Mechanisms of methylmercury-induced neurotoxicity: Evidence from experimental studies.

Mechanisms of methylmercury-induced neurotoxicity: Evidence from experimental studies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21683713

Farina M, Rocha JB, Aschner M.  Life Sci. 2011 Oct 10;89(15-16):555-63. Epub 2011 Jun 13.

Source
Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.

Abstract

Neurological disorders are common, costly, and can cause enduring disability. Although mostly unknown, a few environmental toxicants are recognized causes of neurological disorders and subclinical brain dysfunction. One of the best known neurotoxins is methylmercury (MeHg), a ubiquitous environmental toxicant that leads to long-lasting neurological and developmental deficits in animals and humans. In the aquatic environment, MeHg is accumulated in fish, which represent a major source of human exposure. Although several episodes of MeHg poisoning have contributed to the understanding of the clinical symptoms and histological changes elicited by this neurotoxicant in humans, experimental studies have been pivotal in elucidating the molecular mechanisms that mediate MeHg-induced neurotoxicity. The objective of this mini-review is to summarize data from experimental studies on molecular mechanisms of MeHg-induced neurotoxicity. While the full picture has yet to be unmasked, in vitro approaches based on cultured cells, isolated mitochondria and tissue slices, as well as in vivo studies based mainly on the use of rodents, point to impairment in intracellular calcium homeostasis, alteration of glutamate homeostasis and oxidative stress as important events in MeHg-induced neurotoxicity. The potential relationship among these events is discussed, with particular emphasis on the neurotoxic cycle triggered by MeHg-induced excitotoxicity and oxidative stress. The particular sensitivity of the developing brain to MeHg toxicity, the critical role of selenoproteins and the potential protective role of selenocompounds are also discussed. These concepts provide the biochemical bases to the understanding of MeHg neurotoxicity, contributing to the discovery of endogenous and exogenous molecules that counteract such toxicity and provide efficacious means for ablating this vicious cycle.

PMID: 21683713 [PubMed - in process]

Are Flame Retardants Safe? Growing Evidence Says 'No'

Are Flame Retardants Safe?
Growing Evidence Says 'No'
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/pbdes_are_flame_retardants_safe_growing_evidence_says_no/2446/

"New studies have underscored the potentially harmful health effects of the most widely used flame retardants, found in everything from baby blankets to carpets. Health experts are now calling for more aggressive action to limit these chemicals, including cutting back on highly flammable, petroleum-based materials used in many consumer products."

The mystery of chronic fatigue syndrome

The mystery of chronic fatigue syndrome
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-levy-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-20110930,0,4021674.story

"Most health professionals have finally acknowledged that it's a real and serious illness. But we still don't know what causes it.

For more than 100 years, medical literature has contained reports of a debilitating illness that causes prolonged fatigue, memory loss, headaches, cognitive problems and issues with digestion and sleep. Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir and Thomas Eakins all suffered from what was then known as neurasthenia."

How Can I Find Formaldehyde-Free Furniture?

How Can I Find Formaldehyde-Free Furniture?
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/how_can_i_find_formaldehyde-free_furniture/

"Lately I was in the market for a wood bed frame and wood bookcases. I wanted them to be made of real wood, as in real solid wood not particle board or composite wood or pressed wood or plywood or any kind of wood that is engineered or manufactured with glue."

Toxins All around Us

Toxins All around Us
Exposure to the chemicals in everyday objects poses a hidden health threat
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=toxins-all-around-us

"Susan starts her day by jogging to the edge of town, cutting back through a cornfield for an herbal tea at the downtown Starbucks and heading home for a shower. It sounds like a healthy morning routine, but Susan is in fact exposing herself to a rogue's gallery of chemicals: pesticides and herbicides on the corn, plasticizers in her tea cup, and the wide array of ingredients used to perfume her soap and enhance the performance of her shampoo and moisturizer. Most of these exposures are so low as to be considered trivial, but they are not trivial at all—especially considering that Susan is six weeks pregnant."

New Study Finds Toxic Flame Retardants in 80% of Baby Products Tested

New Study Finds Toxic Flame Retardants in 80% of Baby Products Tested
http://watoxics.org/toxicswatch/new-study-finds-toxic-flame-retardants-in-80-of-kids2019-products

"A study of 101 products made for newborns, babies, and toddlers – including car seats, breast feeding pillows, changing pads, crib wedges, bassinet mattresses and other items made with polyurethane foam – found that 80% of products tested contained chemical flame retardants that are considered toxic, according to a peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Science & Technology Journal.  Other retardants discovered had so little health and safety data on them it is not possible to know their effects at this time. The same flame retardants found in some of the products are also found in children's bodies and widely dispersed throughout the environment and in food."

'Smart' meter debate escalates in B.C.

'Smart' meter debate escalates in B.C.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/28/bc-ubcm-smart-meters.html

"The controversy over so-called smart meters is about to come to a head in B.C., where municipalities are debating BC Hydro's plans to install the wireless devices amid concerns about their impact on residents' health, privacy and power bills."

Organic Bytes: Special Alert: October Is Non-GMO Month!

| SUBSCRIBE & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Special Alert: October Is Non-GMO Month! #296, September 29, 2011 In this issue: Quote of the Week: The Biggest Threat Is Monsanto Special Alert: October Is Non-GMO Month! Campaign Update: Organic Trade Association Board Gets More Organic Important News: Barbarians at Whole Foods' Gate Video of the Week: LabelGMOs.org - Do Americans Want GMOs Labeled? Little Bytes Quote of the Week Vandana Shiva: The Biggest Threat Is Monsanto "We are in a food emergency. Speculation and diversion of food to biofuel has contributed to an uncontrolled price rise, adding more to the billion already denied their right to food. Industrial agriculture is pushing species to extinction through the use of toxic chemicals that kill our bees and butterflies, our earthworms and soil organisms that create soil fertility. Plant and animal varieties are disappearing as monocultures displace biodiversity. Industrial, globalized agriculture is responsible for 40 percent of greenhouse gases, which then destabilize agriculture by causing climate chaos, creating new threats to food security. "But the biggest threat we face is the control of seed and food moving out of the hands of farmers and communities and into a few corporate hands. Monopoly control of cottonseed and the introduction of genetically engineered Bt cotton has already given rise to an epidemic of farmers' suicides in India. A quarter-million farmers have taken their lives because of debt induced by the high costs of nonrenewable seed, which spins billions of dollars of royalty for firms like Monsanto." - "Resisting the Corporate Theft of Seeds," by Vandana Shiva, The Nation, September 14, 2011 Support the OCA Stop Monsanto and Move the Organic Revolution Forward Since the first battle over organic standards in 1998, OCA has been "growing the revolution" - fighting against genetically engineered foods, preserving strict organic standards, expanding the organic market, and spreading the good news that organic agriculture can sustainably feed the world while reversing global warming. The time is right to step up our efforts and move the Organic Revolution forward, but OCA needs your financial support to do so. Please donate SPECIAL ALERT October Is Non-GMO Month! 2011 - The year Monsanto added sweetcorn, sugar beets and alfalfa to the list of GMO crops that already included field corn, cotton, canola, soy, and papaya - without regulations to protect organic farmers from contamination and no labels to respect consumers' right to know. - The year Monsanto couldn't hide its failure any longer, as its GMO crops toppled over and were strangled in the fields, attacked by the very insects and weeds they were genetically engineered to resist. October 2011 - When the non-GMO movement in the US got reenergized, reorganized and started a new strategy to win! October 2011 is Non-GMO Month, and we can make it the biggest month of action this issue has ever seen in this country. What can you do to make that happen? Would you collect a thousand signatures? Would you walk from New York City to the White House? Would you join a Millions Against Monsanto Rally for the Right to Know on World Food Day? What would you do to win our right to know about genetically engineered food? Get involved: California - Ongoing - LabelGMOs.org Northern CA Southern CA NYC to DC - Oct 1-16 - The Right2Know March Austin, TX - Oct 2 - Rally for Real Food Nationwide - Oct 15 & 16 - Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day Events CAMPAIGN UPDATE Organic Trade Association Board Gets More Organic The Organic Trade Association has a new board president: Matt McLean, CEO and founder of Uncle Matt's Organic Inc., an all-organic citrus juice and produce brand. McLean succeeds Julia Sabin of Smuckers, who served as president for the past three years. Sabin's OTA presidency was highlighted in an Organic Spies video. Organic Spies argued that, as VP of the "natural" division of a primarily conventional company, Sabin would support Food Inc.'s efforts to co-opt and water-down organic while protecting industrial agriculture's GMOs and factory farms. Sabin continues to serve as an OTA board member, but another OTA leader profiled by Organic Spies, Chuck Marcy of Marcy and Partners, has retired from the Board after serving three full terms, nine years, including eight years as board treasurer. Marcy was President and CEO of Horizon Organic from 1999 until 2004, when he sold Horizon to Dean Foods for $246 million. Organic Spies argued that the largest conventional milk company controlling the largest organic milk company benefitted Dean Foods and conventional agriculture more than Horizon and organic agriculture. Organic Spies made the case that the Dean-Horizon merger is the reason Horizon fought enforcement of the rule that organic cows must graze on pasture and why the OTA adopted the failed strategy of advocating for "coexistence" between organic and genetically engineered alfalfa, rather than trying to stop GMO alfalfa and the threat that this perennial crop would contaminate and destroy organic alfalfa. (Horizon finally submitted to the organic pasture rule after an OCA boycott, but the USDA ultimately rejected coexistence and approved GMO alfalfa without regulations to protect organic.) Other officers of the new OTA board are: - Sarah Bird (Annie's Homegrown, Division of Annie's Inc.) as Vice President-United States - NATURAL/ORGANIC - Gunta Vitins (Vitins Consulting) as Vice President-Canada - N/A - Kristen Holt (Quality Assurance International) as Treasurer - ORGANIC CERTIFIER - Todd Linsky (Cal-Organic/Grimmway Farms) as Secretary - ALL ORGANIC Other members of the current board are: - Tony Bedard (CEO of Frontier Natural Products Cooperative) - ALL ORGANIC - Melody Meyer (VP of Global Initiatives, UNFI) - MOSTLY NATURAL - Scott Nash (CEO of Mom's Organic Market) - MOSTLY ORGANIC - Tom Cowell (Growers International Organic Sales Incorporated) - ALL ORGANIC - Nicole Dawes (Late July Organic Snacks) - ALL ORGANIC - Chris Ely (Applegate Farms) - NATURAL/ORGANIC - Kelly Shea (WhiteWave Foods) - CONVENTIONAL/NON-GMO/ORGANIC - Craig Weakley (Craig Weakley Consulting) - N/A - Leslie Zuck (Pennsylvania Certified Organic) - ORGANIC CERTIFIER IMPORTANT NEWS Barbarians at Whole Foods Market's Gate? Shares of Whole Foods Market jumped to more to $68 amid intense speculation, as reported by the Daily Mail, that cash-rich private equity firms, including the daddy of them all, KKR and Bain Capital, could be lining up a cash offer at a substantial premium to the prevailing price, around $90 a share. Whole Foods Market is the world's number one organic food seller and is valued at around $11.8 billion. The Daily Mail noted, "The fact it carries no debt has attracted considerable private equity interest and it's more than likely that should it come under corporate attack from that area." KKR was the subject of the best selling book and HBO movie "Barbarians at the Gate," which tells the story of Henry Kravis, the master of leveraged buyouts at Wall Street's Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, and his $31-billion-dollar leveraged buy-out of RJR Nabisco in 1988. What would it mean to have a private equity firm running Whole Foods? Private equity firms aren't grocers running a supermarket, they are short-term investors who manage "bundles of assets." Their goal is to suck cash out of the enterprise, not invest in production services, or employees. As Business Week put it (10/30/2006), "Private equity firms are using slick new tricks to gorge on corporate assets, helping themselves to fat fees while leaving the companies they sell dazed and depleted." If this were to happen to Whole Foods, the result would probably be an intensification of the trend towards more green-washed, so-called "natural" junk foods and less healthy, farm-fresh, certified organic whole foods. And, certainly the likes of KKR would have no incentive to allow Whole Foods to do anything like committing to go non-GMO, as it has with its store-brand products. Quality, service, employee health care, wages and benefits, cause marketing, community investment - everything Whole Foods did outside making a profit would be at stake if KKR took over. And, with the debt a leveraged buyout dumps on its victim, there would be no way for Whole Foods Market to ever recover. Learn more: A Workers' Guide to Private Equity (PDF) VIDEO OF THE WEEK Are Americans aware of GMOs in their food? Do they want them labeled? Label GMOs has some answers. Label GMOs, Committee for the Right to Know, is a political action group that strives to bring awareness to the public regarding genetically modified (GMO) foods. Label GMOs is spearheading an upcoming ballot initiative in California to require companies to label foods that contain GMO products. Check out Label GMOs' YouTube channel to watch their new videos Little Bytes Monsanto and Food Inc. Mobilize against Organics: In Debate About Food, a Monied New Player Read Children of the Corn Read War of the Papayas Read The Revolution Begins at Home: A Clarion Call to Join the Wall Street Protests Read Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Company: Leading the Charge on Organics and Fair Trade Read Sponsored Message Join the OCA-Endorsed National Buying Club for Organic and Non-GMO Foods: The Green Polka Dot Box OCA is happy to announce the formation of a new national distribution service for home delivery of organic and non-GMO foods, at 30-50% below the cost of retail, with free shipping on orders of $150 or more. The new national distribution club is called the Green Polka Dot Box (GPDB). Click here Connect With OCA! Facebook Pages: organicconsumers millionsagainst comingclean Twitter Feeds: @organicconsumer @againstmonsanto @OCA_comingclean More: rss feed youtube channel Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! Organic Bytes is a publication of Organic Consumers Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652 Subscribe & Read past issues and print- friendly PDF versions of Organic Bytes    I

The 80+ Chemical Ingredients in Febreze

The 80+ Chemical Ingredients in Febreze
http://www.chemicalsensitization.com/2011/07/80-chemical-ingredients-in-febreze.html?spref=fb

"It's obvious that this Information Age has been nothing more than the Disinformation Age.   Equally obvious is that one of the most effective ways to spread disinformation is to conceal facts.  So, if you happen to be interested in seeing how companies fare when they conceal the ingredients in their product lines, then refer to the Proctor & Gamble Corporation in the relatively near future.  Its personnel and advertisers have disseminated sleight of hand deceptions about the Febreze Air Effects product line, all the while neglecting to disclose the dozens of chemical ingredients in it."

The Challenges of Living with Invisible Pain or Illness

The Challenges of Living with Invisible Pain or Illness
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201109/the-challenges-living-invisible-pain-or-illness

"In May of 2001, I got sick with what the doctors thought was an acute viral infection. But I didn't recover. As the months went by and I didn't get better, I felt as if I'd entered a parallel universe that I didn't know existed. One reason this universe is largely invisible is that many people living with chronic pain or illness don't look any different from those around them. We simply don't look sick or in pain."

Mercury in fish harms immune system.

Mercury in fish harms immune system.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2011/09/2011-0927-mercury-fish-immune/

"Adults exposed to methylmercury through a fish diet have immune system changes similar to those seen in more highly exposed gold mine workers, according to a study of Brazilians living in the Amazon River Basin."

Association between Prenatal Lead Exposure and Blood Pressure in Female Offspring

Association between Prenatal Lead Exposure and Blood Pressure in Female Offspring
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info:doi/10.1289/ehp.1103736

Background: Lead exposure in adults is associated with hypertension. Altered prenatal nutrition is associated with subsequent risks of adult hypertension, but little is known about whether prenatal exposure to toxicants, such as lead, may also confer such risks.

Objectives: We investigated the relationship of prenatal lead exposure and blood pressure (BP) in 7-15 year old boys and girls.

Methods: We evaluated 457 mother-child pairs, originally recruited for an environmental birth cohort study between 1994 and 2003 in Mexico City, at a follow-up visit in 2008-2010. Prenatal lead exposure was assessed by measurement of maternal tibia and patella lead using in vivo K-x-ray fluorescence and cord blood lead using atomic absorption spectrometry. BP was measured by mercury sphygmomanometer with appropriate-size cuffs.

Results: Adjusting for relevant covariates, maternal tibia lead was significantly associated with increases in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) in girls, but not in boys (p-interaction with sex = 0.025 and 0.007 for SBP and DBP, respectively). Among girls, an interquartile range increase in tibia lead (13 μg/g) was associated with 2.11 (95% CI: 0.69-3.52) mm Hg and 1.60 (95% CI: 0.28-2.91) mm Hg increases in SBP and DBP, respectively. Neither patella nor cord lead was associated with offspring BP.

Conclusions: Maternal tibia lead, which reflects cumulative environmental lead exposure and a source of exposure to the fetus, is a predisposing factor to higher BP in female, but not male, offspring. Sex-specific adaptive responses to lead toxicity during early life development may explain these differences.

UA study: Diesel exhaust here linked to childhood wheezing

UA study: Diesel exhaust here linked to childhood wheezing
http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/article_e3664c7a-3da9-5cb9-91be-0867e6414f59.html

"Infants and very young children in Tucson exposed to high levels of vehicle diesel pollution are more likely than other kids to suffer from early childhood wheezing, a potential asthma indicator."

Even Organic Strawberries Are Grown With Toxic Fumigants

Even Organic Strawberries Are Grown With Toxic Fumigants
http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/09/organic-strawberries-not-always-grown-without-toxic-fumigants

"For years, I've been urging consumers to denounce the use of such poisons by buying only organic strawberries. But it turns out, in California at least, most organic strawberries have a dirty secret: they come from plants that spend time on nurseries that use "millions of pounds of toxic chemicals," including methyl bromide, before being transplanted to organically managed fields, The New York Times reports."

Roundup use reconsidered

Roundup use reconsidered
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/printer-friendly/16794-roundup-use-reconsidered.html

"Roundup's use in Tauranga parks may be revisited in light of new information that shows it is a neurotoxin with persistent effects in the environment."

Air pollution 'takes up to eight months off life'

Air pollution 'takes up to eight months off life'
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/air-pollution-takes-up-to-eight-months-off-life-16055063.html

"Air pollution is estimated to reduce life expectancy in the UK by an average seven to eight months, according to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). "

Jewelry industry to self-regulate on toxic cadmium

Jewelry industry to self-regulate on toxic cadmium
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation/20110926_ap_jewelryindustrytoselfregulateontoxiccadmium.html
 
"LOS ANGELES - Hammered by more than a year of recalls and legal setbacks, the U.S. jewelry industry has agreed to voluntarily limit the toxic metal cadmium in children's trinkets , and, in the process, has helped write what amounts to new federal regulations of its products."

Canadians breathe some of world's cleanest air: WHO

Canadians breathe some of world's cleanest air: WHO
http://www.canada.com/health/Canadians%20breathe%20some%20world%20cleanest/5458437/story.html

A new World Health Organization database on air quality places Canada as one of the world's top nations when it comes to clean air, but an expert says that despite this country's high scores, the air Canadians breathe will still cause health issues for thousands.

SDG&E Customers Can Delay Smart Meter Installation

SDG&E Customers Can Delay Smart Meter Installation
http://obrag.org/?p=46078

"The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) president Michael Peevey has issued a ruling ordering San Diego Gas & Electric Company and two other utility companies to allow consumers who don't want a "smart meter" installed to place their names on a delay list, pending the outcome of upcoming workshops on the issue."

NIH-Funded Study Connect Gene Variant to Response to Asthma Drugs

NIH-Funded Study Connect Gene Variant to Response to Asthma Drugs
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2011/nhlbi-26.htm

"A genetic variant may explain why some people with asthma do not respond well to inhaled corticosteroids, the most widely prescribed medicine for long-term asthma control. Researchers found that asthma patients who have two copies of a specific gene variant responded only one-third as well to steroid inhalers as those with two copies of the regular gene."

Mom: Daughter Allergic To Teacher's Perfume

Mom: Daughter Allergic To Teacher's Perfume
http://www.koat.com/news/29285591/detail.html

"Mom Says School District Is Not Taking Her Complaints Seriously"

FDA bans CFCs in some inhalers from next year

FDA bans CFCs in some inhalers from next year
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-fda-inhalerstre78l3nl-20110922,0,7519410.story

"Health officials are banning the only asthma inhaler sold over the counter in the United States starting from next year to prevent the use of products that harm the environment."

Organic Bytes: Get Your Natural Food Store into the Campaign to Label GMOs!

 

SUBSCRIBE & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Get Your Natural Food Store into the Campaign to Label GMOs! #295, September 22, 2011 In this issue: Quote of the Week: The FDA Knew GMOs Cause Unexpected Toxins, Carcinogens & Allergens Alerts of the Week: Get Your Local Market into the Campaign for GMO Labels! New Events on the Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day Map! New Millions Against Monsanto Organizing Hub on Facebook! Right2Know March Events During 313 Mile Walk to White House Via Organica Joins Moving Planet September 24! Planting Peace! Create Local and Sustainable Food Systems! Film of the Week: Boulder Residents Mobilize Against GM Crops Little Bytes Quote of the Week FDA Knew: Genetically Modified Foods Produce Unexpected Toxins, Carcinogens & Allergens "...in 1992 the Food and Drug Administration released its policy on genetically modified organisms, claiming that "the agency is not aware of any information showing that [GMO] foods...differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way. "The government's green light fueled the rapid spread of GMOs and monopolies - so now most US corn and soybeans are GMO, with genes patented largely by one company: Monsanto. The FDA position helped make GMOs' spread so invisible that most Americans still don't believe they've ever eaten them - even though the grocery industry says they could be in 75 percent of processed food. "Even fewer Americans are aware that in 1999 attorney Steven Druker reported that in 40,000 pages of FDA files secured via a lawsuit, he found 'memorandum after memorandum contain[ing] warnings about the unique hazards of genetically engineered food,' including the possibility that they could contain 'unexpected toxins, carcinogens or allergens.' "Yet at the same time, public education campaigns have succeeded in confining almost 80 percent of GMO planting to just three countries: the United States, Brazil and Argentina. In more than two dozen countries and in the European Union they've helped pass mandatory GMO labeling. Even China requires it." - "The Food Movement: Its Power and Possibilities," by Frances Moore Lappé, The Nation, September 14, 2011 Support the OCA Stop Monsanto and Move the Organic Revolution Forward For 13 years, OCA has been "growing the revolution" - fighting against genetically engineered foods, preserving strict organic standards, expanding the organic market, and spreading the good news that organic agriculture can sustainably feed the world while reversing global warming. The time is right to step up our efforts and move the Organic Revolution forward, but OCA needs your financial support to do so. Please donate Alerts of the Week Involve Your Food Market in the Campaign for GMO Labels! Do you have plans yet for World Food Day? How about helping the national campaign for GMO labels reach 1,000,000 signatures on the Millions Against Monsanto petition by taking a clipboard to the market where you buy organic and non-GMO food? Organic farms, farmers markets, natural food stores, coops and restaurants that sell organic food are natural allies. Ask the manager if you can set up a folding table and collect Truth-in-Labeling petition signatures. See if they will take petitions and make them available to all of their customers. Here's a flyer you can take to your local market to ask for their permission to collect petition signatures on October 16, 2011 (PDF) OCA's GMO labeling petition (PDF) ALERTS OF THE WEEK New Events on the Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day Map! This World Food Day, October 16, 2011, is going to be the biggest single day of action for labels on genetically engineered food in U.S. history. New events are being posted to the Millions Against Monsanto map on a daily basis. Zoom in to see what's happening in your town Many of the Millions Against Monsanto events are of national importance. In Pleasanton, CA, activists are rallying at Safeway headquarters. Like most supermarkets, most of the food sold in Safeway contains unlabeled genetically engineered ingredients. Act in solidarity with the Pleasanton rally by sending a letter to Safeway, letting them know that 9-out-of-10 shoppers want genetically engineered foods labeled. Another way to participate no matter where you are by posting a photo of yourself with your wittiest anti-GMO slogan in the Virtual Rally for the Right to Know About GMOs on Flickr. ALERTS OF THE WEEK New Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day Organizing Hub on Facebook Checked the map and couldn't find an event where you live? Start one up! Trish Wright, organizer of the March 2011 Rallies for the Right to Know, has created a new Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day organizing hub on Facebook. Trish is there to help you get started, answer your questions, connect you with fellow Millions Against Monsanto activists locally and spread the word about your event. If you don't use Facebook, contact trish [at] millionsagainst@gmail.com. ALERTS OF THE WEEK Right2Know March Events During 313 Mile Walk to White House In two weeks, a diverse coalition of organizations, businesses and individuals will begin to march from the Historic Flatbush Food Co-op in Brooklyn, NY to the gates of the White House to ask the Obama Administration to support labeling of genetically engineered foods. The GMO Right2Know March will feature daily events between New York and Washington, DC October 1-16 as hundreds of marchers are expected to walk part or all of the 313 miles to the White House. The route and details on daily events can be viewed here. ALERTS OF THE WEEK Via Organica Joins Moving Planet September 24! OCA and Vía Orgánica Join with Moving Planet and 350.org for a Global Day of Action on Climate Change On September 24th , the international organization 350.org, with the support of Moving Planet, has called for a Global Action Day to demand solutions to Climate Change (go here for more information). 350 parts per million refers to the amount of atmospheric CO2 that scientists identify as the goal for stabilizing climate change. The current number is over 375ppm. OCA's sister organization in Mexico, Vía Orgánica, joined by Greenpeace and climate action groups across Mexico, is organizing a walk and bike excursion in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, to highlight our demand for green transportation and food production. Via Organica and activists will bike to the organic farmers market and then visit an organic farm, underlining the fact that our food, farming, and transportation systems have huge impact on our health, the planet, and climate change. Transportation based on fossil fuels impels climate change; food production based on petroleum-based chemicals aggravates the situation with water pollution, soil salinization, and biodiversity lost through mono-cropping. And of course organic food and farming, along with sustainable transportation are two key ways we can drastically reduce fossil fuel use, while naturally sequestering excess CO2 in the living soil. For more information: www.350.org and look for the event in San Miguel de Allende, Facebook page PLANETA EN MOVIMIENTO/MOVING PLANET event. Or write to: info (at) viaorganica.org ALERTS OF THE WEEK Planting Peace! Create Local and Sustainable Food Systems! Thousands are taking the pledge to stop the machine and create a new world: "I pledge that if any U.S. troops, contractors, or mercenaries remain in Afghanistan on Thursday, October 6, 2011, as that occupation goes into its 11th year, I will commit to being in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., with others on that day or the days immediately following, for as long as I can, with the intention of making it our Tahrir Square, Cairo, our Madison, Wisconsin, where we will NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine by occupying Freedom Plaza to demand that America's resources be invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation. We can do this together. We will be the beginning." One of the 15 core goals of the October 2011 Movement is to create systems that protect the land and water, including local and sustainable food networks and practices. Our allies in the peace movement recognize that food justice and sustainable agriculture are key to creating peace. If you agree that war and corporate power are obstacles to just and sustainable food systems, lend your support to the October 2011 Movement. Film of the Week Boulder Residents Mobilize Against GM Crops Need some inspiration for Millions Against Monsanto events in your town? Check out what Boulder, CO, did on September 6. They rallied to oppose a proposal that would allow genetically modified (GM) sugar beets to be grown on public land. Residents, farmers, retailers and manufacturers gathered in protest against a proposition before county commissioners to allow the planting of GM sugar beets on public land. While GM corn and soybeans are already being planted on this land, demonstrators hope a ban on sugar beets would eventually lead to a ban on all GM crops. The county commission will vote on the proposition this November. Watch the full video coverage. Little Bytes The New Agtivist: Lisa Gross is Covering the City with Trees Read Resisting the Corporate Theft of Seeds by Vandana Shiva Read Maria Rodale: Why We Should Label Genetically Engineered Food Read Monsanto and the Mortal Danger to Traditional Agriculture Read The President and Seed: Obama Needs to Stand Up to Corporate Power Read Sponsored Message Join the OCA-Endorsed National Buying Club for Organic and Non-GMO Foods: The Green Polka Dot Box OCA is happy to announce the formation of a new national distribution service for home delivery of organic and non-GMO foods, at 30-50% below the cost of retail, with free shipping on orders of $150 or more. The new national distribution club is called the Green Polka Dot Box (GPDB). Click here Connect With OCA! Facebook Pages: organicconsumers millionsagainst comingclean Twitter Feeds: @organicconsumer @againstmonsanto @OCA_comingclean More: rss feed youtube channel Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! Organic Bytes is a publication of Organic Consumers Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652   Subscribe & Read past issues and print- friendly PDF versions of Organic Bytes