Aerial
photo of Aurora "organic" dairy factory farm courtesy
of Cornucopia
Institute

ALERT
OF THE WEEK:

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any hotter (or any more mind-boggling),
the "organic" dairy factory farm controversy reached
a new level of intensity over the past week. The USDA announced,
to the disappointment of the organic community, that they were
not going to take further disciplinary measures against Aurora
Organic Dairy, a company that just a few weeks ago had a portion
of its organic certification suspended by the USDA for "willfully"
violating National Organic Standards since 2003 by failing to
pasture its animals and by bringing conventional calves onto its
feedlots and then declaring them organic. But caving in to pressure
from Aurora and other big corporate players in the organic sector
, the USDA now says the #1 organic private label dairy processor
in the U.S. can continue selling milk produced on its factory
farms as "organic" to its longstanding customers including
Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway, and Woodstock Farms.

In
a mind-twisting manipulation of logic, the new acting Secretary
of Agriculture, Chuck Connors, a notorious cheerleader for biotech
and corporate agribusiness, announced last week that this issue,
regarding Aurora’s violation of the USDA National Organic Standards,
falls outside the scope of the USDA National Organic Standards.
"I know there is controversy out there on a number of issues
that really fall outside the bounds, if you will, of what constitutes
that organic standard that is necessary in order for the product
to have our seal," said Connors.

Now
that they have the USDA in their pocket, Aurora is threatening
to sue the Organic Consumers Association and Cornucopia Institute
for educating and mobilizing consumers to oppose Aurora’s blatant
violations of organic integrity. In related news, the recent issue
of Fortune Magazine reports Aurora’s factory farms generated a
record 100 million dollars in "organic" dairy sales
to consumers this year. In other words, when it comes to suing
the OCA, Aurora has plenty of money, from selling its cheap "organic"
factory farm milk to Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, and Safeway . So
given this David versus Goliath situation, OCA needs your financial
support today, more than ever, to defend ourselves from this attack
by Aurora and to expose the ongoing negligence of the USDA.

We
need your support today to safeguard organic standards and to
protect the rights of organic consumers and family farmers.



/old_articles/donations.htm

GRASSROOTS
VICTORY OF THE WEEK:

Caving to the threat of a lawsuit over the company’s marketing
practices, Kellogg has announced a new sweeping policy that will
shift the company’s nutritional guidelines and set a new standard
for the food industry. Under the new guidelines, all products
marketed to children under the age of 12 must contain a maximum
of 200 calories, 2 grams of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium,
12 grams of labeled sugar and 0 grams of labeled trans fat per
serving. Currently, 50 percent of Kellogg products marketed to
children fail to meet their new criteria. The company says implementation
will begin immediately. Twenty-seven percent of Kellogg’s advertising
budget goes to marketing to children under the age of 12.
Learn more: /articles/article_5651.cfm

QUOTE
OF THE WEEK:

"I agree with you that there aren’t any throw-away species
or resources, but you agree with me there aren’t any throw-away
children or neighborhoods, right? So we need to get these movements
working together."
Van Jones speaking to Julia Butterfly Hill about
a new bill he helped pass that trains inner city kids in the solar,
wind, and other sustainability-related industries.

WEB
VIDEOS OF THE WEEK:

TURNING
FROM OIL TO ORGANICS: Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous
elected leader since the Spanish conquest 470 years ago, has nationalized
his nation’s oil and gas revenues to fund a radical shift towards
sustainable agriculture and programs to assist the impoverished.
And he’s accomplished all of this in eight short months in office.
Of course the White House and multinational corporations vehemently
oppose Morales’ populist platform, but, for the rest of us, nationalizing
oil and cutting military spending to fund a country’s shift towards
sustainability is truly inspiring. Watch this interview with the
Daily Show’s Jon Stewart: /articles/article_7437.cfm

TRUE
LIES: How are organics, health, justice and sustainability
tied to the "War on Terror", global warming, and U.S.
foreign and domestic policies? Let Taalam Acey show you in this
three minute inspiring spoken word piece: /articles/article_7435.cfm

image
by:
Chris Lutter of
Puppet Farm

RELATED
ALERT:
BREAKING THE CHAINS, FIGHTING GLOBAL WARMING, & ENDING THE
WAR
Hello Artists, Revolutionaries, Costumed Rabble-Rousers, Puppetistas,
Radical Cheerleaders, Freeway Banner-Makers, Political Thespians,
Cultural Creatives, Filmmakers, Photographers, Musicians, Singers,
Dancers, Poets & All! Introducing
OCA’s new creative partner, The Backbone Campaign. Watch the short
Meet
the Backbone Campaign video to learn more about their exciting
work. We look forward to working together to create a future worthy
of our children.
To get involved, join the Lumbar Club https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=19548

OCA
FORUM TOPIC OF THE WEEK:

Hop into the OCA
Forum /old_articles/forum/index.php?showtopic=412
to join the discussion about how to plug into creative actions
already underway, including, Reverse
Trick-or-Treating (October 31) , Step
It Up (November 3) , the International
Day of Action Against Big Box Stores (November 17) , and Focus
the Nation (January 31)

Every day is a new opportunity to plant peace and take action
to put an end to war and military madness while greening and re-localizing
the global economy. Today, Organic Consumers Association urges
you to ask your Senators and Congressperson sign on to the Peace
Pledge and bring a rapid end to the bloody trillion dollar war
in Iraq by refusing to give President Bush any more money than
he needs to bring the troops home now. /articles/article_7455.cfm
When you get a chance, please take a look at OCA’s Planting Peace
homepage where new articles are posted daily: http://www.plantingpeace.us
And join the discussion in the Planting Peace Web forum: /old_articles/forum/index.php?showforum=32

PRODUCT
PLUNDER OF THE WEEK:

A recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found
that 12 out of 14 air fresheners tested positive for harmful levels
of pthalates, which are known to cause reproductive problems and
hormone disruption in humans. Neither the FDA nor the EPA conducts
any spot checking of toxic chemicals in air freshener products.
Of the tested products, the only two products that did not contain
pthalates were Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects.
The other twelve products tested positive even though some of
the products were labeled natural.
/articles/article_7326.cfm