Which is what Japan is doing:

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says the government will apply the maximum allowable radiation limit for vegetables to fish.

The move came after the health ministry reported that fish caught off Ibaraki prefecture — which is about halfway between the plant and Tokyo — contained levels of radioactive iodine that exceeded the new legal limit. Cesium was also found just below the limit. The fish were caught Friday, before the safety limit was announced Tuesday.

Please. No level of radio active material inside the body is safe. The TEPCO folks are saying the radiation in the water will dissipate. What they don’t tell you is that the little radioactive fish you just ate will continue to give off radiation inside your body.

Read about the tips here…7 Diet Tricks That Really Work | Tips to Lose Weight | Structured Meal Times & Eat Low Glycemic Index Foods | LiveScience.

The Corn Refiners Association, which represents firms that make the syrup, has been trying to improve the image of the much maligned sweetener with ad campaigns promoting it as a natural ingredient made from corn. Now, the group has petitioned the United States Food and Drug Administration to start calling the ingredient “corn sugar,” arguing that a name change is the only way to clear up consumer confusion about the product.

Read more –> A New Name for High-Fructose Corn Syrup – NYTimes.com.

Called “shared responsibility payments,” the fines would be set at least half the cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation.

I’m sorry, I didn’t vote Democratic so they can fine me for not choosing health insurance. As I have said before, I shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for folks who choose to eat fast food three times a day. The cost for these programs will only go up. And they continue to take more money out of my paycheck to pay for these programs. Yet my pay isn’t going up that fast, which means I’m making less.

According to research done by the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Public Radio, and the Harvard School of Health, health insurance costs individuals an average of $4,800 annually. The cost for families to get insurance is even higher, at around $12,000 annually. These kinds of costs would push many people over the edge financially. How does Sen. Wyden propose that we pay for more people who will be unable to afford food, housing and education if they have to pay for health insurance? Effective health-care reform would be better accomplished by other means. Sen. Wyden’s own proposals to switch America from employer-based to individual health-insurance markets, for example, would do a great amount of good by encouraging competition and innovation without making life harder for the people having the most difficult time getting insurance.

Why not have individual health insurance markets? I can choose my car insurance, life insurance, cell phone provider, internet provider, cable tv provider, etc? Competition would create lower prices.

In Europe, where health care is free and state run, many experts say we may be going down a slippery slope.

Europeans have some of the world’s best hospitals and have made great strides in fighting problems like obesity and heart disease. But the system is far from perfect.

“What we can be proud of in Europe is the ground rules, that everyone has the right to health care,” said Jose Martin-Moreno, a health expert at the University of Valencia in Spain. “But the implementation has been difficult and one size does not fit all.”

Critics say the policies are often driven more by politics than science. Last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised that patients unable to see cancer experts within two weeks would get cash to pay for private care. Brown had previously argued against paying for private providers and some say the reversal may be a gimmick to boost his sagging popularity.

A World Health Organization survey in 2000 found that France had the world’s best health system. But that has come at a high price; health budgets have been in the red since 1988.

“I would warn Americans that once the government gets its nose into health care, it’s hard to stop the dangerous effects later,” said Valentin Petkantchin, of the Institut Economique Molinari in France. He said many private providers have been pushed out, forcing a dependence on an overstretched public system.

“The minute you make health insurance mandatory, people start overusing it,” said Dr. Alphonse Crespo, an orthopedic surgeon and research director at Switzerland’s Institut Constant de Rebecque. “If I have a cold, I might go see a doctor because I am already paying a health insurance premium.”

Senior House Democrats drafting health care legislation are considering slapping an unspecified financial penalty on anyone who refuses to purchase affordable health insurance, a key committee chairman said Monday.

Plus, they want to add more taxes in order to pay for the healthcare they want to provide to the uninsured:

In addition, officials said Democrats are considering a new tax on certain health insurance benefits as one of numerous options to help pay for expanding coverage to the uninsured.

I’m all for providing care to people who need it, and can’t afford it, but there has to be a better way than by forcing the rest of us into buying it, and taxing us on top of that.

First of all, the government shouldn’t be forcing people to buy health insurance. Secondly, they shouldn’t be forcing employers to provide health care. Let’s see, the postal service is about $2 billion in the red, they can’t figure out how to fix social security, and Medicaid coverage has been bad for many years.  And how are they going to pay for this additional social program? TAXES. Why should I be forced to pay for health insurance for those who continue to eat at McDonald’s three times a day? I’m being taxed to death as it is.

Instead, we should be allowed to pick a choose our own health insurance. Just like I can pick a choose my cell phone service provider, cable TV and internet provider, life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, credit cards, and bank services,  I want to be able to pick my own health insurance provider. Competition would increase and prices would decrease, I’d keep more of my money from my paycheck.

[Perchlorate] interferes with thyroid function and poses developmental health risks, particularly to fetuses.

If you care about rocket fuel in your drinking water, call your elected official and tell them you want it cleaned up. And while your at it, contact the EPA and let them know you don’t want perchlorate in your drinking water.

More information on perchlorate:

• EPA Perchlorate Links
• Wikipedia info
• FDA Q&A Page on Perchlorate
• CA Dept. of Public Health

The president of a slaughterhouse at the heart of the largest meat recall denied under oath on Wednesday, but then grudgingly admitted, that his company had apparently introduced sick cows into the hamburger supply.

Here’s a link to the video <CAUTION: It’s graphic, and may turn you into a vegetarian, if you’re not one already!>

Seriously, who are you supposed to trust when it comes to food safety?  There were over 50 recalls last year alone. Here are some links to sites that list recalls:

• Recalls.gov- One stop shop for recall info from FDA, CPSC, USDA, and others
• What’s On Your Plate - great blog listing food and cosmetic recalls
• ConsumerAffairs.com - Consumer Safety News