
Fair Trade & Social Justice
OCA's New Fair World Project
The Organic Consumers Association launched the Fair World Project (FWP) in September 2010 to promote fair trade in commerce, especially in organic production systems in developing countries as well as at home, and to protect the term "fair trade" from dilution and misuse for mere PR purposes. FWP fills the critical need for a watchdog of misleading fair trade claims, and a cheerleader for dedicated fair trade mission-driven companies.
News
June 30, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC, June 30, 2006 (ENS) - Conservation International (CI), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, has entered into a partnership with the British online travel agent responsibletravel.com to improve market access for small ecotourism enterprises globally.
The partnership is aimed at providing small ecotourism operators the means to market and promote their destinations to consumers and tour operators.
Responsibletravel.com (RT), an on-line travel agent based in Brighton, England, was launched in 2001 for travelers who want vacations that benefit Read more
The partnership is aimed at providing small ecotourism operators the means to market and promote their destinations to consumers and tour operators.
Responsibletravel.com (RT), an on-line travel agent based in Brighton, England, was launched in 2001 for travelers who want vacations that benefit Read more
News
June 30, 2006
Pittsburgh is a city full of farmers. Farm markets are everywhere, from the North Side to the East End to the South Hills, in parks and in parking lots and on street corners and even on the steps of the City-County Building, Downtown.
Read more
News
June 27, 2006
True confessions: I love McDonald's French fries. They're a guilty pleasure. I also enjoy shopping at Whole Foods, the organic grocery chain in my neighborhood. I feel virtuous loading my cart with brown eggs laid by happy chickens in comfortable nests, or eating beef from free-range cows. When I pull a can of Amy's Organic Soup from the shelves I envision Amy and her grandma in an 18th-century restored farmhouse kitchen chopping tomatoes and adjusting spices.
Whole Foods makes a large dent in my pocketbook that I rationalize by saying I'm supporting family farms and putting my Read more
Whole Foods makes a large dent in my pocketbook that I rationalize by saying I'm supporting family farms and putting my Read more
Press Release
June 26, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC Ã The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is deeply disappointed that Starbucks continues to drag its heels on a five-year-old commitment to offer consumers an alternative to milk and dairy products derived from cows injected with Monsanto's controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). Furthermore OCA is outraged that company staff in at least one Starbucks location in Washington, DC threw numerous signed letters against rBGH from paying customers into the trash when these customers attempted to give them to the manager.
The genetically engineered Read more
The genetically engineered Read more
News
June 23, 2006
Bryant Terry, founder of b-healthy. What do you think about Wal-Mart offering organic products? -- Haven Bourque, San Francisco, Calif.
That's the million-dollar question. Jumping on the organic bandwagon will probably mean higher profits for Wal-Mart, so they gladly carry products with the organic seal. But it's important to remember that Wal-Mart has very little concern for public health, the well-being of small farmers, or the economy of local communities.
Which leads us to the bigger problem -- the organic seal. Most people are thoroughly confused about what the Read more
That's the million-dollar question. Jumping on the organic bandwagon will probably mean higher profits for Wal-Mart, so they gladly carry products with the organic seal. But it's important to remember that Wal-Mart has very little concern for public health, the well-being of small farmers, or the economy of local communities.
Which leads us to the bigger problem -- the organic seal. Most people are thoroughly confused about what the Read more
News
(Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) BALLE BEAT
I'LL BET you've shopped at a Whole Foods market - with 181 stores in the U.S., U.K. and Canada - they're everywhere. The one near me is where I go for meat. At Whole Foods, I never worry about how or where the beef, lamb, and pork were raised, and they always have some cut of free-range poultry on sale. My housemate works as a checker there. She was glad to get a job with a company known for treating its workers well.
Now that I've read up on Whole Foods, I'm really glad I shop there. They have led the mainstreaming of organic food in this country for a long time, and recently Read more
Now that I've read up on Whole Foods, I'm really glad I shop there. They have led the mainstreaming of organic food in this country for a long time, and recently Read more
News
June 22, 2006
Call it one woman's fight against 24-hour commerce, drive-through windows and a corporate giant in her backyard.
Chandler resident Michelle Krabbe and all the neighbors she can muster are expected to speak out against plans to build Cooper Park Marketplace anchored by a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market on the northwestern corner of Cooper Road and Chandler Boulevard.
The City Council votes tonight.
The proposal, scheduled for site plan approval, is on an 18-acre corner with zoning that allows a grocery store and 24-hour operations. That zoning has been Read more
Chandler resident Michelle Krabbe and all the neighbors she can muster are expected to speak out against plans to build Cooper Park Marketplace anchored by a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market on the northwestern corner of Cooper Road and Chandler Boulevard.
The City Council votes tonight.
The proposal, scheduled for site plan approval, is on an 18-acre corner with zoning that allows a grocery store and 24-hour operations. That zoning has been Read more
News
June 20, 2006
WASHINGTON - June 20 - Local and national groups across the country this week will take the following message to the streets in front of Starbucks locations in 23 cities: Stop serving hormone-laden milk to your customers. Their efforts are part of a national campaign, coordinated by the consumer group Food & Water Watch, which since March has been urging the Seattle-based coffee leader to stop buying milk made with artificial growth hormones.
Citing evidence of harm to dairy cows and questions about human health impacts, 30 groups will hand out flyers in cities ranging from Read more
Citing evidence of harm to dairy cows and questions about human health impacts, 30 groups will hand out flyers in cities ranging from Read more
News
July 1, 2006
To subscribe to the Non-GMO report call 1-800-854-0586 or email ken@non-gmoreport.com
Eden Foods has been recognized with the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance's (MOFFA) 2005 Community Service Award.
This Community Service Award "recognizes extraordinary efforts to educate and inform the general public about the importance of local, organic food systems in Michigan."
In a letter to Eden's President, Michael Potter, MOFFA Board Chair Jim Bingen wrote, "Eden Foods has been a generous contributor to various community and farmer events throughout Michigan Read more
Eden Foods has been recognized with the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance's (MOFFA) 2005 Community Service Award.
This Community Service Award "recognizes extraordinary efforts to educate and inform the general public about the importance of local, organic food systems in Michigan."
In a letter to Eden's President, Michael Potter, MOFFA Board Chair Jim Bingen wrote, "Eden Foods has been a generous contributor to various community and farmer events throughout Michigan Read more
News
June 18, 2006
POCO FUNDO, Brazil – Rosevaldo Jose Pereira has never been to Wal-Mart. The name doesn’t mean anything to the lifelong coffee farmer in this remote village in southeastern Brazil.
But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. knows who he is. And the world’s largest retailer is changing his life.
Wal-Mart is in the midst of overhauling its tightfisted image to win over shoppers searching for more than low prices.
That effort has taken the company that built an empire on the principle of high volume and low costs into previously uncharted territory, into the realm of trendy apparel Read more
But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. knows who he is. And the world’s largest retailer is changing his life.
Wal-Mart is in the midst of overhauling its tightfisted image to win over shoppers searching for more than low prices.
That effort has taken the company that built an empire on the principle of high volume and low costs into previously uncharted territory, into the realm of trendy apparel Read more