[Biodemocracy] Organic Bytes #32 - Food and Consumer News Tidbits With an Edge!

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You cannot health and be " well " and eat poisons in your foods. F.

 

 

 

Tue, 11 May 2004 15:44:05 -0500

biodemocracy

[biodemocracy]

Organic Bytes #32 - Food and Consumer News Tidbits With an Edge!

 

 

 

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ORGANIC BYTES #32

Food and Consumer News Tidbits With and Edge!

by Organic Consumers Association

5/11/2004

 

 

 

 

Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on websites,

print it, and post it. Knowledge is power!

 

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GREAT NEWS: MONSANTO BACKS DOWN ON GE WHEAT!

The OCA launched its anti-GE wheat campaign two years ago to educate consumers

and farmers about the hazards of GE wheat. This campaign has evolved into OCA's

" Millions Against Monsanto. " After years of intense pressure from the OCA and

the global grassroots, Monsanto has decided to shelve plans to introduce its

controversial genetically engineered Roundup Ready wheat. " This is the beginning

of the end of genetically engineered crops, " said Ronnie Cummins, National of the OCA. " This is a bitter defeat for Monsanto and a well-deserved

victory for family farmers and consumers. " Farmers across North America have

been resisting the introduction of the biotech wheat crop, based on concerns

over its negative impacts on the economy and the environment. Farmer resistance

has been strengthened by consumer opposition, which has been especially strong

in Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Even in the U.S. consumer pressure has forced

major food companies like General Mills to speak out

against Monsanto's GE wheat.

LEARN MORE: http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.html

 

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PEOPLE DIG SMALL FAMILY FARMERS

A new Roper poll shows that 85% of those surveyed trust small family farms over

large scale factory farms in producing safe and nutritious food in a more

environmentally-friendly manner. 70% of those surveyed said they are concerned

about the pesticides, hormones and antibiotics used in food production. The

challenge is to get that same constituency to vote for small-scale sustainable

food production with their consumer dollar.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/roperpoll050704.cfm

 

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YOU ARE THE OCA!

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) represents a half million people, like

you, working together to support family farms, sustainable agriculture, safe

food, and a healthy environment. Without you, there is no OCA. Together we are

bringing about positive change! Thanks for your support!!

 

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THERE MAY BE DOLPHIN IN YOUR " DOLPHIN SAFE " TUNA

The San Francisco Chronicle has discovered documents that reveal U.S. government

inspectors have been taking massive bribes from Mexican fishing boats to create

fake reports that overlook the capture and killing of dolphins during the

tuna-netting process. " The whole basis for protecting dolphins in countries that

set nets on them is that there arereliable observers on board, " said Mark Palmer

of Earth Island Institute. " If the observers are being bribed, obviously, the

entire program falls apart. "

http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/tuna042904.cfm

 

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BUSH ADMINISTRATION THREATENS ORGANIC STANDARDS

Over the past few weeks America's organic standards have once again come under

heavy attack. First the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) announced on April

14 that they would no longer monitor or police " organic " labels on

non-agricultural products, literally opening the door for unscrupulous companies

to put bogus organic labels on products such as fish, body care products, pet

foods, fertilizer, and clothing. Then on April 28 the Feds shocked everyone by

announcing that pesticides, animal drugs, growth hormones, antibiotics, and

tainted fishmeal would be allowed on organic farms. The OCA is working hard to

stop the degradation of organic standards by the USDA and head-off the takeover

of the organic market by corporate agribusiness and biotech interests. We are

now launching a national campaign called SOS--Safeguard Organic Standards, to

make sure that strict organic standards are maintained and that organic

monitoring, certification, and policing extends to the full range of

consumer products, including body care, clothing, pet food, fertilizer, and

other items. But to Safeguard Organic Standards we need your donations and we

need your grassroots volunteer energy. Join us, and ask your friends, family,

and neighbors to do the same.

DONATE: http://www.organicconsumers.org/donations.htm

TAKE ACTION: http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

 

 

 

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THE MAD COW COVER-UP

Pressure is mounting for a federal investigation into a possible second case of

Mad Cow Disease in San Angelo, Texas. Two weeks ago, a cow staggered and

collapsed at a Lone Star Beef slaughterhouse, and under federal law should have

been tested for the deadly disease. According to government and industry

sources, a federal inspector was in the process of taking a brain sample to test

for the disease but was ordered to stop by the regional headquarters of the

Texas Department of Agriculture. Instead, the cow was sent to a rendering plant

to be made into animal food. According to Felicia Nestor, director of food

safety at the Government Accountability Project, there have been several recent

instances where government offices have attempted to keep inspectors from

testing cows showing symptoms of Mad Cow Disease.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/fedinquiry050704.cfm

 

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FRANKENGRASS - COMING TO A GOLF COURSE NEAR YOU…

Scotts Company and Monsanto are looking to release a new genetically modified

grass that can withstand applications of Monsanto's toxic Roundup pesticides.

The announcement has provoked the first occurrence of U.S. government agencies

actually condemning a genetically engineered plant. The Bureau of Land

Management and the U.S. Forest Service are concerned that GE grass could lead to

the spread of pesticide-resistant weeds.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/golf051004.cfm

 

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OCA TO HELP REGISTER YOUTH TO VOTE

Given the recent USDA attack on organic standards, not to mention other, even

more serious, crises in the U.S. and the world, the OCA is exploring ways our

members can increase voter participation in the 2004 elections, both by organic

consumers and youth. In 2000 only 51% of potential voters showed up at the

polls. A strategic segment of non-registered voters are high school students and

recent graduates. Sadly, according to statistics, recent high school graduates

are the least likely to vote. See the " Open Letter from OCA on Registering Youth

to Vote in 2004 " at http://www.organicconsumers.org/ocu/register.cfm

 

See also: " Carry It Forward! " a multi-media project honoring the legacy of Paul

and Sheila Wellstone--a 5-minute voter mobilization video targeting first time

voters. Go to http://www.carryitforward.org/votefilm.html to view and order a

$10.00 copy of " VOTE! " and to download the companion materials prepared to

support teachers and others interested in carrying out lessons on voter

registration and voting.

 

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HAPPY NEWS TIDBIT OF THE WEEK - BANNING IRRADIATED FOODS

The San Francisco Board of Education has voted unanimously to ban irradiated

foods in all city school lunch programs. Los Angeles passed a similar ban last

year. Irradiation exposes food to a high levels of radiation to control

bacteria. Research has shown that it produces possible carcinogens and depletes

nutrients and vitamins from the food.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/ban042904.cfm

 

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U.S. GETS A WTO SPANKING OVER COTTON SUBSIDIES

In late April, the World Trade Organization (WTO) surprised the world by

supporting a Brazilian complaint against the U.S. regarding the massive funding

wealthy nations put into subsidizing cotton. The U.S. subsidizes its 25,000

cotton farmers with $3 billion of taxpayer money each year. Eighty percent of

these subsidies go to the 2,000 largest cotton plantations in the U.S.. This has

allowed U.S. Cotton exporters to dump massive quantities of subsidized cotton on

the world market-driving 15 million cotton farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin

America into desperate poverty. The WTO has ruled that these subsidies are

illegal impediments to free trade.. The WTO decision will likely lead to similar

lawsuits from other developing countries in the global South. President Bush has

vowed to appeal. Meanwhile, cotton farmers in Brazil and Africa are hoping that

an end to U.S. Subsidies could mean they might actually be able to afford to

send their kids to school some day.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/takethat050704.cfm

 

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EAT CHICKEN, GET CANCER

A new study published in the journal " Environmental Health Perspectives " has

found that the poultry industry's excessive use of drugs in raising chickens has

increased arsenic levels in chicken meat and farm runoff to dangerous levels.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/arsenic050704.cfm

 

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STORY TIME: HOW MAGIC GE BEANS MAKE LOTS OF MONEY

(BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOUR FRIENDS AT MONSANTO)

 

Once upon a time (okay, to be specific, it was 1999), a Mississippi soybean

farmer named Holan McFarling purchased genetically engineered soybean seeds from

the Monsanto Corporation to grow his crops. When making the purchase, the farmer

signed a complex agreement with the corporation (as all GE farmers are forced to

do), stating that he would not save seed from that year's harvest, but instead

would pay the corporation again the next year for more seed. Due to the lack of

foreign interest in GE soybeans, prices fell dramatically that year, and farmers

lost money. Financially broke, McFarling secretly saved seed from his harvest so

that he could afford growing crops again. The corporation discovered what the

farmer had done and brought him to court.

 

Here comes the shocker: The small print in the agreement between the farmer and

the corporation stated that if the farmer breaches the contract, he owes 120

times the actual cost of the seeds to the Monsanto Corporation. As a result, in

2002 the multi billion dollar Monsanto Corporation successfully sued small

family farmer McFarling for $780,000.

 

Happy Ending: Last week, a Federal appeals court ruled that Monsanto's demands

for financial reparations from McFarling are far too excessive. A revised fine

has not yet been set.

 

No So Happy Ending: In a similar case in Tennessee, Monsanto put cotton farmer

(Kem Ralph) in prison for eight months for saving seeds (farmers have done this

for thousands of years all over the world). In addition to the prison sentence,

the small family farmer is being forced to pay $1.7 million in damages to

Monsanto, despite the fact that the seeds in question actually cost a tiny

fraction of that.

 

Moral of the Story: Join OCA's " Millions Against Monsanto " campaign -

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

 

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WE NEED TO TALK

Interested in sharing your thoughts and ideas with other like-minded folks

locally and around the world? Check out OCA's new online web forum and chat

center. http://www.organicconsumers.org/chat/index.php If you are interested in

being a moderator of one of these forums, please contact

Craig

 

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For a list of actions you can take right now to help build a strong economy,

based on sustainable agriculture, while protecting your health and the

environment! http://www.organicconsumers.org/action.htm

Please make a tax deductible online donation today:

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

 

 

 

 

 

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Help others learn about food safety, organics, and related topics. Place a link

on YOUR website to http://OrganicConsumers.org

Banners for your use - http://OrganicConsumers.org/logos.htm

 

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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 an attractive 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

 

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For additional daily environmental and political news, visit:

http://www.ens-newswire.com

http://www.planetsave.com

 

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