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Organic Link Love – April 20th

After a brief hiatus, Organic Link Love is back!

Here are links to some of the most interesting and relevant organic food news stories over the past few weeks.

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Without a doubt, the biggest story in the organic world has been the approval of the Monsanto Protection Act by Congress, which was later signed by the President.

For the next six months, ag-biotech companies will have blanket approval when growing and commercializing very risky GMO-crops. Here are the 5 Terrifying Things about the Monsanto Protection Act.

Despite what President Obama said on the campaign trail in 2007, that he would label GMOs, he continues to betray the organic food industry one day after the next.

The Center for Food Safety has started a petition to help kill the Monsanto Protection Act (please e-sign it HERE), and the Organic Consumers Association has called for the resignation of Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) for writing this despicable piece of legislation.

If you want to know why our Senators refuse to implement food policy that accurately reflects the views, needs, and wants of the people that they are supposed to represent, read this excellent piece in the New York Times about why gun legislation failed. It is the exact same situation with GMOs.

Check out this inspirational research experiment that a Texas high school student conducted with a professor at Southern Methodist University. By nearly every single measurement, she was able to gather evidence that fruit flies who were fed organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who ate conventionally raised produce. A fascinating story.

Thanks to the good work of The Cornucopia Institute and many others, the National Organic Standards Board just voted down the exemption of antibiotics used on organic apples and pears after 2014.

Some very cool things coming out of Whole Foods. The company recently raised $6.2 million for its Whole Planet Foundation during its prosperity campaign, announced that it will have a 20,000 square foot rooftop greenhouse in its soon-to-open Brooklyn store, and came out with Eco-Scale, a first of its kind rating system for eco-friendly cleaning products.

On the international front, Costa Rica and Canada have signed an organic free trade agreement, half of the organic farms in Indonesia lack organic certification, the organic produce market continues to flourish in New Zealand, and protests have been going on in Canada against GE-alfalfa.

In the U.S., UC-Santa Cruz has blazed a trail with its organic farm that it started in 1967, there’s some very cool and some very high tech ways of growing organic produce in New Mexico, students at the University of Cincinnati lobby to bring organic food on campus, and BluePrint will be opening its first physical location in Venice, CA this summer.

The organic community suffered a big loss with the resignation of USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. Meanwhile, the Organic Trade Association is reporting that parents are purchasing some organic 81% of the time.

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