Organic Link Love – January 30th

Written by Max Goldberg on January 30, 2013. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

I’m trying out a new Organic Link Love format this week. Please let me know in the comments below if you like this one or the old format.

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The Top 5 Organic Food Policy Stories that caught my eye this week were:

1) The EU asks its citizens for feedback as it relates to GMOs and organic food.

With 25,000 people in Berlin recently protesting against industrial agriculture, the government in Europe is taking food concerns very seriously.

2) There are now 13 states considering laws that would make it an Act of Terrorism to report on abuses at factory farms. An act of terrorism???

This just shows you how much power that Big Ag has in our country and how they will use any tactic possible to keep hidden from the American consumer as to how conventional food is produced.

If you are not familiar with the ridiculously inhumane treatment of animals that takes place on these factory farms, here is a YouTube video that shows you how just how abhorrent the situation is. (Warning: this video is very graphic and very disturbing). Read More »

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Approval of Dow Chemical’s Very Controversial GMO-Corn to be Delayed

Written by Max Goldberg on January 25, 2013. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

We just got a piece of good news that I wanted to share with you.

Due to our tremendous protests and outcry, Dow Chemical’s genetically-modified crop that is resistant to 2,4-D has been put on hold until at least 2014. Given that President Obama and the USDA have been giving rubber-stamp approval to every single GMO-crop that crosses their desks, this is a small victory.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this GMO-corn, it is a type of genetically-modified corn that has been developed to be resistant against an herbicide called 2,4-D. The idea is that you can spray 2,4-D (a toxic chemical) on the plant but it won’t damage the crop. It will kill the weeds around it, however.

What makes 2,4-D so fearsome is that it was the primary ingredient in Agent Orange. And as you may remember, Agent Orange was the code name for one of the chemicals used in Vietnam as part of a broad herbicidal warfare program.

Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children were born with birth defects as a result of this lethal strategy. Read More »

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My Top 5 Organic Food Moments of 2012

Written by Max Goldberg on December 27, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

Reflecting back on 2012, it was truly an amazing year and so much happened that I can hardly believe it.

More than anything, I am beyond grateful for the growing number of people who read what I have to say here. So, I thank each and every one of you for the time you spend on my site and on my social media pages.

In no particular order, here are my Top 5 Organic Food Moments of 2012.

COSTA RICA TRIP

The trip I took to Costa Rica in February was unforgettable. We went to EARTH University, learned how sustainable bananas are produced, saw the incredible work that the Whole Planet Foundation is doing down there, spent time on the coast at Puerto Viejo, and built a biodigester for a local family in need.

It may very well be the best moment since I started livingmaxwell a few years ago. Read More »

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Approval of Genetically-Engineered Salmon Appears Imminent, Tell the FDA “No”

Written by Max Goldberg on December 22, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

For several years, the FDA has been considering whether to approve genetically-engineered salmon and it just released (right before a major holiday) an Environmental Assessment as to whether it is safe or not.

(If you are not familiar with this whole genetically-engineered salmon issue, please see the video at the bottom of this post which gives a great explanation.)

Continuing the Obama administration’s pandering to the biotech industry, the Environmental Assessment (EA) said GE-salmon is safe and poses no real risks, and this report paves the way for approval in 2013.

Needless to say, this is horrible news.

The public backlash against this “FrankenFish” has been very clear, yet it has fallen on completely deaf ears.

- Over 400,000 comments were submitted demanding that this GE-salmon be rejected.

- More than 300 environmental, consumer, health and animal welfare organizations, salmon and fishing groups and associations, food companies, chefs, and restaurants filed joint statements with FDA opposing approval. Read More »

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TAKE ACTION: Protect Organic, Tell Congress “NO” to the Monsanto Rider

Written by Max Goldberg on December 18, 2012. Follow Max on Twitter: @livingmaxwell.

With Monsanto having carefully orchestrated the defeat of Proposition 37 in California, they are now at it again.

However, this time it is in Washington D.C. and the potential ramifications are much, much more serious.

With Congress back in session and trying to figure out how to fund the government for the coming year, a very treacherous “Monsanto” rider is still on the table for the 2013 Appropriations bill. And we can’t let this get approved.

So, what exactly is this “Monsanto” rider?

Cloaked in “farmer-friendly” language, this Farmer Assurance Provision (Section 733) is nothing more than a ploy by the biotech industry to plant genetically-modified crops (GMOs), even when the courts have told them that they cannot do so.

Not only will this provision allow biotech companies to plant these potentially dangerous crops while legal appeals are being filed, but it will render useless the judicial process and the USDA’s authority to oversee GMOs. Read More »

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