Burns Best Farm

Another Chinese Food Recall

A California company is recalling frozen monkfish imported from China after two people in the Chicago area have become sick after eating it.

Can you believe that the the fish might in fact be Pufferfish?  The toxic, poisonous pufferfish?  And it was "mislabled" monkfish? 

I gave up Chinese seafood years ago, when shopping at Costco all I could find was "Product of China" on all the frozen mahi-mahi. I reasoned that American mahi-mahi was fine for my family and we weren't buying any other.

Let me just say that I am all for country of origin labeling in food ingredients.  Even if the product is "made in America", if some trace ingredients come from China, I want to know that as an informed consumer.  I try not to buy clothes and other products from China....I would prefer not to buy my food from there, either.

Raspberries and Blueberries

This article was in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press on Sunday, although they didn't have it available online today so I linked to a newspaper in Monterey.  I was fascinated by a good bit of what I read, especially about the blueberries.

One of the selling points I make about our blueberries when I'm  at the farmers market is that they are never more than 72 hours off the bush, and that is the max.  They have so much more flavor to me than the berries available in the grocery store, even upscale stores like Whole Foods. 

Now I know why; the blueberries in stores right now come from Chile (which I knew), but they travel by cargo ship!  They are chilled immediately upon picking to 32F which creates a dormancy that lengthens the life of the berry.  They are shipped over the ocean, still chilled, and can be between 20 and 30 days old by the time you buy them in the produce section.

A month old!  No wonder my 72 hour old berries taste better! 

Raspberries are also covered in the article; they are much more perishable so they are shipped via air cargo, and allegedly the shipping costs are only 25 cents per package (4 oz. pkg.)  To fly berries in the cargo hold of an airplane, then put them on a truck to a warehouse, to a grocery store....only a quarter.  Somehow I find that totally unbelievable.  Completely unable to believe it. 

The whole idea of buying fresh produce from the southern hemisphere removes the "fresh" from the descriptive, don't you think?  I'm sticking with "Buy Local" and "Support Your Local Farmer".  I would encourage you to do the same.

GM Crop Soapbox Alert!

Do you want human breast milk genetic material growing in your rice?  Me neither, but the USDA doesn't care what we want.  They have approved a genetically modified rice to be grown commercially in Kansas.  It contains human proteins from both breast milk and saliva. 

The "hook" for this rice is that it would help children recover from diarrhea more quickly.  Isn't forced change always "for the children"?

Read the whole article and consider the claims and concerns these environmental groups have about genetically modifying our food supply, especially without any long term testing to be done on those who eat the GM foods. Then, after you read this article, go to the Kansas Milkmaid's online store and order a copy of "The Future of Food".   Watch both discs, particularly the interviews with scientists in the field of biotech agriculture.  It's enough to make your hair curl.........

Electronic Surveillance of Animals

I have noticed several NAIS posts today and reading through them prompted me to remember a blog post I made last spring.  The link to my original post is here, and while my personal writing is not all that illuminating, I am reminded about how the radio program made a lot of sense to me and that I meant to buy this book and read it, but I did not follow through on that intention.

So Ray and Joanne and the others who are researching and questioning NAIS and whether or not it's legal or biblical, the Spy Chips book might answer your questions.  I'll add this book to my Amazon wish list and aim for purchase in February.

DeniseB

Farm Bill Alert in Congress

I'm passing along a message I got via the NONAIS Yahoo! group. There is a very short window of opportunity to voice your opinion on the upcoming Farm Bill:  what should be in, what should be out, and what is downright dumb.  {Edit: If you are already familiar with NAIS, skip to the last paragraph, then click the link and send the Ag Committee your thoughts.}

In particular, this is a chance to tell the Agriculture Committee exactly what you think about the National Animal Identification System, the proposed effort to tag every single farm animal in America with a radio frequency tracking device.  If you are unfamiliar with this serious overreach of authority, there are lots of places to read up on it.  In a nutshell, the small farmers would be required, at their own expense, to tag their animals and then file reports to their local USDA office detailing the whereabouts of their livestock.

If you take a laying hen into town for show and tell at the 4-H club meeting, you have to file two reports:  one about the hen leaving the farm, the second telling the government the hen made it home safely.  If you decide to butcher the hen, you'll need to tell the government that info, too.  If a coyote makes off with one of your hens and leaves the other 24 alone, you have to figure out which of your original 25 hens was stolen, and then file a report with USDA.

Meanwhile, the Large Corporate Poultry Producer and Processor in the next county is not required to tag individual birds.  They get to assign a lot number to the whole house of chickens.  So one radio tag number for 25,000 hens.

So here's the link to the Ag Committee website, and you can tell them what you think there. The time frame is short:  today, I think is the deadline.  Stand up for the small farmer and take a couple of minutes to voice your opinions.

><http://agriculture. house.gov/ inside/feedbackf orm.html>

If you need more info on why NAIS is very, very bad, go to this website and read up.

<http://action. downsizedc. org/wyc.php? cid=46>.

Thanks!

Denise

{Edited at 5:20pm to add a clarification note at top, and to clean up a run-on sentence and narrow the paragraph spaces.}

Back in Business

What a glorious day.  First, after-Christmas shopping to spend my gift cards.  Then, some quiet web surfing, reading homestead blogs from the last two or three weeks (I've been out of computer commission since the last week of November, so I've missed a lot of reading!)

I found a new website/blog called The Complete Patient.  The author, Dave Gumpert, also writes for Business Week dot com and has a great article on NAIS that really hit hard on all cylinders.  I am thrilled that the No NAIS message is being covered in a mainstream online forum like Business Week.  Gumpert should be read frequently.

One of the other topics he covers in his blog is the latest e.coli scare in the Northeast.  He links to the CDC website and press releases as well as the Taco Bell homepage, where he shows that there is e.coli bacteria (several strains, not all as virulent as the H7 bad boy) all over our food supply.  The powers that be at Taco Bell and the CDC literally do not know from what food product the illnesses originated.   That is scary, people!

Lastly, be sure and read Gumpert's post about the "pristine nature" of our current food supply.  The statistics should be a five-alarm wake-up call to anyone remotely concerned about what they eat. 

Makes you think twice about those New Year's resolutions anyway.......

How Much Avocado Goes into Guacamole?

And if you find it's not very much, do you file a class action lawsuit for damages?

This is funny yet sad.  Beyond the ridiculousness of filing a silly lawsuit, read through the ingredient label on the Kraft Dips Guacamole to see for yourself if this food additive thing hasn't gotten out of hand.

Modified food starch, coconut and soybean oils, corn syrup and food coloring......in Guacamole? 

Here's the guacamole recipe at our house:

Fresh avocados, finely diced Vidalia onion, salt and pepper.  If it's summertime and we have ready access to a ripe tomato, then we dice it up and mix it in.

No corn products, no soy products, no added oil.  And believe it or not, it's bright green without any chemical food colorings.

But I sure bet this dip Kraft makes is profitable since it's only 2% real avocado.  Avocados are expensive where I live, so I can see where Kraft would want to make a corn and soybean product flavored and colored to look like avocados.  Their shareholders must be so proud!

I have to stop now before I die laughing or my head pops off my neck in utter disbelief and frustration.

(Hat Tip: Drudge Report for the lawsuit mention.)

The Future of Food: Bonus Material

Nancy Carter hit a lick at the world of industrial agriculture yesterday when she posted a Front Porch link to The Future of Food.  I posted a couple of comments myself; we rented the documentary last summer and spent some time over the course of a few days watching it.

One of the most compelling parts of the DVD was in the "Bonus Material".  There was an interview with Andrew Kimbrall, who detailed the process by which the FDA, USDA, and the corporate seed and food companies "test" the edible food products that make it onto our store shelves for purchase.  (Note:  I don't own the DVD, but at the price the Kansas Milkmaid is selling it for, I will buy it in January.)

My recollection of Kimbrall's interview is this:  the FDA depends on the seed/food companies to conduct their own research and the present those findings to the FDA.  The companies that will be making major profit off the products are allowed to self-police the methods, the tests, and therefore the results of the tests.  But that "open book test taking" is not even the worst of it.

The FDA allows these same companies to completely bypass any testing if they can show that the ingredients in the food product have successfully passed previous tests.   

So a chemically created, "artifically flavored", secret spice blended ingredient is paired up for the first time with a newly available corn or soybean variety, maybe genetically modified for disease resistence.  These two or three ingredients are combined for the first time ever together.  You would think that under those conditions, FDA testing would be required and the results of those tests would determine whether or not the food product was safe to market and purchase.  You would be wrong.

As long as any one of those independent, artifical chemicals or gene modified grains had passed a test at any point in the past stating they were safe to consume, the food company would merely have to note that test, related to the ingredient label, and the FDA would approve it for sale and consumption.

I was reminded of this interview and the jaw-dropping unbelievableness of it all when I read the Kansas Milkmaid's post for today about fake food.  You will get a kick and a jolt out of it, too, so click on over and read through it. 

Since I do not own the DVD, I could not this morning queue it up and refresh my memory on the interview with Mr. Kimbrall.  But I do have a fresh memory of the disbelief that processed food could be slowly killing the people I love most.

Feel Good About Eating on Thanksgiving!

This great article by Joy Bauer, a registered dietician, got my attention as my Yahoo! homepage loaded this morning.  We hear so much about overeating during the holidays, avoiding gaining weight, tips and strategies to psych us out of enjoying the food that comes with the celebration of our holidays.  Ms. Bauer wirtes about all the "good stuff" that occurs naturally in our traditional Thanksgiving feast foods:  antioxidants, vitamins, lean protein. 

I happen to think that focusing on the "bad" side of eating and enjoying during the holidays can affect our whole outlook on this wonderful time of year.  So even though I only have one pair of pants that fit at the moment (that's Halloween candy, I am sure of it!) I am going to have a reasonably sized portion of healthy food this Thursday and stop the obsessing. 

Obsessing causes wrinkles, don't you know?  And then wrinkles cause you to have to look for an expensive way to get rid of them.  And then, you have to examine your budget to see if you can charge enough on your credit card to address the wrinkle problem.  And before you know it, your whole perspective has changed to a focus on how bad things are.

Stop the madness.  Be thankful for everything. 

Important Follow-up

Three important points I need to update:

First, the Amish bread I made from this recipe (blogged earlier today) has an outstanding taste and I am thrilled and proud to serve it for dinner tonight.

Second, the brisket cooked up nice and tender and I am thrilled and proud to serve it tonight for dinner (as well as putting some in the freezer for a surprise meal next month sometime).

Third, and the most exciting:  my seed potatoes arrived today in the big brown truck!  Wood Prairie Farm has exceeded my expectations.  When they first responded to my order placement last Monday night, I was set for a delivery in February.  I emailed back on Tuesday and asked if I could get my order right away, since I still have time to plant potatoes where I live.  "No problem, thanks for asking" was the response back, and here we are less than a week later with me being a happy customer.

King sized topper of the day:  eldest son mastering simple division.  I have much, much to be thankful for, and I'm just referring to today!

Something to Ponder, don't you think?

We talk and write a great deal on this blog site about cultivation:  gardens, livestock, children, relationships between family and neighbors.  I love to cultivate my farm garden, and therefore I was particularly drawn to this daily "slice of infinity" essay that delivers into my email box each morning.  Some messages relate more than others, but this one today is one on which I plan to meditate for a few days.  Read it and see if it doesn't resonate with you:

*********************************************************************

11/7/06
Cultivating Happiness
Betsy Childs

In the United States Declaration of Independence, the "pursuit of happiness" is declared to be an inalienable right. Regardless of whether or not this pursuit is a right, we should ask the question of whether or not the pursuit of happiness is ever truly successful. Obviously, happiness is attained all around us every day, but I question whether the single-minded pursuit of happiness leads to the sort that is truly lasting.

The various magazines in the check-out line at the supermarket suggest many means for pursuing happiness. The tamer suggestions range from organizing your closets to losing thirty pounds to purchasing the latest wireless technology. While I'm sure each of these endeavors produces a sense of satisfaction, most of us know from experience that no tip from a magazine is going to lead to any lasting sort of happiness. In fact, happiness is so elusive that it often seems that running after it is the surest technique to chase it away. As Ravi Zacharias has said, "The loneliest moment in life is when you have just experienced what you thought would deliver the ultimate, and it has let you down."(1)

Are we left with the conclusion that happiness must simply be bestowed upon us, that we have no hand in the matter? I don't believe so. In Charlotte Bronte's novel Villette, a cheerful young doctor admonishes the melancholy heroine that she should "cultivate happiness." As she contemplates his advice, she writes, "No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What does such advice mean? Happiness is not a potato to be planted in mould and tilled with manure."

In spite of this character's aversion to the metaphor of cultivating happiness, I believe it is a better model than that of a pursuit. Pursuit of happiness implies that it can be obtained in some constant, continual supply. When the prize that promised happiness doesn't deliver it, the one who pursues happiness simply finds another carrot to chase. On the other hand, one who seeks to cultivate happiness does not expect immediate pay off. Instead, he "plants" in his life those things which in time will lead to happiness. He recognizes that happiness comes in different forms at different times, just as plants must be harvested in season.

Every year around this time, I like to plant tulip bulbs in my yard. I don't expect to see tulips blooming in a few days or even a few weeks. I know that the bulbs must sit in the ground during the months of winter in order to bloom in the spring. When the tulips finally peak through as the ground thaws, I reap the rewards of the digging done in autumn. I don't despair when they die; I keep planting so that new blossoms will bloom.

The mindset of cultivation does not expect immediate rewards; cultivation demands patience, foresight, and the embrace of delayed gratification. C.S. Lewis noted that he didn't become a Christian in order to increase his present happiness; a bottle of port would have done that! If you are looking for immediate gratification, you might as well buy yourself a new purse or a new car rather than try Christianity. The sort of happiness that it promises must be cultivated.

"Beatitude" comes directly from the Latin word for happiness, but Jesus's Sermon on the Mount is a surprising prescription for happiness. Those who mourn, who are poor in spirit, or are persecuted rarely appear to us as happy. Implied in the beatitudes is the idea that true happiness isn't the same as immediate happiness. The comfort that comes to those who mourn is deeper than the comfort of those who have never shed a tear. Those who have hungered find more satisfaction in being filled than those who have wanted for nothing. Those who yield their rights now will, in the long run, receive even more than they are due.

The first time I ever planted tulips, I had to take someone else's word for it that the onion-like bulbs would one day produce the slender flowers I desired. If we are going to cultivate happiness in our own lives, we cannot rely on our instincts; these will lead us toward immediate gratification that is as short-lived as stem-cut tulips planted in the ground. The teachings of Jesus, the Psalms, and the Bible as a whole are preoccupied with the question of how lasting happiness can be obtained. If you desire to reap a bountiful harvest in your own life, I urge you to study the Scriptures and endeavor to plant in your soul those things nurture the kind of happiness that never fades.


Betsy Childs is associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.


(1) Ravi Zacharias, The Real Face of Atheism (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004), 85.
rom today's Slice of Infinity:

*********************************************************************

Denise again here:

I love that quote in bold and underlined.  I read blogs here where people pine away for the day they can buy the homestead and move there for a simpler way of life.  My husband and I have the same conversation almost daily here, as we live in the suburbs now and can only do the "farm thing" on the weekends.  But am I setting myself up for discontentment here and now?  Am I putting so much pressure on the ideal lifestyle that when it comes, I'll be disappointed and bitter because it doesn't live up to the lofty expections I've placed on it?

Deep thoughts to consider.  Thanks for reading this far!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Warning

I found this blog post, complete with picture, today via The Common Room.  The Deputy Headmistress is a wonderful mentor to me (online, of course, not in the real world) and I would encourage you to wander around this family blog when you get the time.  Lots of wonderful literature suggestions for children of all ages.  The DHM is a book lover like not many I've ever run across before.

She linked to this post on the dangers of the Magic Eraser products and those like them by 3M.  I was amazed and scared by what I read.  I use these products in our home (thankfully the kids have never handled them) and I will take appropriate measures now to lock them up.  I, too, like some of the commenters, thought that the "magic" part of the product was in it's abrasiveness, not from a chemical component.

Whew!  So much to be up-to-date on.  Back later with more from a working weekend.

This Looks Like a Great Idea

I love to read Danielle Bean.  She is funny, her kids are funny, and even though I'm not Catholic, I love the way she relates much of her work as an at-home mom to the Lord and works in the saints as well. 

This week she posted this link to ProLife Shopping dot com.  If you are an Amazon customer, you can use this website to buy what you need from Amazon, pay the same price, and 8.5% of your total purchase price will be donated to prolife causes.

I plan to try this.  Thought you'd like to see the information, too.

Wal-Mart and Organic Food

I ran across a press release today on the Organic Consumers Association website.  Seems the Cornucopia Institute is taking issue with how Wal-Mart is sourcing their organic food. 

I realize anyone can allege anything in a press release, but some of these points are quite valid and it will be worth watching and listening to how WM addresses their concerns.  I have wondered if WM would try to set China up in the organic business like they've done with plastics and manufacturing.  This group sees that possibility (probability?) and it appears that they are watching closely.  I'm glad to know someone is.

Very Interesting Detail

I blogged yesteday about the e.coli outbreak in fresh bagged spinach and I linked to a Yahoo! news piece that was time stamped from yesterday afternoon.   My blog post is still up and the link still works; however, the article about the source of the outbreak has been changed significantly.  As in, totally changed to eliminate the FACT that the source of the outbreak, as of yesterday, was centered on conventionally grown spinach. 

There was a sentence in the middle of the original article that specifically stated that conventionally grown spinach was the problem.  Which, if you read my post, is the whole point of argument.  I made a bet with my husband when this story broke a week ago that it would be organic product and it's not.  That sentence has been completely removed and the tone of the article focuses on what to do if you suspect you have e.coli. 

So my question is:  why does the AP, the orginator of the piece, go back and alter it's total substance?  Beyond making it appear that I'm linking to an article that doesn't support my argument? I can't imagine that the AP is deliberately trying to make me look stupid. 

Would it be that some PR flack from a major agricultural company called up the AP bureau chief in California and advised him/her to change the storyline and make the public unaware that conventionally grown products are dangerous, too?  To take a swipe at the organic industry by holding back evidence that would clear its reputation and allow it to build market share during this period of quarantine?

I am not a sophisticated technology person.  I cannot post pictures to my blog.  I'm good to log in and type.  But I do know there's a program out there that will take a photo shot of a webpage "as is" so that if it's altered later on for content changes, the original "photo" will hold up for review.  I just never thought I'd personally have use for it blogging on a homestead site!

Thanks for reading my vent this far.  It just makes me wonder what other news (beyond important stuff like war, foreign policy and politics in general) is sifted and filtered before it gets to me.  My conspiracy theory gene is kicking in.......if I don't post in three days, send somebody in for me!

Exciting News for Georgia Sustainable Farmers

The Georgia Organics Annual Conference will be held March 8-10, 2007 and we just got word that Joel Salatin will be the keynote speaker at the conference.  Joel is one of the leaders in sustainable farming for a local customer base, emphasizing a diversified approach that treats both the land and the animals in a humane, responsible manner.  The bonus is that his approach also creates great tasting and nutritous food!

I have heard that Joel is a great speaker; I have read two of his books, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven, which I reviewed here on my blog earlier in the summer, and Family Friendly Farming.  Now that I know he's speaking at the conference, I'll have to get cracking on Pastured Poultry Profits, which is the next one I think has relevance to our homestead.

All of you Georgia, Alabama, north Florida and maybe even South Carolina readers will want to consider this conference as a great eduational opportunity.  My husband and I went last year and were blown away with all that we learned.  The inspiration is motivation enough to sign up, but the content and the contacts we made were worth the price of admission.

Let me know if you sign up so all of us Homestead Bloggers can meet up in a corner and exchange the secret handshake!

Unbelievable! I'm in Blog Topic Heaven!

If you read my blog post from late last night, you'll see that I was approximately 9 hours ahead of Instapundit in highlighting an article about the huge energy savings of CFL lightbulbs that is featured in Fast Company magazine.

I have been reading blogs for a couple of years now and Instapundit is the most humongous blog creature I know.  He moves mountains (or at least legislation and those who make it!) And he blogged this morning on the very article that I posted last night!

I'm feeling so smart, I think I'll go teach my kids now.

Oh, he really is smarter than I.....he knows the subscribers way around the pay-for-view page at Fast Company.  Well, I'm learning at his feet.....here's the link to the lightbulb article so now you have no excuse not to read it!

Wow, Instapundit and me....like minds, posting alike.  It's like the time I made a "Best Of" holiday program on the Rush Limbaugh radio show.....my husband and parents were so proud.....

Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Catching up with the outside world today, I leafed through the latest copy of Fast Company magazine.  Once a year, Mike will get a notice from one of the airlines that his frequent flier account is about to expire and they'll offer magazine subscriptions in exchange for airline miles.  This magazine is one he chose. 

In this month's issue,  on page 74, they are running a piece on compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) or "swirl bulbs" as they are referred to by many.    Apparently, they use 75-80% less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb.  The author also states that all of the negatives the CFL's used to have (low wattage, slight noise, dull light) have been replaced and improved.

He makes the claim that if "every one of the 110 million American households bought one of these bulbs and put it in place of an ordinary 60-watt lightbulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people."

The average sale price of these bulbs is $3.00 each.  He says they pay for themselves in five months in the form of lower power bills, and the bulbs can last up to 10 years even in heavy usage fixtures.

The rest of the article goes on to do the math on how Wal-Mart is pushing these "swirls" by placing them in the ceiling fan displays at each of their stores.  W_M did the math and as a company, they save $6 million A YEAR on energy costs directly related to powering the lights inside their ceiling fan kits on display.

It's a really interesting article and I challenge you to read it in it's entirety.  I bet your main library would have the magazine in hard copy for you this month.  As this article is printed in the current issue, you have to subscribe to the magazine in order to access it online.  But by next month, the archived September issue will be free for the reading. 

I have a burned out bulb in my laudry room.  Guess what I'll be buying on my next shopping trip.

Organic Standards Weakened by Congress

We belong to Georgia Organics. We are not certified organic, but we use sustainable farming methods and we are evaluating whether or not it makes sense for us (as a business and as a family) to go through the certification process.

Tonight I received this email from GO warning us that Congress is attempting to add a proposal to legislation this week that would significantly weaken the current organic standards.  In addition to the lowered requirements, Congress has also limited the amount of time they will consider public comments on this matter, which seems pretty weasely to me.

I am including a link here to the Organic Consumers Association, where you can comment on this legislation if you have an opinion.   I'm also going to try to copy the text of the letter from Georgia Organics so you can read through it for more information (it gives some relevant dates/timelines which are interesting.)

I have to be honest here:  this government interference issue is my main concern about going "certified".  The "big ag" companies see that consumers are attracted to what organic food products offer and they want a chunk of that dollar.  But they are perfectly willing to lobby Congress for lower organic standards of performance while they enjoy the higher prices and profits organics will bring to their bottom line. I like profit as much as the next guy, but standards ought to be standards, and the little farmers will eventually be the only ones penalized for "breaking the organic rules" while the billion-dollar companies get away with it through special exemptions.

If any of you have experience with this certification stuff and want to comment or advise me, I am happy to hear your counsel.  Otherwise, I am watching this issue as closely as I can.

Action Needed to Safeguard Organic Standards
	May 10, 2006
	It’s time to act fast! The USDA has announced a very short public comment period (ends May 12, 2006) on a proposal to amend the National Organic Program (read the proposal here) in a manner that would weaken organic standards. The USDA's actions were requested by a very small handful of members of Congress. Take action now and tell the USDA you support strong organic standards! This legislative backroom deal was born in November 2005 during a late-night, Republican-only session consisting of a few conference committee members who voted to adopt the proposed amendment after congressional negotiators from both sides had adjourned. In 2006, the amendment resurfaced as a last-minute attachment to the Agricultural Appropriations Bill, thereby avoiding full congressional debate on the content of the amendment. The Appropriations Bill, along with its riders, passed despite over 350,000 letters and phone calls from consumers, farmers, retailers, processors, and other concerned citizens and organizations to their congressional representatives. At the time of its passage, a number of Congressional representatives made statements condemning both the undemocratic process and substance of this change to the organic law. After 35 years of hard work, the U.S. organic community has built a multi-billion dollar alternative to industrial agriculture. Now the USDA is proposing to amend the National Organic Program regulations to reflect these legislative changes made in Congress – with very little time allowed for public comment. The USDA proposal could allow: Young dairy cows to be treated with antibiotics and fed genetically engineered feed prior to being converted to organic production. Numerous synthetic substances, including over 500 food contact substances, to be used in organic foods without public review and approval by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). TELL USDA TO KEEP THE ORGANIC LABEL TRUTHFUL. COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 12! "Congress voted to weaken the national organic standards that consumers count on to preserve the integrity of the organic label," said Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the Organic Consumers Association. "The process was profoundly undemocratic and the end result is a serious setback for the multi billion dollar alternative food and farming system that the organic community has so painstakingly built up over the past 35 years. It’s easy to take action. Click on one or all of these links for streamlined action links and more information. Organic Consumers Association: has fill-in action link The Center for Food Safety: has fill-in action link Consumers Union: has fill-in action link Additional in-depth background and report on the issues, and comment information: National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture: has “click here” action link. Sincerely, Georgia Organics email: info@georgiaorganics.org phone: 678.702.0400 web: http://www.georgiaorganics.org

No NAIS Idea

I saw this article today on Drudge, from a UK newspaper, that the electricity required for our modern life is making people allergic.  Read through it for yourself to get the full effect. But here's my idea for using this study to help keep the USDA's animal monitoring program away from us all:

Convince PETA that if the animals are tagged with radio frequency devices, it will constitute "animal cruelty" by forcing farm animals to live in an "electrically-induced smog environment."

If the PETA people are on board, the USDA is sure to leave our animals alone, right?  Because the government always caves into the law-breakers and PETA can put together a mean, law-breaking protest with fake blood and everything.  We let them break the law, talk on the news shows, and then we sit back and have as many animals on our own land as we want.

Yea, that's the ticket........