Injustice runs throughout society. Nowhere is that more evident than in our food
and farming system ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
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TOP NEWS OF THE WEEKTHIS MOMENT
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It’s impossible to put out a “newsletter” this week without acknowledging what’s
going on in the streets in so many cities across this country—and how those
actions are tied to the systemic and institutionalized social, environmental and
economic injustice that runs throughout our society.

So we share this video [[link removed]] of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who sums it up this way:

“The way we end this [violence], and the way we move through this, is by
establishing justice. That is the ultimate way of creating peace and
prosperity.”

Words spoken like a genuine leader—and perhaps future president?

AOC also this week called out the hypocrisy of corporations, including fast-food
king, McDonald’s, rejecting what she called “bland statements” of support for
Black Lives Matter.

As reported
[[link removed]] in Common Dreams, AOC “called out a number of companies which publicly
expressed support for the protests in the past week but sell products that aid
racial discrimination, tolerate racism on their platforms, and fail to support
black families and businesses.”

The Common Dreams article also included sage advice from Judd Legum, editor of
Popular Information:

"If you want to understand a corporation's values, ignore its tweets, and pay
attention to its FEC filings.”

As the COVID-19 crisis has laid bare, injustice runs rampant through the U.S.
food system—and nowhere has that injustice been more evident than in the
industrial “ Big Meat
[[link removed]] ” industry, where thousands of slaughterhouse workers, forced to return to
work, are now infected
[[link removed]] with the virus.

Ricardo Salvador, senior scientist and director of the Food and Environment
Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, lays out how injustice and
exploitation runs through our food and farming system in this recent article
[[link removed]] (and podcast). From farmers who aren’t paid a fair price, to slaughterhouse
workers forced to work in unsafe conditions, to farmworkers who are “politically
invisible,” what you have is:

“. . . the top of this pyramid . . . which is essentially the highly
concentrated agribusiness sector, attempting to exploit the moment to cut as
many costs as possible . . .”

Whether we’re talking food system or any other “system” in this country,
injustice ultimately leads to “unrest.”

As AOC says [[link removed]] in her instagram video: “True peace is a just society.”

And as she tweeted
[[link removed]] last week,“This moment calls for transformation.”

Watch Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on peace and justice
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Read 'Yes, I Will Name Names': AOC Leads Charge Against Empty Corporate Claims
of #BlackLivesMatter’
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Read 'Our Food System Is Very Much Modeled on Plantation Economics’
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MYTH OF NATURALWILD IDEA

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Whether you’re looking to treat yourself to a breakfast garnished with smoked
salmon, or planning to serve up pre-dinner appetizers of sliced smoked salmon
atop crackers, buyer beware . . .

When it comes to the claims made on smoked Atlantic salmon packages and
websites, brands are often just blowing smoke.

Popular smoked Atlantic salmon brands entice consumers with promises like
“premium,” “all natural,” “super fresh” and “healthy and nutritious.”

Some brands claim their products are “sustainably sourced.” On the issue of
animal welfare, one owner of multiple smoked Atlantic salmon brands claims on
its website [[link removed]] that the company’s approach to fish health and welfare is “second to none.”

It all sounds great to the consumer. But here’s the real deal: All of these
smoked Atlantic salmon products are made from salmon raised on massive
industrial fish farms, and in some cases, nowhere near the Atlantic Ocean.

Here’s a wild idea: Unless the label on your smoked salmon includes the words
“wild” or “wild caught,” (words you’ll find on Sockeye or King salmon, but never
on packages of Atlantic salmon), there’s probably nothing “natural” or
“sustainably sourced” about it.

We took a look at some popular brands of smoked Atlantic salmon, and the product
claims made by the companies behind those brands. Health-conscious consumers,
including those who also care about the environment and animal rights, may want
to think twice about taking these claims at face value.

Read ‘That ‘All-Natural’ Smoked Atlantic Salmon You Bought? It Came from an
Industrial Fish Farm.’
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COVID-19BLAME GAME?

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OCA has always vigorously opposed genetic engineering in our food system, citing
unintended consequences as just one of the many reasons.

That’s why the possibility (and increasing probability) that COVID-19 was
genetically engineered—by researchers funded by both Chinese and U.S.
governments and institutions—and that the virus somehow escaped from the Wuhan
Institute of Virology (WIV), is a story we believe everyone has the right to
know about.

Yet as Jonathan Latham writes
[[link removed]] this week.

"Unfortunately, in the US at least, the question of the pandemic’s origin has
become a political football; either an opportunity for Sinophobia or a partisan
‘blame game.’”

Latham is quick to warn, however, that “the potential of a catastrophic lab
release is not a game.” Especially considering that the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) is currently constructing a new and expanded national
Bio and Agro-defense facility in Manhattan, Kansas—one that the DHS itself
estimates has a 70-percent risk of an accident occurring over a 50-year period.

A 70-percent risk is nothing to sneeze at. But according to Latham, when a
National Research Council committee inspected the DHS estimates they concluded
that the risks and costs "could well be significantly higher than that."

This week we feature Latham’s latest article, and also an article
[[link removed]] by André Leu that digs into the science of how researchers can genetically
engineer viruses—without a trace.

Genetically engineered food is so bad for your health, it may kill you over
time. Genetically engineered viruses can spell almost instant death.

Read ‘The Case Is Building That COVID-19 Had a Lab Origin’
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Read ‘COVID-19: The Spike and the Furin
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SIGN THE PETITION: Stop the Genetic Engineering of Viruses! Shut Down All
Biowarfare Labs Now!
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VIDEO OF THE WEEKTOUGH TO SWALLOW
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We’ve called them out
[[link removed]] before. And we’ll call them out again.

Impossible Foods with its Impossible Burger is an impossible disaster for the
environment. And with its GMO ingredients, not so great for your health, either.

Last week, an article
[[link removed]] published on Medium by one of our colleagues in the regenerative ag movement
caught the eye of Dr. Shawn Baker.

Baker brought up [[link removed]] the article, “Software to Swallow—Impossible Foods Should Be Called Impossible
Patents,” to his YouTube followers. Baker agreed with the author’s premise:

“Impossible Foods should really be called Impossible Patents. It’s not food;
it’s software, intellectual property—14 patents, in fact, in each bite of
Impossible Burger with over 100 additional patents pending for animal proxies
from chicken to fish.”

Then Baker followed up with his take on corporate consolidation in the
industrial meat industry, and the lack of enforcement of antitrust laws that
allow Big Meat companies to unfairly dominate the market—a timely topic, as
Pilgrim’s Pride was sued
[[link removed]] this week for price fixing.

Watch Dr. Shawn Baker talk about Impossible Foods and corporate consolidation in
the meat industry
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Read ‘Opinion: Software to Swallow — Impossible Foods Should Be Called
Impossible Patents’
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Read ‘‘Something Isn’t Right’: U.S. Probes Soaring Beef Prices’
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TAKE ACTION to ban factory farms! Tell Congress to pass the Farm System Reform
Act
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SUPPORT OCA & CRLFRIENDS IN NEED

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The Minnesota Twin Cities area has been devastated, both by the murder of George
Floyd and the events triggered by this latest injustice.



Communities there are trying to heal. Can you help by supporting this project to
provide COVID-19 care packages for community members in need?

Many peaceful protesters have likely been exposed to COVID-19. And the COVID-19
data clearly shows that Black people who get the virus are more likely to have
negative outcomes.

To prepare for this crisis, organizers of the Twin Cities Mutual Aid Society are
collecting donations of money and supplies.

Some of the money will be used to create wellness kits which include
traditional/alternative medicines and other immune-support products, such as
electrolyte powder packets and vitamins. Other items will include a thermometer
and PPE (masks, gloves, etc) as available, to help manage COVID-19 symptoms.

Funds will also be used to offer small stipends to outreach workers who will
distribute the packs throughout the Twin Cities.

OCA was founded and is based in Minnesota, and some of our staff live in the
Twin Cities area. This is our way of supporting our home community.

Please make a generous donation at this time, if you are able. And please stay
safe.

Make a tax-deductible donation for the Twin Cities Mutual Aid Society
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BOOK CORNERTHE PLAYBOOK WE NEED
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“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 [[link removed]] ”



When Ronnie started this book, COVID-19 wasn’t on his mind.

But during this unprecedented global crisis, “Grassroots Rising” is the playbook
we all need.

We’re guessing most of you—except those of you who are the pandemic frontline
heroes providing essential services—probably have more time to read, or listen,
to books right now.

And you’re probably in dire need of any message that offers hope—and concrete
action steps for creating a better world.

Ronnie’s new book, your “good news” instruction manual for fixing our broken
food and farming system and our broken climate, is now available on audible.com.
You can also order the paperback online.

Regrettably, Ronnie had to cancel his book tour, even as he was driving
throughout the southwest for scheduled speaking events. The cancelations were
necessary, in the interest of public health.

Fortunately, we’re planning an online book tour. Stay tuned for details!

In the meantime, stay healthy, stay sane and above all, stay engaged.

Listen up! ‘Grassroots Rising’ now available on audible.com
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Listen (free) to the first 17 minutes of Ronnie's book
[[link removed]]

Buy your copy of ‘Grassroots Rising’
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TAKE ACTION: Donate $100 or more and get a copy of Ronnie’s book
[[link removed]]

Sign up for Regeneration International’s newsletter
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SIGN THE PETITION: Consumers Want a Regenerative Green New Deal!
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LITTLE BYTESESSENTIAL READING

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One in 10 COVID-19 Patients With Diabetes Die Within a Week, Study Finds
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21 Individuals and Organizations Building Stronger Black Communities and Food
Systems
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Big Ag Lets Hundreds of Thousands of Farm Animals Die in Barn Fires Every Year
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A deadly ‘Checkerboard’: Covid-19’s New Surge Across Rural America
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Farmworkers Are Dying, COVID-19 Cases Are Spiking, and the Food System Is in
Peril
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May the Screams and Tears and Protests Shake the Very Conscience of This Nation
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Gardens Have Pulled America out of Some of Its Darkest Times. We Need Another
Revival.
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