By Jane Williams | Rabble.ca | A longitudinal study by the Rodale Institute shows that organic farming can produce yields as high as conventional and in fact does better in some conditions.

By Stefan Christoff | Rabble.ca | National discussion in Canada on the Conservative government’s new healthcare financial ultimatum, a take-it-or-leave-it-style proposal, largely revolves around myths.

“The Venezuelan vice minister for health services networks, José España, said that by May of next year, the country will be operating pharmaceutical plants in order to guarantee medicines supplies to the population.”

When looking at the obesity problem gripping the U.S., it is useful to examine it in a similar light that Pres. Eisenhower used when assessing the military-industrial complex. The “obesity-industrial complex” consists of a series of integrated corporate sectors that, together, wield enormous power and influence not only in Washington, but in every supermarket and on every dinner table in America. | David Rosen | CounterPunch

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/2011/09/22/pol-planned-parenthood-funding.html

– Not exactly diplaying the “Canadian value” of compassion here.

–Bad move.

Depression is not always caused by a chemical imbalance or as a result of human biology. It is a result of social factors such as loneliness, lack of social support, financial strain, lack of purpose and unemployment. These are endemic under capitalism. | Mark Harris | LINKS

‘I will beat this,’ NDP leader says in vow to return to duties in September | CBC

by Utsa Patnaik | MR Zine | ‘There is a basic responsibility that everyone, and more particularly academics, has to be clear and precise about. To say or write that “27 million people died in the famine in China” conveys to the reader that people who were actually present and alive starved to death. But this did not actually happen and the statement that it did is false.’

–Abortion access is like this in Canada for women living in the Maritimes.

–Large corporations undermining public healthcare once again.

–The Alternative Federal Budget is released to day by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

–Tory cuts are an obvious step backwards for the working people of Britain. Time to fight back.

BBC News – US oil firm Chevron fined over Ecuador pollution.

“The New Brunswick government is looking at cutting some elective medical services it pays for in order to deal with a budget deficit. Health Minister Madeleine Dubé said she wants to cut $800,000 from the current Medicare budget.” -Capitalism is a major barrier to applying science for the improvement of living standards.

“The coverup came to light when Daniel Land, who oversaw the plant’s quality assurance, contacted CBC News, saying officials at Pitt Meadows Meats Ltd. told him to keep quiet about the positive test result obtained on Sept. 9… Plant officials, however, say they didn’t report the test results because they suspected the whistleblower was trying to sabotage the plant and questioned his general sampling procedures.”

Thirty per cent of those surveyed did not feel their mental health was very good or excellent.
As for physical health, the report said three out of five young New Brunswickers are not active enough, three out of four do not eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables and only half get eight hours of sleep per night.
One out of every four young persons is overweight or obese.

“Liquid waste with radioactive salts was discharged into the ground near central Hanford during the Cold War. Rabbits and other animals were attracted to the salts and spread radioactive droppings across as much as 13.7 square miles of sage-covered land before the waste sites were sealed to keep out animals in 1969.”

–Capitalism and medicine.

“The mining company was told by the miners that the mine was unsafe when they decided to reopen it in 2008, following a death in the mine. In fact, since 2003 there have been numerous deaths in that mine. 70 miners were trapped in an similar accident in the same mine in 2006. This has been scantly reported on by the capitalist media…Accidents in mines can only be avoided by nationalisation of all mines in Chile under the democratic control by the workforce. That way the mines can continue to extract the resources and minerals that are needed but not as something that is merely incidental to the purpose of generating profits. The profit motive that drives its tiny group of beneficiaries to create dangerous working conditions. The workers report unsafe conditions before most industrial accidents happen happen.”

CIA’s Unethical Research Ignored | Stephen Soldz | CounterPunch

–Ridiculous, but not surprising.