Organic Bytes 6/13

Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate  ESSAY OF THE WEEK Consumer Alert: Secret Trade Agreements Threaten Food Safety, Subvert Democracy If you think the U.S. government is doing a sub-par job of keeping your food safe, brace yourself. You could soon be eating imported chicken, beef and seafood products that don’t meet even basic U.S. standards for food safety. The Obama Administration is allowing corporations like Dow AgroSciences, Cargill and DuPont, and industry trade groups like the Pork Producers Council and Tobacco Associates, Inc. – 600 of them in all – to weigh in on negotiations on two of the largest free trade agreements in world history. Who doesn’t get a seat at the table? Consumers, farmers, even members of Congress. In fact, the President wants to “fast-track” the two agreements. That means Congress will be forced to vote on them, after they’ve already been finalized and signed, without benefit of the normal democratic checks and balances that include debate and the ability to introduce amendments. The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pose direct threats to consumer safety. They will weaken U.S. and world food safety standards, threaten domestic and international food sovereignty laws, and allow transnational corporations to sue governments for alleged future lost profits unless the corporations are allowed to freely peddle their unproven, unsafe goods with reckless regard for existing food safety laws. Read the essay Read the press release TAKE ACTION: Tell President Obama and Interim U.S. Trade Rep. Miriam Sapiro: Trade Agreements Shouldn't Be Secret! GMO LEGISLATION UPDATE Winning! Connecticut and Maine Make History, Pass GMO Labeling Laws It’s Monsanto’s worst nightmare come true. One by one, states are passing GMO labeling laws, despite Monsanto’s best efforts – and deep pockets – to prevent them. Will the Biotech Bully follow through on its threats to sue? We say: Bring it on! Kudos to the hard-working, take-no-prisoners, not-takin’-no-for-an-answer activists in Connecticut for scoring the first GMO labeling law in the country. And a tip of the hat to Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has promised to sign the Connecticut bill, lawsuit threats and all. The Connecticut bill received bipartisan support, passing the Senate unanimously and winning a 134-3 vote in the House. Maine followed Connecticut’s lead, with the House passing LD 718 yesterday, June 12, also by an overwhelming majority vote 141-4. Neither bill is perfect. Connecticut’s requires four other states, including one that borders the Constitution State, to pass GMO labeling laws before it kicks in. Maine contains a similar trigger, but requires five other states to pass GMO labeling laws, before LD 718 can take effect. But it just could turn out that the trigger clauses prompt other nearby states, including Vermont whose bill H.112 will be taken up in January, to follow suit. Next it’s on to Washington State, where voters will cast their ballots on Nov. 5, to decide on I-522, a citizens’ ballot initiative to require mandatory GMO labeling there. More on the Connecticut win More on the Maine win SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF Usual Suspects Strike Again We knew they’d show up, sooner or later, with their bulging wallets. Can their fake science, sleazy ads and bogus voter guides be far behind? This week, the money started flowing in to the campaign to defeat I-522, Washington State’s ballot initiative to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs). If history is our guide, this is just the beginning. A mere trickle compared with the flood that’s sure to follow. The Grocery Manufacturers Association is leading the way, with its first donation, $472.5k. Monsanto has plunked down $242.2k so far, a mere pittance compared to the nearly $8 million the biotech giant forked out last year to defeat Proposition 37, California’s GMO labeling initiative. The other usual suspects include DuPont Pioneer, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences – you know, the guys who make all those nasty pesticides, and don’t want you to know they’re putting them in your food. Experts tell us that neither side in the I-522 fight will need to spend as much as they spent in California. We can reach far more voters, with far fewer ads, in Washington. The opposition could spend the same amount it spent in California, nearly $46 million, to try to defeat I-522, but you can only saturate a market so much before you put off voters. That said, we know these early donations will be followed by many more, much larger ones. The biotech industry will pull out all the stops to defeat I-522, especially in light of the recent GMO labeling law wins in Connecticut and Maine. We don’t have any huge corporations on our side in this fight. But we have you. Hundreds of thousands of individual donors who, together, can make a huge difference. Please make a generous donation today. Thank you! Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Washington, Vermont and other states) If you need your donation to be tax-deductible, you can donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education) TRAITOR BOYCOTT Dear Traitor Brands: We’re Waiting It’s been more than six months since consumers began boycotting the “Traitor” brands: the organic and natural brands of the parent companies that spent millions to defeat Proposition 37, the California Right to Know GMO labeling initiative. When we launched the boycott, we explained that we’d be happy to start buying brands like R.W. Knudsen, Naked Juice, Odwalla and others again - just as soon as the decision-makers at those brands guaranteed us that their parent companies wouldn’t pour money into defeating future state labeling campaigns, but would instead pitch in to support those campaigns. We’re still waiting. So far, there’s been no sign of donations from companies like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, etc. to the NO campaign for I-522, a citizens’ initiative to label GMOs in Washington State. That’s encouraging. But there haven't been any donations from those companies to the YES campaign, either. Even though we know a lot of these Big Food companies have signaled that they now support GMO labeling laws, at least at the federal level. If you’re missing your Honest Tea or Boca Burgers or Hunts Organic, now would be a good time to visit the facebook pages of all the Traitor Brands and post a little reminder: You’ll become a loyal fan again, as soon as their parent companies promise to support I-522. Until then, you’ll make do with their competitors’ brands. Download your wallet-sized boycott guide Download a poster-sized boycott guide Sign the boycott pledge Order printed copies of the boycott guide or poster FARM BILL UPDATE Senator Promises Monsanto Protection Act Won’t Be Renewed without a Vote It pays to complain. Thanks to your calls and letters to your U.S. Senators, the movement to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act has scored a preliminary victory: The much-maligned rider, slipped into the Farm Bill without debate, will not be renewed without a vote. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich., pictured), chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, pledged to oppose the extension beyond its September 30 expiration date. Sen. Stabenow made the promise to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who had pushed unsuccessfully for a vote on his own amendment to repeal the Monsanto rider. Sen. Stabenow’s promise represented a compromise. Great news, but we have to keep up the pressure to make sure Sen. Stabenow honors her pledge. Please call and email your Senators and ask them to pledge to vote against the Monsanto Protection Act if Sen. Blunt proposes it again. What’s next for the Farm Bill? The Senate completed its work on June 10, passing the legislation without voting on many of the other amendments we asked consumers to support. The bill now moves to the House, where floor debates and votes on amendments are scheduled for the week of June 17. The House version of Farm Bill contains an amendment proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) that would rob states of the right to regulate factory farms. That's bad enough, but the King Amendment is so broadly written that it could also overturn hundreds of state laws regulating agricultural products, including laws like the one Connecticut just passed, and many other states are considering, that would require mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). There’s still time to make your voice heard on the King Amendment, and other key amendments that will have an impact on food, environment and climate change policies. Let Congress know where you stand! Learn the fate of the Senate Farm Bill amendments and find out what amendments will come up for a vote in the House TAKE ACTION: Don’t Let Congress Stomp Out States’ Rights. Stop the King Amendment!   Love a Parade? March with Moms Across America on July 4! The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Just as we kicked off our plan to “out” the Senators who voted against states’ rights to label GMOs, Moms Across America has organized hundreds of marches in July 4 parades, to draw attention to kids’ health and GMOs. What better way to protest your Senators’ votes, than by marching in a parade with thousands of moms fighting for their kids’ health? The California State Grange and LabelGMOs.org have teamed up with moms who have seen their kids' health improve by going GMO free. Together they've launched the first Moms Across America campaign. Moms Across America is urging everyone who supports "the freedom to choose our food" to march in the hundreds of July 4 parades scheduled for the summer’s biggest holiday. So far, activists in 147 towns have heeded the call. Fourth of July parades draw politicians and decision-makers of all stripes, and the 71 U.S. Senators who recently voted against states' rights to label GMOs are certain to be at an Independence Day event somewhere in the their home state. Let's make them and their voting public aware that the nine out of 10 citizens who support GMO labels aren't happy with their votes against our right to know. Find out if your Senators voted against your right to know Join Moms Across America on July 4 VIDEO OF THE WEEK Cookin’ up Opposition to GMOs “Its’ not about taste. For me, it’s not even about the science. It’s about freedom.” Craft Restaurants founder Tom Colicchio, known also for his work as the head judge on Bravo’s hit competition show Top Chef, discusses what it means to be a food activist. Watch the video LITTLE BYTES Essential Reading for the Week McDonald's Cruelty: Creating Mentally Broken & Physically Destroyed Animals Why Are Children's Foods Packed with Toxic Chemicals? Modern Fruits and Vegetables Are Less Nutritious Evidence of GMO Harm in Pig Study If Dr. Offit Had His Way, Vitamins Would Be Treated as Drugs Hey, Non-GMO Activist: Monsanto's CEO Thinks You're an Elitist

Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate  ESSAY OF THE WEEK OCA and Our Allies Pressure 10 Senators Who Voted Against States' Rights to Label GMOs Seventy-one senators voted against the Sanders Amendment to the Farm Bill, an amendment to uphold states’ rights to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food. It’s time to take action. Phase I: We’ve selected 10 of the 71 senators. With help from several of our ongoing allies in the GMO labeling battle, along with MoveOn.org, and some of the state GMO campaigns, we’re launching a campaign to pressure these 10 senators to support their state’s right to enact a GMO labeling law. How? By organizing meetings at their Washington D.C. and home district offices. By submitting op-eds to their state newspapers. If your Senator is on the list, we need your help. We’ll be sending you an invitation soon to a meeting with your Senator. Please sign up to attend! In the meantime, you can start calling and emailing your Senator, posting on his or her facebook page, and writing letters to the editors of your local newspapers. Let’s find out why these Senators voted against states’ rights to label GMOs. More important, let’s get a commitment from each one of them that they will not support any legislation that would stomp out states’ rights to label GMOs. Read the essay ACTION ALERT Join the Twitter Rally Tonight! Tell Congress to Uphold States’ Rights to Label GMOs! TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Congress Member: Reject the King Amendment and any other rider or amendment to the Farm Bill that would take away states’ rights to label GMOs! Monsanto hoped that by pouring $46 million into defeating California’s ballot initiative to label GMOs last year, other states would be discouraged from launching similar campaigns. It didn’t turn out that way. GMO labeling laws have advanced in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine. Washington State voters will decide the issue in November, at the ballot box. Rather than try to defeat one state campaign after another, is the Biotech Bully looking to Congress for another handout? In the form of a sweeping ruling that would preempt states’ rights to label GMOs?  On Wednesday, May 15, the House Ag Committee passed the King Amendment, a measure that some say, if it survives to the final version of the farm bill, could take away states’ rights to label GMOs. The jury’s still out on whether or not the King Amendment could be interpreted that broadly. But when it comes to Monsanto and its willingness to bend the law for its own purposes, the verdict is guilty. OCA is hosting a Twitter Rally tonight to let Congress know that we expect them to uphold states’ rights to label GMOs! Join us on twitter tonight, June 6 at 5 p.m. PST. It’s easy. Just login to your twitter account and type #LabelGMOs into your twitter search browser. From there you can follow the rally conversation and join in by adding #LabelGMOs to the end of your tweet. If you’ve signed our petition, thank you! Could you forward it to five friends today? ACTION ALERT Never Say Never: Monsanto’s GMO Wheat Goes Rogue TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA: No More Field Trials of Unapproved GMO Crops! For years, Monsanto has said “Don’t worry” about their open-air field tests of unapproved genetically engineered (GE) crops. PR flacks and Monsanto-funded scientists all but guaranteed us that the biotech giant’s frankenseeds wouldn’t escape. But they did escape. And now the company’s Roundup-resistant wheat – never approved for planting in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world – has turned up on an Oregon farm. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s predictable response? “Don’t worry.” The (illegal, untested) GE wheat is “safe to eat.” You gotta ask: If GMO wheat is supposedly safe to eat, what are the so-called "safe" residue levels of Monsanto's toxic pesticide, Roundup, that the EPA will allow on this wheat, if it were to be approved to market? And why is it banned in every single country in the world? Hoping to downplay the discovery that its GE wheat is growing in places it shouldn’t, Monsanto initially told reporters that the company had ended field tests of the unapproved crop in 2005. Not so, said Bloomberg, which reported that Monsanto continues to conduct open-air field tests of GM wheat in North Dakota and Hawaii. That’s on top of the hundreds of tests conducted before 2005, in 16 states, including Oregon. And the hundreds of tests still being conducted on other crops, in other states. The discovery of Roundup-resistant wheat in Oregon is troubling. But what’s a whole lot more troubling is that it may just be the tip of the iceberg. That’s why we’re calling on consumers to tell the USDA: No more open-air field testing of unapproved GMO crops! Read the press release TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA: No More Field Trials of Unapproved GMO Crops! SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF Too Many Cooks? Not in This Kitchen! The beauty of being part of an organization like the Organic Consumers Association is that the more of us there are, the more we can accomplish. We are up against powerful corporations like Monsanto, with nefarious motives and deep pockets. We’re staring down enormous and complex threats like climate change, threats that are almost too big to wrap our heads around. It’s a big, bubbling, boiling stew out there. And we need all the cooks we can get, with all of their creative energy and resources, to make it not only palatable, but to turn it into something that nourishes our minds, bodies and souls. More than 80 percent of our funding comes from individuals like you, who understand that if everyone contributes a little, we all can benefit a lot. Thanks to all you cooks out there, we are having a real impact on issues like GMO labeling and preserving organic standards. Please help us keep the pot boiling with a donation today. Thank you! Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Washington, Vermont and other states) If you need your donation to be tax-deductible, you can donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education) NEW REPORT Frankenfish Can Breed with Wild Trout to Produce Super-Frankenfish It lends a whole new dimension to the concept of “Supersize Me.” Scientists have determined that AquaBounty Inc.’s “frankenfish,” which is awaiting approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), are capable of breeding with wild trout. And when they do, they produce a fish that grows even faster and bigger than the GE version, according to the study. The supersized hybrid could potentially wipe out wild fish varieties because the smaller, wild fish will have trouble competing for food.  AquaBounty says that won’t happen, because all their GE salmon will be sterile, and neatly contained in escape-proof farms. History suggests otherwise. Learn more Read the study   Industrial Hemp: Time to 'Bring It Home' In the 1940s, hemp farmers were considered “patriotic” supporters of the war effort. But in 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal to grow industrial hemp. For consumers, the law means we can buy hemp seeds at our health food stores, or hemp building materials from building suppliers, as long as the hemp for those products is grown in other countries. For U.S. farmers, it means a possible jail sentence for growing a versatile, sustainable crop on U.S. soil. If you think that makes no sense at all, you’re not alone. State and national farm organizations want everyone to know that it’s time to stop penalizing U.S. farmers and start promoting the benefits of industrial hemp. They’re joining with hemp manufacturers, activists, volunteers and retailers this week, June 3-9 – Hemp History Week – in a public education campaign. Hemp History Week was initiated by the Hemp Industries Association and Vote Hemp. Looking for more information on the history of hemp in the U.S., and its potential role in our future? Bringing it Home is a documentary that highlights the many benefits of industrial hemp and asks, "Why aren't we growing it here?" That’s a question some U.S. lawmakers are asking, too. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced an amendment to this year’s farm bill that would allow farmers to grow industrial hemp. The amendment has yet to come up for a vote. You can call (202) 224-3121 and ask your Senator to vote for the Wyden Amendment #952 to allow U.S. farmers to grow industrial hemp. Watch the trailer for Bringing it Home Find or organize a screening More about Hemp History Week LITTLE BYTES Essential Reading for the Week 50 Industry Groups Form a New Alliance to Manipulate Public Opinion About Junk Food, GMOs, and Harmful Additives Fermented Vegetables Are the Ultimate Superfood A New Deal for Appalachia’s Forests: Growing Biofuels and Producing Biochar Ask Umbra: Can I Pee in My Compost Pile? Breaking the Grass Ceiling: On U.S. Farms, Women are Taking the Reins Monsanto and GMOs Continue to Make Us Sterile While Infertility Business Boom Discover the Fastest, Funnest, and Easiest Ways to Grow Your Own Groceries Hi, I am Marjory Wildcraft.  About a decade ago I volunteered to help get fresh, local, organic  produce into the kids school system.  That project failed miserably, and changed my life forever.  Why?  Because there wasn't enough locally grown food in the entire county for even one small elementary school.  I am willing to bet there isn't much food growing in your county either.  Once I stopped shaking, I devoted my life to finding the fastest, easiest, and funnest ways for an individual or family to grow thier own food.  I discovered that growing your own is incredibly rewarding. I've developed a video set that is used by permacuulture teachers, universities, missionary organizations, and regular folks.  It gets you started producing very quickly.  You know from reading these OCA newsletters that the era of quality food is way back in your rearview mirror.  And the era of cheap food is the dead end right in front of you.  Fortunately, if you've got a hose and a backyard, or even a sunny window sill, there is a tremenous amount you can do - and it is really fun! Click here to learn more!

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | OCA on Pinterest  | Donate Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! Organic Bytes is a publication of Organic Consumers Association

From the Delaware Riverkeeper Network -- Stop Fracking Month

June 2013 - A Whole Month of National Action against Fracking! 

Across the nation, communities are taking action to Stop the Frack Attack!  Major rallies in several states, over 15 screenings of Gasland Part II, call-in days to elected officials, actions in support of moratoria, government accountability, and industry reform, petition drives, and social media events are all happening starting now.

We need you to take part! Join in with your local regional or statewide action by connecting with the Stop the Frack Attack calendar here: http://www.stopthefrackattack.org/resources/calendar/page_offset:-1/action:agenda/time_limit:1370820599/

See Gasland Part II screenings here:  http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/screenings

For more info on gas drilling and fracking and Delaware River Watershed actions: http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/act-now/urgent-details.aspx?Id=144

See you in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware to Stop the Frack Attack!

58th OBIE Awards

The Lifetime Achievement Obie Award was presented to Lois Smith (l) by   Meryl Streep and Frances Sternhagen (R)  

Photo Emily Tan /The Village Voice

So last night I went to the OBIES. I ran into a few old friends, including the great Lee Breuer and his ever charming partner Maude Mitchell. Victor Maaog, the director of Sex! Drugs! & Ukuleles! was there. There was a bit of a pall over the ceremonies, as Michael Feingold, chief theater critic for the Voice for 42 years, announced his contract was being officially terminated beginning today. Sad.

But it was still a party. (Feingold claimed it was his retirement party, to lighten the mood.) People, especially the winners, had a great time. Thanks to my dear friend Gail Parenteau for the great job she does each year making the OBIES a celebration of the lives and struggles of theater artists.

And the winners are (as per the official announcement)::

2013 VILLAGE VOICE OBIE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

New York, NY – The 58th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards, celebrating achievement in the Off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theater, were given out at a ceremony last night at Webster Hall in Greenwich Village. The awards ceremony was co-hosted by Jessica Hecht and Jeremy Shamos. The awards were presented by Bobby Cannavale, Tracee Chimo, Cyndi Lauper, Judith Light, Krysta Rodriguez, Duncan Sheik, Meryl Streep and Courtney B. Vance.

 

A medley from the highly acclaimed new Off-Broadway musical, Here Lies Love, was performed by the cast. The Brazilian jazz-pop group Banda Magda also performed.

 

The Obies were judged by a committee that included the Voice’s Chief Theater Critc Michael Feingold as Chairman, Voice critic Alexis Soloski as secretary, and the following guest judges: Obie Award-winning playwright Erin Courtney; director-performer Mia Katigbak, Co-Founder of NAATCO; critic and Theater magazine editor Tom Sellar; and Obie Award-winning director Leigh Silverman.

 

Meryl Streep presented 2013 Obie Awards for Lifetime Achievement to Lois Smith and Frances Sternhagen.

 

In a tie vote, the judges accorded the award for Best New American Play to Lisa d’Amour’s Detroit (Playwrights Horizons) and Julia Jarcho’s Grimly Handsome (Incubator Arts Project), with each playwright receiving a $500. cash prize.

 

A complete list of the award winners follows:

Performance

Eisa Davis 

Sustained Excellence         

 

Brandon J. Dirden 

The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)           

 

Shuler Hensley

The Whale (Playwrights Horizons)  

 

Matthew Maher 

Sustained Excellence

 

Paul Thureen 

Blood Play (The Debate Society/Bushwick Starr)

 

Playwriting

Ayad Akhtar 

Disgraced  (LCT3)             

Annie Baker 

The Flick  (Playwrights Horizons)   

 

Direction

Lear deBessonet

The Good Person Of  Szechuan (Foundry Theatre/La MaMa)

 

John Rando 

All In The Timing (Primary Stages) 

 

Ruben Santiago-Hudson 

The Piano Lesson (Signature Theatre)

 

Eric Ting 

We Are Proud To Present A Presentation... (Soho Rep) 

 

Design

Laura Jellinek

Sustained excellence of Set Design

 

Clint Ramos

Sustained excellence of Costume Design      

 

Special Citations

David Levine and Marsha Ginsberg

HABIT (Crossing the Line Festival/FIAF & PS122) 

 

Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin

NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 (Ars Nova)           

 

Nature Theater of Oklahoma        

LIFE AND TIMES: EPISODES 1-4  (Public Theater/SoRep)

 

Music/Lyrics

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim

HERE LIES LOVE (Public Theater) 

The Ross Wetzsteon Award (with check for $1000.)

Clubbed Thumb

 

Grants

Fulcrum Theater ($1,000)

Half Straddle ($1,000) 

 

Best New American Play (tie w/$500. to each playwright) 

Lisa D’Amour, Detroit

Julia Jarcho, Grimly Handsome

 

Lifetime Achievement

Lois Smith 

Frances Sternhagen 

 

The Village Voice Obie Awards are presented by STELLA ARTOIS and benefiting A.R.T./ New York (Alliance of Residence Theaters). Additional sponsors include Smirnoff Sorbet Light, Academy of Dramatic Arts, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly and Fragoli.  Congratulations to all of this years winners!

***

 

Porter's Pub This Saturday

Uke Jackson -- resophonic ukulele and vox
Johnny Peppers -- bass and soprano saxophones
Paul Kendall -- clarinets

Organic Bytes 5/9/2013 Call for Unity

Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate

ESSAY OF THE WEEK

Food, Farms, Forests and Fracking: Uniting Our Movements to Survive

Droughts. Storms. Dying oceans. Scientists agree: We’re on a dangerous path to higher temperatures and greater climate instability. The climate movement is focused on curbing our use of fossil fuels. But we need to do more.
Agribusiness, with its genetically engineered, pesticide-drenched mono-crops and methane-emitting, water-polluting factory farms, plays a major role in climate change. And hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the oil and gas industry’s new darling, has become the second largest contributor of greenhouse gases in the U.S.
We can’t wait for top-down solutions that may never materialize. The climate change solution must come from the grassroots. But it will take cooperation and collaboration. It’s time for the powerful anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms), forest-protection, anti-fracking and anti-factory farming movements to join forces with the climate movement. Before runaway global warming destroys the conditions we need to grow food. And sustain life.
Read the essay

ACTION ALERT

Send Gut-Wrenching Additives Off into the Sunset!

TAKE ACTION: Get Gut-Wrenching Carrageenan Out of Organic!

Carrageenan, a commonly used food additive, is linked to colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and higher rates of colon cancer. So why is it allowed in certified organic foods and juices? And organic baby formula?
Because the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) approved it for use in organics. That approval is set to expire, or “sunset.” Unfortunately, despite scientific evidence refuting the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) claim that carrageenan is safe, the NOP is recommending it be allowed in organic for another five years.
Europe has banned the use of carrageenan in infant formula, organic or otherwise. But here in the U.S., it’s allowed in organic foods, including juices, chocolate milk and organic infant formula. Could the lobbying efforts of organic brands, like J.M. Smucker Co.’s Santa Cruz Organic and R. W. Knudsen Family, and Dean Foods’ WhiteWave and Horizon Organic, have something to do with that? It’s time to put an end to carrageenan in organics!
Learn more
TAKE ACTION: Get Gut-Wrenching Carrageenan Out of Organic!

ACTION ALERT

He Can Run. But Will He Be Able to Hide?

TAKE ACTION: Kill the Monsanto Protection Act: Force Senator Roy Blunt to Resign!

The last thing Senator Roy Blunt wants is a face-to-face meeting with a representative of the OCA. But that’s exactly what he’ll get, if we can collect 100,000 signatures on our petition demanding that he resign.
Sen. Blunt played a key role in helping Monsanto lobbyists write the Farmer Assurance Provision, aptly renamed the Monsanto Protection Act. This sneaky rider, slipped into the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2013, strips federal courts of their power to stop Monsanto from planting unproven, potentially dangerous crops.
The Monsanto Protection Act became law when President Obama signed the emergency appropriations bill. The good news: Like the spending bill it’s attached to, the Monsanto Protection Act expires on Sept. 30, 2013. The best way to make sure it doesn’t survive is to force Sen. Blunt to resign. And the best way for us to demand Blunt’s resignation is by camping out in his office until he agrees to accept our petition, signed by 100,000 angry consumers.
TAKE ACTION: Kill the Monsanto Protection Act: Force Senator Roy Blunt to Resign!

SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF

Donate by May 15 and We’ll Send You Some Seeds!

Nothing says hope better than a package of non-GMO, heirloom seeds.
In the spirit of hope and generosity, the folks at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, have donated a variety of beautiful seeds, just in time for spring planting. The list of seeds is too long to list, but it includes specialty varieties like Detroit Dark Red Beets, Atomic Red Carrots, Early Purple Vienna Kohlrabi and Persian Carpet Zinnias.
Here’s the deal. Make a donation of $50 or more by May 15, and we’ll send you four packages of seeds. Be sure to write “seeds” in the comment field with your online donation (or on the memo line of your check).
Let’s plant a little hope! Thank you!

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Washington, Vermont and other states)
If you need your donation to be tax-deductible, you can donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)

 

Join the March Against Monsanto and Help Spread the Word!

“We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison.”
Where will you be on May 25, at 11 a.m. Pacific time? Tami Monroe Canal, a dedicated mom and grassroots organizer, hopes you’ll be marching against Monsanto. Along with tens of thousands of other protestors, on six continents, in 250 cities, in 36 countries around the world.
Tami organized the March Against Monsanto on behalf of her two daughters, and children everywhere, whose health is being threatened by the Most Hated Corporation in the World. She hopes you’ll join in!
If you’re organizing a march in your area, the OCA has flyers, posters and stickers available to help you spread the word about Monsanto’s poisonous takeover of the world’s seeds and crops. Please call our office, at 218-353-7651, if you need materials to hand out on May 25.
Join the march
Find participating cities
Start your own march
Learn more
Watch the video

ORGANIC RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS ALLIANCE

Last Chance: Nominate Your Favorite Retailer!

“Jimbo’s Naturally in Escondido is where I do a lot of my shopping (besides my local CSA and Primal Pasture’s in Temecula for eggs and chicken). They have four other stores though, and are completely committed to the Non-GMO project. They even provide a non-GMO shopping list." – On Jimbo’s Naturally, as nominated by Shelly Hackspiel
Why do you shop where you shop? What makes one farmers market or food co-op or health food store better than another? You tell us!
The OCA wants to acknowledge and promote the best practices of those retailers who are doing their best to promote organic and non-GMO products. Please talk to your local co-op or natural food store manager and email us about what your retailer is doing (or not doing) to support your right to know. After we read all your reports, and interview targeted grocers, we’ll announce the Top Ten Right to Know Grocers. But hurry! We’ll accept nominations until midnight, May 15, and announce the winners on May 30.
See who’s been nominated, and nominate your grocer

LITTLE BYTES

Essential Reading for the Week

Food Investigations: Welch's Fruit Juice Cocktails Contain More Corn than Fruit: 80% Water and High Fructose Corn Syrup

Is There Reason to Worry About New "Most Lethal" Bird Flu Strain?

Over 5,000 Children's Products Contain Toxic Chemicals Linked to Cancer and Hormone Disruption

Fracking Ourselves to Death in Pennsylvania

The High Price of Our Fertilizer Addiction

Climate Collision Course: CO2 Levels About to Hit 400 PPM

Organic Bytes 5/2/2013

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ESSAY OF THE WEEK

End Climate Chaos: Boycott GMOs and Factory-Farmed Food

Farmers are sounding an alarm. As global warming heats up and crops are ravaged by droughts, flooding, disease and superweeds, the farm economy is taking a huge hit.

Scientists are clear: America’s chemical-, energy- and GMO-intensive industrial agricultural practices and factory farms have destroyed billions of acres of perennial grasslands, topsoil and wetlands. The result? Soil that has been robbed of its ability to naturally sequester billions of tons of CO2 every year. Until America’s farmers and ranchers turn away from the industrial and factory farm model that has severely damaged public health and the environment, and supersaturated the atmosphere with 395 ppm (parts-per-million) of CO2 greenhouse gas pollution, climate and farming conditions will deteriorate.

Read the essay

ACTION ALERT

Stinging: EPA Wants to Approve Yet Another Bee-Killing Pesticide

TAKE ACTION: Don't Let the EPA Approve New Toxic Insecticide

Europe has come to its senses on the matter of protecting honeybees. Here in the U.S.? Not so much. At least, not yet.

This week, the European Commission decided to ban certain pesticides, including those classified as neonicotinoids, known to destroy honeybee populations. The decision was backed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). But here at home, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is weighing approval of a new pesticide, sulfoxaflor, brought to us by Dow Chemical Co. This despite the EPA’s own admission that sulfoxaflor, referred to by some as a “next-generation neonicotinoid,” is “very highly toxic” to honeybees. If the EPA approves sulfoxaflor, beekeepers say commercial beekeeping will be extinct by 2018.

Will the EPA protect honeybees and our food supply? Or will our taxpayer-funded officials protect Dow’s bottom line?

TAKE ACTION: Don't Let the EPA Approve New Toxic Insecticide

We Came, We Swarmed . . . Will We Conquer?

Bee-decked in black and yellow and armed with 130,000 petition signatures, a swarm of activists, led by the OCA, Occupy Monsanto and GMO Free DC, buzzed the Washington D.C. headquarters of the EPA on Earth Day to demand a ban on Bayer, Dow and Syngenta's bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides.

Neonicotinoid pesticides are blamed for Colony Collapse Disorder, which has already destroyed alarming numbers of honeybee colonies. Bees are exposed to these deadly insecticides primarily through Monsanto's genetically engineered "Bt" seeds. The seeds are coated in the pesticides to kill pests that the GMO Bt toxin can’t destroy on its own. In countries where neonicotinoids have been banned, bee populations are beginning to recover. Did the EPA hear us? Time will tell. Thanks to everyone who swarmed!

 

Long Overdue: Let’s Close Monsanto’s Revolving Door

TAKE ACTION: Demand Congress Investigate Monsanto’s Takeover of the USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has never denied a single application from Monsanto for new genetically engineered crops. No wonder. Monsanto's board members have worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they’ve advised the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and they’ve served on President Obama's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. Just recently, Congress gave Monsanto immunity from the federal courts under a law now commonly referred to as the “Monsanto Protection Act.”

Monsanto is responsible for environmental disasters that have destroyed entire towns, and for international waves of suicides among farmers whose lives it has ruined. The Biotech Behemoth has monopolized our food system largely by taking over regulatory agencies like the USDA. Our friends at Roots Action Network think it’s way past time Congress investigates the revolving door policy between the world’s most destructive chemical company, and the folks in Washington D.C. who are supposed to be representing us and looking out for our health and safety. If you agree, please sign their petition to Congress demanding an investigation.

TAKE ACTION: Demand Congress Investigate Monsanto’s Takeover of the USDA

SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF

We Are All Pirates. In a Good Way.

The Spanish Armada was once considered invincible, too big to fail. Until it did fail. After being outmaneuvered by Queen Elizabeth’s hodgepodge of crafty pirates.
Is today’s criminal food system facing the same fate? Will we, the hodgepodge of creative, determined pirates bring down the greedy armada of well-armed corporations that are poisoning our food, our soil and our democracy?
We just might, says Richard McCarthy, executive director of Slow Food USA. Speaking in Boulder, Colo., this week, McCarthy couldn’t resist the analogy. Or the sense of hope emanating from a room full of farmers and food activists hell bent on outmaneuvering a system we can’t possibly outgun.
We are all pirates. And though none of us alone can match the seeming invincibility of the armada-like corporate food system, together, in our own quick-thinking and hodgepodge-like fashion, we have the power to build a meaningful alternative. If we anchor together. Your donation today will do more than just keep us afloat. It will help us sail!

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Washington, Vermont and other states)
If you need your donation to be tax-deductible, you can donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)

ORGANIC RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS ALLIANCE

What Do You Love About Your Food Store?

Native Sun Natural Foods Market, Jacksonville, Fla.: "We believe that GMOs have no place in natural food stores and we now have five people dedicated to our research. We meet together if there is a new ingredient in products that call for review. We discuss inert ingredients and their sources, and make a final call that is added to a handbook of what is allowed and banned. This list goes far beyond GMOs and includes chemically processed starches, titanium dioxide, grades of carrageenan, and caramel color, just to name a few."

In a day and age of slick marketing, toxic food ingredients and junk food manufacturers who will spend millions to keep you in the dark about what’s really in your food, it’s good to know there are decent, honest people out there who care as much about providing quality, healthful food as they do about running a business. We hope to shine a spotlight on some of those stores with our Top Ten ‘Right to Know’ Retailers contest.

So far, more than 225 of you have nominated more than 140 stores – so many, that we may have to rethink the whole “Top Ten” idea! If you haven’t yet nominated your favorite ‘Right to Know’ retailer, there’s still time. We’ll accept nominations until midnight, May 15, and announce the winners on May 30.

See who’s been nominated, and nominate your grocer

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We’re made in the image of our soil.” – Jerry Cunningham, Founder, Coyote Creek Mill, speaking at the Slow Money Conference on April 29, in Boulder, Colo.

OCA IN ACTION

OCA Upsets the GMO Apple Cart

Inside, the biotech industry was handing out an award to a biotech company salivating at the thought of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approving its patented genetically engineered apple. Outside, anti-GMO activists were marching, speaking, handing out organic apples and ceremoniously dumping apples in the street.

The protest took place outside the 2013 BIO International Convention, on April 23, where BIOTECanada was presenting its “Gold Leaf Award for Early Stage Agriculture” to Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc. (OSF), purveyor of the Arctic® Apple. The GE apple is engineered using an almost entirely untested genetic modification technology, called RNA interference, or double strand RNA (dsRNA). Scientists warn that this genetic manipulation poses health risks, as the manipulated RNA gets into our digestive systems and bloodstreams. Why should we take this risk? So we can have apples that never turn brown, say the bio-wizards behind the apple.

The Arctic Apple is slated for approval in the U.S. this year, despite warnings by scientists who say the bioengineering technology behind the apple is inherently risky at best, dangerous at worst. The FDA is expected to soon launch a second comment period on the apple’s approval. We’ll let you know when that happens, in case you’d like to give them an earful.

Watch the video

More on GMO Apples here and here

LITTLE BYTES

Essential Reading for the Week

First ‘Ag-Gag’ Prosecution: This Utah Woman Filmed a Slaughterhouse from the Public Street

Top 12 Health Tips for a Better You

Are People Living Near Fracking Sites Getting Sick?

Michael Pollan: Americans Cook Less Than Ever, But Love Watching It on TV

Why Genetically Engineer Trees?

Study: Monsanto's Roundup Herbicide Linked to Cancer, Autism, Parkinson's