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5 Organic News Stories to Know About – Essential Health Info for Women, GMO-Labeling, and More

Here are five important organic news stories to know about.

1 – CANCER CAUSING FEMININE PRODUCTS?

If you are a woman, this is an absolute must-read piece of news.

As I have written about in the past, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Review of Cancer declared that glyphosate – the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s bestselling weedkiller Roundup – was a “probable carcinogen” and linked to cancer in humans.

Furthermore, the state of California has gotten involved and its Environmental Protection Agency has said that it intends to declare that glyphosate “causes cancer”.

In addition to being linked to cancer, numerous studies have connected glyphosate with liver and kidney disease, and being responsible for wiping out more than 90% of the monarch butterfly population.

What just came out is a study from a university in Argentina that should make all women very, very nervous.

Professors at the Universidad de La Plata found that 85% of tampons, cotton and sanitary products contained glyphosate, and 62% of the samples tested positive for AMPA, glyphosate’s metabolite. Additionally, all of the raw and sterile cotton gauze analyzed in the study showed evidence of glyphosate.

Given the now likelihood that conventional tampons, cotton and sanitary products contain glyphosate (approximately 90% of cotton in the U.S. is genetically-modified), it is essential that all women take immediate action and switch to organic tampons and sanitary products. And, men should be using organic cotton balls and gauze as well.

Here are a few organic products for you to choose from:

Natracare organic tampons

Seventh Generation organic tampons

Natracare organic cotton ultra pads

Organic Essentials organic cotton balls

Natracare organic cotton intimate wipes

Organic gauze towels

2 – QR CODES, INSTEAD OF LABELS, IS A HORRIBLE IDEA

Right now, the U.S. does not require that GMOs be labeled, and there is a bill in Washington D.C. called the DARK Act that, among other things, would make it illegal for individual states to label GMOs. Given that Vermont’s GMO-labeling law is ready to go into effect next summer, time is of the essence for Big Food and the biotech industry.

The U.S. House of Representative passed the DARK Act a few months ago, and it now must get approval in the Senate.

Seeking to find a solution that satisfies both sides, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has said that she aims to get a bill passed by the end of the year, and the compromise that appears to be floating around is based on voluntary QR codes.

Yes, QR codes.

So, instead of companies being forced to put the words “Made with genetically-engineered ingredients” on the label, as is required in 64 countries around the world, they could voluntarily put a QR code on the label. The QR code would lead consumers to a website that would indicate that GMOs are being used in the product.

Not only would this proposal require people to have a smartphone and force them to read the fine print buried on a company’s website, but who uses QR codes?

This proposal is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea, and in no way should we support this.

Click HERE to tell USDA Secretary Vilsack that you want GMO labels, not QR codes.

3 – KROGER GETS ORGANIC

If you ever had any doubt about whether organic has truly gone mainstream, management at Kroger’s certainly doesn’t share this skepticism.

The company announced the other day that is it now selling nearly $11 billion of organic and natural products, approximately 10% of its $108 billion in revenue last year.

A few highlights:

–  This is the first time that the company broke out its organic and natural sales, most likely to showcase its importance.

– Millenials are driving the greatest growth in natural and organic.

– Simple Truth, its store brand for natural and organic foods, generated $1.2 billion in sales last year and experienced double-digit growth in the two years that it has existed.

These numbers are ridiculously impressive and demonstrates what the future of food is in this country.

4 – PROTESTING HYDROPONICS IN ORGANIC

The debate about whether hydroponics should be allowed or not in organics drew a very emotional response from opponents at this week’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting in Vermont.

Surrounded by a handful of tractors, approximately 50 protestors carried signs and dumped a pile of compost in a parking lot outside of the NOSB meeting on Monday.

(Photo courtesy: Ed Maltby of NODPA)

They believe that soil is an essential part of organic and that growing plants in water is just not the same.

What now?

A new hydroponics task force is supposed to have its first meeting in a few weeks, where it will be tasked with studying current hydroponic methods. It will then report back to the NOSB a year from now.

The Cornucopia Institute gives an excellent explanation as to the current and convoluted status of hydroponics in organic.

5 – GMO FARMERS ARE FEELING THE HEAT

With the massive backlash against GMOs and corporations listening to consumers’ demand for organic and non-GMO ingredients, farmers growing GMOs are facing serious financial pressure.

Farmers growing genetically-modified sugar beets have seen their share of the U.S. sugar market slip to the smallest on record.

Expect this only to continue.

A message from Tradin Organic

How Tradin Organic is Helping Coconut Farmers in The Philippines

For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.

The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.

Learn more.

livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink