<div class="view-header"> <div class="view view-newsletter view-id-newsletter view-display-id-attachment_2 view-dom-id-5660d0f9c1ef506fba222acecdb2d7f5"> <div class="view-content"> <img id="headerImage campaign-icon" src="http://www.organicconsumers.org/old_articles/images/bytes/bytes-banner-10.gif" alt="" /> </div> </div> </div> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-form"><form id="views-form-newsletter-block-newsletter" accept-charset="UTF-8" action="https://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes/37221" method="post"> <div class="oca_sharing_toolbox">TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK</div> <h1>Celebrate!</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2trMLwr" target=""><img class="alignright" title="WIN scrabble tiles" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/win_250x250.png?itok=8vvIcG-U" alt="WIN scrabble tiles" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> On July 7 (2017), California <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/california-officially-list-key-ingredient-monsantos-roundup-cancer-causing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">will add</a>glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, to the state’s list of chemicals and substances known to cause cancer. Before we dive into the weeds in terms of what the listing does and doesn’t mean, and may or may not lead to, let’s take a moment to recognize that this is a landmark decision in the ongoing battle against Monsanto’s flagship weedkiller. Every activist who has engaged in this fight deserves to take a moment to bask in this victory. <strong>It’s not everything we need, or everything we want—but California’s decision,<a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/california-judge-enables-cancer-warning-monsanto%E2%80%99s-roundup">upheld</a> by the courts, represents a major step forward in a decades-long fight to expose the truth about Roundup and protect the public from its cancer-causing effects.</strong> The full impact of the decision remains to be seen. How much glyphosate will need to be present before a product is required to carry a warning? How many foods will exceed the glyphosate residue limits set by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)? <strong>Will Monsanto find a way to keep those warnings off all labels? Including foods and weedkillers?</strong> Time will tell. And activists will need to remain vigilant. <strong>But today, it’s celebration time.</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/blog/california-warn-consumers-about-monsanto%E2%80%99s-glyphosate%E2%80%94-how-much-and-how-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read OCA’s blog post: 'California to Warn Consumers About Monsanto’s Glyphosate—But How Much and How Soon?'</a> </strong> <!--nextpage--> <h4>ACTION ALERT</h4> <h1>Round It Up!</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2trUzhL" target=""><img class="alignright" title="Cowboy silhouette with a lasso rounding up Roundup" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/lasso_roundup_250x250_0.png?itok=nvjFArnq" alt="Cowboy silhouette with a lasso rounding up Roundup" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> What better way to celebrate California's addition of glyphosate to its Prop 65 <a href="http://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/crnr/glyphosate-listed-effective-july-7-2017-known-state-california-cause-cancer#_ftnref3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">listing </a>of chemicals "known to cause cancer" than to get rid of Roundup in your own community. Moms Across America chose to designate July 7 as National Return Roundup Day. The idea was triggered in part by Linda Mulligan, a New Hampshire high school teacher who<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJZfghu8hQo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">teaches</a> a "Random Act of Kindness" class. Students are required to come up with a random act of kindness for each day of the week. On one of those days, the students went into barns and garages, gathered up containers of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, and took them back to their local hardware stores. <strong>National Return Roundup Day is a great idea—but why limit it to one day? And why stop there? There are countless ways to #ResistGlyphosate, beginning in your own community. Here's how to get started:</strong> <ol> <li><strong><a href="http://www.meetup.com/pro/regenerate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Join </a>a local #Resist & #Regenerate Meetup,</strong> or <a href="http://docs.google.com/forms/d/11u-U-xZ_fyY3Yld5XeY46ZyQ7NcB_ulgYFAnvtb7WR8/viewform?ts=59078225&edit_requested=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start a new one,</a> to connect with neighbors interested in starting a local #ResistGlyphosate action team.</li> <li><strong>Roundup the Roundup!</strong> Start with Roundup containers in your own garage. Return them to your local retailer. While you're at it, round up any unused and/or open containers of other lawncare poisons, including neonicotinoids and 2,4-D.</li> <li><strong><a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=20721" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Boycott </a>all Scotts Miracle-Gro products</strong>, even the organic ones. Scotts is the exclusive distributor of Roundup to retail stores in North America, most of Europe and parts of Latin America.</li> <li><strong><a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/round-up-roundup-leaflet-170705_00000002.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download this leaflet</a> </strong>and take it to your local retailers. Ask them to stop selling Roundup. Who sells Roundup to consumers? Amazon, Costco, Home Deop, Lowe's, Walmart, Ace True Value, some grocery chains, and local independent hardware stores.</li> <li><strong>Ask your Park and School Boards</strong> to stop using Roundup and other chemicals.</li> </ol> <strong>Need suggestions? Inspiration? Resources? Try these:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="http://rounduprisks.com/how-to-get-roundup-out-of-your-community/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch this webinar</a>, from the Institute for Responsible Technology, on how to organize in your community to resist pesticides.</li> <li>Check out the Beyond Pesticides <a href="http://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1VLpVWvifO2JOrgxf1-d1DLyDruE&ll=39.03573413957708%2C-94.19459570507814&z=5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">map of communities</a> that have banned pesticides for model legislation and helpful tips.</li> <li>Download Beyond Pesticides' <a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/resources_for_a_pesticide-free_community.pdf">resource guide </a>for organizers.</li> </ul> <strong>Getting warning labels on Roundup sold in California is a great step in the right direction. What's even better? Getting Roundup out of retail stores, and out of our communities, including parks and playgrounds.</strong> We can do it, if we organize. Just ask Kathleen Hallal, California activist, mom, and founder of Non Toxic Irvine. Hallal and other concerned citizens convinced Irvine, Calif. city council to adopt an "organics-first policy" to control weeds and pests. <strong>Read Hallal's<a href="http://www.ocweekly.com/news/how-irvine-became-socals-first-non-toxic-city-7317638" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inspiring story</a>—then write your own!</strong> <strong><a href="https://action.organicconsumers.org/o/50865/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=20684" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TAKE ACTION: Tell Amazon, Costco, Home Depot and Walmart: Stop Selling Monsanto’s Roundup!</a> </strong> <a href="http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=20721" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>TAKE ACTION: Tell Scotts Miracle Gro You're Boycotting all Miracle Gro products until Scotts stops distributing Roundup!</strong></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJZfghu8hQo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Watch the ‘Return Roundup Day!’ video</strong></a> <strong><a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/round-up-roundup-leaflet-170705_00000002.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download the ‘Get Roundup Out of Retail’ leaflet</a></strong> <!--nextpage--> <h4>IN OTHER NEWS</h4> <h1>Do Not Pass Go</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2ssnkJQ" target=""><img class="alignright" title="Two eggs in jail" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/rotten_eggs2_250x250.png?itok=hdkmccwV" alt="Two eggs in jail" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> "Given the defendants' careless oversight and repeated violations of safety standards, there is an increased likelihood that these offenses, or offenses like these, could happen again. The punishment will also serve to effectively deter against the marketing of unsafe foods and widespread harm to public health by similarly situated corporate officials and other executives in the industry." - U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett, upon sentencing Jack and Peter DeCoster, owners of Quality Egg, for causing a lethal salmonella outbreak A couple of rotten eggs finally got their due. Well, sort of. <strong>Martha Rosenberg reports on how after 33 years of labor, environmental, immigration, animal rights and food safety violations, two rotten eggs—Jack and Peter DeCoster—were finally ordered to jail for their role in a 2010 outbreak of salmonella poisoning.</strong> The reckoning was a long time coming, considering that as far back as 1982, at least one person had died from salmonella-infected eggs sold by the DeCoster-owned Quality Egg company. And in 1987, nine people died after eating DeCoster eggs, and 500 were sickened. <strong>The DeCosters were each sentenced to three months in jail.</strong> Predictably, industry groups like National Association of Manufacturers and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (whose products are central to factory farming) called the sentences “unfair”—even though <strong>the DeCosters</strong><strong> admitted that Quality Egg workers knowingly shipped eggs with false processing and expiration dates to fool state regulators and retail customers about their age and bribed a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector at least twice to approve sales of poor-quality eggs.</strong> This whole sordid mess reminds us of why we are committed to <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/press/nonprofits-sue-third-largest-poultry-co-false-advertising-drug-contaminated-chicken" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bringing down</a> factory farms, promoting alternatives (like <a href="http://regenerationinternational.org/what-we-do/#poultry" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">regenerative poultry systems</a>) and keeping the purveyors of “organic” and “pasture-raised” eggs honest (see our <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/press/court-rules-egg-labeling-fraud-case-against-handsome-brook-farm-can-proceed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lawsuit</a> against Handsome Brook Farms). <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/rotten-eggs-jack-and-peter-decoster-headed-jail%E2%80%94finally" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Read ‘Rotten Eggs Jack and Peter DeCoster Headed to Jail—Finally’</strong></a> <!--nextpage--> <h4>Stayin' AliveSUPPORT THE OCA & OCF</h4> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2tjr0k0" target=""><img class="alignright" title="Silhouette doing disco" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/staying_alive_250x250.png?itok=gCOeRFC3" alt="Silhouette doing disco" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> Between 2012-2016, Monsanto and Big Food spent several hundred million dollars to keep labels off foods that contain GMOs. Industry’s biggest victory was the preemption of Vermont’s GMO labeling law with a bogus federal law that will result in exactly what they wanted: no labels. Financially, the grassroots labeling and anti-GMO movement couldn’t compete. <strong>But we are still very much alive.</strong> So alive, in fact, that Monsanto is facing hundreds of lawsuits for failing to warn people that its Roundup herbicide causes non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and several lawsuits demanding label changes on Roundup sold to consumers. So alive, that an international tribunal publicly condemned Monsanto’s actions, paving the way for legal action on a global scale. So alive, that California says the state will require Monsanto to place warning labels on anything, including herbicides and food, that contain glyphosate. <strong>As the saying goes, we may not get everything we work for—but we’ll work for everything we get.</strong> Monsanto’s commodity crops prop up a filthy, inhumane factory farm industry. Monsanto’s poisons pollute and kill, the environment and the people who come in contact with them. <strong>Increasingly, as those poisons invade our food, degrade our soils and seep into our drinking water supplies, we are <em>all</em> exposed—which just makes us all the more determined to rid the world of Roundup and Roundup-Ready crops.</strong> Your generous support helps keep the fight alive. Thank you. <strong><a href="https://secure.organicconsumers.org/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=12139" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Donate to the Organic Consumers Association</a> <em>(tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)</em></strong> <strong><a href="https://secure.organicconsumers.org/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=12138" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Donate to Organic Consumers Fund</a> <em>(non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts)</em></strong> <strong><a href="https://secure.organicconsumers.org/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=12382" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Support OCA's Regeneration International Project</a> <em>(tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic, regenerative agriculture and climate change)</em></strong> <!--nextpage--> <h4>VIDEO OF THE WEEK</h4> <h1>It's Unanimous</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2usjBgG" target=""><img class="alignright" title="RI&#039;s Oliver Gardner, reports from the Desertif&#039;actions International Summit on Land and Climate in Strasbourg, France. " src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/interview_250x250.png?itok=d4rRHbCy" alt="RI&#039;s Oliver Gardner, reports from the Desertif&#039;actions International Summit on Land and Climate in Strasbourg, France. " width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> Regeneration. What does it mean? Chemical-free. No monocultures. Empowering women and indigenous farmers. No chemicals. Plant trees to nourish the soil. Use organic manure. And . . . no chemicals! <strong>Last month, Regeneration International’s roving reporter, Oliver Gardner, reported from the <a href="http://www.desertif-actions.fr/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Desertif'actions</a> International Summit on Land and Climate in Strasbourg, France. Oliver asked farmers from around the world what the term “regeneration” means to them.</strong> The most oft-repeated phrase? “No chemicals.” <strong>Oliver also recently attended the 5th Plenary of the U.N. Food & Agriculture Association’s Global Soil Partnership in Rome, Italy, where he interviewed scientists and farmers about the latest soil health initiatives.</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVhvGgDzp7U" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch Oliver’s interview with farmers </a></strong> <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_OCfTZ7-XBCKlGelkDqR8EhJ_ySSCGwf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch more of Oliver’s Desertif'actions interviews</a> </strong> <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCajLWugPaJVzqnfC87tXHYg/videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch more RI interviews</a> </strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/regenerationinternational/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Follow RI on Facebook</strong></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/regeneration_in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Follow RI on Twitter</strong></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCajLWugPaJVzqnfC87tXHYg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Subscribe to RI’s YouTube Channel</strong></a> <strong><a href="http://regenerationinternational.org/newsletter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Subscribe to RI’s monthly newsletter</a> </strong> <strong><a href="https://secure.organicconsumers.org/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=12382" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Support OCA's Regeneration International Project </a> (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic, regenerative agriculture and climate change)</strong> <!--nextpage--> <h4>NEW STUDY</h4> <h1>Final Nail?</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2usiuxz" target=""><img class="alignright" title="A hammer pounding in a nail" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/hammer_nail_250x250.png?itok=rkYgUUKb" alt="A hammer pounding in a nail" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> What happened when the two biggest makers of bee-killing pesticides commissioned a $3.5-million study on the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on bees? <strong>The scientists concluded that neonics do indeed harm bee populations. The companies (Bayer CropScience and Syngenta) that funded the largest ever field trial of its kind turned around and called the conclusions “unfair.”</strong> Bee researcher David Goulson told Sustainable Pulse that despite industry’s reaction to the results, he had to give them a “10 out of 10 for effort:” “The study is well designed, well replicated, well funded—ironically by industry who won’t be best pleased. But the results tally with what has gone before. It’s reached a point where it’s just not plausible to keep denying these things harm bees in realistic studies. I’d say it’s the final nail in the coffin.” The study specifically found that exposure to neonicotinoids reduces honeybees’ ability to survive their winter hibernation, say researchers. <strong>France is moving forward with a countrywide <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/france-moves-ahead-neonics-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ban</a> on neonics, effective 2018. While here in the good old United Corporations of America, the pesticide lobby still rules.</strong> <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/largest-ever-neonicotinoid-pesticides-study-shows-massive-damage-bees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Read the Sustainable Pulse’s report on the study</strong></a> <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6345/1393" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Download the study published in Science magazine</strong></a> <!--nextpage--> <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h4>ECO TOUR</h4> <h1>Travel Time!</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2tjrYNj" target=""><img class="alignright" title="Two women holding vegetables at the Via Organica Farm" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/via_tour_250x250.png?itok=9dJ0H77C" alt="Two women holding vegetables at the Via Organica Farm" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> Join fellow adventurers, nature-enthusiasts, gardeners and organic activists for an 8-day eco-tour in the central highlands of Mexico. Stay at Vía Orgánica’s educational farm, where you’ll learn about the latest in organic regenerative farming and ranching. (Vía Orgánica is a <a href="http://viaorganica.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">project</a> of OCA). <strong>The Vía Orgánica eco tours also include tours to San Miguel de Allende and other World Heritage sites, trail rides and nature walks, horseback riding, and organic farming and cooking workshops</strong>. It’s the perfect combination of international travel, adventure and learning. Our next two eco tours are planned around these two cultural events: <strong>Day of the Dead Tour (October 30- November 5, 2017): $1,250 / person. </strong>Experience the cultural phenomenon of Día de los Muertos —Day of the Dead— one of Mexico’s most important cultural events, a traditional celebration in which the living remember and honor their departed relatives with festivals and lively celebrations. <strong>Monarch Butterfly Tour (February 15-22, 2018): $1,500 / person. </strong>Witness the astounding natural phenomenon of the annual migration of the Monarch Butterfly, one of the great spectacles of Mexico’s central highlands! We’ll go on a 3-day trip to the state of Michoacán to visit a Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, located within Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. <strong>Download a registration form: </strong><a href="http://3inz7fo7irtr3thr14bu4z11y3.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/OCAEcoTourRegistration.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PDF</a><strong> / </strong><a href="http://3inz7fo7irtr3thr14bu4z11y3.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/OCAEcoTourRegistration-1.docx">Word</a> <strong>Questions? Email </strong><a href="mailto:tour@organicconsumers.org">tour@organicconsumers.org</a> <a href="http://viaorganica.org/ecotour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more</a> <!--nextpage--> <table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h4>LITTLE BYTES</h4> <h1>Essential Reading for the Week</h1> <div class="image-wrapper" align="right"> <a href="http://orgcns.org/2uso7fd" target=""><img class="alignright" title="Little Bytes" src="https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/little-bytes-4.jpg?itok=Ko3IeVNQ" alt="Little Bytes" width="250" height="250" /></a> </div> <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/if-you-eat-french-fries-or-potato-chips-will-stop-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>If You Eat French Fries or Potato Chips, This Will Stop You</strong></a> <strong><a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/if-ben-jerrys-progressive-why-wont-it-protect-its-farmworkers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">If Ben & Jerry's Is Progressive, Why Won't It Protect Its Farmworkers?</a></strong> <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/critical-vaccine-studies-400-important-scientific-papers-parents-and-pediatricians-need-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Critical Vaccine Studies: 400 Important Scientific Papers Parents and Pediatricians Need To Be Aware Of</strong></a> <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/if-you-want-understand-donald-trump-pay-attention-what-he-eats" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>If You Want to Understand Donald Trump, Pay Attention to What He Eats</strong></a> <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/meet-activists-plan-make-climate-change-matter-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Meet the Activists with a Plan to Make Climate Change Matter in Elections</strong></a> <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/us-organizations-file-complaint-against-sanderson-farms-over-use-%E2%80%98100-natural%E2%80%99-advertising" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>U.S. Organizations File Complaint Against Sanderson Farms Over Use of ‘100% Natural’ in Advertising</strong></a> <strong><a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/epa-chief-scott-pruitt-met-dow-ceo-just-killing-effort-ban-toxic-pesticide" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Met with Dow CEO Just Before Killing Effort to Ban Toxic Pesticide</a></strong> </form></div> </div>