Organic Bytes: Regime Change, Organic Transitions, Starbucks Victory, an...

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Organic Bytes

Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge!

November 6, 2008 -  Issue 150

In This Issue

Good News of the Week: Happy Regime Change

OCA Launches Organic Transitions " Campaign

Essay of the Week: Beyond the Gloom & Doom of Economic Depression, Climate

Change

Victory of the Week:Starbucks Doubles Fair Trade Coffee Purchases

Organic Bytes Readers Talk Back

Web Forum Posting of the Week: Gardening Makes You Fit

Quote of the Week: Global Food Crisis

Web Video of the Week:Jared Diamond on Why Societies Collapse

Headlines of the Week

Alerts From Our Allies Hello Shan,

 

 

Welcome to another exciting issue of Organic Bytes from the Organic Consumers

Association.

 

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Good News of the Week:

Happy Regime Change

 

The most important election in 100 years is finally over, with the overwhelming

majority of organic consumers across the U.S. standing together and voting for

candidates like Barack Obama and a range of other progressive candidates

advocating peace, justice, health, and sustainability. As we relish and

celebrate our hard fought and well-deserved victory, and rest up a bit, let's

keep in mind that the battle for Organic Transitions has just begun. We need to

press the new Obama administration, and all of our newly elected officials, in

their first 100 days in office, to take decisive steps to address our

interrelated climate, energy, food, health, war and economic crises. As we

mentioned several weeks ago, OCA's agenda for a new food and farming system is

brilliantly articulated in Michael Pollan's recent article in the New York

Times, " Farmer in Chief. " Please read or reread this inspiring essay and stay

tuned to Organic Bytes and our website for

important news, analysis, and Action Alerts in the upcoming weeks.

The Next House & Garden, Solar & Transit Revolution:

OCA's " Organic Transitions " Campaign

 

The Organic Consumers Association is proud to announce the launch of our new

long-term North American campaign: " Organic Transitions " . As the planet descends

into a global economic crisis, battered by global warming, resource wars, and

Peak Oil, we need to prepare ourselves and our communities for survival and

revival in hard times. Organic Transitions is designed to mobilize organic

consumers and local communities to plan and implement food, transportation,

energy, and education strategies that will enable us to survive and thrive in

the turbulent times ahead. Organic food and farming will provide the healthy

cornerstone for a new, more localized, green economy. Check out our new " Organic

Transitions " website and contact the OCA about organizing an Organic Transition

committee in your local Ottawa community here.

Essay of the Week: Ronnie Cummins -

Beyond the Gloom & Doom of Economic Depression, Climate Change, & Peak Oil

" A critical mass of people are waking up to the fact that we must get organized

and find holistic solutions, not mere band-aids, for our crisis. Millions of us

are heartened by the indisputable fact that organic, green, commonsense

solutions for all of our life-or-death problems are at hand, including

appropriate technology and innovative public policy and legislation. We don't

have to wait for Washington bureaucrats or corporate marketers to tell us what

to do. We can join together with our fellow citizens and begin the absolutely

essential process of organizing Organic Transitions committees and campaigns in

our local areas, starting with local organic food buying clubs, house parties,

and study and action circles. "

 

Read the full essay here

 

Victory of the Week:

Starbucks Doubles Fair Trade Coffee Purchases

 

For the past eight years, the OCA has mobilized tens of thousands of people

around the world to pressure Starbucks, the largest purveyor of coffee in the

world, to get rid of rBGH-tainted milk and substantially increase its sales of

organic and Fair Trade coffee. In early 2008, Starbucks announced it would no

longer source milk from dairies injecting their cows with Monsanto's genetically

engineered hormone, rBGH. Adding to this victory, last week, the company

announced it would be doubling its purchases of certified Fair Trade coffee to

40 million pounds in 2009. This is a major victory for OCA and our allies, as

well as coffee farmers and consumers around the world. " This commitment from

Starbucks could not have come at a better time for coffee farmers as they face

the threat of climate change, higher prices and brace themselves for a global

slowdown, " said Rob Cameron, CEO of the Fairtrade Labeling Organization

International.

 

Learn more

 

OCA Needs Your Support:

Our Work Depends On You

 

We know times are tough for everyone right now. That's why the OCA continues to

work for consumers, family farmers, our environment, and our most precious

assets, our children. We want to continue fighting the good fight, as well as

bring you Organic Bytes, but we need your donations to survive these financially

difficult times. If you enjoy Organic Bytes and believe the world is a better

place with OCA's nonprofit work, please consider donating today. Any size of

donation is helpful and appreciated.

 

Donate Now!

 

Organic Bytes Readers Talk Back:

 

An Organic Bytes Reader Writes: " I am confused. In Organic Bytes issue #149, you

say you are opposed to bringing heifers from conventional farms to organic

farms?  I choose organic milk because I don't want to cause suffering to milk

cows.  Surely allowing young cows to escape the confinement, subjection to rBGH,

etc., of conventional farming is in those cows best interest? "

 

OCA Responds: Yes, we do agree with you and would like to clarify. The USDA

National Organic Standards include provisions that allow farmers to " transition "

their herds from conventional to organic. Conventionally raised animals can be

shifted to a pasture-based organic diet, and gradually transitioned into what

would be considered " organic " . These animals can be used for dairy production,

but their meat cannot be marketed as " USDA Organic " . Unfortunately, a number of

larger scale producers, like Horizon and Aurora, have taken advantage of this

loophole in the USDA Organic Standards by continually increasing or replacing

milk cows on their farms with conventional calves or heifers from conventional

farms. The OCA wants to close this loophole by stipulating that once a dairy is

certified as organic all of its additional cows must then be raised organically

from birth. For more information on the abuses of these factory farms click

here.

 

Web Forum Posting of the Week:

Gardening and Fitness

 

An OCA web forum participant posted this question:

" Does anyone know a proven way to reduce the weight? "

 

This is one of many hot topics in the OCA forum. Among the scores of suggestions

from forum participants here's an interesting one:

" Become an avid organic gardener. You will burn so many calories doing what you

love, that you will reduce your weight and improve fitness. Also your new diet

will include the fruits of your labor - which will make you healthier. A disdain

for junk food will naturally ensue. "

 

Join in on this and hundreds of other discussions here

 

Quote of the Week

 

" We all blew it, including me as president... It is crazy for us to think we

can develop countries around the world without increasing their ability to feed

themselves. "

 

Bill Clinton speaking to the United Nations last week about the global food

crisis. Clinton acknowledged that subsidies for chemical-intensive crops such as

corn, and the biofuels boondoogle (converting food crops into fuel crops) are a

disaster, leading to spiraling grain and food prices and mass hunger.

 

Learn more and sign OCA's petition calling for a moratorium on agrofuels

incentives

 

Web Video of the Week:

Jared Diamond on Why Societies Collapse

Jared Diamond, a man of multiple talents (evolutionary biologist, physiologist,

biogeographer, professor of geography and physiology at UCLA, non-fiction

author), gave an interesting talk recently about why societies collapse.

Environmental factors play a big role in his checklist, and it should be a

reminder to us that we must not only find solutions, but actually apply them

ASAP.

 

Watch

 

 

Headlines of the Week:

1) Studies Tie Bacteria in Beef to Ethanol Byproduct

 

2) The GM Genocide: Thousands of Indian Farmers are Committing Suicide After

Using Genetically Modified Crops

 

3) Arctic is Melting Even in Winter

 

4) Cornucopia Institute: Urge the NOSB to Remove Soy Lecithin from the National

List

 

5) Infant Formula Makers and Canned Food Producers Called On To Remove BPA

 

Let OCA sift through the media smog and bring you the top new and analysis of

the day. The OCA website has 20 or more news articles posted each day, and a

library of over 4,000 articles covering issues including health, justice, food

and farming, politics, and the environment. Bookmark OrganicConsumers.org

Get Involved With OCA In ON

 

*Learn more about OCA related action alerts and other news in ON here.

 

*Join ON discussion groups in our forum.

 

*Post events in ON on our community calendar

Alerts from Our Allies:

 

Consumers Union: A vote is scheduled in Washington in two weeks on what kind of

fish can be labeled organic. Tell the National Organics Standards Board that

organic fish must meet the same high standards as all other organic products and

livestock. Take Action

 

Health Freedom Foundation: It's time to support wellness and healthcare reform.

H.Con.Res.406 is an important resolution currently being debated in Washington

D.C. It will sharpen the focus on the debate to reform U.S. healthcare.  Take

Action

 

 

 

Message From OCA Sponsor:

Eden Foods Offers OCA Customers 15% Discount

 

Eden Foods is one of the few national organic food producers who goes beyond

the USDA Organic Standards. Although Eden Foods is USDA certified, their

products do not bear the USDA seal, because they say the USDA standard really

represents a " minimum standard " that Eden Foods goes far beyond. As a r

to Organic Bytes, you can enjoy a discount rate on any Eden Foods products by

clicking here.

 

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

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

 

ORGANIC BYTES is written and edited by Craig Minowa and Ronnie Cummins

and is a publication of:

ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION

6771 South Silver Hill Drive

Finland, Minnesota 55603

Phone: (218)- 226-4164

Fax: (218) 353-7652

 

 

You are d as:

Shan Russell

Ottawa, ON

surpriseshan2

 

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