owned by TransCanada, which is seeking to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. A federal investigation showed that construction damage was most likely the cause of the oil spill.

The spill was originally estimated to have released some 210,000 gallons of crude. Then federal investigators reported that they had an “unconfirmed lower spill estimate,” but did not specify further.

They say the spill was likely caused because of mechanical damage that occurred when this portion of the pipeline was built in 2008. The damage, the investigators add, was probably caused by a weight installed at the time. ‘Such weights are used in places where changing water levels could make a pipeline float.’ ” – NPR’s Jeff Brady reported

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