The harmful impact of plastics on the environment, oceans and food systems is commonly known. Most people will have heard about the 18 ton island of plastic floating in the South Plastic with items found from all over the world including the United States, Europe, South America, Russia, Japan, and China. If we believe in our connectedness, we cannot ignore our collective contribution to this issue. “Environmental organizations estimate that about seven million tons of plastic end up in the seas and oceans each year. This debris pollutes land and water habitats and kills off precious animal and plant species. Furthermore, with plastic pollution we are contaminating a major food source.” [Source] Research into the issue of plastics in our waterways has revealed it breaks down into tiny micro-particles which are consumed by fish and other sea creatures, evidently ending up on dinner plates consumed with friends and family. Micro-particles of plastic are also being added to everyday hygiene products to enhance teeth cleaning and exfoliation, ultimately polluting waterways and ending up as fish food. All for the sake of hygiene and vanity. “Researchers have found that the beads are too small to be caught by water treatment plants, so they end up in waterways. There, they act as sponges for toxins—such as pesticides, heavy metals, and phthalates—and are frequently mistaken by fish for food. Roughly 300 million tons of the plastics per year end up in US waterways.” [Source] Even amongst the abundance of information related to the impacts on Earth, our food systems and our health, not much has changed and the consequence is now 83% of the world’s water supply is polluted with tiny pieces of plastic. That include the tap water you drank this morning, and now a glass of water has an 80% chance or more of not only satisfying your thirst but also providing your body with carcinogens made from petrochemicals. READ: ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP FINDS 267 TOXINS IN TAP WATER ACROSS THE U.S. Orb Media has undertaken the world’s first global research into the micro-particle contamination of tap water. With shocking results indicating that not only have plastic fibers made it into our main stream water in cities, but also that lakes, rivers and some underground supplies are now contaminated. This is because the nanometre size of the plastic can pass right throw water treatment processes, filtration systems and continue to breakdown into smaller particles with no chance of bio-degrading. “US had the highest contamination rate, at 94%, with plastic fibres found in tap water sampled at sites including Congress buildings, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters, and Trump Tower in New York. Lebanon and India had the next highest rates. European nations including the UK, Germany and France had the lowest contamination rate, but this was still 72%. The average number of fibres found in each 500ml sample ranged from 4.8 in the US to 1.9 in Europe.” [Source] While this quotes facts, it also appears to play down [...]

We’ve all heard horror stories associated with the pig, porcine, pork and swine industry. The global collusion of governments, public health systems and food authorities is clear, if we pay attention to the patterns in government announcements, research, media and reports. The basics of the collusion start with research the WHO completed in 2015 revealing that simply eating 50 grams of red or processed meats daily increases the chances of cancer by almost 20%. Eggs, pork, beef, fish, legumes, nuts and seeds are all placed in our public health food pyramids under the same category. As if plant and meat based proteins are the same. So how does the pig industry make the perfect lean pork chop you see in the food pyramid? Creating this shining object to sell is critical for commodity driven swine markets. It needs to meet economic requirements in agriculture and supporting systems, while being marketable to the masses. It’s not rocket science or nutritional medicine, its capitalism. There are government approved recipes for pig farmers to make the perfect pork chop. Supplied by feed producing corporations, percentages are offered for the right combination of amino acids and vitamins to make the perfect piece of bacon. These recipes are sales and marketing collateral for other sectors in agriculture, such as corn or soy. That said, some farmers, feed producers and national pig associations over the years have been known use the term ‘feed’ loosely. Four Things Being ‘Fed’ to Pigs During the 2008 Irish pork crisis feed supplies were contaminated with dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, molecules often found in plastics. It was assumed the use of industrial oil in the pig feed supplied to beef, pig and dairy farms across Ireland led to 3 months of pork supplies being shipped around the UK and Europe before a recall was issued. The UK’s Food Standards Agency yesterday warned families not to eat Irish pork and ordered shops to remove all products from shelves immediately. But the FSA was unable to give a list of which brands use Irish pork and could not say when a list would be made public. [Source] Pigs shouldn’t eat meat or other pigs. Put simply, the reason mad cow disease was a problem for the beef industry was because the economic drivers for cheaper meat production led to cows eating cow by-products. As a result swill, food scraps or meat production by-products became illegal in Australia, UK and the EU. Let’s hope research doesn’t bring it back by suggesting it could save food waste sustainably. Swill is the traditional name for food scraps or food waste that contains or has come into contact with meat or meat products. Put simply, pigs must not be fed or be allowed to eat meat or meat products. [Source] To avoid sick pigs, antibiotics are a regular part of the standard pork sausage recipe, this is leading to antibiotic resistance. A known problem when dealing with mass feeding and housing of swine [...]