. welcome to "behind the headlines" i'm cheryl jennings. today we look at what is in our food. wool' talk about the possible dangers of our food from the oceans and how you can create

healthy food for your families. wheel attack about what is in the food and waterways. it's been years since the fukushima earth wake. but still things are littered on the coast. they've seen debris from japan at a growing rate since last fall. they've picked up refrigerator parts, large buoys, even a fishing boat from japan. >> it's disheartening to see debris washing up from other countries. >> the tsunami dumped $1.5 million tons of debris into the pacific. government biologists say plastic items were taken from a stomach of a baby bird. researchers are finding toys,

lighters and plastic bags in fish. we're hoping the images that you see will help people worldwide to under the risks to the oceans and food supply. elizabeth is the president of deep exploration research marine, has a research company in emeryville that builds custom vehicles to explore the deep sea. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to talk about fukushima plant problem. >> the plant located at the edge of the ocean. you know so much radiation leaked out directly into the sea. not calculated how much came out or how much is still laeing out. of course this is carried out by the ocean currents. fish went through it. we have large fish, tuna, other large fishes that have been

exposed to this. >> it could -- we could have a problem here. >> we could. >> no lines on the ocean. we don't recognize it the way politicians do. >> the other thing you and i talked about before. look at social. it looks gorgeous. it doesn't look like it with k be contaminated. >> very deceiving. we have a tendency to treat the ocean as a supermarket and sewer at the same time. putting thousands of millions of tops of chemicals, trash, garbage into the sea, out of sight, out of mind. but it comes back to haunt us. >> we see plastics in the baby fish, birds, and those things. i don't think people realize how that affects us. >> we have by yio accumulation,

chemicals, the larger the fish is the more contamination is stored in its tissues. tuna, for instance, may bio accumulate over the course of its life. it's had years to accumulate those toxins in the system. >> the other thing i want to talk about is the other thing that gets dumped into the ocean. oceanliners. tell me about that. >> dumping at sea has been a problem for many, many years. but in the case of a cruise ship, you've got somehows of people, four, five, thousand of people more than a population of a small city. what do they do with that waste? some are trying to treat it on board. some smaller cruise lines looking to get into pristine areas, the problem is more seriously but it's an enormous issue. the cruise ship that went adrift

over days at sea, end up in the food supply. >> you hear this, you got farms as well, so -- but it's not entire entirely hopeless. >> everybody has the ability to make choices, and reduce the plastic they're using. don't buy something you use for five minutes, and throw it away. aggressive recycling. make choices where you get seafood. if you decide to eat ocean wildlife. where it's coming from, where it's been. trace it back to from the boat to the restaurant. >> it might not be as easy as you think. . there's a great list. . there's a monterey aquarium seafood watch list. you need to have that connection the same way you go to the farmer's market and buy greens from the former, you should buy your fish from the fisher.

>> the ultimate end is to be healthier. >> healthier. we can make a difference every day. >> your company is in alemeda? >> alemeda. >> i want to thank you for sharing with us. you do great tours with kids. >> thank you so much. >> we have to take a

welcome back to "beyond the

head lines" joining me is joanne hater. . you not only live it but you teach it? . that's right. >> i see you brought a package that says "organic" on it. everywhere i go, i see organ is versus food that is not organic. i rook at the prices and wonder if i'm doing the right thing buying organic. or would it make a difference? >> that's a common question, will it make a difference? i want to look at a stanford study in english and human studies and comparison of the foods. they really concluded that they couldn't say it was any healthier at this point however they did admit you'd get less

pesticide residue and less antibiotics if you eat organic. in order to know if it's healthier. you have to have long-term studies. the knnutritive value of the fo is not different. there are reasons to eat organically that may not contain in the study's analysis. >> many people who have cancer, changed their diets, they go completely organic and treat their water to make sure they don't have anything extra in there. maybe it makes them feel better. >> it's very logical when lower to pesticide residue. when formed by people who care so much about their product. any time they eat something you know that's better for you, that's very good. >> how do we knowis something is really organic?

how do you tell? >> we know, because you have to be certified in order to put your organic title and the seal, so you can look for the seal which says usda organic and that means that that farm has been certified and that they are allowed to sell their product as or gappic. >> okay. i see that you have a book here called "gut insight." i know your field of expertise is dealing with -- >> my answers really come from my work at stanford and became very interested in the gut bacteria which of course is going through a lot of revelation right now, a lot of research and one of the things i don't think people realize, when they're eating fruits and vegetables, they are getting probiotics and pre biotics, namely pre biotics are in the fruits and vegetables, the

nondigestible fibers going into the colin. that's feeding good bacteria. you're eating onions, leeks, art choke, asparagus, you're getting pre biotics. >> if we meet more of those things do we get less stomach upsets? >> i hope so. we don't know why people have irritable bowl but their gut bacteria may need to be modified into a healthy profile. >> what do you think is the most important thing to do when it comes to their eating plans? >> the best thing is to eat more fruits and vegetables. they are so protective. they have protective come points not only to protect tem selves

but protect us. >> thank you so much. >> all right. we do have to take another break. coming up we will meet another organic farmer who grows

welcome back to"beyond the" headlines" we've been talking about health and safety of our food and benefits of eating organic. joining me are farmers and

owners of mass organics owned by the sacramento river in chico. i have to thank you from driving there. it's a two and a half hour drive. >> thank you. >> i want to thank you, greg. you're a fourth generation rice farmer? >> my great grandfather planted his crop in 1916. >> back then it was organic? >> it was by default. there were no pesticides or chemicals to use. he was working with nature much as we are. >> your farm has an amazing variety of crops. we have pictures we want to show folks. >> it's very cool. we are an organic farm not necessarily because we don't use chemical fertilizers but it needs to be a fully integrated system like nature is. we're trained as biologists, and

that's where our passions are for living organisms. we grow rice and almonds and wheat and sheep and they all work together to make this system. >> we just saw great pictures of your family. you have five children. >> we do. we have five kids. >> do they get involved with you all in the form? >> it depends on the day and how much they're willing to do. we told our 14-year-old daughter she was going to be working this summer and she's not so thrilled about it. >> the youngest are 7. they're getting there. they help in different waste. >> one of the cool things your outlook is farmer's markets. you're not in a lost stores. >> most of our farm proveds we have direct market through farmer's market. nine of which are in the bay area. we do a little retail at grocery

stores like buy right

we have a a a lot of oak trees and other schrubs that literally separate our fields from the neighboring fields. >> intercept. >> the pesticides. >> one thing we want to get across is how do you eat more healthy. >> what is your final thought? what is your advice? >> to eat more healthy, i say as much whole food as you can.

real food that doesn't come into package, whether meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts. you can do well with a handful of almonds for a snack. >> buying food directly from the learning where your food comes from is a really great way to get started. >> supporting your local formers. >> we will be supporting you, too. >> when we come back, we'll learn about the abling on animal products and how to find the choices of meet healthy for you mom... yes honey? dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart, is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats

that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. [ dad ] jan? ♪

one fact we don't think about is feeding of eye tan by at is that we eat. that contributes to deadly

superbugs. michael finny filed this report last year how you could minute niese your risk. >> you probably assume most antibiotics are required to people. not so. it's estimated 80 percent of the antibiotics are given to animals to help them grow faster and prevent disease in unsanitary conditions. this is the cause of is superbugs. . it may be different cull to help you find antibiotic to help you get well. it may be impossible. when chicken was tested two-thirds had harmful bacteria. you can -- in fact, at whole foods that's the own kind of meat for sale but other foods it

can be harder to figure out what you're getting. >> we find a few that are misleading and not approved by the government. >> the label natural, and government approved has nothing to do with antibiotics. one helpful label is no antibiotics used. even better. are labels that say usda process verified. >> this means the government checked up to make sure they're doing what they claim. >> organic is another sure bet. all organic meat is raised without antibiotics. looking for these is the way to ensure the meat you're buying has no antibiotics. >> here with us is the seafood buyer for b the buy right business. and director of a nonprofit called animal welfare approved. thank you for being here.

>> this is interesting topic what is your advice for shoppers? what 0 are you looking for? >> i look for a meat counter to build the relationship and talk to the person selling the meat so you have transparency what you're purchasing it. >> know where your food comes from. as a buyer that would be part of your job, too, right? . it's a huge part of my job. building relationships with ranchers and allowing access to ranchers and customers coming in looking forty, quality meat. >> you brought images. we have cattle, turkeys and fish. what do you look for when>> i >> i look for go together direct source as much as possible. i look to being able to have a connection and access to the rancher, a person raising that meat as much as possible. i'm not going through a

distributor, or middle man. if i have questions i'm able to talk to the person raising that animal right away. >> we saw that piece where andrew was talk about the standards but your organization helps people understand. >> yeah. if you can't get up to the farm and don't have a working relationship, you can look at the label that has meaning. i think one of my biggest challenges have no meaning or they're put on to promote a product, for instance, natural means minimally processed. it means minimally processed no more, no less. . you brought a book called food labeling for dummies. this has the link for your organization. tell us about how this can help people. > we designed it to consumers to take a quick look

and find out what is behind the labels and what they really mean. i think the biggest issue for us is we can go ahead and buy a car. when we buy a car we look at the kelly blue book or a mechanic's report. we don't buy enough food based on very little research. we designed this document to help somebody to understand where what these labels really moon. >> i never thought about that. what is more important than our food. let me ask you about chicken or eggs. we hear these labels -- i stand in front the egg counter. i have noed what that is best. what does that mean? >> at a baseline level, you should look at cage free egg. but it's best to find chickens that are pasturized. you find if you look at products pasture raised the taste is phenomenal. it's much better tasting

prochtd. >> you're right. i did buy organic eggs and it was amazing. >> tell me a little about your organization? across the across the united states and in canada. i have a team of 27 that visit the formers and ranchers and look at a group of published criteria. there were three key attributes. for slaughter programs. look at the animal from the moment it's important to the moment it dyes. every animal that's be on pasture and range we control the use of medication. the issue we have is the misuse, not the use. we have to be very careful, the misuse of the systems. >> how to use your mobile aps. too. >> it is online. i think there's a picture

onscreen, the '. everything in our program is designed to help me understand how these things work. it's a great ap. you're putting poison into your body if you don't. the recent study we have with the pigs we have to be careful with the study. >> and gfo? >> geo modified organisms. apparently there's been no wheat in the united states in four years and we have wheat growing out of patrolman. the price of wheat plummeted as a consequence. >> final thought. ten seconds. for people what they need to know? >> they need to know the person flair buying their meat from to make sure you're bridging the gab and know what you're eating. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. that's all the time we have

today. big thank you for all of our special guests. for more information go to our website. and we're on facebook at abc 7 community affairs and i invite

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