In Short:
Those assholes trying to ruin the environment and our health at the same time Monsanto has been trying to pass genetically modified alfalfa to the USDA. This has incredibly horrendous effects on our organic food industry as a whole.
Please take (literally) 10 seconds to sign the petition and help stop this pending approval.
Go to Food Democracy Now to sign. Thanks!
The Organic Consumers Association (not to be confused with OC ASS) has some great in site for New Year’s Resolution. If the standard dieting, not drinking or no more trips to Tijuana New Year’s Resolutions are getting boring, try this one out this year:
Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.
“On the average, organic food is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food’s shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production. Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.”
For more info and to jump start your resolution, check out www.organicconsumers.org
70% of the processed food we eat is genetically modified. The coffee you drink at Starbucks. The meat you eat almost anywhere. And almost 90% of what you buy from Safeway – including gum, toothpaste, and diapers. For more info watch this movie.
Get ready to cry and barf at the same time.
Umm, don’t take the free “compost” SF is giving away.
“Compost is the sine qua non of organic gardening and farming. But the material that San Francisco is giving away to homeowners, gardeners, and the general public is toxic sewage sludge masquerading as compost. This is why the Center for Food Safety (CFS) has petitioned the City to immediately stop its “compost giveaway events” that will spread toxic sludge to homeowners’ backyards, increasing the risk of health problems to children and the community. “I do not believe the Mayor and leadership of San Francisco can have been aware that the compost being given away is heavily contaminated with hazardous and toxic material. Now that they know I am sure they’ll stop this giveaway program,” said Laura Orlando, an adjunct professor of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health.”
Help preserve organic integrity…
A couple of clicks makes a huge difference. Come on! Dooo it!
Along the same vein as the post below about greenwashing… every one’s trying to get their dirty hands on organic labels. The organic symbol is supposed to show us good from evil – but with ever varying definitions of organic, it’s been convoluted to say the least. Click above to do your part on keeping organic labeling Organic!
Greenwashing is used everyday by thousands of companies, and is pretty easy to spot if you have your eyes open. For example, do you really think Shell oil company is “sustainable”?
Oil we take from the earth = Sustainable?
Hmm. Not so much.
Or… Do you really think Monsanto’s (THE INVENTORS OF AGENT ORANGE AND ROUNDUP AND A SLEW OF OTHER DEADLY PRODUCTS) roundup ready soybeans are going to feed the world and end hunger?
Hmm. Eww and Not so much.
Especially since third world countries are rejecting them! Saying they are unsafe!
I.E. – people who are starving say they do not want those dirty ass soybeans!
How can you keep an eye out and try to avoid being scammed by greenwashing yourself… bookmark these sites and check them out from time to time. I know, I know they are not as exciting as Perez Hilton, but hey information can be just as addicting as the latest picture of Spidey!
Judge overturns approval of Roundup Ready beets
By JEFF BARNARD (AP) – 6 days ago
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A federal judge overturned government approval of a variety of sugar beet genetically engineered to resist a popular weed killer produced by agricultural giant Monsanto, according to a ruling released Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in San Francisco found the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service violated environmental law by failing to take a “hard look” at whether “Roundup Ready” sugar beets would eventually share their genes with other crops.
Noting that pollen from genetically altered sugar beets could be blown by the wind long distances to related crops, such as chard and table beets, the judge ordered the agency to produce an environmental impact statement examining the issue. (more…)
If a banana were to try to pick up another banana, I imagine that’s what it would sound like.
Genetically modified and non-organic food is sooo 1990’s!
Get a grip and try to buy only Organic & Local!
If you don’t have the time to pick up produce from the hundreds of local produce stands in California, you can still buy organic produce at major grocery stores. Simply look for the PLU (Price Look-up) codes on the labels stuck on your favorites fruits and vegetables… those little stickers tell you all the info you need to know. Often they tell you where they are either harvested or shipped from, but the actual PLU code gives you the organic information.
• A four digit number means it’s conventionally grown
• A five digit number beginning with 9 means it’s organic
• A five digit number beginning with 8 means it’s genetically modified
But don’t forget, it’s not only about organic… locally grown food is the way to go. For more info about where to buy locally grown meat, veggies, fruit, honey, dairy, etc., click produce stands in Cal above.
I’m signed up to every organic, ecological, left-wing, hippy, agriculture, horticulture, soil science, aquaculture, environmental, social justice website available. It’s sickening. Constant contact must sell me left and right… Anyway, one of the many emails I get every week comes from The Organic Consumers Association
and they actually are worth opening up and reading. Yes. That’s right. I suggest you click on this link – scroll through the page – and actually read one or more of their articles. Not everything they write about is interesting to me, but every time I make the time to read the newsletter, I’m glad I did. The honey bee information has been my favorite. It’s incredible what’s going on and how our bees are being effected. Check it out.
DGG is a sister company to Wildflower Farms, our organic landscape design company based out of Half Moon Bay, California.
For information and to get started on your next landscape project please contact Jennifer at Wildflower Farms or 650-726-5883