GUEST BLOG

Toxic Exposure

While we are worrying about our children’s health during the pandemic, let's not forget about the pesticide epidemic which has been harming kids' health for decades.

The insecticide chlorpyrifos was introduced by the Dow Chemical Company in 1965 and has been used widely in agriculture ever since. 

It’s toxic to all of us, but pregnant women and their babies are particularly at risk. Prenatal exposures are linked to lower birth weight, reduced IQ, the loss of working memory, attention disorders and delayed motor development.

As of January 2020 the European Food Safety Authority banned sales of this chemical concluding that there is no safe exposure level.

But here in the U.S. this deadly insecticide is used on a wide variety of crops including apples, oranges, strawberries, corn, wheat, citrus and other “healthy” foods that we encourage our children to eat daily. 

The current administration has repeatedly blocked attempts to take chlorpyrifos off the market. But the calls from consumer, medical and scientific groups are growing too loud to ignore.

This week in California, for instance, the parents of a young girl with autism, obesity and vision problems filed a lawsuit against Dow Chemical Company claiming that exposure to this powerful insecticide is the cause of her health problems

The time has come to take this poison out of our food system.

READ 'Chlorpyrifos: Common Pesticide Tied to Brain Damage in Children'

TAKE ACTION: Ask your state legislators to ban chlorpyrifos!

COVID-19

Momentum

For much of this year OCA has been at the forefront of questioning the origins of the virus and exposing the risky gain-of-function research that we believe has led to its emergence. 

At times we’ve been a lone voice, but now the need to know is gaining real momentum as others join the call for greater transparency.

This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his colleagues at Children’s Health Defense sent a heavily referenced letter to key members of Congress demanding an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. 

At the same time U.S. Right to Know has launched its own investigation. Through a series of public records requests to public institutions, they are aiming to discover what is known about the origins of the novel coronavirus. 

We welcome their efforts because we believe there is strength in numbers—and as more of us demand the truth we are getting closer to finding it.

Check out how the momentum is building around this key issue of our times.

READ 'COVID-19—Time to Tell The Truth'

GET THE FACTS: Read more about our COVID-19 campaign 

VISIT our Gain-of-Function Hall of Shame

TAKE ACTION! Sign the Petition to Stop the Genetic Engineering of Viruses! Shut Down All Biowarfare Labs Now!

TAKE ACTION! Ask the scientists, lawyers and policy experts you know to sign our international Open Letter: “Why We Need a Global Moratorium on the Creation of Potential Pandemic Pathogens (PPPs) Through Gain-of-Function Experiments”

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Global Coup

How do you control people? 

Most dictators—and would-be-dictators—know the answer is “fear.”

In this startling 18-minute video message to citizens who participated in rallies in at least 15 countries, to protest the global movement towards totalitarianism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asks some important questions about the COVID crisis and “global coup d’état” that he sees unfolding around the world. 

It is, he says, orchestrated by a nexus of powerful forces: by Big Data, by Big Telecom, by Big Tech. By the big oil and chemical companies and a global public health cartel led by Bill Gates and the World Health Organization—all of whom see the series of crises we are currently facing as an opportunity to make more money and grab more power.

Fear makes us tolerant to the erosion of our civil liberties. It makes us tolerant of censorship to the point where we stop asking questions and stop voicing our grievances. 

The answer, he says, is to keep talking, keep asking questions and keep insisting on the rights that every human being is born with.

WATCH A Message From Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

READ The transcript of the video

GMOs

Powerful Proof

Information is power and a new database of studies into the harmful effects of GMOs provides powerful proof that genetic engineering is the wrong direction of travel for our food system.

The GMO Research Database—a project of GMO Free USA—is an easy-to-use public resource and a valuable research tool for scientists, researchers, physicians, educators and students. 

It contains over 2,500 studies, surveys and analyses on the impacts of genetically engineered (GE/GMO/bioengineered) crops, foods and their related pesticides. 

The fully searchable database is available in multiple languages and contains links to abstracts and studies on health impacts, environmental impacts, pesticide drift, genetic contamination, horizontal gene transfer, unintended effects, as well as references regarding yields, social impact, ethics, economics and regulations. 

SEARCH the database 

Find out more

See where the all candidates stood on GMOs at the beginning of this Presidential race

Gene Edited Foods Are GMOs: New Research Establishes That Gene Editing Is Not “Natural”

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Cultivating Hope

In these crazy times hope is in short supply. Even so, according to social justice campaigner Dr. Vandana Shiva, hopelessness is a luxury we cannot afford.

In a wide-ranging interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola, Shiva takes on the political and social injustices of the world, arguing that the ultra-wealthy elite are responsible for a majority of the environmental, financial and health crises we currently face.

Eating good food, she says, is the single most important strategy for health and growing food in the right way is the single most important element in the regeneration of the planet.

Like so many of us, she could give in to a sense of defeat that the elites have won and yet she believes, “Hope is something you must cultivate on a daily basis. Cultivating hope is cultivating resistance. Cultivating hope is cultivating the strategy."

It’s a positive message at a time we need it the most.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Dr. Mercola interviews Dr. Vandana Shiva 

READ 'Oneness Versus the 1%'

SUPPORT OCA & CRL

Resilience

We all talk about resilience. But what does that mean?

Resilience is what protects us from the hard times and the unexpected. Resilience is our ability to adapt.

This week even the Wall Street Journal felt moved to write about the importance of hope and resilience. It noted:

“Most psychologists define hope as a yearning for something possible but not certain—such as a better future—and a belief that you have some power to make it happen.”

We need resilience in our lives, but we also need to build resilience in the systems we live in.

We’ve spent years campaigning for the kind of system change that will ensure a better future: healthy food, clean environment, regenerative farming, honest business, honest politics, a sustainable economy, human scale lifestyles that honor community and individual rights. 

We are working for you and we are working with you to create a better future.

With your continued support, we can create resilient health, agricultural and environmental systems so that we—and those who come after us—can continue to thrive. 

Please consider making a donation to help us continue this vital work.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit  

Support Citizens Regeneration Lobby, OCA’s 501(c)(4) lobbying arm (not tax-deductible)

Donate $100 or more and we’ll send you a copy of Ronnie’s new book

Click here for more ways to support our work

LITTLE BYTES

Essential Reading

Why We Need a Small Farm Future

RIP Percy Schmeiser—A Hero of the Fight Against GMOs

The Pandemic Has Given Organics a Big Boost—But Most Profits Aren’t Flowing To Small Producers

Impossible Milk Could Be Coming to Your Cereal Bowl

Trump Sets Up Pharma Billionaires for Coronavirus Payday

“What the Future Can Look Like”: Study Shows US Switch to 100% Renewables Would Save Hundreds of Billions Each Year