Health Center » Organic Consumer Assoc. News

IN THIS ISSUE

• "ORGANIC CONSUMERS POLITICAL CANDIDATE SURVEY" SPREADING ACROSS U.S
• MAKE A DONATION TO PUT ORGANIC ISSUES ON THE TABLE IN 2006 ELECTIONS
• USDA ANNOUNCES U.S. RICE SUPPLY HAS BEEN CONTAMINATED
• GENETICALLY ENGINEERED "FRANKENGRASS" SPREADS INTO THE WILD
• AFTER 70-YEAR BAN: HEMP MAY SOON BE LEGALLY GROWN ON U.S. SOIL
• TIP OF THE WEEK: THE MOST DANGEROUS INGREDIENTS IN CONVENTIONAL FOODS
• STUDY SAYS FAMILY MEAL IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
• QUICK WATER FACTS
• QUICK TIDBIT: BACTERIA GUM
• WEBSITE OF THE WEEK: NATURAL HEALTH TELESEMINARS
  

"ORGANIC CONSUMERS POLITICAL CANDIDATE SURVEY" SPREADING ACROSS U.S. ---ENCOUARGE POLITICAL CANDIDATES IN YOUR AREA TO RESPOND
Last week, the Organic Consumers Fund kicked off a nationwide candidate survey, in order to help you, the voter, identify local, state, and Congressional politicians seeking office in 2006 who support policies that move us toward a more sustainable world. In a mere six days, nearly eight hundred volunteers have entered nearly 500 candidates and contacted them over 4000 times. And this is just the beginning. If you haven't already done so, we need your help to make this survey a success. A few minutes of you time time, in conjunction with the efforts of thousands of others across the country, can have a powerful impact on the elections. Please go now to the OCF voter action page and follow the step-by-step instructions to encourage candidates in your area to take part in the "Organic Consumers 2006 Political Candidate Survey." Once your local, state, and Congressional candidates respond, the OCF website will automatically rank them in terms of their response on key issues of health, justice, and sustainability, thereby helping you know who to vote for in November.
Please locate candidates in your area and send them the survey here: http://www.organicconsumersfund.org/voterguide.cfm

USDA ANNOUNCES U.S. RICE SUPPLY HAS BEEN CONTAMINATED
USDA Secretary Mike Johanns has announced that domestic and export stocks of long grain rice has been contaminated by a genetically engineered variety of rice that is not approved for human consumption. Johanns said that the contamination was admitted to be the fault of Bayer Corporation, but the USDA doesn't know how widespread the contamination is. According to Johanns the biotech rice poses no health risks, but could damage the U.S. $1 billion rice export market, since many nations refuse to import genetically engineered rice. Japan has already announced a ban on long grain rice imports from the US. Last year, Japan and the EU banned US corn imports as a result of yet another GE contamination scandal.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1584.cfm

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED "FRANKENGRASS" SPREADS INTO THE WILD
An experimental variety of genetically engineered bentgrass has escaped from its test plot in Oregon and has been found growing in the wild as far as three miles away, according to scientists from the U.S. EPA. The biotech plant, designed for golf courses, has not been approved by the USDA, but has already been found dispersing among native grasses in six different locations. Scientists say they don't know how will behave in the wild but admit it may have a strong advantage over native grasses, and could therefore irreversibly damage the ecosystem as it spreads. According to Tom Stohlgren, an ecologist at the US Geological Survey's National Institute of Invasive Species Science, the experimental bentgrass "can tend to outcompete other species...It doesn't need to sexually reproduce - it's like The Blob. It could potentially hit rare species or national parks."
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1575.cfm

AFTER 70-YEAR BAN: HEMP MAY SOON BE LEGALLY GROWN ON U.S. SOIL
After receiving thousands of emails and letters from grassroots constituents, including organic consumers, the California Senate has approved a bill (26-13) that would allow farmers to grow industrial hemp. Senate Republican Tom McClintock spearheaded the bill on the Senate floor and noted that hemp "bears no more resemblance to marijuana than a poodle bears to a wolf...you would die from smoke inhalation before you would get high." Industrial hemp was inaccurately equated with marijuana in a 1937 ban on the crop, despite the fact that it was a staple crop for U.S. Farmers for decades, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The $270 million U.S. hemp market is currently supplied by Canadian farmers. With the current bill, California lawmakers believe they can get around the federal ban by restricting the sale of California-grown hemp to the state itself, thereby not infringing on any interstate commerce laws. The bill now goes back to the California Assembly.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1568.cfm

TIP OF THE WEEK: THE MOST DANGEROUS INGREDIENTS IN CONVENTIONAL FOODS

1) Sodium nitrite -- causes cancer, found in most processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage. Used to make meats appear red (a color fixer chemical).

2) Hydrogenated oils -- causes heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, general deterioration of cellular health, and much more. Found in cookies, crackers, margarine and many "manufactured" foods. Used to make oils stay in the food, extending shelf life. Sometimes also called "plastic fat."

3) Excitotoxins -- aspartame, monosodium glutamate and others (see below). These neurotoxic chemical additives directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell death, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock. They're found in diet soda, canned soup, salad dressing, breakfast sausage and even many manufactured vegetarian foods. They're used to add flavor to over-processed, boring foods that have had the life cooked out of them.

Source: A new book by Mike Adams, entitled "Grocery Warning" takes a scientific look at a plethora of problematic ingredients in the everyday foods we eat.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_705.cfm

STUDY SAYS FAMILY MEAL IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
According to a decade long study from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), teens who regularly have meals with their family are less likely to get into fights, think about suicide, smoke, drink, use drugs, and are more likely to have later initiation of sexual activity, and better academic performance than teens who do not. Rutgers University anthropologist Robin Fox emphasizes the importance of positive intention in family meals. "It's like the American Indians. When they killed a deer, they said a prayer over it," says Fox. "That is civilization. It is an act of politeness over food. Fast food has killed this. We have reduced eating to sitting alone and shoveling it in. There is no ceremony in it." The CASA study also showed that eating with parents is also an important factor for the nutrition and eating habits of adolescents, with research showing that family meals and parental presence at meals is associated with higher intake of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_752.cfm

QUICK WATER FACTS
According to United Nations figures, 2.6 billion people consume unsafe and polluted water every day. As the population blooms, the issue of access to fresh water is literally one of life or death. Last weekend's Financial Times pointed out some interesting facts about everyday water consumption:

It takes 53 liters of water to produce one orange.
1 pint of milk: 250 liters
1 egg: 450 liters
1kg of potatoes: 500 liters
1 loaf of bread: 550 liters
1 kg of butter: 18,000 liters
1kg of wool: 200,000 liters
1 car: 150,000 liters

Source: Financial Times http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1593.cfm