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Big Food has Taken Over the USDA National Organic Program – Why I am no Longer Importing Certified Organic Food

Since the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed standards for organic foods to be certified as "organic" by the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) in 2002, the quality of organic food sold in the U.S. has been rapidly declining, as the major food corporations that control most of the nation's food supply have continually applied pressure to the USDA to lower those organic standards so that they could capitalize on consumer demand for "certified organic" food, while still mass producing their food the same way they produce conventional (non-organic) foods. Unfortunately, things have only become worse here in 2024 for the USDA certified organic program, in terms of consolidating power for the industry for Corporate Big Food. When the United States was founded back in the 1700s, about 90% of the population was employed in agriculture. By the time of the Civil War under President Lincoln, that number had fallen to about 50%. Today, just a handful of companies produce our food, with less than 2% of the population employed in agriculture. In short, we are just one disaster away from our entire food chain collapsing. If you are among the tens of millions of people in the U.S. who rely on grocery store chains to purchase your food, and have never considered what you would do if the shelves of those stores went bare, then it is time you change your thinking and buying habits when it comes to food.

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Missouri Farmer Who Ran Largest Organic Food Fraud Scheme in U.S. History Takes Own Life Instead of Reporting to Prison

Last month (August, 2019), U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Missouri farmer Randy Constant to 10 years in prison in what is reportedly the largest organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history. Judge Williams gave shorter prison terms to three Overton, Nebraska, farmers whom Constant recruited to join the scheme. According to the Associated Press: "The farmers reaped more than $120 million in proceeds from sales of the tainted grain. The scheme may have involved up to 7 percent of organic corn grown in the U.S. in 2016 and 8 percent of the organic soybeans, prosecutors said. 'Thousands upon thousands of consumers paid for products they did not get and paid for products they did not want,' Williams said. 'This has caused incalculable damage to the confidence the American public has in organic products.' Williams said the scam harmed other organic farmers who were playing by the rules but could not compete with the low prices offered by Constant’s Iowa-based grain brokerage, and middlemen who unknowingly purchased and marketed tainted organic grain." Randy Constant reportedly never showed up to serve his prison term, but committed suicide instead.

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Carrageenan Approved by USDA for use in Organics in Spite of Links to Intestinal Inflammation, Cancer and Diabetes

A highly controversial natural food substance, carrageenan, a seaweed derivative used in conventional, “natural,” and some organic foods, was just reapproved by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. This move overrides the recommendation of the National Organic Standards Board, an expert industry panel set up by Congress. After hearing from medical and scientific experts describing carrageenan’s link to intestinal inflammation, cancer, and other human health risks, the NOSB voted to remove carrageenan from the list of approved synthetic and non-organic substances for use in organic food production. In a move unprecedented during the last quarter century of organic industry rulemaking, the USDA ignored the NOSB vote in the Federal Register without an opportunity for the public to comment on their decision before it goes into effect. “This is the latest instance of the Trump/Purdue administration siding with powerful agribusiness interests. They are running roughshod over the will of Congress that established the NOSB as a buffer to insulate organic regulations from corrupt corporate lobbyists,” said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that acts as an organic industry watchdog.

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GMO: The Truth about the Science

Earlier this month, major biotech and agriculture groups sent a letter to key members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee supporting the inclusion of $3 million in the fiscal year 2017 budget to “better inform the public about the application of biotechnology to food and agricultural production.” In plain English, these groups are asking for taxpayer dollars to fund propaganda efforts on behalf of the biotech industry. For those interested in real answers to questions about GMOs, we’ve recently updated and revamped our GMO Fact Check site. We’ve included the most up-to-date information on the safety of GMOs, the facts about GMOs and pesticide use, the epidemic of cross-pollination of GMOs with conventional (and/or organic) crops, the myth that GMOs increase crop yields, and much more. Our information is science-based and fully cited. Since industry has systematically attempted to corrupt so many government agencies, universities, and researchers working in this field, simply having accurate, scientific data is an accomplishment.

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GMO Canola Escapes into Wild: New Mutant Plants Found

When consumers purchase organic produce, they expect to avoid vegetables and fruits that have been genetically modified or sprayed with dangerous pesticides. The unsettling reality, however, is that cross-contamination between GM plants and conventional or organic plants is not only possible—it is already happening. Millions of acres of GM rapeseed, which is used to make canola oil, the most popular cooking oil in North America, are being grown—in Canada and Australia in particular, but also in the US. This GM rapeseed has spread across the world, growing wild in ports, railway beds, along highways, and other areas where it has “escaped” during transport. Not only is it growing wild—it has contaminated another Brassica, the parent of cruciferous vegetables known as Brassica rapa. Organic broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Napa cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and more are now under threat.

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Organic Producers Sue USDA for Changing Organic Rules without Public Input

Organic stakeholders have filed a lawsuit in federal court, maintaining that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated the federal rulemaking process when it changed established procedures for reviewing the potential hazards and need for allowed synthetic and prohibited natural substances used in producing organic food. The unilateral agency action taken to adopt major policy change without a public process, the plaintiffs maintain, violates one of the foundational principles and practices of OFPA -public participation in organic policy-making.

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Coca-Cola Is Getting into the Milk Business

There is nothing natural about this milk. They’ve managed to increase its protein and calcium content by separating the milk into its five components (water, butterfat, protein, lactose, and vitamins and minerals), then removing the lactose altogether and recombining the rest in different proportions. More information about their process is unavailable since it falls under “proprietary” secrets. We wonder if sacrificing good fats, vitamins, and minerals are an appropriate price for increased protein and calcium content. Note that the calcium has been added without including important co-factors like vitamin K that move calcium into the bones and keep it from damaging the heart.

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USDA Power Play Threatens the Future of Organic Foods

Last week saw an inter-agency power grab. It begins with the weakening of organic standards—and could end with the term “organic” becoming practically meaningless. Action Alert! Tell the USDA to use a public and transparent process for all major changes to organic standards by publishing proposed changes in the Federal Register, and actively seeking public input and discussion. In addition, tell the USDA to enforce the sunset provision of the OFPA as it was originally intended—allowing synthetic products to remain after their “sunset” date only after public debate and a two-thirds vote of the NOSB. More than 100 synthetics will be up for sunset consideration in 2015. We must act now to protect the integrity of organics.

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ALERT: Certified Organic Food Grown in U.S. Found Contaminated with Glyphosate Herbicide

ALERT! Think you can avoid glyphosate by buying organic? Think again. A shocking new investigation by Tropical Traditions reveals that many products in the organic grain market in the U.S. contain glyphosate residue at levels almost the same as conventional grains.

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Organics Board to Review Rules for BPA, GMOs, and GMO Vaccines for Animals

The National Organic Standards Board will be meeting later this month to discuss and vote on fundamental issues that will determine the future of organic foods. They plan to research whether BPA in the packaging of organic food should be banned. They also will tackle cross-contamination of organic crops from GMO crops, and other thorny GMO issues. The deadline for comments is this week.

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20 Amazing Health Benefits of Tomatoes That Should Make Them A Daily Staple In Your Diet

Just one serving a day of tomato-based foods can have an incredibly beneficial effect on your health. Not only can they reduce heart disease, but they could potentially prevent and reverse dozens of diseases if eaten daily. This is one fruit you don't want to leave out of your diet.

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USDA Takes Over Organic Program Eroding Organic Standards to Benefit Big Food

At a meeting in San Antonio, Texas this week to discuss national organic standards, government officials from the USDA had organic food activists arrested and then seized control of the meetings appointing their own chairman. It appears that the goal of corporate agribusiness is to lower the standards of organic agriculture by using more and more non-organic and synthetic substances. They want to use factory farming techniques and all the other mass production methods that they have been using in conventional food production, but under the organic label. In short, they want to obtain the financial gain of using the certified organic label, while not expending additional money to produce higher quality products. They are happy to be organic in name only and to meet the lowest bar of organic production that is possible. They are using the organic label for corporate gain while destroying the meaning of the word “organic” for those who are working hard to produce the highest quality products. If corporations continue to dominate the National Organic Standards Board and continue to control the staff of the National Organic Program, then we can expect to see greater weakening of organic standards. If this happens, then we will no longer be able to depend on the USDA to help us navigate between food options.

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Will New FDA Regulations Put Organic Farms Out Of Business?

The FDA’s new food safety rules are threatening to put organic small farmers out of business, while protecting Big Ag. Your action is needed to let the FDA know that this is unacceptable!

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Europeans and Canadians Enjoy Antibiotic-Free Organic Apples and Pears, but Not in the U.S.

Americans may never taste an organic apple or pear that hasn’t been sprayed with antibiotics unless the NOSB sticks to its plan to forbid streptomycin on all organic fruits after October 2014. Organic food should not contain synthetic substances, and most of it doesn’t—with the exception of apples and pears. Organic apple and pear trees are sprayed with streptomycin and oxytetracycline to prevent “fire blight,” so named because the tree appears to be burned. In 2011, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB, the decision-making body behind the federal organic standards), voted to prohibit antibiotics after October 2014. But growers have now petitioned NOSB for more time, so NOSB may delay the sunset date until 2016, unnecessarily exposing both orchards and consumers to streptomycin for at least two additional years.

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SWAT Team Raids Peaceful Organic Farmers in Texas

Inhabitants of The Garden of Eden, a small Intentional Community based on Sustainability, were awakened by a SWAT raid conducted by the City of Arlington for suspicion of being a full fledged marijuana growth and trafficking operation. Ultimately only a single arrest was made based on unrelated outstanding traffic violations, a handful of citations were given for city code violations, and zero drug related violations were found. All 8 adults present in the house were initially handcuffed at the gunpoint of heavily armed SWAT officers, including the mother of a 22 month old and a two week old baby who was separated from her children during the raid. The police enforced activity on the day of the raid included mowing the grass, the forcible destruction of both wild and cultivated plants like blackberries, lamb’s quarters and okra, and the removal of other varied materials from around the premises such as pallets, tires and cardboard that the Community members say they had collected for use in sustainability projects. No marijuana or other drugs were found on site. The entire operation lasted about 10 hours and involved many dozens of city officials, SWAT team, police officers and code compliance employees, and numerous official vehicles including dozens of police cars and several specialized vehicular equipment that was involved in the “abatement” operation. Witnesses say that there were helicopters and unmanned flying drones circling the property in the days prior to the raid that are presumed to have been a part of the intelligence gathering. The combined expenses for the raid itself and the collection of information leading up to the fruitless raid are estimated in the tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

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How Organic Farming Could Release Us From the Curse of Fertilizer

Proponents of factory farms and genetically engineered crops argue that monocropping, or crop specialization, is the only way to feed the masses and that it's far more profitable than having small independent farms in every township. But is this really true? A number of studies show just the opposite! In fact, studies are showing that medium-sized organic farms are far more profitable than ANY sized industrial agricultural operation. Not only that, but organic farming practices use natural, time-tested techniques that naturally prevents soil depletion and destruction, and doesn’t use chemical fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals that pollute our soil, air, and waterways.

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USDA Considering Allowing Antibiotics in Organic Tree Fruit Production

There is no debate that low level, chronic dietary exposure to antibiotics is deleterious to human health. This is especially important in light of the disproportionate intake of apples and apple products by children.

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Organic Standards in Danger Unless You Make Your Voice Heard

by Alliance for Natural Health

It’s like they’re saying, “Ssh! If we keep quiet enough, nobody will complain!” Let’s not let them get away with it. Action Alert!

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will hold its spring board meeting in April. As you probably know, NOSB is the governing board created by Congress that reviews […]

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Seeds of Discontent: A Texas Organic Cotton Farmer Takes On Monsanto

by Eva Hershaw
TexasObserver.org and ReportingTexas.com

This story was produced as part of a joint venture with Reporting Texas, an online publication at the University of Texas-Austin’s School of Journalism.

Through the windows of LaRhea Pepper’s pickup, turnrows of blooming Texas cotton stretched to the horizon under an impeccably blue sky. We barreled down a dirt road toward her brother-in-law […]

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Organics is About More Than Just Nutrients

Health Impact News Editor Comments: This wonderful graphic provided by the Organic Trade Association shows just what is driving the organic movement in the U.S. – consumer demand! As such, it has a tremendous impact on our economy.

Given the fact that today less than 1% of our population is now producing food for the […]

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