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Subject: Organic Bytes: Clones, Whole Foods Alert, Mercury in Flu Shots, & More..

Hello W. L., ORGANIC BYTES #122 Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge! 11/15/2007 Written and edited by Craig Minowa and Ronnie Cummins IN THIS ISSUE ALERT: MILK FROM CLONES TO HIT U.S. MARKET SOON ALERT: WHOLE FOODS MARKET SELLING FACTORY FARMED MEAT ALERT UPDATE: CONGRESSMAN SLAMMED FOR CALLING ORGANIC CONSUMERS "DUMB" WEB TOOL OF THE WEEK: INTERACTIVE MAP OF U.S. FACTORY FARMS SUSTAINABILITY TIP OF THE WEEK: HAVE A GREEN THANKSGIVING--BUY LOCAL, ORGANIC, & FAIR TRADE SYNTHETIC MULTIVITAMIN SALES GO THROUGH THE ROOF IN 2007 ,BUT DO WE REALLY NEED THEM? HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK: MOST FLU VACCINES CONTAIN MERCURY QUICK RELATED QUOTE & FACTS THIS WEEK'S HOT TOPICS IN OCA'S WEB FORUM FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR STATE ALERT: MILK FROM CLONES TO HIT U.S. MARKET SOON The Senate is still wrangling over the 2007-2012 Farm Bill. One new consumer-friendly amendment, vehemently opposed by the biotech industry, would force the FDA to reverse its current controversial regulations on milk from cloned animals. Despite widespread opposition from the OCA and other consumer groups, the FDA has approved the commercialization of milk from cloned animals as "safe" and will not require labels. The newly proposed Mikulski amendment to the 2007 Farm Bill would require the FDA to place a temporary moratorium on cloned milk and examine its potential health hazards for animals and humans. We have updated our Farm Bill alert to address this issue. Contact your Senators here: Take action here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_7765.cfm ___________________________________ ALERT: WHOLE FOODS MARKET SELLING FACTORY FARMED MEAT The FDA recently sent a warning letter to one of the largest feedlots in the U.S.. According to the FDA, the company, Beef Northwest, has been administering drugs to its livestock above legal limits. The company has also been receiving complaints from employees of three of its feedlots for exploiting its workers and blocking their right to form a union. The meat is sold under the brand "Country Natural Beef". A full 60 percent of this meat is sold by Whole Foods Market. Please join workers in calling for Whole Foods to take action. Demand a public accounting of what steps they have taken to ensure that the Country Natural Beef sold in their stores does not contain unsafe levels of drugs. Demand that Whole Foods respects the rights of workers to form a union. Send your e-mail today! Go to: http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/beef?rk=V138M1K1QK3eW _______________________________ ALERT UPDATE: CONGRESSMAN SLAMMED FOR CALLING ORGANIC CONSUMERS "DUMB" Thousands of readers responded to the Organic Consumers Association alert last week regarding an outrageous statement made by Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson. Speaking to the U.K. Financial Times, Peterson uttered the following: "For whatever reason, people are willing to pay two or three times as much for something that says 'organic' or 'local'. Far be it from me to understand what that's about, but that's reality. And if people are dumb enough to pay that much then hallelujah." The Congressman's low regard for local and organic food is especially unfortunate, given that he is the Chair of the House Agriculture Committee, formulating farm policies, programs and funding for agriculture across the nation. After a deluge of irate letters from OCA readers, Congressman Peterson seems to have undergone a miraculous change of heart, stating in a press release: "I will continue to seek solutions and identify opportunities to improve public policies that support organic, locally grown and sustainable agriculture." With respect for anonymity, we have removed all identity and contact information and have posted copies of many of your letters to our website. Read what other organic consumers had to say to Mr. Peterson: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8153.cfm ___________________________________ We need your support today to protect the rights of organic consumers and family farmers. http://www.organicconsumers.org/donations.htm ________________________________   WEB TOOL OF THE WEEK: INTERACTIVE MAP OF U.S. FACTORY FARMS Are their any CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) factory farms near you? Find out with this new interactive online map: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/ ___________________________________ photo parody SUSTAINABILITY TIP OF THE WEEK: HAVE A GREEN THANKSGIVING--BUY LOCAL, ORGANIC, & FAIR TRADE According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly half of all food in the U.S. goes to waste. Next week, millions of Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday that most often nowadays revolves around a massive meal, followed the next day by the heaviest shopping day of the year. Of course Thanksgiving was not originally conceived as an orgy of over consumption and shopping, but rather as a holiday to celebrate family, community, and the local harvest. So why don't we go back to the original spirit of Thanksgiving this year by buying healthy organic and locally grown foods from our community co-op, farmers market or independent grocer, boycotting sweatshop products, and staying out of the Big Box chains? -Use the Organic Consumers Association's extensive online database to find local food and other organic, green, and fair trade products and retailers near you: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc/BuyingGuide.cfm - Offset your carbon footprint from your Thanksgiving travels and/or entertaining by using the quick and easy NativeEnergy.com carbon emissions calculator to purchase green energy. -80% of the garbage generated by Americans during the holiday season is from gift wrap and shopping bags. Consider how you can green your gifts this year. One option is to donate to your favorite nonprofit organization in your loved one's name (hint, hint, hint). ___________________________________ Make a tax deductible donation to the Organic Consumers Association as a gift for yourself or a loved one this holiday season: http://www.organicconsumers.org/donations.htm ________________________________   SYNTHETIC MULTIVITAMIN SALES GO THROUGH THE ROOF IN 2007 BUT DO WE REALLY NEED THEM? The year's sales figures are in: According to Nutrition Business Journal, the dietary supplement market went from a $14 billion industry in 1999 to a $22.4 billion industry in 2007. But many nutrition experts are advising people to focus more on their diet than on purchasing synthetic supplements. "With some medical exceptions, there¹s no reason to take vitamins if you have a decent diet,² says Pete Anderson, a lecturer in nutritional sciences at UW-Madison. According to Dr. Chad Oler, N.D., the only supplements worth taking are non-synthetic supplements made from whole foods, since the purpose of a supplement is to fill in gaps where the nutrition is not acquired through food. ³Ninety-five to 98 percent of the stuff over the counter is crapŠ they use cheap, raw materials that are not bio-available, meaning that the body, even if it can absorb it, cannot utilize the nutrients very well,² he said. The general rule of thumb in distinguishing a truly natural vitamin from a synthetic is that most synthetics advertise highly inflated daily values of a given nutrient, which can actually damage the body. Stick to a naturally occurring, organic if possible multivitamin that has 100 percent of the recommended daily intake or less. Learn more about this issue in OCA's "Nutri-con" campaign headquarters: http://www.organicconsumers.org/nutricon.cfm ___________________________________ HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK: MOST FLU VACCINES CONTAIN MERCURY Flu season is right around the corner. Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that almost everyone, including pregnant women, get flu vaccinations, few of the 130 million people receiving this vaccination each year realize that most flu shots contain harmful dosages of mercury. About 80% of all flu shots distributed in the United States contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. According to health officials, people getting flu-shots need to request a thimerosal-free vaccination. These vaccines cost roughly $4 more to manufacture and distribute. Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8370.cfm __________________________________ QUICK RELATED QUOTE & FACTS: QUOTE: "There's no conclusive scientific evidence that the amount of mercury one might get from a flu shot is linked with any neurological development outcome that's negative." --- Jeanne Santoli, deputy director of immunization services division for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention FACT: A typical flu shot contains 50,000 parts per billion of mercury. FACT: The EPA classifies a liquid with 200 parts per billion of mercury as hazardous waste. FACT: The legal "safe" limit for mercury in drinking water is 2 parts per billion FACT: For each flu-shot, a 22-pound baby gets more than 25 times the amount of mercury considered safe. And doctors are recommending that many babies and children get two flu shots this season. FACT: A material safety data sheet from Eli Lilly and Co., a former producer of flu vaccines, says exposure to thimerosal may include "fetal changes, decreased offspring survival and lung tissue changes. Exposure in utero and in children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment." ___________________________________ THIS WEEK'S HOT TOPICS IN OCA'S WEB FORUM OCA's new web forum now has over a thousand members! Have you joined the action yet? If not, here is a ranking of the hottest topics in the forum this week. Click here to read more and join in the discussions: http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php 1) Do You Have Chemical Sensitivity? Share your stories. 2) Poll: Is It Okay To Eat Meat? New Study Says Yes. What Do You Think? 3) What is the National Animal Identification System? 4) Electromagnetic Radiation (emr) 5) Help For Psoriasis _________________________________ FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR STATE We have recently begun revamping our state pages to make them more accessible so that people can learn and share information about events, news, groups, and campaigns in their state. We want your help in keeping the state pages as relevant and up to date as possible. We are striving to get up a new campaign each month, but we can't do that without your help. You can help by becoming a writer for OCA. Please email us campaign updates. You can also send us ideas for campaigns if you are not sure how to write them up for the site, and we will work with you to develop a campaign update. Email your ideas to volunteer@organicconsumers.org Please take a moment to add an event, news story or green business by going to any OCA webpage, choosing your state in the dropdown menu in the left-hand navigation bar and clicking on the "Become a news scout" link on your state page. __________________________________ ******** support our supporters********* ORGANIC FAST FOOD NATION? From natural school lunches to building green; from organic wine and organic fast food on the rise to the big fight over bottled water; from the 100-mile (local) diet to the greening of our cars. E - The Environmental Magazine guides you to eco-friendly products, healthy food choices, fun eco-travel, more effective activism, and so much more! See why USA Today says E “does an excellent job” and the Washington Post says E is “bursting with good reading.” Subscribe now to this special offer – and give E as a gift for the holidays, too! ____________________________ HIMALAYAN SALT CRYSTAL LAMPS Three hundred million years ago, a vast primordial ocean covered the area that would become the Himalayan mountain range. The salt of that unpolluted ocean was preserved as large crystal formations, which now yield the purest salt on earth. Aloha Bay's Himalayan Salt lamps emit negative ions. These ions cleanse the air by removing dust, pollen, dander, and cigarette smoke. They also offset the harmful radiation produced by computer monitors, TVs, and other electrical devices. Learn more: http://www.alohabay.com/salt_crystal_lights/index.html   Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on websites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! __________________________________ NOTE TO CO-OP AND NATURAL FOOD STORE SUBSCRIBERS: Organic Bytes is a great tool for keeping your staff and customers up to date on the latest issues. Feel free to forward this email to your staff and print for posting on bulletin boards and staff break tables. You are also welcome to use this material for your newsletters. There's an attractive print-friendly PDF version of this available for free download at http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.cfm _________________________________ ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of: ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION 6771 South Silver Hill Drive Finland, Minnesota 55603 Phone: (218)- 226-4164 Fax: (218) 353-7652 __________________________________ Subscribe: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm Safe Unsubscribe: http://organicconsumers.org/unsuborganicbytes.cfm You are subscribed as: vabill@PEOPLEPC.COM Change your subscription settings to receive Organic Bytes as plain text here: __________________________________   xaxa340543

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