Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     OCA Political Director Arrested
Date:     Thu, 1 May 2014 10:24:52 -0400 (EDT)
From:     Organic Consumers Association <ronniecummins@organicconsumers.org>
Reply-To:     ronniecummins@organicconsumers.org
To:     tradingpost@lobo.net


TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK

Texas Showdown!



"When a government agency, the National Organic Program, that pretends 
to represent the organic community instead represents USDA bureaucrats 
and corporate profiteers, it's time for organic consumers and our allies 
to rise up and take back control over organic standards and practices." 
– Ronnie Cummins, national director, Organic Consumers Association

On Tuesday (April 29) this week, OCA political director Alexis 
Baden-Mayer was hauled off in handcuffs when she refused to end the 
Organic Consumers Association's protest of illegally made [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29909.cfm ] changes to 
the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) policy for approving and 
removing non-organic materials from organics.

End of story? Not on your life.

The battle to recapture control of the organic and natural food and 
products system, which has fallen under the control of corporate and 
government self-interests, is a long-term one. And we intend to see it 
through.

In the coming weeks, OCA will formally announce the formation of the 
Organic and Natural Health Trade Association. The new association will 
be open only to those companies and organizations that adhere to strict, 
ethical organic and natural health standards.

Greenwashers need not apply.

In the meantime, the battle to overturn the NOP's recent decision is far 
from over. And we have some heavy hitters on our side.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), 
both of whom were principal authors of the Organic Foods Production Act 
of 1990 [ 
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5060370 ], have 
written to [ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29903.cfm 
] USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to voice their disapproval 
of the NOP's latest power grab.

Ditto former NOSB chairs Jim Riddle, Jeff Moyer and Barry Flamm, who 
wrote [ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29877.cfm ] 
that the recent changes "unilaterally enacted by the USDA's National 
Organic Program . . . significantly erode the authority, independence 
and input of the NOSB."

The NOP may have to arrest a lot more people before this showdown is 
over. Is that really how the USDA wants to run its organic program?

Video of arrest
 [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpKH11T48cQ&feature=youtu.be ]
Video summary of protest [ http://bit.ly/QXFCPU ]

More on the protest [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29914.cfm ]

Why Organic Standards Are Worth Fighting For [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29862.cfm ]

Leahy-DeFazio letter to USDA [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29903.cfm ]

Letter to USDA from past NOSB chairs [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29877.cfm ]



ACTION ALERT

Stop the Power Grab!


"Mr. McEvoy, this is a country of laws. The power grab is a betrayal. 
This is a turning point. We are heading to court." – Mark Kastel, 
Cornucopia Institute

According to a recent survey [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29910.cfm ] from the 
Consumer Reports National Research Center, seven out of 10 Americans 
want as few as possible synthetic and non-organic ingredients in 
certified organic foods.

So what is the USDA's NOP program doing, under the direction of Miles 
McEvoy? Catering to the big players in the organic and natural foods 
industry by changing the rules [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29909.cfm ] in order to 
allow more non-organic materials in organics.

And it seems USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, is standing 
behind McEvoy, the NOP and industry. Not consumers.

It's a clear power grab to promote the interests of industry over the 
rights of consumers. And it's wrong. That's why we organized a protest 
this week-a protest that led to the arrest [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29920.cfm ] of our 
political director.

Are we going to let an arrest stop us? No way. But we need your help to 
keep this fight alive.

OCA Statement on Arrest at NOSB meeting [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29920.cfm ]

TAKE ACTION: Write your own letter to Vilsack:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250

TAKE ACTION: Call Vilsack's office: (202) 720-2791

TAKE ACTION: Post on the USDA Dept. of Agriculture Facebook page [ 
https://www.facebook.com/USDA ]

TAKE ACTION: Save Organic Standards! Tell USDA Secretary Vilsack to 
Reverse Rule that Weakens Organics [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ocaactions.cfm?actionnum=13611 ]



ACTION ALERT

Follow the Honey



You would think what with Monsanto's Honeybee Advisory Council [ 
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2013/06/14/monsanto-launches-honey-bee-advisory.html 
], and Bayer's Bee Care Centers [ 
http://beecare.bayer.com/bayer-bee-care/bayer-bee-care-centers ], the 
world's largest pesticide-makers would be too busy caring about bees to 
manufacture or use the pesticides that kill them.

Not true, of course. Here's what is true. Bayer, Syngenta and Monsanto 
have launched a massive public relations campaign to convince consumers 
that, despite the science [ 
http://beyondpesticides.org/pollinators/research.php ],
their pesticides aren't to blame for Colony Collapse Disorder. And it 
looks like the U.S. Department of Agriculture is following their lead, 
by trying to shift the blame [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29926.cfm ] for bee 
deaths to mites, not poisons.

According to a new Friends of the Earth report [ 
http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/f0/f/4656/FollowTheHoneyReport.pdf 
], the pesticide industry's "distraction" campaign looks a lot like what 
the tobacco industry did to convince consumers that cigarettes weren't 
giving them lung cancer. (Coincidentally, neonicotinoids are synthetic 
derivatives of nicotine, a toxin produced by the tobacco plant).

How can industry afford such a big PR campaign? By selling billions of 
dollars' worth of pesticides every year. Bayer alone sold [ 
http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/f0/f/4656/FollowTheHoneyReport.pdf ] 
$10 billion of "Crop Protection" products (including herbicides, 
fungicides, insecticides and seed growth) in 2012.

It's bad enough these companies sell bee-killing pesticides, and seeds 
coated in bee-killing pesticides, to farmers. But they also sell them to 
consumers. And even if you're a savvy consumer who wouldn't buy 
Syngenta's Maxide (fungicides and herbicides) or Bayer's "Bayer 
Advanced" or "Bayer Garden" products, you may be unknowingly buying 
garden plants that have been treated with these companies' neonicotinoid 
poisons.

Learn more [ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29889.cfm ]

Read the report [ 
http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/f0/f/4656/FollowTheHoneyReport.pdf ]

TAKE ACTION: Home Depot and Lowe's: Stop Selling Bee-Killing Garden 
Plants! [ http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/home-depot-and-lowes ]

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative: Please Support the Saving 
America's Pollinators Act (H.R. 2692) [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ocaactions.cfm?actionnum=13161 ]


SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF

Out on a Limb


"These are critical decisions. If consumers walk away, we're left with 
nothing." - Jay Feldman, NOSB board member and executive director of 
Beyond Pesticides.

You count on us to fight the government and industry takeover of your 
food supply.

And because sometimes petitions and letters and phone calls just aren't 
enough, this week we went out on a limb to protest what we, and others, 
believe is a power grab by the USDA to promote the interests of big 
companies, at the expense of you, the consumer.

Our peaceful protest led to the arrest of political director, Alexis 
Baden-Mayer. (She's out on bond, ready to get back in battle).

This week, we took a stand. Against industry. On your behalf. For the 
preservation of organic standards.

Because if we didn't, if we had just walked away, consumers-you-would be 
left with nothing but a meaningless, watered-down set of organic standards.

We don't think you want that. So with your continued support, we will 
keep hounding the USDA until it does its job.

Donate to the Organic Consumers Association [ 
https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=10174 
] (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic 
standards, fair trade and public education)

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund  [ 
https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=10369 
] (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in 
Oregon, Vermont and other states)


GMO LABELING LAWS UPDATE

A Matter of Time



Vermont Governor Pete Shumlin is set to sign the nation's first 
no-strings-attached GMO labeling bill one week from today, May 8, 2014.

Vermonters are thrilled. But so are the rest of us, from coast to coast. 
Why? For one, the passage of Vermont H.112 [ 
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2014/bills/intro/H-112.pdf ] paves the 
way for other states, especially those where GMO labeling bills are in 
play, to follow suit.

But that's not the only reason Vermont is a win for all of us. Once food 
manufacturers have to label GMO-contaminated foods in Vermont, they'll 
likely reformulate their products to be GMO-free (just as they've done 
in other countries), knowing that Vermonters don't want products that 
say "Contains genetically modified organisms."

We expect industry will get behind the Grocery Manufacturers 
Association's DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act-a bill [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29716.cfm ] they're 
pushing in Congress that would preempt Vermont's new law. And they'll 
probably sue the state of Vermont, though they know they can't win [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29912.cfm ].

But the momentum is clearly on our-your-side. Connecticut and Maine have 
passed GMO labeling laws, but with trigger clauses requiring multiple 
other states to pass labeling requirements before their own go into 
effect. Meanwhile Arizona, Colorado and Oregon have ballot initiatives 
in play, and New York, Massachusetts, California and others are 
advancing bills.

It's only a matter of time.

Update on state GMO labeling laws [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29927.cfm ]


VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Organic Rising
 [ http://youtu.be/AftZshnP8fs ]

" . . . the Food Industry in America is a $1.2 trillion*** a year 
business and the food companies and biotech firms, like Wall Street, are 
controlling and influencing government policies." – Anthony Suau

Anthony Suau, a Pulitzer Prize recipient and Emmy award winner, lived in 
Europe for 20 years. When he moved back to the U.S., he wondered why the 
meat here was such poor quality, compared with what he was used to in 
Europe.

Suau decided to find out. He researched the reasons behind the poor 
quality of meat in the U.S. And that led him to look at the bigger 
picture-why is poor-quality food the norm in this country? And what can 
be done to change that?

Suau is producing a documentary, Organic Rising, that focuses on 
solutions. But he needs help raising $50,000 to finish the project. If 
you'd like to help, go here [ 
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/organic-rising?show_todos=true#home ].

More about the film [ http://www.organicrisingfilm.com/ ]

Watch the trailer [ 
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/organic-rising?show_todos=true#home ]

Support the film [ http://igg.me/at/organicrising/x/6702015 ]

Enter the Organic Rising photo contest [ 
http://www.organicrisingfilm.com/contest/ ]

Organic Rising on Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/OrganicRising ]


LITTLE BYTES

Essential Reading for the Week


Two Federal Raw Milk Freedom Bills Introduced [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29928.cfm ]

How Vermont Plans to Defend the Nation's First GMO Law [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29912.cfm ]


Key Dietary Strategies to Protect Yourself from Alzheimer's [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29892.cfm ]

Big Food: Michael Pollan Thinks Wall Street Has Way Too Much Influence 
Over What We Eat [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29908.cfm ]

Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29911.cfm ]

Carbon Monoxide on Your Plate? 5 Dangerous Substances Big Ag Pumps into 
Your Meat [ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29913.cfm ]

Science Media Centre Spins Pro-GMO Line [ 
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29902.cfm ]




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