Body of Health in the Big One

Problem: Help bring about federal standards for safety assessments of genetically engineered foods. Background: The haphazard and negligent agency regulation of biotechnology has been a disaster for consumers and the environment. Unsuspecting consumers are being allowed to purchase and consume unlabeled genetically engineered foods, despite a finding by FDA scientists that these foods could pose serious risks. A number of studies over the past decade have revealed that genetically engineered foods ca...

Action: Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has repeatedly introduced two bills related to GE crops and foods in the House of Representatives. The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act would require mandatory labeling of all GE foods; the other, The Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act, would require mandatory, pre-market safety testing of GE foods.

Problem: Factory farming creates a loss in quality for all of: the environment, animal well-being, human food quality, and long term economics.

Action: To educate the public, as well as participants, in the real nature of factory farming, including  its many negative impacts.

Problem: Today, more than 1.2 billion people live in “extreme consumption poverty”. Seventy five percent of those people live in rural areas, have small plots of land and depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Solutions to rural poverty must therefore focus on these rural poor farmers.

Action: Poverty is a multifaceted problem. IDE focuses on income generation in the belief that increased income provides a foundation for rural farm families to address other important needs, including education and medical care.   From experience, IDE has developed a unique market oriented approach to rural economic – Poverty Reduction through Irrigation and Smallholder Markets (PRISM) - see toolki...