On Thursday, August 6, OFA will canvass at Swingin’ Summer Thursday in West Chester, PA.
http://www.west-chester.com/boroughcal.php?z=9&c=&d=2004-09-05&t=m&f=l&p=1&t2=&f2=&p2=&time=1244514226
I love meeting people at public events like this. And this time it is doubly important. We will be asking for declarations of support for the President’s three health care reform principles. And we will, of course, supply the contact information for our two US Senators and all locally based Congresspeople so that the people we meet can contact their representatives directly.
If you are based in Chester County, PA or anywhere close by, please join me and other members of OFA in our canvass. Training will be provided at the start.
Find the event and sign up at
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_simple?source=sidenav
Thanks.
A decade after safety concerns were first raised by experts, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted public hearings on Diacetyl – a chemical widely used to flavor microwave popcorn. The public comment period ended on April 21st.
Recent studies show laboratory mice made to inhale diacetyl vapors for just three months developed lymphocytic bronchiolitis.
Popcorn producers are not required to label Diacetyl separately, and may list it under a general heading on labels as a flavoring ingredient.
Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy Director David Michaels says: “This is an example of a potentially toxic substance receiving GRAS (generally recognized as safe) designation without undergoing adequate testing. It’s also an example of how our key public health agencies rely on chemical manufacturers themselves to provide critical health effects data. Whether food additives, pesticides, or industrial chemicals, the public's health and safety should not rely solely on industry affirmations.”
OSHA Closes Hearing For Diacetyl RulemakingOSHA intends the term ``diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl'' to encompass other constituents of food flavorings containing diacetyl. In addition to information on diacetyl, OSHA seeks information on acetoin, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, furfural, and other compounds present in food flavorings that may cause or contribute to flavoring-related lung disease. OSHA is also interested in and seeks information about diacetyl present in substances other than food flavorings (e.g., naturally occurring diacetyl or diacetyl in fragrances) as well as substitutes used in place of diacetyl (e.g., diacetyl trimer). The information received in response to this document will assist the Agency in developing a proposed standard addressing occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl. The Comment period ended April 21, 2009. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-1125.htm
OSHA Closes Hearing For Diacetyl Rulemaking
OSHA intends the term ``diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl'' to encompass other constituents of food flavorings containing diacetyl. In addition to information on diacetyl, OSHA seeks information on acetoin, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, furfural, and other compounds present in food flavorings that may cause or contribute to flavoring-related lung disease. OSHA is also interested in and seeks information about diacetyl present in substances other than food flavorings (e.g., naturally occurring diacetyl or diacetyl in fragrances) as well as substitutes used in place of diacetyl (e.g., diacetyl trimer). The information received in response to this document will assist the Agency in developing a proposed standard addressing occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl. The Comment period ended April 21, 2009. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-1125.htm
Despite lawsuit verdicts in the millions, finding in favor of microwave popcorn factory workers and against Diacetyl, neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission have investigated.
In 2000, OSHA conducted several studies that confirmed the link between occupational exposure the artificial butter flavoring Diacetyl and lung diseases.
In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Diacetyl investigation findings were distributed privately to the popcorn industry.
In 2006, two labor unions petitioned the OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on Diacetyl to protect workers in the food and flavorings industries. More than 42 scientists and public health experts signed a letter supporting the petition.
In 2007, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WT) Chair HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, wrote to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, and CDC Director Julie Gerberding. They also wrote to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, asking for an Emergency Temporary Standard to protect workers from Diacetyl – an action supported by unions and manufacturers. No action has been taken.
In 2008, by a vote of 260 to 154, the US House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2693, the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act. The vote demonstrates the widespread recognition that OSHA failed to protect workers and Congress needed to act. To date, the Senate has not acted.
California
In 2008, our State Senate passed SB 456: Diacetyl Toxic Substance Ban, a bill that bans diacetyl, a vapor used in the production of microwave popcorn, pancake syrup, cakes, candies, frozen foods, and other products that has been associated to lung illness. The bill currently sits in the Health Committee.
Similarly, scientists and consumer groups point to a much larger health problem posed by unlabeled genetically modified organisms, also permitted by the FDA to enter the food supply under the GRAS designation several years ago.
The OSHA contact for this Emergency Temporary Standard rulemaking (numbered RIN 1218-AC33) is Dorothy Dougherty, director of the Directorate of Standards and Guidance (202-693-1950, dougherty.dorothy@dol.gov).
Reader Note: Andrew Schneider, a two-time Pulitzer prize winning journalist broke this story several years ago. I recommend reading his reports for additional information.
Germany along with five other EU countries have banned genetically modified crops (GMOs). This latest rejection came in a statement by German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner on Tuesday.
GMOs are a real threat to our food sovereignty and health in the US, says a locally-based food network who launched the No GMO Challenge to educate and inform consumers about the serious health risks of GMOs.
The introduction of GMOs into the food supply coincides with a sharp increase in childhood allergies and digestive disorders in the U.S., organizers say.
In the U.S. researchers estimate that over 70 % of processed foods on supermarket shelves contain some GMOs.
The majority of U.S. commercial livestock operations use GM feed.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are the result of laboratory processes which artificially insert foreign genes into the DNA of food crops or animals. Those genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. GMOs are not safe, but have been in the food supply since 1996. Most Americans say they would not eat GMOs if labeled, but the U.S. does not require labeling.
Consumers are advised to buy non-GMO, or organic products, which are always non-GMO.
The Natural Food Industry’s official third-party verified Non-GMO Seal will be used on product packaging starting this November.
You can watch videos and download a free Non-GMO Shopping Guide at the Non GMO Challenge.
A meeting that you don't want to miss - especially if you're interested in learning from our local legen, Joel Salatin, about sustainable local food.
Creating a Local Food System that Works with Joel Salatin
Joel Salatin, third generation alternative farmer, creator of Polyface Farms, and author of many acclaimed
Permaculture Design Course: Sustainability Strategies for the Blue Ridge.
This event will be held at the Montessori Community School on Pantops Mountain located at 305 Rolkin
Rd. Charlottesville, VA. The suggested donation for the event is $15, and the proceeds will support the Blue
Ridge Permaculture Network. For more information and to register: contact Terry Lilley, 434-296-3963,
email: tygerlilley@gmail.com
Now that ARRA has passed, and wise minds are trying to tackle the rest of the mess: the message is out - Help is on the way. Take a minute and breathe that in. It's not hopeless anymore, the 8 year treadmill of the downward spiral for the common person in this country is over.
There are two major problems confronting ordinary people now. One is to get the "talking heads" to broadcast positive news - start affirming hope. Heaven knows, it took 'em long enough to see we were drowning out here. Write your local news station and thank them for every positive news story they air. Suggest other places where ordinary people are making a difference -despite- what's going on. As long as the big news story is Bad News, the rest of the world will believe we are never going to recover. I think we can. I think we will.
The second is that ordinary people are going to have to learn to tread water until the help gets to them. For some folks it won't take long, for others it may take a while. Take a look at your life, see how you can make do, see what you can do smarter - get a bucket and start bailing!
Here's an example. When bread hit 2.50 a loaf here, I decided that I was not going to pay extortion prices. Flour hadn't gone up that much, neither had gas - not enough to cover a 3 times price raise in something as basic as bread. So I went searching for the Bread Thrift store. The one in my area had closed! Right across the street from that shuttered business, however, was an Aldi's Grocery store. I had never been in one - it's not a "major" supermarket. I was delighted to find bread at 79 CENTS a loaf. Not only that, but everything else was 30-40% cheaper than the supermarket stores. Milk, eggs, cheese - 1/3rd or more off from what I had been paying.
Here's another example: I found a food co-op called SHARE. It's a food co-op that is for people who volunteer their time in the community. You volunteer 2 hours of your time (doing whatever you want to do in your community) and you can purchase 20 lbs of food for $19 through the co-op. The same basket of food would cost you $50 in the supermarket. I have a family of 3 - we get 6 orders a month and each put 4 hours a piece into the community doing volunteer work. We've done everything from picking up trash to visiting at a retirement home. Other people will help an elderly neighbor with their yardwork or help assemble care packages for our troops overseas. No one organizes these efforts - the co-op members each look for things that need doing and jump in and do them.
And yet one more example: I sold both of my cars in 2004. Gas had hit $1.89 a gallon and I just couldn't afford the expense of all that goes in to owning 2 cars. It was an experiment to be sure - could we survive on mass-transit, an occasional taxi fare and a once in a while car rental? If not, we could always buy another car, so we put the money from the car sales in the bank and gave it a try.
Once we wrapped our heads around it taking longer to get places - it turned out not to be so bad. We adjusted our schedules and learned to cope. As a consequence, when gas got to $4.00 a gallon - our cost of getting to work and other places stayed nearly the same. This was a lucky experiment and not one everyone nation-wide can do it. But for those who can - give it a try. Park your car and figure out other ways to get around. In 3 months you'll be surprised at how much extra you have in your budget (and if you can walk to places like the gorcery store - how much better you feel). If you have plenty and this "extra" is just extra find someone who is in need and lend them a hand.
So cut the budget, find someone else worse off than you to help, find something that needs doing in your community and do it - take the power and use it to make your world a better place.
The bottom line is "It's up to us".
First a definition, a hyperlocavore tries to eat as much food as close to home as possible, in order to reduce the food miles that his food travels. It is an extension of the term locavore. A locavore typically tries to eat seasonally within 100 miles of her home, to reduce food miles and to develop the local economic base. A hyperlocavore therefore wants to bring food even closer. And what's closer than your neighborhood? We have a time crunch, we have land and property that is loosing value fast, we have kids who don't know where their food comes from, and we have a climate crisis.
Hyperlocavore.com, a social network, is here to help facilitate yardsharing. Yardsharing and group growing is new. It's different from a community garden - but the site (hyperlocavore.com) can be used to create and manage one. A yardshare might be an arrangement between an elderly couple and a young one to grow more food cheaply for both. Or friends who live in an apartment and a friend in the burbs to save money and food miles.
This is a list of the reasons I think group gardens and yardsharing is an idea whose time has come. The links hide some people, websites and imagery that have inspired me to build hyperlocavore.com. Have fun exploring. Every reason is not meant to appeal to everyone. See if just one make sense to you! Then join us to explore the possibilities. The site is free, and you do not need to commit to anything to participate. It's new to most of us. It's up to you what makes sense for you and yours. We just hope to inspire and facilitate. If you agree with more than two of these, you just may be a hyperlocavore!
"Food banks don't have enough to meet the demand." -Obama, 2/9/09
Healthcare, education, energy, and infrastructure need to be addressed; it's true. My hope is that as this administration moves forward that it takes steps to improve our agricultural system in this country. When we address how we grow and access food, we also address our health and environmental issues. Industrialized agriculture is guilty of polluting our air, watersheds, and soil, and ultimately our food. Polluted and depleted soil creates polluted and depleted soil, which in turn creates polluted and depleted people, who make numerous trips to the doctor to address chronic illnesses and become dependent on medications that don't actually address the cause of the dis-ease.
I'd like to this this administration and Congress stand up to "agri-chemical" corporations and say, "We're not going to let you slowly poison this country." The FDA is broken and in the pockets of multi-national "agri-pharmacuetical" companies. The USDA is broken and in the pockets of "genetically engineered bio-chemical" agribusinesses.
Want to know more: watch The Future of Food or King Corn. www.thefutureoffood.com
Want to find real hope and change: check out www.pathtofreedom.com
You too can make a change by planting a seed.
Here is a copy of a response I posted to another blog discussing overpopulation.
Overpopulation is the biggest problem facing the world today. And I am deeply concerned that very few people seem to realize that this is such a huge problem. Today, there are about 200,000 more people on Earth than there were yesterday. 200,000 net gain, counting births and deaths. It took until about 1800 for the world human population to reach one billion. 123 years later, In 1927, it reached 2 billion. 47 years later, in 1974, we got up to 4 billion. In 1999, 25 years later, the population was at 6 billion. Our population is exploding at a ridiculous rate, and it all comes down to food. From what I have read, almost of the people who recognized this problem think it can be solved with some sort of birth control. This, I think, is very unreasonable as birth control could, at its best, be only a slight delay to our population's seemingly inexorable climb. Population is directly related to food availability. Few people would argue this point when talking about any animal species but we seem to think of humans as excluded from that category. After all, we must be vastly superior to any animal, we're the ones who rule the world. But we're also the ones who are systematically destroying the world, killing anything that gets in our way of complete domination of our environment. This way of life started around 10,000 years ago, with the start of the agricultural revolution. The problem of overpopulation was pretty much inevitable when we took control of our food supply, allowing us to outgrow the restrictions of our environment. Soon, tribes were wiped out and replaced by cities. Today, more than 30% of the world's land is being used to grow crops or raise cattle! There is almost no more room to grow food. But every year we increase our food supply and every year our population grows. By 2050 we are projected to have at least 9 billion people on Earth. It is very unlikely that the planet can support that much biomass as 1 species is already dying each day to support our growth. Im running out of room to type so I will just say this: if the food supply stops growing so will the population. I encourage anyone who reads this to do your own research and specifically, look up Daniel Quinn.
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when
Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
Food and Water Watch is encouraging concerned citizens to contact President-elect and his transition team to develop solid policies and programs for food, water and fish.
This is the link to send a message: http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5915/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=392
What if food was free, and easily obtainable within walking distance of your home? How would your life be different?
The Garden Earth ReGardening Demonstration Project was founded for the purpose of demonstrating how this seemingly far fetched idea is, in fact, not only completely attainable, but essential to the long range survival of humanity and the endangered species of our planet.
Learn more at GardenEarth.Be.
Michael Pollan, Food Policy and Hegemony
by: Paul Rosenberg @ openleft.com
On Bill Moyers Journal last night, the conversation with food expert Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History Of Four Meals, In Defense Of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) was extremely revealing, not only about the subject of food and its complex relationship with issues from global warming to childhood obesity, but also with the larger patterns of how power works and how new thinking is kept marginalized-even in an atmosphere of "change." Indeed, in its own way, this program threw more light on the recent debates over policy and personnel in the Obama Administration than almost anything I can think of ostensibly written on the subject.
Take this, for example, not even from the dialogue, but just from the introduction:
BILL MOYERS: For a brief moment during the campaign, reformers thought Barack Obama might include agriculture in the "agenda of change" he would take to Washington. He told TIME magazine that the way we produce our food "is partly contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in health care costs." The farm lobby roared in protest. Obama buckled, took it back, and said he was "simply paraphrasing an article he read." Ah, yes - but what an article...........ENTIRE POST - http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10196
Ah, yes - but what an article...........
ENTIRE POST - http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10196
Listening to all the negativity in the news these days, I look forward to hearing a voice that builds on a unified future. I am so pleased to hear Sen. Obama speak about working together, and helping each other. But I share a concern with a lot of others who live in rural America, or farm in suburbia, or even in the big cities - that we will not be included in that plan.
Friday, Oct. 24 - DETROITMDF GOTV Fundraiser at Bert's on Broadway - 5:30 to 9 pmHelp Sell tickets to raise money to fund our important work$15 for tix - email isaacrobinson313@gmail.com to rsvp
"Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food."
So begins the article Michael Pollan wrote for the recent Food issue of The New York Times titled "Farmer In Chief" that we should all read. I think we should make sure that Senator Obama's Economic, Energy, and Agriculture advisors read it too. I sent a copy to both of my Senators (from Montana) and my Representative as well.
Food and Agricultural policy is definitely an issue often overlooked, yet central to improving the state of our country on many fronts over the next decades. From National Security to Health Care to Climate Change, improving and changing our food system from Fossil-Fuel centric to Solar centric, and from Consolidated to Diversified can have positive ripple effects across the board. I won't argue that it's going to be a good change for everyone, but for the bulk of the country, these changes can create a win-win-win sitution.
To view this blog post with music and Barack Obama messages taped on his podcast in the past access this link
By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com
"They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.'" (Watch video
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'Eye Without A Face' by Mark Bellinghaus, Copyright 2008
Life is all about signs...seeing the signs....understanding the signs...acting upon the signs
--Mark Bellinghaus
Extract & Photo caption/description posted on OUR MARILYN BLOG - you can find the entire blog article here: blog.ourmarilyn.com/2008/08/31/marilyn-monroe-would-have-voted-f .. and also here: my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/markbellinghaus/gG5W75 Ella Fitzgerald & Marilyn Monroe, in 1955 (above) and in 1962, (below), the year Marilyn Monroe passed away. In 1955, when racism was still a big issue in the United States of America, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African-American to perform at the Mocambo, after Marilyn Monroe had lobbied the owner for the booking. The booking was instrumental in Fitzgerald's career. Marilyn would promise the owner that she would appear every night (and be on time), and this way also fill the house--and she did, she was there every night, and she filled the house and: she was always on time! Their close friendship lasted for many years and Ella would sing Marilyn Monroe's famous 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' in honor of her wonderful friend Marilyn Monroe, who died almost 34 years before she passed on in 1996, at age 79. Barack Obama Quotes: 'They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.' 'I have nothing to hide, I enjoy being myself. I'm not going to change who I am just because it's Halloween." -appearing as himself on Saturday Night Live as part of a skit that featured Hillary Clinton dressed as a witch at a Halloween party * 'It's like I was shot out of a cannon. I'm so overexposed that I make Paris Hilton look like a recluse.' 'Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare 'Mission Accomplished' a little too soon.' Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy, who was a Democrat
With the way Ethanol legislation has affected food item prices and the middle class a serious effort should be made by the Republicans and Democrats to reverse the Ethanol legislation or at least create a commission to study this as quickly as possible. It’s about the Economy and requires immediate action. In some countries and in some cases it’s also about starvation and death.
A joint effort with other countries like Canada can also be done to bring down the cost of wheat, reduce the cost of living for the middle class, and eliminate the food shortage. This may help the middle class make ends meet and help them in their capabilities to pay for their mortgages.
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