It's Time to Protect Organic Integrity!
We want to make sure you are fully informed about the important issues being raised at the National Organic Standards Board meeting in April.
YOU can comment until March 30.
Please see this excellent email from our friends at Beyond Pesticides:
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Monsanto in Hot Water
New developments do not bode well for Monsanto.
1. A huge win for consumer activists; Monsanto's Roundup and hundreds of other brands containing glyphosate will soon be labeled a "carcinogen" according to a newly passed California State ruling.
2. An EPA staffer, Jess Rowland, has been accused of colluding with Monsanto to downgrade carcinogenic effects of glyphosate. New York Times article here.
3. Monsanto has been accused of ghostwriting the Roundup cancer studies which show "safety."
4. New studies show that Roundup causes liver disease and glyphosate-based herbicides are decisively linked to cancer in Argentina. Another shows endocrine disruptors such as those found in Roundup and glyphosate-based herbicides are the major contributing factor to the drastic decline of the quality of men's sperm.
5. In a groundbreaking turn of events, Moms Across America has been informed that the EPA has confirmed that The National Toxicology Program will, in fact, assess the final formulation of Glyphosate-based herbicides and the EPA will take their assessment into consideration for their review and decision on whether to renew or revoke the license of glyphosate.
Apparently, Bayer is reconsidering their $66 billion dollar offer to merge....
Could this be the beginning of the end of Monsanto?
See RT.com coverage which includes Zen Honeycutt below:
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Moms Speak Up! Town Hall Meetings
Have you heard about the passionate crowds filling town hall meetings across the country this week? Maybe you were one of them. If so, send us your story!
More than 1,000 people showed up to Chaffetz’s town hall in Cottonwood Heights, a Salt Lake City suburb and created such a stir the national media picked up the story.
In Michigan, a People’s Campaign member visited Rep. Dave Trott’s office only to be turned away and told by local police that they were trespassing after requesting a meeting. “It’s illegal to go visit your congressperson now?” they wrote in a Facebook live post that has gone viral. Refusing to back down, they held their own town hall. When Rep. Trott refused to show, they put a live chicken at the front of the room to symbolize his unwillingness to participate in the democratic process.
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Arizona Says NO to Monsanto!
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Ariane Glazer
480-255-0604, [email protected]
www.GMOFreeAZ.org
Community Opposition to Monsanto in Pima County Explodes
Tucson, Arizona: February 16, 2017 – The Pima County community says no to Monsanto and yes to healthy, safe communities. After Monsanto dropped its bid for a tax break, concerned citizens are not giving up and are more determined than ever to keep Monsanto out.
Community holds Public Forum, Rally & Press Conference to reject Monsanto’s ‘Project Corn’
Sunday, February 19, 2017, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Stand Up Against Monsanto Public Forum, Oro Valley Public Library, 1305 W. Naranja Drive.
The Public Forum will demand Monsanto stay out of Pima County. Pima County resident Melissa Diane Smith who has spoken at nearly all the district and board meetings states, “The community pressure will only increase now to keep Monsanto out, people are ready to battle to protect our precious desert, our health, and our environment.” Forum speakers include:
Sunday, February 19, 2017, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Read moreSmall Monsanto Shareholder Meeting Packed with Lies
January 27, 2017 St.Louis, MO.
"Infuriating" is not sufficient to describe today's Monsanto shareholder meeting.
In a small room, at the Research and Development facility on Chesterfield Parkway, MO, perhaps 60 people sat in a room with many empty seats, with no audio-cast available for other shareholders. The board and the accounting firm were present. CEO Hugh Grant and David Snively, Executive Vice President and General Council sat at the head of the room.
Anne Temple, Moms Across America Midwest leader, and I sat on the right side with our "hosts" Cami and Billy, near the microphone.
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Open Letter to Medical Doctors and Liver Disease Organizations
As mothers, we are extremely concerned about the rise in childhood illness, including Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in children and teens and our family members.
- Approximately 15,000 children are hospitalized every year in the U.S. with pediatric liver disease or disorders.
- An alarming statistic is that six million children—up to 10 percent of all children in the nation—have NAFLD, the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease we referred to earlier. NAFLD is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in children and adults in the United States.
You probably already know that 80% of genetically modified foods, which are in 85% of our processed foods in America, are engineered to withstand Roundup weedkiller. Many do not know, however, that Roundup is also sprayed as a drying agent on nonGMO, non-organic food, and feed crops, for example; wheat, garbanzo beans, lentils, dried beans, tea, sugar and many grains. The EPA allows this chemical product to be sprayed on 158 of our food and feed crops because they have been told it is safe by the manufacturer, they do not conduct their own tests. Food testing has shown levels from 29 ppb in beer, 1500 ppb on Cheerios, 3500 ppb on garbanzo beans, to 1.67 ppm on oatmeal baby food. It only takes 0.1 ppb to destroy gut bacteria and levels lower than what is allowed on our food cause liver damage. Glyphosate does not wash or peel off.
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Billboard Campaign Challenges Thinking About Health and Wealth
For Release: January 13, 2017
Contact: Todd Honeycutt, 949-525-1237
“Health is Wealth” Organic Nationwide Billboard Campaign Launched
Los Angeles - This week, Moms Across America launched a 30-day nationwide billboard campaign displaying “Health is Wealth” and “Eat Organic”. This is the fifth of a series of their National Health Billboard campaign series displayed with Adams & Fairway Outdoor Advertising company. Two different billboards are running, 191 in total, one showing an African American girl eating lettuce and another of a Caucasian boy making muscles with apples on top of his biceps.
Read moreNew Killer Tomato
Originally posted on Huffington Post - 12/29/16
Someone is not thinking this through. A new tomato has been developed which kills the tomato fruit borer caterpillar that eats it. While this may seem like beneficial progress for farmers, this is completely absurd for human consumption.
A plant which kills life is not something that any parent wants to feed their child. A plant which has a caterpillar die within 24 hours is called poison, not food for our families.
Scientists may argue that the method used to kill the caterpillar is not harmful to animals or humans, but I would abstain and remain a healthy skeptic. Fruit flies and humans share 60% genetic similarities. A tomato fruit borer has a more complex system than a fruit fly, so one could surmise that the shared genetics between a tomato fruit borer and humans, would likely be more than 60%. If a plant can kill a caterpillar with more than 60% shared genetic similarities to humans, I would not add that risk to my child’s dinner plate.
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New Paper Justifies Moratorium of GMOs
Originally posted on Huffington Post - 1/4/17
On Dec 19, 2016 a team of scientists published a new paper* revealing that GMO corn, NK603 a Roundup-tolerant variety, showed alarming differences from non GMO corn. The variety showed to have metabolism disturbances caused by the GMO process and the presence of cadaverine and putrescine, chemicals which can be toxic. The presence of these differences show that concern for harm, when GMOs are consumed by humans, is warranted. The impact of these disturbances and chemicals are unknown. The rise of health conditions in the USA is a known however, since the introduction of GMOs, food allergies have increased 400%. Currently 1 out 2 American children have a chronic illness such as autoimmune disease, asthma, allergies, autism, diabetes or obesity.
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Roundup Proven to Cause Liver Disease - Recall Must be Enacted
-January 9, 2016 a new study reveals that the weedkiller Roundup causes liver disease in rats after being exposed to doses lower than allowed by the EPA to be present on American food and feed crops. The story was published by Claire Robinson of GMWatch:
Cutting-edge molecular profiling analyses reveal that the popular weedkiller Roundup causes liver damage at doses permitted by regulators.
The weedkiller Roundup causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at very low doses permitted by regulators worldwide, a new peer-reviewed study shows. The study is the first ever to show a causative link between consumption of Roundup at a real-world environmentally relevant dose and a serious disease.
The new peer-reviewed study, led by Dr. Michael Antoniou at King's College London, used cutting-edge profiling methods to describe the molecular composition of the livers of female rats fed an extremely low dose of Roundup weedkiller, which is based on the chemical glyphosate, over a 2-year period.
The dose of glyphosate from the Roundup administered was thousands of times below what is permitted by regulators worldwide.
Read the rest of the article here.
The impact of this study could change the face of agriculture. Roundup and glyphosate based herbicides make up 80% of GMO crops in America. Hundreds of millions of pounds of glyphosate based herbicides are sold around the world each year. Many would say that big agriculture has become addicted to chemicals. Perhaps rock bottom is near. Hundreds of weeds have developed a resistance to glyphosate and the quality of soil is being impacted globally. Glyphosate residues have been found in breastmilk, urine, tap water, honey, cereal, snacks, bread, yogurt, milk, eggs, baby food, beer and wine. Since the introduction of GMOs and glyphosate in our food supply, health conditions have skyrocketed and numerous studies have shown a direct connection. This study showing liver disease is one of the strongest.
At Moms Across America, we are very grateful to the scientists who face criticism and adversity in order to conduct such important work. We are sure that the chemical companies, and university scientists funded by the chemical companies will find a way to attack the authors and the validity of the study.
*Update: Two new papers show thyroid disorder connection from glyphosate based herbicides:
- Perinatal exposure to glyphosate based herbicides causes thyroid disorders: click here.
- Are glyphosate based herbicides linked to autism? Paper links harm to thyroid and glyphosate based herbicides: click here.
Hundreds of studies showing harm from glyphosate based herbicides. Countries like France have banned glyphosate and pesticides from public greens and Sri Lanka has banned glyphosate based on scientific evidence of harm.
We at Moms America find it most prudent to advise our supporters to avoid Roundup and glyphosate based herbicides on food (eat organic), in your gardens, and in your communities whenever possible. You may find solutions listed on our website. We have emailed and called the EPA to recall Roundup and ask you to do the same. In communicating with the EPA we ask you to always be respectful. Thank you.
EPA Pesticide Review Board Contacts
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Neil Andersen, Chief, Risk Management and Implementation Branch I, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division- [email protected] 703-308-8187
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Thomas Moriarty, Team Leader [email protected] 703-347-0248
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Khue Nguyen, Chemical Review Manager, [email protected]- 703-305-5035
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