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!

2010 New Year’s Resolution: Boycott Chemical & GMO Foods, Eat Organically

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

To get more info about the climate negotiations in Copenhagen the past couple weeks, read here.

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.

“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.”

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!

Corp Watch

OCA

Greenwash Report

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.

“The potential elimination of farmers’ choice to grow nongenetically engineered crops, or consumers’ choice to eat nongenetically engineered food … has a significant effect on the human environment,” White wrote.

The plant inspection agency is reviewing the ruling, said spokeswoman Suzanne Bond.

A lesser level of review, known as an environmental assessment, found no significant impact from introducing a ground bacteria gene tolerant of the herbicide into the sugar beet genome, noting that if pollen spread the genes to wild beets, they were considered a weed, and no cause for concern.

The ruling was a second blow for St. Louis-based Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops. While soy beans, corn, cotton, and canola genetically engineered to withstand the company’s popular weed-killer have been in wide commercial production for years, a similar ruling in 2007 forced a ban on planting Roundup Ready alfalfa until a re-examination was done. That environmental impact statement is not yet done.

It was not immediately clear what impact the ruling would have on the U.S. sugar crop, about half of which comes from Roundup Ready sugar beets. The judge did not address the harvest of the current crop. Roundup Ready beet seed saves growers on labor, fuel costs and equipment wear.

But the organic farmers, food safety advocates and conservation groups that brought the lawsuit will ask the judge Oct. 30 for an injunction banning new plantings until the re-examination is done, said Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff.

American Sugar Beet Growers Association spokesman Luther Markwart said he did not know how much nongenetically altered seed was available if the judge grants the ban.

“Clearly we are going to vigorously defend our farmers’ freedom to plant Roundup Ready sugar beets,” Markwart said. “All this has to do with how we make our case.”

Most of the seed is produced in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but the crop is grown on 1.1 million acres in 11 states from Michigan to California, Markwart said.

Frank Morton, an organic seed grower in the Willamette Valley town of Philomath and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said steps were taken to keep similar crops apart to prevent cross-pollination, but Roundup Ready seed growers would not divulge which fields were growing genetically altered crops.

He added that he had to pay $300 each time he tested his seeds for genetic contamination, and the first time it is found the crop becomes worthless.

“This industry could be destroying the crop value of organic growers and organic growers would not have the slightest idea they were in danger until their stuff turned up contaminated,” he said. “This is why I made a stink about this.”

Achitoff said besides genetic contamination, they were concerned Roundup Ready crops were creating new strains of weeds resistant to herbicides.

Monsanto spokesman Garrett Kasper said from company headquarters in St. Louis that the ruling was largely procedural and did not question the safety of Roundup Ready crops.

“The issue of weed resistance, as far as we are concerned, is something that is able to be controlled through the properties of chemicals and working with our technical advisers in the field,” he said. “Roundup Ready technology uses less herbicide than conventional, which is why it was so readily adopted by growers.”

BetaSeed Inc. in Tangent, which produces sugar beet seed, did not immediately return a call for comment.

**From Google Hosted News

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.