Organic Bytes
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Little Bytes
LITTLE BYTES

Essential Reading for the Week

20 Top Health Tips from 2016

The Dirty Secret About Your Clothes

Scientists Loved and Loathed by an Agrochemical Giant

More Evidence Linking Monsanto’s Roundup to Cancer

Concerns Over Use of Glyphosate-Based Herbicides and Risks Associated with Exposures: A Consensus Statement

Tanzanian Farmers are Facing Heavy Prison Sentences if They Continue Their Traditional Seed Exchange

Noam Chomsky: With Trump Election, We Are Now Facing Threats to the Survival of the Human Species


Farmer spraying from a tractor among crop rows
VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Big Fat Bill

Monsanto and Big Food love to claim that their system—the industrial chemical food and farming system—is the only way to feed the world. Because it’s “more efficient” and produces “affordable (cheap) food.”

What Big Ag doesn’t tell you is that its “affordable” (and unhealthy) food comes at great cost. And that it leaves us all, and will surely leave our children and grandchildren, with a big fat bill to pay—for our poor health, our degraded soil and our polluted air and water.

Somebody will have to pay those bills, explains John Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri, in an interview for “Feeding Fairfield,” a documentary by HHW Media.

Learn more about ‘Feeding Fairfield’ 

Watch the video 


OCA End Of Year Fundraising Thank You
SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF

Wow.

We didn’t know what to expect. After losing the GMO labeling battle this summer, after a bitter, divisive and exhausting presidential campaign, we approached end-of-year fundraising with equal parts hope and uncertainty.

Hope won out.

Once again, you showed us that we aren’t alone in the belief that this work is important. And that you’re willing to support it.

Thank you, to each and every one of you who pitched in to help us reach our goal. And to all of you who support OCA’s work in other, equally important ways.

Many challenges lie ahead as we find ourselves up against a cast of corrupt corporate cronies intent on rolling back, instead of improving, policies that already fall far short of protecting our health and our environment.

Thanks to you, and with you, we will face those challenges head on. Here’s to the #ConsumerRevolution2017!

Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts)

Support OCA's Regeneration International Project (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic, regenerative agriculture and climate change)


Close-up of a hand typing at a computer keyboard
NEW BLOG

Unique Perspective

You know the feeling. You read an insightful or controversial article, and you think to yourself . . . wait a minute! That’s not right! Or . . . sure, there are some good points in here—but they’re missing this bit of key information, or this contrary viewpoint.

It happens a lot when much of what you read relates to your work. It’s definitely the case for OCA International Director Ronnie Cummins.

Ronnie has been deeply involved in policies related to organic standards, food, farming and the environment for more than 40 years. He has a unique perspective on just about everything he reads. Now, he’s sharing more of those perspectives, in his new blog.

You can check out Ronnie’s new blog here. Or follow @ronnie_cummins on twitter to catch all his posts.

Ronnie will also continue to write regular blog posts for the OCA blog, which also publishes posts by other OCA staffers.

Check out Ronnie’s new blog 

Follow @ronnie_cummins on twitter 


Maggie's Organics logo over a pair of tie dye socks
SAVE ORGANIC STANDARDS

Thanks, Maggie’s!

Maggie’s Organics is the latest “organic hero” to quit the Organic Trade Association (OTA) after the trade group betrayed consumers by colluding with lobbyists and politicians to pass the DARK Act

In a letter to the OTA, Maggie’s wrote:

While Maggie's has been a strong supporter of the OTA since our inception, we are confused and concerned by OTA's stance and support of the Stabenow-Roberts Senate Bill S.764 (aka: the Dark Act). Although purported to be a bill to require mandatory labeling on all products containing GMO ingredients, we feel this bill would actually cause serious harm to the integrity of the organic industry. 

Maggie’s joins other organic heroes—Dr.Bronner’s, Nature’s Path and the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA)—in quitting the OTA. 

After the DARK Act passed, OCA joined about 60 other groups that called for organic brands, retailers and others to quit the OTA. 

Read Maggie’s Organics letter to the Organic Trade Association 

Learn more 

Shop at Maggie’s Organics 

Post a 'thank you' on Maggie's Organics Facebook page


Black and white shot of a cow walking down a gravel path next to a pasture
TOP NEWS

Ben & Jerry’s #DirtyDairy

If there were an award for “greenwashing,” it would likely go to Ben & Jerry’s, the iconic Vermont-based ice cream brand, now owned by Unilever.

Ben & Jerry’s has done a brilliant job of selling consumers on the idea that the company cares about social justice, the environment, the climate, and its customers—the company even brags about its "Caring Dairy" program and its commitment to using non-GMO ingredients.

But behind that greenwashed façade lies the tale of a company that relies on a #dirtydairy industry that has poisoned Vermont’s waterways, abuses animals, is bankrupting farmers and is contributing to global warming by stripping the soil of its ability to draw down and sequester carbon.

It’s not enough to pretend to be a champion of GMO labeling—especially when your company relies on acres upon acres of GMO animal feed to produce your products. Ben & Jerry’s is in the perfect position to lead the dairy industry into an organic, regenerative future. If Ben & Jerry's wants consumers to believe its slogans and value statements, it’s time to get real.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Ben & Jerry’s: Stop Defrauding Consumers—It’s Time to Go Organic! 

Ben & Jerry’s at 802-846-1500. Ask them to go organic!

Post on Ben & Jerry’s Facebook page 

Tweet this: @benandjerrys: Stop supporting #dirtydairy. Go #organic! http://orgcns.org/2iTt1fn


Music to our Ears

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

"Unfolding with gentle joy and an unexpected beauty, this ode to the miracle of the Earth’€™s topmost layer gives us a newfound respect for the ground beneath our feet."  – New York Times, Critics Pick

‘€œSymphony of the Soil,’€ the latest documentary from the director of ‘€œThe Future of Food,’€ is now available on DVD’€”and for every copy purchased  here, the filmmaker will contribute $5 to the OCA.

‘€œSymphony of the Soil’€ explores the complexity and mystery of soil. Filmed on four continents, the film portrays soil as a protagonist of our planetary story. In a skillful mix of art and science, the film reveals soil for what it really is. A living organism. The foundation of life on earth.

Its creators hope it will inspire people to stop treating soil like, well, dirt

Purchase ‘€˜Symphony of the Soil’€™

Watch the trailer