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Since 1998, the dedicated staff of the Organic Consumers Association has campaigned to safeguard organic standards while fighting the worst forms of industrial agriculture. We’re beating back Tyson’s factory farms, Monsanto (now Bayer)’s GMOs, ChemChina’s pesticides, and sewage sludge dumped on farmland that’s contaminated with DuPont’s forever chemicals. With successful consumer lawsuits, we have taken on major brands like General Mills, Smithfield, Ben & Jerry’s, and D’Artagnan—sending a clear message that misleading consumers won’t be tolerated.

We haven’t done this alone. This movement is bigger than any one organization, it takes farmers, doctors, scientists, community organizers, litigators, and people like you to create change. But we’ve been doing this longer and reaching more people than any group working on these causes.

If we don’t raise emergency funds now, we’ll be forced to severely scale back core campaigns and slow the momentum we’ve built together.

Our future depends on your support. If you’re able to, please make a donation today.

Your donations, now more than ever, are what keep us going—allowing us to fight back, speak out, and stand strong for what we believe are some of the most pressing issues of our times. Many thanks to our supporters who have already answered our call and given!

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Alexis Baden Mayer, Political Director, Organic Consumers Association:

A study examining the health data of 3,342 British vegetarians found that those who ate fake meat had a 42 percent increased risk of depression compared with those who didn’t. The fake-meat cohort also had higher markers for inflammation and immune activation.

Why?

To answer that question, we have to look at the specific fake meats the people studied were eating. The data was collected between 2009 and 2012 in the United Kingdom when the top-selling fake meat was Quorn. Since it’s made from the mold Fusarium venenatum, unsurprisingly, Quorn triggers mold allergies. This proved fatal for eleven-year-old Miles Bengco and thousands of others have had adverse reactions.

What about sub-acute reactions? A less severe reaction to mold toxicity could explain both the depression and the inflammation and immune activation observed in the vegetarians who ate fake meat.

READ: Why Are Fake Meat & Depression Linked?

Ban Quorn

The Food & Drug Administration never safety-tested Quorn. It exempted it from the food additives law as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) even though no one had ever eaten the mold it’s made from.

On the market since 2001, the fake meat brand has been linked to one U.S. death, thousands of acute adverse reactions, and the chronic health problems of inflammation, immune activation, and depression.

Sec. Kennedy has vowed to close the GRAS loophole. That should mean Quorn is off the market unless or until it’s proven safe.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Sec. Kennedy to Ban Quorn!

How Quorn Evaded Food Safety Laws

How did novel Frankenfoods produced from mold (like Quorn), genetic engineering, and nanotechnology escape the Food & Drug Administration’s food safety law enforcement?

That story is told in the 2008 documentary film, and 2012 book, The World According to Monsanto by Marie-Monique Robin of M2R Films.

In 1987, Vice President George H.W. Bush told Monsanto, “Call me, we’re in the dereg [deregulation] business.”

In 1992, President Bush made it FDA policy to allow corporations to evade the 1958 food additives law by widening the “generally recognized as safe” loophole to cover literally everything.

The World According to Monsanto has the fascinating details of this criminal plot to break the food safety laws.

WATCH: How Frankenfoods Escaped Food Safety Laws and What Sec. Kennedy Can Do About That Now

By Dr. André Leu, D.Sc., International Director, Regeneration International:

I have always had a love and fascination for plants. I began growing them as a young boy at the start of grade school. I spent my childhood in the forest, learning the names of the plants and animals and understanding how they functioned as an ecosystem.

I was destined to be a farmer because growing plants is fundamental to our work. Now, in my 70s, I continue to farm because my passion for growing plants and raising animals remains strong, and I will never quit.

Two events profoundly influenced my approach to agriculture. In 1973, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird published ” The Secret Life of Plants,” which confirmed what I had known as a child: plants are sentient beings that communicate.

Read this insightful story about André’s journey and how he came to understand that plants are sentient like animals and should be regarded as equals

Sara Moniuszko, CBS News:

“Approximately 93 million computed tomography examinations, or CT scans, are performed on 62 million patients annually in the United States — but the radiation from that process can raise the risk of future cancers. Now a new study is projecting just how many cases of cancer could be linked to CT scans.

In the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, researchers estimate that over the lifetime of those millions of patients, about 103,000 radiation-induced cancers are projected to result from CT exams done in 2023.

‘If current practices persist, CT-associated cancer could eventually account for 5% of all new cancer diagnoses annually,’ the authors wrote.”

Read about how the risk is estimated to be higher for children and adolescents

Lindsay Curtis writes for Verywell Health:

“Turmeric and curcumin are known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. They may help support brain, heart, joint, and digestive health. While the two are closely related, each offers unique benefits.

Turmeric is a golden-yellow spice that comes from the rhizome (root) of the Curcuma longa plant. It has been used for thousands of years in South Asian cuisine and traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. Curcumin is the main active compound in turmeric. It gives turmeric its color and is responsible for many possible health benefits. Turmeric is a whole root that is often dried and ground into a spice. Curcumin is the main active compound in turmeric.”

Learn about the benefits and key differences between turmeric and curcumin

Kaare Melby reports for the Organic Consumers Association:

The Bayer Protection Acts (AKA the Pesticide Immunity bills) refer to legislation being proposed across several states that would give Bayer and other corporations immunity from legal accountability for misrepresenting the safety of their products, including that Roundup/Glyphosate can cause cancer.

There were 11 Bayer Protection Act bills filed across as many states this year. So far, Georgia and North Dakota have sent the bill to their governors to sign. In those states, the best way for folks to take action is to reach out to the Governor’s office and ask that the Governor veto the bill.

Missouri and Florida still have active Bayer Protection Act bills. Oklahoma, Montana, and Tennessee have killed their Bayer Protection Act bills, but their legislative session is still open, so the bills could be revived.

Bayer Protection Act bills in Idaho, Mississippi, and Wyoming are officially dead for this year.

Read the full Bayer Protection Act legislative update

TAKE ACTION: Ban Roundup, Don’t Bail Out Bayer! Stop the Bayer Protection Acts!

By Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News:

“Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, called the issue “an easy one” for Kennedy to address.

While the FDA hasn’t established a link, Nestle said there is some research that dyes might contribute to behavioral problems in kids.

A 2021 report from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, for example, reviewed 27 trials in children and concluded food dyes can interfere with normal behavior in at least some kids.

Nestle — who added that the dyes serve no purpose for food beyond cosmetics — noted that other countries have moved to either restrict or ban the dyes. In those countries, she said, companies have introduced natural alternatives.”



Read about why this should have been done a long time ago

Tom Perkins writes for The Guardian:

“Paper receipts from major retailers in the US are so laden with bisphenol S that holding one for 10 seconds can cause the skin to absorb enough of the highly toxic chemical to violate California’s safety threshold, new research has found.

The findings are being used as evidence in legal action aimed at pressuring retailers to stop using receipt paper treated with bisphenol S, or BPS, which is linked to cancer and reproductive problems.

The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) non-profit has sent violation notices to about 50 major retailers alerting them to the exceedance of California’s Proposition 65 limits for BPS.

Among the companies to which notices were sent for the allegedly illegal levels of BPS in their receipts are Burger King, Chanel, Dollar General, AMC Theaters, GameStop, Subway, Foot Locker and Ace Hardware.”



Read about how holding the receipts for 10 seconds absorbs enough bisphenol S to break California’s safety rule

By Katie Bohn, Penn State:

“Managed honey bees have the potential to affect native bee populations when they are introduced to a new area, but a study led by researchers at Penn State suggests that, under certain conditions, the native bees can bounce back if the apiaries are moved away.

The research, published in the Journal of Insect Science, examined the effects of migratory beekeeping — the practice of moving honey bee colonies to a different location for part of the year — on native bee populations.

The researchers found that when managed honey bees were moved into an area, the population of native bees decreased in abundance and diversity. However, in places where apiaries were kept for years and then removed, the native bee populations once again increased in both total numbers and species diversity.



Read more

Lisa Held writes for Civil Eats:

“For the past five years, Patra and David Wise have been growing their farm business, Native Wise, to sell vegetables, wild rice, and honey to their local community in Northeastern Minnesota. In 2021, they added a herd of bison on family land they had acquired within the Fond du Lac Reservation, a step they were particularly excited about since it represented the first time bison were returned to the tribal lands in about 150 years.

Last year, they got a boost when the North Central USDA Regional Food Business Center awarded them a $50,000 Business Builder Grant to pay for crucial pieces of equipment. So far, they’ve purchased an industrial cooler-freezer combo that will allow them to store meat for customers until they come to the farm to pick it up. Wise was about to purchase a few smaller pieces of equipment with the remaining grant funds, which farmers and entrepreneurs receive by requesting reimbursements, when she heard, at the end of January, that all payments were on hold. She was shocked, she said, because the grant had already been awarded.

‘You sign a contract and then you’re trusting the government that they’re going to honor their end,’ she said. ‘For a small farm, that’s life or death, basically, for the business.’”



Read about how “it’s not just about the awardee, it’s about everyone around them, too.”

Take Action! Save Local, Regenerative & Organic! USDA Must Honor Farmer Contracts!

OCA’s Weekly 3 offers three simple, impactful actions each week to drive change in environmental policy, sustainable agriculture, and personal health. These actions are designed to raise awareness, influence decision-makers, and create lasting change. We’ve already seen significant victories, but real change happens through collective action. By committing to just three actions each week, you become part of a movement for a healthier planet and a more just food system. Together, we can make an even bigger difference!

1. Take Action: Tell Secretary Kennedy to Ban Insecticide-Producing GMOs!

Insecticide-producing GMO crops have been linked to immune system damage, organ toxicity, and male infertility—yet they entered our food supply without proper safety testing. These GMOs also accelerate pest resistance, trapping farmers in costly cycles of chemical use. We’re calling on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to close the regulatory loophole and protect public health, ecosystems, and farmer independence.

Take action now to stop the spread of these dangerous, untested GMOs.

2. Personal Health: Filter This Dangerous Chemical out of Your Tap Water!

A new report reveals that nearly 6,000 U.S. water systems are contaminated with dangerous levels of trihalomethanes (TTHMs)—toxic byproducts formed when disinfectants like chlorine react with pollutants such as animal manure and pesticides in our water supply. These chemicals have been linked to bladder and colorectal cancer, liver and kidney damage, nervous system issues, and pregnancy complications—even at levels below current legal limits.

Filtering your tap water via activated carbon filtration, air stripping, and reverse osmosis systems are some of the most effective ways to reduce exposure to these harmful substances and protect your long-term health.

Learn how to remove trihalomethane from tap water

3. Environment: Support Biodiversity—Start in Your Own Backyard!

Pollinators are in crisis, and our gardens can be part of the solution. Transform your yard into a safe haven for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and even wasps. With native plants, chemical-free practices, and seasonal blooms, you can help reverse pollinator decline while creating a vibrant, resilient garden. It’s not just about beauty—it’s about environmental responsibility.

Attracting local pollinators is also important. Use this guide to design your garden for “the locals”

See How Butterflies Are Surviving, or Not, Near You

Buffalo as Wildlife, Not Livestock: Why the Eastern Shoshone in Wyoming Are Reclassifying Buffalo

Cancellation of a Beloved Farm-To-School Grant Program Threatens Food Access, School Gardens, and Small Farms Nationwide

9 Detox Foods Naturopaths and Nutritionists Swear By For Spring

At These Grocery Stores, No One Pays

Endangered Sea Turtle Populations Show Signs of Recovery in More Than Half the World, Survey Finds

10 Ways to Get Involved With Food Mutual Aid

15 Home Remedies for Allergies

A Celebration of Re-Wilding and Renaturing

Trump Policies Add to Farming Distress as Bankruptcies Increase

Best Plants for a Chicken Run – 7 Fragrant and Floral Plants for Happy Hens and Beautiful Coops

The Easiest Way To Lower Blood Pressure May Not Involve Ditching Salt

I Was Investigating PFAS. Then a Doctor Told Me To Put It in My Eyes.

Meet the Seed Collector Restoring California’s Landscapes – One Tiny Plant at a Time