[cgfc-discuss] [Biodemocracy]Organic Bytes #16

Tue Jul 1 13:15:32 CDT 2003

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ORGANIC BYTES ~~~ Organic news tidbits with an edge!

Issue 16: June 27, 2003

By Organic Consumers Association

IN THIS ISSUE:
PROTEST IN SACRAMENTO
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
FIXIN' FOR SUGAR
McDONALD'S RUNNING SCARED ON ANTIBIOTICS ISSUE
WHACKY GEFOOD
CONGRESS FINALLY DOES SOMETHING ORGANIC
BUSH CRACKS BAD JOKE
A WEIRD FOOD STORY,  JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT
NEW STUDY: SEWER SLUDGE STINKS
EUROPE IS SO COOL
COMING CLEAN UPDATE
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FAMILY FARMERS & ORGANIC CONSUMERS PROTEST IN SACRAMENTO

Standing up to what can only be described as a army of riot police, highway
patrol, and county sheriffs, representatives of US family farm groups
symbolically dumped bushels of genetically engineered corn at last week's
World Conference on Agricultural Science and Technology in Sacramento, CA .
Joined by approximately 3,000 spirited consumer, environmental, and Fair
Trade activists, members of the National Family Farm Coalition marched and
participated in rallies and teach-ins in Sacramento, denouncing genetically
engineered crops and USDA policies that promote the corporate takeover of
our food supply. According to California dairy farmer Walter Kessler,
"Family farmers have suffered significant economic losses from the use of GE
products, but the truth about GE crops and their impacts on family farmers
is being buried in the slick multi-million dollar public relations campaign
being waged by the biotechnology industry and promoted by the USDA."  The
Organic Consumers Association was in the thick of the action at Sacramento,
staging a  colorful protest and press conference outside a Safeway
supermarket on June 24, featuring costumed performers including Dr.
Monsanto, Captain Organic, and George Bush. Before a bank of TV cameras and
news photographers, under the watchful eyes of a dozen police patrol cars,
the OCA demonstrated, with both science and satire, that neither humans nor
canines will willingly consume Frankenfoods. The Sacramento teach-ins and
protests were a warm up for the September  WTO meetings in Cancun Mexico,
where 150,000 people are expected to rally against worldwide GMO
contamination and corporate-powered globalization. Attend the WTO teach-ins
and protests in Cancun on an escorted delegation with Ronnie Cummins and the
OCA:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/0624_wto.cfm

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Agricultural biotechnology in its present form is a vast scientific and
commercial error. The people who have invested their money, time and
reputations in it cannot afford to admit this. Unfortunately, they will not
be the ones that end up paying the heaviest price for their incompetence,
greed and hubris. As usual, the bill will be met by those least able to
afford it, and the currency in which it will be denominated will not be
dollars or euros alone, but the health and livelihoods of human beings and
the environment in which we live." "Planting Lies" by Steve McGiffen, an
environmental adviser to members of the European Parliament
http://www.spectrezine.org/environment/GMO2.htm

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FIXIN' FOR SUGAR

New York City school officials are getting rid of junk food machines and
many cafeteria menu items, in response to an obesity epidemic among youth.
In addition, sugar, fat and salt will be trimmed from the city's 800,000
daily lunches. A U.S. Center for Disease Control study showed that 20
percent of elementary kids are unhealthily overweight. In poor
neighborhoods, 15 percent of the total population has diabetes, which can be
caused by poor diet.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/062603_junk_food.cfm

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McDONALD'S RUNNING SCARED ON ANTIBIOTICS ISSUE

The McDonald's chain, responding to pressure from public interest groups
such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, announced last week that they
will begin to phase-out the purchase of meat products laced with
growth-promoting antibiotics (a standard practice on non-organic farms). The
announcement is in response to warnings of how the routine feeding of
antibiotics to livestock is leading to antibiotic resistance in humans,
whereby meat eaters and dairy consumers are developing resistance to
important antibiotics such as penicillin and tetracycline. According to the
USDA, McDonald's move could lead to a significant shift in livestock
management practices, given that McDonald's is one of the  largest
purchasers of beef, chicken and pork in the U.S. Seventy percent of all
antibiotics in America are used in animal feeds, but of course this practice
is prohibited on organic farms.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/antibiotics062303.cfm

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WHACKY GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD

Anthony Trewavas and his colleagues at Cambridge University  have mixed the
genes of a jellyfish and potato,  creating a new potato that they say can
help conserve water. Apparently a farmer can hold a black light up to the
plant, and if it glows, it means it needs water.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/jellyfish_potato.cfm

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CONGRESS FINALLY DOES SOMETHING ORGANIC

Last week, a bipartisan (yes, that means both Republicans and Democrats)
legislative gathering proved that Congress can occasionally do something
right, in this case forming a new U.S. Congressional Organic Agriculture
Caucus. "The formation of this Caucus is a major step towards getting
organic farmers their fair share of federal agricultural resources," said
Bob Scowcroft, Executive Director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation
. "Organic farmers and their supporters should call their representatives
and ask them to join the Caucus. When it comes to Capitol Hill, there is
strength in numbers."
Get Involved: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/organic_caucus.cfm

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BUSH CRACKS BAD JOKE

As you know, last month, the Bush Administration filed a complaint against
the EU, based on the fact that he doesn't think it's fair that European
consumers don't want to eat genetically engineered foods. This has caused
tremendous friction between European leaders and the U.S. To make matters
worse, Bush cracked a sarcastic joke while visiting European leaders this
week. According to ABC News, while leaders were leaving the conference hall
for a break, Bush added insult to injury by sneering "Let's go eat some
genetically modified food for lunch!"  More info: ABC News Online 6/26/2003

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A WEIRD FOOD STORY, JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT

In the process of transporting honeybees from Iowa to Wisconsin, a truck
driver lost control of his vehicle and rolled his trailer. The driver was
not hurt, but over 25 million honeybees escaped into the area, forcing
residents to strongly consider adjusting the amount of time they plan on
spending outdoors this summer.  Source: KMBC- TV9 6/12/2003

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NEW STUDY: SEWER SLUDGE STINKS

According to the New York Times, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has finally decided to research the toxicity issues associated with the
common practice of using sewer sludge as fertilizer on conventional farms.
The decision was sparked by a recent catastrophe on a family farm in
Georgia, where hundreds of cows died from eating hay that was fertilized by
sewer sludge. Andy McElmurray, the owner of the farm said the cows wasted
away, due to toxic pollutants within the sludge that ultimately ended up in
the plants. "They wouldn't respond to antibiotics. They wouldn't respond to
IV fluids. They wouldn't respond to anything. They just ended up dying." he
said. EPA scientists, including Dr. David Lewis, who won the agency's top
science award in 2000, are gravely concerned about sewer sludge
contaminating the nation's food supply. "To me, of all the environmental
issues, this is Mount Everest," said Dr. Lewis. Unfortunately, the otherwise
excellent Times story incorrectly stated that sewage sludge was used by
organic farmers. Although the USDA tried to degrade organic standards in
1998, by allowing sewage sludge to be used on organic farms, a mass consumer
backlash forced the USDA to back off on this issue.
Read all about it: http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/062603_sludge.cfm

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EUROPE IS SO COOL

Switzerland may be the first nation in the world to ban genetically modified
crops and foods by popular vote. A petition with well over 100,000
signatures was recently submitted to the Swiss government, thereby mandating
that the issue be placed on the general election ballots. Although Syngenta,
a Swiss based biotech corporation has promised to sway the vote in its
favor, with a heavily financed pro-GMO campaign, polls show that over 70% of
Swiss citizens refuse to eat genetically engineered foods.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/swiss_moratorium.cfm

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ORGANIC CONSUMERS FORCING BODY CARE COMPANIES TO COME CLEAN

The OCA recently launched a massive media and advertising campaign to
educate consumers about an organic labeling scam a few major bodycare
product companies have been messing around with. Companies like Avalon, Kiss
My Face, Jason's, and Nature's Gate are advertising their bodycare products
to be at least 70% organic, when the vast majority of "organic" ingredients
are nothing more than tap water, collected from recaptured steam in diluted
floral waters and hydrosols. In regards to this issue, the OCA will be
submitting reports to the National Organic Standards Board in the coming
weeks. Look for OCA's "Sham-Poo" ads in the current issues of magazines such
as Mother Jones, Utne Reader, E Magazine, Mothering, and the Coop Grocer.
Stay Tuned:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/oca_organic_bodycare.cfm

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FOR MANY MORE FOOD ISSUE DAILY HEADLINES:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/log.html

ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of:

ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION

6101 Cliff Estate Road Little Marais, MN

55614 Phone: (218) 226-4164, Fax: (218) 353-7652

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