Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

MSG is being sprayed right on fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, and vegetables
as they grow --
even those used in baby food
http://truthinlabeling.org/msgsprayed.html

In the 1970s, reluctant food processors "voluntarily" took processed free
glutamic acid (MSG) out of baby food. Today it's back, in fertilizers
called "Omega Protein Refined/Hydrolyzed Fish Emulsion" and "Steam
Hydrolyzed Feather Meal," both of which contain hydrolyzed proteins; and in
a product called AuxiGro WP Plant Metabolic Primer (AuxiGro) produced by
Emerald BioAgriculture (formerly Auxein Corporation), which contains both
hydrolyzed protein(s) and "monosodium glutamate."  AuxiGro is being sprayed
on some of the vegetables we and our children will eat, into the air we and
our children must breath, and onto the ground from which it can move into
drinking water. Head lettuce, leaf lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and peanuts
were among the first crops targeted. On September 12, 2000, the Auxein
Corporation Web site gave the following information:

    Crops registered include: Celery; Fresh Market Cucumbers; Edible Navy
and Pinto Beans; Grapes; Bulb Onions; Bell, Green and Jalapeno Peppers;
Iceberg Head Lettuce; Romaine and Butter Leaf Lettuce; Peanuts; Potatoes;
Snap Beans; Strawberries; Processing Tomatoes; Fresh Tomatoes; and
Watermelons.

Today, there is no crop that we know of that has not been approved for
treatment with MSG by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Even in California -- the only state where there are any restrictions on
the use of AuxiGro -- AuxiGro has been approved for use on a number of
crops, and Emerald BioAgriculture continues to push for more. Field tests
in California have been -- and may continue to be -- conducted on a variety
of crops, and those AuxiGro treated crops may be sold in the open market
without revealing that they have been treated. We can't tell you which
crops those are because the CDPR has refused to send records of test trials
(which are public information) to the Truth in Labeling Campaign.

As of June 13, 2002, AuxiGro was registered for use in California on
tomatoes, almonds, apricots, cherries, plums, nectarines, peaches, prunes,
grapes (including grapes to be used in wine), and onions.  At that time,
the California Department of Pesticide Regulation said they were not aware
of any testing of AuxiGro for use on other crops. They also said that they
did not have any proposals presently in house to register additional crops
for AuxiGro. It would appear, however, that what the CDPR said was not
true, for the CDPR subsequently announced that Emerald BioAgriculture had
applied for permission to use AuxiGro on tomatoes (new use), and on melons
(new crop) -- and, to the best of our knowledge, approval is always
preceded by field testing.

On July 7, 2004, Emerald BioAgriculture requested approval of use of
AuxiGro as a desiccant, disinfectant, fertilizer, fungicide, growth
regulator - for increased yield and prevention of powdery mildew in various
crops such as almonds, grapes, and melons.  They also asked to add cole
crops (including broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale,
collards, turnips, rutabaga, mustard, watercress, and kohlrabi) to the list
of crops approved for AuxiGro use.

Approval for use on organic crops--in all states--has been requested.


What's wrong with using glutamic acid, an amino acid found in protein, as a
spray on crops?

    - In protein, amino acids are found in balanced combinations. Use of
free glutamic acid as a spray on crops throws the amino acid balance out of
kilter.

    - It's not the glutamic acid found in protein that is being sprayed on
crops, it's a synthetic product. The spray being used most widely is called
AuxiGro. The "free glutamic acid" or so called "L-glutamic acid" component
being used by its manufacturer, Emerald BioAgriculture, contains L-glutamic
acid, an amino acid found in protein; but it also contains D-glutamic acid,
pyroglutamic acid, and other chemicals referred to in the industry as
"contaminants." The free glutamic acid used in AuxiGro is processed free
glutamic acid. It is manufactured -- in chemical plants -- where certain
selected genetically engineered bacteria -- feeding on a liquid nutrient
medium -- excrete the free glutamic acid they synthesize outside of their
cell membrane into the liquid medium in which they are grown. In contrast,
the free glutamic acid found in protein, and the free glutamic acid
involved in normal human body function, are unprocessed. free glutamic
acid, and contain no contaminants.

    - No one knows what the long term effects of spraying processed free
glutamic acid on crops will be.

    - That the processed free glutamic acid (MSG) will be absorbed into the
body of the plant and into the fruit, nuts, seeds, or vegetable it produces
seems undeniable.  If it were not, the plant would not be stimulated to
grow.  Neither Emerald BioAgriculture or the EPA will address this issue.

    - That there will be residue left on crops has not been disputed by
Emerald BioAgriculture. But no study of either the amount of that residue,
or the least amount of processed free glutamic acid needed to cause a
reaction in an MSG-sensitive person, has ever been done. "It should wash
off" doesn't mean it will wash off. "It seems unlikely that such a small
amount would cause a reactions" doesn't mean that a small amount will not
cause a reaction or have long term health effects.

    - Free glutamic acid is known to be toxic to the nervous system. But
the neurotoxic effects that processed free glutamic acid will have on
animals that consume the plants on which it is sprayed - effects over and
above any effects caused by external glutamic acid residue - have never
been evaluated. Neither are there data on the effects that spraying
processed free glutamic acid will have on drinking water.

    - Consider, also, that children are most at risk from the effects of
processed free glutamic acid. Their undeveloped blood-brain barriers leave
them most at risk from exposure to processed free glutamic acid. It has
been repeatedly demonstrated that infant animals fed processed free
glutamic acid when young develop neuroendocrine problems such as gross
obesity, stunted growth, and reproductive disorders later in life, and that
they also develop learning disabilities. Emerald BioAgriculture did not
address that particular safety issue in its application to the EPA.

    - No one knows how little glutamic acid is needed to kill a single
brain cell or to trigger an adverse reaction.

    - Free glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter. It causes nerves to fire,
carrying nerve impulses throughout the nervous system.

    - Free glutamic acid is a neurotoxin. Under certain circumstances, free
glutamic acid will cause nerves to fire repeatedly, until they die.

    - Processed free glutamic acid kills brain cells. The free glutamic
acid ingested by laboratory animals that caused brain lesions and
neuroendocrine disorders was very often given in the form of the food
ingredient "monosodium glutamate." "Monosodium glutamate" is the name of a
particular food additive. Processed free glutamic acid is the reactive
component in "monosodium glutamate," just as processed free glutamic acid
is a reactive component in AuxiGro.

    The glutamate industry research done in the 1970s that was submitted to
the EPA by the Auxein Corporation, that pretended to find that processed
free glutamic acid is "safe," has been long refuted by independent
scientists. Indeed, at the present time, neuroscientists attempting to
develop drugs to block the toxic effects of free glutamic acid are using
processed free glutamic acid to selectively kill certain kinds of brain
cells.

    - Processed free glutamic acid causes neuroendocrine disorders in
maturing animals that ingest processed free glutamic acid early in life.

    - Processed free glutamic acid causes learning disorders in maturing
animals that ingest processed free glutamic acid early in life.

    - Processed free glutamic acid crosses the placental barrier and causes
learning disabilities in animal offspring of dams that ingest it.

    - Processed free glutamic acid has access to the brain through the
blood-brain barrier, which is not impervious to the unregulated flow of
processed free glutamic acid. The blood-brain barrier is immature at birth
and may continue to develop up to puberty. In certain areas called the
circumventricular organs, the blood barrier is never impervious to the
unregulated flow of free glutamic acid. In addition, the blood-brain
barrier is easily damaged by such events as high fever, a blow to the head,
drug use, stroke, ingestion of processed free glutamic acid, and the normal
process of aging.

    - The National Institutes of Health recognize glutamic acid as being
associated with addiction, stroke, epilepsy, degenerative disorders such as
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and ALS, brain trauma,
neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression.

    - For years, free glutamic acid has been produced and used in food
additives with names such as monosodium glutamate, sodium caseinate, and
hydrolyzed soy protein. In some people, the processed free glutamic acid in
food additives causes adverse reactions that include migraine headache,
asthma, arrhythmia, tachycardia, nausea and vomiting, depression, and
disorientation. The processed free glutamic acid in prescription and
non-prescription drugs, food supplements, and cosmetics can also cause
adverse reactions.

    There are badly flawed industry-sponsored studies that have pretended
to find that processed free glutamic acid does not cause adverse reactions.
Inappropriate procedures used by the glutamate industry have included
limiting subjects to people virtually guaranteed not to be sensitive to
processed free glutamic acid, and/or using processed free glutamic acid or
other similarly reactive substances in placebos as well as in test
material. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has based its claim that
processed free glutamic acid causes only mild and transitory reactions on
those badly flawed industry-sponsored studies.

    - Even the EPA admits that the food additive called "monosodium
glutamate" causes adverse reactions.

    - Even the FDA admits that the food additive "monosodium glutamate"
contains processed free glutamic acid.
    <>- Even the FDA admits that many consumers refer to all free glutamic
acid as "MSG."

The EPA's approvals of use of MSG in agriculture are simple,
straightforward, and in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act

In reviewing the application of Auxein Corporation (now Emerald
BioAgriculture) for use of processed free glutamic acid in a spray to be
applied to crops as they grow, the EPA failed to conform to the
requirements of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which require, in
part, that the EPA review any proposed action for validity, completeness,
reliability, and relationship to human risk. The EPA also ignored Executive
Order 13045 which requires government agencies to consider available
information concerning the variability of the sensitivities of major
identifiable subgroups of consumers, including infants and children. For
example, Auxein Corporation sent the EPA 14 industry-sponsored
toxicological studies from the literature, all done in the 1970's, but
failed to mention hundreds of studies in the literature that refuted those
14 studies.  Auxein Corporation even failed to send the EPA independent
studies that appeared in the same book(s) as the industry-sponsored studies
sent to the EPA. For example, although processed free glutamic acid causes
brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders in infant animals, this special
hazard faced by infants was ignored by Auxein Corporation. It would appear
that Auxein Corporation restricted its consideration of "available
information" to information made available by the glutamate industry; and
the EPA, even after having been sent abstracts from other "available
information," has not challenged the Auxein Corporation applications. A
more complete discussion of the shortcomings of the EPA approvals granted
to Auxein Corporation has been submitted to the EPA.

Questions about the safety of spraying processed free glutamic acid on
plants and into the environment have been raised by the Truth in Labeling
Campaign and by individual consumers. The EPA has refused to address those
concerns. The EPA, and, in particular, EPA spokesperson Dr. Janet Andersen,
has failed to respond to allegations that in approving the spraying of
processed free glutamic acid, the EPA failed to consider the reliability,
validity, and completeness of the Auxein Corporation application or comply
with Executive Order 13045 entitled Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, except to say that the EPA had
complied with executive order 13045. Moreover, while responding to letters
that asked direct questions of the EPA, Andersen failed to respond to most,
if not all, of the direct questions contained in those letters.

AuxiGro, the first MSG-laced plant "growth enhancer" to hit the market, has
been approved for spraying on every crop we know of, with no restrictions
on the amount of processed free glutamic acid (MSG) that may remain in
and/or on crops when brought to market. Even before consumers had an
inkling that crops were being sprayed, the Truth in Labeling Campaign
received reports that MSG-sensitive consumers had gotten sick from head
lettuce and potatoes.

Federal Register notices chronicling the application and approval of
processed free glutamic acid are available on the Web via GPO Access, the
Federal Register, through: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.
Application for approval of use of AuxiGro was made to the EPA in 1997.
Testing of the product was also approved in that year, and many of the test
crops sprayed with AuxiGro were brought to market without notifying
consumers. Glutamic acid was granted an exemption from establishment of a
tolerance limit in January, 1998. AuxiGro was also approved for use on a
number of crops in January, 1998, and approved for use on other crops
later. No announcement of these approvals was made in the Federal Register.

Due to a technical glitch in the system, the glutes came to need one more
approval to make their California registrations work.  The glutes were
asking for AuxiGro to be approved for use as a fungicide in California, but
the EPA had only approved AuxiGro for use as a pesticide produce or plant
growth enhancer.  And when application was made for this addition to their
approvals, the application was brought to our attention; and the Truth in
Labeling Campaign filed a formal protest to this approval of AuxiGro. The
Formal Objection of the Truth in Labeling Campaign was filed on August 16,
2001 with the EPA.

By law, formal objections filed in a timely manner must be responded to
within six months. Also, by law (we were told) even though the Final Rule
had not been promulgated, this additional use of AuxiGro would be
considered approved unless and until the EPA determined that it should be
otherwise. In July, 2004, we received a conference call from Dr. Andersen
and a number of other EPA players, including an EPA lawyer -- a "courtesy
call" telling us that our objections had been discounted and that the Final
Rule allowing use of AuxiGro as a fungicide would be published shortly in
the Federal Register.

What's wrong at the EPA?

Neither the EPA nor Janet Andersen, Ph.D., director of the Biopesticides
and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD), are stupid.  Rather, all evidence
would appear to suggest that the EPA, which is charged with protecting the
health of Americans, says it is protecting the health of Americans, when in
fact the EPA acts to protect the bottom line of big business.  Don't think
for a moment that MSG is the only toxin unleashed on the American public by
the EPA.  Let the words "methyl parathion" and "DDT" jog your memory.
The EPA, in granting the chemical referred to as "L-glutamic acid" an
exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of  "L-glutamic
acid" on all food commodities when applied/used in accordance with good
agricultural practices (thereby allowing unrestricted amounts of processed
free glutamic acid (MSG) residue to remain in and on any and all food crops
that come under the EPA's jurisdiction) violated Section 408(c)(2)(A)(i),
Section 408(c)(2)(ii), Section 408(c)(2)(B), and Section 408(b)(2)(D) of
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Neither "L-Glutamic Acid and Gamma Aminobutyric Acid; Exemptions from the
Requirement of a Tolerance; Final Rule" (Federal Register June 21, 2001)
nor "Glutamic Acid; Pesticide Tolerance Exemption; Final Rule" (Federal
Register January 7, 1998), which preceded it, met the criteria established
by law for granting exemptions from the restriction of a tolerance.
How did spokesperson Andersen excuse the fact that the EPA approved
processed free glutamic acid for use in an EPA approved spray? First, said
Andersen, the free glutamic acid used in the spray is naturally occurring,
and it's 99.3 per cent pure pharmaceutical grade L-glutamic acid. Yet, in
admitting that the free glutamic acid in AuxiGro is not 100 per cent pure
L-glutamic acid, and that it is pharmaceutical grade, Andersen contradicted
herself, and actually made the point that 1) if the free glutamic acid used
in AuxiGro were truly natural, it wouldn't be "pharmaceutical grade;" and
2) if the free glutamic acid used in AuxiGro were truly natural it would be
100 per cent, not 99.3 per cent pure L-glutamic acid.

Andersen said something else very interesting. She said that the EPA is
well aware of the fact that MSG causes adverse reactions. However, when
Andersen used the term "MSG" she was referring to the one food ingredient
called "monosodium glutamate," and not to the free glutamic acid in
"monosodium glutamate" that causes adverse reactions. Failure to define
terms, as Anderson did (and does) so handily, is both deceptive and
misleading.

What Andersen did is very clever. What she said makes no sense at all. No
one has ever claimed that the processed free glutamic acid in AuxiGro comes
out of a box labeled "monosodium glutamate." So for her to say it doesn't,
is meaningless. On the other hand, the claim has been made that the free
glutamic acid in AuxiGro will cause the same brain lesions, neuroendocrine
disorders, adverse reactions and other diverse disease conditions that are
caused by the free glutamic acid in "monosodium glutamate" and the other
food additives that contain processed free glutamic acid. That claim is
true, but Andersen does not address it. How do you refute someone who
ignores legitimate questions and spews out irrelevant statements as though
they pertained to your legitimate questions? You don't. The EPA defense of
its approval of use of processed free glutamic acid in plant "growth
enhancers" and its registration of AuxiGro has two parts to it: 1) ignoring
those who question EPA actions, and 2) making the irrelevant statement that
AuxiGro does not contain MSG (monosodium glutamate).

Neither Andersen nor anyone else at the EPA ever addressed the criticism
that approvals given by the EPA to allow the use of free glutamic acid and
the product AuxiGro were inappropriate.
The EPA, which approved the used of processed free glutamic acid in plant
"growth enhancers," made a grievous error. But instead of recognizing and
remedying that error once it was pointed out to them, the EPA began a
cover-up. That cover-up included use of ambiguous words and phrases,
half-truths, and downright lies told to consumers. The cover-up continued
(and continues still) with a variation of those ambiguous words and
phrases, half-truths, and downright lies told to legislators who inquire
about spraying MSG into the environment.


You might find the Emerald BioAgriculture sales literature interesting

Sales literature promoting AuxiGro  was once found on their Web site, but
is now long gone.  While Federal Register notices included the fact that
there is processed free glutamic acid (MSG) in AuxiGro, the sales
literature from Auxein Corporation did not mention the fact that their
product contains free glutamic acid until the Truth in Labeling Campaign
began to broadcast that information. In November, 1999, Auxein added
deceptive, misleading, and untrue statements in an elaboration of its
Product Page, wherein they essentially make the untrue assertion that the
glutamic acid used in AuxiGro is chemically and biologically identical to
that found in plants and animals.

Sales literature did (on September 12, 2000), however, contain the
following:

    "PRECAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

    HAZARDS TO HUMAN AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS – CAUTION"

If you think you might be reacting to AuxiGro sprayed on crops, you might
want to try to (contact Emerald BioAgriculture (formerly Auxein
Corporation) at the addresses that follow. (A friend recently told us that
he tried to contact them by e-mail, but his e-mail was returned unopened.)
By law, the company is required to forward reports of adverse reactions to
the EPA.  You might want to ask the EPA if Emerald BioAgriculture did so.

    John L. Mclntyre, Ph.D.
    President & CEO
    Emerald BioAgriculture (formerly Auxein Corporation)
    3125 Sovereign Drive, Ste. B
    Lansing, MI 48911-4240
    Phone: (888) 828-9346
    Fax: (517) 882-7521
    E-Mail: mailto:%20sales@auxein.com