permaculture

[Ray Cirino <cobanation@yahoo.com>]

Dear All,
It's here, a wood burning oven that is ready to start baking in 15 minutes. 
Less wood and way cleaner exhuast. You can see it at the LA Arboretum this 
weekend at the Living Green Garden Show.
Check out our progress:

http://people.tribe.net/raycirino/photos

If anyone wants more info we are ramping up with kits in coming months.
Stay tuned,

Ray Cirino

  
The Great Challenges we now face as a species present the very opportunities 
that are giving birth to Ecological, Psychological, and Spiritual 
Sustainability.
 > participants and protecting organic consumers against
> fraud.
> 
> Cornucopia researchers were shocked when they started
> investigating the
> DHA/ARA oils, manufactured by Martek Biosciences
> Corporation, Columbia,
> MD, and found they were implicated by parents and
> healthcare professionals
> in severe and chronic health problems in infants around the
> country.
> 
> "Organics should be the last bastion of pure, natural and
> unadulterated
> food for consumers," said Charlotte Vallaeys, lead author
> of Cornucopia's
> report, Replacing Mother - Imitating Human Breast Milk in
> the Laboratory.
> 
> Through a separate FOIA request to the FDA, Cornucopia
> learned that there
> was an apparent correlation between the use of Martek's
> nutritional oils
> and severe gastrointestinal problems sometimes resulting in
> highly-
> invasive testing procedures and hospitalizations.
> 
> "Based on FDA adverse reaction reports, we discovered that
> many parents,
> physicians and healthcare practitioners found that chronic
> problems with
> infants, often resulting in 'failure to thrive,' acute
> dehydration (caused
> by dangerous diarrhea/vomiting) and severe emotional stress
> on the babies
> and their families, were often immediately resolved when
> switching to
> formula without DHA/ARA supplementation," stated Vallaeys.
> 
> After learning about the health problems, Cornucopia
> immediately stepped
> up its legal efforts at the USDA to remove Martek's oils
> not only from
> organic infant formula, but also from organic baby food and
> organic milk
> manufactured by the nation's leading brand, Horizon, owned
> by the dairy
> giant Dean Foods.
> 
> "It's concerning enough that these Martek oils are being
> widely introduced
> in the marketplace, in both organic and conventional
> products, but there
> is no authoritative research that suggests they actually
> benefit
> children's development, as is claimed by the industry,"
> said Marsha
> Walker, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director of the National
> Alliance for
> Breastfeeding Advocacy.
> 
> Infant formula manufacturers like Enfamil (Mead Johnson)
> promote their
> products as being "our closest formula to breast milk," and
> research
> indicates such advertisements might have discouraged some
> women from
> breastfeeding, which is universally recognized as being
> superior to
> formula in numerous ways, including for the health and
> development of
> babies.
> 
> "This seems to be a crass marketing gimmick, using our
> children as guinea
> pigs to enhance the bottom line at the major pharmaceutical
> companies that
> manufacture infant formula," lamented Kastel. "The fact
> that this material
> is being illegally added to certified organic formula is
> highly repugnant
> and left mothers, who could not breastfeed for whatever
> reason, with few
> alternatives in the marketplace."
> 
> Over the past few years, infant formula manufacturers have
> raised their
> prices after adding Martek oils to their products. With the
> exception of
> some prescription formulas, available with approval from
> pediatricians,
> only one over-the-counter formula is available without
> synthetic DHA/ARA,
> Baby's Only, an organic product manufactured by Nature's
> One in Columbus,
> Ohio.
> 
> "After today's official announcement by the USDA, all other
> organic
> formula manufacturers will need to remove Martek's oils
> from their
> products," Cornucopia's Vallaeys stated.
> 
> In the meantime, The Cornucopia Institute also has filed
> petitions with
> the FDA requesting that their Generally Recognized as Safe
> (GRAS)
> designation for the Martek oils be revoked.
> 
> "When Martek's additives were originally granted GRAS
> status, it was with
> extreme reservations on the part of the FDA review panel
> because of
> adverse reactions to these oils" said Valleys. "When we
> reviewed FOIA
> documents, we were astonished to find that none of the
> infant formula
> manufacturers had complied with the FDA's request to
> monitor adverse
> reactions and perform post-market surveillance of these
> materials."
> 
> Like baking soda or any other synthetic ingredient that
> manufacturers
> would like to use in organic products, Martek and the
> infant formula
> manufacturers who would like to use synthetic DHA/ARA oils
> will now be
> allowed to petition the National Organic Standards Board
> for a safety
> review. Cornucopia projects an aggressive lobbying fight
> with public
> interest groups and powerful manufacturers once again
> squaring off.
> 
> "We have to say we are continuing to be impressed by the
> ethical
> turnaround at the USDA, in their oversight of the organic
> industry, since
> the new administration took control in Washington and
> Secretary Vilsack
> promised members of the organic community that he would
> appoint leadership
> who 'shares our values'," Kastel affirmed.
> 
> According to The Cornucopia Institute, widely recognized as
> one of the
> industry's most aggressive independent watchdogs, organic
> consumers have
> every reason to feel more confident every day in the
> integrity of the USDA
> organic label.
> 
> MORE:
> 
> USDA memorandum reversing previous position on nutrient
> vitamins and
> minerals in organic foods, available upon request: cultivate@cornucopia.org
> 
> Link to The Cornucopia Institute report, and other
> background documents:
> Replacing Mother - Imitating Human Breast Milk in the
> Laboratory:
> http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/01/replacing-mother-infant-formula-report/
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