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ORGANIC
Org a nic Consum er s A sso ci at ion
Alert: Tell Congress and Secretary Vilsack:
The Time for an Organic Future is Now!
We couldn't change the Agriculture Secretary, but we haven't given up the
hope of changing agriculture policy. For a report on the impact of OCA's
Stop Vilsack campaign, which generated over 100,000 emails to Barack
Obama and the Senate, and an introduction to OCA's follow-up campaign,
USDA Watch, visit organicconsumers.org/vilsack.cfm.
Now is the time to build the foundation for an organic and sustainable
future. You can share your vision for an organic future by urging our new
leaders to make healthy, energy-efficient, and carbon-sequestering organic
food and farming a priority. President Obama has called on all of us to take
responsibility and get involved. Let's take him up on it. Take action today!
1 · Contact Secretary Vilsack and tell him to support sustainable and
organic food and farming policies: organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16624.cfm
2 · Contact your Congresspersons and tell them that the time for an
organic future is now!: organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16625.cfm
3 · Send a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper. Raise your voice for
organic food and farming: organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16626.cfm
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OCA Polar Bears at the Inauguration
The OCA's Washington DC office, led by Alexis Baden-
Mayer, participated in the historic Inauguration of
Barack Obama by organizing a roving band of dancing
polar bears. OCA's Polar Bears Against War & Melting
Ice, amplified by a mobile disco, handed out 6,000 free
commemorative postcards and calendars and incited
celebratory crowds to dance in the streets.
While OCA is relieved and happy to ride the wave of hope that's sweeping
the country, we're also doing our best to make sure that the change Obama
is offering in terms of public policy is amplified and galvanized by a mas-
sive grassroots movement that can generate the major changes we need in
these hard and frightening times.
On Inauguration Day we took a break from dancing in the streets to cre-
ate a series of action alerts that you can use to contact President Obama,
the Congress, and each member of the newly confirmed Cabinet. At con-
firmation hearings before the Senate, the new cabinet members outlined
platforms for agriculture, health care, the economy, energy & global warm-
ing, the constitution & rule of law, environmental protection, labor rights,
immigration, war & peace, and other important issues facing the nation.
The Obama Administration and Congress are moving fast on many fronts
with a stimulus package, more bailout money, and big changes to Bush-era
policies. Act quickly to let the decision makers know what you think:
organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16459.cfm
Mercury Found In Nearly Half of All Corn Syrup
In a new study published Monday in the scientific journal Environmen-
tal Health, mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of
commercial high fructose corn syrup. The news is disturbing given that
this ingredient is present in a large portion of processed American foods.
According to David Wallinga, M.D., coauthor of the study, "Given how much
high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a signifi-
cant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling
for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable
mercury contamination of the food supply." A separate study by the Insti-
tute for Agriculture and Trade Policy detected mercury in nearly one-third
of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where high fructose
corn syrup is the first or second highest labeled ingredient-including prod-
ucts by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's.
organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16627.cfm
Writ ten and edited by Cr aig Minowa & Ronnie Cummins · Please post, distribute, & subscribe: organicconsumers.org/organicby tes.cfm
BY TES
w w w.org a n icconsum e r s.org
F o o d & C o n su m e r N e w s W e e k ly
Quote: Secrets of a Lunatic Farmer
"I'm a lunatic farmer, that's my new catch phrase. I have a Ph.D. That stands
for Post Hole Digger. Today we only need to buy toilet paper and Kleenex,
everything else we make here. The only reason the framers of the Bill of
Rights did not include freedom of food choice along with the right to bear
arms, worship and speech was that they couldn't conceive of the day when
food would have to have a USDA sticker on it." -Joel Salatin, owner and oper-
ator of the Polyface Farm in Staunton, Virginia
Is Infant Formula Safe?
An OCA Web Forum User Posted the Following Comment:
The reporting of the melamine contamination of infant formula in the US
has not been accurate and neither has the FDA been very informative about
the situation… If the problem is the processing of powdered milk (ultrafil-
tration) of various components in baby milks, then what brand you get is a
moot point. The fact is that infant formula has always been a risk but now
the risks are getting higher… The truly safest system of feeding infants is
breastfeeding. Yet, our society continues to perceive the solution to infant
feeding as creating a safe infant formula. The
infant formula industry has been working on
creating a safer infant formula, more like human
milk (in fact now they are genetically engineer-
ing human milk components) for decades. Efforts
would be better placed in encouraging, support-
ing and protecting breastfeeding. Read more
and join the conversation in OCA's Web Forum:
organicconsumers.org/forum/
Growing Organic on the White House Lawn
From 1800 up until the 1950s, US Presidents utilized the yard surround-
ing the White House to produce a portion of their own food with vegeta-
ble gardens, fruit trees, livestock and greenhouses. For the past 50 years,a
chemical and energy-intensive factory farm food system has displaced tra-
ditional organic practices, while the White House vegetable gardens have
long since been buried beneath a chemically managed, perfectly manicured
lawn. Enter 2009 and a new president who may consider bringing back the
old tradition of the White House Victory Garden.
Can the White House lawn become an organic symbol of America's
new future? Watch this video on the history of White House gardens:
organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16579.cfm
OCA at Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference
Washington, DC · February 4-6, 2009
Please join OCA at this national conference, sponsored by the Teamsters
Union, on "Making a Down Payment on the Green Economy." OCA Polit-
ical Director Alexis Baden-Mayer will be speaking in a workshop called,
"Building Quality Employment Opportunities in a Greening Supply Chain."
The focus of this workshop will be on efforts that link workers rights and
Fair Trade with energy and environmental sustainability and the public
good. The green economy, including a new system of energy-efficient and
carbon-sequestering organic food and farming will undoubtedly require
new types of transportation and logistics jobs. The question remains:
how we can ensure that these will be good, quality, socially beneficial and
responsible jobs? Learn more: www.greenjobsconference.org
Please Donate
The work of the Organic Consumer's Association, including Organic Bytes,
is all due to the generous contributions of our supporters. If you enjoy our
work, please donate today! Donate online: organicconsumers.org/donations.cfm