All About Organics
OCA's Organic Resource Center
Organic Consumers Association Campaigns, Essays, Headlines, Action Alerts, Downloads and Videos on Organic Food.
Organic food is pure food. It's safer, more nutritious and free of chemical additives. Organic crops are grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers and organic livestock are raised without antibiotics, growth hormones or other drugs. Organic food isn't genetically modified or irradiated.
News
August 10, 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Mark Kastel, 608.625.2042
Joel McNair, 608-455-2402
Goldie Coughlan, 206 547-1222 ext. 115
Margaret Weber, 517-266-3521
WASHINGTON: One of the nation's most aggressive organic watchdogs filed a formal legal complaint today (8/10/06) against the country's leading organic brand, Horizon, alleging a well-financed campaign to greenwash milk produced at factory farms that fail to meet USDA regulatory standards. The complaint and call for a thorough investigation was filed with the USDA's Office of Compliance. Read more
Contact:
Mark Kastel, 608.625.2042
Joel McNair, 608-455-2402
Goldie Coughlan, 206 547-1222 ext. 115
Margaret Weber, 517-266-3521
WASHINGTON: One of the nation's most aggressive organic watchdogs filed a formal legal complaint today (8/10/06) against the country's leading organic brand, Horizon, alleging a well-financed campaign to greenwash milk produced at factory farms that fail to meet USDA regulatory standards. The complaint and call for a thorough investigation was filed with the USDA's Office of Compliance. Read more
News
August 4, 2006
Grist Magazine's Daily Grist
Another Nail Polish in the Coffin
Many nail polishes contain shady ingredients
A question for all you women, girls, drag queens, trannies, metrosexuals, goths, punks, and so on: have you ever wondered what's in that nail polish? If you're in the U.S., one ingredient is likely the nefarious dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, which has been linked to cancer in lab critters and to underdeveloped genitals and other fertility problems in newborn boys. The FDA doesn't require that cosmetics be tested for long-term effects before coming to market; Read more
Another Nail Polish in the Coffin
Many nail polishes contain shady ingredients
A question for all you women, girls, drag queens, trannies, metrosexuals, goths, punks, and so on: have you ever wondered what's in that nail polish? If you're in the U.S., one ingredient is likely the nefarious dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, which has been linked to cancer in lab critters and to underdeveloped genitals and other fertility problems in newborn boys. The FDA doesn't require that cosmetics be tested for long-term effects before coming to market; Read more
News
August 6, 2006
Once a niche market dominated by specialty grocers such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, organic has gone mainstream.
When Melissa Hoff of Flemington goes grocery shopping, she tries to avoid foods that are "hormone or pesticide assisted" and looks instead for organic cereals, peanut butter and "even some types of beef, depending on whether it's grass-fed versus conventional."
"It's just better for you," said Hoff, 27. "I'm into being more healthy these days."
Supermarket chains have gotten the message and taken notice of an industry that has been growing at a Read more
When Melissa Hoff of Flemington goes grocery shopping, she tries to avoid foods that are "hormone or pesticide assisted" and looks instead for organic cereals, peanut butter and "even some types of beef, depending on whether it's grass-fed versus conventional."
"It's just better for you," said Hoff, 27. "I'm into being more healthy these days."
Supermarket chains have gotten the message and taken notice of an industry that has been growing at a Read more
News
August 2, 2006
Of all the environmental gaffes the species homo sapien commits in the process of feeding itself, the practice of cramming megafauna into huge pens and plying them with corn may rank as the most imbecilic.
The excellent web site Eat Wild http://eatwild.com/environment.html documents the environmental ills of confinement dairy and meat production; here are a few. Cows evolved to eat prairie grass, not grain, which makes them sick. Huge concentrations of large ravenous animals create huge concentrations of shit -- which is a critical resource for maintaining soil health in reasonable Read more
The excellent web site Eat Wild http://eatwild.com/environment.html documents the environmental ills of confinement dairy and meat production; here are a few. Cows evolved to eat prairie grass, not grain, which makes them sick. Huge concentrations of large ravenous animals create huge concentrations of shit -- which is a critical resource for maintaining soil health in reasonable Read more
News
August 3, 2006
View full article and comments here
http://thetyee.ca/Views/2006/08/03/Holland/ By James Glave http://thetyee.ca/Bios/James_Glave
Think of Mark Holland as the "invisible hand" of British Columbia's budding green Renaissance. The 39-year-old former head of the City of Vancouver's sustainability group -- now a partner in Holland Barrs Planning Group http://www.hollandbarrs.com/index.html -- develops eco-strategies for new developments that will in turn define Read more
http://thetyee.ca/Views/2006/08/03/Holland/ By James Glave http://thetyee.ca/Bios/James_Glave
Think of Mark Holland as the "invisible hand" of British Columbia's budding green Renaissance. The 39-year-old former head of the City of Vancouver's sustainability group -- now a partner in Holland Barrs Planning Group http://www.hollandbarrs.com/index.html -- develops eco-strategies for new developments that will in turn define Read more
News
August 1, 2006
BOOKS
For organic farmer Judith Redmond and others like her, Michael Pollan, who wrote "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals," is more than a bestselling author. "In our world," she said, "he's a rock star."
That's why the balding, bespectacled Pollan cannot shop at his Berkeley farmers market without being approached by adoring fans who thank him for bringing debates about green living and the "sustainable food movement" into the mainstream.
They have all read his book, which calls Americans "the people of corn" and suggests that we are a Read more
For organic farmer Judith Redmond and others like her, Michael Pollan, who wrote "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals," is more than a bestselling author. "In our world," she said, "he's a rock star."
That's why the balding, bespectacled Pollan cannot shop at his Berkeley farmers market without being approached by adoring fans who thank him for bringing debates about green living and the "sustainable food movement" into the mainstream.
They have all read his book, which calls Americans "the people of corn" and suggests that we are a Read more
News
July 31, 2006
Grain farmers could make more money be switching to organic grain crops according to a new study released at last week's American Agricultural Economics Association's annual meeting.
Records showed that organic crops fetched much more than conventional crops: soybeans, up to $14 more per bushel; corn, up to $3 more; and wheat, up to $5 more. Organic alfalfa hay is too new to have a track record, so researchers recorded it as selling for the same price as conventionally grown hay.
Over four years the study analyzed both economic risks and transition effects of switching to
Read more News
July 31, 2006
Clive Cookson http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e28a6d88-1dd4-11db-bf06-0000779e2340.html, in an article posted at the Financial Times webpage on Friday, reported that, "Most of the benefits of growing genetically modified cotton, the only commercial GM crop in China, have disappeared after seven years. The problem is that new pests have appeared to replace the bollworms eliminated by the genetic modification.
"A joint study by Cornell University and the Centre for Read more
"A joint study by Cornell University and the Centre for Read more
News
July 29, 2006
I HAVE paid extra for a fair number of organic products, believing that they are healthier for me, my family and the environment.
And now it turns out that in some cases I should have saved my hard-earned money.
Sure, some items that are called organic are probably worth the extra cost because they are produced according to strict standards. But the labels on quite a few of them are not worth an extra cent, according to a study of organic food by Consumer Reports, a publication of the nonprofit Consumers Union.
An uninformed consumer can end up paying 50 to Read more
And now it turns out that in some cases I should have saved my hard-earned money.
Sure, some items that are called organic are probably worth the extra cost because they are produced according to strict standards. But the labels on quite a few of them are not worth an extra cent, according to a study of organic food by Consumer Reports, a publication of the nonprofit Consumers Union.
An uninformed consumer can end up paying 50 to Read more
Pages
for All About OrganicsDownloads
Videos
Scientific Studies
