After more than 100,000 cancer lawsuits & over $10 billion Monsanto payouts people are finally concluding that Roundup is a probable carcinogen. Science Direct has retracted a safety evaluation & risk assessment study of glyphosate. The Minister of Health must now ban the use of glyphosate in Canada. Learn more from Safe Food Matters & choose healthier organic food to avoid consuming pesticide residues.

There is a lot of info on cooking oils that are ‘better for you’. But how exactly is genetically modified canola, corn or soy oil better for you, given that they are considered Roundup Ready crops, engineered to withstand the toxic spraying of glyphosate. Added to that, corn & soy are also engineered to produce the same toxin as the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis in the plant cell. Luckily, we have Maison Orphée organic oils,  available in stores across Canada. For Asian, Latin & Caribbean we have Grace organic coconut oils. Organic toasted sesame oil is also readily available at grocers. It is hard to avoid palm oil, found in so many processed packaged baked goods & foods & responsible for deforestation in many parts of the world. Some products, such as mayonnaise are using avocado oil now but the expansion of avocado monocultures are a new threat to conifer forests & Monarch butterfly overwintering habitat in Mexico. Olive, sunflower & safflower oils are all non-GMO. Read labels to avoid the worst.

Road salt runs into our freshwater ecosystems, harming our streams, aquatic species & the ground water on which we depend. Municipalities do often use a mixture of sand, grit & salt but are mindful of liability.  Homeowners can curb overuse by looking to products such as sand & non-clumping kitty litter which can be swept up in spring & reused in future winters. Environmentally friendly ice melters such as ecotraction are not only safe for watersheds but also pets, kids & gardens.