MILLIONS AGAINST MONSANTO
This Week We Beat the Pesticide Industry — Here’s How Your Rep Voted
Two things happened this week that, taken together, tell us everything we need to know about the fight we are in, and why we are winning.
Thanks to the network of OCA supporters, and our allies and advocates across the country who sent letters, made calls, and refused to back down, the House stripped three pesticide liability provisions from the Farm Bill last week.
These are both excellent reads to learn more about what happened this week:
No Safe Bets — Supreme Court Glyphosate Case Seen Too Close to Call
The Luna Amendment passed 280 to 142, removing the sections that would have handed Bayer-Monsanto a get-out-of-jail-free card for cancer lawsuits and blocked states from regulating pesticides. This is a real win, and it belongs to all of us.
Three days before that vote, the same company sat before the Supreme Court in Monsanto v. Durnell and asked nine justices to rule that 60,000 cancer victims have no right to hold them accountable, because the EPA, which Bayer has spent decades lobbying and influencing, has never required a cancer warning on their product. The Trump administration is actively supporting Bayer-Monsanto, siding with the company in court, and arguing their case.
Analysts came out of the courthouse unsure which way the court will rule. A decision is expected before the end of June.
We’ll be watching the Supreme Court closely, and we’ll keep you all informed every step of the way.
TAKE ACTION: Find Out How Your Member of Congress Voted and Let Them Know What You Think!
Click here to see the Roll Call Vote on the Luna Amendment. YES votes are for Monsanto-Bayer to be held liable for pesticide harms. NO votes are to relieve the company of liability for pesticide deaths and illnesses.
If your Member of Congress voted YES, thank them here.
If your Member of Congress voted NO, let them know what you think here.
These are both excellent reads to learn more about what happened this week:
No Safe Bets — Supreme Court Glyphosate Case Seen Too Close to Call
SUPPORT OCA
You Made This Win Possible, Help Us Win the Next One
This is the world we are navigating together. Some days we win big. Some days we plug one hole while they dig another. But we keep showing up, and it is making a difference.
The broader Farm Bill still contains serious attacks on pesticide regulation that need to be stripped out before it becomes law.
Now that this bill has moved to the Senate, we need to be heard there as well. The OCA has been at this for many years now, with a community that continues to show every day that people power triumphs over corporate dollars when they join forces.
The momentum is ours, please help us hold it! We need help to keep the pressure on and spread the word, and we need your financial support, now more than ever.
To those of you who were able to support us previously, thank you! For those of you who can afford to do so, please consider a donation now.
NEW RESEARCH
Grass-Fed Beef Is More Nutritious Than Grain-Fed — And Now Science Is Catching Up
If you’ve been paying extra for grass-fed beef, and care about our environment a new study says you’re making the right call.
Researchers comparing grass-fed and grain-fed beef systems found that grass-fed beef contained three times more phytochemical antioxidants than its grain-fed counterpart. Vitamin A levels were nearly three times higher. Vitamin E was four times higher. And the pastureland where the grass-fed cattle grazed had 40 percent more organic matter in the soil than the cropland used to grow grain for feedlot cattle.
That last point matters as much as the nutrition numbers. Healthy soil and healthy food are not separate issues. When cattle graze on well-managed pasture, they build the land while they feed. When they’re packed into feedlots eating commodity grain, the animals and our land, water, air and health suffer for it.
Grass-fed farming is regenerative agriculture in practice, something we can all benefit from, better meat, better soil, and a food system that works the way nature intended.
BRAIN HEALTH
Every Step You Take Has a “Cleaning” Effect on Your Brain — Here’s How
A fascinating new study out of Penn State, published in Nature Neuroscience on April 27th, has uncovered something amazing about the connection between movement and brain health.
It turns out that something as simple as taking a walk may be doing more for your brain than you ever realized. Every time your abdominal muscles engage — whether you’re walking, getting up from a chair, or just bracing yourself — they push on blood vessels that run all the way up to your brain; that creates a tiny but real shift inside your skull. Additionally, that movement helps cerebrospinal fluid flow through the brain, sweeping out waste that, if left to accumulate, has been linked to diseases like Alzheimer’s.
The researchers put it this way: think of your brain like a sponge. Movement is the squeeze. And a good squeeze, it turns out, is exactly what keeps it clean.
NEW STUDY
Why Are Young People Getting Colon Cancer? Researchers Point to Pesticides
by The ASCO Post Staff:
“A new study has identified for the first time the exposome footprint—the set of environmental and lifestyle exposures—for colorectal cancer occurring in patients younger than age 50 through epigenetic signatures. By comparatively analyzing DNA methylation patterns in patients under and over 50, the work, published by Maas et al in Nature Medicine, confirms the influence of factors such as diet, education level, and smoking.
While an estimated 90% of worldwide cases and deaths occur in individuals over 50 years old, in recent years, a disproportionate increase in the incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer has been observed. In the United States, early-onset colorectal cancer is already the leading cause of cancer-related death in men under 50 and the second in women under 50.
‘In this analysis, we observed significant differences in epigenetic signatures associated with diet, tobacco, and pesticide exposure,’ said Silvana Maas, PhD, a postdoctoral investigator in Dr. Seoane’s group and first author of this study. ‘Among the pesticides, a very clear correlation signal stood out between exposure to the pesticide picloram and early-onset colorectal cancer.’”
TAKE ACTION
Tell Congress: Pass Real Food Safety Reform — Not the Chemical Industry’s Version
A major battle over what goes into your food is currently unfolding in Washington, and the outcome will impact every family in America.
On April 29th, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing on 28 food safety bills — including Rep. Frank Pallone’s Grocery Reform and Safety Act, the real reform bill that would finally close the notorious GRAS loophole. That loophole, which stands for “Generally Recognized as Safe,” has allowed food and chemical companies to self-certify that their own ingredients are safe to eat, bypassing FDA review entirely. Nearly 99 percent of all food chemicals introduced since 2000 have entered our food supply through this loophole, with no independent safety review whatsoever.
Pallone’s bill would change that. It would require companies to submit actual scientific evidence to the FDA before putting new chemicals in our food, and it would mandate regular reassessment of chemicals already in the food supply every three years.
But the chemical industry has its own bill waiting in the wings. The so-called “Better Food Disclosure Act,” pushed by the American Food Industry Trading organization AFIT, sounds good on paper but would do the opposite — expanding industry self-policing, weakening the FDA’s already limited authority, and blocking the state laws that have been leading the way on food safety. Both health and consumer advocates on both sides of the aisle have called it what it is: a wish list for the chemical industry.
The hearing just happened, it is being debated now, this is exactly the moment when constituent voices matter most.
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE
Urban Harvest: Black Radish Farm Grows Community
by Michelle M. Sharp, Meet the Minnesota Makers:
“Working from their own home and 14 other yards in south Minneapolis, Jade and Carrie cultivate fruit trees, maintain chickens, nurture potatoes, and battle jumping worms. The Black Radish offers a different vision of what a farm looks like. Farming happens within the community it primarily feeds when it manages to find space to grow.
The Black Radish follows organic and environmentally-sustainable agricultural practices. This means low or no till management in their ‘fields,’ use of cover crops for soil protection, and integrated pest and disease management to avoid introducing chemicals into their produce and Minnesota’s watershed. Farming this way involves a lot of labor from its people.
Through their Wednesday Rounds that they share on social media, everyone’s invited to celebrate sexy eggplants, towering sunflowers, and bountiful beans grown in magical tunnels. Jade and Carrie also use the Wednesday rounds to document the challenges of summer hail storms, battles with squash vine borers, and how they mindfully convert urban lawns to pollinator-friendly spaces with high density produce yields. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram to join Carrie, Jade and their kids on the Wednesday Rounds.”
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE
Toxins Plus Climate Harms Are Likely Cause of Reduced Fertility, Study Finds
Tom Perkins, The Guardian:
“Simultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate change’s impacts likely generates an additive or synergistic effect that increases reproductive harm, and may contribute to the broad global drop in fertility, new peer-reviewed research finds.
The review of scientific literature considers how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, often found in plastic, coupled with climate change’s effects, such as heat stress, are each linked to reductions in fertility and fecundity across global species – including in humans, wildlife and invertebrates.
Though the reproductive harms of each of these issues in isolation are well-studied, there is little research on what happens when living organisms are subjected to both. Together, the two issues likely pose a greater threat to fertility, and the additive effect is ‘alarming’, said Susanne Brander, a study lead author and courtesy faculty at Oregon State University.”
HEALTHY LIVING
One More Reason to Buy Organic: Your Gut Will Thank You
If you needed another reason to reach for organic fermented foods at the grocery store, science has one for you.
A study comparing organic and conventional fermented foods found that organic sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt, and pickled vegetables contained higher levels of beneficial lactic acid bacteria than their conventional counterparts. Those bacteria don’t just support digestion — they actively work to fight off pathogens in the gut. Organic versions also came out ahead on vitamin C and calcium content.
The researchers put it plainly: combining the natural power of lactic acid fermentation with organically grown ingredients gives you some of the most health-promoting food you can put on your table.
So the next time you’re choosing between the organic and conventional jar of sauerkraut, know that the choice goes deeper than avoiding pesticides. You’re also feeding your gut the good stuff it actually needs.
FOOD & FARMING
How Biodiversity Shapes Everyday Life
Elle Jeffrey, Farmers Footprint:
“Biodiversity plays a foundational role in the quality of the food we grow and eat. On a biodiverse farm, many forms of life work together, from microbes and fungi in the soil to insects, plants, animals, and surrounding vegetation. These relationships help cycle nutrients, build soil structure, improve water retention, and create the conditions for food to grow in a more balanced and nourishing system.
Healthy soil sits at the center of that relationship. Living soil contains vast communities of microorganisms that help plants access the minerals and nutrients they need to grow well. The more biologically active and diverse the soil, the stronger the foundation for nutrient-dense food.
That connection continues into our own bodies. When we eat food grown in healthy, living soil, we consume the compounds, nutrients, and microbial exposures that come from that system. These play a role in shaping the diversity of the gut microbiome, which is closely linked to digestion, immune function, and overall health. Research is still deepening our understanding of these relationships, but the connection between biodiversity, soil vitality, food quality, and human wellbeing is becoming increasingly clear.”
LITTLE BYTES
Other Essential Reading and Videos for the Week
18 Amish Gardening Habits That Make Sense
Trump’s Plan for Ultrafast Meat Processing Would Be a Disaster for Workers and the Environment
How Hidden Soil Fungi ‘Steal’ Bacterial DNA to Control the Rain
We Won a Long Fought Battle. Now Let’s Be Honest About the War
Drivers Help Study Road-Trip Mystery: What Became of Bug Splats?
Pet Flea Treatments Are Poisoning Wild Birds, New Study Finds
Most Rented Farmland Owned by Non-Farmers, USDA Says
This Simple Amino Acid Supplement Greatly Reduces Alzheimer’s Damage
At 100, David Attenborough’s Message Is No Longer Just About Wonder
California Farmers To Destroy 420,000 Peach Trees Following Del Monte Bankruptcy
Agriculture Is Changing. To Protect Farmers From Stress, Mental Health Support Has to Change, Too
Why Nearly Every Farmer Who Grows These Chile Peppers Is a Woman
National Organic Coalition Discusses Why Farmers Are Dropping Organic Certification