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Robyn O'Brien

About Robyn O'Brien

Robyn O’Brien is the co-founder of rePlant Capital, an impact investment firm, deploying integrated capital from soil to shelf in order to build soil health and financial resiliency for farmers. She is also the founder of Do Good, a strategic advisory firm, and the AllergyKids Foundation. Random House published Robyn’s book, The Unhealthy Truth, in 2009, and her TEDx talks have been translated into dozens of languages and viewed by millions around the world.

Posts by Robyn O'Brien:

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Got Stress? Meet the Magic Mineral Magnesium

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Life can get absolutely crazy, especially if you have kids.

We have four of them, three teenagers and a pre-teen. I’ve made it this far, which is a good sign! But the ninja skills required to coordinate the moving parts of four kids and a husband, on top of the work and every other obligation, requires an incredible focus and the fact that I cannot afford to get sick.

I didn’t always operate this way. I lived on diet soda and fat-free food (if you can call it that) for years. I had a tendency to run hard, play hard and drive myself straight into the ground. I’d crash. Total wipe out.

And then when the health of my kids were hit with different conditions, conditions now impacting so many children today, I had to reassess. I had to keep my family healthy, and I could not afford to go down.

My background is finance and motherhood. I was a straight A, MBA number cruncher. I knew nothing about food and began reaching out to doctors, pediatricians and dietitians to learn.

There have been a lot of things that have surprised me along the way, but I think one of the most surprising things continues to be that some of the easiest solutions are right in front of us. Things like reducing exposure to pesticides, artificial dyes, GMOs, since we don’t know the long-term impact.

But one day, sitting in the pediatrician’s office, he asked, “Do you guys take magnesium?” We were there because one of the kids was dealing with a bullying situation at school, and the stress was high.

“No, why?” And he started listing the benefits and the fact that 80% of Americans could be deficient.

“How did this happen?” I asked, thinking about my 104 year old grandmother. He wasn’t sure, so I got digging into the research.

It turns out that current industrial agricultural methods take from the soil more than they give.

It turns out that current industrial agricultural methods take from the soil more than they give. Monoculture (growing the same crop year in and year out, which depletes the soil of nutrients), synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and aggressive tilling further deplete minerals and trace elements from the soil and leave it vulnerable to erosion. This means much of the produce that we eat today has fewer nutrients than before these methods were utilized. In other words, this new way of farming stripped our soil. The word is “chelation”. And chemicals like glyphosate strip away key things like copper, zinc and magnesium. No one knows this better than Dr. Don Huber, a professor emeritus and retired military colonel who bravely spoke out on this.

As I dug into the research, I learned that a carrot you eat today can have 10 to 25 percent fewer vitamins and minerals than a carrot did twenty-five years ago.

And magnesium is one of those minerals that has been depleted. And it’s an important one.

True to form, I thought, “If magnesium can truly do all of this, why isn’t everyone talking about this? And how have I never heard of it?”

Because unfortunately, not enough docs get enough nutrition and this training (launching the industry for registered dietitians).

And here’s what I learned.

Every day, hundreds of complex chemical reactions occur in your body—and helping to regulate more than 350 of them is the hardworking mineral Magnesium.

Most of us are woefully deficient in this powerhouse of a mineral. Some doctors estimate that 80% of Americans aren’t getting enough magnesium. According to the National Institute of Health, an adult body contains approximately 25 g magnesium, with 50% to 60% present in the bones and most of the rest in soft tissues.

According to Dr. Frank Lipman, “Every day, hundreds of complex chemical reactions occur in your body—and helping to regulate more than 350 of them is the hardworking mineral Magnesium. Keep magnesium levels high and you’ll help protect your body against heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, type-2 diabetes, migraines, insomnia and depression.”

Shoot! Who wouldn’t want that?

So where to find this magic mineral and which company makes one of the greatest?

Read on to Part 2.

organic agriculture

Research Shows Organic Agriculture Boosts Local Economies

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WASHINGTON (May 25, 2016) – The Organic Trade Association today released conclusive research that for the first time links economic health at the county level to organic agriculture, and shows that organic food and crop production—and the business activities accompanying organic agriculture–creates real and long-lasting regional economic opportunities.

The recently completed White Paper, titled “U.S. Organic Hotspots and their Benefit to Local Economies,” was prepared for the Organic Trade Association (OTA) by Penn State Agricultural Economist Dr. Edward Jaenicke. It finds organic hotspots–counties with high levels of organic agricultural activity whose neighboring counties also have high organic activity–boost median household incomes by an average of $2,000 and reduce poverty levels by an average of 1.3 percentage points.

Organic activity was found to have a greater beneficial economic effect than that of general agriculture activity, and even more of a positive impact than some major anti-poverty programs at the county level.

“We know that organic agriculture benefits our health and our environment,” said Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of OTA. “This significant research shows organic can also benefit our livelihoods and help secure our financial future.”

“Organic agriculture can be used as an effective economic development tool, especially in our rural areas,” said Batcha. “The findings of this research show organic certifiers and the transfer of knowledge and information play a critical role in developing organic. And it provides policymakers with an economic and sound reason to support organic agriculture and to create more economy-stimulating organic hotspots throughout the country.”

Organic is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. food industry. Organic food sales in 2015 jumped by 11 percent to almost $40 billion, far outstripping the 3 percent growth rate for the overall food market. Organic crops command a significant price premium over conventionally grown crops. As a result, interest in organic at the production level has grown as the demand for organic has risen. More farmers are transitioning to organic production, more organic businesses are sprouting.

But what does all this interest in organic and organic activity mean for local economies?

“This research systematically investigates the economic impacts of organic agriculture,” noted Jaenicke. “Its important findings show that organic contributes to the economic health of local economies. The growing market interest in organic agriculture can be leveraged into effective policy for economic development.”

Compelling findings with significant implications

The White Paper summarizes and discusses three research papers that investigate organic agriculture hotspots in the U.S. and systematically assesses the impact of organic agriculture on local economies. It identifies 225 counties across the United States as organic hotspots, then looks at how these organic hotspots impact two key county-level economic indicators: the county poverty rate and median household income.

Organic hotspots are as diversified as the organic industry, and represent the various kinds of organic agricultural activity and accompanying businesses: crop production, livestock production, organic processors. Organic hotspots are found throughout the country, but specific examples of organic hotspots include Monterey County in California, Huron County in Michigan, Clayton County in Iowa, and Carroll County in Maryland.

The White Paper also identifies what factors create organic hotspots, how the effect of organic agricultural hotspots compare with those of general agriculture (combined organic and conventional agriculture), and finally recommends specific policies to foster more organic economic hotspots throughout the nation.

The findings are compelling and conclusive. Specifically, the research finds that:

  • Counties within organic hotspots have lower poverty rates and higher median annual household incomes. On average, county poverty rates drop by 1.3 percentage points, and median income rises by over $2,000 in organic hotspots. The same beneficial results are not found for general agricultural hotspots. Also, organic hotspots were found to have a positive impact at the county level that is comparable to such major anti-poverty programs as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program and even greater than the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
  • Outreach and knowledge transfer are critical in creating organic hotspots. The prevalence of outreach services by organic certifiers is found to play one of the strongest roles in organic hotspot formation. Also, whether a certifier is government-sponsored, by a state department of agriculture for example, is another key factor in enabling organic hotspots.
  • Organic agriculture can be used as an economic development tool. Policymakers at all levels—local, state and national—have a proven economic reason to support organic agriculture and to create more economy-stimulating organic hotspots.

The research contained five policy recommendations as a result of the findings:

  • Promote organic agriculture at the federal, state and local level.
  • Focus on rural development, organic transition, capital structures and barriers to investment.
  • Expand outreach efforts and facilitate network effects.
  • Target specific geographic areas for development.
  • Build broader coalitions to help promote organic agriculture.

The U.S. Organic Hotspots and their Benefit to Local Economies White Paper is available for download, along with an interactive map that identifies hotspots across the country, at www.ota.com/hotspots.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 8,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers’ associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA’s Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA’s mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace.

Food waste

How to Feed the World: Four Ways to Reduce Food Waste

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In the U.S., we waste and toss out almost 40% of our food, racking up $165 billion in losses each year.

Right now, chemical and biotech companies like Monsanto are busy manufacturing demand for their genetically engineered products by claiming that we need their products and their portfolio of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers to feed the world. It’s a strong marketing strategy, but it omits a glaring truth.

According to Business Week, “the issue isn’t so much that we can’t grow enough. Rather, existing food supplies are so poorly distributed that those hundreds of millions have too little for their own health, while 2 billion-plus have too much.” On top of that, a third of food is wasted worldwide, spoiled and thrown out before it even reaches consumers.

We are wasting enough food every day here in America to feed the hungry. And while much focus has been on the obesity epidemic, it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the fact that with advertisements and food access available 24/7, we’ve got more food than we know what to do with.

According to both the USDA and United Nations, 30-40% of food is wasted. MSNBC just reported that “Food Waste is a Massive Problem.”

Nearly one-third of the fruit, vegetables, grains, meat, and packaged foods produced across the globe gets tossed out every year.

Americans throw away an average of 20 pounds of food each month—costing them each between $28 and $43.

Americans throw away 96 billion pounds of food every year, or 27 percent of the total amount of available food. That’s 3,000 pounds of food a second.

But what if we were to figure out a better business model, designed to deliver all of the food we need without wasting over a quarter of it? What if our taxpayer dollars were used to build a distribution model to get this food to people who need it, like the 1 in 4 American children at-risk for hunger, rather than on farm subsidies which are arguably contributing to this mounting waste?

We have an opportunity to actually build a better food system, one that creates less waste and more nutrient-dense foods. Wouldn’t that be in the best interest in the health of our families, our corporations, our economy and our country?

Supermarket Guru, Phil Lempert covers four good ways to reduce food waste. Take a look, and please share. Together, we can build a smarter food system.

 

Photo by USDAgov

Kashi initiative

Kashi Launches a Game-Changing Initiative to Convert U.S. Farms to Organic

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kashi story graphicI have to be honest. When I talk about the acquisitions happening in the food industry, deals like General Mills acquiring Annie’s for about $800 million and Hormel acquiring Applegate for almost the same number, I cite an example of what not to do with an acquisition: what happened when Kellogg’s acquired Kashi.

Kellogg’s changed the brand. They changed the ingredients. They lost consumers.

No one wants to get Kashi’d.

It had been one of my favorite cereals prior to the acquisition, so like other consumers, there was some sentiment in it.

So when the Kashi team reached out and said they had something exciting to share, I responded. “Sounds great. Should we set up a call?”

“We’ve been following your work for years,” they said. “And last year, when you were making the point in your speeches and articles that less than 1% of all U.S. farmland is organic, how crazy that is, the bottleneck it creates, especially when the organic industry is growing at 14%, we knew we had to reach out. You said it makes it hard for food companies who want to grow that part of their portfolio.”

It does, I thought. The cost-benefit analysis is tough. The supply chain is too tight, driving prices too high.

And I listened to the women inside of Kashi, managing their supply chain and their organic initiatives, talk about a new program they wanted to launch.  And again, I thought about how courage is contagious and about the importance of the work being done by parents inside of these companies who see what is happening to the health of our families and know it is real.

The Kashi team went on, “We are launching an initiative focused on expanding that 1%.”

I honestly could not be more thrilled with the companies doing this, I thought. Organic Valley, the first $1 billion organic brand, is doing it. General Mils is doing it. Costco’s CEO just told his shareholders and investors that the team is now working directly with farmers to help them finance the transition.

Kroger launched their Simple Truth organic and free-from product line in 2012, and it grew to $1 billion in revenue in a two year period.

Since 2003, Clif Bar has used some 637 million pounds of organic ingredients. After achieving an initial target of 70 percent organic ingredients, the company today uses 120 organic ingredients in 16 out of its 18 total product lines.

Why? Because 21st century consumers are looking for it everywhere—in Wal Mart, Sams, Costco, Safeway and Kroger.

And because the government isn’t focused on changing their operating system which is genetically engineered and chemically intensive. At the federal level, our taxpayer dollars support agchem’s chemically intensive operating system of GMOs, Roundup Ready crop and the Roundup, pesticides, weedkillers. Organic farmers in the U.S. are charged fees to label their crops, then fees to prove they are safe.

So the change is happening in the marketplace.

But if we had a choice with how our dollars are being spent, which would we choose? To make the chemically intensive operating system cheaper or would we choose to make organic the more affordable option to all?

At the government level, we don’t have that choice, but we do in the marketplace, and Kellogg’s is now joining corporations changing the game.

When I asked the Kashi team if the government was moving on this, they said, “This isn’t on the Government radar—yet. (No surprise, I thought. The FDA head is Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto employee, and the USDA head is Tom Vilsack, voted biotech governor of the year.)

Kashi’s team went on, “The Organic Trade Association has a task force and is planning to take it to the USDA later this year . We have looked at their approach and we have shared our protocol with them as part of the consultation process. Both are similar so we are confident we can get to a unifying certification in the future. We deliberately partnered QAI (Quality Assurance International—QAI is a USDA-accredited certifying agency (ACA), approved to provide organic certification in accordance with the USDA’s National Organic Program) to develop the standard because they are the USDA leading organic certification body so we knew we would follow the NOP guidelines.

I so appreciate the OTA’s leadership, so I asked how the two may be different, and the Kashi team shared, “The only difference we see with the OTA protocol and ours is that theirs is focused at the farm level whereas ours goes all the way through the supply chain to consumers. We think consumers have an active role in changing the 1% stat.”

As of 2014, there were 14,093 certified and exempt organic farms in the United States, with annual sales totaling $5.5 billion—a 72 percent increase since 2008, according to USDA data.

Consumers have a huge role in that stat. We have driven the growth of organic to 14% and pushed companies like Costco, Wal Mart, General Mills, Annie’s, Stonyfield, Nature’s Path and so many more to invest in organic farmland.

Why? Because 78% of all Americans are already purchasing at least some organic food, and Kashi is now calling on that consumer power and inviting other companies and brands to help build the supply chain that we need here in America to support it.

It takes three years to convert farmland from the current genetically engineered, chemically intensive operating system to organic. Kashi wants to play a leading role in that, to help U.S. farmers convert their farmland. They are building a marketplace for those products.

So take a look at what Kashi has proposed. Share your thoughts.

If we are going to change the food system, we need to rethink food and the economics of the supply chain.

 

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Don’t Let the Senate Block USDA Strong Organic Animal Welfare Standards

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USDA recently published regulations that provide better living conditions, including more access to the outdoors, for animals raised for organic meat and poultry, and for organic egg production. The regulations stand to improve the lives of millions of animals AND uphold the integrity of the USDA organic label.

Amazing news, right? Not so fast. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee may consider an unacceptable policy rider that would block USDA from putting the new organic animal welfare regulations into effect.

As consumers who believe in the organic label and who care about the welfare of all animals, we need your help putting a stop to this appalling attempt to stonewall the USDA.

Help us ensure that the Senate Appropriations Committee DOES NOT block USDA in carrying out the new organic animal welfare regulations by calling them today.

 

organic food

What Does “Organic” Really Mean? How to Read Food Labels

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When I first heard the term “organic” several years ago, I dismissed it. It connoted a “status” and conjured up two different images: lifestyles of the rich and famous or perhaps some alternative, hippie thing.

I was wrong.

Recently, we shared a video out of Sweden that went viral. It highlighted what happened to a family of five when they were taken off of conventional food and put on an “only organic” diet for two weeks. I used to think of the word “organic” as a loaded word. It is. And it should be affordable to anyone who wants it. When this family went organic for only two weeks, the level of tested pesticides in their bodies dropped off to almost nothing. It opened up a dialogue and prompted calls for science: What about other pesticides? Why did some have higher levels? Is dehydration a factor? What is the long term impact?

The term “organic” actually refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed and legally details the permitted use (or not) of certain ingredients in these foods.

The details are that the U.S. Congress adopted the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 as part of the 1990 Farm Bill which was then followed with the National Organic Program final rule published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The standards include a national list of approved synthetic and prohibited non-synthetic substances for organic production which means that organically produced foods also must be produced without the use of:

  • antibiotics
  • artificial growth hormones
  • high fructose corn syrup
  • artificial dyes (made from coal tar and petrochemicals)
  • artificial sweeteners derived from chemicals
  • synthetically created chemical pesticide and fertilizers
  • genetically engineered proteins and ingredients
  • sewage sludge
  • irradiation

Wow, who knew that conventional, non-organic food could contain these ingredients? Not many of us, since sewage sludge and artificial growth hormones aren’t on the label.

What about cloning animals or those genetically engineered salmon, hard-wired to double their weight? Those would be considered inconsistent with organic practices, too, because of the laboratory intervention required.

In other words, what we call “organic food,” our grandmothers would have simply called “food.” Because a lot of these new ingredients didn’t exist when we were younger, having only been created in laboratories, patented and then introduced into our foods in the last few decades.

Look for the Seal

Products labeled “100% Organic” and carrying the “USDA Organic” seal adhere to a strict legal standard: national organic standards require that organic growers and handlers be certified by third-party state or private agencies or other organizations that are accredited by USDA. Anyone who knowingly sells or mislabels as organic a product that was not produced and handled in accordance with the regulations can be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.

Why Organics Cost More

Admittedly, the high price of organic food can irritate anyone. But the scrutiny that these foods undergo is enormous and expensive, driving prices at the cash register and for those producing them on the farm. Why the costs? Because the cost structure on our food supply offers taxpayer-funded resources called subsidies to the farmers using genetically engineered seeds and saturating crops in insecticides and weed killers, while charging the organic farmers fees to prove that their crops are safe.That’s like getting fined to wear your seat belt.In other words, it’s an un-level playing field right now. And if we were all sitting down as a national family at our national dinner table, I don’t think that any of us would want to be using our resources this way. Wouldn’t we rather have the organic food be the one that we fund, making it cheaper, more affordable and more accessible to all Americans? But right now, it’s not. So should you choose to opt out of our conventional, chemically-intensive food production system and try something organic, you’ll be joining a growing segment of the population and are not alone.

Where to Start?

Because the U.S. lags behind other developed countries when it comes to food safety, understanding label claims can often be a challenge for even the savviest shopper!The term “organic” refers to foods grown and processed without chemical toxins, artificial ingredients, chemical preservatives or ionizing radiation. The guidelines for organic foods were established on October 21, 2002 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To use these terms, producers must pay additional fees and follow strict guidelines and regulations:

  • 100 percent Organic — All ingredients are organic.
  • Organic — 95 percent or more of the total ingredients are organic.
  • Made with Organic Ingredients — At least 70 percent of the ingredients are organic.

For the savviest of label readers, the following are the legal guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for organics:

Organic Fruits and Vegetables: Must be grown without the use of:• Synthetically created chemical pesticides• Synthetically created chemical fertilizers• Sewage sludge• Genetic engineering which appears to introduce novel proteins, allergens, viruses and toxins into crops.• Irradiation.

Organic Beef and Chicken: Fed only 100 percent organic feed, are not the offspring of cloned animals and have never been administered growth hormones or antibiotics. In addition, their meat must never be irradiated.• Natural (or All Natural) meat or poultry products contain no artificial ingredients and are minimally processed. They are not necessarily organic.

  • “No hormones administered” or “no antibiotics added” is sometimes seen on labels, but it can only appear if the producer can document the absence of hormone or antibiotic administration.
  • Free-range or free-roaming poultry have access to the outdoors without a minimum time. They are not necessarily organic.
  • Cage-free poultry means nothing as most chickens are kept indoors (but cage-free) if they are grown for meat.

Organic Milk: Comes from animals that were fed 100 percent organic feed and were not given antibiotics, prophylactic drugs or genetically engineered and synthetically created growth hormones (such as rBGH) for at least the last year.rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) is a genetically engineered, synthetic chemical protein hormone vaccinated into cows to artificially boost their milk production. Like aspartame, rBGH has been banned in Europe because of the breast cancer risk that it may present.

Organic Eggs: Produced by hens that are fed 100 percent organic feed and have never been given growth hormones or antibiotics.

  • Cage-free eggs are produced by hens that are not confined in cages. The hens might not have access to the outdoors, though, and are not necessarily organic.

Organic Seafood: The USDA currently has no guidelines set for seafood; however, un-organic fish is often caged underwater and treated with pesticides to prevent the spread of disease.

Organic Bread: Cereal and grain crops are regularly sprayed with pesticides that collect in the grain’s outer layers, raising concerns about chemical residues in un-organic bread, cakes and cookies.

Other Terms: The following terms are often found on packaged products and can be confusing to consumers:

  • Natural is often a misnomer. There are no true guidelines for this term when used on a packaged product, although it is used frequently and often assumed to mean organic or healthier.
  • Gourmet is another misleading term that leads consumers to believe that they are purchasing a product that is made finer ingredients, when in reality it has no established guidelines or regulations.

And when it comes to protecting the health of your family, “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman

Source: The Organic Trade Association (OTA) and Organic Trade Association Manufacturer Survey

 

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An Interview with Rick Friday, the Cartoonist Fired by Farm News

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I hadn’t heard of Rick Friday until he was fired by Farm News, despite the fact that Rick had been drawing his cartoons for the paper for 21 years. Most people probably hadn’t.

He knows his stuff. Rick is from a family of farmers in Iowa and shared stories of farm life…until a few weeks ago, when he drew a picture that compared the complete imbalance of income—between of the CEOs of Monsanto, Dupont and Deere and 2,219 Iowa farmers.

It was an honest depiction of what has happened to farming in America.

The corporations paying the big ad dollars over at Farm News didn’t like it, and the action was swift. After 21 years, Rick was fired.

fullfridayWhen we shared the story on the site, it was breaking in other places, too, and his cartoons suddenly went viral. He was speaking truth to power, sharing the concerns of farmers not only in Iowa, but also around the world. His story was picked up by the New York Times and news outlets in the Netherlands.

The truth is so obvious.

Afterwards, I reached out to Rick, thanking him for his courage, and as I began to learn more about this man, I felt that others should hear his story, so I asked if we could share a bit more about him here.

Rick Friday is not only a hero to farmers around the country, but increasingly a hero to American families, too.

In his own words, “I am a fifth generation farmer, fourth generation on this century farm. It stops with me. My children have no interest, and why should they it is a hard life driven by a passion you can’t escape.

I was in big corporate management for half my life and when dad’s diagnosis of COPD handed him only 5 more years to live, I tossed the dress pants and pulled on a pair of bib overalls and had four of the best years of our lives together. He said to me after I told him I had an opportunity to be part of the corporation’s executive staff, “Sometimes you don’t get the biggest bang with a buck.” He was right and I would not give up those years for anything.”

When he shared this, I thought about how many people I’ve met who are not following in their father’s footsteps. Farming is stopping and not entering the sixth generation. We have countless 5th generation farmers, but very few are signing on to be the 6th.

So what has changed so dramatically in the last generation to drive out so many farmers?

The business model.

Twenty years ago, companies like Monsanto introduced genetically engineered seeds onto our farms. It changed farming, not only because of the increased applications of products like Roundup on Roundup Ready corn and seed, but it obligated farmers into paying licensing, trait and royalty fees. It created a new revenue stream for the corporations at the expense of the farmers.

Farmers, after five generations, could no longer save seeds. They had to purchase them with every new planting season. With the introduction of these genetically engineered seeds, farmers were locked into a business model their grandfathers hadn’t known. Monsanto and companies like it became the middle man and locked themselves into a revenue stream.

I asked Rick if he was concerned about it.

“There are people starving now,” he said. “Wait until 1% of the population controls the production of food for profits. I am worried.” It is why he is speaking out about these multinational corporations and the control they have over our food.

He is not the only one. Farmers are joining him, entire countries are joining him.

As a fifth generation farmer, Rick and his wife Juanita who he calls “The Great Juan” have raised five kids, two construction foremen, one realtor, one special needs teacher and one lawyer. They have nine grand kids that they call “The Sippy Cup Gang” (just love that) and one on the production line who will be with them in the fall.

In other words, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone as knowledgeable about the farm economy as Rick Friday.

Perhaps that is why he was fired after 21 years working for Farm News. He’s been there since this genetically engineered operating system was first introduced twenty years ago. He’s seen its impact on farmers.

The silver lining is that the very thing that Monsanto and the other companies were trying to create—the silencing of Rick Friday’s voice—resulted in a much larger audience for his work. Millions more saw his cartoons, farmers around the country and the world began speaking out.

So what is Rick doing now?

“I write an article each week for a paper, mostly about being married, living on the farm and all the stuff I do.”

Keep doing your stuff, Rick Friday. Your courage is contagious, because you are an American hero.

qr code gmo labeling

Monsanto Pushes Their “Support” for GMO Labeling

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The Senate is dealing with the issue of GMO labeling again, with Monsanto pushing their “support” for GMO labeling with QR “smart codes” instead of plain English on the package.

Monsanto’s version of “support” would require every consumer to use a smart phone, an app and to scan every product that they are considering for purchase in order to learn whether or not the product contains genetically engineered ingredients. It’s bogus, as American food companies are already labeling genetically engineered ingredients on their packages overseas and beginning to do the same on their packages, in plain English, here in the United States (finally!).

The Monsanto bill is just more of the same: an attempt to cover up and hide their products from consumers who are demanding to know what is really in our foods. Watch the video then call your Senator at 1-877-796-1949 to say you OPPOSE these new efforts by Monsanto to limit our right to know what’s in our food.

epa building

US House Committee Launches Investigation into EPA Glyphosate Review

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The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology has launched an investigation into the ‘mistaken’ release of a draft report by the U.S. EPA on the World’s most used herbicide, glyphosate.

The EPA ‘mistakenly’ published a draft report online on April 29 by the Cancer Assessment Review Committee (CARC). The report stated that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans’, which is in direct contradiction to the World Health Organization cancer agency IARC’s much more comprehensive report, which stated in 2015 that glyphosate is a ”probable human carcinogen”.

An EPA assessment on the herbicide atrazine was also posted on the agency’s website on April 29 but subsequently taken down. The documents are available here. The assessment said atrazine was found to cause reproductive harm to birds and mammals.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on Wednesday, committee chairman Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, announced his committee is launching an investigation into the matter.

“…EPA’s removal of this report and the subsequent backtracking on its finality raises questions about the agency’s motivation in providing a fair assessment of glyphosate — an assessment based on the scientific analysis conducted by CARC,” Smith said in the letter.

“Furthermore, EPA’s apparent mishandling of this report may shed light on larger systemic problems occurring at the agency.”

Smith has asked EPA to provide “documents and communications” from January 1, 2015, to the present between agency personnel on the glyphosate assessment to the committee by May 18.

Read the rest of this article at Sustainable Pulse.

kids food allergies

Facts About Kids and Food Allergies​

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Ten years ago this week, I launched AllergyKids. Our goal was to provide free information about this condition to families that were dealing with it. Little did we know what this work would become or how quickly this condition would escalate.

Today, the numbers are jaw-dropping, and this condition is changing the food industry. Families around the country are reading labels like never before, and with that comes a food awakening and a demand to #dumpthejunk.

Food allergy is an immune disease that causes the body to have an allergic reaction to food. This allergic reaction can manifest as a range of symptoms. These symptoms can include hives and itching or more systemic symptoms (anaphylaxis) including difficulty breathing, low blood pressure and ultimately, death. A recent study shows this disease has increased by about 50% in children over the past 20 years and continues to increase. There are now at least 6 million children in the U.S. with food allergy and about 9 million adults.  A life threatening allergic reaction sends someone to the emergency room once every three minutes.

These individuals are most likely to be allergic to one or more of the top eight most common food allergens, which include cow’s milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanut, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. But we are quickly learning about an increasing number of Americans who are allergic to corn, beef, chicken and even things like lettuce.

Many of us know someone who has a life-threatening food allergy so it is important for us to learn more about what foods are most likely to cause reactions and what symptoms to look for when reactions happen. It is also helpful to know how to keep those with food allergy safe. When severe reactions do happen, it is important to give injectable epinephrine immediately and to call for emergency medical help.

The infographic below explains what you need to know about protecting kids with food allergies. You can also visit the Bunning Food Allergy Institute to learn about how we care for kids with food allergies.

food allergies

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