There are many reasons NOT to buy or eat GMO foods besides the fact that they are not safe to eat, cause irreversible genetic contamination, and help to put small farmers out of business (because their crops become contaminated from neighbor’s gmo crops and Monsanto accuses them of stealing their product) after they get sued by Monsanto. But here is one more diabolical and frightening reason to avoid supporting Monsanto and its ilk by purchasing products that may have come from their seed. The price of food is going up due to increased biofuel production and Monsanto is cashing in on this phenomenon!

A 2008 World Bank report concluded that increased biofuel production (crops grown for fuel rather than food) is the major cause of the increase in food prices. GM giant Monsanto has been at the heart of the lobbying for biofuels – while profiting enormously from the resulting food crisis and using it as a PR opportunity to promote GM foods!

A February 27 report on NPR confirms this. According to Dr. David Tilman, professor of ecology at the University of Minnesota, “If you look at the projections of how much ethanol Congress would like to have made, if we make it from food crops – which is what we’re doing right now – we’re going to have the price of food pegged to the price of energy. At $100 a barrel, that will be difficult for some Americans but impossible for probably the one-third poorest people of the world.”

Which is mighty convenient for Monsanto, now isn’t it? Our president supports biofuels big time, even though it can never replace petroleum and would only meet up to 20% of global energy needs. Even if we planted the entire U.S. corn crop to ethanol we would only substitute 12% of our gasoline use. And so this headlong dive into biofuel production to try and make ourselves energy independent just seems like insanity. And Monsanto using biofuels to further their own evil causes adds a surreal twist to an already shaky proposition.

What does Monsanto have to say for itself? “At Monsanto, we know that innovation in agriculture is delivering more food from the same acreage than ever before. [Not true, by the way. Organic methods have proven to be more effective.] By increasing the productivity of agriculture, we move down the path to meeting all of the needs of a growing world. We know that farmers, armed with new technology and practices can create enough grain for food, feed and fuel.”

At times it feels like we might as well throw our hands up and run off to the backwoods to live because what’s the point anyway trying to fight a global giant like Monsanto? But we do have power, as individuals, to make a difference and help create a turning point.

For one thing, we can choose not to buy GMO foods. If enough of us make this decision, food companies will feel the pinch and eliminate GMOs from their products. Some of us who have land, access to land (community gardens) or even a sunny balcony, can grow some of our food from organic, heirloom seeds. We can support local, organic farmers. We can write to our representatives and demand that they take action on our behalf. We can sign the Millions Against Monsanto petition sponsored by Organic Consumer’s Association and help apply legal pressure in court battles. In short, as discouraging as this fight may be, it behooves us to keep up the fight, because our very human existence on the planet is at stake.

The next Member Appreciation Day is Wednesday, March 17 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s St. Patrick’s Day! So come join the fun as we celebrate our members with All Things Green, great food, “Green” fun, music and prizes! If you are a member, plan to shop on that day and enjoy plenty of tasty samples from numerous local vendors including Papa Doc Bagels, So Good Coffee, Rolling Meadows Farm, Fish Creek Soaps, Indira Lotions, and more.

Register to win prizes including a $100 store gift certificate, lunch for 2 at Lake Street Cafe, and copies of our new “What’s for Dinner” cookbook.

Savin’ o’ the Green:
Members can enjoy a special special 10% discount on all items throughout the store and 15% off bulk items. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day you’ll find lots of “green” treats throughout the store.

An extra special St. Patties treat for CHILDREN..at 4 p.m., our own Tom Sisco (baker extraordinaire) will read aloud his story, “Lonnie the Leprecaun.” Shamrock cookies will be served to all leprecauns.

Come out, sample some wonderful local food, listen to live music in the cafe, and know that Oryana really appreciates its members! (And just a friendly reminder, you must be a member to receive the discount and register for prizes. Sign up at Customer Service for only $20.)

Katie Couric recently took an amazingly hard look at antibiotic overuse in factory farmed animals and the link to drug resistant infections in humans like MRSA (methicillin resistant staph). She talked to people who work for chicken producers, and who got sick, more than once, with life-threatening infections that were very difficult to treat via the usual antibiotic drugs.

The mega meat companies, who routinely mix antibiotics with feed in order to promote growth and prevent disease, defended the practice, saying it was necessary to keep costs down and profits up. The veterinarian for the National Pork Board insisted that farmers use antibiotics “responsibly.” But the issue has been under scrutiny for some time and even the FDA is now turning its attention to the matter and supports restrictions on the use of antibiotics.

The problem with the practice is that when animals are treated with a certain antibiotic over time, the bacteria living in those animals become resistant to that drug. And then when people ingest the resistant bacteria via improperly cooked meat or from handling the animals or raw meat, and then become ill, they increasingly do not respond to antibiotic treatment. Some of them die. It’s a nasty problem and it’s going to get even nastier.

It was refreshing to see the mainstream media call attention to this growing problem. The news clip showed Katie wearing grubby overalls and walking through pens jammed with hogs that had no room to turn around. Some shots showed dead pigs sprawled out in the mud and spilling out of dumpsters. I hope this news story raised a few eye brows and made people think twice about eating the rest of their pork chop. Perhaps the story will have an unstoppable ripple effect and cause the FDA to outright ban the practice, or at least implement some kind of oversight.

Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also dying from killer bacteria. But Norway’s public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A big part of that program was hugely cutting back on the use of antibiotics. Not only that but the Danish pork industry has grown by 43 percent since the ban.

If they can do it in Norway, why couldn’t we do it here? According to the CBS report, about 70,000 people died last year in the U.S. from untreatable infections, more people than died from AIDS.

The CBS story was a big step in the right direction because it showed people up close and personal what conventional farmers are doing and how its harming us directly. This kind of mainstream coverage helps greatly to raise awareness and help further the organic movement.

Many shoppers and members of Oryana are vegetarian, but if you do eat meat, let this issue be a reminder to us to support our local farmers who do not feed antibiotics and other toxic additives like hormones to their animals. Oryana is a great source of all-natural and organic meats. You can feel safe eating products from our farmers and know that you aren’t contaminating your children with antibiotic resistant bugs.

Take Chris and Pennie Halpin of Land of Goshen, who supply Oryana with beef, pork, lamb, goat meat, and eggs. The Halpins, who farm in Kaleva, grow their own non-GMO grains and feed their animals local hay. The animals are all pastured and are fed raw milk-based probiotics to keep them healthy. Chris also uses herbal remedies such as oregano oil and grapeseed extract for healing. “We haven’t had antibiotics on the farm in 14 years,” says Chris.

Chris and Pennie Halpin and family

If you’re interested in becoming involved in the antibiotic debate, click here to ask your representatives to cosponsor the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.

In a shift of position, the U.S. FDA is expressing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging, including the lining of metal cans. (Even the canned goods that we carry, with the exception of one brand, Eden Foods.)

This after the agency declared BPA safe in 2008.

But the FDA now has “some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.”

The action is another example of the drug agency becoming far more aggressive in taking hard looks at what it sees as threats to public health over the past year. In recent months, the agency has stepped up its oversight of food safety and has promised to tighten approval standards for medical devices.

Concerns about BPA are based on studies that have found harmful effects in animals, and on the recognition that the chemical seeps into food and baby formula. Nearly everyone is exposed to BPA, starting in the womb.

This is good news, because hopefully this means they will soon make the connection to BPA contaminating canned foods and force manufacturers to retool their canning methods and remove the noxious substance from their can linings, as Eden Foods has already done.

From the Eden website: “All 33 Eden Organic Beans including Chili, Rice & Beans, Refried, and Flavored, are cooked in steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel that does not contain the endocrine disrupter chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA). Oleoresin is a non-toxic mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir. These cans cost 14% more than the industry standard cans that do contain BPA. The Ball Corporation tells us that Eden is the only U.S. food maker to date to use these BPA free cans and we have been since April 1999.”

Way to go, Eden! Why is it taking other manufacturers so long to do the right thing like Eden has been doing for 10 years? How rare it is to find a company that puts things like integrity and health before profits. It’s our intention to find and sell only the best products available according to our strict purchasing policy, and we hope that other companies will adopt Eden’s model as soon as possible.

If you are concerned about the BPA in canned products, we also carry many alternatives including foods canned in glass jars and frozen packaged items.

You can find more information about BPA and safer alternatives at www.bisphenolafree.org