Saturday, August 30, 2008
CNN || Police raid headquarters of RNC protesters
http://m.cnn.com/cnn/lt_ne/lt_ne/detail/161073
This, my friends, is what's wrong with the world. Fear has no place
here. But seems like there should be a search warrant declared,
somewhere. Oye, simple fire codes, but we need names and pictures of
everyone. Gestapo, anyone?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Organic Bytes: Nuked Spinach, Obama Backs OCA, Victory Gardens, Bayer Poisoning Bees...
ORGANIC BYTES #143
Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge!
8/28/2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
Alert of the Week: FDA OKs Irradiated Lettuce and Spinach
Hopeful News of the Week: Obama Backs OCA & UFW
Essay of the Week: Victory Gardens Symbolize a New Age
Government Plunder of the Week: EPA Sued for Bee Colony Collapse Cover-Up
Tip of the Week: How Do You Know Which Sweet Corn is Genetically Modified?
Top Headlines of the Week
GNA Alert and Video of the Week: Green Jobs Now
U.S. Film Debut: The World According to Monsanto
Written and edited by Craig Minowa and Ronnie Cummins
A product bearing the radura symbol has been irradiated.
Alert of the Week:
FDA OKs Irradiated Lettuce and Spinach
Rather than dealing with the problems inherent in a disease-ridden
factory-farmed food system, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
announced in mid-September it will allow the irradiation of lettuce
and spinach. Food irradiation is the controversial practice of
bombarding food with high levels of x-rays (ionizing radiation) in
order to destroy disease causing pathogens. Unfortunately, in the
process of irradiation, other hazards arise, like the creation of
toxic free radicals, vitamin and nutrient loss, and the formation of
carcinogenic chemicals.
While irradiated lettuce and spinach must be labeled in supermarkets,
there are currently no labeling requirements whatsoever for
restaurants, schools, hospitals, or nursing homes serving irradiated
produce or other nuked foods such as beef. Over the past decade, OCA
and our allies in the organic community have prevented corporate
agribusiness and the nuclear industry from contaminating organic
standards. Food irradiation is prohibited on any product labeled as
"organic." There is currently a 30 day comment period for the FDA's
new rule.
Tell the FDA to clean-up industrial feedlots instead of irradiating our food
___________________________________
Hopeful News of the Week:
Obama Backs OCA & UFW's Call for "Natural Beef" Supplier to Recognize
Workers' Rights
Following alerts and petitions circulated by the Organic Consumers
Association (OCA) and the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, Barack
Obama has sent a letter urging Beef Northwest Feeders in Oregon to
engage in collective bargaining and contract negotiations with its
farm workers. Beef Northwest is refusing to acknowledge a vote its
workers took earlier this summer to form a union. Obama called on the
company to recognize the desire of the employees' rights to form a
union and to negotiate with them in good faith.
The OCA has pressured Beef Northwest to recognize the rights of its
workers to form a union, and has asked Whole Foods Market (WFM), the
major purchaser of "natural beef" that is finished at the Beef
Northwest factory farm, to intervene. Unfortunately, the head of WFM,
John Mackey, has been vocal over the years in his opposition to
unions, in spite of company PR expressing support for Fair Trade.
Learn more and take action here.
___________________________________
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readers, like you, who make tax deductible donations to further our
work. Without your donations, OCA's work would not possible. In
today's economic and political climate, nonprofit organizations, like
the OCA, need your support, more than ever. With your support we'll
continue, not only to write about problems and their solutions, but
move pro-actively to make positive change a reality.
Donate Now!
___________________________________
Essay of the Week:
Victory Gardens Symbolize a New Age
"We have had enough of the old ways of thinking, and we are here to
take back control of our lives, our health, our resources, and our
futures. We are resisting the control of destructive governmental and
corporate forces. We are developing an energy and enthusiasm that
characterizes new values, new ways of living, new survival techniques,
and new experiences."
"A garden that symbolizes our part in this evolution is a challenge
and a source of immense hope. If a family or group is able to achieve
this, others will follow, and the movement will grow. In a time of
famine for many and threatened famine for many others, the victory
garden is an indication of a new way the earth can be made more
fruitful. We must have a vision."
Read Barbara L. Minton's full essay here.
________________________________
Government Plunder of the Week:
EPA Sued for Bee Colony Collapse Cover-Up
Over the past two years, beekeepers have reported an alarming and
potentially catastrophic loss of bees from their hives ranging
anywhere from 30-90 percent. This "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD)
isn't just a problem for beekeepers and farmers, but for consumers as
well, since bee pollination is essential for crop production. The USDA
claims that one out of every three mouthfuls of food is dependant on
bee pollination. Experts have been researching CCD and have linked the
die-off to a number of likely culprits.
One of the likely killers is a new pesticide, clothianidin, approved
by the EPA in 2003. Germany and France have banned this type of
pesticide to protect their bee population. In the U.S., clothianidin
was approved after Bayer CropScience, the chemical's maker, submitted
required studies to the EPA regarding the chemical's impact on bees
and the environment. Now the EPA is suspiciously and illegally
refusing to release these public documents. To expose this cover-up
and hopefully to save the bees, last week the Natural Resources
Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the agency.
Learn more here.
___________________________________
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