The USDA has announced a controversial proposal, with absolutely no input from consumers, to allow 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the "USDA Organic" seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not "commercially available" in organic form. But at least three of the proposed ingredients, backed by beer giant Anheuser-Busch, and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA).
Monday, May 21, 2007
Organic fertilizers win out over synthetic in long term
(Here is an excellent description of one of the basic differences between organic and 'conventional' farming - the type and use of fertilisers)
By Marilyn Waterman, San Jose Mercury News, May 17
Q: What's the difference between organic and synthetic fertilizers? My neighbor says there is no difference to a plant. Is he right?
A: He is right in a literal way. Molecularly speaking, nitrogen is nitrogen to a plant, regardless of its source - be it the synthetic ingredient, ammonium nitrate (a commercial nitrogen also used in explosives) or, say, bat guano.
But step away from the micro level and there are gaping differences, a few of which I'll tackle here.
Your neighbor, like many of us, has narrow expectations of what a fertilizer is supposed to do. Indeed, the collective mission statement of synthetic fertilizers might read: Feed the plant. But organic fertilizers have much broader marching orders: Nourish the plant by creating a healthy, biologically active soil environment surrounding the roots.
A human analogy might be this: You can get by for quite awhile on a diet of fortified Tang and PowerBars. You can even be amazingly productive. But over the long term these food sources don't do much to create healthy digestive tracts or build up immune systems.
State of Science Review Shows Why Organic Produce Tastes Better
"People have a lot of misconceptions about what an organic meal tastes like," says celebrity chef Akasha Richmond. "Because organic is associated with something that is good for you, people think it will be too healthy and have no taste. But after they try it, most people are shocked at how much more flavor some of their favorite foods have."And while chefs like Richmond have known instinctively for years that organic produce can add flavor to their menus, a new state of science review, published by The Organic Center, shows why organic fruits and vegetables often taste better.
Organic fruits and vegetables tend to score higher in taste because they are sweeter than conventionally grown foods. Scientists say this is because of the nutrient density of organic produce and their smaller size. Conventional farming methods are designed to produce bigger fruits and vegetables, but increasing cells size adds more water, diluting the concentrations of both vitamins and natural flavors.
The report also dispels another misconception about freshness. Contrary to what most people believe, organic fruits and vegetables often have a longer shelf life than conventionally grown foods. The higher levels of antioxidants, considered a natural preservative, are actually part of what enables some organic fruits and vegetables to store longer. The other contributing factor is the lower levels of nitrates that come from synthetic fertilizers, which aren't used in organic farming.
Jazz Sunday at the OC
It's Jazz Sunday on the 27th at Organic Connection and we're offering lots of free raffles with great giveaways and plenty of organic food tastings. So come along and enjoy the jazzy atmosphere.And the Diamond Jubilators will be playing from 2:30 to 5pm.
Swimming Pools Without Chemicals
Do you have a swimming pool but your enjoyment of it is being hampered by the unpleasant smell and effects of chlorine? We import Sal-Chlor salt water pool chlorinators that can provide you with excellent cleanliness and low maintenance of your swimming pool without the unpleasantness of adding chlorine.
Learn More (Sal-Chlor USA - a division of Organic Connection)
Free Book Giveaways
We have an excellent selection of books in our store - relating to health, the environment and personal development. We're offering a number of them for free giveaways to anyone who refers people to Organic Connection.
Every referral qualifies for a free book and we have a number of great books that we have made available for you from which to choose including:
- Nutrition in a Nutshell
- Our Children's Health
- A Prayer On Entering: The Healer's Hearth a Sanctuary (first edition of The Healer: Heart & Hearth)
Employment Opportunities at Organic Connection
We're looking for some keen people to join the team at Organic Connection.
We have need for a Full-time/Part-time Chef's Assistant (for food preparation) - weekends (plus Friday & Monday).
Full-time Delivery person to make our home deliveries in our van.
Full-time/Part-time store/deli assistant - weekends (plus Friday & Monday).
Also an after-school and weekend position is available for school/college person.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Natural Beehives Less Affected by Colony Collapse Disorder
By Sharon LabchukColony Collapse Disorder in domestic honey bees is all the buzz lately, mostly because honey bees pollinate food crops for humans.
However, we would not be so dependent on commercial non-native factory farmed honey bees if we were not killing off native pollinators. Organic agriculture does not use chemicals or crops toxic to bees and, done properly, preserves wildlife habitat in the vicinity, recognizing the intimate relationship between cultivated fields and natural areas.
While no one is certain why honey bee colonies are collapsing, factory farmed honey bees are more susceptible to stress from environmental sources than organic or feral honey bees. Most people think beekeeping is all natural but in commercial operations the bees are treated much like livestock on factory farms.
I'm on an organic beekeeping email list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepers, is reporting colony collapse on this list. The problem with commercial operations is pesticides used in hives to fumigate for varroa mites and antibiotics are fed to the bees to prevent disease. Hives are hauled long distances by truck, often several times during the growing season, to provide pollination services to industrial agriculture crops, which further stresses the colonies and exposes them to agricultural pesticides and GMOs.
PVC - The Poison Plastic
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic, commonly referred to as vinyl, is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats. When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.PVC is useless without the addition of a plethora of toxic additives, which can make the PVC product itself harmful to consumers. These chemicals can evaporate or leach out of PVC, posing risks to children and consumers. New car smell? New shower curtain smell? That's the smell of poisonous chemicals off-gassing from the PVC. One of the most common toxic additives is DEHP, a phthalate that is a suspected carcinogen and reproductive toxicant readily found in numerous PVC products. Children can be exposed to phthalates by chewing on vinyl toys.
New Organic Connection Website
With our ever expanding range of organic foods and other items, our online order page has become, umm, long (is that an understatement?).
So, in the efforts of trying to make our online ordering easier, we've been developing a new website and order system. It's still in development, but it is operational and you are welcome to use it to place orders (you can recall previous orders made on the new site, and you can tag items as favorites).
Use this link to go to the new (in development) Organic Connection order site.
Swimming Pools Without Chemicals
Do you have a swimming pool but your enjoyment of it is being hampered by the unpleasant smell and effects of chlorine?We import Sal-Chlor salt water pool chlorinators that can provide you with excellent cleanliness and low maintenance of your swimming pool without the unpleasantness of adding chlorine.
Learn More (Sal-Chlor USA - a division of Organic Connection)
Tell your friends about Organic Connection
We have an excellent selection of books in our store - relating to health, the environment and personal development. We're offering a number of them for free giveaways to anyone who refers people to Organic Connection.
Every referral qualifies for a free book and we have a number of great books that we have made available for you from which to choose.
Employment Opportunities at Organic Connection
We're looking for some keen people to join the team at Organic Connection.
We have need for a Full-time/Part-time Chef's Assistant (for food preparation) - weekends (plus Friday & Monday).
Full-time/Part-time store/deli assistant - weekends (plus Friday & Monday).
Also an after-school and weekend position is available for school/college person.
Milk & Hormones
Somehow, in last weeks newsletter, we failed to provide the link for this interesting and funny piece from the Colbert Report:
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Three Million Chickens & Pigs Enter Food Supply after Eating Contaminated Feed
Two of the nation's top food officials Tuesday reiterated their position that issuing a recall of products from the three million or so broiler chickens and 6,000 hogs processed and distributed after eating contaminated feed is not needed.
In a teleconference with reporters Tuesday, Dr. David Acheson, now the Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Dr. Kenneth Petersen, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service's assistant administrator for field operations, continued to claim that risk to human health was "very, very low."
"We believe the likelihood of illness to humans, including infants, is extremely small, that there really is no likelihood of a problem," Acheson said. "It's not the same as feeding it to a cat or a dog. We know that's a problem."
Buyers connect to organic foods in Putnam
By Judith Hausman, The Journal News, May 2, 2007Like the proverbial garage band, Organic Connection got its start in Ian Diamond's home.
"When I moved here from Australia 10 years ago, I had 20 years of experience in organic foods, and there were so many products I couldn't get for my family and friends," he says. So he began a delivery of organic foods - some of them local - working out of his home in Vista.
He outgrew his space quickly and moved into a warehouse. Then he outgrew that. In November, he moved into an attractive 3,000-square-foot store on Route 22 in Brewster. He still delivers to about 100 families in Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield, Conn., who send in their orders on line.
"It's brilliant that Ian delivers," says singer Chynna Phillips of Bedford. "When the first order came, it was heaven: perfect carrots, juicy red tomatoes, gorgeous apples. Now they even call me if my order isn't in on time."
At lunchtime, the pine tables up front are filled with kids and moms, dining on the 100 percent organic daily specials, which are are posted on the blackboard above the sandwich area. Along with grilled vegetable and hummus sandwiches, chicken-rice noodle soup and banana shakes, Organic Connection offers a salad bar and a selection of prepared and hot foods, like barbecued chicken. Big sellers, such as Asian cole slaw with black sesame seeds, curried brown rice salad with nuts and raisins, and quinoa tabbouleh (which is vegan as well as gluten, vinegar and soy-free), combine chef Gerry Herrfurth's training from the Culinary Institute of America with Diamond's knowledge of healthy foods and special dietary needs.
Organic Connection Website
With our ever expanding range of organic foods and other items, our online order page has become, umm, long (is that an understatement?).
So, in the efforts of trying to make our online ordering easier, we've been developing a new website and order system. It's still in development, but it is operational and you are welcome to use it to place orders (you can recall previous orders made on the new site, and you can tag items as favorites).
Use this link to go to the new (in development) Organic Connection order site.
Job Opportunities at Organic Connection
We're looking for some keen people to join the team at Organic Connection.
We have need for a Full-Time Chef's Assistant (or part-time weekends).
We also have a retail position available for an after-school and weekend worker.
FDA receives 130,000 comments opposing food from clones
A coalition of consumer, environmental, and animal welfare organizations Thursday submitted to the Food and Drug Administration more than 130,000 comments from consumers opposing the agency's proposed plan to introduce food from cloned animals into the U.S. food supply.
The Center for Food Safety, Consumers Union, Food and Water Watch, The Humane Society of the United States, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, the Consumer Federation of America and the Organic Consumers Association joined together to send a strong, unified message to the FDA that the public opposes the introduction of cloned animals in food.
Rocket Fuel Pollution - Infants Exposed Through Milk
An Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis of recently published data from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Boston University (BU) shows that infants are being exposed to dangerous levels of the rocket fuel component perchlorate.
The study, which examined breast milk from 49 Boston area women, found that the average breast fed infant in this study is being exposed to more than double the dose of perchlorate that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers safe; highly exposed babies are ingesting up to 10 times this amount.
"The levels of perchlorate found in breast milk in this study suggest a serious threat to the normal development and health of potentially all American infants. To protect public health, EPA must adopt a maximum contaminant level for perchlorate in drinking water based on the most recent science, including the 2006 CDC study and the Boston study," wrote Dr. Anila Jacob, MD, MPH and Richard Wiles, Executive Director of EWG in their letter to the EPA.
Perchlorate, the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, has leaked from military bases and defense and aerospace contractors' plants in at least 22 states, contaminating drinking water for millions of Americans. The chemical has also been found to contaminate dairy milk, produce, and many other foods and plants. In a related 2006 study, the CDC found perchlorate in the urine of every one of 2,820 people tested, suggesting that food is a key route of exposure in addition to drinking water. Boston's tap water is not known to be contaminated with perchlorate; the 49 women in this study were likely exposed through food.
Breast milk is by far the healthiest food for infants, and mothers should continue to breastfeed their babies. However, the perchlorate levels found in breast milk in this CDC/BU study are alarming.
Fighting for the Health of America's Children
A documentary film that asks the question: What happens when two fed up moms try to change school food?WORLD PREMIERE SHOWING
Tuesday May 8th. 11am & 6pm.
Community Theatre 1424 Post Rd Fairfield.
203-255-6255
FIRST COME FIRST SERVE! NO CHARGE!
Jazz Sunday at Organic Connection
2:30pm to 4:30pm. Sunday, May 13th. Come along and enjoy some greatly entertaining and uplifting music. Enjoyable for all ages. And you can enjoy some organic food & drinks from our deli at the same time!
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