Help Protect Mother Earth and Tropical Palm Forests

Palm Oil consumption has always been popular for its higher yield of crops and when some people declared Palm Oil ‘healthier’ than other vegetable oils, the demand went even higher. Regardless that there has been increased awareness concerning the complexities and/or hazards of palm oil—such as rampant forest fires; the lack of education, mitigation, as well as the exploitation of indigenous people’s farming practices; absolutely zero workers‘s rights; countless ecological injustices, including but not limited to the dying of Orangutans and Sumatran tigers, and the list goes on—there are still many Big Food companies which use ‘conflict palm oil’ and excessively too—we need to act now!

No, we don’t have to stop our consumption of palm oil (it wouldn’t hurt to try!), but we can CHOOSE to buy sustainable ‘Green Palm‘ Palm Oil and support a higher standard of regulation!

Please help to spread the word of the evil Palm Oil, and our the currently established, poor and prevalent use of it. Found in common snack foods, Palm Oil is ubiquitous, often used as a substitute for butter (also Big Food companies love how cheap it is), so next time you are at the store, look at the list of ingredients of what’s in your basket, and VOTE with your dollar while avoiding the dirty temptations of Palm Oil!

…And Fight for the Freedom of Plantation Workers!

Sign the petition here to tell Proctor and Gamble to stop buying conflict Palm Oil that comes from the largest plantation in Malaysia, a company called Felda Global Ventures (Felda), which deals in human trafficking and is responsible for thousands of indigenous people’s lives all trapped in a modern day system of slavery. Together our voice is one to make a difference!

Help to Improve the Organic Program’s Standards for Animal Welfare, Etc.

Since the Senate began its review of the standards for animal welfare and organic farming in the FY 2017 Agricultural Appropriations bill, activists groups have decided that now is the time to speak up, spread the word, and take action! As we’ve discussed in earlier posts, the USDA’s organic baseline standards are what is intended to ensure that we as consumers are getting exactly what we want—healthy, humane food—without the harmful additives, pesticides, and other chemicals present in most of America’s food today. The Organic program’s standards should also include a clear mandate for the just treatment of Animals being made into food today. Unfortunately, the standards to guarantee that Organic Animals-Made-Into-Food is  “humane” do not similarly exist, but we can urge producers to implement healthier practices and strategies which promote improved welfare; including the prohibition of painful and unethical practices like de-beaking of poultry, tail docking of pigs and cattle, and face branding of cattle.

Call your representative today and ask that the bill improve livestock and poultry practices!

Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts)

Support OCA’s Regeneration International Project (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic, regenerative agriculture and climate change)

Boycott Orville Reden-‘Bee Killer’ Popcorn…

Let’s begin with the good news…Pop Weaver and Pop Secret (both brand name companies) as well as Preferred Popcorn (a Nebraskan, farmer-owned and operated company) are three producers that have committed to ‘a phase out’ plan regarding their use of neonicotinoids, a group of insecticides confirmed and identified by scientists to be a leading cause of bee and other pollinator population losses. Now, the sad news is that other companies still have not, including one of America’s leading microwavable popcorn brands, Orville Redenbacher.

Sign the petition here to tell Orville to stop their use of neonic insecticides as a coating on the seeds to grow their company’s popcorn products!!!

…Meanwhile Eco-Scientists Are “Gagged”

Jonathan Lund­gren, an entomologist and 11-year veteran of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, says his superiors began to “impede or deter his research and resultant publications” that reported ‘the combination of federal mandates for corn ethanol production and the advent of genetically modified corn crops have produced a host of unintended adverse consequences, including rising environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, stronger pest resistance and inflated corn prices’. It has been more than a year ago that Dr. Lundgren’s research was buried and today the government (backed by big agribusiness and companies like Monsanto/Bayer) are still harassing him, as well as deterring other researchers from publishing truthful and scientific results. We can help by promoting the real integration of scientific research into policy and public view, as well as support the organizations which dutifully protect us and the earth, such as the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Donate here to defent Dr. Lundgren and his peer’s efforts to research what’s killing the bees!

“Quit Stalling and Ban Glyphosate Now!”

More than a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Roundup to be a “probable human carcinogen,” evidence of human health risks associated with Monsanto’s Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, continues to pile up. Meanwhile, news reports point to a “cesspool of corruption” at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which was supposed to rule more than a year ago on whether or not glyphosate should be banned—but is still sitting on its hands. Sign the petition here to EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy: Quit Stalling. Ban Glyphosate NOW!

Halloween Candy With More Tricks Than Treats…

On October 27th, the Center for Food Safety launched a new campaign pushing Mars to speed up its removal of titanium dioxide nanomaterials from 5 years to one. They also created a guide for consumers to help them and their families avoid the Halloween candy that is known to contain nanomaterials. Sign the petition here to MARS, the top selling candy company in the world, urging them to commit to speed up the removal of titanium dioxide and to remove all other nano ingredients in their candies!

…And “Demand Honest Health Claims on Foods Loaded With Added Sugar”

Ever wonder why the challenges of feeding children healthy foods seems entirely daunting and more difficult than you would have even imagined? Well, in large part, our grocery store shelves have become inundated with food products that at first glance seem harmless and actually ‘healthy’, but the added sugar is hidden and has kids hooked. Sign the petition here to give parents a break in knowing what exactly is in their toddler’s bottle!