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Organic Bytes #58

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Organic Bytes #58 - Food and Consumer News Tidbits with an Edge!Food,Consumer and Environment News Tidbits with an Edge!Organic Bytes #585/24/2005EXPLOSIVE MONSANTO DOCUMENTS REVEAL SERIOUS HAZARDS OF GENETICALLYENGINEERED CORNA May 22 headline news story in the London Independent has rocked Monsantoand the biotech industry and fueled the controversy over the safety ofgenetically engineered food. The story reveals that internal Monsantodocuments, reviewed by EU scientists, show serious health damage tolaboratory animals fed Monsanto's new genetically engineered"rootworm-resistant" corn. Rats who consumed the mutant corn developedsmaller kidneys and exhibited blood abnormalities. Scientists say these are"red flags" for immune system damage and/or cancer tumor promotion. Althoughthe EU will now likely ban Monsanto's new GMO corn, this samerootworm-resistant corn is already being grown and consumed on a major scalein the United States. Monsanto has denied that the corn can harm humans, butnonetheless refuses to turn over its data to the media, claiming that thelab studies are "Confidential Business Information."Learn more and take action: http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.htmCALIFORNIA MAN'S DEATH MAY BE LINKED TO MAD COW DISEASEThe USDA has recently been accused of been covering up cases of mad cowdisease for over a decade. Now a deceased California man's family and doctorhave announced they believe Patrick Hicks, aged 49, died late last year fromvariant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, or vCJD. The fatal disease is contractedfrom eating beef contaminated with mad cow disease. Dr. Ron Bailey, aneurologist at Riverside Medical Center, believes this will be the firstdocumented case of vCJD in the U.S., and in order to bypass the hand of theUSDA, is sending brain samples overseas for testing in an independentlaboratory. Over 150 Europeans have already died from vCJD, with thousandsmore believed to be incubating the disease.http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/CAman051605.cfmEUROPE DEBATES THE MOST MASSIVE CHEMICAL BAN IN HISTORYThe European Parliament is set to debate new regulations that woulddramatically increase the number of banned chemicals in the EU. The lawwould require manufacturers of some 30,000 currently legal chemicals toprovide scientific evidence that their products are safe for human healthand the environment. If the legislation passes, it would have a major impacton thousands of chemicals and products manufactured and sold in the U.S.Despite much weaker regulations in the U.S. many American companies have nochoice but to adhere to European regulations given that the EU, with 25countries and 460 million people, represents an even larger market than theU.S. http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/strict051805.cfmAVIAN INFLUENZA DEEMED MOST SERIOUS GLOBAL HEALTH THREATWorld Health Organization Director, General Lee Jong-Wook opened the 58thWorld Health Assembly last week by saying avian influenza is the mostserious health threat facing the world. "The timing cannot be predicted, butrapid international spread is certain once the pandemic virus appears," Leesaid. "This is a grave danger for all people in all countries." Lee stronglyadvised leaders of every nation to implement, as a top priority, systems forresponding to the onset of the virus.http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/avian051805.cfmCORPORATE DOLLAR OVERPOWERS SCIENCE...AGAINThe American Diabetic Association (ADA) is suddenly countering decades ofscientific studies that have consistently linked diets high in sugar todiabetes. In a May 16 interview, Richard Kahn, the chief scientific andmedical officer with the ADA said "What is the evidence that sugar itselfhas anything to do with diabetes? There is no evidence." Coincidentally,last month, the ADA announced a "three-year, multi-million dollar alliance"with Cadbury Schweppes, which is the third largest producer of soft drinksin the world. http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/diabetes051705.cfmBILL SAYS SODA POP IN SCHOOLS IS GOODThe Oregon Senate Education Committee has rewritten a law that would havebanned soft drinks from vending machines in the state's schools. In acomplete turnabout, the new law actually gives the green light to sugarybeverages in schools. Lawmakers instrumental in the rewrite process claimthe change of heart has nothing to do with the fact that the Oregon SoftDrink Association, a powerful industry lobby group opposed to banning junkfoods in schools, contributed $91,000 to their election campaigns in 2004.http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/coke050905.cfmREMOTE CONTROL HUNTINGTexas entrepreneur John Lockwood, whose new internet business advertises a"real time on-line hunting and shooting experience," has spurred emergencyproposed legislation in 14 states. Lockwood's website charges a monthly feeto rs who can then sit at their computers, anywhere in the world,watch live web cameras situated on Lockwood's game farm, and remotely shootguns at real-life animals with the click of a mouse. Animal rights groups,the National Rifle Association and legislators across the U.S. are teamingup to pass laws that would ban such activity, referencing dangers of thespread of remotely fired guns, while Lockwood argues that this is a moreethical way of harvesting food than buying factory farm meats from theslaughterhouse. http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/hunt.cfm What do youthink? Share your thoughts on this issue in OCA's web forum:http://www.organicconsumers.org/chat/index.phpNEW "MONSANTO LAWS" AIM TO MUTE COMMUNITY RIGHTSResponding to the growing number of localities whose citizens are voting toregulate or even ban genetically engineered crops, the biotech industry, ledby Monsanto and Syngenta, has brought new legislation to ten states in theU.S. that would remove the rights of communities to have any control ofagricultural regulations in their area. On one side of the issue, citizensand farmers in counties that have banned GE crops, like Mendocino, Calif.,say they have a right to protect their predominantly organic county fromcontamination by GE pollen from neighboring crops. On the other side of theissue, the biotech industry is investing tens of millions of dollars toremove these local rights, saying anti-GE citizens and farmers "lack theeducation to make these kinds of decisions."http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/laws052005.cfmQUICK NEWS TIDBITSThe European Union has, once again, rejected Monsanto's geneticallyengineered sweet corn. Under pressure from the U.S., the EU lifted its banon GE foods last year, but has since only approved two GE products forimport. The U.S. claims the EU's precautionary stance on GE foods is aviolation of free trade agreements.http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/sweetcorn052305.cfmIn December of 2004, the OCA rallied its supporters in a massive letterwriting campaign to the University of California Berkeley. At the time, Dr.Igancio Chapela had been denied his tenure for speaking out on the issue ofGE crop contamination. Thanks to everyone who took action, the Universityhas announced it will reverse its prior decision and grant Dr. Chapela hiswell deserved tenure. http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/ignacio052305.cfmNew Chapter Inc. has become the first company to prove that vitamins can bemade 100% organic, following the guidelines of the USDA National OrganicProgram (NOP). The USDA currently refuses to regulate products such asvitamins and body care, based on their argument that the NOP should onlyregulate food, despite the fact that the NOP regulations specificallyoversee how a product is created, not how a product is consumed.http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/supplements051805.cfmAlaska has become the first state to pass a bill that will require thelabeling of genetically engineered fish. Senator Gary Stevens said of thebill, "The message that Alaska seafood is more natural than seafood that hasbeen engineered in a lab is a highly important marketing tool." There wereno discussions as to how that same regulatory labeling philosophy shouldapply to other genetically engineered foods.http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/alaskabill051105.cfmWHOOPSWe're a little embarrassed... The OCA would like to apologize forreferencing a non-OCA related document in our last issue of Organic Bytesthat contained an incorrect statistic. The article we cited claimed that anew study connected high consumption of processed meats with a 6700%increase in cancer. Woah!!! That shocked the heck out of us too. But thearticle we were referencing, along with several other newspaper articles,were wrong. The actual study put that rate at 67%. We apologize, for notquadruple checking our sources in that Byte, but are proud to say this isthe first statistical error retraction in 57 issues of this publication, acommendable record for any purely fact-based publication.********sponsored message**********Great Organic Wines that Help the OCA!Savor delicious, award-winning wine varieties from Frey Vineyards -California's oldest organic winery. Appreciate layers of vibrant flavorsnot masked by the added sulfites found in most other wines. And help theOrganic Consumers Association - all at the same time! For a limited time,Frey Vineyards is making an exceptional online-only offer. You can get athree-pack of our award-winning wine varieties at a 10% discount or greater,and we'll donate 5% of sales to the OCA. Learn more about Frey's specialoffer here.INVEST FOR POSITIVE CHANGEInvest with Pax World, a pioneer in socially and environmentally responsiblemutual funds since 1971. Pax World challenges companies to reach for ahigher "bottom line" and offers investors the opportunity to do good whiledoing well. Get started now for yourself, and open an account for your lovedones -- find out more. Pax World - Principles and Performance. Carefullyconsider a fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses beforeinvesting. For this and other important information, read a fund prospectusbefore investing.*****************************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 alink on YOUR website to http://OrganicConsumers.org Banners for your use -http://OrganicConsumers.org/logos.htmNOTE TO CO-OP AND NATURAL FOOD STORE SUBSCRIBERS:Organic Bytes is a great tool for keeping your staff and customers up todate on the latest issues. Feel free to forward this email to your staff andprint for posting on bulletin boards and staff break tables. You are alsowelcome to use this material for your newsletters. Within 24 hours of therelease of each email version of Organic Bytes, an attractive print-friendlyPDF version is posted and available for free download athttp://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm_________________________________ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of:ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION6771 South Silver Hill DriveFinland, MN 55603Phone: (218)-353-7454 Fax: (218) 353-7652DONATE TO THE OCAhttp://www.organicconsumers.org/donations.htmSubscribe: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htmUn: http://organicconsumers.org/unsuborganicbytes.cfmChange your subscription settings to receive Organic Bytes as plain texthere:http://www.organicconsumers.org/campaign.cfmFor additional daily environmental and political news, visit:http://www.ens-newswire.comhttp://www.planetsave.comOrganic Consumers Association mailing lists are powered by L-Soft's renownedLISTSERV® list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP® mailer forlightning fast mail delivery. 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