Organic Consumers Association News Headlines

CIA Allegedly Sent Prisoners Abroad to Be Boiled Alive and 'Raped with Broken Bottles'

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:29:32 CST

]]>Former British ambassador alleges CIA relied on intelligence based on torture in prisons in Uzbekistan. ]]> Click here to read this article

How a Public Jobs Program Could Put America Back on Track

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:27:22 CST

]]>The same nation that created a Works Progress Administration in the 1930s should create another one in the 21st century. ]]> Click here to read this article

World Faith Leaders Join Forces to Battle Global Warming

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:22:21 CST

]]>The world's religions have a crucial role to play in the fight against global climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, characterizing the battle with global warming as a "moral" issue. ]]> Click here to read this article

Soda Lobby Strikes Back

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:24:54 CST

]]>During the first 9 months of 2009, the industry groups stepped up their lobbying in Congress. They have spent more than $24 million on the issue of a national excise tax on sweetened beverages and on other legislative and regulatory issues, according to an examination of lobbying reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. The review shows that 21 companies and organizations reported that they lobbied specifically on the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages-which among other things would include sodas, juice drinks, and chocolate milk.]]> Click here to read this article

GE Corn Growers Out of Compliance

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:23:24 CST

]]>Corn genetically engineered to resist pests and tolerate herbicides made up 85% of the U.S. corn crop in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.]]> Click here to read this article

'Good Housekeeping' is More Effective than Insecticides

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:20:35 CST

]]> When a building supervisor notified tenants in Brooklyn that one of the apartments had a bedbug infestation, Eddie Rosenthal feared that it was only a matter of time until they spread to his home. But it wasn't just the bugs that gave Rosenthal the creeps. So did the prospect of using pesticides. So Rosenthal decided to try a few tricks that might keep his home bug-free without spraying chemicals. He raised his bed off the ground, filled some cracks and applied some nontoxic powder to spaces between walls. Now new research shows that such good housekeeping techniques not only minimize chemical use, but they are even more effective at controlling pests than hiring an exterminator to spray powerful, toxic pesticides. A single use of such techniques in 13 New York City apartment buildings eliminated substantially more cockroaches and mice than repeated professional applications of pesticides, according to a new study. ]]> Click here to read this article

EPA Proposes Labeling to Control Pesticide Drift

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:18:44 CST

]]>Pesticide labeling to reduce off-target spray and dust drift was proposed today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.]]> Click here to read this article

USDA Invests in Organics

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:17:49 CST

]]>The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced $19m in funding for organic agricultural research across the country as part of a drive toward a more sustainable supply of organic ingredients.]]> Click here to read this article

H1N1 Swine Flu Infects Commercial Swine in USAS

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:56:00 CST

]]>The pork industry desperately wants you to believe "the Big Lie" about swine flu: That it can't infect pigs, and therefore it's perfectly safe to buy and eat lots and lots of pork products. ]]> Click here to read this article

Climate Change Talks Spark Global Backlash by Business, Industry

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:08:49 CST

]]>Eight-Country Investigation Reveals Forces Moving to Undermine Copenhagen]]> Click here to read this article

New York Times Editorial Against Siddiqui

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:04:32 CST

]]>The White House has nominated Mr. Siddiqui for the position of chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the United States trade representative. He is presently a vice president at CropLife America, a coalition of the major industrial players in the pesticide industry, including Syngenta, Monsanto, Dow Chemical and DuPont. That job doesn't seem to square with the Obama administration's professed interest in more sustainable, less chemically dependent approaches to agriculture.]]> Click here to read this article

The Nitty Gritty of Getting a Transitions Movement Rolling in Your Community

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:32:58 CST

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Tell the rBGH Profiteers Why You Buy Organic to Avoid Genetically Modified Bovine Growth Hormone

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:51:29 CST

]]>]]> Click here to read this article

David Bronner: Bring In the Organic Police

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:56:24 CST

]]>In the realm of organic personal care, organic consumers expect "organic food for the skin" based on cleansers and moisturizers made from certified organic agricultural, not petrochemical, material.]]> Click here to read this article

It’s a Dirty Business - the New Gold Rush That is Blackening Canada’s Name

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:45:00 CST

]]>A giant mechanical digger gouges out a chunk of topsoil, grass and tree stumps, extending a neat furrow that stretches into the distance. Dozens of similar furrows run parallel with the regularity of a ploughed field. ]]> Click here to read this article

Fraudulent "Smart Choices" Food Labeling Program Crumbles as Food Manufacturers Flee Scrutiny

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:35:39 CST

]]>]]> Click here to read this article

Kellogg's Claims Sugary "Cocoa Crispies" Cereal Can Boost Your Child's Immunity

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:33:40 CST

]]>If processed white sugar, partially-hydrogenated trans fat oils and synthetic chemical vitamins could enhance human immunity, Kellogg's would be King of the Hill, but in reality, of all the many foods for boosting human immune function, Cocoa Krispies somehow isn't even on the list. ]]> Click here to read this article

Cutting the Global Economy Down to Size: The Nature of Work and the Green-Collar Workforce

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:11:07 CST

]]>For over a century, we've thought of work as the use of human labour and technology to transform natural resources into tradeable goods. This economic model has brought us unparalleled prosperity - and exhausted the planet's capacity to support us. Building a green economy, Robin Tennant-Wood argues, requires nothing less than a fundamental change in how we understand work and a complete overhaul of the global economy. ]]> Click here to read this article

It's Time to Rebuild Our Passenger Railroad System

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:56:29 CST

]]>The world economic fiasco, which I call "The Long Emergency," may be speeding us into a future of permanent nostalgia in which anything that is not of the present time looks good.]]> Click here to read this article

Groups Oppose EPA Review of Atrazine

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:46:25 CST

]]>Farm groups joined the manufacturer of the popular herbicide atrazine Tuesday in accusing the Obama administration of bowing to environmentalist pressure in initiating a review of the chemical's safety.]]> Click here to read this article