Natural Communities Magazine A magazine devoted to the local natural wellness culture.

1. Personal Health

Eating organic prevents exposure to agricultural pesticides known to disrupt neurological development in infants and children, increase the risk of prostate cancer, and double the incidence of childhood lymphoma.

The President’s 2010 Cancer Panel Report urges consumers to choose “food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers” and to limit “exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones, and toxic run-off from livestock feed lots” “by eating free-range meat raised without these medications.”

2. Nutrition

An organic diet increases exposure to health-promoting CLAs, flavinoids, antioxidants.

3. Water Quality

Organic cropping systems can prevent nitrogen losses to groundwater and the atmosphere and keep drinking water from being contaminated with nitrates, which can cause blue baby syndrome and other negative health impacts.

4. No Genetic Engineering

Genetically engineered Bt corn harms aquatic insects and disrupts stream ecosystems.

Genetically modified plants have already established themselves in the wild. One study found 86 percent of plants collected outside of agriculture fields in North Dakota tested positive for genetically engineered herbicide tolerance, including combinations of transgenes that are unique to the feral varieties.

5. Soil Quality

Organics are shown to increase soil organic matter, enhance microbial activity and reduce soil acidity, all of which are linked to greater yields.

6. Biodiversity

Organic farming increases biodiversity at every level of the food chain, from bacteria to mammals.

7. Climate Change

The UN-WTO’s International Trade Center found, “organic agriculture has much to offer in mitigation of climate change through its emphasis on closed nutrient cycles and is a particularly resilient and productive system for adaptation strategies.”

8. Feeding the World

Research summarizing 293 published comparisons found a 30% increase in world-wide yields using organic methods.

Source: www.organicconsumers.org

An investigation by the USDA’s National Organic Program has determined that Target Corporation wrongly used the image of a certified organic product when promoting the sale of a conventional product to consumers.  The investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy group and organic watchdog based in Wisconsin.

The violation at Target came after Dean Foods switched almost all their category-leading Silk soymilk from organic to conventional soybeans earlier this year.  The specific problem involved Target using an image of a Silk organic product, in advertising flyers, when the retailer was really selling Silk’s reformulated “natural” version (not organic, but made with conventional soybeans).  Target made a commitment to the USDA to review their procedures to “prevent future errors of this nature.”

And now, over eight months after Dean Foods stealthily switched its core Silk product line to cheaper conventional soybeans, while, until recently, retaining the same packaging appearance.  Now the giant dairy processor’s WhiteWave division has been found itself to also be misrepresenting the product as organic on one of their own websites.  A new legal complaint has been filed in an attempt to protect consumers from what Cornucopia calls, “fraudulent misrepresentation.”

“It should not take the judicious oversight of an industry watchdog to cause these giant corporations to simply comply with the law,” said Mark Kastel, Cornucopia’s Senior Farm Policy Analyst.  “Target and Dean are trying to do organics on the cheap and have not invested in the kind of management expertise necessary to prevent problems of this nature from occurring,” added Kastel.  “And after widespread media condemnation, it’s hard to believe that Dean Foods hasn’t even cleaned up its own websites.”

Since the NOP investigation, and Target’s pledge to review their practices, unlike Dean Foods, Cornucopia has not observed additional problems with the retailer’s advertising.

The meteoric rise in consumer interest in healthy, environmentally sound and humane farming practices has catapulted organics into a $24 billion industry.  Along the way, major agribusinesses , like General Mills, Dean Foods and Kraft have gobbled up many pioneering companies that helped build the industry through a series of acquisitions.  Today, most processed organic food is produced and controlled by the same type of companies that bring us International Delight imitation coffee creamer, Cheetos, Ding Dongs and Cap’n Crunch.

No longer controlled by industry visionaries, corporate managers now seek to squeeze extra profits out by sometimes switching established organic brands to “natural” labeling, using cheaper conventionally grown and processed ingredients.

That’s a far cry from when the organic food and farming movement first started enjoying widespread commercial success in the 1980s.  In its inception, the industry was dominated by a number of family businesses, entrepreneurial enterprises and farmer-owned cooperatives, where building a profitable brand was most often married with the owner’s values.

“Big is not necessarily bad in the organic industry,” said Mark Kastel, codirector of The Cornucopia Institute.  “As an organic watchdog we are much more concerned with ‘corporate ethics’ than we are with ‘corporate scale.’”

Dean Foods, the largest dairy processor in the United States, has apparently acquiesced and finally changed the packaging for their Silk brand of soymilk.  Cornucopia had sparked widespread media scrutiny, and associated consumer backlash, against Dean for quietly shifting their core silk product line from organic to conventional soybeans—while keeping essentially the same packaging and UPC (scanner) barcodes.  “This change [new packaging] should have happened right as they shifted to conventional soybeans, not after the fact,” said Kastel.

“For the better part of this past year, consumers and retailers both have repeatedly reported that they were deceived and ended up unknowingly buying Silk products with conventional soybeans,” stated Kastel.  With both their new and old packaging still in the marketplace, Cornucopia is concerned that consumers will be misled by advertising on websites representing the product as organic.

Silk is manufactured and distributed by Dean Foods’ WhiteWave-MorningStar division headquartered in Longmont, Colorado.  Like many other massive agribusiness corporations, the Dean name never appears on the packaging for its soy foods or its Horizon dairy label—just as consumers will never see the name General Mills on a package of Cascadian Farms frozen vegetables, Kraft on Back to Nature brand crackers or Kellogg’s on Kashi cereal.

Dean/WhiteWave spokesperson Sara Loveday denied the corporation intentionally misled their customers, telling the East Bay Express in a November interview, “The company was not trying take advantage of consumer confusion over organic and ‘natural.’”

“These corporate food giants know that many organic consumers are looking for an alternative to our current food production system,” said Will Fantle, who heads up Cornucopia’s research staff.  “Upon acquiring a number of the leading organic pioneers, they have kept their subsidiary names upfront on packaging to create a façade “hiding” the true corporate ownership,” Fantle noted.

Cornucopia maintains a chart, Who Owns Organics, created by Michigan State University professor Philip Howard, on its website that lifts the veil, enabling consumers to know who is producing their favorite organic brands (http://www.cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic/).

Roy Beard, who has operated Roy’s Natural Market in Dallas for 41 years, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in their November 8 coverage surrounding the Silk controversy, that he hadn’t realized there was a product change until contacted by a reporter.  He said retaining the same bar code “was troubling.”   Most retailers were never informed of the Silk switch to conventional soybeans.

Dean/WhiteWave has also received heat in the organic food and agriculture community for choosing to convert some of their Horizon dairy products, the leading organic label in terms of sales volume, to cheaper “natural” (conventional) ingredients.

“This really hit a nerve because one of these new Horizon products, Little Blends yogurt, is aimed specifically at toddlers, at an early stage of development, where the nutritional superiority of organic food, and its benefit of avoiding chemical residues in our food, is so critically important,” Kastel explained.  “This starkly undermines the propaganda on the Horizon website proclaiming how dedicated they are to the organic movement—this is all about profit, not values!”

The media blow up on the Silk switcheroo included a front-page story in the Chicago Tribune in July that outlined a consumer survey indicating the public was unclear about the difference between natural and organic labels and that some corporations, particularly Dean Foods, were taking advantage of the confusion in the marketplace.

“Dean has only added to the marketplace confusion between ‘natural’ and ‘organic,’ as they definitely do not mean the same thing, and ‘natural’ requires no verification whatsoever,” Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, also told Barry Shlachter of the Star-Telegram.

The Cornucopia’s Kastel likes to identify corporate giant Heinz as a company doing organics right.  “They helped fund California tomato growers who switched to organic production, and they brought in a highly reputable organic certifier, produced the product in their own plant, and finally put the Heinz name on the label,” Kastel stated.  “I think their ethical approach to organic production is what consumers expect and is being rewarded in the marketplace by virtue of the success they’re having with their organic ketchup.”

Cornucopia also cites Stonyfield yogurt, which was acquired by group Danone of France, as another example of a large public corporation continuing to uphold organic values.  Stonyfield remains committed to buying all of their milk from family-scale organic farmers, unlike Dean Foods that is increasingly relying on factory farms for its Horizon milk supply.

“The independently owned organizations, although they are fewer, have not totally gone away,” observed Fantle.  Eden Foods, Nature’s Path and Organic Valley, among others, are still independently owned even though they each do as much as $500 million of business every year.”

The new legal complaint filed against Dean Foods, for representing their conventional Silk soymilk as organic on one of their websites, was filed with the USDA’s National Organic Program.  “We fully expect the NOP to send a cease and desist order to Dean Foods,” said Kastel.  If Dean, a $12 billion a year public corporation, is found to have willfully violated the federal law governing organic commerce, it could be subject to fines and other penalties.

Source: www.cornucopia.org

If you`ve been roaming the aisles of your local grocery store recently, you`ve probably noticed an encouraging trend that we`re seeing more and more of lately. On food products not traditionally associated with natural foods that make spaghetti sauces, pizza crusts and whole wheat breads are big banner headlines that read, “Now without High Fructose Corn Syrup.”

Is this a sign of things to come?

Whether more companies follow or not is unknown, but this is a very encouraging trend in the meantime. So often, people unfamiliar with what makes a food natural see a loaf of bread that says “Whole Wheat” or a cereal that says “Whole Grain” and believe it`s natural. And why shouldn`t they? Health advocates in the media have emphasized the importance of eating foods that are whole wheat or whole grain, so food makers and food consumers have taken notice. To a certain extent, this is good, as foods are now being made with whole grain flour instead of highly processed refined flour.

What isn`t so good, however, is that despite these foods being listed as “whole grain,” many remain loaded with high fructose corn syrup. And because the FDA still doggedly stands behind their belief that high fructose corn syrup is safe to consume, there`s really no need for these food companies to change how they make their breads, their spaghetti sauces or virtually everything and anything else that claims to be one thing but is really something else entirely. At least some companies are taking the dangers of high fructose corn syrup seriously.

Members of the Food and Drug Administration should take people like Natalie Rotunda seriously, a writer and “organic food examiner” for Examiner.com, whose daughter`s adverse reactions to foods were stopped dead in their tracks once high fructose corn syrup was eliminated from her diet. As Rotunda writes in a recent article of hers, “[My daughter] had no reactions to any other type of sugar, just HFCS. For others like me who have made such a connection, it`s all the proof we need to quit those foods and drinks that attack the delicate workings of our bodies and the bodies of those we love.”
But the adverse reactions to high fructose corn syrup extend far beyond Rotunda`s daughter. Study after study shows how high fructose corn syrup leads to obesity, due primarily to the fact that it suppresses the body`s release of a key hormone called leptin. When leptin is suppressed, the body is unable to convert sugar into energy, ultimately turning sugar into fat that`s packed away as storage rather than burned for energy. The latest study to corroborate this fact was one done by the University of Florida, released in September 2008 and published in the American Journal of Physiology.

The FDA may claim that high fructose corn syrup is safe to consume, but study after study shows links between HFCS and adult-onset diabetes (i.e. type II diabetes) and contributes to obesity. You`d think that`d be enough to reconsider their stance. Apparently not. But one thing`s certain: More and more people are taking notice of HFCS and the detrimental impact it has on health. If they weren`t noticing, food companies wouldn`t be labeling their products with labels like “No HFCS.” After all, consumers rule in this dour economic climate. The only way to get people to buy is for businesses to give people what they want.

Thankfully, food companies are finally glomming on to this fact. Let`s hope more follow in 2009 and beyond.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/026691_corn_syrup_fructose_high_fructose_corn_syrup.html

A glut of organic milk, fueled by giant factory farms, threatens to wash family farmers off their land.  Farmers and their advocates are calling an emergency rally this coming Thursday, July 16, in an effort to demonstrate their plight to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.  Vilsack will be in West Salem, WI on July 16 as part of a national tour.

Under the Bush administration, the USDA was accused of “looking the other way” as large corporate agribusinesses invested in organics while allegedly violating federal standards.  In the dairy sector, there are now estimated to be 20 large industrial dairies, each milking thousands of cows, producing as much as 40% of the nation’s organic milk supply.

“With the slowdown in the economy, the market is no longer able to absorb the growing supply of organic milk,” stated Mark Kastel, senior farm policy analyst with The Cornucopia Institute.  “Processors have now cut the price of milk for farmers, and imposed production caps.  Many family farmers are now in danger of losing their farms.”

Billed as the “Save the Organic Family Dairy Farm Rally,” the event will be held at 11 AM, July 16, at the La Crosse Interstate Fair in West Salem, Wisconsin.  It immediately precedes a town hall meeting on rural issues with Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  Secretary Vilsack has been invited to say a few words to the farmers prior to the town hall session.  “His acknowledgment of the dilemma that faces organic dairy producers will be a big morale boost,” said Kastel.

Besides The Cornucopia Institute, the emergency organic dairy rally is cosponsored by: Family Farm Defenders, Center for Rural Affairs, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Midwest Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, Church’s Center for Land and People, National Family Farm Coalition, and the Interfaith Program Action Council.

In addition to the serious financial losses some farmers are experiencing, two of the largest organic milk processors and handlers, Dean Foods (marketing Horizon milk) and HP Hood, which owns Kemps dairy in the Midwest (marketing Stonyfield milk) have informed some of their farmers that they will not renew their contracts.

“These corporations have, in essence, signed a financial death warrant for these farmers,” said Kastel.  Many organic producers borrowed tens of thousands of dollars, some well over $100,000, to convert to organics and modernize their farms.  Without contracts to sell organic milk, many of these operators face bankruptcy and risk losing the farms that have been in their families for multiple generations.

“The only way we have been able to continue in business is to cash in our retirement IRA, our life savings,” says Bruce Drinkman, who milks 50 cows with his wife Mari outside of Glenwood City, WI.  “If the secretary of agriculture and others in power don’t recognize our plight, soon we will lose everything.”

For years, members in the organic community and the National Organic Standards Board, the expert panel set up by Congress, have appealed to the USDA to crack down on “scofflaws” bending the organic regulations on giant factory dairies, mostly in the desert-West.  “We are asking Secretary Vilsack to view this as a legitimate emergency and take immediate action, to shut down the giant farms that are violating federal organic law,” Kastel added.  “Otherwise many of the ethical, hard-working farmers who built this industry will be driven out of business by cheaters.”

In addition to immediate enforcement action against factory farms allegedly “gaming the system,” Cornucopia has asked Vilsack to request the Justice Department to look into possible antitrust violations by the nation’s largest conventional and organic milk bottler and marketer, Dean Foods.

“I intend to tell the Secretary that there has been a sweetheart relationship between Dean Foods, and other giant agribusinesses, and the USDA for too long,” said John Kinsman, a LaValle, Wisconsin organic dairy farmer.  “We need new management at the National Organic Program, the kind of change that President Obama promised during his campaign,” Kinsman added.

While the dustup over the large factory farms producing organic milk is infuriating to many organic farmers and consumers alike, there is no shortage of organic milk that is widely perceived to meet both the letter and spirit of the organic regulations.

The Cornucopia Institute completed an in-depth study last year rating the country’s 110 organic dairy brands based on their ethical approach to milk production.  Nearly 90% of all namebrand organic dairy products were highly rated in the scorecard (www.cornucopia.org).

“In every market in this country, in every product category—cheese, butter, ice cream and milk—it is easy for consumers to find organic dairy products that truly meet their expectations,” said Will Fantle, research director at Cornucopia.  “In general, consumers can really trust the organic label.  These giant corporate dairies are just bad aberrations.”

Consumers, organic farmers other than dairy producers, businesspeople, organic industry stakeholders, and people in rural America who have benefited from the growth of organics are all encouraged to stand with the farmers at this “critical emergency rally.”

Organizers say that farmers will be bringing small quantities of their organic milk to “symbolically dump,” to illustrate the falling value of their farms and their output.  They are encouraging all participants at the rally to bring non-perishable food items to share with others less fortunate.

“We want to welcome Secretary Vilsack to Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland, where there are more organic dairy farmers than any other state,” said Kastel.  “We know he understands the promise of organic agriculture for rural America.  We just want to make sure he understands that families producing milk, conventional and organic, have their backs to the wall and desperately need his help.”

Source: www.cornucopia.org

Dean Foods Creates “Natural” Dairy Products Using Conventional Milk

BOULDER, CO:  A division of Dean Foods, the organic industry’s largest namebrand manufacturer, rocked the organic world this week when it was reported that the agribusiness giant intended to create an entirely new, lower-priced, product category, “natural dairy,” aimed squarely at pirating away organic customers.  If successful Dean, the largest milk processor in the United States, will add to the pain many organic farmers are feeling due to slowing sales caused by the economic downturn.

For the first time the Horizon namebrand will market products that are not certified organic.  Horizon has had the highest dollar volume of any organic industry brand.

Dean’s WhiteWave-Morningstar division, which controls the Horizon, Organic Cow, Silk, and other specialty brands and is based in Longmont, Colorado, has launched their “alternative to the organic label” at a time when sales in the industry have flattened after averaging 20% per year growth rates for more than a decade.  Recent articles in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and the Associated Press have profiled falling prices and production caps now being placed on farms producing organic milk—with many of these family farmers now facing financial ruin.

“This move by Dean Foods comes at a time when organic dairy farmers around the country are in financial crisis due to a glut of milk,” said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute.  “Responsible participants in this industry are using their marketing strength to ramp up organic demand.  Dean has instead chosen to profiteer at the expense of the hard-working family farmers who have built this industry.”

This move comes on the heels of the recent decision by Dean/WhiteWave to switch almost the entire product offerings of their Silk soymilk line to “natural” (conventional) soybeans.  Many consumers and retailers have expressed outrage when the switch to conventional soybeans was quietly made in Silk products without lowering the price.  Industry critics have referred to the move as “sheer profiteering.”

“They are handling the introduction of natural products under the Horizon label a little bit differently than they handled their switch to conventional soybeans sourcing in Silk,” Kastel stated.  “With their soy products the appearance of their packaging and UPC product codes remained the same.”

Many retailers and consumers around the country, who had been longtime loyal customers, were outraged to find that their favorite organic brand had been switched to conventional, somewhat clandestinely.  This has caused some retailers to now drop the Silk products.

Sara Loveday, a marketing communications manager at WhiteWave told the Natural Foods Merchandiser, an industry trade publication:  “We’ve only been organic in the past and the majority of our business will remain organic.  These are our first natural offerings in the marketplace, and Horizon always tries to provide great-tasting products for moms and for families.”

The Dean/WhiteWave spokesperson continued by saying the natural Horizon products would be “easier on the pocketbook.”

“Many consumers do not understand green terminology,” said Suzanne Shelton, whose firm, the Shelton Group, just released a national survey examining consumer perception about food labeling.  “They prefer the word ‘natural’ over the term ‘organic,’ thinking organic is more of an unregulated marketing buzzword that means the product is more expensive.  In reality, the opposite is true: ‘Natural’ is the unregulated word. Organic foods must meet government standards to be certified as such,” Shelton concluded.

“It is apparent to us that moves toward “natural” dairy products offerings will have a negative impact on the organic category,” said Jack Lazor a certified organic dairy farmer from Westfield, Vermont.  “It is now more important than ever that consumers of organic dairy products understand the benefits of organic foods and farming.  We need to cultivate meaningful relationships with our customers so that we can cut through the veil of corporate greed where natural is easily mistaken for organic.”

Lazor and his wife, Anne, widely respected as one of the first organic dairy farmers in the United States, founded Butterworks Yogurt in 1984, a leading organic brand in the Northeast.

Organic food has grown from a small niche to a successful $24 billion market category fueled by consumers desire for a safer and more nutritious food supply.

“When the first Horizon natural products are introduced—a yogurt aimed at children and single-serve milk—they will promote them as being without growth hormones.  But Dean Foods will not be able to mention that the products are produced without pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and other drugs, and genetically modified feed crops, or that the cows are required to graze in pastures rather than confined to factory farm feedlots.  These are all factors that truly differentiate organic production from natural/conventional agricultural and livestock production,” explained Kastel.

In a letter today to Dean Foods’ chairman Greg Engel, The Cornucopia Institute, widely recognized as the nation’s preeminent organic farming industry watchdog, suggested that in order to preserve the integrity and shareholder value in two of the nation’s leading organic brands, Horizon and Silk, that the corporation reconsider its new tactical direction.  It questioned why a company, after substantial investments, would want to alienate a market demographic that has proven, over the years, to be highly dedicated and passionate.

“Dean Foods has just declared war on the organic industry.  Although the first shot has been fired it will not be the last,” Kastel lamented.  We hope they will reevaluate this ill-advised product launch.”

Source: The Cornucopia Institute

Burt’s Bees lip balm was originally sold at independently owned health food stores. But more recently, Burt’s Bees products have appeared everywhere — in grocery stores, drug stores, and big-box stores like Target and Wal-Mart. That’s because Burt’s Bees is now owned by Clorox, a massive corporation that has historically cared very little about the environment.

Many of the products you may trust and respect for their independence and social responsibility are now owned by big corporations that are going out of their way to hide their link to the small, socially responsible brands.

Tom’s of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, a massive company with a revenue of approximately $11.4 billion. Danone, the French conglomerate which also owns Brown Cow, has acquired a majority holding in Stoneyfield — the same Danone that had to recall large quantities of its yogurt in 2007 after it was found to contain unsafe levels of dioxins. Horizon Organic milk was bought out by the largest dairy company in the U.S., Dean Foods, in 2005.

Odwalla is now owned by Coca-Cola. Almost as soon as Coca-Cola bought the company, it stopped selling the fresh-squeezed OJ that had made Odwalla famous and popular — fresh squeezed can’t last the days and weeks the juices are now in transit or on the shelf. Pepsi bought Naked Juice in 2006, in order to compete with Odwalla. Smuckers grabbed several juice mainstays from the health food store shelves: After The Fall, R.W. Knudsen and Santa Cruz Organic.

Kashi cereals was bought in July 2000 by Kellogg’s, the 12th-largest company in North American food sales (but if you look at a box of Kashi’s “Go Lean Crunch”, for example, you will find not one mention of the fact that Kellogg’s owns them.) Kraft Foods bought the natural cereal maker Back to Nature. Kraft is a subsidiary of Altria, which also owns Philip Morris, one of the world’s largest producers of cigarettes.

General Mills owns Cascadian Farm. Barbara’s Bakery is owned by Weetabix, the leading British cereal company. Health Valley and Arrowhead Mills are owned by Hain Celestial Group, a natural food company traded on the NASDAQ, with H.J. Heinz owning 16 percent of the company.

Green and Black’s organic chocolate was taken over in 2005 by Schweppes, the 10th-largest company in North American packaged-food sales. Dagoba Chocolate is actually owned by Hershey Foods.

Marketing strategies have been fooling you, convincing you to trust that the niche brands continue to be small, environmentally conscious businesses with ecologically sound practices. In fact, they are frequently cogs in the giant corporate wheel. It is time to question how much the ownership and neglectful marketing of these “pseudo” responsible brands warrant crossing them off your shopping list. And it is time to find products more in tune with your values — at least until they, too, get bought out by a large conglomerate.

Source: AlterNet March 18, 2009

Dr. Mercola’s Comments

For those of you still under the assumption that your Horizon organic milk, your Kashi crackers or your Green and Black’s chocolate was being churned out by a small farm or mom-and-pop shop nestled in a pristine valley, brace yourself for disappointment.

The reality is that many of your favorite organic products are owned and operated by the same corporations that make the worst kinds of highly processed junk foods on the market — soda, potato chips, sugary cereals, candy, etc.

Unfortunately, when multinational corporations create or purchase these natural health companies, they are looking to maximize their profits by turning out the largest amount of product for the least expense. And,  that frequently means sacrificing some ethics and skimping on quality.

And what you, the consumer, are left with is the misguided impression that you’re spending your hard-earned money on a product that adheres to a certain set of values, which have likely long since perished in the wake of corporate strategies.

The Power of an Idea

On the positive side, this trend is a clear sign that when you speak with your pocketbook and start demanding healthier food choices, America’s largest corporations have no practical economic choice but to respond.

With the involvement of large corporations, organic food has turned into a $16-billion business, with sales growing by as much as 20 percent per year. What this means for much of America is access to more organic foods at lower prices – which is a great thing.

Companies, eager to gain market share in the natural foods movement have begun acquiring and mass-producing “organic” foods which has resulted in a slow but noticeable deterioration of the meaning and health benefits upon which the organic label was founded.

So whereas many people are now getting the core message that organic is far healthier for you, they don’t stop long enough to make a distinction between raw organic food and processed food that contains organic ingredients. It’s important to realize that organic versions of junk food are STILL just as detrimental to your health as their original counterparts.

Additionally, a significant element of the organic ideal is environmental sustainability and protection, but at least one study has found that the transportation of organic produce causes an environmental impact large enough to cancel out any of its environmental benefits.

There’s Something Even Better Than Organic

Personally, I’m not surprised at this development; it was bound to happen. Food companies, as any other primarily profit-driven company, would not let a swelling market niche go untapped.

That doesn’t mean you have to buy into the hype, however. You still have the power to demand the real deal, and the fact of the matter is; true organic IS better. Both for you and for the environment.

It’s mainly a matter of knowing where to find locally harvested organic foods and buying from sources you want to see thrive. You also want to read the packaged food labels and not simply take the organic label at face value.  It’s sad to say but the organic label has become virtually meaningless as a sign of quality.

Depending on where you live, finding a local farmer or food coop may seem unrealistic, but just as demand drove the rise of organic, it is driving the demand for locally grown foods. You can peruse this list of sustainable agriculture options to find like-minded people in your area who will know how you can connect with local food producers.
Also be sure to take advantage of farmer’s markets and roadside stands now as spring and summer approaches.

Source: www.mercola.com

Despite a deluge of over 100,000 emails and petition signatures from organic consumers and farmers objecting to the appointment of biotech and biofuels booster Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture, the Senate is scheduled to begin confirmation hearings for Vilsack today.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is disappointed in this controversial appointment, and we are calling on our national network and allies to pressure Obama to move beyond “agribusiness as usual” by drafting Jim Riddle to head the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the department that oversees organic food, farming, and standards. Riddle is an organic farmer from Minnesota, former Chair of the National Organic Standards Board, and a longtime advocate for sustainable and organic farming. With Riddle heading up the AMS, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture, transition to organic programs, and the National Organic Program will finally receive the attention, technical assistance, and funding they deserve.

Take action

Source: Organic Consumers Association

Great River Organic’s stone mill a beacon to the past

Glenn Robeck doesn’t mind working nose to the grindstone.

While most flour mills today are high-tech commercial giants with lightning-fast steel rollers that churn out flour for the masses, Robeck earns his living at rustic Great River Organic Milling. Here, centuries-old, slow-turning granite millstones grind organic grains into flours for a niche market of artisan bread bakers and health-conscious consumers.

“At the end of the day, it’s more than just a paycheck,” said Robeck, the mill’s long-time production manager. “You have to earn your livelihood, but it’s nice to feel you’re also doing something that leaves the world a little better place.”

The small mill, tucked in a quiet valley 6 miles east of the Mississippi River, is one of just a handful of granite stone millers left in America. It’s a beacon to the past, before Wisconsin was America’s Dairyland and when wheat was the state’s big crop.

Great River Organic Milling has a growing following among those looking for healthful alternatives to processed foods - in this case, flour milled with the whole grain left intact, which commands roughly three times the price of refined flour.

When the process for refining flour was invented in the 1870s, it was considered a major breakthrough, giving the baking staple a longer shelf life, and grains more diversified uses. But refining also snatched valuable nutrients. Whole-grain flour, by contrast, is everything nature intended.

“This is 100 percent whole grain,” Great River Organic Milling owner Rick Halverson shouted above the steady hum of machinery that moves raw grain through the mill in a loop. “All the natural, nutritional components of the grain go in the bag.”

The downside is a shorter shelf life, as the germ of the grain is left intact. The germ contributes much of the grain’s protein, folic acid and other B vitamins, carotenes and other antioxidants, plus omega-3 fatty acids.

But the omega-3 fatty acids also cause rancidity.

So Great River only makes its flours to order, unlike industrial millers that ship product cross-country to vast networks of supermarkets and commercial bakeries.

Sweet smell of success

A pleasant, nutty aroma wafts through the mill that was cobbled together in a red pole farm shed in the 1970s. Robeck said he finds satisfaction in watching demand for organics grow, including organic grains and flours. “Every acre farmed organically is 1 less acre farmed with chemicals,” he said.

The refined flour industry took a hit several years ago when the low-carb Atkins diet sent bread sales plummeting. But the diet caused barely a ripple at this mill, as its customers consistently follow natural, whole-food diets, which include whole grains, Halverson said.

“Now, with the slow food and locally grown foods movements, we’re getting more and more calls from people asking, ‘Where do you get your grain?’ ” Halverson said. The company knows all its suppliers, he added. Each bag of raw grain is labeled with the farmer’s initials.

Quality is crucial to customers such as bread baker Cameron Ramsey, owner of Madison Sourdough. He has been buying flour from the mill for 15 years.

“(Great River) is very unique, and when they go, who’s left?” Ramsey said. “They’re a vanishing breed, man.”

Great River began processing organic grain from nearby farms in the mid-1970s, long before organic was cool. The stone mill tradition harkens back to an era in Wisconsin from roughly 1850 to 1880, when the state grew one-sixth of the nation’s wheat.

Back then, flour mills were small-town fixtures, noted Margaret Bogue, a retired University of Wisconsin-Madison history professor.

“Wheat was a crop that moved west with the population from the East,” she said. Milwaukee was the largest flour milling city west of the Appalachian Mountains until it was displaced by St. Louis in 1871.

Wheat growing in Wisconsin tapered off markedly in the 1880s, Bogue said. The constant replanting of wheat fields had depleted the soil of nitrogen, and blight set in, forcing a wholesale shift.

By the turn of the 20th century, most Wisconsin farmers raised dairy cows. Cheese factories began replacing flour mills, Bogue said.

Along with flours, Great River Organic Milling makes three hot cereals: Multi-Grain with seven grains; a Breakfast Cereal blend of wheat and rice; and Highland Medley, a three-grain blend similar to Irish oatmeal. Great River also makes four types of pancake mix.

The original mill here, Little Bear Trading Co., went bankrupt in 1992. Office manager Nadine Bayer, Robeck and another mill employee bought the building and equipment from the bank to revive the mill under a new name, Great River Organic Milling.

They sold to Halverson four years ago because they recognized the company needed to grow, Bayer said.

Halverson, who had extensive sales experience with food ingredients, bought the mill on one condition: that Bayer and Robeck stay on to help run it. Since then, sales have grown from $274,000 to just over $600,000, Halverson said.

Great River Organic Milling’s main business is bulk flour for artisan bakers, including bakers in Chicago, Madison and the Twin Cities. The mill also handles high-protein, gluten-free grain called brown teff, which is grown in Ethiopia.

Retail is the fastest-growing segment. Great River began with about 40 regional food co-op customers. Now the mill has 400 to 500 retail customers, including Outpost Natural Food Stores and Sendik’s in the Milwaukee area, and some Sentry stores. Sales also extend to Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky.

But the mill’s most famous customer traveled a much greater distance.

Will Steger took the mill’s wheat and rice breakfast cereal to the North Pole in 1986 during his famous dogsled expedition.

By KAREN HERZOG
 kherzog@journalsentinel.com

www.jsonline.com/

Whether you love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is less than ten days away. Millions of flowers and chocolates will soon be bought and given to loved ones. Unfortunately, these gifts come at a cost much higher than the one on the price tag. Conventional roses and chocolate sold in the United States are produced using toxic pesticides, with little regard for the workers or the environment.The United States imports about 70 percent of its flowers from foreign countries, mostly from Ecuador and Columbia. Roses analyzed in the past few years were found to contain a myriad of harmful pesticides that ranged from organophosphates such as Dimethoate, carbamate- Aldicarb, to organochlorines like Captan, Bravo, Tedion, Iprodione and Procymidone.

Organophosphates are considered to be the most likely pesticide to cause an acute poisoning. They are a highly toxic class of pesticides that affect the central nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Symptoms of exposure include: numbness, tingling sensations, headache, dizziness, tremors, nausea, abdominal cramps, sweating, incoordination, blurred vision, difficulty breathing, slow heartbeat, unconsciousness, incontinence, convulsions and fatality. Some organophosphates have been linked to birth defects and cancer. Organochlorines are known estrogenic pesticides and have been linked to cancer. They also have been found to cause immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity.

Such heavy use of pesticides means that workers are coming in contact with them daily. Furthermore, the roses are grown in greenhouses that contain the pesticides and prevent proper ventilation, making it even more dangerous. Workers are also not given proper protection when working with the pesticides so they become particularly vulnerable. According to the International Labor Organization, women in the rose industry had more miscarriages than average and that more than 60 percent of all workers suffered headaches, nausea, blurred vision or fatigue. Nearly 70% of the 50,000 rose workers are women.

Chocolate faces a similar set of problems. Chocolate is conventionally grown in the sun. Since the canopy of shade that controls pests and weeds naturally is often destroyed to make way for sun grown crops like cocoa and coffee, the use of toxic pesticides is prevalent. EPA allows certain levels of pesticides to be present in non-organic chocolate imported to the U.S. These pesticides include: Methyl Bromide, Pyrethrins, Hydrogen Cyanide, Naled, and Glyphosate.

The chocolate industry has been accused of using forced child labor to harvest the cocoa in West Africa. Companies like Nestle, Archer Daniels Midland, and Cargill have been charged with using cocoa producers that trafficked children from Mali into the Ivory Coast and forced them to work inhumane hours with no pay, little food and sleep, and frequent beatings. On top of all these horrors, the children, who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of toxic pesticides due to their age and stages of physical development, are being involuntarily exposed to toxic pesticides, some of which are banned in the United States.

This Valentine’s Day, show your love for not only your friends and family, but also the earth and the global community. Buy organic and fair trade flowers and chocolate, both of which are more readily available than ever. Here are some resources of suppliers of organic flowers and chocolates:

Flowers

• Organic Bouquet
• California Organic Flowers
• Local Harvest
• Network for Good
• Diamond Organics

Chocolate

• Dagoba Chocolate
• Sweet Earth Chocolates
• Theo Chocolates
• Lillie Belle Farms
• Dean’s Beans Java Drops

If you don’t have access to organic flowers or chocolate, try other creative ways of expressing your love. A homemade card or picture collage, a poem, or a special homemade dinner are all ways to show someone you care while doing minimal harm to the environment and society. Happy Valentine’s Day!

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=278

Increasing numbers of women and men are trashing their conventional, chemical-laden cosmetics and personal care products in favor of more natural, organic varieties.

Sales of organic personal care items reached $350 million in 2007, increasing 24 percent from 2005. Sales among the top three natural personal care brands — Burt’s Bees, Jason Natural Cosmetics and Tom’s of Maine — brought in $155 million alone.

But are organic and natural cosmetics any better than the others? Maybe, and maybe not.

Cosmetics and their ingredients do not have to undergo any type of government approval before hitting store shelves, and the terms “natural” and “organic” have no definitions. In other words, when it comes to cosmetics labeling, it’s a free for all.

Some products may include a few organic ingredients, for instance, along with several chemical ones — and still claim to be natural or organic on the label.

Reading labels carefully can be an effective way to sort out which products are truly natural. Researchers recommend watching out for, and avoiding, at least the following three ingredients in your cosmetics:

• Parabens, preservatives that have been linked to cancer
• Phthalates, chemicals used in fragrances that are harmful to your reproductive system
• Talc, which has been linked to ovarian cancer

Sources: Florida Today January 3, 2008

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Many of you reading this probably realized long ago that the majority of personal care products sold in the United States are actually chemical cocktails that have no business being on your skin, hair or nails.

What you may not know is that some products that claim to be “organic” or “natural” may not be any better. I find this disturbing, don’t you?

Take a look under your bathroom sink or wherever you keep your toiletries. Now think about this: none of those products had to undergo any type of testing before they reached you. The companies that make the products are pretty much left to police themselves, and the end results are products that use the cheapest materials possible, at any cost to your health. Do you trust the marketing claims of these “natural” products?

For instance, Alba Body Lotion, a “natural” body product, contains ingredients such as octyl methoxycinnamate, benzophenone-3, and methyl/propylparaben. The EPA has linked methyl parabens to metabolic, developmental, hormonal, and neurological disorders, as well as various cancers.

Here is a list of chemicals that are common in personal care products from shampoo and lotions to mascara and perfumes:

• Paraben, a chemical found in underarm deodorants and other cosmetics that has been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen, which can drive the growth of human breast tumors.

• Phthalates, plasticizing ingredients (present in nearly three-quarters of 72 products tested by the Environmental Working Group), which have been linked to birth defects in the reproductive system of boys and lower sperm-motility in adult men, among other problems.

• Musks, used as fragrances, can accumulate in your body, and have been linked to skin irritation, hormone disruption, and cancer in laboratory studies.

• Artificial fragrances, which are among the top five known allergens, and can cause asthma and trigger asthma attacks.

• Methylisothiazolinone (MIT), a chemical used in shampoo to prevent bacteria from developing, which may have detrimental effects on your nervous system.

• Lead, a known toxin, was found in more than half (61 percent) of 33 name-brand lipsticks tested in September 2007.

So when you slather on lotion, apply lipstick or lather up your hair with shampoo, what do you think happens to the chemicals in the products? They get absorbed directly into your body. It is well-proven that when you apply these chemicals to your skin, they enter your bloodstream and become integrated into your body tissues, In fact, it is probably safer to eat these ingredients than to rub them on your skin (although I strongly recommend you don’t do either!).

If You Wouldn’t Eat it, Don’t Put it on Your Body

Would you take a taste of your mascara or shaving cream? Probably not. However, if you do happen to eat these chemicals, your digestive system can produce specific enzymes to break down these toxins and excrete them … something that doesn’t readily occur when you absorb them through your skin.

In general, you need to seek out personal care products that are so pure you could actually eat them. Coconut oil is a great example here, as it makes a great moisturizer that you can also eat. Olive oil is another one that you can use to deep condition your hair.

Additionally, I am proud to report that my team has been researching this topic extensively and we are getting very close to launching one of the best, most pure skin care product lines out there. It is truly effective, has absolutely no synthetic ingredients, and is packaged in brown glass bottles.

Until then, I suggest you scrutinize the labels on your personal care products and cosmetics just as closely as you do your food. If you’re not sure what an ingredient is, type it into the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, and you’ll get all the information you need about whether or not it’s safe.

And remember, if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t use it.

source: www.mercola.com