#240 2 S e p t 10
ORGANIC
Org a nic Consum er s A sso ci at ion
8 Reasons Why We Need Organic
1 Personal Health
Eating organic prevents exposure to agricultural
pesticides known to disrupt neurological devel-
opment in infants and children,
increase the risk of prostate
cancer, and double the
incidence of childhood
lymphoma.
The President’s 2010
Cancer Panel Report
urges consumers to
choose “food grown with-
out pesticides or chemical
fertilizers” and to limit “expo-
sure to antibiotics, growth hormones, and toxic
run-off from livestock feed lots” “by eating free-
range meat raised without these medications.”
2 Nutrition
An organic diet increases exposure to health-pro-
moting CLAs, flavinoids, antioxidants.
3 Water Quality
Organic cropping systems can prevent nitrogen
losses to groundwater and the atmosphere and
keep drinking water from being contaminated
with nitrates, which can cause blue baby syn-
drome and other negative health impacts.
4 No Genetic Engineering
GE Bt corn harms aquatic insects and disrupts
stream ecosystems. Genetically modified plants
have already established themselves in the wild.
One study found 86% of plants collected outside
of agriculture fields in North Dakota tested pos-
itive for GE herbicide tolerance, including combi-
nations of transgenes that are unique to the feral
varieties.
5 Soil Quality
Organics are shown to increase soil organic mat-
ter, enhance microbial activity and reduce soil
acidity, all of which are linked to greater yields.
6 Biodiversity
Organic farming increases biodiversity at every
level of the food chain, from bacteria to mammals.
7 Climate Change
The International Trade Center found, “organic
agriculture has much to offer in mitigation of
climate change through its emphasis on closed
nutrient cycles and is a particularly resilient and
productive system for adaptation strategies.”
8 Feeding the World
Research summarizing 293 published compar-
isons found a 30% increase in world-wide yields
using organic methods. (Source: What is Organic
Food and Why Should I Care? by Jim Riddle &
Bud Markhart for the University of Minnesota)
organicconsumers.org/organlink.cfm
Let policy makers know that you support organic
by signing the Food Agenda 2020 Petition:
organicconsumers.org/food-agenda/
Written and edited by Alexis Baden-Mayer & Ronnie Cummins · Please post, distribute, & subscribe: organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.cfm
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BY TES F o o d & C o n su m e r N e w s W e e k ly
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Alert: Factory Farms, Eggs & Food Safety
The recall of a half-billion eggs from two mega-farms in Iowa is accelerating the call for gov-
ernment action on food safety, while news reports are confusing consumers over the safety of
organic eggs. There are many news reports are suggesting that organic eggs are no safer than
conventional brands. It’s fairly easy to rebut this argument. One can start with the fact that no
USDA certified organic egg producers have been caught up the recall. There’s also loads of evi-
dence that factory farm practices that are banned in organic, including battery cages and feed
contaminated with slaughterhouse waste and manure, are the cause of disease outbreaks.
www.is.gd/eXAGv
The Food Safety Bill
Some consumer groups are pushing the Senate to vote on its version of the food safety bill
passed by the House last year. The bill (S510) would give the FDA authority to order a recall. Cur-
rently, it’s up to companies to recall tainted products. The bill would also improve procedures
for tracing food back to its source, increase the frequency of FDA inspections of food processors
and require on-farm safety standards for produce. These reforms would only be a band-aid on
the disease-ravaged factory farms where millions of overcrowded and mistreated animals live
amongst mountains of their ever-accumulating waste. If we task regulators with devising a food
safety regime fit for filthy factory farms, we’re likely to end up with draconian measures that
will hurt local and organic farmers if they are applied to their small-scale, pasture-based farm-
ing techniques.
The only way to safely reduce the incidence of food borne diseases is to get animals out of factory
farms and onto pastures big enough to absorb their waste, and to ensure that they are butchered
on the farm or at small-scale, local slaughterhouses to avoid contamination at the plant.
Here are a few things we can to do to get moving in the right direction:
1. Congress should exempt small-scale, direct-to-consumer, local, pasture-based, and organic
farmers and food processors from inappropriate food safety regulations. Support Tester-Hagan
amendments to Senate Bill 510. www.is.gd/eXAJ7
2. Consumers should swear off factory-farmed animal products and eat vegetarian when pas-
ture-raised organic isn’t available. Press the USDA to require pasture for organic chickens, as it
has for cows. www.is.gd/eXALo
3. Regulators should phase-out the worst factory farming practices. To address salmonella, start
by banning battery cages. The USDA organic standards ban battery cages. Banning battery cages
can cut the risk of salmonella contamination in half. www.is.gd/eXAOx
4. Lift restrictions on residents raising chickens in their backyards. www.is.gd/eXARU
Climate Actions 10-10-10
On 10/10/10, 350.org is organizing a Global Work Party to involve people in efforts that could
lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere back down below the dangerous tipping point of
350 parts per million. A worldwide shift of cropland from industrial to organic production could
sequester 40% of global greenhouse gases. That’s why 350.org is encouraging people to spend
10/10/10 working on a community garden or an organic farm. Sign Up: www.350.org
Join the OCA at the Historic COP16 Climate Conference
Over 100,000 concerned citizens from North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia are
expected to converge on Cancun, including leading farm, food, Fair Trade, climate justice, and
anti-GE activists. They’ll attend a wide range of workshops, forums, and cultural events. Follow-
ing up on the theme of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, “Another World is Possi-
ble,” the emphasis in Cancun will be on presenting solutions and alternatives to the climate crisis.
The OCA delegation, limited to 100 people, will include international experts on organic agricul-
ture and climate justice, including OCA Directors Ronnie Cummins and Alexis Baden-Mayer,
organic farm leader and author, Will Allen, and author and food activist Jill Richardson.
OCA will be hosting two tours:
▶ 6-Day Tour: November 29- December 5 : Hostel $750, Ramada $950
▶ 5-Day Tour: December 5-11: Hostel $700, Ramada $900
It is also possible to stay for the entire 11 day event from November 29 - December 11
Speakers and activists including Vandana Shiva, James Hansen, Bill McKibben, Pat Mooney,
and Maude Barlow are expected to make presentations at the Grassroots Summit, which will
take place simultaneously with the global negotiations of leaders from every nation in the world.
Sign Up: viaorganica.org/via-a-cancun/