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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

Organic Bytes #63 - Food and Consumer News Tidbits with an Edge!Monsanto has 
finally got totally bonkers which leaves one to wonder if the rest of the 
world has also.  Will they get their way with this also?

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Organic Consumers Association 


 
      Hello Derek,

      Food, Consumer and Environment News Tidbits with an Edge!


      ORGANIC BYTES #63
      8/11/2005

      ____________________________________

      MONSANTO FILES PATENT CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF MILLIONS OF PIGS 
      Monsanto has filed patents in 160 nations for... pigs. The World 
Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva recently published the patent 
requests, which has left the pork industry squealing with contention. If 
approved, Monsanto would gain ownership of certain types of breeding 
techniques that are already in common use by farmers around the world. The 
patents also request Monsanto overtake of ownership of the pigs born of those 
breeding techniques as well as their related herds. Although controversial, 
the profit incentive of this legal maneuver for Monsanto is enormous, as 
annual pork sales in the U.S., alone, are $38 billion annually. Take action: 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/pigs.cfm 

      ____________________________________

      A RAT POISONING STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING
      In January, the Organic Consumers Association alerted Organic Bytes 
readers about the EPA striking a backroom deal with chemical companies to 
weaken rat poisoning regulations that were originally created to protect 
children. These regulations previously required the addition of artificial 
coloring as well as a chemical to give the rat poison a bitter taste for 
children. We would like to personally thank the thousands of organic 
consumers who signed OCA's action alert to the EPA. Vindicating our position 
on Aug. 8, a federal judge ordered the EPA to implement stronger safety 
guidelines for rat poisons. Congratulations to everyone for standing up to 
the government and the chemical companies to protect children's health. 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/rat.cfm


      ____________________________________

      GASEOUS COWS ON FACTORY FARMS: IT AIN'T NO JOKE 
      Thanks to dense populations of bovines in California's heavily factory 
farmed San Joaquin Valley, cow burps and flatulence are now creating more 
smog and greenhouse gases in the local area than cars. Each and every one of 
the valley's 2.5 million cows excretes nearly 20 pounds of gas per day, 
causing new policy debates between air quality regulators and the dairy 
industry. "This is not some arcane dispute about cow gases," said Brent 
Newell, an attorney for the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment. "We 
are talking about a public health crisis. It's not funny to joke about cow 
burps and farts when one in six children in Fresno schools is carrying an 
inhaler." http://www.organicconsumers.org/OFGU/gases080305.cfm


      ____________________________________

      NEW STUDIES: MONSANTO'S BEST SELLING "SAFE" PESTICIDE IS HIGHLY TOXIC
      Two new peer-reviewed scientific studies have further confirmed the 
toxicity of glyphosate, the world's most commonly used herbicide. The June 
2005 scientific journal "Environmental Health Perspectives" reports that 
glyphosate, sold by Monsanto under the brand name "Roundup," damages human 
placental cells at exposure levels ten times less than what the company 
claims is safe. A study in the August journal Ecological Applications found 
that even when applied at concentrations that are one-third of the maximum 
concentrations typically found in waterways, Roundup still killed up to 71 
percent of tadpoles in the study. Similar glyphosate studies around the world 
have been equally alarming. The American Academy of Family Physicians 
epidemiological research has now linked exposure to the herbicide with 
increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a life-threatening cancer, while a 
Canadian study has linked glyphosate exposure with increased risk for 
miscarriage. A 2002 study linked glyphosate exposure with increased incidence 
of attention deficit disorder in children. Despite these studies, Monsanto 
continues to advertise Roundup, sprayed heavily on 140 million acres of 
genetically engineered crops across the world, as one of the "safest" 
pesticides on the market. Learn more & take action: 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.html

      ____________________________________

      BEING FIBBED TO MAY MAKE YOU THIN
      A team of psychologists at the University of California have found that 
lying to patients can actually cause them to lose weight. Published in the 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study reveals that 
scientists successfully created aversions in patients to sweets like 
strawberry ice cream by tricking the subjects into believing it made them 
sick when they were kids. The scientists also planted positive memories about 
nutritious foods like asparagus. Weight control experts are expressing 
interest in the study, but skeptics, like Stephen Behnke, director of the 
ethics office of the American Psychological Association, say addressing the 
unhealthful aspects of the American diet requires a holistic cultural 
approach, adding the procedure of implanting false memories "raises profound 
ethical questions." http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/diet-lie.cfm

      ____________________________________


      COLLEGE CAMPUSES BREAKING THE CHAINS
      Student run farms on college campuses are cropping up at record levels 
across the U.S. In 27 states and at 60 colleges, these farms are providing an 
opportunity for students to learn sustainable farming techniques while 
incorporating healthy and locally grown produce into the college dining 
programs, area farmers markets and restaurants. Another 200 colleges across 
the U.S. have joined the farm-to-college program wherein local farmers 
provide universities with locally grown produce. As students begin 
preparation for the fall 2005 semester, the record harvest from these quickly 
expanding programs clearly indicates the "buy local" movement is on the 
threshold of mainstream fruition. Learn more and get involved 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm


      ____________________________________

      ATTENTION WORKING ASSETS MEMBERS
      Each year, Working Assets Long Distance (WALD) phone company donates a 
portion of its profits to the individual public interest organizations that 
WALD customers vote for on their annual ballot. This year, the Organic 
Consumers Association (OCA) is pleased to be listed on the Working Assets 
ballot. We would like to call on Organic Bytes readers who are also WALD 
customers to cast your votes for the OCA. The more votes you give us, the 
more money OCA will receive. If you're not already a Working Assets customer 
for your long distance you can sign up and then vote for the OCA to receive 
funds. It's that simple. By clicking on this quick link and taking a moment 
to vote, you'll be helping OCA raise the funds we need to move forward. 
http://www.workingassets.com/vote

      ____________________________________

      QUICK TIDBITS

      Recent polls show that 70% of EU consumers support a ban on GE crops. 
Yet, under pressure from the Bush Administration, the European Commission has 
approved a 10 year permit to Monsanto to import a controversial genetically 
modified corn for use as animal feed. The Commission decision does not yet 
allow the experimental corn variety to be grown for human consumption, but a 
vote on this matter will come in September. 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/frankencorn080905.cfm

      The annual Anholt-GMI Nations Brand Index survey of 25 nations reveals 
that international consumer support of U.S. name brands is quickly slipping. 
The index, used by marketing and advertising agencies, assesses global 
consumer perceptions of individual nations' cultural, political and 
investment potential. The U.S. ranked last place in the category of cultural 
heritage, a measure of a country's "wisdom, intelligence, and integrity." 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/BTC/brandname080305.cfm

      Last Wednesday, a study funded by the British government's Department 
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reported that organic farms in the UK 
support, on average, 32% more birds and 35% more bats than non-organic farms. 
According to the study, thicker hedging, smaller fields and the lack of 
pesticides on organic farms were all contributing factors to the richer 
wildlife. http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/birdsbats080305.cfm


      ____________________________________



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92287
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Just read where they "found" a waterfall they didn't know they had.
At times I forget that the world is still a big place.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050813/D8BUR47O1.html

 >>WHISKEYTOWN, Calif. (AP) - Dick McDermott knows these parts as
well as any man can. But McDermott says he's never laid eyes on the
nearly 400-foot waterfall that park officials recently discovered in
a remote corner of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 43,000
acres of wilderness in northern California.<<