Two new reports shed light on the unintended consequences of messing with Mother
Nature. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
[[link removed]] [[link removed]]

SUBSCRIBE
[[link removed]] | DONATE
[[link removed]] | VIEW ON WEB
[[link removed]]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
ESSAY OF THE WEEKBRAVE NEW WORLD?

[[link removed]]
For decades, the biotech industry has spun a narrative around genetically
engineered crops that can be summed up very simply as “jam tomorrow, instead of
bread and butter today.”

Sustained—and financed—largely on the promise of spectacular success at some unidentified point in the future , the research and development of new types of GMO foods, made with a whole
host of new genetic engineering technologies, has gathered pace in recent years.

It's tough to keep up with everything researchers and the biotech industry are
cooking up—including the fact that genetic engineering is fast spreading from
the crops in the field to the animals in the barn.

Two recent reports provide in-depth information on the mechanics—and the ethical
issues—around gene-edited farm animals.

They also shed light on the unintended, and disturbing, consequences of messing
with Mother Nature.

Read 'Brave New World: What You Need to Know About Gene-Edited Farm Animals'
[[link removed]]

Make a tax-deductible contribution to our End Factory Farms campaign
[[link removed]]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
ACTION ALERTDON'T NEED 'EM

[[link removed]]
From the department of “It’s About Time:” Finally, a federal bill that has the
potential to end the factory farming nightmare.

According to a recent poll
[[link removed]] , at least half of U.S. consumers oppose industrial factory farming. Now some
federal legislators (and some presidential candidates) are catching up with
voter sentiment.

And some are even stepping up with proposals to either severely restrict, or
outright ban what Big Ag refers to as CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations).

The latest good news? A bill, introduced
[[link removed]] by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), that could, among other things, lead to the end
of industrial factory farms.

We don’t need
[[link removed]] factory farms to “feed the world.” Really, we don’t. Nor do we need them to
“keep the economy going.” In fact, according to this new study
[[link removed]] , factory farming is actually bad for the economy.

TAKE ACTION to ban factory farms! Tell Congress to pass the Farm System Reform
Act of 2019
[[link removed]]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
MILLIONS AGAINST MONSANTOHOLD THE POPCORN

[[link removed]]


If you were looking forward to the next Monsanto Roundup cancer trial, scheduled
to begin this month in Monsanto’s
[[link removed]] backyard (St. Louis, Mo.), you’ll have to wait—maybe forever.

In its latest maneuvering to avoid accountability, Monsanto’s parent company,
Bayer, has managed to get the case pulled from the docket.

It looks like justice for plaintiff Sharlean Gordon
[[link removed]] —and the more than 42,000 other victims whose similar cases are pending—will be
delayed. If it happens at all.

Monsanto watchers were keen to follow this next trial. Former Monsanto CEO Hugh
Grant had been ordered
[[link removed]] to take the stand, against his will. The trial was supposed to be broadcast to
the public. Popcorn sales were up.

Now, it's "wait and see."

Last week, we reported
[[link removed]] that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice
were doing their part to protect the poison cartel. Now this.

If our taxpayer-funded regulatory agencies won't protect us. And our "justice"
system won't protect us. That just leave . . . us.

Read ‘St. Louis Monsanto Roundup Trial Postponed, Bayer Stock Climbs’
[[link removed]]

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Ban Monsanto’s Roundup Weedkiller
[[link removed]]

TAKE ACTION: Make a tax-deductible donation to our Millions Against Monsanto
campaign [[link removed]]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
SUPPORT OCA & CRLBIG CHANGE?

[[link removed]]
Election year is here. And never has it been more urgent that we educate
consumers about which potential candidates are committed to protecting our food
system and our environment—and which ones aren't.

Last year, we changed the name of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
501(c)(4) lobbying arm from Organic Consumers Fund, to Citizens Regeneration
Lobby.

The name change reflects the strategic thinking, and growing urgency, around the
need to address issues like pesticide contamination of our food, water
pollution, climate change—and a host of other threats to our health—as though
they are deeply connected, not isolated issues.

Because they are.

For years, our lobbying efforts have been constrained by a political process
owned by the very corporations responsible for these threats. And by a total
lack of courage on the part of the majority of our elected officials.

But this election year has the potential to be very different.

This year we have presidential candidates talking about the need to support
organic regenerative farmers. This year we have candidates, running at all
levels, who are talking about pesticides, water pollution, corporate monopolies
and climate change.

This year could be the year we stop settling for small, incremental food and
farming and climate policies that produce small solutions that don't come
anywhere close to meeting the scale of the problems.

Contributions to Citizens Regeneration Lobby aren't eligible for tax deductions.
But we hope you'll support this important work as we ratchet up our lobbying
efforts in this critical election year. Thank you!

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

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

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

Click here for more ways to support our work
[[link removed]]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
GREEN NEW DEALYES, WE CAN

[[link removed]]


A recent NPR segment
[[link removed]] noted that in 2019, farmers got billions in taxpayer subsidies, yet “hardly
anyone objected.”

We object. So do the thousands of farmers who didn’t get subsidies—mostly those non-industrial, non-chemical farmers who instead of
growing GMO corn and soybeans, grow organic
[[link removed]] and regenerative
[[link removed]] , nutrient-dense food for their local communities.

Why? Because as taxpayers, we'd rather support a better kind of farming, the
kind that can actually help reverse global warming.

That's why we support a regenerative Green New Deal
[[link removed]] .

Ellen Brown
[[link removed]] , founder of the Public Banking Institute and author of 12 books, says that one
of the most commonly floated arguments against a Green New Deal is that it will
cost too much. She disagrees. In a recent article
[[link removed]] , she writes:

"It is possible to sequester carbon and restore our collapsing ecosystem using
the financial resources we already have, and it can be done while at the same
time improving the quality of our food, water, air and general health."

Brown also disagrees with the premise that the one-and-only solution to global
warming is to invest in renewable energy technologies.

"Contrary to popular belief, the biggest environmental polluters are not big
fossil fuel companies. They are big agribusiness and factory farming, with six
powerful food industry giants—Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Dean Foods, Dow
AgroSciences, Tyson and Monsanto (now merged with Bayer)—playing a major role."

If you still have doubts about the affordability of a Green New Deal—or if
you’re looking for more help explaining how we can, and must, invest in a Green
New Deal—you’ll want to read Brown’s latest article, which ends like this:

"The bottom line is that saving the planet from environmental destruction is not
only achievable, but that by focusing on regenerative agriculture and tapping up
the central bank for funding, the climate crisis can be addressed without
raising taxes and while restoring our collective health."

Read ‘The Key to the Environmental Crisis Is Beneath Our Feet’
[[link removed]]

SIGN THE PETITION: Consumers for a Regenerative Green New Deal
[[link removed]]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
ECO-TRAVELRESTORATIVE TRAVEL

[[link removed]]
Eco-restoration is “the great work of our time.”

That’s what one of the participants in last year’s land-restoration camp said
about her experience at the Vía Orgánica Ranch [[link removed]] , a regenerative teaching farm and ranch near San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

What’s an “ecorestoration camp?” The best explanation is here, in this video
[[link removed]] produced by OCA’s Vía Orgánica [[link removed]] project in collaboration with Ecosystem Restoration Camps
[[link removed]] and Regeneration International
[[link removed]] .

Want to participate?

Join Vía Orgánica and the Ecosystem Restoration Camp Movement in Mexico,
February 21 - March 1, 2020, at the land-restoration camp at Vía Orgánica Ranch [[link removed]] .

Volunteer to camp, work, study, connect with the earth and meet new friends in
this beautiful ranch near San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Camp activities will
include restoration work such as tree planting, composting, seed collecting,
earthworks, cooking, listening to music, campfires, making new friends and much
more.

Ecosystem restoration is a growing global strategy to naturally draw down and
sequester carbon from the atmosphere and store it in our soils, forests and
vegetation to reverse global warming.

Learn more and sign up
[[link removed]]

Watch this beautiful video filmed on site at the last Vía Orgánica Ecosystem
Restoration Camp
[[link removed]]

Questions? Email [email protected]
[[email protected]?subject=Eco%20Restoration%20Camp%3A]


[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
[{EXTERNAL_URL~[link removed]}]
LITTLE BYTESESSENTIAL READING

[[link removed]]
‘Like Sending Bees to War’: The Deadly Truth Behind Your Almond-Milk Obsession
[[link removed]]

Looking Ahead: Hormone-Altering Chemicals Threaten Our Health, Finances and
Future
[[link removed]]

Vermont Sues State's Largest Dairy Over Permit Violations
[[link removed]]

‘It’s a Superpower’: How Walking Makes Us Happier, Healthier and Brainier
[[link removed]]

Teen Girls Took Over the Climate Movement. What Happens Next?
[[link removed]]

Coca-Cola Launches Obesity Subscription Contest
[[link removed]]

It’s Not Just Roundup—Communities Should Limit All Harmful Pesticides
[[link removed]]

Follow on Twitter [[link removed]] | Friend on Facebook
[[link removed]] | OCA on Pinterest
[[link removed]] Donate
[[link removed]] Received this email from a friend? Subscribe
[[link removed]] Organic Consumers Association
[[link removed]] is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax:
218-353-7652

Unsubscribe
[[link removed]]