Wake-Up Call

 

Amazon and Walmart will no longer sell paint remover products containing methylene chloride, a chemical linked to cancer, cognitive impairment and other health issues methylene chloride. That’s because last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally banned retail sales of the controversial chemical.

But both Amazon and Walmart will sell you decaffeinated coffee that tests positive methylene chloride.

Walmart and Amazon aren't alone. According to a recent investigation by the Clean Label Project™, a national nonprofit focused on health and transparency in labeling, a surprising number of popular decaffeinated coffee brands contain methylene chloride.

That’s troubling news, given that many of the people who choose decaf over caffeinated coffee do so for health reasons. For instance, doctors often suggest pregnant women and people suffering from heart disease stick with decaf.

The study contained some good news, though, for consumers who buy organic—none of the certified organic brands tested by Clean Label Project contained detectable levels of methylene chloride.

Read: ‘Is Your Decaf Coffee Organic? If Not, It May Contain a Chemical So Toxic, the EPA Banned It From Paint Removers’

What's for Lunch?

 

Federal regulations for school lunches—never strong to begin with—are about to get worse.

If Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pushes through its proposed new rules, schools will be allowed to serve up more processed junk food, and fewer fruits and vegetables.

The new rules would also let schools replace leafy green vegetables with french fries—nevermind that in addition to being fried in unhealthy oils, because schools aren’t required to source organic potatoes, those fries will come from potatoes drenched in a toxic soup of pesticides.

In other words, the USDA proposes to undermine kids’ health by feeding them junk foods linked to childhood obesity and chronic disease.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA: Add Healthy Organic Fruits and Veggies to School Meals, Not More Junk Food!

Keep Going

 

“It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo . . . Folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding onto something. That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo . . . and it’s worth fighting for.”— Samewise Gamgee, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Two Towers”

Some days, the power of corporate money and corporate lobbyists overwhelms.

Some days, the corruption and greed feels too pervasive and too entrenched to overcome.

On those days, it’s more crucial than ever that we acknowledge and honor all the good that is bubbling up from the ground, thanks to the tireless work of everyday people who refuse to give up.

This week we heard from a farmer, co-activist and co-champion of regenerative agriculture who has been leading the fight against Costco’s plan to build the world’s largest factory farm poultry operation in the world, in his backyard in Nebraska.

He, along with many good citizens and organizations, are standing up against Costco’s plan—a plan that would be ruinous for Nebraska’s waterways and organic and regenerative farmers.

They may not be able to totally shut down Costco’s project. But they are slowing it down. And in the process, building a movement.

They’ve educated and organized an army of citizen activists They’ve succeeded in convincing at least a few counties to reject the plan. They’ve organized a citizen-led scientific research project to highlight the damage industrial factory farms are having on the state’s water quality.

And this week, they released policy guidelines for state and local elected officials on how to protect Nebraska communities from factory farms—and how to help the next generation of farmers transition to organic and regenerative farming practices.

This is what change from the ground up looks like. This is the work we lend our support to.

This is the good in the world. And it’s worth fighting for.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Support Citizens Regeneration Lobby, OCA’s 501(c)(4) lobbying arm (not tax-deductible)

Donate $100 or more and we’ll send you a copy of Ronnie’s new book

Click here for more ways to support our work

Dig In!

 

If you’re like most gardening enthusiasts, you’re probably flipping through seed catalogs right about now.

If so, you may want to watch this week’s video about a company called High Mowing Organic Seeds. It’s one of the only companies producing organic seeds from organically grown plants.

That’s right. As it turns out, most seed companies don’t grow their own seeds—and most companies that produce organic seeds don’t get those seeds from organically grown plants.

Tom Stearns, founder of High Mowing, started saving seeds when he was 18 years old. Stearns believes growing seeds organically and focusing on the health of soil and water are keys to rebuilding an entire food system:

“This new food system that we need to create needs to think deeply about how we take care of the soil, the water, the air, what tools we use, what types of seeds we use, what the nutrition is that goes into the soil, and then into the food and then into people.”

If you live in a part of the country where all you can do right now is dream of spring planting season, you'll want to check this out.

Read and watch: ‘High-Mowing Organic Seeds for a New Food System

Almost Here!

 

“Regenerative agriculture is going to be a key phrase in the decades ahead—and this book will get you in on the ground floor, so to speak. Not much could be more important!”— Bill McKibben, author of “Falter”

Want to be part of the Regeneration Revolution? “Grassroots Rising” is your handbook.

Ronnie’s new book, your “good news” instruction manual for fixing our broken food and farming system and our broken climate, will be out next week. You can order it then, or reserve your copy now.

The timing couldn’t be better. The climate emergency is bearing down on us, our family farmers are going bankrupt and our food is increasingly contaminated and less nutritious.

But there’s hope on the horizon.

Politicians are finally waking up to regenerative agriculture as a climate, health, food security and rural economy revitalization solution. And more than 100 members of Congress have officially endorsed the Green New Deal as the framework for transforming our food and farming (and climate) policy.

It’s a great start. But it will take a lot more pressure from millions of grassroots activists to make the Regenerative Green New Deal a reality.

Place your pre-sale order now!

TAKE ACTION: Donate $100 or more and get a copy of Ronnie’s book as soon as it’s available (mid-February)

Sign up for Regeneration International’s newsletter

SIGN THE PETITION: Consumers Want a Regenerative Green New Deal!

Essential Reading

 

Across the Country, a Call Grows for Moratoriums on Huge Livestock Farms

After Half a Century of Corporate Dominance Over the Food Economy, Change Is Coming

Kansas’ Ag-Gag Law Has Been Ruled Unconstitutional

The Truth About Statin Drugs

The Dirt on What’s Making Californians Sick

Leaf Wounds from Insects Make Organic Fruits and Vegetables Healthier

‘Healthy’ Soybean Oil Causes Genetic Changes in the Brain Linked to Neurological Disease