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[biodemocracy]Organic Bytes #17

 

 

ORGANIC BYTES

 

Organic & Food News Tidbits With an Edge Issue #17

7/16/2003

 

By Organic Consumers Association

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

GENETICALLY MODIFYING CONSUMER RIGHTS|

QUICK QUIZ|

WEIRD WHEAT WEILDS WOES

HOW MONSANTO'S POLICIES HAVE BECOME U.S. POLICY

ORGANIC CASH - THE BEST WAY TO GET RICH

GE-WHIZ, AFRICA'S POOR, NOT DUMB

COTTON FILLS BELLIES

AMERICAN APPAREL GOING ORGANIC

RADIOACTIVE YUMMY NUMMIES

 

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GENETICALLY MODIFYING CONSUMER RIGHTS

 

Monsanto is suing Portland, Maine-based Oakhurst Dairy for labeling their

milk " Our Farmers' Pledge: No Artificial Growth Hormones. " According to

Monsanto, manufacturer of the genetically engineered recombinant Bovine

Growth Hormone (known as rBGH or rBST), Oakhurst Dairy does not have the

right to let its customers know whether its milk is laced with genetically

engineered hormones. Oakhurst says they've been labeling their products like

this for four years, in response to consumer demand. Although rBGH has been

banned in every industrialized nation in the world except for the United

States, Monsanto continues to claim that rBGH-derived milk is no different

from the natural stuff, despite documentation that rBGH milk contains

substantially higher levels of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1.

Monsanto sued two dairies and threatened several thousand retailers in 1994

for labeling or advertising milk and dairy products as " rBGH-free. " Despite

Monsanto's intimidation tactics, more than 10% of U.S. milk is currently

labeled as " rBGH-free, " while sales of organic milk and dairy products

(which prohibit rBGH) are booming. In recent months a Monsanto-funded front

group, the Center for Consumer Freedom, has launched a smear campaign

against organic dairies, including Organic Valley, claiming they are

defrauding consumers.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/rbgh/071303_rbgh.cfm

For a full discussion on the rBGH controversy, see the rBGH section on the

OCA website:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/rbghlink.html

 

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QUICK QUIZ: HOW U.S. DEMOCRACY WORKS

 

Question: How is it that every industrialized nation in the world has banned

Monsanto's rBGH as unsafe, but it's legal (and unlabeled) in the United

States?

 

Answer: In order for the FDA to determine if Monsanto's growth hormones were

safe or not, Monsanto was required to submit a scientific report on that

topic. Margaret Miller, one of Monsanto's researchers put the report

together. Shortly before the report submission, Miller left Monsanto and was

hired by the FDA. Her first job for the FDA was to determine whether or not

to approve the report she wrote for Monsanto. In short, Monsanto approved

its own report. Assisting Miller was another former Monsanto researcher,

Susan Sechen. Deciding whether or not rBGH-derived milk should be labeled

fell under the jurisdiction of another FDA official, Michael Taylor, who

previously worked as a lawyer for Monsanto.

 

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WEIRD WHEAT WEILDS WOES

 

Scientists from the University of Manitoba have released a report

indicating, " Under current conditions the release of Roundup Ready wheat in

Western Canada would be environmentally unsafe. " Monsanto's GE wheat would

lead to an increase in the use of glyphosate herbicide, a widely-used

chemical now being linked to increased growth of fungal plant pathogens,

known as fusarium head blight (FHB). FHB has already caused tens of millions

of dollars in losses for wheat farmers on the eastern prairies of Canada.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/071403_ge_wheat.cfm

 

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HOW MONSANTO'S POLICIES HAVE BECOME U.S. POLICY

 

Prior to being the Supreme Court Judge who put G.W. in office, Clarence

Thomas was Monsanto's lawyer. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Anne

Veneman) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Calgene Corporation.

The Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) was on the Board of Directors of

Monsanto's Searle pharmaceuticals. The U.S. Secretary of Health, Tommy

Thompson, received $50,000 in donations from Monsanto during his winning

campaign for Wisconsin's governor. The two congressmen receiving the most

donations from Monsanto during the last election were Larry Combest

(Chairman of the House Agricultural Committee) and Attorney General John

Ashcroft. (Source: Dairy Education Board)

 

---------------------------

 

ORGANIC CASH - THE BEST WAY TO GET RICH

 

The Organic Monitor announced this week that global sales of organic foods

in 2002 peaked $23 billion, more than a 10% increase from the previous year.

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/070603_organic.cfm

 

---------------------------

 

GE-WHIZ, AFRICA'S POOR, NOT DUMB

 

According to a piece in the New York Times, Bush and his biotech backers are

grossly mistaken in their claim that GE crops would help alleviate hunger in

Africa. " The first generation of genetically modified food crops - corn and

soybean seeds - were created to make pest management simpler on America's

large, mechanized farms. The technologies would be far less effective on

African farms, which are small and diversified and rely largely on human

labor, " wrote respected scientist Dr. Charles Benbrook. The article also

points out that GE crops need nearly ideal growing conditions, something the

arid and drought-ridden climes of Africa simply cannot provide- not to

mention the fact that impoverished African farmers can't even afford GE

seeds, which typically cost 35% more than traditional seeds.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/071403_ge_africa.cfm

 

---------------------------

 

COTTON FILLS BELLIES

 

If the Bush Administration is truly interested in helping Africa's ailing

economy, consideration should be given to a July 11 New York Times Op Ed

piece from African agricultural experts. Put simply, these experts point out

that government subsidies to U.S. cotton farmers are strangling Africa's

economy. Cotton production accounts for as much as 40% of exports in some

African nations, where much of the cotton is grown with few or no

pesticides. In contrast, over 70% of U.S. cotton is genetically engineered,

and it has become the most pesticide intensive crop. U.S. cotton farmers

received over $3 billion in government subsidies in the last two years, more

than the entire economic output of African nations like Burkina Faso, where

more than two million people depend on cotton.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/071303_cotton_subsidies.cfm

 

For a full discussion on the global cotton crisis see the Clothes for a

Change section on the OCA website:

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/

 

---------------------------

 

AMERICAN APPAREL GOING ORGANIC

 

Last week, the OCA reached a significant milestone in its national " Clothes

for a Change " Campaign. The OCA and its allies have successfully lobbied

American Apparel, the largest T-shirt company in the U.S., known for its

strong stance against sweatshops, to work towards achieving an 80% blend of

organic cotton in its clothing. Los Angeles-based American Apparel's

transition to organic program will provide a stable market for over 1,000

acres of California-grown organic cotton.

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/070903_sweatshop.cfm

 

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RADIOACTIVE YUMMY NUMMIES

 

The World Trade Organization has decided that food can be irradiated at any

dose, no matter how high. Consumer groups reacted with shock at the news

that international food radiation laws, in place since 1979, have been

gutted. " The UN and WHO have abandoned their mission to protect the health

and welfare of the world's population, " said Andrianna Natsoulas of Public

Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. " People who eat

irradiated foods will become guinea pigs in what will amount to one of the

largest feeding experiments in history. "

 

Get Involved: Attend the WTO teach-ins and protests in Cancun on an escorted

delegation with Ronnie Cummins and the OCA:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/0624_wto.cfm

 

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FOR MANY MORE FOOD ISSUE DAILY HEADLINES:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/log.html

 

ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of:

 

ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION

 

6101 Cliff Estate Road

 

Little Marais, MN 55614

 

Phone: (218) 226-4164

 

Fax: (218) 353-7652

 

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NOTE TO CO-OP AND NATURAL FOOD STORE SUBSCRIBERS: Organic Bytes is a great

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Feel free to forward this email to your staff and print for posting on

bulletin boards and staff break tables. You are also welcome to use this

material for your newsletters. There's a super pretty print-friendly PDF

version of this available for free download at

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm

 

------------------------

 

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