Organic Bytes
Newsletter #876: Farm Bill Poses Threat to Farmers
 

TAKE ACTION

Who Is the Farm Bill For? U.S. Farmers or Foreign Factory Farms & Chemical Companies?

The U.S. is quickly becoming an agricultural colony of foreign countries. China owns Smithfield, the largest pork producer; Brazilian JBS is the biggest beef company; and U.S. corn farmers are the main market for Chinese pesticide company Syngenta and German BASF and Bayer, once part of the Nazi I.G. Farben conglomerate.

What if China doesn’t want to comply with bans on caging pregnant and nursing sows to sell its pork? What if Brazil doesn’t like Environmental Protection Agency rules on water pollution from its factory farm feedlots? What if Chinese and German pesticide companies get caught giving people cancer or killing “off target” crops that aren’t genetically engineered to withstand the toxic herbicides that drift from fields sprayed with their poisons?

These foreign companies go to Congress and demand relief in the Farm Bill! Incredibly, our members of Congress comply, writing in special provisions to exempt bad actors from rules the states and the courts are trying to enforce.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to pass a Farm Bill for U.S. farmers not foreign interests!

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Proposed Farm Bill Poses Threat to Farmers

Wenona Racicot, Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

“The stark truth is this: The Farm Bill proposal seeks to undermine forever the rights of states to control their agricultural policies in the best interests of their in-state farmers and consumers. If passed, this reckless power grab, by stripping away the authority of states and local governments to set their own agricultural standards, would centralize power with the federal government and large, multinational agricultural corporations. Not only would it erode local control, it would also impede our further and valuable progress toward transparency and accountability in food production.

The Farm Bill deliberations have been skewed by the political machinations of a small and disingenuous segment of the pork industry.

Farmers, consumers and voters all deserve a Farm Bill that respects our right to treat animals more humanely, produce better-quality food, and respond to the needs of an evolving market.”


Read more about how foundational commitment to holistic and regenerative agriculture is now in jeopardy because of dangerous language in the proposed House Farm Bill

SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

Scientists Warn: Creating ‘Mirror Life’ Could Have Devastating Consequences for Life on Earth

Simon Makin writes for Scientific American:

“A category of synthetic organisms dubbed ‘mirror life,’ whose component molecules are mirror images of their natural counterpart, could pose unprecedented risks to human life and ecosystems, according to a perspective article by leading experts, including Nobel Prize winners. The article, published in Science on December 12, is accompanied by a lengthy report detailing their concerns.

Mirror life has to do with the ubiquitous phenomenon in the natural world in which a molecule or another object cannot simply be superimposed on another. For example, your left hand can’t simply be turned over to match your right hand. This handedness is encountered throughout the natural world.

Further breakthroughs would be required to create mirror life, but they are achievable with substantial investment and effort. ‘We’re not relying on scientific breakthroughs that might never happen. I can draw you a list of things that need to happen to build a mirror cell,’ Adamala says. ‘It’s not science fiction anymore.’ Adamala previously worked toward creating mirror cells, but she now fears that if mirror bacteria are created, the consequences could include irreversible ecological damage and loss of life.”

Read more about why breakthroughs in synthetic biology could create mirror versions of natural molecules, with devastating consequences for life on Earth

HEART HEALTH

The Surprising Link Between Your Gut Microbiome and Cholesterol Level

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:

“STORY-AT-A-GLANCE

* Recent Framingham Heart Study research shows your gut microbiome significantly impacts cholesterol levels, with bacteria like Oscillibacter helping break down cholesterol through specific enzymes and metabolic processes

* Scientists identified cholesterol dehydrogenase enzymes (ismA genes) in gut bacteria that convert cholesterol to coprostanol, a form less easily absorbed by the body

* Specific gut bacteria directly influence non-HDL cholesterol levels: Eubacterium rectale helps lower it, while Clostridium sp CAG_299 increases

* Cholesterol is involved in essential bodily functions, including cell membrane structure, hormone production, vitamin D synthesis and nerve signal transmission, making optimization the goal

* A holistic approach to heart health requires maintaining oxygen-free gut conditions for beneficial bacteria, avoiding processed foods, managing stress and staying active”



Read more about embracing a holistic approach to heart health

HEALTHY LIVING

Here’s Why Dancing Is the Best Exercise To Improve Mental Health

Mariam Khan reports for Wired:

“Dance like no one’s watching, your health will thank you.

It’s no surprise that exercise is an integral part of our lives that allows us to keep in shape and stay healthy. However, the focus of exercise tends to be centered around physical health benefits. This often overshadows the advantages it has for our mental well-being. One activity in particular takes the crown when it comes to improving mental health — dancing.

In a study conducted at the University of Sydney, researchers found that when compared to any other type of exercise, dance was far more effective and beneficial for psychological and cognitive actions. The full report was published in the journal, Sports Medicine.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the positive impacts of dancing

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

Exclusive: UN Calls for $2.6 Trillion Investment To Reverse Land Degradation

By Simon Jessop & Pesha Magid, Reuters:

“Restoring the world’s degraded land and holding back its deserts will require at least $2.6 trillion in investment by the end of the decade, the U.N. executive overseeing global talks on the issue told Reuters, quantifying the cost for the first time.

More frequent and severe droughts as a result of climate change combined with the food needs of a rising population meant societies were at greater risk of upheaval unless action was taken, Ibrahim Thiaw said ahead of talks in Riyadh this week.

The two-week meeting aims to strengthen the world’s drought resilience, including by toughening up the legal obligations of states, laying out strategic next steps and securing finance.

‘The bulk of the investments on land restoration in the world is coming from public money. And that is not right. Because essentially the main driver of land degradation in the world is food production… which is in the hands of the private sector,’ Thiaw said, adding that as of now it provides only 6% of the money needed to rehabilitate damaged land.”

Learn why this an investment that could keep the world balanced

AGAVE POWER

Regeneration International’s Billion Agave Project Could Restore the World’s Degraded Deserts

What is the project about?

Moving beyond conventional monoculture and chemical-intensive farm practices, and combining the traditional indigenous knowledge of native desert plants and natural fermentation, an innovative group of Mexico-based farmers have learned how to reforest and green their drylands, all without the use of irrigation or expensive and toxic agricultural inputs.

This strategy combines the growing of agave plants and nitrogen-fixing companion tree species (such as mesquite), with holistic rotational grazing of livestock. The result is a high-biomass, high forage-yielding system that works well even on degraded, semi-arid lands. A manifesto on mesquite is available in English and Español.
The system produces large amounts of agave leaf and root stem—up to one ton of biomass over the 8-10-year life of the plant.

When chopped and fermented in closed containers, this plant material produces an excellent, inexpensive (two cents per pound) animal fodder. This agroforestry system reduces the pressure to overgraze brittle rangelands and improves soil health and water retention, while drawing down and storing massive amounts of atmospheric CO2.

The goal of the Billion Agave campaign is to plant one billion agaves globally to draw down and store one billion tons of climate-destabilizing CO2. 

Help spread the word about about how the the Billion Agave Project agroecology system is a solution that can reverse land degradation

Read this in-depth article “Agave Power: Greening the Desert” where Ronnie Cummins lays out the details and stats for how we can restore the world’s degraded deserts

Watch this video about how a revolutionary system of regenerative agriculture is greening the desert and helping reverse global warming and rural poverty

SUPPORT OCA & RI

Be Part of the Agave Power Solution

With the news that restoring the world’s degraded land and holding back its deserts will require at least $2.6 trillion in investment by the end of the decade, the time is ripe for the world to know more about the Billion Agave Project. This initiative is one OCA ‘s most promising projects, pioneered and taught at our sister org, Vía Orgánica, in conjunction with Regeneration International.

Our three sister orgs are united in bringing the Billion Agave Project, a revolutionary agroforesty system that can restore the world’s degraded deserts, to people who live in areas in need of regeneration, especially with little-to-no irrigation.

You can read about it the Agave Power segment above.

Please consider a donation to help us spread the word, teach more farmers and students how to implement the system, and drive our work in restoring ecosystems, supporting local communities, and regenerative agriculture.

As we never let up on our core work to fight GMOs, pesticides and the take over of our food supply by Big Ag and Big Pharma, we are at the same time working on this land based climate solution, with the goal of helping people stay on their land and building biodiversity at the same time.

You can be part of the solution!

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

Considering a donation of stock or securities?

GMOs

Genetically Engineered Salmon Production Ends as AquaBounty Shutters Last Facility

Friends of the Earth U.S. reports:

“Following decades of controversy, widespread market rejection and legal and regulatory challenges, U.S.-based biotechnology and aquaculture company AquaBounty Technologies (NASDAQ: AQB) announced it will stop production of all genetically engineered (GE) AquAdvantage® salmon, cull all its remaining fish and close its last working facility.

After selling its fish farm in Indiana earlier this year and putting its other major site in Canada up for sale (at Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island), AquaBounty announced yesterday that it is shutting its remaining GE salmon facility in North America, at Bay Fortune in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The company says it does not have sufficient liquidity to maintain the operation.

‘This company was propped up by the hype but had nothing of value to sell. Genetically engineered food is a losing investment,’ said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.”

Read how a growing body of science suggests that GE salmon may pose serious environmental and public health risks, including potentially irreversible damage to wild salmon populations that are critical to the livelihoods, cultural heritage and well-being of Indigenous and fishing communities

PESTICIDES

A Shadowy Campaign Is Targeting Opponents. I’m One of Them.

Anna Lappé writes for Common Dreams:

“As I head back from Cali, Colombia after attending the Convention on Biological Diversity this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the attempts by countless advocates around the world to take on one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity collapse: toxic pesticides. Reducing the use of pesticides is one of the key ways we can help beneficial insect species rebound, protect vital pollinators, ensure thriving aquatic ecosystems, and much more—all while protecting human health.

With all that we know about the benefits to biodiversity of reducing pesticides, why haven’t we made more progress in tackling these toxic substances? The latest clue came to us last month thanks to an investigation by Lighthouse Reports, which revealed that the Trump administration had used taxpayer dollars to fund a pesticide industry PR operation targeting advocates, journalists, scientists, and UN officials around the world calling for pesticide reforms.

The investigation exposed the details of a private online social network, funded by U.S. government dollars, with detailed profiles of more than 500 people—a kind of Wikipedia-meets-doxxing of pesticide opponents. It showed how the network was activated to block a conference on pesticide reform in East Africa, among other actions.”

Learn why this is another example of how the pesticide industry tries to shift attention away from these very real health concerns

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Drinking Hot Water: A Simple Habit With Significant Health Benefits

Cristina Mutchler, Very Well Health:

“Drinking hot water may be more than just a comfort drink. In traditional Chinese medicine, warm or hot water is often prescribed to help improve overall health and wellness.

While more research is needed, available evidence suggests drinking hot water may help improve digestion and support weight management. What’s more, some advocates of this practice report experiencing certain benefits, especially when drinking hot water first thing in the morning or before bed.
Benefits of drinking hot water:



* Maintains Hydration
* Reduces Shivering in the Cold
* Improves Circulation
* Improves Blood Flow and Reduces Pain”



Read about 6 more healthful benefits of drinking hot water