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Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:41 am

Organic Bytes: OCA in Mexico, Organic Fraud, Survival

Gardening, and More...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 22, 2009

 

Organic Bytes #170

 

Health, Justice and Sustainability News

from the Organic Consumers Association

 

In This Issue

 

 

Sustainability News of the Week: OCA Announces Summer Study Tours in

the Central Highlands of Mexico

 

Alert Update of the Week: OCA Submits Comments on Organic Fraud to the

NOSB

 

Good News of the Week: EPA Will Mandate Tests on Suspected Endocrine

Disruptors

 

Food Safety Tip of the Week: How to Avoid MSG

 

Quote of the Week: Surviving the Economic Crisis by Leaving Behind the

Rat-Race

 

Headlines and Articles of the Week

 

 

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Sustainability News of the Week

 

OCA Announces Summer Study Tours in the Central Highlands of Mexico

 

The Organic Consumers Association invites you to join other organic

activists this summer at the beautiful organic farm and eco-center of

our sister organization, Via Organica -- " The Organic Way " , in the

central highlands of Mexico. Meet OCA Director Ronnie Cummins and other

staff members dur

ing these seven-day study tours at the Via Organica

Farm School & Conference Center outside San Miguel de Allende,

Guanajuato. This unforgettable experience will inspire and energize

you, providing tools, contacts, and knowledge for the challenges ahead.

 

Seven-Day Tours Include:

 

 

Organic Farming and Green Building Workshops with Via Organica Staff

and Mexican Organic Activists.

 

Fresh Organic Meals, Beautiful Accommodations, Thermal Swimming Pool.

 

Visits to Organic Farms, Stores, Restaurants, Green Buildings, and

Community Organizing Projects.

 

Visits to World Heritage sites and other attractions in nearby San

Miguel de Allende and Atotonilco

 

 

Learn more and Register

 

 

 

Alert Update of the Week

 

OCA Submits Comments on Organic Fraud to the NOSB

 

In advance of the twice-yearly public meeting of the National Organic

Standards Board (May 4-6, 2009, in Washington, DC), the Organic

Consumers Fund (the voice of organic consumers in the Nation's Capitol)

submitted written comments on April 20 detailing fraud in the organic

personal care products market. Unlike organic foods, many personal care

products are falsely marketed as " organic " without meeting USDA

standards. (Consumer Tip: Look for products with the " USDA Organic "

seal). We are urging the National Organic Standards Board to push the

USDA to use its enforcement power to go after marketers of shampoos,

cosmetics and other personal care products that are committing

organic

fraud. Please read our comments here.

 

Thanks to each of you who have helped us develop the Organic Consumers

Fund's (OCF) comments to the National Organic Standards Board. We will

continue to solicit your input until we present OCF's testimony May

4-6. In the last Organic Bytes, we outlined a number of issues that the

NOSB will be discussing and debating, including biodiversity on organic

farms, inert atmospheric gases in organic food packaging, a peer review

board to monitor the USDA National Organic Program, and whether current

organic rules ban nanotechnology.

 

One issue we failed to mention last week was whether organic processors

should continue to be allowed to use conventional soy lecithin now that

organic soy lecithin is available. Organic consumers expect the highest

percentage possible of organic ingredients in their organic foods,

which is why the Organic Consumers Fund wants the NOSB to remove the

exemption for conventional soy lecithin. We want to know what you

think. If you would like to have your thoughts incorporated into OCF's

oral testimony at the May NOSB meeting, please go to the Organic

Consumers Association's Forum to post your comments:

 

Learn more and Post Comments

 

 

 

Good News of the Week

 

EPA Will Mandate Tests on Suspected Endocrine Disruptors

 

For the first time, the Environmental Protections Agency is requiring

pesticide manufacturers to test a number of widely used che

micals to

determine whether or not they disrupt the endocrine system. Although

spokespeople for the pesticide industry claim they are not worried

about the results, scientists like Dr. Tyrone Hayes of UC Berkeley have

already discovered that exposure to small amounts of common pesticides

can cause sex changes in frogs.

 

The EPA's mandatory review was set into motion in the late 1990s with

the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act, but it has taken nearly

a decade for the agency to take action. Now that the process is

underway, 67 commonly used chemicals in pesticides will be tested over

the next two years, and it will take approximately one year to assess

the data and draw up recommendations. The OCA has put heavy pressure on

the EPA to review these chemicals, and we thank all of you who have

taken part in our related action alerts.

 

Learn more

 

 

 

We Are Making Positive Change

 

The Organic Consumers Association is one of the few nonprofit

organizations that provides you with success stories, nearly every

week, showing you how your financial donations are directly bringing

about positive change. These success stories are due to the involvement

and donations of our supporters. In order to continue bringing positive

change in the realms of health, social justice, and sustainability, we

need your contributions. If you are unable to donate, please help

spread the word about OCA to friends, family a

nd colleagues. Please

donate today!

 

Donate

 

 

 

Food Safety Tip of the Week

 

How to Avoid MSG

 

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the most common and hazardous food

additives on the market. MSG is reportedly more toxic than alcohol,

tobacco and many drugs. MSG is an excitotoxin, so it tricks your brain

into wanting to eat more and more foods containing the ingredient, even

if you are already full. Side effects of MSG include: obesity, eye

damage, headaches, depression, fatigue and disorientation. Food

manufacturers know that health-conscious consumers try to avoid MSG, so

it is oftentimes not listed in a product's ingredients. MSG is banned

in organic foods.

 

Here's a list of ingredients that ALWAYS contain MSG:

 

Autolyzed Yeast -- Calcium Caseinate -- Gelatin Glutamate -- Glutamic

Acid -- Hydrolyzed Protein -- Monopotassium Glutamate -- Monosodium

Glutamate -- Sodium Caseinate -- Textured Protein -- Yeast Extract --

Yeast Food -- Yeast Nutrient

 

Learn more

 

 

 

Quote of the Week

 

Surviving the Economic Crisis by Leaving Behind the Rat-Race

 

" The earn, spend, earn era has come to an end for us. The idea of

living a fuller, more satisfying life seems simple to us now. Money,

cash, credit, maybe they don't matter. Maybe, just maybe, those are the

things that impede our ability to be truly happy. "

 

Patrick Wojtowicz: An " economic survivalist " whose family recently gave

up=2

0the consumerism addiction, simplified their lives and became

homesteaders.

 

Learn More

 

 

 

Web Video of the Week

 

Eat the Suburbs:

Gardening for the End of the Oil Age

 

EAT THE SUBURBS takes the oil debate to the backyard and follows

everyday homeowners as they prepare for the end of the oil age... one

garden at a time.

 

Watch

 

 

 

Headlines and Articles of the Week

 

 

 

1) Going Green Goes Frugal: The Recession Changes the Eco-Friendly

Movement

Although many equate green consumerism with hefty expenses (i.e.

hybrids, solar panels, high-priced organic foods, etc.), the truth is

that with the right mindset living green and living economically can go

hand in hand. Case in point: as the current recession deepens, the

green market is booming.

Learn more

 

2) Eating Local Means Figuring out Your 'Food Miles'

" Your green car may get 40 miles per gallon, but how many miles per

bite was your lunch? 'Food miles' are how far food travels from the

producer to your home. They are the latest preoccupation for folks

concerned about their ecological footprint. Transportation of food

requires copious amounts of fossil fuels and other resources that

contribute to global warming and pollution, so the lower the food

mileage we rack up, the better... "

Learn more

 

3) Monsanto's Crops Spawning Superweed Epidemic in U.S.

" Superweeds " are plaguing high-tech Monsanto crops in southern US

states,20driving farmers to use more herbicides, return to conventional

crops or even abandon their farms... "

Learn more

 

4) Monsanto's Herbicide Roundup Linked to Birth Defects

One of the most widely used pesticides in the world has been linked to

brain, intestinal and heart defects in fetuses, according to the

results of a scientific investigation released Monday. According to the

study authors, the doses of herbicide used in the study " were much

lower than the levels used in the fumigations, " and so the situation

" is much more serious " .

Learn more

 

5) Naomi Klein on Obama's First 90 Days: A Lexicon of Disappointment

A growing number of Obama enthusiasts are starting to entertain the

possibility that their man is not, in fact, going to save the world if

we all just hope really hard...

Learn more

 

6) Join Organic Valley and the organic community and sponsor an Earth

Day

Dinner 

Learn more

 

 

 

LOCAL CA NEWS OF THE WEEK

 

CA--Get Involved Locally

 

 

Learn more about OCA related action alerts and other news in CA here.

 

Join CA discussion groups in our forum.

 

Post events in CA on our community calendar.

 

 

 

 

Message from our Sponsors

 

 

Dr. Bronner's 60th Anniversary!

5 Generations and 150 Years of Soapmaking Excellence

 

Marking the 60th Anniversary of the company, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

is pleased to announce that all classic liquid & bar soaps are now not

onl

y certified under the USDA National Organic Program, but also

certified Fair Trade! In addition, we are pleased to introduce a

revolutionary new range of high-quality organic products, from hair

rinses to shaving gels - all certified under the same USDA program that

certifies organic foods. Browse the complete line of organic products

online including 15% off liquid soaps and sal suds!

 

 

Learn More

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164

- Fax: 218-353-7652

 

You are d as:

Cynthia Krall

Rocklin, CA

cyndikrall

 

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