Organic Bytes
SUBSCRIBE | DONATE Share on Facebook Follow OCA on Twitter OCA on Pinterest Follow OCA on YouTube Instagram LinkedIn RSS Feed

new book GRASSROOTS RISING by Ronnie Cummins with a pair of headphones
BOOK CORNER

The Playbook We Need

“Regenerative agriculture is going to be a key phrase in the decades ahead—and this book will get you in on the ground floor, so to speak. Not much could be more important!”— Bill McKibben, author of “Falter

When Ronnie started this book, COVID-19 wasn’t on his mind.

But during this unprecedented global crisis, “Grassroots Rising” is the playbook we all need.

We’re guessing most of you—except those of you who are the pandemic frontline heroes providing essential services—probably have more time to read, or listen, to books right now.

And you’re probably in dire need of any message that offers hope—and concrete action steps for creating a better world.

Ronnie’s new book, your “good news” instruction manual for fixing our broken food and farming system and our broken climate, is now available on audible.com. You can also order the paperback online.

Regrettably, Ronnie had to cancel his book tour, even as he was driving throughout the southwest for scheduled speaking events. The cancelations were necessary, in the interest of public health.

Fortunately, we’re planning an online book tour. Stay tuned for details!

In the meantime, stay healthy, stay sane and above all, stay engaged.

Listen up! ‘Grassroots Rising’ now available on audible.com

Listen (free) to the first 17 minutes of Ronnie’s book

Buy your copy of ‘Grassroots Rising’

TAKE ACTION: Donate $100 or more and get a copy of Ronnie’s book

Sign up for Regeneration International’s newsletter

SIGN THE PETITION: Consumers Want a Regenerative Green New Deal!


red renderings of corona virus cells with the word COVID19
COVID-19

So Many Questions

How we ended up in the middle of a devastating global pandemic is, and will likely be for a long, long time, the subject of much debate.

But there is no debate about this: Scientists were conducting research on coronaviruses in a lab, in Wuhan, China, with funding from the U.S.

Were those scientists looking for a vaccine? Or were they up to something more nefarious? Did the COVID-19 virus accidentally escape the lab? Did someone knowingly let it out?

We should all demand answers, with an eye toward preventing the next pandemic. 

In the meantime, we’re scrambling for ways to stop the spread of COVID-19. We’re looking for ways to boost our immune systems, through healthier foods and supplements. We’re looking for better ways to treat people who are already sick with the virus.

And, of course, many scientists are focused on finding a vaccine. But is that the right solution? Is it even possible?

In this interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—who has been branded an “anti-vaxxer” because he’s had the audacity to question Big Pharma and the vaccine industry—says this:

“Let me just talk for a minute about the COVID vaccine. We’re all waiting for a vaccine, and by the way, Joe, if they come up with a vaccine and they’ve actually done real testing on it, safety testing, and the vaccine works, I would be happy to have the vaccine. But the problem is they’re not testing it at this point.”

Kennedy walks us through the complicated world of vaccines and coronaviruses. It’s worth a watch (or if you’d rather read, the transcript is here.)

NOTE: OCA’s position on vaccine safety: Research suggests that some vaccines may be safe, some may not be safe, at least not for some people. As with any medicine, consumers have the right to know exactly what is in every vaccine, and what the latest, most reliable research says about the potential risk for each and every recommended vaccine, as well as the cumulative risks associated with aggressive vaccine schedules, and the potential risks of administering multiple vaccines simultaneously. We reject the false narrative, promoted by Big Pharma, that there are only two sides to the vaccine issue: pro-vaccine or “anti-vaxxer.” Instead, as with any medication, we advocate that consumers seek guidance from reliable sources before taking vaccines or any other medication, and that medical practitioners and pharmaceutical companies provide truthful, up-to-date information about the safety and efficacy of any medicines, including vaccines, that they promote and profit from.

Read and watch this interview with RFK, Jr. 

Read the unedited transcript

MORE ON COVID-19

Read: ‘Doctors Keep Discovering New Ways the Coronavirus Attacks the Body’

Read: Evidence SARS-CoV-2 Emerged From a Biological Laboratory in Wuhan, China

Watch: ‘Covid-19 A Result of Lab Manipulation? Suspicions Grow . . . ‘

SIGN THE PETITION: Stop the Genetic Engineering of Viruses! Shut Down All Biowarfare Labs Now!


red felt heart beside a burlap bag and coins with the word DONATION
SUPPORT OCA & CRL

Our Moment-Um

Never in the 22-year history of this organization has the mainstream media paid so much attention to where (most of) the meat in this country comes from, how horrific conditions are for slaughterhouse workers or how industry consolidation has created a highly vulnerable supply chain—all the while enriching a handful of Big Meat companies who are now playing the “too big to fail” card.

It’s tragic that it took a global pandemic to wake up the masses. It would be tragic if we missed this opportunity to spin gold from this straw.

In the coming weeks, we have to do everything in our power to educate and mobilize consumers, and to bend the ears of politicians. 

We have to do everything in our power to make sure that consumers who have shifted to buying locally sourced, organic regenerative products don’t revert back to old buying habits once COVID-19 subsides.

We have to do everything in our power to support politicians who are working furiously to pass legislation aimed at building resilient local and regional food systems.

We have to do everything in our power to persuade the media that this is a long-term story, not a short-term problem—and that we need to be looking at long-term solutions.

We have our work cut out for us. And we need you now, more than ever.

This is our moment. We can’t afford to lose our momentum.

Please make a generous donation if you can at this time. And please stay safe.

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

Support Citizens Regeneration Lobby, OCA’s 501(c)(4) lobbying arm (not tax-deductible)

Donate $100 or more and we’ll send you a copy of Ronnie’s new book

Click here for more ways to support our work


two farmers in a crop field with a wooden box of freshly harvested vegetables
ACTION ALERT

Get Local!

Two weeks ago, we asked you to “Tell Congress: No more COVID-19-contaminated factory farm slaughterhouses!”

Members of Congress listened!

On May Day, Reps. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) introduced legislation to help small farmers during the COVID-19 crisis by, among other things, making it easier for them to get grants to process grass-fed and pasture-raised meat. 

As COVID-19 outbreaks shut down factory farm slaughterhouses across the U.S., producers of organic regenerative pasture-raised and grass-fed meat are trying to fill the void. 

But for small farmers, getting their meat processed is challenging. Consolidation in the industrial meat sector, dominated by four Big Meat companies, has (intentionally) led to too few local and regional processing facilities.

It’s time to rebuild a decentralized, resilient and regenerative food system. Helping small farmers get access to local meat processing facilities is one way to help get us there.

TAKE ACTION: Ask Congress to help grass-fed and pasture-raised meat producers by supporting H.R. 6682!


BulletProof Collagen supplements
MYTH OF NATURAL

Heavy, Man

If your daily health regimen includes a dose of collagen supplement, beware. 

Despite labeling claims such as “Pure,” “All-Natural” and “Cleanest Nutrition Possible,” and deceiving images of grazing cows, open pastures and cage-free chickens on packaging and websites, most collagen peptide supplements are derived from industrial factory farms—and many collagen products contain heavy metals.

Organic Consumers Association and Clean Label Project tested 28 of the top-selling brands of collagen supplements on Amazon.com. Here’s what we found:

• 64% tested positive for measurable levels of arsenic
• 37% tested positive for measurable levels of lead
• 34% tested positive for trace levels of mercury
• 17% tested positive for measurable levels of cadmium

Why should consumers be concerned about these findings?

Because heavy metals accumulate over time in the body’s tissues, which can potentially lead to organ damage and in some cases, cancer.  

Read Beware: These Popular Collagen Supplements Contain Heavy Metals

Read our press release

Read the white paper

Check out this infographic

Read this news coverage by Public News Service


cover of the book PLAGUE OF CORRUPTION by Judy Mikovits
ESSAY OF THE WEEK

‘Punished, Exiled, Ruined’

It didn’t take long for the video “Plandemic” to go viral. It took even less time for Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and others to ban it, and for mainstream media to condemn it.

The woman behind “Plandemic”—Judy Mikovits—also has a new book out—“Plague of Corruption: Restoring Faith in the Promise of Science.” 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote the foreword to Mikovits’ book (the book topped the Amazon bestsellers list last week). Of Mikovits, Kennedy writes:

“From the outset, the most daunting obstacle to Mikovits’ career advancement was her scientific integrity. She always placed it ahead of personal ambition. Judy Mikovits never meant to wade into a public health brawl. She never considered herself a renegade or revolutionary. Judy’s relatives mainly worked in government or law enforcement. They believed in the bedrock American principles of hard work, respect for authority, and, above all, telling the truth. That backdrop made it impossible for her to abandon her high natal standards of honesty and integrity even when they became a hindrance.”

In her latest statements about COVID-19, Mikovits draws from her research on retroviruses. That research, Kennedy says, “changed the paradigm of HIV-AIDS treatment, turning the disease from a death sentence into a manageable condition.”

But as in the past, Mikovits challenges Big Pharma, Big Government, Big Medicine, Big Business and all the other “Bigs.”

And, as in the past, she is once again being punished, exiled and ruined—not unlike many other outspoken scientists of the past, from Galileo to Rachel Carson, according to Kennedy.

In the middle of a pandemic unlike we’ve ever witnessed, with so many unknowns and so few answers, should we really ban the voices of anyone who dares challenge the status quo? As Kenney argues:

“Science, at its best, is a search for existential truth. Sometimes, however, those truths threaten powerful economic paradigms. Both science and democracy rely on the free flow of accurate information. Greedy corporations and captive government regulators have consistently shown themselves willing to twist, distort, falsify, and corrupt science, hide information, and censor open debate to protect personal power and corporate profits.”

Read RFK Jr.’s Foreward to the latest book by Judy Mikovits