"Biotech
industry leaders are monitoring the rising power of their opponents and
facing the possibility that county-level bans in California could spur
a statewide campaign, said George Gough, government affairs manager for
the Monsanto Co… This week, GMO-Free Mendocino officially joined arms
with the Organic Consumers Association, which bills itself as the nation’s
largest public-interest group dedicated to a healthy food system. The
Association claims 90,000 California members. The goal of the newly minted
BioDemocracy Alliance–the two groups’ joint effort–is to prepare for
‘the biotech bullies’ who could challenge California county bans in court
or the state Capitol." — Sacramento Bee, July 15, 2004

Last week GMO-Free Mendocino officially teamed up with the Organic Consumers
Association to form the BioDemocracy
Alliance, a coalition of grassroots groups focused on helping new regions
across the U.S. pass legislation to ban genetically engineered crops.
The Alliance has already helped four new counties in California gather
enough signatures to place GMO-free initiatives on their November ballots:
Butte, Humboldt, Marin, and San Luis Obispo. Informed sources have told
the press that biotech behemoths like Monsanto will likely soon seek state
legislation to suppress these county bans. In an interview with the Sacramento
Bee, Monsanto spokesperson George Gough expressed the corporation’s fears,
saying, "While this still is certainly a grass-roots, county-by-county
effort, it may be quickly becoming not so grass roots." /old_articles/ge-free.htm

The OCA urgently
needs additional funds to fight Monsanto’s counter-attack in California,
and to help spread GE-Free Zones across the country. Earlier this year,
on March 15, the OCA sent out an email Action Alert asking for $50,000
to launch this effort, and you, the readers of Organic Bytes, responded
generously by sending us $53,000. Now we are asking for your help once
again. This is a turning point in the struggle against Monsanto and genetically
engineered foods, so please take the time now to send us a donation. Please
make an online donation (/old_articles/donations.htm)
or call or mail in a donation to our office:

Organic
Consumers Association
6101 Cliff Estate Road
Little Marais, Minnesota 55614
Telephone: 218-226-4164

We are also
looking for volunteers to help pass GMO bans in other areas. If you wish
to volunteer, please email <ryan@organicconsumers.org>

Dr. Steven Kurtz, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Buffalo
was recently taken into custody by the FBI for having bioengineered organisms.
The organisms were harmless, legal, and commonly used throughout the U.S.,
but they were being used to create an art piece protesting the history
of germ warfare experiments by the U.S., including the Bush Administration’s
plans to use hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to build more military
focused high security labs across the nation. The FBI stacked the jury
box with representatives from the FBI and the Department of Defense. Although
Kurtz was found innocent of any real terrorist crimes, the FBI succeeded
in charging the professor with four counts of mail and wire fraud (up
to 80 years in prison). According to the CAE Defense Fund, "Historically,
these laws have been used when the government could not prove other criminal
charges." /old_articles/ge/fbi-buffalo.cfm

U.S.
census bureau data shows that the gap between rich and poor families in
the U.S. is greater than ever before. At the same time, the rate of childhood
obesity is increasing practically as quickly as the national debt. A cross
analysis of such data is presented in the 2004 State of the Children report,
recently released by the Children’s Defense Fund, and unfortunately, the
results are downright depressing. For example, increased economic disparity
on racial lines means African American infants are currently twice as
likely to die in their first year as White infants. Cutbacks in education
funding have led to a full 70% fourth graders not being able to read or
write at grade level. Weaker gun control laws have resulted in eight children
dying from gunfire every day. Interestingly enough, many of these statistics
are reminiscent of data coming out of Texas during GW’s governorship.
/old_articles/school/troubles071904.cfm

Across the U.S. a relatively new food delivery phenomenon is occurring.
Increased working hours and busy schedules are requiring that some families
find new ways of getting fresh locally grown organic produce to their
homes. From San Francisco to Philadelphia to New York City, organic delivery
services are successfully filling a new market niche in the food industry.
Find one (or start one) near you: /old_articles/organic/doortodoor071904.cfm

The USDA’s overly confident audit of its Mad Cow (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
or BSE) testing policies and procedures has backfired. Assessors announcing
the results of this audit have revealed gaping holes in government policies,
including poorly trained field inspectors, failure to test the riskiest
animals, and "an almost complete absence of available documentation."
The report’s conclusion supports the recommendations made for years by
the Organic Consumers Association and other consumer groups, saying, "The
problems identified during our review, if not corrected, may negatively
impact the effectiveness of USDA’s overall BSE surveillance program, impair
its ability to perform risk assessments and program evaluations, and reduce
the credibility of any assertion regarding the prevalence of BSE in the
United States." /old_articles/madcow.htm

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) recommendations are revered as
pure fact by doctors and patients alike. But as is the case in most sects
of the U.S. government, a public institution’s policies can also be heavily
swayed by corporate dollars. As an example, AHA only endorses Bayer aspirin,
and in return, Bayer "donates" $500,000 to AHA every year. Since
2002, Subway has also been riding the AHA bandwagon. In exchange for $10
million in "donations" over the course of 5 years to AHA, Subway
can proudly plaster the AHA’s "fighting heart disease and strokes"
logo on its advertising materials. Although the majority of the food sold
at Subway outlets includes junk food, processed red meats and cheeses,
chips, soda, and cookies, thanks to creative advertising and the AHA,
the majority of Americans equate Subway with a healthy fast food outlet.
Subway now has more stores in the U.S. than McDonalds (an average of over
300 in every state) with 21,528 restaurants in 75 countries. /old_articles/corp/subway071504.cfm

An investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
has captured video of workers abusing chickens at a supplier plant for
KFC. Employees were caught throwing live chickens against walls and kicking
them. Eye witness testimony also revealed workers "ripping birds’
beaks off, spray painting their faces, twisting their heads off, spitting
tobacco into their mouths and eyes, and breaking them in half – all while
the birds are still alive." KFC awarded this same slaughterhouse
with its "Supplier of the Year" award. PETA has already called
for a boycott on KFC until the company requires its suppliers to adhere
to animal right laws.
/old_articles/toxic/kfc.cfm

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