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Nuts to the EU!! - Eneida Nelson (26th Dec 2004 - 11:31:59) Anybody wondering why they couldn't buy Brazil nuts this year? Well, apparently Brussels has decided the shells may contain too many 'aflatoxins' which may possibly cause liver cancer. However, I can only assume you would have to have several tons of nuts under the Christmas tree for any possible danger! The way the nuts are grown and harvested and transported hasn't changed in years - it's just that the EU have changed the amount of allowable aflatoxins (I suppose MEPs have to do something with their time). Of course, these toxins are usually associated with peanuts but they originate in the USA and have not been banned. I wonder why? Many regions of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia rely on harvesting nuts for their survival. The work is usually done by the indigenous Forest people. People who had very little income to begin with and now virtually nothing. If they cannot harvest and export the Brazil nut the forest will be logged and destroyed and thus global warming will become even more a reality. I feel quite passionate about this injustice, so I thought I would share this heart warming Christmas story with the rest of you.

Re: Nuts to the EU!! - Chris (29th Dec 2004 - 13:05:15) It's amazing as I wouldn't dream of eating the shells (even the inner ones) and I guess that most other people are the same. Most of the food we consume has got something in it that would disagree with us if consumed in vast quantities, but most human immune systems are capable of dealing with most of the toxins present as long as they are present in small quantities. Apparently even cocoa contains compounds that have detrimental effects upon health but again you'd need to consume a vast amount of it before the body gives up fighting it. Monosodium Glutamate is another, apparently, potentially carsenogenic compound present in a lot of processed and non-processed food. I have an idea why the same ban hasn't been imposed upon tobacco products...the words "revenue" and "duty" spring to mind.

Re: Nuts to the EU!! - Mike Grimes (30th Dec 2004 - 00:02:51) Don't believe all you read! Most of Enieda's post appears to have been culled, directly or indirectly, from a website that seems to mention Greenpeace more often than a site about birds in general and cockatoos in particular possibly should. Greenpeace as an organisation, whilst having seemingly worthwhile aims (saving the planet), have, on occasions, ignored factual evidence that does not support their cause whilst giving undue weight to hearsay that does. On this occasion, I have also read that this year's harvest was plagued by unusually damp weather conditions which promoted excessive growth of the mould that produce the aflatoxins. My point is that this might be down to a natural disaster, rather than EU restrictions, and a relatively minor one, at that.

Re: Nuts to the EU!! - Eneida Nelson (30th Dec 2004 - 09:27:27) OK Mike, you obviously think I sat down and thought - what shall I post on Liphook.co, what about an article on Brazil nuts - Right? Wrong!! The consequences of this change in toxin levels have been concerning me for sometime. The new regulations came into force on 11 July 2003 (no. 1722 The Food (Brazil Nuts) Emergency Control Regulations). Whatever you think about Greenpeace, in this case they're absolutely right. The real point is this - Harvesting the nuts is very hard and dangerous work. The area they grow in has many poisonous snakes and insects. At the most the farmers get paid about 1500 reais (300 pounds) for 3 months work. That's if they work really hard - some don't even break even. You can talk to the Fairtrade Organization if you don't believe me. Now that the importation of nuts in shells has been stopped, even if on a temporary basis because the wet conditions did cause more mould than usual (although it might well be a permanent ban) these people still have to eat to survive. The nuts are virtually their only source of income, no other viable crops can grow in those regions, so what will they do next - sell the trees of course, because that's all they've got left to sell. I don't have to explain to you what hapens next when the forest is logged - do I? Greenpeace and I are not the only people concerned about the consequences of this new regulation. You could talk to the Brazilian Embassy (where my mother worked for over 30 years) or you might like to talk to my uncle in Brazil, who does a lot of work for the Brazilian Gorvernment in Amazonia.

Re: Nuts to the EU!! - Alex Cameron (1st Jan 2005 - 23:38:18) The EU screwing us? Surely not? ;) Interesting to know Eneida is Brazilian though - that's where that fiery temper comes from eh.... Oh, and without wanting to risk a flame war, god i can't stand brazil nuts. Why on earth would you want to eat them anyway?

Re: Nuts to the EU!! - Eneida Nelson (3rd Jan 2005 - 09:51:01) Actually Alex only a small part of me is Brazilian and I can't imagine why you think I have a fiery temper! I'm really surprised you dislike Brazil nuts so very much, I was under the impression you were rather partial to them...

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