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[biodemocracy]Organic Bytes #23

 

ORGANIC BYTES #23

Organic & Food News Tidbits with an Edge

Issue #23 11/24/2003 By Organic Consumers Association

 

 

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

" Don't ask yourself what the world needs - ask yourself what makes you

come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people

who have come alive. " -- Harold Thurman Whitman

 

 

 

WHAT BUSH WANTS, BUSH GETS

The Bush Administration and biotech industry won a significant GE battle

this week. After a five year moratorium on genetically engineered (GE)

foods, the European Union has caved in to pressure from the US and has

now conceded that it will lift the ban and approve GE sweetcorn. This

resignation of food safety standards falls on the heels of New Zealand's

cancellation of a two year moratorium on GE crop trials, which happened

just two weeks ago. http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/corn111803.cfm

 

 

 

FLYING SCARECROWS

It's becoming increasingly common in California for vineyards to

practice innovative and ecological methods of controlling pests. One

such problem is that of birds who descend on the crops when the grapes

are fully ripe, gobbling up as much as 10% of the profits. In the past,

vineyards have tried everything from poison to shotguns, but an age-old

solution has been rediscovered: falcons. Dan Connors, the manager of

Robert Mondavi's Cuesta Ridge vineyards, says the object isn't to kill

the invading birds, but just to scare them off. Trained falconers bring

the birds out in the morning and set the falcons free. " The falcon

climbs to about 1,500 feet.-. The falcon then dives. As soon as the

birds see the falcon, they're out of there, " said Connors. A single

falcon can cover 500 acres and scare off thousands of birds.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/falcons110203.cfm

 

 

 

YOU'RE BEING WATCHED

According to a recent Chicago Sun Times investigative feature, Wal-Mart

and Procter and Gamble (P & G) have been found to be concealing high tech

tracking devices in their consumer products and hiding cameras in store

displays. The tracking devices, known as Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID), can be as small as a grain of sand, and, so far, they have been

detected in P & Gs Lipfinity products at Wal-Mart, as well as in Gillette

razors and Benetton clothes. The electromagnetic tracking devices can be

read through clothes and walls. P & G admits this was just a trial-run of

tracking devices it would ultimately like to use in all

products---serving as " the barcode of the future, " and " strictly for

marketing research. " Katherine Albrecht, the Director of Consumers

Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering, said, " This trial is

a perfect illustration of how easy it is to set up a secret RFID

infrastructure and use it to spy on people. " In addition to the " spy

chips " , hidden cameras were also discovered in store displays, allowing

P & G to watch shoppers from hundreds of miles away. Wal-Mart does not

deny having prior knowledge of the hidden cameras and tracking devices,

given the fact that their employees set up those very same displays.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/rfid111303.cfm

 

 

 

BRONNER'S DONATING 10% OF WEB SALES TO OCA

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps has committed to donating 10% of all web sales

in November and December to the Organic Consumers Association. Bronner's

recently won Co-op America's prestigious 2003 Green Business Award for

leadership in advancing the Green business movement. The 50 year old

natural soap and body care product company was selected from 2,200 Green

businesses for its dedication to the environment, social rights, and the

community.

Click here to shop:

http://www.drbronner.com/store/merchant.mvc?Action=LOGO & Screen=SFNT

 

 

 

THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF JUST ONE MAD COW

A single case of Mad Cow Disease, which surfaced only six months ago,

has cost Canada's meat industry over $2.5 billion (US). Mad Cow Disease

has been linked to the potentially fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob brain wasting

disease in humans, and only seems to surface in densely overpopulated

cattle feedlots. During a Mad Cow Disease epidemic in the UK, over 100

people contracted and died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which nearly

brought the British beef industry to its knees. As a result, discoveries

of new cases of the disease now mandate the implementation of highly

expensive quarantine procedures, including limiting exports, in order to

halt the spread. Canada's multi-billion dollar losses include downsizing

of herds, quarantine costs, relocation of farms neighboring the sector

of the Mad Cow case, and export impacts.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/canada111603.cfm

 

 

 

3 SENTENCES ABOUT THE ORGANIC BEEF MOO-VEMENT

The organic beef market is exploding. Ignited by consumer concerns over

Mad Cow Disease, meat irradiation, antibiotics and synthetic hormones,

the beef industry is currently witnessing a massive market shift towards

organic meat. Texas ranchers are responding to the nationwide increased

demand for organic beef, converting vast acreages of conventional

ranches into organic production. This has launched the state from #12

most organic acreage in the US to #2 (Colorado is #1, with nearly

600,000 organic acres in production).

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/texas111603.cfm

 

 

 

MORE GOOD NEWS

Wisconsin is also currently demonstrating how to raise cattle

sustainably, healthily and profitably. Recent statistics show the state

now produces 22% of the nation's organic milk and ranks second in the US

for acres of organic hay and silage. While conventional dairy farmers

have been struggling with heavily fluctuating dairy prices, organic

dairy farmers have been enjoying the quick growth of the organic dairy

market. As an example of this blossoming sect of the economy, Organic

Valley, a Wisconsin based co-op of organic farmers, watched their

sales grow by more than 1,200 percent between 1995 and 2002.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/rbgh/wisc111603.cfm

 

 

 

QUICK RELATED RESOURCES

--Search OCA's online database of rBGH-free dairy, Farmers Markets, CSAs

and organic food http://www.organicconsumers.org/purelink.html

--For an entertaining and educational Flash video about factory farming

check out: http://www.themeatrix.com

 

 

 

VATICAN TO TAKE STANCE ON GE FOODS

The Vatican has invited 67 scientists and plant experts to Rome to speak

about the benefits and drawbacks of genetically engineered food crops.

Upon closure of this exclusive conference, the Vatican is expected to

take a formal stance on the issue, which ultimately represents the

viewpoint of the Catholic Church. On that level, the outcome of the

conference, organized by the pro-biotech Cardinal Renato Martino, could

have massive political ramifications. Many priests who oppose biotech

have already shared their concerns over the fact that the majority of

experts consulting the Vatican on the topic are pro-biotech. The final

decision is likely to be heavily influenced by the biotech claim that GE

seed global proliferation could ease world hunger.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/vatican111303.cfm

 

 

 

CAN GE FOODS EASE WORLD HUNGER?

In the New York Times, Dr. Charles Benbrook says, " 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. " Adding

to that sentiment, a recent Reuters article 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/africa111103.cfm

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

 

 

 

CLONED YUMMY NUMMIES - IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER

The FDA has vowed it will release a foods risk assessment of food

products from cloned animals within the next six weeks. The assessment

will be developed from the input of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine

Advisory Committee and will then be made available for public comment.

FDA committee scientists are complaining that there is far too little

data available to make a judgment either way. The cost of cloning is

such that only a small handful of large companies are able to afford it.

These same companies say much of their research data is proprietary.

Complicating matters, there are very few comprehensive public sector

studies focused on food safety, relating to cloned animal byproducts.

" Most of the data presented this week was based on the result of one

company's work, " said pathobiologist Jack Sherman, speaking about the

committee's most recent meeting. " There's no evidence yet to base a

go/no-go decision. " Stay tuned.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/clonedmeat111303.cfm

 

 

 

TAKE ACTION

If any of the issues above spark your desire to take action, please

visit OCA's Action Center for instant faxes, petitions, volunteering and

donation opportunities. http://www.organicconsumers.org/action.htm

 

 

 

FOR MANY MORE FOOD ISSUE DAILY HEADLINES:

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

 

 

 

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

great tool for keeping your staff and customers up to date on the latest

issues. 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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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

 

 

http://lists.organicconsumers.org/listinfo/biodemocracy

 

 

 

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