Toxic GMOs and Preserving Organic Standards

VIEW THIS ISSUE ONLINE | SUBSCRIBE & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Hot Off the Press: Rats Fed GMO Corn Die Young What happens when rats are fed a lifetime diet of Monsanto's GMO corn, or exposed to Monsanto's top-selling weedkiller, Roundup? It's not pretty. Tumors. Kidney damage. Liver damage. In a study released yesterday - the first-ever long-term study of its kind - French scientists reported that rats fed a diet containing the herbicide-tolerant GM maize, or given water containing Roundup in amounts considered safe in drinking water and GM crops in the US, died sooner than the rats fed just the standard diet. Will this be enough to make the FDA start conducting independent testing of GMO's - before allowing these products into our food supply? Or will the FDA continue to pander to Monsanto and tell us that GMO products are 'not substantially different' than non-GMO products? Read the news here Video about the study Read the study here, including photos of the GMO-fed rats (PDF) Things You Don't Want in Your Organic Food... Oxidized lignite from coal, fertilizer additives that cause acid rain, the pesticide PGML that harms beneficial soil organisms, synthetic nutrients to keep chickens alive under factory farm conditions, synthetic ingredients in infant formula. These could all be OK'd by the National Organic Standards Board for USDA certified organic food if we don't speak out. Take action Tell the NPA to Stop Putting the "Natural" Seal on Products that Contain GMOs! Consumers beware! Products bearing the NPA Natural Seal are not as natural as you think. The Natural Products Association (NPA) has certified more than 800 personal care products with its NPA Natural Seal – and many of those products contain genetically modified ingredients. The NPA, whose members include DuPont, Bayer, and BASF – all of whom have contributed millions of dollars to defeat Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, - has sided with the biotech industry by publicly opposing Prop 37. Tell the NPA to put the "Natural" back in "Natural" and stop deceiving consumers with its NPA Natural Seal on products that contain GMOs! Send a message to the NPA Read the press release Support OCA and OCF If You Eat Food, This Is Your Fight In less than 3 weeks, California voters will begin casting their ballots – yes or no – on Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. By November 6, the most critical – and winnable – battle to label GMOs will be decided. This is a battle that pits the people – you, me, moms, dads, rich, poor, young, old - against fat-cat pesticide, biotech, and junk-food corporations who for years have shamelessly manipulated science, the political system, and the truth in order to rack up obscene profits at the expense of your health and safety. This is a battle we must win. The opposition has raised more than $32 million to kill this initiative. Monsanto alone has kicked in $7.1 million. Please read Ronnie's latest letter about why this battle is so critical, and how you can help win it. And then, if you haven't already pitched in, help us reach our $1 million goal by Sept. 30. And please share this letter with as many people as possible. Thank you! Read Ronnie's letter Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps  support our public education work against GMOs and chemical food, and our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and sustainable farming) Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in California and other states) Whole Foods: Stand Against Forced Child Labor & Worker Rights Abuses Sign the petition! Why is Whole Foods buying chocolate from Hershey's - a company that exploits children for profit? According to a U.S. Government-funded study, over 1.8 million children work in West Africa's cocoa industry. Many of these children are exposed to dangerous working conditions and some are even trafficked and sold off to perform grueling labor. Every major chocolate maker has agreed to make a major commitment to sourcing ethical chocolate, but Hershey's – the maker of Dagoba and Scharffenberger - refuses to budge. In August, a coalition of grocery stores called on Hershey's to commit to using ethically sourced cocoa. Unfortunately, Whole Foods refused to sign the coalition's appeal. Surprised? You shouldn't be. After all, UNFI, Whole Foods primary supplier, wants to force its employees who perform dangerous warehouse work to accept unfair compensation in spite of posting record profits. It's time for Whole Foods and UNFI to respect workers' rights and join other natural food stores in pointing out to Hershey's that ethically sourcing a small amount of the company's overall chocolate does not erase the fact that most of Hershey's profits are earned at the expense of children. Sign the petition to Whole Foods and UNFI! Join the Seed Freedom Movement Global Citizens Alliance for Seed Freedom is a global campaign to alert citizens and governments around the world on how precarious our seed supply has become – and as a consequence how precarious our food security has become. From October 2nd (Gandhi's Birth Anniversary), to October 16th (World Food Day) Global Alliance for Seed Freedom is planning a Global Seed Freedom Fortnight of Action. Click here to learn more about events planned, and how you can get involved "Seed is the source of life and the first link in the food chain. Control over seed means control over our lives, our food, and our freedom." Watch this inspirational message from Vandana Shiva Monsanto Gets Shut Down! On September 12 activists calling themselves the Genetic Crimes Unit shut down shipping and receiving access points at Monsanto's Oxnard seed distribution facility. By peacefully blocking the exit and access points the group effectively shut down the distribution of genetically engineered seeds for a day. The Monsanto shut-down kicked off a week of Occupy Monsanto actions, with 75 events worldwide. Photos and video at Occupy Monsanto Little Bytes Essential Reading for the Week National Advertising Review Board Determines that Fair Trade USA's "Fair Trade Certified" Labels Should Reveal Percentage of Fair Trade Content in Body Care Products What the Study Forgot to Mention: Organic Food Can Save the World From Devastating Climate Change Occupy Your Victories: Occupy Wall Street's First Anniversary Raj Patel: Big Ag Can't Feed the World – Here's Who Can Message From Our Sponsors OCA is happy to announce a new membership offer from Green Polka Dot Box... OCA is happy to announce a new membership offer from Green Polka Dot Box. We encourage you to join this national buying club and save money on organic food delivered to your door. Mearn more here and watch the introduction video Connect With OCA! Facebook Pages: organicconsumers millionsagainst comingclean Twitter Feeds: @organicconsumer @againstmonsanto @OCA_comingclean More: rss feed youtube channel Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! Organic Bytes is a publication of Organic Consumers Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652 Subscribe & Read past issues and print- friendly PDF versions of Organic Bytes