An update on the USDA allowing non-organic products in organic items

When the USDA stated that it was going to allow 38 non-organic items to be included under the “organic” label, it received more than 10,000 comments from consumers and family farmers who were adamantly opposed to this. They claim that this is just an “interim approval,” and that they will extend this so that the public can comment upon it within the next 60 days.
One of the groups that filed a complaint against this is The Organic Consumers Association. They actually filed a petition during the first 7 days after this approval was issued. The USDA has to publish these comments online. They can be found at http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5225.cfm You will discover that out of all of the comments listed here, 99% of them shows that the public is very opposed to the USDA passing this proposal.

During the interim time in which the USDA allows for these products to be used while receiving public comment, there are some things that you need to be aware of. This is because some foods that are marked as “organic” are already using non-organic products. These include: Anheuser Busch's "Organic Wild Hops Beer," which does not include any organic hops at all; sausages, brats, and breakfast links labeled as "USDA Organic" can now contain intestines from farm animals that have raised on chemically grown feed, synthetic hormones and antibiotics; and those products that contain fish oil may have PCBs and mercury in them.

This just goes to show that companies like Kraft, Wal-Mart and Anheuser-Busch, who are profit-driven, actually have more sway over the USDA than family farmers, independent organic producers and consumers combined. Luckily, those foods that are labeled “100% organic” will still be required to be 100% organic. This means that this rule will only apply to products that are 95% organic or less. So, if you carefully read ingredient labels and look for the label to say “100% organic” you will be fine. Another option is to purchase your foods only from local family farmers at your local farmers market.

If you would like to take action, you can send a letter to the USDA. Their address is:ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION ·6771 SOUTH SILVER HILL DRIVE·FINLAND, MN 55603 USA

Of course, you can also email them at adam@organicconsumers.org

To keep up to date on this information, you can go to http://www.organicconsumers.org

USDA says OK to adding 38 nonorganic foods to the organic food list

This past Friday the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the proposal to allow 38 nonorganic ingredients to be used in foods that are certified "USDA Organic." Thankfully there are 60 days in which we, as the public, can comment upon this. Just in the past month alone, the USDA received more than 1,000 complaints that pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones should not be used in food.

Some manufacturers pushed for this change because they claim that the 38 items are minor ingredients. Further arguments include the fact that these companies claim that these products are hard to find in their organic form. These items include 19 food colorings, 2 starches, hops, sausage casings, fish oil, chipotle chili pepper, gelatin, celery powder, dill weed oil, frozen lemon grass, Wakame seaweed, Turkish bay leaves and whey protein concentrate. Companies argue that allowing small amounts of these nonorganic ingredients to be used will allow for more "mostly organic" foods to be created.

People are now arguing that if the label says that the product is organic, then everything in that food should be organic. There should be no exception allowing for companies to put nonorganic things in a product that is labeled "organic." This only makes sense. Unfortunately, there are a lot of foods, such as cereal, sausage, bread, beer, pasta, candy and soup mixes, that will be affected by this ruling.

Considering the fact that organic sales have more than doubled in the last 5 years alone, the USDA seems to not be listening to the public, but to their pocketbooks instead. Statistics show that big food makers such as General Mills, Kellogs and Kraft are now contributing to the array of foods that use to only be available from mom-and-pop farms. The reason why it took a while for big food makers to take note of this probably has to do with the fact that this is not conventional. In fact, current USDA regulations define "organic" as having no chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, bioengineering or pesticides. It also states that animals must be raised without antibiotics or growth hormones and given access to free range (outdoors).

For those people who truly want to eat only organic foods, this is going to cause a huge problem. Therefore, if you are concerned about this issue, the time is now to stand up and do something about it. Take a moment to email your state's government officials and have them put pressure on the USDA. If you stand up, the FDA will have to take notice.

Teflon Is Forever

For decades now DuPont has sold us what many would consider a nonstick wonder, but what DuPont has failed to tell us is that Teflon sticks to us. This is because Teflon gets its nonstick properties from a toxic, nearly indestructible chemical that is called pfoa, or perfluorooctanoic acid. Nevertheless, Teflon is used in numerous products today, including cookware, children's pajamas and takeout coffee cups.

The Environmental Protection Agency has just finished up a study that shows that pfoa is a human carcinogen. It can be found in the bloodstream of almost every American, even in newborn babies wherein it causes decreased birth weight and head circumference. So, while DuPont claims that Teflon makes "cleanup a breeze," cleansing ourselves from the chemical pfoa is nearly impossible.

DuPont has always known a lot more about Teflon than they would like to let on. In fact, after just 2 years of operation the EPA fined the company $16.5 million for having covered up their knowledge about Teflon for decades. What was the knowledge that was covered up? It was knowledge of the fact that pfoa can cause cancer, birth defects, immune suppression, developmental problems and liver damage. This is just one of the many lawsuits that has been brought against DuPont in regards to their use of Teflon.

So, how do we as humans inhale Teflon? Well, it can be found in a wide variety of places, including: when rugs and upholstery that have been treated with Teflon begin to wear down; 70% of the cookware that is sold; the paper that pizza slices are placed upon; microwave popcorn bags, ice cream cartons and other food packages; mascara; dental floss; and some personal care products. Of course, there is also pfoa in Scotchgard but they have stopped using the chemical now that they know that it contaminates entire populations of people. However, if you have ever used Scotchgard on your carpeting, it is still there.

Unfortunately, DuPont and its supporters like to deny these facts. They seem to think that by avoiding these issues they will just magically go away. These people will tell you that there is no health threat from their products even though lab tests show otherwise. While DuPont claims that they are going to get rid of people's need for Teflon products, all they are doing is taking out ads claiming that Teflon actually make lives better, safer and healthier.

Organic food

I've recently sampled some organic food that I've really enjoyed. I can honestly say that I can taste the difference between it and the chemically laden foods. As such, I've started purchasing organic vegetables and meat for my family. These are the only vegetables and meat that I'll be having in my home from now on. Of course, I can't make restaraunts and others purchase and use these things so we'll still eat them while visiting these people/places. In my home though I'm only going to have organic meat and veggies. I wish I could say that we were only going to eat organic everything but right now as a single mom and home business owner, that simply isn't feasible. I'm looking forward to seeing how much better we feel once we've been eating these things for a while because it definitely has to help. Since we only eat a few snacks a day though I honestly don't think that nonorganic will be a big part of our lives.

Green vacations

Now that it is June, you are probably thinking about where you want to go on vacation this year. If you care about the Earth, then you should consider leaving behind less carbon, regardless of where your vacation takes you this year. This is not as difficult to do as you may think. There are a lot of inexpensive ecotourism options available. Here are some of the things that you need to keep in mind whenever you begin planning your carbon-reduced vacation. Most of these tips will also reduce your credit card bill.

Whether you are going to or coming from your vacation destination, you should try not to fly or drive. Instead, you should travel by either electric train or bus. If this is not a viable option for you, then you should at least fill up your car with ethanol-blended fuel. Once you get to your destination, make sure that you walk or bike to places as much as possible.

Regardless as to where you stay on your vacation, you should try to make your accommodations at least as low-impact as they are at home. You could even make them even more low-impact than they are at home by camping out. This is about as eco-friendly as you can get. However, you do need to make sure that you do not start a forest fire. On the other hand, if camping just is not for you, then you should try to stay in an eco-friendly hotel or bed and breakfast. You can find these places by looking at the Green Hotels Association.

Whenever it comes to purchasing souvenirs to bring back from you vacation, make sure to support the local green economy. You can do this by making sure that the items that you are purchasing are putting at least some money into the pockets of local people who are working to build up low-carbon or carbon-neutral businesses in the state.