Proven in the Jungles of Vietnam as Part of Agent Orange!

Dow Chemical is seeking USDA approval for a genetically engineered (GE) version of corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a herbicide that was used in the formulation of the highly toxic defoliant Agent Orange.  Agent Orange (half 2,4-D by composition) was extensively used in Vietnam by the military to destroy forests and crops.

Dow’s Christmas gift for America was formally announced, by the USDA, in the December 27, 2011 edition of the Federal Register.  If the federal government wants to bury something in the news, and burn up part of our window to publicly respond, you can bet they’ll do it around the holidays.  The public has 60 days to comment on Dow’s petition for deregulation, and can do so online at:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0103-0001

Weeds are increasingly adapting to Monsanto’s genetically engineered line of crops that rely on the use of a different herbicide, glyphosate, which Monsanto markets as Round-up®.  This is leading competitors, like Dow, and proponents of GE agriculture to look for weed killing alternatives.  Herbicides more toxic than Round-up® appear to be next up in the pipeline. Read Full Article »

Posted in Action Alerts

Sign and Mail Your Proxy Letter
Protect Organics from Synthetic Additives and Factory Farms

We are continuing to collect proxies to present to the spring meeting of National Organic Standards Board to keep the pressure on the decision makers.

Please take a moment to print, sign and mail the proxy letter today!

The organic label was founded on the idea that food should be produced in concert with nature, without dangerous chemicals and synthetic ingredients. Another organic value: animals should be raised on real farms that treat them with respect, not exploited on “factory farms.”

Since the government began regulating the organic label, corporate agribusinesses and their lobbyists have been doing everything in their power to co-opt the values the organic movement was founded upon while taking a larger slice of the profit pie.

We were promised change under the Obama administration, but the corrupt alliance between the USDA and corporate agribusiness remains strong with wholesale approval of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) while federal officials look the other way as the organic law continues to be compromised.

At their upcoming meeting, the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has the opportunity to close loopholes and strengthen the regulations, but a handful of corporate sector Board members are attempting to do the exact opposite: watering down the standards.

Corporate lobbyists will be at the NOSB meeting at this spring – and so will we, to counter their claims and make sure your voice, supporting organic integrity, is heard.

Please take a moment to print, sign and mail the proxy letter with these requests:

Read Full Article »

Posted in Action Alerts

Despite the risks, the USDA has now made it clear that they are not interested in regulating Monsanto’s GE Alfalfa. They approved it January 27th for planting this spring by farmers with no restrictions.

Tell President Obama that you don’t want organic and conventional agriculture contaminated by GE Alfalfa, and that you have a right to eat meat, dairy, and eggs from livestock who consume non-genetically engineered crops.

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a fundamental source of livestock forage for dairy and beef farmers. Livestock farmers consider it the “queen of legumes.”

Alfalfa is a perennial crop that is open-pollinated by bees and other insects – with a pollination radius as large as 5 miles. Monsanto’s controversial genetically engineered alfalfa threatens to contaminate both conventional and organic agriculture year after year with the drift and spread of its novel DNA. It has sparked an ongoing court battle and stiff opposition from both conventional and organic farmers, seed producers, beekeepers, exporters, and a mix of food and farm groups, retailers and organic food manufacturers.

Contact President Obama and let him know that the USDA’s approval of GE Alfalfa is dangerous, unacceptable, and MUST be reversed.

Tell him and the first lady, Michelle Obama, to think about the organic garden in their back yard and whether they want their two daughters to have access to natural, organic food, without genetic contamination, in perpetuity.

President Barack Obama:

Phone: (202) 456-1111
Fax: (202) 456-2461
Email: Contact the Whitehouse

For a fact sheet with additional information on GE Alfalfa, click here. Read Full Article »

Posted in Action Alerts

Infant Formula Warning Labels Needed

“How traumatic for my child to have to experience a time that should be of comfort and closeness to me, to be so disturbing and painful,” a mother wrote to the FDA. Her 4-month old infant daughter experienced severe gastrointestinal distress and stomach cramping from infant formula supplemented with DHA and ARA oils. This mother learned that DHA/ARA may cause side effects, and her baby’s symptoms disappeared as soon as she switched to a non-DHA/ARA-supplemented formula.

Another mother had a similar experience with her 3-month old infant son. When her son’s diarrhea disappeared as soon as she switched to formula without DHA and ARA, she wrote to the FDA: “Today was the first day in three months that he actually had a firm stool with no sign of diarrhea.” My baby is not an experiment. Mead Johnson should be ashamed of itself for allowing this to happen and the FDA should take responsibility for our health and the health of our children.”

Help us put an end to this unnecessary suffering and write to the FDA Commissioner today. Read Full Article »

Posted in Action Alerts

“Raw” Almonds Must Soon be Steam-Heated or Treated with Toxic Chemical

CORNUCOPIA, WI: Small-scale farmers, retailers, and consumers are outraged over a new federal regulation that will require all almonds grown in California to be sterilized with various “pasteurization” techniques. The rule, which the USDA quietly developed in response to outbreaks of Salmonella in 2001 and 2004, traced to raw almonds, mandates that all almonds undergo a sterilization process that includes chemical and/or high-temperature treatments.

Although the final rule was just published in the Federal Register, The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group, is asking the USDA to reopen the proceeding for public comment. Cornucopia contends that the rule was never effectively announced to the public, and that the reasoning behind both the necessity and safety of the sterilization processes should be questioned before the rule goes into effect this September.

Click here to read a comprehensive fact sheet on the almond issue. Read Full Article »

Posted in Action Alerts