ESSAY OF THE WEEK The Plot Thickens

Tweet | Pinterest   Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate | View on Web ESSAY OF THE WEEK The Plot Thickens “The [Oct. 21, 2015] Senate Agriculture hearing reaffirmed the broad consensus among scientists and regulators that GMOs are safe . . . We were pleased to hear Senator Stabenow’s [D-Mich.] personal commitment to work to develop a bipartisan bill that can pass the Senate by the end of this year…”. - Pamela Bailey, Grocery Manufacturers Association, in an October 21, 2015 press release When the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry held its hearing on H.R. 1599 last week, the session ended just as the hearing in the House ended—with all of the witnesses in the room concurring that GMOs are safe. In fact, not one single member of the U.S. Congress, in several well-publicized hearings in the House and Senate this year, has had the intelligence or the courage to say that GMO-tainted foods and the pesticides that go along with them are toxic or unsafe. Worse yet, the few token spokespersons from public interest groups—Center for Science in the Public Interest, Environmental Working Group and Just Label It—despite portraying themselves as the “loyal opposition” to Monsanto and Big Food, and, have either repeated Monsanto’s lies of “no-scientific evidence of GMO harm” or claimed disingenuously “we don’t know.” Now, it seems the loyal opposition may go along with a scheme, supported by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), to pass a federal law that would substitute QR codes for labels. Read Ronnie’s essay ACTION ALERT Thanks, but No Thanks We first wrote about U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s Big Idea for GMO labeling back in February. The idea is this: Allow companies, voluntarily, to use QR barcodes to tell consumers if their products contain GMOs. The scheme would require you to scan the product, then be directed to the company’s website where you’d have to wade through the advertising and search the fine print. Of course, you’d have to have a smart phone. And plenty of time on your hands. We didn’t like the plan then. We don’t like it now. And we’re not keen that Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, may step up to co-sponsor a bill in Congress that would substitute a voluntary QR code scheme for a mandatory GMO labeling law. It could happen. And it may even have support from so-called public interest groups, like JustLabelIt and the Center for Science in the Public Interest—groups that many consumers still believe are on our side. TAKE ACTION: Demand mandatory labeling of GMOs—not voluntary labels or QR codes! Post on Sen. Stabenow’s Facebook page Post on JustLabelIt’s Facebook page Post on CSPI’s Facebook page And please, even if you’ve already called your Senators, please call them again. Tell them you want them to support mandatory labeling of GMOs, not voluntary labels. And tell them that QR codes are no substitute for labels! Look up your Senators’ phone numbers and call today SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF Dog Pack Journalism The author of a recent blog post on Daily Kos lamented the failure of mainstream media to adequately cover, much less tell the truth, about GMOs. He called it "Dog pack journalism." We all know why. Corporations like Monsanto (which is now advertising in publications like Good Housekeeping and National Geographic) and Kellogg’s, General Mills and others buy advertising in major newspapers. Lots of it. And those advertising dollars not only sway consumers, they sway publishers. Last week’s Senate hearing on the DARK Act (H.R. 1599), an industry-written bill intended to legalize the fraudulent practicing of withholding information that 90 percent of Americans believe they have the right to know, didn’t go in our favor. Any day now, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is expected to introduce a Senate version of the DARK Act, one that will likely include the words “voluntary” and “QR codes.” We can’t count on the media to help us stop this attack on our rights. Can we count on you? Your donation today will help us mobilize more volunteers to email, call and knock down the doors of their Senators. Thank you! Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education) Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts) FAIR WORLD PROJECT Halloween Horror Show Would you buy chocolate from a company if you knew that company knowingly obtained its chocolate from suppliers that used child labor? Some consumers in California say no. So they’re suing Mars, Nestlé and Hershey for failing to disclose that their suppliers rely on child laborers. It’s once again the season of ghosts, goblins and candy. Lots and lots of candy. Nearly $2 billion worth of it. For most of the world's kids, Halloween is fun. But for the more than 2 million children who work long hours, under hazardous conditions, to make all that money for Big Candy, Halloween—and almost every other day of the year—is a real horror show. The chocolate industry has a long history or exploiting children, and a bad track record when it comes to fixing the problem. That’s not news. What may surprise you is that the problem is getting worse, not better, according to a recent study. How do we end the cycle of child slavery in chocolate production? By boycotting the companies that allow it. And by demanding fair prices for farmers. TAKE ACTION: Tell the International Cocoa Initiative to Address Fair Pricing as Part of Its Strategy to Eliminate Child Labor Find fair trade chocolate Learn more VIDEO OF THE WEEK A ‘Devious Act’ “Any law that prevents GMO labeling simply legalizes fraud.” If you read this newsletter, you probably support mandatory labeling of GMOs. And you probably know why you want GMOs labeled. You probably also have friends who don’t know what a GMO is, much less why more than 90 percent of consumers want GMOs labeled. And 100 percent of Big Food companies don’t. Now would be a good time to reach out to those friends. From the bogus cost argument, to the dangers of glyphosate, to the threat of GMO salmon—in five short minutes, this video covers all the bases. Watch the video and share it! NEW REPORT Something Fishy Speaking of labels . . . . Why would we trust a voluntary GMO (or, as industry is pushing, voluntary non-GMO) labeling scheme when it’s clear that many profit-minded corporations can’t be trusted? Case in point: That salmon you bought that was labeled “wild salmon”? Maybe it was. But maybe it wasn’t, according to a study conducted by the advocacy group Oceana. Oceana collected 82 salmon samples from restaurants and grocery stores and found that 43 percent were mislabeled. DNA testing confirmed that most of the mislabeling (69 percent) consisted of farmed Atlantic salmon being sold as wild-caught product. According to Oceana: Salmon samples were considered to be mislabeled if 1) they were described as being “wild,” “Alaskan” or “Pacific,” but DNA testing revealed them to be farmed Atlantic salmon; or 2) the samples were labeled as a specific type of salmon, like “Chinook,” but testing revealed them to be different species (in most cases lower-value fish). Learn more Read the report SAVE ORGANIC STANDARDS Keeping ‘Organic’ Honest If you want to avoid GMOs and pesticides, your best option (other than growing your own food) is to buy products that bear the green and white USDA Organic seal. But the certification process behind the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP), and the people who manage it, aren’t perfect. Unless consumers keep the program honest, the standards governing organic will deteriorate. With sales of organics hitting a record $39 billion in 2014, companies like Kellogg’s and General Mills are buying up organic brands—and then angling for positions on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) so they can influence organic standards. And not in a good way, says the Cornucopia Institute. In fact, things are so bad, that the Cornucopia Institute is calling for the removal of NOP Deputy Administrator, Miles McEvoy. Meanwhile, the NOSB is meeting in Stowe, Vt. this week. The board will review more than 100 non-organic materials that currently are allowed in organic, but are nearing their five-year expiration date. Some of those include: the use of ethylene gas to induce flowering in pineapples; non-organic celery powder, high in nitrates, as a preservative in bacon and sausage; and non-organic coloring sources. Stay tuned. Learn more TAKE ACTION: Sign this letter demanding removal of the USDA Organic management LITTLE BYTES Essential Reading for the Week ‘Our Daily Poison:’ a Stark Look at Our Toxic Food Supply GM Crops Now Banned in 38 Countries Worldwide Climate Change a Major Health Threat to Children, Doctors Warn Vitamin C-Rich Foods That Fight the Common Cold 28 Inspiring Urban Agriculture Projects That Will Make You Rethink How Food Can Be Grown The Brown Revolution: Why Healthy Soil Means Healthy People

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The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Tweet | Pinterest   | OCA Homepage | Donate  TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK Puppet Show Yesterday’s hearing on H.R. 1599 (passed in July by the U.S. House of Representatives) pretty much resembled a puppet show: conducted by politicians, attended by GMO apologists, with Monsanto and Big Food pulling the strings. Seven out of eight of the witnesses allowed to testify at the hearing, held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry​, were nothing more than industry mouthpieces spouting corporate propaganda. Witnesses included a Vermont dairy farmer who falsely claimed that the genetically engineered crops she uses to feed her dairy herd have reduced the amount of pesticides poisoning Vermont’s soil and waterways. We know the reverse is true. Joanna Lidback, representing the Farm at Wheeler Mountain in Barton, Vt., also used the same old Cornell University study, funded by (and the intellectual property of) the biotech industry, to claim that labels on GMO foods will cost consumers $500 a year. Another claim we know to be false, based on numerous, independent studies. And then there was the panel’s “consensus” that GMO foods are safe. Of course, no such consensus exists in the real world. So far, thanks to all of you who have called your Senators, met with your Senators and written to your Senators, a Senate version of H.R. 1599 has yet to be introduced. But that doesn’t mean a Senate version isn’t coming. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told PoliticoPro (a paywalled site) that she is “working with Republicans” on a Senate bill, because we “need a federal solution by the end of the year.” Sen. Stabenow said she doesn't support H.R. 1599 (the DARK-Deny Americans the Right to Know Act). But she isn't signed on to the S.511 (The Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) either. So we're not sure what she has in mind. Will Stabenow's “federal solution” require GMO foods be labeled? Or will it just be another lukewarm, loophole-riddled, voluntary labeling scheme? Clearly, we still have our work cut out for us between now and December 31. And as always, we appreciate your support. Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education) Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts) Read OCA’s press release on the Senate hearing Watch the Senate hearing BLOG POST OF THE WEEK Game On! There’s big money in celebrity endorsements of brand-name products. So what’s an anti-endorsement worth? Priceless, if you’re the parent (or grandparent) of an aspiring young athlete who prefers junk food over fresh veggies and green smoothies. Imagine this dialogue taking place in grocery store aisles across America: Kid: “Can we get the Frosted Flakes?” Mom: “If you want to grow up to be a star athlete, Tom Brady says you shouldn’t eat Frosted Flakes or drink Coca-Cola.” Disclaimer: I’m not endorsing the National Football League here. And I believe people like Tom Brady are highly skilled, more-than-well-compensated athletes, not “heroes.” I also live in New England, where the media hangs on Brady’s every word. I seldom pay much attention because, I’ve never been too interested in what the players have to say (no offense). Until last week. Read the blog post ACTION ALERT Nice Play! Star quarterback Tom Brady recently made headlines when he said Coke is “poison for kids” and that, thanks to the advertising world, “We believe that Frosted Flakes is a food.” Brady attacked Coke and (Kellogg’s) Frosted Flakes during an interview in which he defended his friend, advisor and trainer, Alex Guerrero, against an unflattering Boston magazine report. You may not be a sports fan in general, or a Tom Brady fan in particular, but you’ve got to love that when a celebrity athlete speaks out about a product, people listen. Better yet, kids—at least those who dream of becoming star athletes themselves— listen. Intently. TAKE ACTION: Tell Quarterback Tom Brady: Thank You for Taking on Junk Food! Or text the word "brady" to 97779 Post a "Thank You" on Brady's Facebook page ACTION ALERT Promises, Promises Up until yesterday, it appeared that Monsanto had struck out in its attempt to find a Senate Democrat willing to co-sponsor H.R. 1599, the Gene Giant’s dream bill. But that’s about to change. Yesterday, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told the media she wants a “federal labeling solution” by year’s end. From the sound of things, she isn’t willing to rubber-stamp the DARK Act, at least as it’s written. But Sen. Stabenow very well could introduce a Senate bill that would preempt mandatory GMO labeling laws, at the state and federal level, by creating a federal voluntary labeling law. We need to ramp up the pressure on President Obama to pledge to veto any federal law that would preempt states, or the FDA, from requiring labels on GMO foods. After all, in 2007, then-candidate Obama promised to support labeling of GMOs. It’s time for President Obama to make good on that promise, by threatening right now to veto H.R. 1599, or any other federal bill that would preempt state or federal GMO labeling laws. Last weekend we staged a symbolic delivery of our petition, with over 101,000 signatures, to President Obama. Soon, we will make it more official. If you haven’t signed yet, please do. And please share with your friends. TAKE ACTION: Ask President Obama to Pledge to Veto the DARK Act! NEW REPORT No Small Matter We protect our kids from so many things. Moving traffic. Angry dogs. Strangers. But there are still a lot of parents out there who don’t realize that their kids need protection from this silent threat: toxins in their food. The Cornucopia Institute wants to change that. And make it easy for parents to understand why, and how, to protect their kids from toxic chemicals. The Institute's new report, “Protecting Children’s Health: Choosing Organic Food to Avoid GMOs and Agricultural Chemicals," cites scientific data from numerous peer-reviewed, published studies, all pointing to the importance of protecting children from pesticide exposure. How best to protect kids? By feeding them organic foods. In talking about the report, Dr. Victoria Maizes, executive director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, said: "Children are uniquely sensitive to environmental chemicals, including pesticides, for several reasons. Their neurological system is still developing. Their immune system is not fully developed, limiting its ability to protect itself. Their detoxification systems have not fully matured, so they are less able to metabolize and excrete chemicals.” Learn more Read the report VIDEO OF THE WEEK It All Comes Down to the Soil One bad decision—industrial agriculture—has affected countries all across the world. One good decision—regenerative agriculture—can turn everything around. Precious Phiri, a holistic management educator and trainer, grew up in rural Zimbabwe. As a child, she wondered why they had no food when there was so much land around them. Why did they have to depend on food from other countries? Speaking at the National Press Club on World Food Day, Phiri explains that it all comes down to the soil. Watch the video LITTLE BYTES Essential Reading for the Week Most Common Nutrient Deficiencies U.S. Lawsuits Build against Monsanto over Alleged Roundup Cancer Link FTC Declines to Probe Whether Ads for 'Diet' Products Are Deceptive Leader of USDA Organic Program Subject of Ethics Investigation 10 of the Most Common Ways World Hunger Is Misunderstood 3 Companies Say 'No' to GMO Arctic Apples

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | OCA on Pinterest  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 Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Tweet | Pinterest   Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate | View on Web TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK Legally Sanctioned Deceit ‘Please issue a public statement opposing H.R. 1599, and please lead a movement in the U.S. Senate to defeat this bill, or any version of a bill that would preempt state or federal mandatory labeling of GMOs.’ – Ronnie Cummins, in an Open Letter to Sen. Bernie Sanders Open a newspaper, turn on the TV news, click on your favorite news site . . . chances are you’ll see a picture of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an article about where he’s speaking, a quote about something he said. The media can’t get enough of Bernie Sanders right now. So we’re asking Sen. Sanders to use his media star power to draw attention to an issue that 90 percent of Americans care about. We’re asking him to speak out publicly about Americans’ right to know if their food contains GMOs. We specifically want Sanders to speak out against H.R. 1599, the wrongly named Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, which we’ve more aptly named the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know Act). The DARK Act is nothing more than legally sanctioned deceit. We need to stop this bill in the Senate. No one is in a better position to rally U.S. Senators against this pro-industry, anti-consumer legislation than Sen. Sanders. Read Ronnie’s letter Read the press release ACTION ALERT 100,000 in 7 Days Photo: AP Today, in an Open Letter to Sen. Bernie Sanders, we are calling on Sen. Sanders to lead the charge against legislation—H.R. 1599—written and funded by Monsanto, that is intended to strip Americans of the basic right to know whether or not our food contains genetically engineered ingredients. We are also asking you to help us get 100,000 signatures on this petition to Sen. Sanders over the next seven days, to reinforce how important this issue is to the majority of Americans, and persuade Sen. Sanders to speak out.. Why Sanders? Because he is a Senator from Vermont, a state whose GMO labeling law will be repealed if Congress passes H.R. 1599, or any similar bill that preempts states’ rights to label GMOs. Because he is a sponsor of the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act,introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) to establish a uniform federal standard for mandatory labeling of GMOs—a bill which is doomed, if Congress passes H.R. 1599. Because he is an outspoken critic of corporate influence. And H.R. 1599 is a prime example of companies like Monsanto buying laws that are written for the sole purpose of protecting their profits. Sen. Sanders may be our last hope. We need 100,000 names by next week. Please sign this petition. Share it on social media. Email it to your family and friends. TAKE ACTION: Tell Bernie Sanders: Protect Our Right to Know. Stop the DARK Act! ACTION ALERT Let's Get Personal First, we absolutely want you to contact your Senators and ask them to reject any federal bill, including a possible senate version of the DARK Act, that would preempt mandatory labeling of GMOs, at the state or federal level. We need to fill every Senator’s inbox with messages in the next few weeks. Second, after you use the form above to contact your senator, please pick up the phone and dial 202-224-3121. Ask for your Senator, then explain why you're calling. (Not sure? Find your Senator here). Then post on your Senator’s Facebook page. When you post, be sure you include “I am a constituent”). We need to do all of the above. But we need to do more, and we need to do it before Congress reconvenes, after the August recess. We need to get personal. And by that, we mean we need to meet with Senators and/or their staffers, in their home district offices. And we need to do it fast! On July 23 (2015), the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, a bill written by the biotech and processed food industries that preempts states’ rights to pass laws requiring the mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and would prevent passage of a federal mandatory GMO labeling law. Monsanto and Big Food spent $29.9 million to sway the 275 U.S. Representativeswho voted against your right to know. And you can bet they’ve already spent, or are still spending, at least that much to lobby Senators, in order to turn the DARK Act into law. And that’s on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars they’ve already spent to defeat GMO labeling bills and ballot initiatives in multiple states. We don’t want to see any version of the DARK Act introduced in the Senate. But sources say there’s a Senate version in the works. We need to stop it. And we need your help. Please contact your Senator. And then contact uscampaigns@organicconsumers.org about getting personal. Email us if you want to attend or organize a meetingcampaigns@organicconsumers.org Find scheduled meetings (check back frequently for updates) Tips on organizing a meeting (scroll down) Download your DARK Act flyer TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Senator: Support Consumer and States' Rights. Reject Rep. Pompeo's DARK Act—H.R. 1599—and any other federal legislation that would preempt states’ rights to label GMOs! SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF Big Deal The G.M.O. experiment, carried out in real time and with our entire food and ecological system as its laboratory, is perhaps the greatest case of human hubris ever. It creates yet another systemic, “too big to fail” enterprise — but one for which no bailouts will be possible when it fails. - Mark Spitznagel and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, New York Times, July 13, 2015 Earlier this month, Mark Spitznagel, founder and chief investment officer of Universa Investments, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, scientific adviser at Universa Investments, worte a piece for the New York Times, comparing Monsanto’s GMO empire to the U.S. banking system. It was an interesting analogy. And a frightening one. We’re often asked, why GMO labeling? With so many problems facing this country, and the entire world, what’s the big deal? The deal, as we all know, is bigger than labels. It’s bigger than GMOs. The deal is, this toxic industrial monoculture, invented by Monsanto in order to sell millions of tons of chemicals like cancer-causing glyphosate, poses a threat to the world’s entire ecosystem. And like it or not, you and I, and our children and grandchildren, are a part of that ecosystem. Spitznagel and Taleb nailed it. Our government might have been able to bail out the banking system. But if our ecosystem experiences a systemic failure, there will be no bailouts. Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education) Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts) VIDEO OF THE WEEK Seeding Fear All giants fall. Monsanto’s day is coming. Neil Young’s new documentary, “Seeding Fear,” tells the story of Alabama farmers Michael White and his father who were sued by the agrochemical giant in 2003 for patent infringement of its GMO soybeans. The film I would like you to see tells the story of a farming family in America, but the same thing is happening around the world,” Young added. “It is a story that takes 10 minutes of your time to see. It is a simple human one, telling the heartbreaking story of one man who fought the corporate behemoth Monsanto, and it illustrates why I was moved to write ‘The Monsanto Years.' – Neil Young Watch the video More here NEW STUDY On Edge ‘ . . . we have been mortgaging the health of future generations to realise economic and development gains in the present. By unsustainably exploiting nature’s resources, human civilisation has flourished but now risks substantial health effects from the degradation of nature’s life support systems in the future.’ – The Rockefeller Foundation We’re trashing the planet. And driving its health to the edge. That’s how one reporter summarized a new study, “Safeguarding Human Health in the Anthropocene Epoch,” from the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on Planetary Health. The report, written by 15 leading academics and policymakers, concludes that there’s hope. But only if we act. Before it’s too late. Read the study Learn more LITTLE BYTES Essential Reading for the Week Mammograms Again Found to Have No Impact on Mortality 'We Must End Monsanto's Colonization, Its Enslavement of Farmers' Factory Farm Runoff Is Polluting Lake Erie, but CAFO Sewers Are Not the Answer Scientists Say Supposedly Miraculous Ingredients in Weed Killers Don't Actually Work Top 10 Toxic Ingredients Used by McDonald's Genetically Modified Salmon Headed to Rivers and Stores McDonald's Begins Closing Restaurants across U.S. As Clean Food Movement Sweeps America

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | OCA on Pinterest  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 Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652

The TRUTH will set you FREE.