Aurora
Organic Dairy Farm is the largest "organic" factory
farm in the U.S., housing over 4,000 cows.

In
the last two issues of Organic Bytes we invited our readers to
vote on the direction of OCA’s Safeguard Organic Standards Campaign
by taking part in an online poll. The poll asked, "Should
the Organic Consumers Association call for a boycott of organic
brands that are lobbying to weaken organic laws and taking advantage
of loopholes in the organic standards (example: producing so-called
"organic" dairy products on factory farms, where the
animals are imported from conventional dairy farms, and then kept
in intensive confinement, with no access to pasture)?" We’d
like to thank everyone who took part in that poll. The results
indicate a resounding 96% of participants believe the OCA should
launch a boycott. In response, and in alliance with the Cornucopia
Institute, the OCA sent out a national press
release last week calling on consumers to boycott these brands.
Two of the largest organic dairy companies in the nation, Horizon
Organic (a subsidiary of Dean Foods) and supplier to Wal-Mart
and many health food stores; and Aurora Organic, a supplier of
private brand name organic milk to Costco, Safeway, Giant, Wild
Oats and others, are purchasing the majority of their milk from
feedlot dairies where the cows have little or no access to pasture.
The National Standards Board is currently accepting public comments
regarding factory farm dairy.
Take action here: /old_articles/nosb2.htm

Pesticide resistant weeds are introducing a new problem to cotton
farmers. Traditionally, herbicide resistance is dealt with by
simply changing the herbicide. But according to North Carolina
State weed scientist Alan York, farmers are running out of options:
there are no more effective pesticides to switch to. The majority
of farmers in the Cotton Belt are now growing Monsanto’s genetically
engineered Roundup Ready cotton, which is resistant to glyphosate
pesticides. As a result of the heavy use of glyphosate in the
area, varieties of pigweed have developed an immunity to it. Tests
at the University of Georgia showed that the pigweed Palmer Amaranth
has developed amazing resistance to glyphosate. Scientists doused
the weeds three times with a quadruple concentrated dose of glyphosate,
but the pigweed continued to grow and multiply. "If you grow
cotton in the Southeast, and you have Palmer amaranth in your
fields, looking at side-by-side comparisons of resistant and non-resistant
pigweed should scare you to death," York says. /old_articles/ge/cotton060404.cfm

Despite new cases of Mad Cow disease surfacing in the U.S., Japan
is reopening its borders to American beef. As a result of the
policy decision half of the members of Japan’s beef-safety government
advisory panel have resigned. Morikazu Shinagawa, a researcher
at the national Institute of Animal Health and a resigning member
of the panel, told Kyodo News Service he "couldn’t continue
to work" on the panel because the conclusion to resume imports
was preordained by the government. Japan banned U.S. beef imports
in 2003 due to weak beef safety regulations in the U.S. While
100% of cows in Japan, aged 24 months and older, are tested for
the Mad Cow disease, only 1% of the 35 million cattle slaughtered
annually in the U.S. are tested. Japan recently caved to pressure
from the Bush Administration and lift the ban on U.S. beef imports
while appointing new "experts" to its beef safety advisory
panel. /old_articles/artman/publish/article_227.cfm

Thanks to increased consumption of fast foods and junk foods, the
obesity level among American children has reached epidemic levels.
In addition to the countless negative health effects of childhood
obesity, a new study says the dietary problems have led to an unexpected
shortage of car seats designed for overweight children. Research
published in the April issue of Pediatrics indicates a shortage
of over 100,000 car seats for obese children. Motor vehicle crashes
account for 23 percent of deaths among infants and 30 percent among
preschool-aged children, meaning car seats designed for the correct
body type are essential. The problem is compounded for impoverished
families, considering the average car seat designed for an obese
child costs $200-300, which is three to four times more expensive
than conventional car seats. /old_articles/artman/publish/article_223.cfm

Europe’s environment chief has announced that more studies on
long term impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops must be
implemented before any new GE crops can be approved. Environment
Commissioner Stavros Dimas said that too many of the current GE
regulatory decisions are based on biased data provided by the
biotech industry, which put GE crops in a biased positive light.
"Applications for cultivation of GMO products raise a whole
new series of possible risks to the environment, notably potential
longer-term effects that could impact on biodiversity," he
said. /old_articles/ge/flawed060406.cfm

Why
color your eggs with artificial dyes when organic ingredients
can be used?

Tips:

1)
Try both fresh and frozen produce.
2) Canned
produce will produce much paler colors.
3) Boiling the colors with vinegar will result in deeper
colors (add 2 Tablespoons of vinegar per 4 cups of boiling
water, and add your chopped fruits and veggies to that).
4) Soak eggs 10 minutes in each color.

Colors:

Lavender:
Purple Grape Juice
Violet: Red Onions Skins
Blue: Blueberries
Red: Cabbage Leaves or juice from pickled beets
Green: Spinach Leaves
Greenish Yellow:Yellow Delicious Apple Peels
Yellow: Orange or Lemon Peels
Brown: Strong Coffee
Pink: Beets or cranberry juice

GOOD
NEWS AND BAD NEWS: The Environmental Protection Agency has announced
new stricter regulations on a number of carcinogenic chemicals. The
adjusted standards finally take into account the fact that children
are far more vulnerable to toxic chemicals, such as pesticides, than
adults. /old_articles/school/epatoxic040605.cfm

FISH
FARMS SPREAD LICE: Canadian researchers have discovered farmed salmon
are spreading sea lice to wild salmon. The scientists found unusually
high levels of lice in a 19 mile radius surrounding a salmon farm. "Conservatively,
this means that the parasite footprint of the farm is 150 times larger
than the farm itself," said study co-author John Volpe. /old_articles/foodsafety/salmon33105.cfm

NEW
YORK FIREMEN EAT MAD DEER: Mad Deer disease has now spread across
the country to New York, where scientists report that the state’s first
confirmed infected white tail deer was donated to the Verona (NY) Fire
Department and eaten at a banquet. Although the Oneida County Health
Department claims it is "unlikely" a deer infected with Chronic
Wasting Disease (CWD) can transfer the fatal illness to humans, they
are recommending that everyone who attended the event contact the New
York State Health Department immediately. /old_articles/madcow/firemen040505.cfm

TRUTH
IN LABELING: Thanks to consumer pressure, the Whole Foods Market
grocery chain has finally announced it will begin to label its private
label products in a manner that allows consumers to see which ingredients
may contain genetically modified organisms. CEO John Mackey said of
the policy, "If we don’t do this, who will?" Noting the possibility
that labeling could invite legal actions, Mackey stated that it would
be a "lawsuit worth fighting." /old_articles/ge/wholefoods040705.cfm

30
MILLION ORGANIC CONSUMERS IN USA: The organic market is exploding!
The Natural Marketing Institute has released a report indicating that
23% of U.S. shoppers are now organic consumers. In 2004, the organic
market grew by a full 18%, due to consumer concerns about their health
and the environment. /old_articles/organic/23percent32905.cfm