Natural Society, By: Christina Sarich, 12/20/2013

Much of the soil in our nation has become infertile due to the overuse of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, and the persistent practice of mono-cropping which depletes nutrients from the soil, and thus the crops that are grown within it. Our current nutrient-depleted soil may soon lead to the impossible growth of crops, causing food shortages and more increased food prices. We need to change our farming practices to save the soil – this is where green manure comes in.

For more on this story visit www.naturalsociety.com

Think Progress, By: Katie Valentine, 12/20/2013

Photo Credit: AFP

Some major parts of Pennsylvania’s two-year-old Marcellus Shale drilling law are unconstitutional, the state’s Supreme Court decided Thursday. As the  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, the court voted 4 – 2 that a provision that allowing natural gas companies to drill anywhere, regardless of local zoning laws, was unconstitutional. Seven municipalities had challenged the shale drilling law, known as Act 13, that  required “drilling, waste pits and pipelines be allowed in every zoning district, including residential districts, as long as certain buffers are observed.”

The Court said Act 13 “ fundamentally disrupted” the expectations of Pennsylvania residents living in residential zones, and that the provision wasn’t in line with Pennsylvania’s constitution or  Environmental Rights Amendment, which guarantees Pennsylvanians the “right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.”

By: Jonathan Landsman, 12/19/2013

(NaturalNews) Food allergies have become a global epidemic and conventional medicine has no cure. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, food allergies (in kids) have increased by 50% between 1997 and 2011. Could this have anything to do with genetically engineered foods?

Since the 1990s, when genetically modified (GM) foods were approved, we have seen a dramatic increase in food allergies, asthma, ADHD and many forms of cancer. As expected, most corporately-controlled, government health 'experts' would say genetically modified (GM) foods are 'safe' - but where are the safety studies to back up this unscientific claim of safety? (there are none)

For more on this story visit www.naturalnews.com

By: Clare Leschin-Hoar, 12/17/2013

Geoduck clam (Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

We hate to put it unkindly, but China is not exactly known for its stellar food safety record. Yet, on Dec. 5 Chinese officials stunned the U.S. shellfish industry by banning imports of all wild and farmed bivalves from the coastline that stretches from Alaska to Northern California, after Chinese officials said they found high levels of inorganic arsenic and the toxin that produces paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).