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Frankenfish Coupons, Coming Clean, Buying Nothing

#251, NOVEMBER 18, 2010

In this issue:

• Quote of the Week: No Place for GMO
• Alert of the Week: Stop Organic Sham-Poo! Take Action Before Dec. 10
• Action of the Week: 50% Off Your First Taste of GMO Salmon
• Video of the Week: Buy Nothing, Value Everything
• Little Bytes

Quote of the Week

No Place for GMOs

"Handing food and farming over to vast agribusiness corporations in order to save the planet is a completely self-defeating 'compromise'. Let's be clear, Monsanto and other bio-tech corporations did not start genetically modifying seeds in order to feed the world, they did it in order to privatize genetic information, to hold patents for the very stuff of life. They also didn't invent GM in order to save the world from climate change, that has been a much more recent piece of sales spin. A low carbon food and farming system will need to be based on a re-empowering of small farmers, a re-valuing of farming as a profession, a democratizing of agriculture, not a bowing down of food and farming to corporate wishes..."

-Rob Hopkins. March 10, 2010 "Why GM Has No Place in a World in Transition"

Read more

Please Donate

Support the OCA! Stop Frankenfoods and Climate Chaos

We depend on your donations to preserve strict organic standards, to fight against Monsanto and GMOs, and to build a global climate justice movement based upon organic food and farming. Please send us a tax-deductible donation today and we'll send you a free "Millions Against Monsanto" bumper sticker so you can help spread the word in your community. Please be sure to put "sticker" in the comments field of your donation.

Please donate

Alert of the Week

Stop Organic Sham-Poo!

If you've shopped for organic shampoo, body wash or make-up, you've probably noticed that there are a lot of brands that call themselves "organic," but don't carry the "USDA Organic" seal or the certified "Made With Organic Ingredients" claim.

That's because, while the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) protects organic consumers from fraud by requiring that all organic foods are third-party certified to meet federal organic standards, the USDA NOP is turning a blind-eye to organic fraud when it comes to non-food products.

There are scrupulous organic cosmetics companies that are certified organic, but the vast majority of popular so-called "organic" brands use just a few organic ingredients in products that are largely composed of petrochemicals and synthetics.

The Organic Consumers Association and the Consumers Union filed a complaint earlier this year with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), asking the consumer protection agency to clean up the organic cosmetics industry and stop the organic-washing.

Now, the FTC wants to hear from you. Until December 10, 2010, the commission is accepting public comments on whether consumers are mislead by personal care products that are made with petrochemical and synthetic ingredients.

Take action

Action of the Week

"50% Off Your First Taste of GMO Salmon" New Flyer for the Stop Frankenfish Campaign

If you had a coupon for 50% off your first taste of genetically modified salmon, would you try it?

What if you knew that the FDA had studies - from AquaBounty, the company that wants to commercialize GMO salmon - that showed that GMO salmon is:

• MORE ALLERGENIC: GMO salmon have mean allergenic potencies that are 20% and 52% higher than normal salmon.
• MORE CARCINOGENIC: GMO salmon has 40% more IGF1, a hormone linked to prostate, breast and colon cancers in humans.
• LESS NUTRITIOUS: GMO salmon has the lowest omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of any salmon.
• LIKELY TO CHANGE THE BACTERIA IN YOUR INTESTINES: Horizontal gene transfer, where the bacteria of the human gut takes up modified DNA from GMO foods during digestion, has been shown occur with soy and is likely to happen with GMO salmon, too.
• ALL MESSED UP: GMO salmon has increased frequency of skeletal malformations like "humpback" spinal compression, increased prevalence of jaw erosions or "screamer disease," and multisystemic, focal inflammation in its tissues.
• NOT GOING TO SAVE WILD SALMON: The main justification for GMO salmon is that it would supposedly reduce the pressure on wild fish stocks, but consumption isn't the primary pressure on wild Alaskan salmon, destruction of their habitat is.

Please download the "50% Off" flyer. Pass it out to your friends, at the fish market, the grocery store or a seafood restaurant.

Catch people's reactions when they learn that genetically engineered animals could soon be approved by the FDA and encourage them to learn more and take action.

Download flyer

Don't Forget, Tell the FDA: If you approve Frankenfish, it needs to be labeled "GMO!"

Take action before Nov. 22

Video of the Week

Value Everything, Buy Nothing

We in the US toss out a tremendous amount of packaging and food. We see it going into the garbage, but how often do we think of the forests, farmland, and fossil fuels that are wasted just to wrap presents, carry groceries or transport drinking water for a moment, before becoming the mountainous landfills and the vast islands of plastic floating in the oceans that are our long-term legacy?

Watch

Buy Nothing Day, November 26, 2010

Little Bytes

OCA and Allies Push for Amendment to Controversial Senate Food Safety Bill
READ MORE

Organic Farms, Not GMOs, Can Sequester Over 3,000 Pounds of Greenhouse Gases Per Acre Every Year
READ MORE

It's Official: Rich Declare War on the Middle Class
READ MORE

Agencies Refused to Publicize Spread of Monsanto's Biotech Bentgrass
READ MORE

Nanotechnology, Climate and Energy: Over-heated Promises and Hot Air?
READ MORE

LOCAL [[State]] NEWS OF THE WEEK

[[State]] - Get Involved Locally

• Learn more about OCA related action alerts and other news in [[State]] here.
• Join [[State]] discussion groups in our forum.
• Post events in [[State]] on our community calendar.

Message from our Sponsors

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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 DrBronner.com

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