Organic Harvest Month
MEDIA ALERT
WHAT: Mark your calendars--September is the ninth annual “Organic Harvest
Month™” a celebration sponsored by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) to
focus attention on the benefits of North American organic agriculture and its
practices and to encourage consumers to choose organic products. With
increasing consumer demand for certified organic products, it is an opportune
time to highlight this growing industry. Organic Harvest Month also provides
retailers with an opportunity to educate the public on what organic stands for
and what it provides.

WHO: Anyone can participate in Organic Harvest Month. (See below.)

WHY: “Organic” refers to the way agricultural products including foods and
fibers such as cottonare grown and processed. The word organic in the label
stands for a commitment to a system of agriculture which strives for a balance
with nature, using methods and materials which are of low impact to the
environment. OTA thinks this is worth celebrating! Organic production
systems:
· Replenish and maintain soil fertility
· Eliminate the use of toxic and persistent chemical pesticides and
fertilizers
· Build a biologically diverse agriculture.
HOW: Simply follow OTA’s list below: “Five Easy Ways to Celebrate Organic
Harvest Month.”

Five Easy Ways to Celebrate Organic Harvest Month
1. PREPARE one meal with as many organic ingredients as possible. Don’t
forget to serve the organic beverage of your choice with your meal and
enjoy an
organic dessert. (It is a celebration.)
2. GO SHOPPING and fill one grocery bag with all organic products.
Remember, organic isn’t just in the produce aisle, it’s in the frozen section,
in the health and beauty department, and it appears everywhere between dairy
and canned goods. If you can’t find organic items in your store, talk to your
grocer to find out about bringing some in.
3. WEAR organic cotton clothing, available in everything from socks to
sweaters. Enjoy the comfort and style while you support agriculture that
builds
healthy soils and protects the environment.
4. INDULGE yourself. Take a long bath in water scented with organic oils.
Nibble on rich organic chocolate. Sip organic wine, beer or even a martini
made
with organic vodka. Buy yourself a bouquet of organically grown flowers.
Cuddle
in a towel or robe made from organic cotton.
5. SAY THANK YOU to an organic grower or producer because they’re the
ones
who bring organic food and fiber products to the tables and stores all across
North America. Grab a friend and go to your local farmers market where you can
buy organic products directly from a certified organic grower and say
“Thanks!”
Currently approximately 40-60% of all growers at farmers’ markets farm
organically, and the numbers continue to grow.

September is Organic Harvest Month™
OTA members are scheduling interesting activities to celebrate Organic Harvest
Month™. Here is a sampling:
· Pesticide Action Network’s (PAN) Switch to Organic Cotton Campaign.
PAN
is asking environmental groups around the country to switch to using 100%
organic cotton for promotional T-shirts, hats, tote bags and other items.
Companies willing to make such a pledge are asked to tell PAN, which is
planning a large media event in late September or early October to highlight
support for the production and use of organic cotton. Contact: Margaret
Reeves,
Cotton Program Coordinator, 415-981-1771 (e-mail: mreeves@panna.org).

· Stonyfield Farm is coordinating a multi-manufacturer Organic Harvest
Month™ promotion. In this promotion, Stonyfield Farm and participating organic
manufacturers will offer a free organic recipe booklet and manufacturer
coupons
for a variety of organic foods. The offer will be promoted nationally on
Stonyfield Farm organic refrigerated yogurt lids during September. In
addition,
participating manufacturers will promote the offer on their packaging and in
their marketing efforts. For information, call 1-800-PRO-COWS, or visit
Stonyfield Farm’s web site: www.stonyfield.com.

· Nature’s Path Foods is co-sponsoring Farm Aid and participating in the
Organic Village. It is co-marketing a promotion with Pacific Foods of
Oregon in
the September issue of Vegetarian Times promoting organics with a buy-a-box or
EcoPac of any Nature’s Path cereal and get a free quart of Pacific Foods soy
beverage. It is a participating manufacturer in Stonyfield Yogurt Organic
Harvest coupon book.

· Frontier Natural Products Organic Research Farm is holding a Sept. 17
workshop focusing on the organic production of medicinal and culinary herbs
and spices. Herb Grower’s Day ’99 will be held at Frontier Natural Products Co-op
in Norway, IA. Registration fee is $35, and lunch is offered, including a
vegetarian option, at $5.25. For details, call 319-227-7996, Ext. 1222.
Registration must be made by Sept. 1. After Sept. 1, admission will be $40 per
person.

OTA is the membership-based business association representing the organic
industry in North America. Anyone who would like to obtain more information on
Organic Harvest Month can contact OTA at 413-774-7511 or visit their
website at www.ota.com.


Organic Trade Association
PO Box 1078
Greenfield, MA 01302
phone: (413) 774-7511
fax: (413) 774-6432
web: http://www.ota.com

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the business association representing
the organic industry in the United States and Canada. OTA members include
growers, processors, shippers, retailers, certification organizations and
others involved in the business of producing and selling organic products. OTA
publishes The Organic Pages: North American Resource Directory and other
helpful publications. Is your membership up to date?

Sent out by OCASeptember is National Organic Harvest Month and also called
Organic Food Celebration Month!

We are asking all of our members and supporters to consider writing a
letter to the editor in your local paper or
better yet, contact your local paper and talk to the editor about your
doing a point-of-view and/or guest editorial column in support of organic
farming and the organic movement that is sweeping our country.

Below are some facts that you can use.

We encourage you to share your personal views and why eating organic food
is important to you and your family.

In your letter or guest editorial, please encourage people to join Organic
Consumers Association andr check out our website at
www.organicconsumers.org and the Campaign for Food Safety's website at
www.purefood.org.

Send us a copy when the paper runs it.
Thanks!

Facts:
There are over 1,000 CSA's - Community Supported Agriculture Programs in
the U.S., 10 years ago, there were zero.

There are over 10,000 Organic Farms in the U.S.

US sales of organic foods have grown between 20 - 25% annually for the last
7 years, with overall sales of between $3.5 and $4.2 billion.

Fact: A generation ago, three-quarters of the meals consumed in the US were
made at home. Today, three-quarters of meals are prepared outside the home,
mainly at fast-food restaurants. A fast-food kitchen is merely the final
state in a vast system of mass production.

Fact: Many of you have already consumed GM - genetically modified foods.
Between 50 million to 70 million acres of farmland are currently sown with
GM seeds: mostly soya, corn, cotton and potatoes, and tomatoes and wheat.
Four years ago, that acreage was 0. The FDA does not require food labels
on GM foods.

Organic Acreage:
The only accurate numbers that exist for organic acreage in the US is for
certified acres. Organic growers are not required to be certified by a
third party organization, therefore, these numbers are an underestimate.
The USDA's National Organic Standards will require all growers grossing
over $5,000 to be certified. The most recent number that I've seen are for
1995. The total acres in certified organic production was 914,800. Of
this 638,500 was in crops and the rest in pasture. The growth has been in
crops, with pasture actually decreasing.

Good quote's you can use:

"The ethics of organics is what separates us from others, for many of us,
this is a continuation of a lifetime of work. First it was civil rights,
then it was anti-war and now it is food security." by Howard-Yana Shapiro,
Seeds of Change.

The world has enough for everyone's need,
but not enough for everyone's greed."
--attributed to Mahatma Ghandi

"The last frontier is under our feet." Elizabeth Hendrickson, Organic
farmer

"Agriculture without political knowledge cannot expect justice or retain
liberty." John Taylor, a friend of Jefferson

"You cannot save the land apart from the people or the people apart from
the land."
Wendell Berry