Tuesday, May 18, 2010

New Computer! Help!!

All the updated programs ARGG!! Everything is taking me 10 times longer!! This will be brief, but soon it will be beautiful! When I figure this stuff out!!!
Alert of the Week: Safeguard Organic Standards!
The National Organic Standards Board...
... Votes for Factory-Farmed "Organic" Poultry
As we reported in the last issue of Organic Bytes, the USDA National Organic Program is only loosely enforcing animal welfare rules that require organic poultry farms to allow their birds to have access to the outdoors and "exhibit their natural behaviors." This has resulted in a wide range of farms being certified organic; everything from lush green pastures where hens roam free, scratching in the compost and nibbling greens, to giant sheds with tens of thousands of grain-fed birds that never see the light of day.
At its April 2010 meeting, the National Organic Standards Board had an opportunity to reform organic chicken and egg production by outlawing a synthetic feed supplement called methionine that confinement poultry producers have used as a crutch to help them scale up and keep costs down.

Unfortunately, despite thousands of letters from organic consumers who understand the nutritional and environmental benefits of pasture-based organic systems and are concerned about animal welfare and synthetics in organic, the NOSB voted to keep methionine on the list of allowed synthetics.
Tell the USDA: Stop Factory-Farmed "Organic" Poultry! http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=13184481
Enjoy!
Marnie