Hungry in America

Growing numbers of people in the U.S. are going hungry each day. Not only are the ranks of the poor and hungry multiplying, but now even working class and middle class families and individuals are showing up at soup kitchens and food stamp offices.

“Hungry in America” is a feature-length documentary that reveals the depth of the food crisis and the courageous efforts of those fighting hunger on the front lines. The new film looks at the root causes of this growing problem, and asks the tough questions about how a rich nation that could feed all its people has failed to do so.

WATCH THE TRAILER

OCA Needs Your Help to Spread the Organic Revolution

OCA and a growing corps of organic consumers understand that we have a positive healthy solution for the nation and the globe’s food, health, economic, and climate crisis: organic food, farming, and ranching. But to get out our all-important message we need your support and your donations. For the next three weeks a California Foundation has agreed to match your donations dollar for dollar. So please send us a tax-deductible donation today.

PLEASE DONATE

Organic News OF THE WEEK

Revolutionary Food Labeling Helps Swedes Cut Carbon

Last week, we reported on cutting-edge research by the Rodale Institute demonstrating that by transitioning all of the world’s farmland to organic, we could sequester 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As Rodale and more and more soil scientists are pointing out, if we could combine a mass transition to organic agriculture with restorative grazing and forestry, we could sequester 100% of global greenhouse gas emissions!

It’s great to know we have a time-tested, low-tech, grassroots organic solution for global warming and climate chaos, but the burning question is how do we launch and supercharge this food, farming, and forestry revolution in time to save the planet? The Swedes have come up with a simple but revolutionary idea to actively mobilize consumers to do the right thing and strike a blow against global warming and chemical/GMO/energy-intensive agriculture, processing, and distribution: new food labels on grocery store and restaurant items listing the specific carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions embedded in each product.

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Alert of the Week

Stop Siddiqui!

Islam Siddiqui has been nominated as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. If Congress confirms Siddiqui, he will no doubt continue to undermine public health, biodiversity, climate stability and food security as the "inside man" in the Obama Administration for his former clients at CropLife (a front group for genetic engineering and chemical-intensive agribusiness corporations including Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont and Dow Chemical).

Croplife America’s regional partner, Mid America CropLife Association, notoriously "shuddered" at Michelle Obama’s organic garden and launched a letter writing campaign in protest, saying that Michelle’s rejection of toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the White House Garden was a slap in the face for Food Inc. and America’s chemically-addicted farmers.

Another Washington wheeler-dealer using the revolving door between government and big business, Siddiqui formerly worked for Clinton’s pro-biotech USDA. Siddiqui gained notoriety in 1997-98 as an insider pushing for the infamous proposed USDA regulations for national organic standards that would have allowed toxic sewage sludge, irradiated foods, and genetically modified organisms to be labeled "organic." After a nationwide SOS (Save Organic Standards) campaign, led by the OCA and our allies, which generated an unprecedented backlash, Siddiqui and his cohorts backed down and withdrew their proposals.

It’s time to take down Siddiqui and his cohorts

once again. We must tell the Senate to reject President Obama’s nomination of Siddiqui as the Agricultural Trade Representative.

TAKE ACTION

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Quote of the Week: Obama, Which Side Are You On?

"Organic agriculture can feed the world, turn back climate change and make food production more resilient to droughts and floods. Organic agriculture can do it with biodiversity instead of biotech, greenhouse gas sequestration instead of emissions, natural pest management instead of toxic pesticides, humus-rich compost instead of fossil fuel fertilizers and sewage sludge, more family farmers and better conditions for farm workers."

"The question of which agriculture model will dominate food production is a question we only have one opportunity to answer. Once a seed or animal variety is extinct or contaminated with foreign genes, we will never get it back. In an age when a billion people are stuffed while a billion people are starved, most people on the planet suffer from either poor nutrition, exposure to toxic ingredients, diet-related diseases, or all three. Agriculture is a life and death issue for all of us."

"So, which side is the Obama Administration on?"

-Alexis Baden-Mayer, "Obama Supports Food Inc.’s World Domination and All We Get Is the White House Garden?" October 23, 2009      

READ MORE AND TAKE ACTION

A major reason why consumers shop for products that are certified organic is to avoid hazardous and unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), toxic chemicals, and now the most recent, and likely most dangerous hi-tech poison of them all – nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is now a multi-billion dollar Frankenstein monster industry churning out a vast menu of untested and unlabeled products containing tiny nanoparticles including non-organic vitamin supplements, food packaging, processed food, cosmetics, and sunscreens.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has been debating an official ban on nanotechnology in organic. When it meets November 3-5, 2009 in Washington, D.C., the NOSB will consider a recommendation supported by the the OCA and the organic community that would "prohibit nanotechnology in organic production, processing, and packaging."

Nanotechnology is inherently dangerous. Mounting scientific evidence indicates that nanomaterials produce dangerous "free radicals" which can destroy or mutate DNA and can cause damage to the liver and kidneys. Nanotech particles not only injure and kill lab animals – they can kill you as well.

Every day, new evidence of the dangers of nanotechnology emerges:

· Workplace nanoparticle exposure was linked to seven cases of serious and progressive lung disease in China including two patient deaths.

· Nanoparticles present in a chemical found in sunscreens – titanium dioxide – are being examined as possibly causing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Tell the USDA that you want the National Organic Standards Board to take a strong stand against the use of nanotechnology in organic. Please act before the October 19 deadline.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps filed its Second Amended Complaint today in San Francisco Superior Court against falsely labeled "organic" personal care companies that use non-organic pesticide-intensive agricultural and/or petrochemical material to make the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients in their products. Defendants include, among others: Hain-Celestial (Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic; Avalon "Organics"); Levlad (Nature’s Gate "Organics"); Kiss My Face "Organic"; YSL Beaute Inc (Stella McCartney’s "100% Organic Active Ingredients"), Country Life (Desert Essence "Organics"); Giovanni "Organic Cosmetics"; and the certifiers Ecocert and OASIS.

Learn more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working for over five years to force a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) on American farmers and animal owners. NAIS is designed to identify and track each and every individual livestock and poultry animal, even those owned by family farmers, hobby farmers, homesteaders, and pet owners. [...]

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps filed its Second Amended Complaint today in San Francisco Superior Court against falsely labeled "organic" personal care companies that use non-organic pesticide-intensive agricultural and/or petrochemical material to make the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients in their products. Defendants include, among others: Hain-Celestial (Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic; Avalon "Organics"); Levlad (Nature’s Gate "Organics"); Kiss My Face "Organic"; YSL Beaute Inc (Stella McCartney’s "100% Organic Active Ingredients"), Country Life (Desert Essence "Organics"); Giovanni "Organic Cosmetics"; and the certifiers Ecocert and OASIS.

Learn more

Dean Foods’ WhiteWave division has announced it will release a new non-organic "natural" version of its popular Horizon dairy products. Horizon is the largest organic dairy brand in the marketplace, and many consumers will likely alternatively purchase the Horizon "natural (conventional) " brand at a premium and at a time when organic dairy farmers are already experiencing record losses.

Learn more…