This Week's Biggest Environment and Consumer News Tidbits (Organic Bytes #56)

[Guest guest]

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 14:05:31 -0700

" Organic Consumers Association " <listadmin

 

 

This Week's Biggest Environment and Consumer News Tidbits

(Organic Bytes #56)

 

 

Organic Consumers Association

 

Food, Consumer and Environment News Tidbits with an Edge!

Organic Bytes #56

4/26/2005

 

USDA WILL ALLOW MISLEADING ORGANIC LABEL CLAIMS TO CONTINUE

In a controversial move, the USDA has announced that it will not

monitor or police " organic " label claims on body care products nor

allow companies that use certified organic ingredients to display the

" USDA Organic " label. This complete turnabout in policy essentially

gives the green light to unscrupulous companies to label non-organic

body care products as organic, whether they are or not, while

penalizing companies that have gone to the trouble and expense to

source certified organic ingredients. This USDA ruling contradicts a

previous 2002 directive that stated that if a body care product

contains certified organic ingredients, it could be labeled as such.

The new directive will likely reduce the demand for organic

ingredients and feed stocks from organic farmers by hundreds of

millions of dollars. Sign petition to the USDA here:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/action.cfm

 

 

 

MAD COW COVER-UP

The USDA has been covering up cases of Mad Cow Disease, according to a

USDA veterinarian in charge of monitoring cattle for the fatal

disease. On the eve of retirement, Dr. Masua Doi confessed to sketchy

testing since 1997. " I don't want to carry on off to my retirement, "

said Doi. " I want to hand it over to someone to continue, to find out.

I think it's very, very important. How many did we miss? " Doi's

concerns are shared by other USDA contracted scientists, like Dr. Karl

Langheindrich who runs a test lab in Georgia and says the appropriate

animal parts are not sent to him for accurate testing. In addition,

two weeks ago, U.S. agriculture inspector Lester Friedlander offered

testimony to a Canadian House of Commons committee revealing the U.S.

has been covering up Mad Cow cases.

Mad Cow USA - Stop the Madness Campaign logoThe USDA has refused to

respond to any of these allegations. Learn more and sign the Mad Cow

petition to the USDA http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm

 

 

 

EUROPE BANS ANIMAL FEED TAINTED BY U.S. FRANKENCORN

Due to contamination by an illegal variety of genetically engineered

corn, Europe has banned all imports of U.S. corn gluten animal feed.

Up until now U.S. Farmers have been exporting $450 million in corn

gluten every year to the EU. Several varieties of GE corn are illegal

in the EU, and almost no GE corn is grown by EU farmers, due to

European consumer concerns about its impact on human health and the

environment. http://www.organicconsumers.org/Corn/index.cfm

 

 

 

MAKING DOGS AND CATS IMMORTAL

Pet owners across the U.S. are discovering a new way to help

allieviate the pain of the loss of their beloved animals.... clone

them. For $50,000, a company called Genetic Savings in Clone will take

DNA from your deceased furry friend and make you an exact replica. The

Humane Society is opposed to the practice, saying the success rate of

the cloning is very low. As a result, many clones have to be made

before one actually lives. California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has

proposed a bill that would ban such clones in the state. " The problem

is, they go through lots of surrogate parents and a lot of the animals

are born deformed, " says Levine. The cost of pet cloning is currently

prohibitive to most incomes, so an increasing number of pet owners are

paying monthly fees to have their pet's DNA saved until prices drop.

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

 

 

 

FIRED BIOTECH CRITIC PROFESSOR FILES LAWSUIT

A well-respected professor at the University of California in Berkeley

has been fired after publishing a scientific paper exposing the

reckless contamination of irreplaceable native Mexican corn varieties

by genetically engineered corn exported from the U.S. Dr. Ignacio

Chapela, whose corn contamination article was published in the science

journal " Nature, " was mysteriously denied his tenure, despite the fact

the UC Berkeley tenure review panel had actually voted almost

unanimously to approve his tenure. In response, Chapela filed a

lawsuit last week against the college. The former professor says the

University removed him under pressure from Novartis, a multinational

biotechnology corporation who had offered the school millions of

dollars in funding. Sign a petition to demand a review of Dr.

Chapela's tenure denial. http://www.organicconsumers.org/uc.htm

 

 

 

NIKE TAKES ONE STEP FORWARD AND TWO STEPS BACK

Genetically engineered cotton is on the run in India. After years of

poor crop yields, hundreds of villages across India have pledged to go

GE-free. Under increasing pressure in India and across the world, the

Nike corporation has announced it will no longer use genetically

engineered cotton in its products. In other Nike news, the corporation

has acknowledged massive labor exploitation in its Asian factories. In

that region, 25%-50% of the factories were found to restrict employee

access to toilets and drinking water. This same percentage of

factories denies workers at least one day off in seven.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/nike041505.cfm

 

 

 

HOW TO BUY ORGANIC FOODS MORE CHEAPLY

1. Research the products and companies you are interested in.

2. Shop at farmers' markets. It's local, fresh, and inexpensive.

3. Buy a share in a community-supported agriculture program (CSA).

4. Join a co-op. Most of them have discounts for members.

5. Join or start a buying club. It's a great excuse to hang out with

your friends:)

6. Buy in bulk.

7. Buy big in-season.

8. In the off-season, buy dried and canned foods.

9. Canning, freezing and drying your own food can be a fun social event.

10. Spend time with family and friends by starting your own garden.

 

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS ON LAWN AND GARDEN CHEMICALS

 

* An analysis of the most popular lawn and garden pesticides shows

more than half of the products include ingredients classified by the

EPA or the World Health Organization as possible carcinogens,

one-third contain known or suspected endocrine disruptors, and more

than a quarter contain reproductive toxins.

* Over 40% of the most commonly used lawn and garden pesticides

are banned in other countries, yet U.S. homeowners annually apply 90

million pounds of these types of pesticides to gardens and lawns where

children frequently play.

* Homeowners apply three times more pesticides per acre to their

lawns than farmers apply to agricultural crops.

* An EPA study found that lawn pesticides are easily tracked

indoors and exist in the carpet and flooring for years.

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/lawns041905.cfm

 

 

 

TEENY TINY NEWS TIDBITS

 

Farmers in India have discovered that common colas, like Coke and

Pepsi, can be sprayed on crops and function as an effective and

affordable pesticide. Although the Coca-Cola corporation says this is

impossible, literally hundreds of farmers now claim the soft drinks

kill the bugs on their cotton plants as well as any other pesticide.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/pop.cfm

 

A class action lawsuit is being filed in New York and New Jersey

against producers of the popular synthetic sweetener aspartame

(NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful, etc.). More than 70% of U.S. adults and

40% of children are now regular consumers of products containing the

ingredient, which the FDA reports is tied to everything from headaches

to neurological problems to brain tumors.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/aspartame.cfm

 

The state of California is considering a ban on children's products

containing an ingredient used to make clear plastics (biphpenol A -

BPA). BPA is used to make clear plastic that is commonly used for food

and beverage containers, baby bottles and toys. Ninety percent of

non-industry funded studies identify the chemical as an endocrine

disruptor, as it mimics sex hormones.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/bpa041505.cfm

 

Monsanto has responded to a groundbreaking study showing the company's

popular Roundup pesticide to be fatally toxic to frogs. Monsanto

claims the study is irrelevant, because " there are no Roundup brand

formulations approved in the US or Canada for application over water. "

The company fails to mention their widely-used pesticide has been

detected in nearly every waterway in the U.S., due to runoff and

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

 

Senator Ted Kennedy has reintroduced a bill that would ban junk food

from vending machines in schools. It would also provide grants to

schools that prohibit advertising of junk foods to students and

require daily physical activity classes. Learn more and support this

legislation: http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/junk041905.cfm

 

 

 

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED BEER

Two weeks ago, Anheuser-Busch, " The King of Beers, " announced it would

not source rice from Missouri if the state allowed the farming of

genetically engineered " biopharmed " rice. The experimental rice

contains manipulated genes to cause it to produce cheap pharmaceutical

drugs. Opponents of the rice say it's too easy for such plants to

contaminate neighboring crops and spread into the food supply. Last

week, Busch made a compromise with Ventria, the biotech company

responsible for the GE rice, saying it would drop its demands as long

as the pharmaceutical rice isn't planted too close to traditional food

rice. http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/busch041805.cfm

 

 

 

 

 

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

websites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power!

 

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

 

 

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. Within

24 hours of the release of each email version of Organic Bytes, an

attractive print-friendly PDF version is posted and available for free

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

_________________________________

 

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

 

DONATE TO THE OCA

Donate Now!

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

For additional daily environmental and political news, visit:

http://www.ens-newswire.com

http://www.planetsave.com