ORGANIC BYTES
Organic news tidbits with an edge.
Issue 2: November 15, 2002
By Organic Consumers Association
Welcome to the second issue of ORGANIC BYTES, a free electronic
information service provided by the Organic Consumers Association,
designed to give you [an overview on some of] the latest developments
in food and agriculture. Organic Bytes provides up to date information
on organic and genetically engineered foods, irradiation, factory
farms, fair trade, labeling and more, in a convenient and accessible
format. Back issues of Organic Bytes are posted on the OCA website.
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IS THE FROG A PRINCE OR A PRINCESS?
According to a report in a recent issue of the journal Nature,
the most commonly used pesticide in the U.S., Atrazine, has been
shown to cause sexual deformities in frogs. Atrazine, the pesticide
now known to cause these mutations, has been used widely since
the 1950s on just about everything, including corn, soybeans,
orchards, lawns, and playgrounds. Atrazine is produced by the
Swiss-based transnational Syngenta, the largest biotech corporation
in the world. Over 80 million gallons of the toxic herbicide,
a known carcinogen, are sprayed on farm crops, lawns, and playgrounds
across the U.S. each year.
Unfortunately Atrazine not only kills weeds, but also ends up
as a dangerous residue in the meat and dairy products of animals
that have eaten Atrazine-sprayed corn. Atrazine, along with its
companion pesticides, have also polluted wells and drinking water
in 97% of the communities in the US Corn Belt. The Nature article
underlines research on Atrazine coming out of UC Berkeley, that
draws conclusive connections between levels of Atrazine in waterways
and the rate of amphibian deformities and population declines.
The most shocking mutations were due to Atrazine causing hormonal
changes in frogs, which ultimately lead to deformation of the
gonads or even complete feminization of male frogs. According
to the research, you could poison a sample of water with enough
Atrazine to begin causing mutations, multiply that concentration
of the pesticide times 30, and the final result is equivalent
to the amount of Atrazine the EPA currently allows in our drinking
water.
Read the full article: San Francisco Chronicle Oct.31, 2002 http://www.organicconsumers.org/gefood/frogs110402.cfm
Also Check out OCA's library of articles on organic foods: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organlink.htm
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A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME...
The Food and Drug Administration is constantly coming up with
euphemisms for product labels in order to keep consumers comfortable
with the [increasingly contaminated industrial] food they're buying.
The latest intentional misnomer relates to the process of bombarding
foods with doses of radiation to reduce bacteria levels, especially
on feces-contaminated beef, poultry, and pork. The process, known
as irradiation, has turned-off and alarmed many consumers, but
has been approved by the FDA for use on meats, imported produce,
and even school lunches. Agribusiness has felt a pinch in the
sales of its food products bearing the "irradiation" label, as
many consumers are uncomfortable with the idea that their food
has been "nuked" with radiation levels equivalent to 10,000 chest
x-rays. In an unadulterated capitalist system, the refusal of
consumers to purchase products involving processes felt to be
a threat to human health would, by the laws of supply and demand,
lead to the removal of that process. However, in this case, the
FDA has decided to permit the continuation of food irradiation,
despite consumer squeamishness, and is blatantly allowing America's
food companies to defraud consumers by mislabeling irradiated
foods with the term "cold pasteurization." Of course, organic
standards prohibit the use of food irradiation, which is another
reason why more and more consumers are saying no to industrial
chow and looking for the organic label.
Read the full article: Reuters- Oct.9, 2002 http://www.organicconsumers.org/Irrad/deceptivelabeling02.cfm
Also check out OCA's library of articles on Food Irradiation:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/irradlink.html
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THINK ABOUT PEACEFUL ATOMS, NOT BOMBS
The original [cheerleader for] food irradiation in the US was
the Department of Energy, which wanted to create a favorable image
of nuclear power as well as dispose of radioactive waste. For
an excellent overview of this see Rachel's Environment & Health
News #513 - Fallout From the Peaceful Atom, September 26, 1996.
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?issue_ID=610
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BANNED TOXIC CHEMICALS--IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER
Everyday consumers of non-organic foods are ingesting toxic levels
of pesticides, some of which were banned decades ago, says a new
article in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. According
to the report, an average diet consists of 60-70 hits a day of
toxins like DDT, Dieldren and Dioxin. These poisons, known as
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are categorized among a class
of chemicals that are "among the most insidiously dangerous compounds
ever produced", says the report. The article goes on to say that
an adults eating a balanced diet of conventional foods receives
as much as 90 times the acceptable exposure of POPs. The top ten
foods containing the highest levels of these banned chemicals
are butter, cantaloupe, cucumbers, meat loaf, peanuts, popcorn,
radishes, spinach, summer squash and winter squash.
Read the full article: Toronto Globe and Mail- Oct.15, 2002 http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/conventional101502.cfm
Also check out OCA's library of articles on toxic food and food
safety: http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxiclink.html
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BY 2003 WE'LL BE EATING CLONED ANIMALS
It may just be a matter of months before U.S. consumers are unwittingly
purchasing milk and meat from cloned cows and pigs. Although the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked producers to hold
off on selling food products from cloned animals, there are currently
no laws or regulations officially prohibiting the sale. In October,
the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) issued a letter
to the FDA requesting that these sales be blocked, based on the
fact that cloning causes unnecessary animal suffering. HSUS said
cloning involves painful reproductive practices and often results
in "abnormalities such as brain lesions, skeletal malformations
and incomplete development of the vascular tract." The letter
also stated that the cost of cloning gives further advantages
to large corporate farms, thereby increasing the plight of the
small family farmer. Dr. Michael Appleby, HSUS Vice President
added "A single pathogen could wipe out countless numbers of genetically
identical animals, putting animal safety and the world's food
supply at risk."
Read the full article: Environmental News Service- Oct.9, 2002
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Patent/cloningHSUS.cfm
Also check out OCA's library of articles on Cloning and Patenting:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/patlink.html
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88% OF CONSUMERS WANT GE LABELING
A new national poll shows that 88% of consumers want labeling
on Genetically Engineered (GE) foods. Despite this, Oregon's Nov.
5 ballot initiative to label GE foods failed,70% against labeling,
30% in favor,due to a $5 million PR blitz in the state by the
biotechnology industry and corporate agribusiness. The multi-million
dollar campaign by Monsanto and the Farm Bureau successfully brainwashed
the public into believing that a mandatory labeling law would
hurt Oregon businesses and bankrupt family farmers. The biotech's
campaign claimed the labeling of these foods would cost the average
family an additional $550/year. In stark contrast, a study out
Oregon State University found that the actual cost would be only
$4-$10 per person/year. Mel Bankoff of Yes on 27, the group leading
the fight for mandatory GE labeling in Oregon, cited the fact
that poll after poll consistently shows that the vast majority
of consumers want GE foods to be labeled. "This is not the end,
only the beginning of the debate in both Oregon and nationwide,"
said Bankoff.
Read the full article: Center for Food Safety- Nov. 5, 2002 http://www.organicconsumers.org/gefood/labelswanted110702.cfm
Also check out OCA's library of articles on genetically engineered
food: http://www.organicconsumers.org/gelink.html
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