Last week we asked you to support the USDA National Organic Standards Board’s committee recommendation, "Solving the Problem of Mislabeled Organic Personal Care," that would make sure that any use of the word "organic" on a personal care product is backed up by third-party certification to USDA organic standards.

Many thanks to the thousands of you who pitched in to help us support truth-in-advertising for organic personal care products with your letters, words of encouragement and donations!

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!

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A major reason why consumers shop for products that are certified organic is to avoid hazardous and unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), toxic chemicals, and now the most recent, and likely most dangerous hi-tech poison of them all – nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is now a multi-billion dollar Frankenstein monster industry churning out a vast menu of untested and unlabeled products containing tiny nanoparticles including non-organic vitamin supplements, food packaging, processed food, cosmetics, and sunscreens.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has been debating an official ban on nanotechnology in organic. When it meets November 3-5, 2009 in Washington, D.C., the NOSB will consider a recommendation supported by the the OCA and the organic community that would "prohibit nanotechnology in organic production, processing, and packaging."

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“Regulating by carbon trading is like fiddling as Rome burns. Governments and the UN should impose a carbon tax on corporations, both for production – wherever their facilities are located – and for transport, which the Kyoto Protocol does not account for directly. Incentives for renewable energy are also essential. We face a stark choice: we can destroy the conditions for human life on the planet by clinging to ‘free-market’ fundamentalism, or we can secure our future by bringing commerce within the laws of ecological sustainability and social justice .” LEARN MORE

Vandana Shiva, leading author and activist in India, member of the Policy Advisory Board of the Organic Consumers Association

…and the “Natural” Foods Myth
Whole Food Market and United Natural Foods, Inc.: Undermining Our Organic Future

After four decades of hard work, the organic community has built up a $25 billion “certified organic” food and farming sector. This consumer-driven movement, under steady attack by the biotech and Big Food lobby, with little or no help from government, has managed to create a healthy and sustainable alternative to America’s disastrous, chemical and energy-intensive system of industrial agriculture.

However, the annual $50 billion natural food and products industry is threatening (more…)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working for over five years to force a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) on American farmers and animal owners. NAIS is designed to identify and track each and every individual livestock and poultry animal, even those owned by family farmers, hobby farmers, homesteaders, and pet owners. USDA is seeking to engage stakeholders and producers to hear not only their concerns about the National Animal Identification System, but also potential or feasible solutions to those concerns. The information and ideas gathered will assist Secretary Vilsack in making decisions about the future direction of animal traceability in the United States. The deadline to submit comments to the USDA is August 3, 2009.

Learn more and take action

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps filed its Second Amended Complaint today in San Francisco Superior Court against falsely labeled “organic” personal care companies that use non-organic pesticide-intensive agricultural and/or petrochemical material to make the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients in their products. Defendants include, among others: Hain-Celestial (Jason “Pure, Natural & Organic; Avalon “Organics”); Levlad (Nature’s Gate “Organics”); Kiss My Face “Organic”; YSL Beaute Inc (Stella McCartney’s “100% Organic Active Ingredients”), Country Life (Desert Essence “Organics”); Giovanni “Organic Cosmetics”; and the certifiers Ecocert and OASIS.

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Dean Foods’ WhiteWave division has announced it will release a new non-organic “natural” version of its popular Horizon dairy products. Horizon is the largest organic dairy brand in the marketplace, and many consumers will likely alternatively purchase the Horizon “natural (conventional) ” brand at a premium and at a time when organic dairy farmers are already experiencing record losses.

Learn more…

PUT YOUR FINGERS OVER HIS “CORNERS”

So I’m searching the Sunday coupon flyers for a discount on an oil change and I see a pet food advertisement with a very happy dog.  I took a closer look at the dog and saw that the creases of his mouth had been edited in image editing software to look like he was smiling.  I put my hands on each side of the dog’s nose to cover the “grin” and saw the real dog underneath.

Related links: Free Image Editing Software (Scroll to Bottom)

Hi all!

Just wanted to say that today is the day!  We are officially launching the new site today (even though it’s not perfect yet) and are excited after all of our hard work! Check out the new: www.thatJENGirl.com

Hope this is the beginning of helping lots of people acheive their dreams!  Help us spread the word and don’t forget to sign up as an affiliate so you can get cash for your referrals!  Thanks for your support! ~Jennifer