In an effort to connect its customers with healthier food options, Wal-Mart—the world's largest retailer—is preparing for a Spring launch of a signature icon that will appear on its private label products and in the produce sections throughout the chain's stores.

New research links exposure to common pesticides with compromised vitamin D levels that can cause deficiencies and disease, according to a study published in a recent issue of the journal PLoS One.
]]> http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/banned-ddt-pesticidestill-a-health-risk-linked-to-vitamin-d-deficiencies/feed/ 0 http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/a-diet-soda-a-day-may-give-you-a-heart-attack/ http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/a-diet-soda-a-day-may-give-you-a-heart-attack/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:00:05 +0000 Jill Ettinger http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/?p=10759

Bad news for diet soda drinkers according to a study published in the most recent issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The study results found that drinking diet soda daily significantly increases the risk of developing a stroke, heart attack and other serious vascular issues.

Bayer CropScience, the leading manufacturer of imidacloprid systemic-based pesticides, is the target of criticism and calls to ban the products after new research findings indicate imidacloprid as a major culprit in the recent decline of honeybee populations in a condition that's commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder. Without healthy honeybee populations contributing to the pollination of hundreds of foods, millions of farmers and fruit and vegetable crops would cease production.

After repeated warnings, the Food and Drug Administration has filed a suit in Federal District Court in Brooklyn in an attempt to shut down a Queens, NY cheese manufacturer for health violations involving the presence of deadly bacteria.

The Hershey Company, North America's largest chocolate manufacturer, has announced a commitment to begin sourcing some of its chocolate from suppliers that are certified free of the common practices of child labor and exploitation, reports the company.

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates came to the defense of genetically modified organisms and the potential they hold to "feed the world" and help relieve global poverty issues in a recent annual letter released on his foundation's website.

Deadly strains of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are present in the nation's meat supply, according to a new report published in the journal PLoS ONE titled, "MRSA in Conventional and Alternative Retail Pork Products."

A recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and featured in the recent issue of Journal of the American Medical Association is the first to link chemicals to immune problems in children. The study revealed more concerns about exposure to common chemicals as the research team found contraindications with routine vaccinations.

A bill introduced to the House last week could mean major housing upgrades, if you're a chicken. Titled H.R. 3798, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, the bill was crafted in partnership by the Humane Society of the United States and United Egg Producers.