Raw Almonds: An Endangered Species

"Almonds", originally uploaded by Rune T

I'm not much of an activist, as I believe that we can only change the world from the inside out, not the other way around.

Having said this, I was shocked to hear about the newly passed law regarding mandatory pasteurization of ALL almonds.

Seth Leaf of Living Nutz states that "starting in August or September of 2007, raw almonds available in the USA, Canada and Mexico, will no longer be "truly raw" due to a mandate passed by the USDA, FDA and the California Almond Board, announcing that all almonds including organic must be pasteurized."

Still according to Seth, "the primary reasons for passing this law are two isolated outbreaks of salmonella, in conjunction with conventional almond farms a few years ago. To the best of our knowledge, no salmonella outbreaks have EVER been associated with organic almonds."

Sure makes you wonder where society is going with that kind of fear-based and irrational line of thinking.

In a recent article by Mike Adams on News Targets.com, he points out that "the issue at hand here is not merely that all California almonds will now be sterilized, but that cooked almonds will be deliberately and falsely labeled as raw." A prospect that has created an outrage in the raw foods community.

For those of you who would like to contribute directly towards reverting this sad decision, here's a good place to start:

- You can sign the petition that's already in circulation here.

- You can check out Raw Food, Right Now!' for Heidi Ohlander's latest blog post, "I Love Raw Almonds", in which she offers positive and constructive ways to tackle the issue.


Be back a little later today to share an inspiring article...

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