Monday, August 27, 2007

USDA Says Almonds Labeled as 'Raw' Must Be Pasteurized

Under pressure from industrial agriculture lobbyists, the USDA has quietly approved a new regulation that will effectively end distribution of raw almonds, while putting many smaller almond farmers out of business. The regulation is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st, unless thousands of consumers take action now.

The rule requires pasteurization of almonds, including organic, yet allows those same almonds to continue to be labeled as "raw". Nutritionists point out that raw, organic almonds are far superior, in terms of nutrition, to pasteurized almonds. One of the FDA-recommended pasteurization methods involves the use of propylene oxide, which is classified as a carcinogen in California and is banned in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Organic and family-scale almond farmers are protesting the proposed rule, saying it will effectively put them out of business, since the minimum price for the pasteurization equipment is $500,000.

Read more (Organic Consumers Association) & Take Action

Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone Being Driven Off The Market

The Organic Consumers Association has been working to educate and mobilize consumers and retailers (for example Starbucks) to boycott milk and dairy products derived from Monsanto's recombinant (genetically engineered) Bovine Growth Hormone.

The synthetic hormone is banned in most of the world, due to its links to prostate and breast cancer. Although it is still being injected into thousands of dairy herds in the U.S., grassroots pressure from health-minded consumers and public interest groups, like the OCA, have caused Starbucks, Chipotle, and many supermarket chains to put pressure on their dairy suppliers to stop using the drug.

Monsanto is furious that OCA and our allies have educated consumers about the dangers of rBGH, but with recent polls showing 80% of consumers concerned about artificial hormones in their food, there's little that the biotech giant can do to stop rBGH from being driven off the market.

Effects of Fast Food Branding on Young Children's Taste Preferences






A new study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine indicates that the annual $10 billion the food and beverage industry is spending on advertising foods to kids is working alarmingly well. The study found that four out of five kids preferred the flavor of foods served in McDonalds packaging as compared to the exact same foods served in packaging without the McDonalds brand.

By the time they are two years old, children may already have beliefs about certain brands, and by the age of six they can recognize brands and specific brand products. Not surprisingly, the study found that kids with more televisions in the home had stronger preferences for brands. The authors suggested this study strengthened the justification for tighter regulation or banning of advertising and marketing of high calorie, low nutrient food and drink, and perhaps a ban on all marketing that is aimed at young children.

The Power Of Community in Cuba

In 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba experienced an 'energy famine.' Transportation and agriculture virtually came to a stop due to lack of diesel fuel and fertilizer shortages. This film explores what changes were put in place. The makers of the film The End Of Suburbia went to Cuba to explore it as a test case for what the conditions after peak oil would look like. This is that story.

Watch Video (Google Video)

What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish

For those of us that choose organic foods we do so with the belief that consuming foods grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers will reduce our intake of poisons into our bodies. We do so at a time when governmental bodies do not support this with health warnings about pesticides in produce.

The EPA & FDA still remain under-cautious about chemicals in our food. So, when they do issue health warnings about food consumption it is worthy of notice.

The EPA & FDA Advice about mercury in seafood just helps to indicate that we have a serious problem with seafood contamination.

At Organic Connection we are fussier about foods - we don't want to be offering you foods with serious health concerns. Hence the reason for our small, carefully chosen selection of seafoods.

We offer Wild Alaskan Salmon, Pollock (Alaskan) & Organic Shrimp - all known to be low in mercury and sustainably produced. CNN Seafood Video

Government warning about seafood consumption

Bio-hope, Bio-hype

All Biofuels Aren't Created EqualBiofuels can be made from nearly any organic material, but corn, which is the source of 95 percent of U.S. ethanol, would reduce global warming emissions only about 15 percent on average compared to gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol, made from switchgrass, slash, and agricultural byproducts, could cut emissions by more than 90 percent. But it's not commercially available. And then there's sugarcane ethanol, which is booming in Brazil, soybean biodiesel, and cooking grease biodiesel, even biodiesel made from algae -- all with their various pros and cons.

Want help separating the wheat from the chaff? Check out "Bio-hope, Bio-hype" in the most recent issue of Sierra, complete with a useful chart comparing six different biofuels.

read more (Sierra Club)

Late Night Shopping at Organic Connection

In an effort to better accommodate the needs of our customers, commencing in September, Organic Connection will be open for late night shopping every Thursday until 9pm. (First late night will be September 6th).

Our deli and hot food bars will also be open late on Thursdays to provide you with the option of a casual, eat-in our take-out organic dinner.

Dinner Night at Organic Connection

The next dinner night at Organic Connection is scheduled for next Saturday, September 8th.

All ingredients are organic with the exception of seafood. All inclusive dinner price is $40 (includes taxes, tips & non-alcoholic drinks). BYO Wine. We also have a selection of organic beers for sale.

Seating from 7:00 to 7:30. Call to make your reservation.

Phone: (845) 279-2290.

Feedback & Suggestions

We'd love OC to develop by fulfilling the needs of our customers, we, therefore, appreciate your comments and suggestions. Please let us know about your suggestions for improvement.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

10 Solutions to Save the Oceans

We all want to help save the oceans but how? While most of our attention has been fixated on solving terrestrial problems - whether it be deforestation, floods, droughts or other climate change-related weather events - we have largely glossed over the issue of elaborating innovative and sweeping new initiatives aimed at preserving or strengthening the state of our oceans. Sure, we talk about erecting more marine protected areas (MPAs), reducing overfishing pressure and stopping the unregulated flow of treated sewage and nutrient-rich runoff, but are there other viable solutions?

Fortunately, Conservation Magazine took it upon itself to gather some of the brightest minds in ocean conservation and ask them what solutions they would propose to help us save the oceans. The result was 10 unique and innovative ideas.
  1. Eat lower on the marine food web and tap into a bountiful supply of protein
  2. Elevate the role of small-scale fishers in the world market
  3. Alter harvest strategies to account for evolutionary change
  4. Invest in microcredit schemes for women in poor coastal communities to curtail overfishing
  5. Tap into the firsthand expertise and ingenuity of fishermen and backyard inventors
  6. Simple modifications to fishing gear save thousands of turtles and seabirds each year
  7. Create new markets that reward careful fishing
  8. Eliminate fuel subsidies to reduce destructive bottom trawling on the high seas
  9. Text messaging is changing the face of marine conservation
  10. Move toward wholesale zoning of the oceans-rather than piecemeal protection schemes

How to Add Oomph to 'Organic'

By ANDREW MARTIN, New York Times, August 19, 2007

The organic industry has gone wild in the last decade, but you wouldn't know it at the Department of Agriculture.

Despite year after year of double-digit growth, organics receive a pittance in financing and staff attention at the department, which is responsible for writing regulations about organics and making sure that they are upheld.

The National Organic Program, which regulates the industry, has just nine staff members and an annual budget of $1.5 million. A Florida real estate developer named Maurice Wilder received more than that in farm subsidies in 2005, some $1,754,916, to be exact, according to a subsidy database maintained by the Environmental Working Group.

Other parts of the Department of Agriculture spend roughly $28 million or so a year on organic research, data collection and farmer assistance. It may sound significant, but the department spent far more than that, $37 million, subsidizing farmers who grew dry peas in 2005. (The farm value of dry peas is about $83 million a year. Consumers spend more than $14 billion a year on organic food, up from $3.6 billion in 1997.)

It's not entirely surprising that organics are such a low priority at the department and in Congress. Both the agency and farm-state members of Congress are reliable cheerleaders for industrialized agriculture, and Big Ag has often viewed organics with suspicion, if not outright disdain.





Shopping Bags - An Eco-Dilemma

As a conscientious eco-business, we've been considering the ways that we can minimize the environmental impact from the consumables provided in our store. It is staggering to realize the quantity and cost of grocery bags and take-out containers that we provide to our customers.

Paper? Plastic? What are the better options? Perhaps as our customers you can help us.

Paper. We offer unbleached paper grocery bags. A nice natural resource, but a lot of energy is used to produce these, often, single-use items. We love it when customers bring them back to the store to re-use.

Plastic. We're currently using plastic bags that are bio-degradable. These are less expensive to purchase than paper, but are produced from petroleum. We love it when customers being them back to the store to re-use.

What about multi-use bags? At recent trade shows we've attended we've seen numerous offerings of re-usable bags. This includes strong polyester shopping bags that are now being offered by many natural food stores. Great, they're re-usable many times - but they're still made from plastic. So, we thought about it and we think we've gone a few steps better.

How cotton bags? Better still - how about Organic Cotton shopping bags? Well, we've got them. They were made for us in India using organic cotton. And they're great - strong, pretty and practical. We hope you'll love them and come back with them many, many times.

Organic Beer at Organic Connection

We now have organic beers available for purchase at Organic Connection. Currently we have domestic beers from Butte Creek & Lakefront as well as organic beers from Germany & Belgium.

What makes a beer organic? The ingredients; organic hops and grains are used.

Late Night Shopping at Organic Connection

In an effort to better accommodate the needs of our customers, commencing in September, Organic Connection will be open for late night shopping every Thursday until 9pm. (First late night will be September 6th).

Our deli and hot food bars will also be open late on Thursdays to provide you with the option of casual, organic dinner.

Dinner Night at Organic Connection

The next dinner night at Organic Connection is scheduled for this Saturday, August 25th.

All ingredients are organic with the exception of seafood. All inclusive dinner price is $40 (includes taxes, tips & non-alcoholic drinks). BYO Wine. We also have a selection of organic beers for sale.

END OF SUMMER AMERICAN ORGANIC BUFFET MENU

  • Chilled California Style Raw Avocado and Vegetable Soup(VV)
  • New England Style Seafood Chowder
  • New Orleans Vegetable Gumbo (VV)
  • Sautéed Local Vegetables(VV)
  • Cajun Red Beans and Rice (VV)
  • Macaroni and Cheese with Local Dairy(V)
  • Assorted American Salads featuring local vegetables(VV)
  • Tomato Glazed Meatloaf featuring local Veal, Pork and Beef
  • Boston Baked Beans with Smoked Ham Hocks
  • Carolina Style Smoked BBQ Chicken
  • Wild Alaskan Salmon Cakes
  • Southern Corn Bread
  • Strawberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream & Fresh Fruit

Seating from 6:45 to 7:30. Call to make your reservation. Phone: (845) 279-2290.

Dinner Nights are also planned for the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of September & October. Next dinner night: Saturday, September 8th.

Jazzy Sundays at the OC

This Sunday (August 26th) the Diamond Jubilators will playing their uplifting jazzy music from 2:30 to 4:30. So, come on down to Organic Connection and be nourished with food for the belly and music for the heart.

Feedback & Suggestions

We'd love OC to develop by fulfilling the needs of our customers, we, therefore, appreciate your comments and suggestions. Please let us know about your suggestions for improvement.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Linkage Established Between Pesticides and Autism

For years epidemiologists have seen hints of a link between pesticide exposure and autism. As of July 30, 2007, these days are over. Scientists working for the California Department of Health Services have found that pregnant women living near fields sprayed with the common insecticides dicofol and endosulfan were six-times more likely to give birth to children with "Autism Spectrum Disorders" (ASD) than women living many miles from treated fields.

Six-times higher risk - it is very rare for such a large and statistically significant difference to be found in a study of this kind. Plus, the authors report that the closer a mother lived to treated fields, and/or the more pounds of pesticides applied, the greater the risk.

These two insecticides are the last widely used organochlorines - the family of insecticides including DDT, chlordane, aldrin, and toxaphene, among others. Both are known endocrine disruptors, they are persistent in the environment, and bioaccumulate up food chains. Residues of these insecticides, in particular endosulfan, are common in conventional fruits and vegetables, especially imports. This study should compel the EPA to finally take decisive action to end exposures to these two insecticides.

Read the study (Environmental Health Perspectives)

Environmental Connections: A Deeper Look into Mental Illness

Mental illnesses produce some of the most challenging health problems faced by society, accounting for vast numbers of hospitalizations, disabilities resulting in billions in lost productivity, and sharply elevated risks for suicide. Scientists have long known that these potentially devastating conditions arise from combinations of genes and environmental factors. Genetic research has produced intriguing biological insights into mental illness, showing that particular gene variations predispose some individuals to conditions such as depression and schizophrenia.

Now, thanks to a growing union of epidemiology and molecular biology, the role of the environment in the etiology of mental illness has become more clear. Indeed, E. Fuller Torrey, president of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that promotes treatment advances in psychiatry, suggests that mental illnesses increasingly fall into the realm of environmental health. And from that platform, he says, new treatment advances could soon emerge.

World Health Organization Says Environmental Pollution Causes 30% of all Children's Diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that over 30 percent of the global burden of diseases in children can be attributed to environmental factors and that 13 million deaths could be prevented annually by improving the environment. In addition, WHO said 4 million children die annually because of the bad quality of the air, water and exposure to chemicals and other factors.

WHO released this data from a report, the first ever report which highlights children's special susceptibility to harmful chemical exposures at different periods of their growth. According to WHO expert Jenny Pronczuc this new volume of the Environmental Health Criteria series, "Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children Associated with Exposure to Chemicals" is the most comprehensive work yet undertaken on the scientific principles to be considered in assessing health risks in children. Pronczuc said that the report highlights the fact that in children, the stage in their development when exposure occurs may be just as important as the magnitude of the exposure.

Children are especially vulnerable and respond differently from adults when exposed to environmental factors - and this response may differ according to the different periods of development they are going through.

Air and water contaminants, pesticides in food, lead in soil, as well many other environmental threats which alter the delicate organism of a growing child may cause or worsen disease and induce developmental problems. According to WHO, emerging evidence suggests that an increased risk of certain diseases in adults such as cancer and heart disease can result in part from exposures to certain environmental chemicals during childhood.

Read more (Kuwait News Agency)

Appetite for a Change: Children's Environmental Health

A campaign to reduce children's exposure to pesticides, toxins, and junk foods.

The Appetite for a Change Goals:

STOP spraying toxic pesticides on school property, playgrounds and in buildings, and convert to integrated pest management practices.

KICK junk foods and junk food ads out of our schools.

START converting school lunches to healthier menus, using locally grown and/or organic and transition to organic ingredients (no pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, irradiation or genetically engineered ingredients). Offer vegetarian options.

TEACH kids about healthy food choices and sustainable agriculture through school garden projects and curriculum materials.

Mothers start a food fight

Susan Rubin sounds passionate and angry as she describes the junk-food free-for-alls she has seen at schools across the nation.

Students are often surrounded by foods that "are loaded with so many artificial ingredients and additives that you need a Ph.D. in biochemistry to figure out what's in them," says Rubin, a mother from Chappaqua, N.Y., with three school-age daughters.

"Real food doesn't come from a science lab. It grows in the ground, flies in the air, swims in the sea and walks on the ground," says Rubin, 47, one of the stars of Two Angry Moms, a new documentary film about a parental war against the sale of highly processed, sugary foods in U.S. schools.

Breast cancer screening harms ten women for every one it helps

By Jessica Fraser, NewsTarget.com

A new study by researchers from the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark found that mammograms may harm ten times as many women as they help.

The researchers examined the benefits and negative effects of seven breast cancer screening programs on 500,000 women in the United States, Canada, Scotland and Sweden. The study's authors found that for every 2,000 women who received mammograms over a 10-year period, only one would have her life prolonged, but 10 would endure unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments.

The researchers found that although overall screening lowered breast cancer mortality by roughly 15 percent, it also increased the number of mastectomies by 20 percent and boosted the likelihood of radiation treatment.

read more...

Dinner Night at Organic Connection

The next dinner night at Organic Connection is scheduled for Saturday, August 25th.

Dinner Nights are planned for the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of August, September & October.

Jazzy Sundays at the OC

Mark your calendar for Sunday, August 26. The Diamond Jubilators will playing their uplifting jazzy music from 2:30 to 4:30. So, come on down to Organic Connection and be nourished with food for the belly and music for the heart.

Late Night Shopping at Organic Connection?

We're considering staying open until 9pm on one evening per week to accommodate customers who find it difficult to get to our store before our 7pm week night closing time.

We'd appreciate your input to help us decide on which night it would be most helpful to offer late night shopping. So, let us know what you think.

Feedback & Suggestions

We'd love OC to develop by fulfilling the needs of our customers, we, therefore, appreciate your comments and suggestions. Please let us know about your suggestions for improvement.

Food That Travels Well

By JAMES E. McWILLIAMS, New York Times, August 6, 2007

THE term "food miles" - how far food has traveled before you buy it - has entered the enlightened lexicon. Environmental groups, especially in Europe, are pushing for labels that show how far food has traveled to get to the market, and books like Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" contemplate the damage wrought by trucking, shipping and flying food from distant parts of the globe.

There are many good reasons for eating local - freshness, purity, taste, community cohesion and preserving open space - but none of these benefits compares to the much-touted claim that eating local reduces fossil fuel consumption. In this respect eating local joins recycling, biking to work and driving a hybrid as a realistic way that we can, as individuals, shrink our carbon footprint and be good stewards of the environment.

On its face, the connection between lowering food miles and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions is a no-brainer. In Iowa, the typical carrot has traveled 1,600 miles from California, a potato 1,200 miles from Idaho and a chuck roast 600 miles from Colorado. Seventy-five percent of the apples sold in New York City come from the West Coast or overseas, the writer Bill McKibben says, even though the state produces far more apples than city residents consume. These examples just scratch the surface of the problem. In light of this market redundancy, the only reasonable reaction, it seems, is to count food miles the way a dieter counts calories.

But is reducing food miles necessarily good for the environment? Researchers at Lincoln University in New Zealand, no doubt responding to Europe's push for "food miles labeling," recently published a study challenging the premise that more food miles automatically mean greater fossil fuel consumption. Other scientific studies have undertaken similar investigations. According to this peer-reviewed research, compelling evidence suggests that there is more - or less - to food miles than meets the eye.

It all depends on how you wield the carbon calculator. Instead of measuring a product's carbon footprint through food miles alone, the Lincoln University scientists expanded their equations to include other energy-consuming aspects of production - what economists call "factor inputs and externalities" - like water use, harvesting techniques, fertilizer outlays, renewable energy applications, means of transportation (and the kind of fuel used), the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis, disposal of packaging, storage procedures and dozens of other cultivation inputs.

Watch your (Fo)odometer

Watch your (Fo)odometer Video

Slow Food - Taste, Tradition, and the Honest Pleasures of Food

Slow Food envisions a future food system that is based on the principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice - in essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair. Slow Food seeks to catalyze a broad cultural shift away from the destructive effects of an industrial food system and fast life; toward the regenerative cultural, social and economic benefits of a sustainable food system, regional food traditions, the pleasures of the table, and a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life. Slow Food Video

Slow Food USA

Down the Drain: Chemicals that Disrupt our Hormone Systems

Many man-made chemicals widely used today may be capable of causing hormone-disrupting effects in people, fish, and wildlife. 3 hormone-disrupting chemicals are the focus: phthalates, a class of chemicals used in products ranging from cosmetics to plastics; bisphenol A, a chemical used to make a type of hard plastic (polycarbonate), and to make an epoxy resin that lines food cans; and triclosan, an antibacterial ingredient found in numerous consumer products, including liquid hand soap, toothpaste, plastic cutting boards, and shoe insoles.

These chemicals have been detected in streams and rivers as a result of exposure to wastewater from our communities. Wastewater treatment is extremely effective at removing biodegradable pollutants such as human and food waste, but it cannot remove all of the unregulated tide of persistent chemicals washed down the drain.

Microwave ovens destroy the nutritional value of your food

by Mike Adams

Microwave ovens heat food through a process of creating molecular friction, but this same molecular friction quickly destroys the delicate molecules of vitamins and phytonutrients (plant medicines) naturally found in foods. One study showed that microwaving vegetables destroys up to 97% of the nutritional content (vitamins and other plant-based nutrients that prevent disease, boost immune function and enhance health).

There's even some evidence to suggest that microwaving destroys the natural harmony in water molecules, creating an energetic pattern of chaos in the water found in all foods. In fact, the common term of "nuking" your food is coincidentally appropriate: Using a microwave is a bit like dropping a nuclear bomb on your food, then eating the fallout. (You don't actually get radiation from eating microwaved foods, however. But you don't get much nutrition, either.)

Microwaving is, technically, a form of food irradiation. I find it interesting that people who say that would never eat "irradiated" food have no hesitation about microwaving their food. It's the same thing (just a different wavelength of radiation). In fact, microwaves were originally called "radar ranges." Sounds strange today, doesn't it? But when microwaves were first introduced in the 1970's, they were proudly advertised as radar ranges. You blast your food with high-intensity radar and it gets hot. This was seen as some sort of space-age miracle in the 1970's.

The microwave does work as advertised, by the way. It makes your food hot. But the mechanism by which heat is produced causes internal damage to the delicate molecular structures of vitamins and phytonutrients. Minerals are largely unaffected, however, so you'll still get the same magnesium, calcium and zinc in microwaved foods as you would in non-microwaved foods, but the all-important B vitamins, anthocyanins, flavonoids and other nutritional elements are easily destroyed by microwave ovens.

read more (NewsTarget.com)

Dinner Night at Organic Connection

After the success of our first two dinner nights with quality organic ingredients used to produce delicious dishes, we are now planning Dinner Nights at OC for two Saturday nights per month. Next dinner:

Saturday, August 11th.

A full & comprehensive Buffet Menu with a Latin American Theme:

  • Guacamole and Salsa (V)
  • Sizzling Fajita Salads (Made to order)
  • Cuban Black Beans (V)
  • Chicken and Corn Tortilla Soup
  • Chilled Green Gazpacho (V)
  • Quinoa Pilaf (V)
  • Caribbean Vegetable Stew (V)
  • Roasted Sofrito Chicken
  • Seafood Vera Cruz
  • Argentinian Style BBQ Beef with Chimichurri Sauce
  • Mango Rice Pudding
  • Fresh Fruit Salad
  • Coffee, Tea, Herbal Teas
  • Freshly made cold drinks & sparkling water.

All ingredients are organic - except for seafood.

All inclusive dinner price is $40 (includes taxes, tips & drinks). BYO Alcohol. No children's menu.

Seating from 6:45 to 7:30.

Call to make your reservation.

Phone: (845) 279-2290.

Dinner Nights are planned for the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of August, September & October. Next dinner night: Saturday, August 25th.

Jazzy Sundays at the OC

Mark your calendars in August - Sunday, August 12 & 26. The Diamond Jubilators will playing their uplifting jazzy music from 2:30 to 4:30. So, come on down to Organic Connection and be nourished with food for the belly and music for the heart.

Late Night Shopping at Organic Connection?

We're considering staying open until 9pm on one evening per week to accommodate customers who find it difficult to get to our store before our 7pm week night closing time.

We'd appreciate your input to help us decide on which night it would be most helpful to offer late night shopping. So, let us know what you think.

Feedback & Suggestions

We'd love OC to develop by fulfilling the needs of our customers, we, therefore, appreciate your comments and suggestions. Please let us know about your suggestions for improvement.

Opportunities at OC

We currently have an opening for someone to join the team at Organic Connection as an Assistant Deli Manager. The position is full time including weekends and organic/natural food interest is a must.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

What Do We Consider Local?

Ever since Organic Connection began it's home delivery service, more than five years ago, we've been active in offering foods from regional organic producers.

It is the small producers from our growing region that we consider our local suppliers. At this time of year that includes an exciting selection of vegetables from growers in upstate New York & Vermont. Following is a list of some of our regional vegetable growers:

  • Farm at Miller's Crossing, Hudson, NY
  • Markristo Farms, Hillsdale, NY
  • Lucky Dog Organic Farm, Hamden, NY
  • Westminster Organics, VT
  • Hepworth Farms, Milton, NY
  • Little Seed Gardens, Chatham, NY

We're currently upgrading the signs in our produce department and all local produce will be marked accordingly.

Organic Dairy and Meat Improves Quality of Mothers' Breast Milk

A new study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that organic dairy and meat products in a mother's diet positively affect the nutritional quality of her breast milk-markedly increasing beneficial fatty acids.

Specifically, a diet in which 90% or more of dairy and meat products are organic is correlated with measurably higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a type of fat that is believed to have anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-diabetic and immune-enhancing effects, as well as a favorable influence on body fat composition. For newborns specifically, CLA is believed to especially aid immune system development.

"These findings provide scientific support for common sense, by showing that organic foods are healthier," says Dr. Lukas Rist, who is the lead author of the study and the head of research at the Paracelsus Hospital in Switzerland. The study involved 312 breastfeeding women with 1-month old infants from the Netherlands.

"The study shows that breastfeeding mothers can influence the supply and quality of fatty acids for their infants, by eating a diet with organic dairy," adds Rist.

Read more (Cornucopia.Org)

Organic and Socially Responsible Consumers Say No to War and Climate Chaos

Help build up a national and international network of organic and socially responsible consumers who wish to protect Gaia/Mother Earth, put an end to war and military madness, and green and re-localize the global ecology. Please join to help in building up a powerful coalition that brings about cooperation and synergy between the anti-war movement, the climate crisis movement, and the organic community.



US Court to Hear Pesticide Lawsuit

Noaki Schwartz, Associated Press, July 8, 2007

The pesticide was designed to kill worms infesting the roots of banana trees on Latin American plantations.

But at least 5,000 agricultural workers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have filed five lawsuits in this country claiming they were left sterile after being exposed in the 1970s to the pesticide known as DBCP.

"This is the first time any case for a banana worker has come before a U.S. court," said Duane Miller, one of the attorneys representing more than 30 Nicaraguan plaintiffs who worked on plantations from 1964 to 1990.

Read more (Business Week)

Who Owns Your Favorite Organic Brands?

As the $20 billion organic marketplace continues to expand, major corporations continue to take over many of the most familiar organic brands. Dr. Phil Howard, an Assistant Professor at Michigan State, has provided a new update on his popular chart "Who Owns Organic." Are you supporting corporations like Kraft, M&M, or Pepsi with what you thought was a purchase of your old familiar brand?

View this chart to see acquisitions of the top selling organic brands:
View this chart to see the top selling INDEPENDENT organic brands here
:

Organic Seed Workshop

Sunday, August 5

At Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture,

630 Bedford Rd (Rte 448), Pocantico Hills, NY, Westchester Co.,

1-4 pm.

Come visit this beautiful, four-season, non-profit farm and educational center in Westchester County. Workshop participants will get hands-on training in seed saving and cleaning, learn how to get involved in on-farm/backyard breeding projects, and evaluate 17 experimental, heirloom, and newly released onion varieties being trialed by the Center. A brief tour of the farm's diverse crop and livestock enterprises will also be included. Free.

Better School Food Teleconference

When is it?
Thursday August 2nd at 1:00pm.

Who is it for?
Parents and anyone else concerned with healthy food.

Why should you participate?
Do you want your kids eating better food this year? We can help and we're only a phone call away! Save gas, call us from the comfort of your own home. You'll be instantly connected to Better School Food expertise as well as with parents who want the same as you do for your children. You'll receive pointers on how to make better school food happen in your community.


Dinner Nights at Organic Connection

Perhaps it's hard to imagine how we could fit 35 people for dinner at Organic Connection. Usually we have four tables available for eating at the front of the store, but for our dinner nights we do something very different. The dry produce shelves are rolled to the back of the store to open up an area that can amply seat forty people.

We place cloth curtains over all the grocery and produce shelves to provide a peaceful backdrop, and we dim the lights, set the lovely wooden tables with cotton tablecloths and napkins and candles. So, the store is transformed into a delightful, cosy restaurant.

The responses and success of our first two dinner nights have been so wonderful that we plan to offer dinner nights every two weeks. The next dinner night will be on Saturday, August 11th. Seating is limited to forty people, so get your reservation in early.

Jazzy Sundays at the OC