The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Probable…
President-Elect Obama is extremely close to naming a new Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture is responsible for directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its $90 billion annual budget, including the National Organic Program, food stamp and nutrition programs, and agriculture subsidies. Through the Organic Consumers Association web portal, you can now directly communicate with the President-Elect about your choice for Secretary of Agriculture and your vision for our nation’s food system.
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The OCA alerted consumers on October 29th about a proposed rule that represents the broadest rewrite of federal organic regulations in history. OCA welcomes the new proposed rules in terms of closing loopholes relating to pasture and forage requirements that had previously allowed dairy companies like Aurora and Horizon to source their milk from giant industrial feedlots. Unfortunately, the new proposed rules also include a number of new cumbersome regulations that would cause tremendous hardship, or even put the majority of organic livestock farmers out of business. OCA also objects to the part of the proposed regulations that would allow non-organic cattle to be brought onto a certified organic dairy farm and then be considered organic. The OCA has joined together with the Cornucopia Institute and a number of the nation’s leading organic certifiers to encourage the USDA to revise its proposed rule to crack down on factory farm abuses, and uphold organic integrity, without making it impossible for existing organic farms to operate and thrive.
After years of pressure from scientists, citizen groups and health advocates, the FDA has posted a statement to its website that is nothing less than a watershed event in oral hygiene history (it’s actually quite a bit more exciting than that may sound). Although the FDA has previously adamantly denied any and all scientific evidence pointing to negative health impacts from mercury fillings, the FDA has now posted the following to its website: “Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses…Pregnant women and persons who may have a health condition that makes them more sensitive to mercury exposure, including individuals with existing high levels of mercury bioburden, should not avoid seeking dental care, but should discuss options with their health practitioner.”
The majority of Christmas trees sold in the U.S. are grown on large plantations where pesticides are used that may cause the trees to contaminate your house with pesticide residues. Here are some quick tips to avoid that problem: 
Check out this series of humorous and educational videos that show viewers how to prepare high-quality wholesome food within the context of busy family life. You’ll learn something. You’ll get a laugh. You’ll work up an appetite. And you’ll find comfort in seeing that there are plenty of people with households as zany as yours.
Over the past year, Organic Bytes has warned its readers about the forced introduction of genetically engineered sugar beets into the U.S.
In an inspiring scene of solidarity, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the 1930s, more than 200 workers at a Chicago plant have refused to leave work after being unexpectedly laid off. Executives at the company, Republic Windows and Doors, announced massive layoffs after banks informed the company of credit cutbacks. Although Bank of America received a $25 billion taxpayer funded bailout, the financial behemoth continues to constrict credit, including cutting off operating credit to Republic Windows and Doors. In response to the layoffs, members of United Electrical Workers Local 1110 called for a sit-in at the factory. Worker backlash of this kind hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Protesting workers wear signs reading, “You got bailed out, we got sold out.”
“We feel like this is the moment for us as organizers. Yesterday, there were 2,000 organizers that were brought into Washington, D.C., many of them coming from the community organization where Barack Obama was trained in Chicago, talking about how we have to be there to push this administration forward. Groups are planning, January, February, bringing thousands of people to Washington, and also to be a part of this ten million email list that has been created…”