Organic Bytes
Newsletter #869: PFAS Are Putting Our Drinking Water Under Threat!
 

TAKE ACTION

EPA’s Limits for PFAS Are Putting Our Drinking Water Under Threat

Tom Perkins writes for The Guardian:

“Several unexpected plaintiffs are behind a legal challenge aiming to kill the Environmental Protection Agency’s groundbreaking new drinking water limits for highly toxic PFAS: the US’s water utilities, represented by their major trade groups.

But utility industry opposition to clean water regulations is nothing new. Though utilities’ mission is to provide the US with clean and safe water, their trade groups have for decades often fiercely opposed initiatives to improve quality.

Utilities have successfully helped kill, delay or weaken virtually all proposed limits on toxic substances like lead, the rocket fuel perchlorate, and carcinogenic disinfectants.

The utility industry also lobbied to weaken the Safe Drinking Water Act’s 1996 revision, which is largely why the EPA since then has only successfully set a new limit for one contaminant – PFAS – and that still may be undone, said Erik Olson, senior adviser to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund, who also lobbied on the legislation.

The US now faces a baffling scenario in which those who are responsible for cleaning its water are considered to be the biggest obstacle to safe water, public health advocates say. Utilities often work ‘arm and arm’ with the chemical industry to attack rules, Olson said.

‘It has been across the board that when the EPA tries to advance strong new rules, many utilities fight against it,’ he added.”



Read about how the industry frequently downplays the public health risks of toxic substances and claims the cost to remove them are too high despite overwhelming evidence that the chemicals are toxic at very low levels

Please take action! The reason why PFAS has been detected in the blood of 98% of Americans and is contaminating 45% of U.S. tap water is because companies like 3M and DuPont have always had (and, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, still have) a free pass to dump their waste right into streams, rivers and sewage systems. Demand that our elected officials create legislation to ban these toxic substances! Tell your state legislators to ban toxic PFAS!

ENVIRONMENT

Five Easy Ways To Protect Wildlife This Fall

By Justin Wheeler, Scott Hoffman Black and Deborah Seiler, The Xerces Society:

“Here are some simple ways you can help the fascinating invertebrates who may call your yard or garden home!

Leave the leaves, or move them just a bit.

Leaving the leaves and other plant debris doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your yard to the wilderness.  A thin layer of leaves is actually healthy for grass, but the leaves also don’t need to be left exactly where they fall. You can rake them into garden beds, around tree bases, or into other designated areas. Leaves are great for soil quality: they can suppress weeds, retain moisture, and boost nutrition. And perennial plants appreciate the extra insulation through the winter, too!


Avoid shredding leaves; let the bugs do that for you!

Shredded leaves will not provide the same cover as leaving them whole, and you may be destroying eggs, caterpillars, and cocoons along with the leaves. Instead of a mower, use a rake or blower to keep leaves intact. If you use leaves for compost, consider creating a leaf pile and allowing it to break down naturally if space allows. Millipedes, roly-polys, and other leaf-eating bugs will help and enjoy the meal! You can also add the leaves gradually to your existing compost pile.

Turn those fallen branches and logs into a brush pile habitat.

Instead of trashing pieces of wood, stack them up! Plenty of insects seek out fallen pieces of wood to hibernate in. Piles can be as big or small as you have space for, and you can hide the pile behind a hedge or wildflowers to keep the yard looking clean. Logs and stumps can also be used as borders around a native planting area to add definition to the space.”

Read more

PESTICIDES

Revealed: The U.S. Government-Funded ‘Private Social Network’ Attacking Pesticide Critics

By Carey Gillam, Margot Gibbs and Elena DeBre, The Guardian:

“In 2017, two United Nations experts called for a treaty to strictly regulate dangerous pesticides, which they said were a ‘global human rights concern’, citing scientific research showing pesticides can cause cancers, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and other health problems.

Publicly, the pesticide industry’s lead trade association dubbed the recommendations ‘unfounded and sensational assertions’. In private, industry advocates have gone further.

Derogatory profiles of the two UN experts, Hilal Elver and Baskut Tuncak, are hosted on an online private portal for pesticide company employees and a range of influential allies.

Members can access a wide range of personal information about hundreds of individuals from around the world deemed a threat to industry interests, including the US food writers Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva and the Nigerian activist Nnimmo Bassey.

Many profiles include personal details such as the names of family members, phone numbers, home addresses and even house values.

The profiling is part of an effort – that was financed, in part, by US taxpayer dollars – to downplay pesticide dangers, discredit opponents and undermine international policymaking, according to court records, emails and other documents obtained by the non-profit newsroom Lighthouse Reports.”

Learn how our tax dollars are being used against us to keep us in dark about the dangers of pesticide exposure

HEALTHY DEMOCRACY

Protecting the Right to Protest

Annie Leonard, Patagonia Stories:

“In the past few years, corporate interests have been working extra hard to erode the right to do what activists do when they come together to address a problem: speak out, organize, collaborate, raise funds, and when other avenues of democratic participation fail to produce results, put their bodies on the line through acts of nonviolent civil disobedience.

These are all different forms of protest, and all are essential tools in the toolbox of those seeking to prevent the plunder of our planet.

For communities most excluded from decision-making processes, protest is often the only avenue of democratic participation that’s readily available. This is in part why civil disobedience—a tactic that oftentimes involves breaking the law—has helped cement monumental human rights wins for social movements across the world, led by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Gandhi.

Protest, whether with words or one’s body, is powerful, not just for the decision-makers challenged, but also for the participants. Historically, state-sanctioned violence against protestors unfairly targets Black, Indigenous, and other people of color—for fellow protestors, this makes the act of solidarity even more important.”

Read about how we protest because it works—and it’s precisely because protest works when it is under attack

NATURAL HEALTH

20 Natural Remedies To Soothe a Sore Throat

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:

“STORY-AT-A-GLANCE

* Sore throat, or pharyngitis, causes pain and irritation in the throat, making swallowing and talking uncomfortable. It’s commonly caused by viral infections like colds or flu, but can also result from bacterial infections, allergens, irritants, or acid reflux

* While most sore throats resolve on their own within a week, there are natural strategies to soothe your throat, reduce inflammation and support your immune system

* Raw honey, saltwater gargle, apple cider vinegar, peppermint tea, marshmallow root and slippery elm have various therapeutic properties to provide relief from discomfort and help manage symptoms

* Additional strategies for relief include steam inhalation to moisturize throat tissues, acupuncture to reduce the frequency and severity of sore throat and adequate rest to support immune function

* Prevention is better than cure. Tips to support your immune system and reduce your risk for sore throat are included below”

Learn more

PLEASE SUPPORT OCA & RI

Working Towards a Brighter Future

As well as our on going campaigns and projects, we are funding and producing the upcoming People’s Food Summit on October 16th.

We are producing this summit to educate people about regenerative, organic farming and how through this way of farming, we can survive and thrive, letting farmer’s success stories from around the world spread, and be the inspiration for people to implement these practices in their own communities.

Read these words from our former International Director Ronnie Cummins for one of the many reasons why soil management is one of the many reasons this way of farming is so crucial for the whole planet in our climate crisis.

“We’re going to have to get back to organic soil management in order to survive in this era of climate instability because with organic farming and organic husbandry or ranching, the soil is alive, it’s filled with trillions of microorganisms and fungi, and it’s like a sponge, really, compared to chemically treated soil, you put a shovel in it and you can see a difference.

But the crucial thing about having the soil alive and sponge-like is that when it rains, it retains that moisture below the soil, for a considerable period of time, so that when you have a long period between rainfall, the plants can still survive.

Lately, we’ve had instead of a steady rain at predictable times, we often have all the way across North America, these torrential downpours, when it finally does rain, it’s a flood, and the thing about organic soil, is that it can absorb a lot of the water, it doesn’t all just run off and wash away the soil, so it can enable the plants to survive, it holds the soil, it holds the nutrients in, so we don’t really have much choice but to all become reacquainted with the soil.

The soil is actually the very most important thing around us, if we don’t pay attention to this, we’re going to be very very sorry, but the good thing is that we can become organic gardeners, like our grandparents were, even if we’re just starting with pots in our windowsills, and then our backyards, and so on.

We can think before we pull out our wallets, we can learn how to cook again from basic grains, eat lower on the food chain, you’ll be healthier, you’ll be happier, and this is the way we’re going to be eating in the future.”

With your help we are working towards a brighter future.

Donate $50 and recieve a paperback copy of The Regenerative Agriculture Solution — by André Leu and Ronnie Cummins

Check out our sister organization Regeneration International, and please make a tax-deductible donation, if you can, to help us keep the momentum going!

Regeneration International will be hosting the 4th annual People’s Food Summit, World Food Day, October 16, 2024. This unique event is a major 24-hour event celebration of World Food Day featuring exciting speakers from every region of our planet.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

USDA WATCH

In ‘Barons,’ Austin Frerick Takes on the Most Powerful Families in the Food System

Twilight Greenaway writes for Civil Eats:

“I understand food reformers are trying to [make change] day to day, but once in a while, you have to step back and look at the bigger picture. This [bill] was built in a different world. It is so corrupted and corroded. We need to rethink it. And the USDA goes back to the Civil War.  It’s not a bad thing to look at reorganizing the system. Let’s put food research under Health and Human Services. Why does USDA have antitrust authority? We should give that to the FTC.

The problem with USDA now is it acts like a chamber of commerce, or a promotional agency for the barons. And with every metric—except corporate profits—they’ve failed: The farmer’s share of the dollar is at an all-time low. One in 10 Americans works in the food system, and the way workers are treated is appalling. And by health standards, Americans are not doing well. It’s hard to make a case that they should continue as-is based on this checklist of failures.

I want readers to understand that the system we have now is radical. It is radical that one man in Iowa raised 5 million hogs a year. The reforms in that last chapter, a lot of it is going back to the way systems used to be—like putting animals back on land. That is not radical; that’s how animals have lived for most of their existence. I understand that the barons and their lackeys will frame me as a radical, but no, it is their corporate capitalist system that is incredibly radical. And you can’t talk about fixing or reforming something unless you have an honest conversation about where it’s at.”

Learn what happens when you allow concentrated power

Read Austin Frerick’s book to help understand the pitfalls of our American food system

REGENERATION INTERNATIONAL

Please Join Us for the 4th Annual People’s Food Summit on October 16, 2024

Regeneration International (RI) is thrilled to host the People’s Food Summit, October 16, 2024!

This will be the fourth time Regeneration International will host the People’s Food Summit. This unique event is a major 24-hour celebration of World Food Day, featuring inspiring speakers from every region of our planet.

The 2021, 2022 and 2023 events were spectacularly successful, with over 500,000 people, from all regions of the world, tuning in to watch and listen to our numerous speakers and their essential topics.

In 2022, we promoted videos that we regarded as highlights of each region and reached another 700,000 views, bringing the total views to 1,200,000. Because we reached so many people, this event had a very high impact and will continue to connect people through regeneration and food sovereignty.

The goal of the summit is to enhance the connectedness of global work amongst numerous like-minded organizations. We seek to engage hundreds of thousands by exchanging information and sharing inspiring stories.

Our Mission:

1. Information Exchange
2. Creating connections where different groups can continue working together afterwards
3. Stimulating a citizen-led research and storytelling journey
4. Starting a partnership where RI continues to enable the scale-up of projects
5. Increasing the reach of this vital information to hundreds of thousands of people

It is the only 24-hour global, participatory, virtual summit starting in Oceania and moving westwards through the time zones of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America. The People’s Food Summit is a truly participatory summit that empowers most of the world’s food producers: the family farmers, pastoralists, and foresters who produce 70% of our food. Regenerative organic agriculture, agroecology, and climate change are featured in the summit.

We intend to expand this format for the 2025 summit and continue to present the proven, farmer-based, real-world examples that are the future of our food and farming systems. These include agroecology, organic and regenerative farming, permaculture, agroforestry, holistically managed grazing, and many other systems.  

Watch this trailer for a peek into this inspiring 24 hours of stories from people around the world, about living on the land and sharing practices that can heal the earth and bring abundance and connection

Register here for an email notification when this free online summit starts

Please join us and spread the word about the People’s Food Summit

HEALTH

Cancerous Flame Retardants in Black Plastic, Study Says

Dieter Holger, Consumer Affairs:

“Black plastic is often full of cancerous, hormone disrupting flame retardants, a first-of-its-kind study finds.

A sushi tray, spatula and beaded necklace are among black plastic items that tested with high levels of the toxic chemicals, according to a study published in the journal Chemosphere and sponsored by environmental nonprofit Toxic Free Future.

Flame retardants are linked to cancer, brain damage and reproductive difficulties.

The study found flame retardants in 17 of the 20 products that were tested, with total concentrations ranging from 40 to 22,800 parts per million.

By comparison, a California law that went into effect in 2020 limited flame retardants in children’s products, mattresses and upholstered furniture to 1,000 parts per million.

The banned flame retardant deca-BDE was also present at levels from 5 to 1,200 times greater than the European Union’s limit of 10 parts per million.”

Read more about the amount of cancerous flame retardants that were in the various black plastic items

NATURAL MEDICINE

7 Health Benefits of Elderberry

The Grow Network:

“Are you looking for a safe, natural medicine to use this cold and flu season? Elderberry won’t disappoint. It’s been used throughout human history, even being planted at the edges of gardens to act as a guardian over the other plants. And just as the Elder Mother looked after her little ones in the garden, she can help to look after you and your little ones, too.

Elderberry medicines can be purchased or created in a variety of different forms. Elder products include teas, syrups, wines, lozenges and pills, juices, sprays, powders, tinctures, kombuchas, soda, gummies, and nearly anything else you can imagine. You can even make your own elderberry ice cream. While elderberry syrup is probably the most-used form of elderberry medicine, any of these would be acceptable and useful. Use whichever one calls to you.

Both the flowers and the berries can be used in medicines. The flowers are more gentle. For this reason, many people like to use flower-based products with children.”

Read about the safe, natural and powerful benefits of Elderberry

GMOs

George Monbiot’s Ally RePlanet Accused of Smelling “Like Astroturf”

Jonathan Matthews writes for GM Watch:

“George Monbiot has attacked The Land magazine for having succumbed to ‘the current wave of conspiracism’ in its criticism of his involvement with Mark Lynas and the rebranded ecomodernist group RePlanet, who promote nuclear power, GMOs, and synthetic food.

Monbiot took exception to a lead editorial in The Land (issue no. 32) entitled Rebooting Reality: Ecomodernists want to ‘reboot food’: Mike Hannis smells astroturf. In the editorial, The Land’s co-editor, who is also a Senior Lecturer in Ethics, Politics and Environment at Bath Spa University, wrote about RePlanet and its Reboot Food campaign, as part of which, ‘RePlanet kindly funded a (Monbiot) speaking tour of Europe, and associated media blitz, promoting Monbiot’s controversial book Regenesis as a statement of their own position’ In Regenesis, it may be remembered, Monbiot promotes synthetic food as a silver bullet for eliminating livestock-related farming, thus enabling the rewilding of vast tracts of rural land.

In his editorial, Hannis pointed out how well RePlanet’s objectives serve the interests of industry. For instance, their Reboot Food campaign explicitly aims to secure state funding for the emerging synthetic food industry. He could equally have pointed to how perfectly RePlanet’s campaigning to suspend organic farming targets and deregulate GMOs synchs with key current campaign goals of the pesticides lobby in Brussels, where RePlanet has an office.”

Read about how RePlanet’s money is generated from financing some of the most damaging industries on the planet