Here is an excert from an article that lists the following foods as Super Brain Foods. These are: Wholegrains, walnuts, cashews, blueberries, pecans, almonds, strawberries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, green tea, avocados, eggplant, tomatoes, yogurt, red cabbage, spinach, and chocolate. These are foods that assist one to concentrate memory, increase and tune sense of motor skills, motivation, speed of reaction time, control stress and slow down the aging of brain cells.
Blueberries
Eating blueberries and a diet rich in deep pigment from fruits and vegetables helps preserve the brain machinery and boost the potency of neuron signals. Blueberries literally strengthen the brain. They have compounds that turn on key systems in the brain enable other proteins to help with memory or other cognitive skills.
In one recent study, subjects who ate one cup of blueberries a day for two weeks showed an increased birth rate of brain cells in the hippocampus (region responsible for memory), and scored significantly higher in classroom tests than those subjects who did not.
Blueberries are also known to protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. In addition, blueberries also contain ellagic acid, another phytochemical that has been shown to prevent cell damage.
http://leftofzen.com/brain-food/2008/01/04/
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Dr. Tierra's Cherry Bark Decoction Sore Throat Syrup
Make a syrup using equal parts Elecampane, Wild Cherry bark, Licorice, Comfrey root, Coltsfoot and Lobelia. Cook down the decoction until it reaches a syrupy consistency.
Dosage: one tablespoon, every hour or as needed, for coughs and sore throats.
At the same time, take pills or capsules of equal parts powdered Slippery Elm, Bayberry bark, Comfrey root and Mullein. Take 2 capsules every two hours along with one teaspoon Garlic oil and 5 - 30 drops Echinacea tincture.
East West Herb Course p. 11-5 Michael Tierra with Lesley Tierra 1999, Santa Cruz, CA
Dosage: one tablespoon, every hour or as needed, for coughs and sore throats.
At the same time, take pills or capsules of equal parts powdered Slippery Elm, Bayberry bark, Comfrey root and Mullein. Take 2 capsules every two hours along with one teaspoon Garlic oil and 5 - 30 drops Echinacea tincture.
East West Herb Course p. 11-5 Michael Tierra with Lesley Tierra 1999, Santa Cruz, CA
Dr. Tierra's Garlic Syrup to stave off the flu and colds
Having a rough time with the ensuing season. Feeling something coming on? This Garlic Syrup sat in my kitchen without refrigeration for a total of 3 years until I finally used it all. No bacteria, nothing grew in it or spoiled it in anyway.
Place one pound of peeled, minced Garlic is a wide-mouthed 2 quart jar. Almost fill the jar with equal parts apple cider vinegar and distilled water. Cover and let stand in a warm place for four days, shaking a few times each day. Add one cup of glycerin and let is stand another day. Strain and filter the mixture with pressure through a muslin or linen cloth. Add one cup of Honey and stir until thoroughly mixed. Store in a cool place.
This is excellent for coughs, colds, sore throats, bronchial congestion, high or low blood pressure, heart weakness and nervous disorders.
Dosage: one tablespoon, three times daily, before meals.
East West Herb Course p. 11-5 Michael Tierra with Lesley Tierra 1999, Santa Cruz, CA
Place one pound of peeled, minced Garlic is a wide-mouthed 2 quart jar. Almost fill the jar with equal parts apple cider vinegar and distilled water. Cover and let stand in a warm place for four days, shaking a few times each day. Add one cup of glycerin and let is stand another day. Strain and filter the mixture with pressure through a muslin or linen cloth. Add one cup of Honey and stir until thoroughly mixed. Store in a cool place.
This is excellent for coughs, colds, sore throats, bronchial congestion, high or low blood pressure, heart weakness and nervous disorders.
Dosage: one tablespoon, three times daily, before meals.
East West Herb Course p. 11-5 Michael Tierra with Lesley Tierra 1999, Santa Cruz, CA
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Thom Hartmann's Unequal Protection Revolt
Thom Hartmann inspires resolutions to revolt against Unequal Protections.
Customize contact info in bold to your own states purposes and distribute for a massive fax a thon!
Barbara Boxer’s Fax: 202 228 3865 Phone: 916 448-2787
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s FAX: 415 393-0710 Phone: 415 393-0707 Phone: 916 448-2787
Dear Senator:
We disagree with the Supreme Court that Corporations are People. Please pass this resolution as was passed in both the States of Oregon and Hawaii.
THE SENATE S.R. NO. 116
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING congress to take immediate action to redefine "corporate entity" to preclude the use of the term "person" in the definition.
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States, in its ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, upheld a longstanding, though illogical legal concept of corporations as people; and
WHEREAS, corporations cannot by any reasonable definition be characterized as people, because corporations:
(1) Can reside in multiple states and countries simultaneously;
(2) Can conceivably exist for hundreds of years;
(3) Cannot be incarcerated;
(4) Cannot enter into a marriage contract or conceive a child;
(5) Cannot independently formulate political opinions separate and distinct from the board of directors, executives, shareholders, or employees;
(6) Cannot obtain citizenship or be issued a passport;
(7) Cannot enlist in the military; and
(8) Cannot vote; and
WHEREAS, in Buckley v. Valeo, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling on campaign spending that equates money to speech; and
WHEREAS, in preliminary remarks by Chief Justice Morrison Waite in the United States Supreme Court case, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, C.J. Waite indicated that, "the provision in the 14th Amendment ... applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."; and
WHEREAS, these remarks are not included in the final ruling nor are they a formal opinion of the Court, yet these remarks have been used as the basis for establishing rights as "persons" for corporations within the framework of the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the combination of these two cases provides the basis for corporations to financially overwhelm the individual common person in the political process; and
WHEREAS, a ruling by the United States Supreme Court cannot be simply negated; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, that the United States Congress is requested to take immediate action by enactment of Federal Code or constitutional amendment to redefine "corporate entity" to preclude the use of the term "person" in the definition; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation.
The actual link to the pdf posted on State of Hawaii page is- http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2010/Bills/SR116_.HTM
The actual link to info about how this passed in Hawaii is here:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2010/searchstatus.asp?query=corporations+people&currpage
Customize contact info in bold to your own states purposes and distribute for a massive fax a thon!
Barbara Boxer’s Fax: 202 228 3865 Phone: 916 448-2787
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s FAX: 415 393-0710 Phone: 415 393-0707 Phone: 916 448-2787
Dear Senator:
We disagree with the Supreme Court that Corporations are People. Please pass this resolution as was passed in both the States of Oregon and Hawaii.
THE SENATE S.R. NO. 116
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING congress to take immediate action to redefine "corporate entity" to preclude the use of the term "person" in the definition.
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States, in its ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, upheld a longstanding, though illogical legal concept of corporations as people; and
WHEREAS, corporations cannot by any reasonable definition be characterized as people, because corporations:
(1) Can reside in multiple states and countries simultaneously;
(2) Can conceivably exist for hundreds of years;
(3) Cannot be incarcerated;
(4) Cannot enter into a marriage contract or conceive a child;
(5) Cannot independently formulate political opinions separate and distinct from the board of directors, executives, shareholders, or employees;
(6) Cannot obtain citizenship or be issued a passport;
(7) Cannot enlist in the military; and
(8) Cannot vote; and
WHEREAS, in Buckley v. Valeo, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling on campaign spending that equates money to speech; and
WHEREAS, in preliminary remarks by Chief Justice Morrison Waite in the United States Supreme Court case, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, C.J. Waite indicated that, "the provision in the 14th Amendment ... applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."; and
WHEREAS, these remarks are not included in the final ruling nor are they a formal opinion of the Court, yet these remarks have been used as the basis for establishing rights as "persons" for corporations within the framework of the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the combination of these two cases provides the basis for corporations to financially overwhelm the individual common person in the political process; and
WHEREAS, a ruling by the United States Supreme Court cannot be simply negated; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, that the United States Congress is requested to take immediate action by enactment of Federal Code or constitutional amendment to redefine "corporate entity" to preclude the use of the term "person" in the definition; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation.
The actual link to the pdf posted on State of Hawaii page is- http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2010/Bills/SR116_.HTM
The actual link to info about how this passed in Hawaii is here:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2010/searchstatus.asp?query=corporations+people&currpage
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
OBAMA FOODORAMA First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS)
As of 2006, folks were spending about 22 percent of their grocery dollars on sweets, salty snacks, and desserts -- and that’s compared to a little over 12 percent on fruits and vegetables.
All told, we’re eating 31 percent more calories than we were just 40 years ago –- and that’s including 56 percent more fats and oil and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners. In fact, we now add sweeteners to all kinds of products in amounts unimaginable just a generation ago.
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2010/03/transcript-remarks-by-first-lady-to.html
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Public Comment Option to USDA on GE Crops Franken Food
USDA released its draft EIS on December 14, 2009. A 60-day comment period is now open until March 3, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GE crop. Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops.
There is a link to the USDA comment form on my web page blog (it is currently the second blog entry when you go to my site:
http://www.3bellsranch.com/3-bell-blog.html
... otherwise you can go directly to http://www.saynotogmos.org/ .
Because thousands of people spoke against the National Animal Identification System, the effort is undergoing revisions... We need to speak against GMOs. You know. You're organic people.
Tara Felder
PO BOX 328
Oroville, WA 98844
http://www.3bellsranch.com
Will the Real Water Hog Please Stand Up
Global energy consumption is expected to grow by 50% by 2030, squeezing already scarce water resources. Mike Hightower and Suzanne A. Pierce recommend ways to integrate water and energy planning.
In January 2008 at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged business and political leaders that the looming crisis over water shortages should be at the top of the global agenda in an effort to prevent conflicts over the growing scarcity of freshwater supplies. By 2025, more than half the nations in the world will face freshwater stress or shortages, and by 2050, as much as 75% of the world's population could face freshwater scarcity1. Nature Journal Article Water and Energy Planning
Total Water Withdrawals by Category, 2005
Livestock < 1%
Domestic, 1 percent
Mining, 1 percent
Aquaculture, 2 percent
Industrial, 4 percent
Public supply, 11 percent
Irrigation, 31 percent
Thermoelectric, 49 percent
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344/pdf/c1344.pdf
Berg and Hager (2007). Visualizing Environmental Science. Hoboken, N.J. John Wiley and Sons. P. 236.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Nuclear Power Belongs in a Museum - Hermann Scheer
Billions of gallons of water are used daily. Hot water from radioactive rods are poured back into streams and destroy the ecology and life. Cancer rates soar. (Greenpeace, 2006 Peter B Collins podcast). Eighty percent of the cost is born by the public while only 20% by the 'owners'. Corporate welfare. No insurance company will insure. (R.F. Kennedy Jr., Ring of Fire Radio broad/podcast 2/14/ 2010). So Joe Public gets to pay for that too. Why do we keep voting against our ability to be self-sufficent? Why do we keep voting to destroy ourselves. Common sense people! Hello. It's Radioactive! France and Britain are disposing their radioactive spent fuel rods where? Moreover, why do we have a President with no environmental vision/ education. Georgia is known for it's drought and we are going to use the fragile water supply we have there to power our appliances and computers when solar thermal is competitive with the cost of coal. Jobs? Give me a break! 8 billion dollars to hire 800 workers over how long? And then how many to run the plant. Why have centralized power when each of us can be our own power plant?
Research what has happened when the drought became so severe a number of years ago that the power plants had to be shut down.
Below is a link to Nuclear Power Belongs in a Museum. This was written by Hermann Scheer, author of the legislation enacted in Germany that has that country on track to have 20% of its power as solar by 2020.
Further, the technology used to enhance nuclear material for weapons and as targets, continues to proliferate. The President wants to stop the proliferation of nuclear power, by...enhancing nuclear power? THINK
Here is the link:
http://bit.ly/dwcBC7
Here is more about how we will have to choose between water and nuclear power:
Nuclear plants are subject to restrictions on the temperature of the discharged coolant, because hot water can kill fish or plants or otherwise disrupt the environment. Those restrictions, coupled with the drought, led to the one-day shutdown Aug. 16 of a TVA reactor at Browns Ferry in Alabama.
At Progress Energy Inc., which operates four reactors in the drought zone, officials warned in November that the drought could force it to shut down its Harris reactor near Raleigh, according to documents obtained by the AP. The water in Harris Lake stands at 218.5 feet — just 3 1/2 feet above the limit set in the plant's license.
During Europe's brutal 2006 heat wave, French, Spanish and German utilities were forced to shut down some of their nuclear plants and reduce power at others because of low water levels — some for as much as a week.
An Associated Press analysis of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors found that 24 are in areas experiencing the most severe levels of drought. All but two are built on the shores of lakes and rivers and rely on submerged intake pipes to draw billions of gallons of water for use in cooling and condensing steam after it has turned the plants' turbines.
Because of the year-long dry spell gripping the region, the water levels on those lakes and rivers are getting close to the minimums set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Over the next several months, the water could drop below the intake pipes altogether. Or the shallow water could become too hot under the sun to use as coolant.
"If water levels get to a certain point, we'll have to power it down or go off line," said Robert Yanity, a spokesman for South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., which operates the Summer nuclear plant outside Columbia, S.C.
The water was low on the Tennessee River and had become warmer than usual under the hot sun. By the time it had been pumped through the Browns Ferry plant, it had become hotter still — too hot to release back into the river, according to the TVA. So the utility shut down a reactor.
Excerpts above taken from: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/drought/2008-01-24-drought-power_N.htm
________________________________________________________________
And also, Associated Press
http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?ID=6809&Method=Full
Drought Map
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
___________________________________________________________________
Search terms into google “water shrinkage lake mead drought”
Search terms into google “water shrinkage great lakes drought”
Shrinking Great Lakes http://detnews.com/specialreports/1999/lakes/lead/lead.htm
SAC BEE How low can it go? Drought puts Folsom boaters in limbo http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1099205.html
__________________________________________________________________________---
Thank you for your intellectually honest discourse
The Curse of Poverty has no Justification in Our Age - Martin Luther King
“The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total direct and immediate abolition of poverty.” (Martin Luther King Jr. 1961)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Saudi Prince Funds Suicide Bombers Owner of FOX News
Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch deals with Suicide Bomber Fund Raiser
Source: http://trueslant.com/devonpendleton/2010/01/19/what-does-rupert-murdoch-want-from-saudi-arabia/
Saudi Prince, who gave 27 million to 'Martyrs'
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/671
This is the same prince who tried to offer money to Rudy Giuliani after 911. Giuliani turned the money down in public because proportedly Giuliani thought that the prince was implying the United States deserved 911.
1. The article at this link is from a conservative news source, World Net Daily
It breaks the story that Al-Walid bin Talal who owns 5.7% of Fox News via News Corp who owns Fox, has now taken another 10% stake with an option to take another 10%. Already, sources document that he has affected the way Fox News covers stories.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=117853
This link takes you to several more documentation of the Saudi -Fox relationship. You can use various searh terms on various search engines to bring up similar reports
http://www.wikio.com/business/entrepreneurs/prince_al_walid_bin_talal
2. Fox News Reporters Take Fox News to Conservative Stacked US Supreme Court
The result was that even though Fox News improperly fired two reporters for trying to report to the American public how their food is being engineered and how those food companies hire lobbyists to prevent labeling that already occurs in 33 countries. A few days ago of writing this post, organic farmers in Arkansas, per Mon Dragon at Fair Food Fight, won a law suit against Bayer Corporation. Bayer’s genetically engineered crops contaminated the organic crops, rendering them un saleable to the European Union, whose citizens fought off the genetic engineering of crops long ago. See the link below for an account from the two reporters of Fox. By the way, the Supreme Court ruled that FOX NEWS had the right to lie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZkDikRLQrw
3. FOX News ‘Global Warming Expert’ is actually a lawyer for the Cigarette Industry. He defended the industry to try to make the case that nicotine was not addictive.
Brave New Films caught this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPNWRti8CfY&eurl=http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/8989-play-our-new-gameshow-the-fox-is-wrong-global-warming
4. Bravenewfilms.com was known for making the Wal-Mart Movie. This documentary shows the ills of free trade and how ultimately, if we are only buying cheap, someone is either paying for that missing price in terms of slavery,sweatshops, and trashing the environment.
See trailer of that film here http://www.walmartmovie.com/teaser_qhi.php
4. Media Matters http://mediamatters.org/ was founded by David Brock who was asked by ‘the mass media’ to essentially destroy Hillary Clinton’s image in the media. He began doing the actual research, decided that the orders given to him were unethical. This disturbed him so much that he gave up his high paying job and began Media Matters. Media Matters is the bane of Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.
5. Project Censored is run out of the Sonoma State University in Wine Country, Northern California
http://www.projectcensored.org/
Another Independent media sums up some of the stories project censored catches. These are headlines that never made it into any of the mass media in the United Statess.
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A407460
Verify the media you are listening to and or watching. Discover alternative sources of media. Become more critical about the information from the TV set we used to be able to trust…before watching the news and political commentary became profitable.
6. http://www.progressiveradio.blogspot.com/
Make sure you see the movie Network 1976. Read George Orwell’s 1984.
7. John Stewart goes after FOX http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/04/jon-stewart-fox-news-sarah-palin-megyn-kelly_n_485235.html?fbwall
8. Liberals and aetheists are smarter study shows http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100224132655.htm
Monday, February 8, 2010
Michael Pollan: Time to Fight!
Behold the magic of the food movement's Michael Pollan. He and other visionaries tout broccoli as the new symbol of socioeconomic liberty, wellness, and justice for all.
Dr. Pollan is one of many visionaries at the heart of the food justice movement. These visionaries want to change U.S. farming policies from large scale, centralized single-crop systems known as monoculture; towards smaller, high density, multiple-crop systems known as polyculture. Pollan, in In Defense of Food (2009), told his fellow Bioneers they are in the third stage of Gandhi’s axiom, ‘First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.’
Read more at Suite101: Polyculture: Food Activists Poised for Fight: Socioeconomic Liberty, Wellness, Justice and Prosperity http://environmental-activism.suite101.com/article.cfm/polyculture-food-activists-poised-for-a-fight#ixzz0ey7x0qkm
Michael Pollan Time to Fight!
Organic Arkansas Farmers Woop Bayer's Behinds
Exactly why we need to be able to sue corporations. !
Fair Food Fight Reports from El Dragon!
The little guys win some gold from Goliath. From AP News:
A federal court jury has ordered the German conglomerate Bayer CropScience to pay $1.5 million to farmers in Arkansas and Mississippi whose rice seed was contaminated with a genetically altered strain.
Damage awarded apparently, their crops became contaminated and when this occurs, the European Union shuts its doors on those crops. So this settlement was about the loss of buisness.
See the rest of the article here at Fair Food Fight http://ow.ly/156qX
Saturday, February 6, 2010
VICTORY! U.S.D.A. Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock
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VICTORY! U.S.D.A. Plans to Drop Program to Trace Livestock
• By William Neuman
The New York Times, Feb 5, 2010
Straight to the Source
Faced with stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers, the Obama administration has decided to scrap a national program intended to help authorities quickly identify and track livestock in the event of an animal disease outbreak.
In abandoning the program, called the National Animal Identification System, officials said they would start over in trying to devise a livestock tracing program that could win widespread support from the industry.
If only Shelby would release the rest of Obama's candidates...we might see more stuff like this. Thom Hartmann's Prophets Way p 179- said Jesus on the Mount warned about the Pharisee mentality of organizing and legalizing and defining every little thing, planning out every action, and constantly measuring each other.
Read the rest of the article here at Organic Consumers Association
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Republican Party Messenger Affirms Change in Position on Global Warming at Venue with former San Franciscan Mayor Willie Brown for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
Frank Luntz, message orignator for the Republican Party announced he was changing his position on global warming today. This was originally released in The Daily Beast in an interview to reporter Michael Smerconish. Mr. Smerconish asked Luntz whether believed in the concept of man-made global warming.
Photo Credit P Brady http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frank_Luntz.jpg
To this, Frank replied, "It doesn't matter whether it exists or not," he
answered, adding, a moment later: "What my position is on that issue and what anyone's position is actually doesn't matter when it comes to legislation. "Hy not? Because "gettiing hung up" on the questions regarding the underlying science, Luntz expounded, wasn't as productive for climate legislation supporters as focusing on "the economic benefits, the health benefits, the national security benefits, in addition to the environmental benefits."
@thedailybeast Frank Luntz says the science of global warming is irrelevant and as views are changing, he will change his message http://bit.ly/9v403g
Mr. Luntz actually appeared in Sacramento, CA today at the Crest Theatre to debate the infamous San Franciscan Mayor Willy Brown. Both came to support Mayor Kevin Johnson's Strong Mayor Initiative. Mr. Nelson says he was able to accomplish much of what San Francisco is known for because of such power. The video of the debate should be up on you tube in a few days.
Frank Lutz to debate Willie Brown in Sac today at Crest at 1PM http://bit.ly/aKKIEO
Fund raisers to attend the event between $100- $5000 http://www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com/kjfm/
You can see the write up about the event in the Sacramento Bee here http://bit.ly/9nsWfu
SolveClimate.com has posted on their site an AP article about how Republicans are seeking to overturn Global Warming Solutions Act AB32. See this here: http://bit.ly/9i7WQn
Sac Press writes http://bit.ly/bCdujo
http://cbslocalblogs.prospero.com/kovr_pallashupe?entry=217
Monday, February 1, 2010
See Nourishing the Kids of Katrina Sacramento Monday, February 8th 6 PM
Nourishing the Kids of Katrina
Made by Local Filmmaker. Come see this film Monday evening the 8th of February. Doors open at 5:30pm and film begins at 6PM at the Crest Theatre.
The theatre is downtown Sacramento 1013 K Street. There is no charge to see the film.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
AVATAR's Vital Environmental Movie Message
Nature knows best. The winner of the argument in that age old ethics battle between eco and anthropocentrism in James Cameron's AVATAR is the Ecosphere.
Read more at Suite101: AVATAR's Vital Environmental Movie Message: Mankind to Join the Ecosphere: Ecocentrism Vs Anthropocentrism
Photo credit: David Atkeson
Haiti Failed by Free Trade Could Benefit From Sustainable Local Economic Development
Read more at Suite101: Haiti Failed by Free Trade Could Benefit From: Sustainable Local Economic Development
Photo Credit: Fay Venegas
http://globalization.suite101.com/article.cfm/haiti_failed_by_free_trade_could_benefit_from
Organic Farming: Recipe for Survival
What is all the fuss about organically farmed food? Click here to find some good basic definition: TheOrganicAlternativeRecipeforSurvival
Karma Strikes Dolphin Eaters
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Read more about this in The Australian
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. : Solve World Hunger with Vertical Farming
Environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. discusses the benefits of vertical farming, a proposed plan to create high-yield urban gardens, with Talk Radio News.
According to Kennedy, a twenty foot structure can produce the same amount of crops as a 24 acre farm, coupled with less of an environmental impact. (0:49)
Hear the audio here at: Talk Radio News
Be sure to check out the press downloads on this INCREDIBLE site
Vertical Farm.com
Monday, January 4, 2010
Banking Economic Reform Group Unhappy with First Year of Presidency AMI
Warmest Christmas and holiday greetings to all.
The World is getting ripe for meaningful monetary reform!
Yes, 2009 was disappointing when so many in our legislative and executive branches ignored the wishes of our people and the requirements of progress and of justice, and put forward miserable health care proposals. The farcical battle continues.
But do not conclude that we are losing and have no power to affect our government to do much better. That power is there and is exercised by replacing those legislators who made such a mockery of our system of government and the needs of our nation. That their malfeasance is obvious represents a much greater loss to the established plutocracy, than to the people. For that establishment depends on the idea that the Statue of Liberty means something. Exposing that fiction, identifying the real nature of our society's predicament, can lead to progress; as only the truth can do. That's up to us!
More disappointing for many has been how a Bright young President elected specifically to achieve meaningful change, has at best, demonstrated pitiful negotiating skills and an inability to act based on what he is really up against.
Shortly after the election we were told for the first time, how much the President enjoyed the company of economists. That would have been a huge red flag to those who understand how less than useless nearly all the economics "profession" has been towards improving society. One of the best of them once summarized it to me in these words: "There is no good macro-economic theory!"
It's understandable how a capable legal mind, with substantial but limited real world experience, such as the President's, could be unduly swayed by economists.
Good legal methodology depends a lot on analytical deductive reasoning; drawing conclusions from axioms/laws. Such methodology is also valuable in making moral judgments, as was done by the Catholic Scholastics from about 1100 to 1500 AD (See LSM chapter 7).
Therefore such a legal mind as the President's might not be alarmed by economists using similar methodology. Such a mind might not realize the inappropriateness of economics relying so heavily on theory, and ignoring actual results as economics has done for centuries. The Scholastics minimized such problems because their focus was primarily on moral issues.
But modern economists have removed morality from their "science," proudly announcing they ignore what they call "normative considerations." If they used plain language and said that they don't consider morality in their theories, people would better understand how skewed and inappropriate economics has become to society.
We must hold economics to a much higher standard than we've experienced from it. Especially at this Christmas moment, when more of us focus on fairness and good will toward others, and feel the wonder and heartwarming feedback of those sentiments.
Lets keep that in mind, as we look forward to 2010, and the financial legislation which will finally become the focus of attention. We must demand not mere regulation, but reform. Regulation of a system that unfairly concentrates wealth is not enough. As wealth becomes concentrated in unfair ways and obscene amounts, that concentration overcomes regulation through outright bribery, and similar methods of influence.
It allows those criminal elements which create our financial difficulties, to use our government to bail them out of their errors and crimes through various bailout mechanisms.
What is crucial is to enact structural reforms that begin a process that does the opposite of unfairly concentrating wealth. That means a process which fairly de-concentrates unearned, obscene wealth - a process based in morality and justice. A process with much greater long term effect than mere temporary regulation. Christmas is a good time to realize that.
The American Monetary and Financial Security Act, represents the needed reform. The Act places the Federal Reserve System within the US Treasury; it removes the banks accounting privilege of creating our money supply when they make loans, ending the fractional reserve system; and it facilitates Government to create money and spend it into circulation debt free and interest free to rebuild the nation's infrastructure, including the human infrastructure of health care and education.
You can see the most recent version of it at http://www.monetary.org
where you may send comments and suggestions on it, and read the valuable monetary articles there and can also help the AMI in its continuing work by making a $ contribution $ to our efforts.
Thanks much for your attention. Lets now look forward to great and real progress in 2010.
Stephen Zarlenga
Director,
AMI
Sunday, January 3, 2010
White Roofs A Quick and Simple Fix for Global Warming
Roosevelt, Margot. (2008). White roof power for sustainable building. Ecology Today. Retrieved November 18, 2008
Friday, December 25, 2009
On Christmas Eve, California's Republican Governor takes away Tiny Tim's Crutches
Chairperson Jones Criticizes Governor’s Proposal to Cut Healthcare for Californians Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento), Chairperson of the Assembly Health Committee, issued the following statement today in response to the Governor’s letter to Congress proposing cuts in healthcare for Californians: “It’s the day before Christmas and like Ebenezzer Scrooge, Governor Schwarzenegger wants to take poor Tiny Tim’s crutch away. And deny him any healthcare. Bah humbug, Governor!
The Governor has asked Congress to allow him to make cuts in healthcare for Californians. Here we are in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Record numbers of Californians have lost their jobs outright or had their income cut. Record numbers of Californians are without health insurance. They are not able to see a doctor or get treatment for themselves or their loved ones. And the Governor’s response is to look for ways to deprive even more Californians of healthcare, so more Californians will get sick and die.
The Governor, in writing to Congress, is not speaking for Californians or California. California needs Congress to expand healthcare coverage and to increase payments to California to help pay for it. But the answer is not, as Governor Scrooge requests, to turn our backs on those who rely on California for medical care or to cut the already too low reimbursements to our doctors, nurses, hospitals and other medical providers who provide that care. In a word, what the Governor proposes is worthy only of Scrooge.
Lets hope that the Governor is visited by several ghosts tonite who will cause him to see the error of his proposal to cut healthcare for Californians.” Chairperson Jones responded to Governor Schwarzenegger’s letter to Congress asking for authority to make cuts to Medi-Cal and Healthy Families eligibility, benefits and reimbursements to providers.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
9 Contaminants that May Surprise You About the American Water Supply
Dec. 8) -- Charles Duhigg of The New York Times today delivered the latest unsettling news about the nation's water supply: It's not as clean as you might think. An analysis of federal data from the last five years revealed that more than 20 percent of the nation's water-treatment systems have broken provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the standards enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency. The result? As many as 19 million Americans are sickened each year.
Over the years, the EPA has identified many substances in water supplies far and wide. Here are nine unexpected things that they've spotted.
9 Contaminants in the American Water Supply
Monday, December 7, 2009
The 'Know Your Farmer Know Your Food' initiative
Today Roots of Change, a local food access non-governmental organization, asked their members to send thank you letters to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan. Roots of Change says the 'Know Your Farmer Know Your Food' initiative has demonstrated excellent leadership in the USDA. "We are seeing the USDA take unparalleled steps to make local food more accessible to more people".
You can learn more about Roots of Change right here at the link below:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6083/profile/login.jsp?redirect=/o/6083/profile/index.jsp
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a warning that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to human health, and must be regulated.
More global warming news while Copenhagen talks begin.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a warning that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to human health, and must be regulated.
Under a Supreme Court ruling, the so-called endangerment finding is needed before the EPA can regulate carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases released from power plants, factories and automobiles under the federal Clean Air Act.
An "endangerment" finding by the Environmental Protection Agency could pave the way for the government to require businesses that emit carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases to make costly changes in machinery to reduce emissions -- even if Congress doesn't pass pending climate-change legislation. EPA action to regulate emissions could affect the U.S. economy more directly, and more quickly, than any global deal inked in the Danish capital, where no binding agreement is expected.
See a map of global warming hot spots and other interactives including a slide show: at this link below.
Alan Colmes EPA: Warning Greenhouse Gases Endanger Human Health. Liberaland blog http://www.alan.com/2009/12/07/epa-warning-greenhouse-gases-endanger-human-health/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+liberaland+(Alan+Colmes+Liberaland)&utm_content=Twitter
Alan Colmes EPA: Warning Greenhouse Gases Endanger Human Health. Liberaland blog http://www.alan.com/2009/12/07/epa-warning-greenhouse-gases-endanger-human-health/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+liberaland+(Alan+Colmes+Liberaland)&utm_content=Twitter
Ball, J. and Forelle, C (Dec. 7, 2007). Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Dec. 7 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126013960013179181.html?mod=rss_Today&mg=com-wsj
America's First Global Warming Refugees
http://abcnews.go.com/US/isle-de-jean-charles-louisiana-threatened-sea-floodwaters/story?id=9263544
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The President Mentions Agronomy Economy in Speech RE Afghanistan
December 1, 2009 / Speech to send 30, 000 more troops
If the President simultaneously builds a woman friendly. clean renewable energy and small organic farm agronomy economy infrastructure while keeping Al qaeda's hands off the nuclear power- he could be proclaimed a hero just in time for his 2nd term election. He should fund significantly http://www.rawa.org/index.php and http://jobsforafghans.org/ and follow Rick Mortenson's 3 Cups of Tea http://www.threecupsoftea.com/, We should be receiving reports re sincere and real infrastructure improvements and women's liberation.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Before you find yourself eating your best friend - cut out the meat
By Patrick Winn, GlobalPost
TA RAE, Thailand -- Behind this dirt-floor stall, beyond the tables splayed with ropes of jerky, a butcher prepares the day's catch.
The animal is rigored stiff on the cutting board, its four legs pointed skyward like an upended footstool. In view of passing traffic, the butcher goes to work, sinking his cleaver into its side and paring off belly meat in neat flanks.
Soon, his work is arranged inside a glass display case packed with ice. Condensation beads on the ribs, thighs, hearts and livers - as well as one skinny tail, boiled bald but for a few stubborn hairs.
"Delicious!" calls out a vendor in upcountry Thai dialect. Her cryptic menu, tacked to a post, uses only the non-specific Thai word for "meat." But she is happy to reveal her butchery's secret.
"It's all dog meat," she says. "From those dogs that just roam around."
Friday, November 20, 2009
Food Manufacturers and Organic Industry Lobbyists Circle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2009 5:16 PM |
Food Manufacturers and Organic Industry Lobbyists Circle the Wagons
Defend Organic Scofflaw in Court to Protect Corporate Takeover of Organics
CORNUCOPIA, Wisc. - November 19 - Two powerful lobby groups in the food industry, The Grocery Manufacturers of America and the Organic Trade Association, recently intervened as friends of the court in a federal consumer class-action lawsuit accusing the nation's largest supplier of private-label organic milk of consumer fraud. In what has been described as "the largest scandal in the history of the organic industry" USDA investigators, in 2007, found that Aurora Dairy had willfully violated federal organic standards. However, industry lobbyists are now concerned that convicting Aurora will set a dangerous legal precedent. Aurora bottles private-label organic milk for Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Safeway and many other grocery chains.
In August 2007 Bush administration officials were widely criticized for overruling career staff at the USDA and instead of decertifying Aurora as staff had recommended, banning it from organic commerce, the corporate dairy was allowed to continue in business under a one-year probation. Now agribusiness lobbyists are concerned that citizens prevailing in court, alleging fraud, will set a precedent necessitating large corporations to incur added expenses to more carefully check the sources and credibility of their organic suppliers.
"Due diligence by food manufacturers and retailers is the heart and soul of what maintaining the integrity of the organic label is about," said Mark Kastel, Codirector of The Cornucopia Institute, the farm policy research group that initially exposed the corruption taking place at Aurora.
In an internal document, the Organic Trade Association told its membership that, "OTA is taking this action in order to protect consumers' access to organic products and the guarantee by organic farmers, producers and processors that their valid organic certificate fully demonstrates that their product is considered organic when marketed." Lobbyists from the Grocery Manufacturers also were concerned that if the consumers prevail in this legal matter it would become, according to a copy written article inSustainable Food News, "prohibitively expensive to continue developing organic products."
"This type of rhetoric is just a stick in the eye to the ethical participants in this industry who make it a point, in their everyday course of business, to judiciously assure that their products meet not only the letter but the spirit of the organic law," added Kastel.
Just like Aurora Dairy, Wal-Mart and Target were both found to have misrepresented organic products in the marketplace and were the subject of separate USDA investigations.
"Yes, it does cost more money to legally and ethically participate in organic commerce, said Will Fantle, Research Director for Cornucopia. "One of the reasons that big-box retailers are able to undercut their competition on price is they refuse to hire, train and adequately compensate management and frontline employees who know anything about the organic law."
Aurora produces private label, or storebrand milk, for about 20 of the largest grocery chains in the United States.
In an ironic twist to this story Organic Valley, the nation's second-largest organic milk marketer and a cooperative, is receiving criticism for its underwriting of a brief supporting Aurora's position. The farmer-owned cooperative provided the financial support allowing the Organic Trade Association to file its amicus brief opposing the class-action lawsuit brought by consumers in over 40 states. The consumers allege that they were defrauded by the Colorado-based Aurora Dairy corporation.
The news of Organic Valley's involvement was a shock to some of its co-op members including Kevin Engelbert, a nationally recognized organic leader and dairy farmer from Nichols, New York. "Can this possibly be true? Has OV made a pact with the devil? I know OTA is controlled by the big money interests," said Engelbert. "The 14 willful violations [by Aurora] prove that some organic certificates aren't enough to demonstrate that a product is organic when marketed. The ‘organicness' of questionable products must be challenged when necessary to maintain organic integrity."
The Cornucopia's Kastel said he was "flabbergasted" that a cooperative owned by family farmers would stick up for a corporation at the heart of the biggest scandal in history in the organic food industry and he characterized Aurora as a "bad actor" and "bad aberration" in the industry where consumers can generally trust the organic label.
"Aurora's factory farm milk has injured the vast majority of Organic Valley's own farmer-members by depriving them of markets for their milk and unfairly driving down retail pricing. Earlier this year the cooperative cut the pay price to its members and required its farmers to reduce production because of a milk surplus in the marketplace - a surplus that would be much smaller if Aurora legitimately managed its dairy cows like Organic Valley's ethical dairy farmers," Kastel added.
Cornucopia analysis, and USDA research, suggests that as much as a third of the nation's organic milk supply comes from giant factory farms. Another organic factory farm operator, Dean Foods, the country's largest milk marketer, and an OTA and GMA member, has been widely criticized in the organic community for procuring much of its milk for its Horizon brand from mega-dairies allegedly breaking the same rules as Aurora.
"If you connect the dots here you have to wonder why the management at Organic Valley is getting into bed with Aurora, Dean Foods and the most powerful lobbyists representing corporate agribusiness," Kastel lamented. "Not only would Organic Valley membership benefit from Aurora being banned from organics, but if the lobbyists concerns are true, and some of the largest corporate players that have been playing fast and loose with the rules decide to exit the organics, that will only pump up their brand's market share."
The friend of the court brief, opposing a lower court ruling, which was funded by Organic Valley, expresses fears about a precedent should consumers be compensated for any fraud committed by Aurora. Melissa Hughes, an in-house lawyer for Organic Valley, told the editor of Sustainable Food News, that if the appeal is upheld "it could have vast implications on retailers, processors, handlers, and ultimately consumers."
Analysts at Cornucopia strongly refute the contention that the Aurora matter would leave all organic marketers open to tort complaints by consumers. "Obviously, there is strong evidence for these consumers to believe they were defrauded by Aurora and the supermarket chains," Kastel said. "This is an exceptional situation not indicative of the industry as a whole."
Kastel cited the fact that Cornucopia sent certified letters to every one of Aurora's retailer customers informing them that the reputation of their store's label was at risk and encouraging them to take action. Only two marketers, the Publix supermarket chain in Florida and United Natural Foods International, the largest organic food distributor in the country, did the due diligence necessary and switched suppliers.
"The organic certification documents alone are not enough if evidence is brought to a marketer's attention that some kind of improprieties are taking place," Fantle added. "There is always the possibility that collusion or incompetence has taken place on the part of the supplier, certifier or the USDA."
A comprehensive investigative story that appeared in the pages of the Washington Post referenced the Aurora matter, and a cozy relationship between the powerful Washington lawyer and lobbyist for Aurora, Dean and the OTA, and the former director of the organic program at the USDA. Alleged malfeasance at the Department has sparked the interest of Congress and an expanded investigation is currently taking place by the Office of the Inspector General at the USDA.
"Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 charging the USDA with preventing fraud; protecting the interests of ethical industry participants and consumers," observed Cornucopia's Kastel. "The obvious allegation here is that the regulatory branch, the USDA under the Bush administration, failed to properly enforce the law. It is appropriate for citizens who feel they were defrauded to seek a judicial remedy," he added.
MORE:
When the nation's largest organic milk producer Aurora dairy, with five "factory style" farms, in Colorado and Texas, each milking thousands of cows, entered the marketplace in 2004 they proudly stated that they would make organic milk more "affordable." What they didn't tell their customers was that their products would be more affordable, allowing them to undercut competitors in the marketplace, because they wouldn't go to the expense of meeting the strict federal regulations governing organic marketing.
In 2007, after investigating legal complaints filed by Cornucopia about Aurora's organic livestock practices, USDA staff concluded that Aurora had "willfully violated" 14 tenets of federal organic regulations. Aurora was found by federal investigators to have been illegally confining their cattle to feedlots, brought in conventional cattle that could not comply with organic regulations and, most seriously, selling milk labeled as "organic" that did not meet the legal requirements.
In its formal letter to the company, USDA staff at the National Organic Program stated: "Due to the nature and extent of these violations, the NOP proposes to revoke Aurora Organic Dairy's production and handling certifications under the NOP."
But the powerful Washington-based lobby of Covington in Burling, representing Aurora, worked with the Bush administration officials at the USDA to instead allow the $100 million corporation to continue in the organic business with a one-year probation and some modest changes to their operations
The "sweetheart" settlement between Aurora and the USDA provoked a consumer led effort to seek justice in federal courts. Nineteen separate class action lawsuits were brought against Aurora and several national grocery retailers selling Aurora's suspect organic milk including Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway. The lawsuits claiming consumer fraud were eventually consolidated into a single case in the federal district court in St. Louis. Earlier this year, federal court judge E. Richard Webber dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds. An appeal has since been filed seeking to bring the merits of the lawsuit, which have not been heard, back before the court.
"OTA's action, apparently backed by CROPP [Organic Valley], infuriates me," said Kevin Engelbert. "I hope every person and organization that belongs to OTA drops their membership immediately."
In August 2007 Bush administration officials were widely criticized for overruling career staff at the USDA and instead of decertifying Aurora as staff had recommended, banning it from organic commerce, the corporate dairy was allowed to continue in business under a one-year probation. Now agribusiness lobbyists are concerned that citizens prevailing in court, alleging fraud, will set a precedent necessitating large corporations to incur added expenses to more carefully check the sources and credibility of their organic suppliers.
"Due diligence by food manufacturers and retailers is the heart and soul of what maintaining the integrity of the organic label is about," said Mark Kastel, Codirector of The Cornucopia Institute, the farm policy research group that initially exposed the corruption taking place at Aurora.
In an internal document, the Organic Trade Association told its membership that, "OTA is taking this action in order to protect consumers' access to organic products and the guarantee by organic farmers, producers and processors that their valid organic certificate fully demonstrates that their product is considered organic when marketed." Lobbyists from the Grocery Manufacturers also were concerned that if the consumers prevail in this legal matter it would become, according to a copy written article inSustainable Food News, "prohibitively expensive to continue developing organic products."
"This type of rhetoric is just a stick in the eye to the ethical participants in this industry who make it a point, in their everyday course of business, to judiciously assure that their products meet not only the letter but the spirit of the organic law," added Kastel.
Just like Aurora Dairy, Wal-Mart and Target were both found to have misrepresented organic products in the marketplace and were the subject of separate USDA investigations.
"Yes, it does cost more money to legally and ethically participate in organic commerce, said Will Fantle, Research Director for Cornucopia. "One of the reasons that big-box retailers are able to undercut their competition on price is they refuse to hire, train and adequately compensate management and frontline employees who know anything about the organic law."
Aurora produces private label, or storebrand milk, for about 20 of the largest grocery chains in the United States.
In an ironic twist to this story Organic Valley, the nation's second-largest organic milk marketer and a cooperative, is receiving criticism for its underwriting of a brief supporting Aurora's position. The farmer-owned cooperative provided the financial support allowing the Organic Trade Association to file its amicus brief opposing the class-action lawsuit brought by consumers in over 40 states. The consumers allege that they were defrauded by the Colorado-based Aurora Dairy corporation.
The news of Organic Valley's involvement was a shock to some of its co-op members including Kevin Engelbert, a nationally recognized organic leader and dairy farmer from Nichols, New York. "Can this possibly be true? Has OV made a pact with the devil? I know OTA is controlled by the big money interests," said Engelbert. "The 14 willful violations [by Aurora] prove that some organic certificates aren't enough to demonstrate that a product is organic when marketed. The ‘organicness' of questionable products must be challenged when necessary to maintain organic integrity."
The Cornucopia's Kastel said he was "flabbergasted" that a cooperative owned by family farmers would stick up for a corporation at the heart of the biggest scandal in history in the organic food industry and he characterized Aurora as a "bad actor" and "bad aberration" in the industry where consumers can generally trust the organic label.
"Aurora's factory farm milk has injured the vast majority of Organic Valley's own farmer-members by depriving them of markets for their milk and unfairly driving down retail pricing. Earlier this year the cooperative cut the pay price to its members and required its farmers to reduce production because of a milk surplus in the marketplace - a surplus that would be much smaller if Aurora legitimately managed its dairy cows like Organic Valley's ethical dairy farmers," Kastel added.
Cornucopia analysis, and USDA research, suggests that as much as a third of the nation's organic milk supply comes from giant factory farms. Another organic factory farm operator, Dean Foods, the country's largest milk marketer, and an OTA and GMA member, has been widely criticized in the organic community for procuring much of its milk for its Horizon brand from mega-dairies allegedly breaking the same rules as Aurora.
"If you connect the dots here you have to wonder why the management at Organic Valley is getting into bed with Aurora, Dean Foods and the most powerful lobbyists representing corporate agribusiness," Kastel lamented. "Not only would Organic Valley membership benefit from Aurora being banned from organics, but if the lobbyists concerns are true, and some of the largest corporate players that have been playing fast and loose with the rules decide to exit the organics, that will only pump up their brand's market share."
The friend of the court brief, opposing a lower court ruling, which was funded by Organic Valley, expresses fears about a precedent should consumers be compensated for any fraud committed by Aurora. Melissa Hughes, an in-house lawyer for Organic Valley, told the editor of Sustainable Food News, that if the appeal is upheld "it could have vast implications on retailers, processors, handlers, and ultimately consumers."
Analysts at Cornucopia strongly refute the contention that the Aurora matter would leave all organic marketers open to tort complaints by consumers. "Obviously, there is strong evidence for these consumers to believe they were defrauded by Aurora and the supermarket chains," Kastel said. "This is an exceptional situation not indicative of the industry as a whole."
Kastel cited the fact that Cornucopia sent certified letters to every one of Aurora's retailer customers informing them that the reputation of their store's label was at risk and encouraging them to take action. Only two marketers, the Publix supermarket chain in Florida and United Natural Foods International, the largest organic food distributor in the country, did the due diligence necessary and switched suppliers.
"The organic certification documents alone are not enough if evidence is brought to a marketer's attention that some kind of improprieties are taking place," Fantle added. "There is always the possibility that collusion or incompetence has taken place on the part of the supplier, certifier or the USDA."
A comprehensive investigative story that appeared in the pages of the Washington Post referenced the Aurora matter, and a cozy relationship between the powerful Washington lawyer and lobbyist for Aurora, Dean and the OTA, and the former director of the organic program at the USDA. Alleged malfeasance at the Department has sparked the interest of Congress and an expanded investigation is currently taking place by the Office of the Inspector General at the USDA.
"Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 charging the USDA with preventing fraud; protecting the interests of ethical industry participants and consumers," observed Cornucopia's Kastel. "The obvious allegation here is that the regulatory branch, the USDA under the Bush administration, failed to properly enforce the law. It is appropriate for citizens who feel they were defrauded to seek a judicial remedy," he added.
MORE:
When the nation's largest organic milk producer Aurora dairy, with five "factory style" farms, in Colorado and Texas, each milking thousands of cows, entered the marketplace in 2004 they proudly stated that they would make organic milk more "affordable." What they didn't tell their customers was that their products would be more affordable, allowing them to undercut competitors in the marketplace, because they wouldn't go to the expense of meeting the strict federal regulations governing organic marketing.
In 2007, after investigating legal complaints filed by Cornucopia about Aurora's organic livestock practices, USDA staff concluded that Aurora had "willfully violated" 14 tenets of federal organic regulations. Aurora was found by federal investigators to have been illegally confining their cattle to feedlots, brought in conventional cattle that could not comply with organic regulations and, most seriously, selling milk labeled as "organic" that did not meet the legal requirements.
In its formal letter to the company, USDA staff at the National Organic Program stated: "Due to the nature and extent of these violations, the NOP proposes to revoke Aurora Organic Dairy's production and handling certifications under the NOP."
But the powerful Washington-based lobby of Covington in Burling, representing Aurora, worked with the Bush administration officials at the USDA to instead allow the $100 million corporation to continue in the organic business with a one-year probation and some modest changes to their operations
The "sweetheart" settlement between Aurora and the USDA provoked a consumer led effort to seek justice in federal courts. Nineteen separate class action lawsuits were brought against Aurora and several national grocery retailers selling Aurora's suspect organic milk including Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway. The lawsuits claiming consumer fraud were eventually consolidated into a single case in the federal district court in St. Louis. Earlier this year, federal court judge E. Richard Webber dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds. An appeal has since been filed seeking to bring the merits of the lawsuit, which have not been heard, back before the court.
"OTA's action, apparently backed by CROPP [Organic Valley], infuriates me," said Kevin Engelbert. "I hope every person and organization that belongs to OTA drops their membership immediately."
###
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