TAKE ACTION
PFAS Are Poisoning America and the World
Start Local!
Send this letter asking for a ban on PFAS to your state legislator today:
Dear [State Legislator],
Maine and Minnesota have passed broad bans on products containing PFAS.
Maine’s PFAS ban includes a prohibition on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer (the industry name for it is “biosolids”). A few other states, notably Michigan, are testing sewage sludge for PFAS.
Every state in the nation should do the same.
Chemical companies like DuPont and 3M have covered up evidence of the dangerous human health and environmental impacts of PFAS since the 1960s.
Today, overwhelming research links PFAS to a wide range of health problems, including kidney, testicular, bladder, and prostate cancer, as well as developmental, immune, reproductive, and hormonal dysfunction. Chemical companies are replacing older PFAS with other chemicals in the PFAS family. Unfortunately, these replacements, such as GenX, act a lot like older PFAS, and studies show that they can present similar hazards. Short-chain perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates adversely affect rat livers and thyroid hormones just like their long-chain homologues do.
PFAS do not break down naturally and bioaccumulate in the environment and our bodies.
It’s time to ban all PFAS and set to work cleaning up the water and remediating the land. Some plants, including hemp, have been shown to suck PFAS out of the soil, a process known as “phytoremediation.”
For more information, please contact the National Conference of Environmental Legislators. Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Ban Toxic PFAS!
The New York Times is reporting extensively about this growing problem:
What We Know (and Don’t Know) About ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Food
Her Children Were Sick. Was It ‘Forever Chemicals’ on the Family Farm?
Something’s Poisoning America’s Land. Farmers Fear ‘Forever’ Chemicals.
FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK: WE WON
Federal Court Rules That Fluoridation Chemicals Pose an “Unreasonable Risk” to Health
After 7 years of pursuing legal action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the risk posed to the developing brain by the practice of water fluoridation, the United States District Court of the Northern District of California has just ruled on behalf of the Fluoride Action Network and the plaintiffs in our precedent-setting court case. A U.S. federal court has now deemed fluoridation an “unreasonable risk” to the health of children, and the EPA will be forced to regulate it as such. The decision is written very strongly in our favor, and we will share it in its entirety tomorrow. Below is an excerpt from the introduction of the ruling:
‘The issue before this Court is whether the Plaintiffs have established by a preponderance of the evidence that the fluoridation of drinking water at levels typical in the United States poses an unreasonable risk of injury to health of the public within the meaning of Amended TSCA. For the reasons set forth below, the Court so finds. Specifically, the Court finds that fluoridation of water at 0.7 milligrams per liter (‘mg/L’) – the level presently considered ‘optimal’ in the United States – poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children..the Court finds there is an unreasonable risk of such injury, a risk sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response…One thing the EPA cannot do, however, in the face of this Court’s finding, is to ignore that risk.'”
HEALTHY LIVING
The Importance of Exercise and Biological Youth for Longevity
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:
“STORY-AT-A-GLANCE
* Maintaining “biological youth” is crucial for longevity. Exercise, particularly moderate activity and 150 to 180 minutes of weekly resistance training, is the most powerful intervention for slowing biological aging
* Optimal protein intake is about 0.8 grams per pound of ideal body weight. Protein quality matters, with collagen and glycine being especially important but often overlooked nutrients
* Moderate carbohydrate intake (40% to 55% of calories) is associated with lowest mortality risk. Long-term low-carb diets may impair metabolic flexibility and mitochondrial function
* Up to 99% of the U.S. population may have some degree of insulin resistance. The HOMA-IR test is a simple way to assess metabolic health
* Regular sun exposure is critical for health and longevity. Other key factors include adequate sleep, stress management, minimizing environmental toxins, and maintaining gut health”
REGENERATION INTERNATIONAL
Regenerative Grazing
By Dr. André Leu, Regeneration International Director:
“There have been criticisms about regenerative grazing systems and their ability to sequester greenhouse gases to assist our climate change efforts. These criticisms stem from academics steeped in the current industrial agriculture systems.
They are part of the push to blame livestock farming for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and for policies that will close it down or severely reduce it and replace the products with fake meat, eggs, and milk made from ultra-processed food from industrial agriculture. The fact is that they see nature-based systems such as regenerative grazing as a threat to this policy and thus the repeated attacks.
Industrial agriculture is an existential threat to all life on this planet. These systems are responsible for 80% of the forest destruction, up to 50% of greenhouse gases, the loss of soil organic matter, the pollution of our waterways and soils with fertilizers and toxic pesticides, the dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean, Baltic and other seas, the loss of biodiversity through large scale monocultures, the crash of insects, amphibian, birds and other species due to the widespread contamination of pesticides, endocrine disruptors and forever chemicals, the continuous loss of millions of farmers, and the chronic disease epidemic from toxic pesticide-laden ultra-processed food that is empty of nutrients. These degenerative toxic systems are pushed as necessary to feed the world. The fact is that there are more food-insecure people now than at any time in history. Industrial agriculture is an abject failure.”
Read about Allan Savory and the massive contribution regenerative grazing can bring to the planet
HEALTH
Researchers Discover a Critical Link Between High-Carb Diets and Longevity
Joseph Shavit, Brighter Side of News:
“Amazing communities demonstrated diets that were far from processed foods.
These remarkable communities, which include places like Japan, Greece, Italy, and Costa Rica, demonstrated diets that were far from the processed foods he was familiar with. Instead, they all embraced a diet built upon four key pillars: whole grains, greens, nuts, and beans.
‘The four pillars of every longevity diet in the world are whole grains, greens, nuts, and beans,’ Buettner emphasized. ‘When you crunch the numbers, it’s very clear that it’s a 90% to 100% plant-based, very-high-carbohydrate diet. About 65% carbs, but not simple carbs like muffins and cakes — complex carbs.’
Beyond diet, the Blue Zones also emphasize the significance of lifelong friendships, consistent physical activity (in the form of regular, short walks), and a sense of purpose in life. These built-in support systems are considered integral components of longevity, standing alongside the importance of consuming nutritious food.”
SUPPORT OCA & RI
We Fought To Keep Toxic Sewage Sludge Out of National Organic Standards
Even before the discovery PFAS in sewage sludge (now called ‘Bio Solids’ for marketing purposes), became a big issue, the OCA has been addressing the problematic nature of using toxic Sewage Sludge as crop fertilizer.
It is now being spread over millions of acres in the US and still poisoning us, even though it has been known to carry toxins since it’s inception as a fertilizer.
This is an excerpt written by our then international Director Ronnie Cummins in 2009, that holds true today:
“Instead of isolating and containing America’s toxic sewage sludge as hazardous waste–which is what it is–industry and city governments save money by renaming this toxic sludge as “biosolids” and spreading it on non-organic farms (and backyard gardens and public lands) across the country. One of the most outrageous practices is the sale (in garden supply stores) or giveaway (to schools and backyard gardeners) of toxic sewage sludge as organic fertilizer” or “organic compost.”
The EPA has aided and abetted this hazardous practice for several decades by claiming that the toxic chemical poisons, heavy metals, pathogens, pesticides, and pharmaceutical drug residues routinely contained in sewage sludge are diluted to “acceptable levels.”
In 1998, the Organic Consumers Association and the organic community successfully fought to keep toxic sewage sludge out of national organic standards, but we now need to ban sewage sludge on non-organic farms (and all land applications) as well.”
To learn more about this issue, check out our Stop Toxic Sludge campaign page
We helped keep toxic sludge out of organics, let’s work together on banning its production altogether! PFAS other toxic waste from ‘Bio Solids” have been in our soil, water food and bodies for too long.
Please take action (in the first segment of this newsletter) and send us a donation, if you can, to move this issue forward.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International, our international sister organization
Consider a making a grant request from your Donor-Advised Fund
NEW STUDY
Food Fussiness a Largely Genetic Trait From Toddlerhood to Adolescence
University College London, Science Daily:
“Fussy eating is mainly influenced by genes and is a stable trait lasting from toddlerhood to early adolescence, finds a new study led by researchers from UCL (University College London), King’s College London and the University of Leeds.
The study, published in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry and funded by the UK mental health charity MQ Mental Health Research, compared survey results of parents with identical or non-identical twins in England and Wales from the ages of 16 months to 13 years.
The research team found that average levels of food fussiness were relatively stable during this period, peaking somewhat around the age of seven and declining slightly after that.
They concluded that genetic differences in the population accounted for 60% of the variation in food fussiness at 16 months, rising to 74% and over between the ages of three and 13.”
ENVIRONMENT
Where the Flowers Grow
Documentary by Imagine5/WaterBear/Monarca:
“Fresh flowers add instant colour and cheer. It’s no wonder that when there’s something to celebrate, they are our go-to gift. But what’s being done about their environmental impact? We go straight to the source in the short documentary: Where the flowers grow.
So where, exactly, do the flowers grow? If you’re buying a bunch of flowers in the US, chances are they’ve come from Colombia. Around 95% of Colombian flowers are destined for export and 80% of bouquets sold in US supermarkets come from this South American country. Even flowers that aren’t flown in from afar are often grown in heated greenhouses. Yet, the environmental cost isn’t visible – we only see the beauty of the blooms before us. And so, in this short documentary produced by WaterBear and Imagine5, LA florist Mallory Browne heads off to Colombia to discover what’s being done on the ground to minimize the environmental impact of the flowers she works with every day, and to find out what we can all do.”
CLIMATE-SMART & SUSTAINABLE
Tribal Partners Launch Collaborative Effort To Support Native American Foodways in Great Lakes Region
By Nicole Miller, UW–Madison CALS:
“University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers and a group of Tribal partners are launching a new project to support Native American food traditions and food sovereignty for Great Lakes Tribal Nations.
The project will focus on expanding traditional Tribal food production practices – practices that have been climate-smart and sustainable for generations – by building on ongoing work to scale up production, processing, storage, and distribution systems. It also aims to enhance the education and extension programs needed to support integrated crop-livestock systems, cover crops, and rotationally grazed cattle and pastured chickens.
‘We’re taking a broad transdisciplinary, partnership-based approach to supporting the expansion of intertribal food systems. It’s a participatory process, guided by the needs and priorities of the Tribes that are involved, and utilizing the expertise of Tribal scientists and other Tribal partners,’ says project leader Erin Silva, professor and extension specialist in the UW–Madison Department of Plant Pathology, director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and Clif Bar Endowed Chair in Organic Agriculture and Outreach.”
GLYPHOSATE
Disturbing Levels of Chemicals and Gluten Found in Gluten-Free Foods
By Kimberly Drake, Health News:
“Moms Across America speculated that gluten-free foods might not be as clean as people think after supporters reported experiencing ongoing health issues even after following a GF diet.
To investigate this further, the organization tested 46 samples of organic and non-organic gluten-free foods for herbicides, 236 pesticides, gluten, and minerals. The tests were conducted by Health Research Institute Laboratories.
The gluten-free product with the highest glyphosate level was Banza Chickpea pasta. Mothers Across America says testing showed the product contained the herbicide at 2,963 ppb — “the highest amount of glyphosate in human food the lab has recorded.”
However, two products — Lesser Evil Popcorn and Edward and Sons Rice Crackers — had no detectable levels of the herbicide.
According to Moms Across America, the five products with the highest glyphosate levels were:
* Banza Cavatappi pasta
* Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour
* Flax4Life chocolate brownies
* Pamela’s Figgies and Jammies mission fig cookies
* Kind Kids Chewy Chocolate Chip bars”
REAL FARMS NOT FAKE FOOD
Why Lab-Grown Meat May Not Be as Eco-Friendly as You Think
Victoria Gill writes for Science Focus:
“Because lab-grown meat doesn’t need herds of livestock and land for grazing, advocates say it’s an alternative with a much lighter environmental footprint. But not all grazing is equal.
A recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change revealed that, if properly managed, grazing can actually help sequester carbon from the air into the ground. But over-grazing, and the resulting loss of carbon from the soil due to soil erosion, is much more widespread.
One widely reported preliminary study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, yet to be peer-reviewed, involved what’s known as a life cycle analysis and concluded that the carbon footprint of lab-grown beef could in fact be much higher than beef farmed from an animal.
The study tried to unpick the emissions costs of running these facilities and heating the culture media that the cells grow in. The ingredients for this nutrient-rich media, which feeds the cells, have to be grown somewhere. And extra energy is needed to stir and heat the cultured animal cells as they grow because the cow or sheep are not doing that part of the job.”
LITTLE BYTES
Other Essential Reading and Videos for the Week
Just One Egg Daily Reduces Nutrient Gaps Among U.S. Adolescents, Study Shows
The Pitfalls of Constant Snacking: Understanding the Migrating Motor Complex
Biohacking 2024: My Strategies to Reverse Chronic Disease and Restore Health
Breastfeeding Is Crucial To Shaping Infant’s Microbes and Promoting Lung Health
Reducing Smartphone Use Increases Work Satisfaction
New Blood Test Identifies Disease Risks in Children
15 Homemade Cleaners the Pros Swear By
Grist 50 List 2024: 50 Climate Leaders To Watch
Corporations Plunder U.S. West’s Water Amid Worst Drought in 1,200 Years
Glyphosate and Gluten Intolerance
Can VR Help the World Look the Climate Crisis in the Eye?
Seven Signs You’re Deficient in Vitamin D
Addiction and Overdose Cases Linked to Illegal Party Pill (GBH) Are on the Rise