Organic Bytes: Obama's Monsanto Man, GMO Alfalfa, & Toxic Sludge

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Organic Bytes #214: Obama's Monsanto Man, GMO Alfalfa, & Toxic SludgeCHE

 

 

CHECK OUT THE QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

 

 

Obama's Monsanto Man, GMO Alfalfa, & Toxic Sludge

 

 

#214, February 25, 2010

Health, Justice and Sustainability News

from the Organic Consumers Association

Edited by Alexis Baden-Mayer and Ronnie Cummins

 

In this issue:

a.. Quote of the Week: Erich Fromm

b.. Take Action:

a.. Ninety-Eight Organizations Oppose Senate Confirmation

of Pesticide and Biotech Lobbyist Islam Siddiqui for USTR Agriculture Negotiator

b.. March 3 Deadline: Obama USDA Poised to Take Away Our

Right to GMO-Free Food

c.. Support San Francisco Garden Activists Returning Toxic

Sludge to City Officials Who Called It " Organic Compost "

c.. Action Update: Thank You From the Cornucopia Institute

d.. Little Bytes

 

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Quote of the Week

 

" Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our

insanity.

 

'Patriotism' is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say

that by 'patriotism', I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above

humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in

one's own nation, which is the concern with the nation's spiritual as much as

with its material welfare - never with its power over other nations.

 

Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for

others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for

humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship. "

 

-Erich Fromm (1900-1980), U.S. psychologist. Posted on

Information Clearing House Newsletter Feb. 19, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

PLEASE DONATE!

OCA Needs Your Help to Spread the Organic Revolution

 

 

OCA and our international network of organic consumers and

farmers understand that we have a positive life-affirming solution for the

global food, health, and climate crisis: organic food, farming, and ranching.

But to get out our all-important message we need your support. Please send us a

tax-deductible donation today.

 

PLEASE DONATE

 

 

 

 

Take Action: OCA and National Coalition Oppose Obama's

Monsanto Man

Oppose Islam Siddiqui for US Agricultural Trade Negotiator!

 

Organic Consumers Association is part of a 98-organization

coalition formed by the Pesticide Action Network and the National Family Farm

Coalition to block the Senate confirmation of President Obama's nominee for US

Agricultural Trade Negotiator, CropLife pesticide lobbyist Islam Siddiqui.

 

We're sending a letter signed by all 98 groups to the Senate.

The letter outlines our opposition to Siddiqui based on his support for

pesticides and genetically modified foods and his opposition to organic

practices.

 

Siddiqui was instrumental in drafting the first proposed

organic standards in 1997-98 that would have allowed toxic sewage sludge,

Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), and irradiated food to be labeled

" Organic. "

 

As Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at

President Clinton's USDA, Siddiqui oversaw the release of the first-ever

proposed federal standards for organics, an accomplishment the Obama White House

has cited in support of his nomination. However, these rules created an uproar

when USDA overruled recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board

(NOSB) and recommended the use of GMOs, irradiation and toxic sludge under the

organic label. After a nationwide campaign spearheaded by the OCA, in which the

USDA was deluged with 280,000 irate letters and emails, Siddiqui, Monsanto, and

the USDA backed off. This Organic Consumers Rebellion remains one of the most

passionate outpourings of public sentiment on any government regulation in

modern U.S. history.

 

Read More and Take Action

 

 

 

 

March 3 Deadline: Genetic Pollution from Monsanto's GMO

Alfalfa Threatens Our Right to Organic and GMO-Free Food

Organic and genetically modified " Frankencrops " cannot

coexist. Any open-pollinated crop that is genetically modified will inevitably

contaminate non-GMO and organic varieties.

 

President Obama's USDA, like all administrations since GMOs

were first patented in the 1990s, wants to help agribusiness force-feed new

genetically modified crops on consumers. Currently, the USDA is working on

getting Monsanto's Roundup Ready (pesticide-resistant) alfalfa to market.

 

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the US and it

is the first perennial crop to be genetically engineered. GMO-contamination of

organic alfalfa fields and organic alfalfa seed production would happen very

quickly. Once Monsanto's GMO alfalfa is widely cultivated, it will inevitably

contaminate organic alfalfa sprouts and alfalfa hay grown for organic dairy

cows.

 

Genetically modified DNA sequences have been found in the milk

of dairy cows fed GMO corn and soybeans. If Monsanto gets its way, conventional

milk and dairy products will be similarly contaminated.

 

Organic consumers have fought hard to keep GMOs out of

national and international organic standards, but if we allow Monsanto's

genetically modified alfalfa to be widely grown in the US, organic integrity

will be jeopardized.

 

Take action

 

 

 

 

Support OCA and San Francisco Garden Activists Giving Toxic

Sludge Back to the City that Has Been Distributing It as " Organic Compost "

 

If you think human waste is the worst thing that enters the

sewage system, think again. All across the country, factories using toxic

chemicals, meat-packing plants slaughtering animals from factory farms,

hospitals treating sick people with heavy duty antibiotics, anti-microbials,

pharmaceuticals and radiation therapy, nuclear power plants using cool water to

stave off melt-downs, and farms spreading dangerous pesticides and fertilizers,

all have access to the sewer systems.

 

The sewage system is supposed to take all this tainted waste

water, separate out the solids and toxins and produce water clean enough to

return to the environment. Well, you may have heard that our oceans, lakes and

rivers aren't as clean as they should be, but what about all the toxic stuff

that's been removed from the water? Where does that go?

 

Ever heard of toxic sludge? That's the product of wastewater

treatment and, up until the 1990s, it was dumped in the oceans. Now, it's spread

on farmland.

 

A lot of it is even sold at garden stores as " organic

compost. " Please, if you ever see something called " organic compost " make sure

it's certified organic by OMRI or an accredited organic certifier.

 

San Francisco, home to Gavin Newsom, who some have called the

World's Greenest Mayor, is actually giving the stuff away to unsuspecting

organic gardeners, calling it " organic biosolids compost. "

 

On March 4th at 12 noon, OCA National Director Ronnie Cummins

will join garden activists at San Francisco City Hall to give this toxic sludge

back to the city. If you're in the Bay Area, please join us! (Link directs to a

Facebook event)

 

Join Us

 

 

 

 

Action Update: A Special Thank You to the Organic Consumers

Association and Its Members

The organic community has something to be proud of - the

recent victory in Washington with the publication of new regulations that will

crack down on factory farms scofflaws producing " organic " milk.

 

As an organic farming watchdog, on behalf of our

farmer-members, we want to sincerely thank Ronnie Cummins and the rest of the

staff at OCA for their decade of hard work that has helped lead to this victory.

 

For years OCA has been an invaluable partner in the efforts to

rein-in abuses by Dean Foods' Horizon brand and Aurora Dairy (producer of

private-label milk labeled organic for the likes of Wal-Mart, Costco and many

grocery chains).

 

For years, during the Bush administration, the USDA looked the

other way while giant corporations overtly cheated. But the potent partnership

between organic farmers and consumers has proven that people power still can

still trump corporate money and clout.

 

Less than 2% of our citizens farm today, both conventional and

organic. Farmers have no clout in Washington or the marketplace. But when the

leading organic farming group partners with the most powerful representative of

organic consumers, OCA, we are all potent force to be reckoned with.

 

To all of you who have, over the years, contacted your elected

officials, written the USDA and, most importantly, carefully continued to buy

organic dairy products - but only from the true heroes in this industry - we

want to sincerely thank you.

 

-Mark A. Kastel, Co-director

The Cornucopia Institute

 

Read More

 

 

 

 

Little Bytes

 

 

Say 'No!' to Corporate Control of Agriculture and Food!

April 17th 2010 is the International Day of Peasant Struggle.

La Via Campesina is calling for a day of action against transnational

corporations which seek complete control over food and agriculture systems

around the world. READ MORE

 

Bayer Pesticide Banned Over Threat to Honeybees

A U.S. District Judge from Manhattan has banned the sale of

spirotetramat, a pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience that is toxic and is

killing off the nation's honeybee population. READ MORE

 

World Wildlife Fund: Loyal Ally of Corporate Agribusiness and

Monsanto

WWF is engaged in a mega-greenwashing operation to cover up

the environmental and social destruction caused by soy production in South

America; impacts include deforestation, environmental pollution and poisoning of

people. READ MORE

 

Natural Food Industry Giant, UNFI, Refuses to Sign

Sustainability Pledge

The Coalition for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain has been

trying to get UNFI to sign pledge to cease marketing conventional food as

" natural, " to increase the sales of certified organic foods, to adopt fair trade

standards that honor the right of workers to freely choose representation and

collective bargaining and to promote a sustainable environment that includes the

elimination of business practices that accelerate climate change. READ MORE

 

Authors Attempt 'Death By Rubber Duck'

Inspired by Morgan Spurlock's fast-food gluttony in the movie

Super Size Me, two environmental activists from Canada devised their own

experiment. Instead of fast food, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie absorbed

themselves in everyday products like shampoos, soaps and cleaners to find out

what kind of damage might be done to their health. READ MORE

 

 

 

LOCAL NY NEWS OF THE WEEK

NY - Get Involved Locally

a.. Learn more about OCA related action alerts and other

news in NY here.

b.. Join NY discussion groups in our forum.

c.. Post events in NY on our community calendar.

 

 

Message from our Sponsors

Dr. Bronner's is Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary!

 

 

Marking the 60th Anniversary of the company, Dr. Bronner's

Magic Soaps is pleased to announce that all classic liquid & bar soaps are now

not only certified under the USDA National Organic Program, but also certified

Fair Trade! In addition, we are pleased to introduce a revolutionary new range

of high-quality organic products, from hair rinses to shaving gels - all

certified under the same USDA program that certifies organic foods.

 

Please visit us on the web at www.drbronner.com

 

 

 

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 a publication of Organic Consumers

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Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652

 

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