Ask Your Senators to adopt certain amendments to the Farm BIll

Dear Folks,

There are some amendments which are / will be considered this week or soon that will aid GMO labeling efforts and small farmers.  Below are a list of the amendments (provided by Farm To Consumer Defense League).  Please consider calling your Senators on these.

Also yesterday I sent out a google newsletter listing the facebook page of some of the major grocer chains.  If Congress can't or won't act to require GMO labeling, maybe we consumers can get the corporate stores to do it for us.  Whole Foods has committed to requiring GMO labeling by 2018 (it takes time to ramp up).  This can be done, and has been before when Krogers was one of the first to require rBHT dairy products be labeled even with the threat of lawsuits from suppliers.

Ask your favorite store to require GMO labeling

1. YES on Senator King's Amendment #1042 that helps protect more small-scale, direct-marketing farmers from burdensome new federal regulations. The FDA has undermined the original intent of the Tester-Hagan amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by basing farmers' qualifications on all the food they sell, rather than the food subject to FSMA. Senator King's Amendment restores the original intent and brings more farmers within the protections of the Tester-Hagan provision, preventing them from being driven out of business by new federal regulations.

2. YES on Senator King's Amendment #1033: The FDA's proposed rules under FSMA are not based on sound science. Instead, they assume the worst of every situation and force farmers to find science on their own to prove that their farming methods are safe. Many traditional and sustainable methods of cultivation will be guilty until proven innocent. Senator King's amendment would require the agency to do an analysis of the scientific information used to develop the proposed rules, as well as analysis of the rules' economic impacts. The analysis would specifically include the impact on local food systems and the availability of local food.

3. YES on Senator Tester's Classical Breeding Amendment #972 to provide alternatives to genetically engineered crops. Senator Tester's amendment prioritizes public cultivar and breed development through classical breeding. The amendment doesn't call for any new expenditure by the government, nor does it stop all funding for GMO research. It's a modest approach that allocates some existing research funds for non-GMO research.

4. YES on Senator Merkley's Amendment #978 to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act. In the last continuing budget resolution, pro-biotech forces inserted a provision that allows companies like Monsanto and DuPont to continue to sell genetically modified (GMO) seeds for planting even when a court of law has found they were approved illegally. The provision forces USDA to grant temporary permits and deregulate GMO crops even if a Federal court has ruled that USDA hadn't adequately considered the environmental or economic risks to farmers. Senator Merkley's amendment repeals the provision and restores judicial review of GMO crops.

5. YES on Senator Begich's Amendment #934 to ban GMO salmon. The FDA continues to consider the application for AquaBounty's genetically engineered salmon, and it appears likely to approve it despite objections from hundreds of thousands of Americans and many scientists. Since it will not be labeled, people will have no way of choosing to avoid genetically engineered salmon in the stores if this fish is approved.

In addition, the GMO salmon poses a threat to those who wish to eat wild salmon or other seafood; scientists have predicted that escaped GMO salmon would likely wipe out wild salmon populations, which will destroy the livelihood of coastal communities that depend on fishing. Senator Begich's amendment protects both consumers and our important wild fish populations.

6. YES on Senator Boxer's Amendment #1025 that expresses support for labeling of GMOs, although it does not directly mandate labeling. "It is the sense of the Senate that the United States should join the 64 other countries that have given consumers the right to know if the foods purchased to feed their families have been genetically engineered or contain genetically engineered ingredients."

7. YES on Senator Wyden's Amendment #952 that allows American farmers to once again grow hemp to the extent that it is allowed under state laws. Industrial hemp is the non-psychoactive, low-THC, oilseed and fiber varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant. Hemp has absolutely no use as a recreational drug.

Hemp is planted in many countries, and it is legal to use in the U.S. - but it is not legal to plant it in the U.S. The seed is known for its healthy protein and rich oil. The outer fiber from the stalk can be used for clothing, canvas and rope; the inner core fiber can be used for construction and paper production. This crop provides excellent opportunities for farmers for a sustainable, profitable crop. 

 

8. YES on Senator Boxer's Amendment #1027 to protect honeybees and other pollinators. Senator Boxer's amendment would require the USDA, the Department of Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the long-term viability of honeybees and other pollinators. Honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate, and the federal agencies have been just sitting by and watching it happen. This poses a threat to all food production and we cannot afford to let it continue.

9. YES on Grassley's Amendment #969 to create a USDA special counsel on consolidation and fight back against the corporate takeover of our food system. A small handful of companies control the vast majority of our agricultural system. This unprecedented level of consolidation has gone almost entirely unchallenged, allowing these companies to squeeze out farmers. For consumers, this means lower quality food at higher prices. Senator Grassley has filed an amendment that would create a USDA special counsel to monitor consolidation in agriculture. The counsel would coordinate antitrust enforcement and efforts to improve competition in the industry.

10. YES on Cruz's Amendment #1083 to prohibit mandatory check-offs. Under the current "check-off" programs, anytime a farmer sells a cow or a gallon of milk or any other covered commodity, the farmer is required to pay a fee to industry-run organizations. These funds are used to pay for things such as the "Got Milk?" and "Pork, the other white meat" advertising campaigns. The problem is that these advertising campaigns benefit primarily the retailers and grocery stores, not the farmers, but the farmers are stuck paying the bills.

When it comes to raw milk, the industry adds insult to injury by promoting only pasteurized milk products and running ads against raw milk - yet raw milk farmers are still required to pay into the check-off to support those ads. And now there is a proposal for an organic check-off, to tax even more farmers. The Cruz Amendment would bar any check-off program from being mandatory. If producers wish to fund a joint advertising campaign, they still could, but they would no longer be coerced to support advertising efforts that are not in their interest.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Non-GMO Choice Voice - Open Letter to Grocery Chains

Dear Folks,

I am happy to pass on to you an organization which is championing the consumer in helping you choose non-gmo products and retailers.

Non GMO Project

"The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit multi-stakeholder collaboration committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices.


Our shared belief is that everyone deserves an informed choice about whether or not to consume genetically modified organisms. We offer North America’s only third party verification and and labeling for non-GMO food and products."  -- http://www.nongmoproject.org/

In my previous post(s) I encouraged you as the consumer to make your voice known about your right to choose whether you buy gmo goods or not.  Here is a way for you to find retailers who support this right and / or find producers who espouse the same principal.

The foods/goods do not have to be organic (although many of them are) to choose to be non-gmo.

Information you need to be aware of:  Because a producer or grower chooses to work with non-gmo goods does not mean they can give you a 100% guarantee that their goods or foods have not been contaminated with gmo pollen -- that possibility exists as long as Monsanto, their fellow laboratory engineers and the USDA and FDA choose to allow gmo planting without restriction.

BUT at least we head in the right direction by supporting the producers of the products we want and shopping with retailers who provide us with that information.

The "organic" movement began with a wish and a prayer decades ago and has blossomed into the better availability options we have today.  This same 'consumer driven' spirit can make it clear to producers and retailers that we want that choice and we want it clearly labeled.

Remember that Kroger companies was one of the first to ban rBst from their stores.  It can also happen with GMO labeling - IF WE all ask for it.

. . .

An OPEN LETTER TO MAJOR GROCERY RETAILERS

As a consumer who regularly purchases some of my foods and goods from your stores I want the right to know if they contain GMO products or components.

I want labeling to allow me to make informed choices.

This is no different than the labeling allowed for non rBst dairy products.

I want your company and stores to permit producers to label their products as non-gmo.  And I want you to do more -- I want you to encourage your vendors to provide such labeling.  If you do this and promote it in your ads, you WILL get my attention along with the millions and millions of us who regularly look for organic or naturally produced goods.  If you clearly mark your natural and organic food shelves with NON-GMO signs - I will pay attention to that.  If you clearly mark your produce in sections with NON-GMO signs - I will pay attention.

Thank you,



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

What really is a LOCAVORE -- Hint: Grandma knew her green grocer and dairyman -- as her neighbors and friends

Dear Folks,

Are you a locavore? Simply put a locavore is someone who makes the conscious decision to purchase goods and produce grown, made or produced within 100 miles of their home.

Why?

A simple answer is that "seasonal" (as opposed to out of season) vegetables, herbs and fruit, for instance, are more nutritious, better tasting and therefore better for you and your family than produce which has to be picked green and transported great distances to your chain market.

But the larger answer is what you are doing for "your" community by supporting locally- owned businesses including farmers.

Tucson author Barbara Kingsolver moved back to her native Appalachia, to go natural and wrote about it in "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" (HarperCollins) -- I really like a comment she made to a reviewer: "However, for me to go to the store and buy bags of organic spinach that have been shipped here in a truck from California--in a refrigerated truck, I might add--is just burning a lot of gasoline."

I only disagree with Kinsolver on the idea that you can't have a sustainable garden in your backyard here in the valley, you can and yes it does take proper water management, but that is a topic I will address in another blog.

To locate farmers markets in your area the USDA maintains a site - click on the state and a pdf file comes up with markets listed by city.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm

For Arizona only Farmers Markets here is a special link:

http://www.foodconnect.org/farmers_markets/locator.asp

A source for finding other local sources of food is Local Harvest. They have teamed up with the Slow Foods folks.

http://www.localharvest.org

The Slow Foods Movement started to get folks back to the dinner table -- with family -- with real food -- for real family time.

. . .

If you look at the real cost of buying "picked-green, inter state/country transported produce, and taking supplements to make up for nutrient deficiencies," your local farmer and farmers market produce is cheap!

A thought on the nutrition aspect: if your food is seasonal (superior nutrition), and picked ripe as opposed to green (superior nutrition), you and your family will have less or no need for supplements. Something to keep in mind.

Supporting other local businesses also keeps more of YOUR spending dollars in YOUR community. Current analysis shows about .45 cents of every shopping dollar stays in your community when bought from locally owned / locally produced versus only .13 if you buy from the out-of-state-owned chains.

A further thought from the whole concept of 'greening' up your life -- my more recent reading and researching on issues of greening, making more purchasing decisions on the basis of sustainability, less environmental impact, etc. -- has me rethinking my decisions about what and where something is actually produced/grown.

An example is bamboo. I think the many uses of bamboo (it is not the kind that is needed for the endangered panda bears) from furniture to clothing, is fascinating. The plants used can grow 80 feet in 40 days!!!

Amazing, and you think wow, now there is a sustainable product. And then you see a news story about where that product comes from and how it is transported. Most of this bamboo comes from China, and has to be transported, by steam ship, across thousands of miles to reach processing facilities in the US. I have to ask myself, is there real environmental savings here? Can this kind of bamboo be grown in southern areas of the US on land not useful for food crops? I don't have all the answers, just more questions.

Bottom line -- I encourage you to think about making more purchasing decisions based on how close the production source is to you. You support local businesses, keep more of "that" income in your community, and you get to know who produces the things and food you use -- kind of like how Grandma knew her green grocer and dairyman -- as her neighbors and friends.

More Information:

Edible Phoenix is a print magazine, produced quarterly and is part of the edible communities organization.

Find the current issue at your local farmers market or go on line to:

http://www.ediblephoenix.com

To find publications for other areas of the country go to:

http://www.ediblecommunities.com

BUY LOCAL

http://www.localfirstaz.com

Here is the place to start when looking for locally owned businesses. Began as "Arizona Chain Reaction" to focus on locally owned businesses, this non-profit group encourages support of your neighbors and friends who own businesses in Arizona. Check out their site.

. . .


Personalized branding iron for grilling. Here is the perfect custom gift for the hard to please griller in the family. I ordered one for my darling for Christmas and he loved it. Start a tradition and create your own family brand! 480-330-3619

http://www.tbonebrands.com

San Dominique Winery, Arizona's oldest continuously operated family winery, is also home to garlic paradise. Bill Staltari, cellarmaster and chef, is owner and creator of award winning wines and gourmet specialty foods. Visit his website to order the gourmet foods shipped anywhere in the US. Wine is available only at the Winery, located approximately 9 miles north of Cordes Junction. Have a lovely afternoon at San Dominique (the patio has a view of the Bradshaws), sample wines and other goodies, purchase wines and foods to go and have Lunch!
602/549-9787.

http://www.garlicparadise.com/

Another great locally owned and produced Arizona farmer is Kathy Marshall and her goats' milk lotions and soaps made with the milk of her dairy goat herd. You can also find Kathy at the Mesa Farmers market (and other locations). You might even catch her when she has some of her free- range chicken eggs for sale -- but they go fast!

http://www.dbgoatsmilk.com

Neighbors helping neighbors -- support and enhance your community - your purchasing dollar has more power than you think.

Be a good neighbor and friend and buy from your neighbors and friends


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady