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Food and Consumer News Briefs (Organic Bytes #62)

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Wed, 27 Jul 2005 12:51:07 -0700

" Organic Consumers Association " <listadmin

This Week's Biggest Environment, Food and Consumer News

Briefs (Organic Bytes #62)

 

 

Food, Consumer and Environment News Tidbits with an Edge!

 

ORGANIC BYTES #62

7/27/2005

 

CHEMICAL EXPOSURE IN UTERO

A new chemical study of umbilical chord samples from the American Red

Cross has found that babies have an average of 200 known toxic

chemicals in their blood, including mercury, fire retardants,

pesticides and a chemical used in the production of Teflon, even

before being born. The tests found that hundreds of chemicals,

pollutants and pesticides are stored in body fat over a lifetime and

then pumped from mother to fetus through umbilical cord blood.

Overall, chemical absorption can be reduced by eating organic foods,

and by reducing exposure to toxins at home and at work.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/newborns071505.cfm

 

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PARENTING ADVICE: EAT YOUR PESTICIDES

" Parents Magazine " , one of the most influential parenting publications

in the U.S., advised parents not to worry about pesticide residues in

children's food in its recent August 2005 issue. In an article titled

" Food Under Fire, " the magazine belittles the benefits of organic

foods as a myth, and endorses pesticides in foods as safe, stating:

" there's no evidence that these chemicals, used at the low levels

found in our food supply, are harmful to children. " The author of the

piece based his research on the opinion of a single " expert, " never

mentioning three decades of scientific evidence from academic,

government and industry sources that states otherwise. The magazine

serves as a " parenting guide " to more than 14 million rs.

Read some related facts below, and write a quick letter to their

editor here: mailbag

 

__

 

QUICK RELATED U.S. GOVERNMENT ISSUED FACTS:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that one of the main

sources of pesticide exposure for U.S. children comes from the food

they eat.

 

According to the Food and Drug Administration, half of produce

currently tested in grocery stores contains measurable residues of

pesticides. Laboratory tests of eight industry-leader baby foods

reveal the presence of 16 pesticides, including three carcinogens.

 

According to EPA's " Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment, "

children receive 50% of their lifetime cancer risks in the first two

years of life.

 

In blood samples of children aged 2 to 4, concentrations of pesticide

residues are six times higher in children eating conventionally farmed

fruits and vegetables compared with those eating organic food.

 

(Sources and more facts here:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/wic-faq.pdf)

 

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ORGANIC & CONVENTIONAL FARMING FACE-OFF IN 22-YEAR STUDY

The July issue of the journal Bioscience reviewed a 22-year-long field

study by the Rodale Institute which compared organic and conventional

farming on similar plots of land with similar crops. The study found

that in the initial five years of the study, the conventional crops

(i.e. crops grown with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers) had

slightly better yields than the organic crops. But during that same

initial period, the organic farming practices were building up higher

levels of soil mass and biodiversity which then allowed the organic

land to generate yields equal to or greater than the conventional

crops. The conventional crops collapsed during drought years, while

the organic crops fluctuated only slightly, due to greater water

holding potential in the organic enriched soil. The conventional crop

also had pesticides leaching into the water at levels exceeding the

EPA's safety limits. Over the 22 year period, the organic crops used

30% less fossil energy inputs than the conventional crops.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/norm071805.cfm

 

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TV: SHRINKING KIDS' BRAINS

Three new studies reviewed in this month's issue of Archives of

Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine show that the more time children

spend watching television, the poorer they perform academically. One

study was conducted at John Hopkins University, another in New

Zealand, and a third at the University of Washington, wherein, over

the course of a decade, 1,800 children participated in the study.

Researchers found television leading to poor cognitive development,

while access to a computer at home resulted in increased academic

performance. http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/tvstudies070405.cfm

 

__

 

QUICK TIDBITS

In a rather unexpected way, a team of biologists surveying

biodiversity in the forests of Khammouan have " discovered " the first

new mammalian species in 31 years. The team stopped in an area village

food market and noticed the locals eating an unusual ratlike animal

they called " kha-nyou. " Upon analyzing the DNA, scientists have

concluded the animal represents a species of rodent previously unknown

to biologists.

(Source: Science News, Vol.167)

 

The National Council of Churches USA has launched a new initiative to

fight " growing threats to our nation's public lands and associated

resources. " According to Methodist Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, " We try always

to respond to God's call to be stewards of creation. " The initiative

will mobilize people of faith around the issue of gas and oil

development as it relates to land preservation.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/churches071405.cfm

 

Woodbury County, Iowa, has become the first in the nation to offer tax

incentives to organic farmers. County Supervisors approved $50,000 for

helping farmers convert from conventional to organic agriculture. " We

think domestic (organic) food manufacturers are going to want a

reliable domestic supply, " said Woodbury rural economic director Rob

Marqusee. " We know that people are making money. It might as well be

us, too. " http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/taxbreak071805.cfm

 

__

 

GLOBAL MAD COW BYTES

 

JAPAN: Japanese food safety regulators were shocked by a new Ministry

of Agriculture study revealing that nearly half of Japanese confirmed

mad cow cases would not have been discovered if the nation had been

using U.S. testing techniques. Although the U.S. already has a shaky

reputation internationally for its lax testing procedures for mad cow

disease, consumers in Japan, formerly the largest overseas market for

U.S. beef, were shocked to learn, that in 9 out of 20 cases, U.S.

testing would have mistakenly allowed animals with the fatal

brain-wasting disease to go to market.

 

U.S.: New evidence, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act,

reveals yet another mad cow cover-up by the USDA. In this case, back

in 2003, a cow with all of the symptoms of the fatal and contagious

disease had brain samples tested, which mysteriously turned up

negative. Newly uncovered USDA documents reveal that the agency

knowingly tested the wrong part of the brain and made no efforts to do

further testing.

 

UK: A select group of blood donors in the UK are being advised to get

checked for vCJD, the human form of mad cow disease. Roughly one

hundred donors gave blood to three people in 1993 and 1994. Those

three people have since died of vCJD, and UK doctors say the chance

the disease was transmitted via donated blood is quite high.

 

More Mad Cow Info: http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm

 

__

 

TELL CONGRESS TO STOP CAFTA

The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the expansion of the

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to Central America and the

Dominican Republic, will drive several million small farmers off the

land—just as NAFTA has done in Mexico and Canada—as well as encourage

U.S. corporations to outsource more jobs to low-wage sweatshops. We

need Fair Trade as the global norm, not so-called Free Trade. Call

your Congressional Representative toll free 1-800-718-1008. Ask to

speak to the person who handles trade issues. Tell the office you want

your Representative to vote NO on CAFTA and ask for a response email

stating the Rep's position. For more information on CAFTA, please

visit Public Citizen's CAFTA page http://www.citizen.org/trade/cafta/

 

__

 

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*****************************

 

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NOTE TO CO-OP AND NATURAL FOOD STORE SUBSCRIBERS:

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You are also welcome to use this material for your newsletters. Within

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

_________________________________

 

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Phone: (218)-353-7454 Fax: (218) 353-7652

 

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