some of my favorite villians!

>From: biodemocracy@...
>Reply-To: biodemocracy@...
>To: <biodemocracy@...>
>Subject: [Biodemocracy]Organic Bytes #19
>Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 11:11:44 -0500
>
>ORGANIC BYTES
>Organic & Food News Tidbits with an Edge
>Issue #19 8/25/2003
>
>By Organic Consumers Association
>
>IN THIS ISSUE:
>QUOTE OF THE WEEK
>CANCER COKE & PESTICIDE PEPSI
>KEEP YOUR FRANKENSEEDS OUT OF OUR COUNTY
>MONSANTO FINED $700 MILLION
>MONSANTO'S BULLYING IN MAINE BACKFIRES
>GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A BRAIN
>GOVERNMENT WITH A BRAIN
>FOOD REVOLUTION ON WHEELS
>HOT, HOT, HOT!
>TAKE ACTION
>
>---------------------------------
>
>QUOTE OF THE WEEK
>"Mexicans are being forced to swallow the destruction of our number one

>food source [corn], and the health and environment of the people who
>depend on it, because governments around the world stand back and allow

>the US to force their trade and biotechnology corporations' interests
on
>other countries." Lisa Covantes, Mexico Greenpeace, part of a group of
>activists blockading a shipment of US corn entering Mexico August 18,
>2003
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/ge_maize_protest.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>CANCER COKE & PESTICIDE PEPSI
>Pepsi and Coca Cola are under fire in India, since a consumer watchdog
>group discovered dangerous levels of pesticides in the companies'
>beverages. New Delhi's Center for Science and the Environment tested 12

>Pepsi and Coca Cola products and released a report stating that "each
>sample had enough poison to cause --- in the long term --- cancer,
>damage to the nervous and reproductive systems, birth defects and
severe
>disruption of the immune system." The report has stirred consumer
>resentment to the point where citizens are taking part in "smash the
>bottle" street protests. Hoping to ease the concerns within their $1.2
>billion market in India, the two companies have shifted the focus of
>their advertising campaigns, including full page newspaper ads reading
>"The safest thing you are likely to drink today is a Pepsi."
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/pepsi_pesticides.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>KEEP YOUR FRANKENSEEDS OUT OF OUR COUNTY
>Looking to be the first GMO-free zone in the nation, residents of
>Mendocino County in California have launched a ballot initiative that
>would ban genetically engineered crops in the county. Stores will still

>be allowed to stock foods with GE ingredients, but keeping the county
>clean of GE crops will protect local conventional and organic farmers
>from being contaminated by drifting GE pollen. The initiative will
>likely appear on the ballot in March 2004.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/mendocino_gmo_free.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>MONSANTO FINED $700 MILLION
>Monsanto has been fined a hefty $700 million in a class action lawsuit
>against the company for poisoning Alabama residents with PCBs. The fine

>will be used to clean up the land and water around one of Monsanto's
>former chemical facilities in Anniston, Alabama. It will also provide
>money and prescriptions to over 20,000 people, most of them low-income
>African-Americans, who have developed negative lifelong health impacts
>from the toxic pollutants. Monsanto's PCBs have caused everything from
>severe brain damage to cancer and death.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/monsanto_pcbs.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>MONSANTO'S BULLYING IN MAINE BACKFIRES
>Support is growing for the small family owned Oakhurst Dairy, which is
>being sued by the $5 billion Monsanto Company for labeling their
>products as rBGH-free. Realizing that the results of the lawsuit could
>set a precedent for rBGH labeling on a national scale, dairy producers,

>concerned consumers and even Ralph Nader are donating time and money to

>the lawsuit. Oakhurst says they have the right to let their consumers
>know that there are no artificial growth hormones in their milk.
>Monsanto claims consumers shouldn't need to know whether or not the
>company's chemicals are in their milk or not.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/rbgh/monsanto_sues.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A BRAIN
>The USDA has announced an interim rule that will allow for
controversial
>"biopharm" crops, genetically engineered to create industrial chemicals

>and/or pharmaceuticals, to be grown as close as a mile from food crops
>such as corn. According to the Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered

>Food, since corn pollen is known to be able to travel well over a mile,

>"the USDA's rules will inevitably lead to industrial chemicals and
>pharmaceutical drugs contaminating the food supply." The Organic
>Consumers Association is actively involved in addressing these issues
>via dialogue with the USDA. Take action by signing the petition for a
>global moratorium on GE Foods.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/petition1.htm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>GOVERNMENT WITH A BRAIN
>As economic disparity in the U.S. continues to increase, so does the
gap
>between those that have access to organic and locally grown produce and

>those that do not. Low-income urban areas are becoming notorious for
>their lack of fresh produce. Corner convenience stores prefer to stock
>dry and canned goods, which have much longer shelf lives. The state of
>Connecticut is demonstrating one way in which these problems can be
>mitigated. Connecticut's Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides food

>coupons to low-income residents that can only be used at local farmer's

>markets. This program insures a strong state agricultural economy while

>bringing healthy produce to those who don't have access or can't afford

>it.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/low_income_organic_foods.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>FOOD REVOLUTION ON WHEELS
>In West Oakland, CA, the nonprofit group People's Grocery is
>demonstrating another way of bringing fresh, local organic produce to
>inner city neighborhoods. Dubbed the "Mobile Market", volunteers drive
a
>solar powered refrigerated truck through inner city neighborhoods,
>selling fresh organic produce to residents in low income neighborhoods.

>Grants to the group help pay for the truck and offset the higher prices

>of the organic produce.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/low_income_organic_delivery.cfm

>
>---------------------------------
>
>HOT, HOT, HOT!
>Predictions of how climate change will damage global agriculture are
>already proving true. So say scientists working on an advance crop
yield
>forecasting system through the European Commission. Thanks to this
>year's relentless heat wave in Europe, crop losses have been eerily
>fitting those predicted by computer models. "It's dangerous to push
>these things under the carpet because we need to start planning now for

>the impacts of climate change," said Dr. Jorgen Olesen of the Danish
>Institute of Agricultural Sciences.
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/climate_change_crops.cfm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>TAKE ACTION
>If any of the issues above spark your desire to take action, please
>visit OCA's Action Center for instant faxes, petitions, volunterring
and
>donation opportunities. http://www.organicconsumers.org/action.htm
>
>---------------------------------
>
>FOR MANY MORE FOOD ISSUE DAILY HEADLINES:
>http://www.organicconsumers.org/log.html
>
>---------------------------------
>
>NOTE TO CO-OP AND NATURAL FOOD STORE SUBSCRIBERS: Organic Bytes is a
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>
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>
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>---------------------------------
>
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>
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-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
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