Watchout for fake organic cosmetics

As published over at Organic Consumers Association

"The Worst Fake "Organic" Cosmetic Brands Revealed: OCA Spreadsheet Summarizes "Organic Cheater Brand" Personal Care Product Hazard

The OCA has prepared a spreadsheet summarizing "Organic Cheater brand" products and their Hazard Rankings according to the Environmental Working Group's "Skin Deep" Cosmetic Safety Database. The tabs at the top of the spreadsheet list various brands horizontally: click each tab to view that brand's product scores from the Skin Deep" database. By far the majority of fake organic products score in the "Moderate Hazard" category. Conversely, Dr. Bronner's Skin Deep product scores show that the vast majority of true NOP certified organic personal care score in the safest "Low Hazard" category. A couple of brands, Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic" and Nature's Gate "Organics", even had some of their fake organic products score in the unsafest "High Hazard" category.

Perhaps even more disturbing, two of the "organic cheater" brands who are the subject of OCA's Complaint to USDA NOP, have reneged on their signed promise to provide product and ingredient information to Skin Deep so that their products' safety can be assessed. Those brands are Eminence "Organic" Skin Care and Head "Organics". Another two brands, while they have not reneged on any promises, have also decided to not submit product and ingredient information to Skin Deep: Ilike "Organic" Skin Care and Surya Sapien "Organic". As noted in the Complaint, all these brands utilize surfactants made in part or entirely from petrochemicals as primary cleansing ingredients, which contain no organic agricultural material whatsoever. Eminence in particular deceptively claims that Alpha Olefin Sulfonate, the primary cleanser in its "Organic Stone Crop Bodywash", is from a "plant source," when in fact this cleanser is commercially available only in pure petrochemical form.

Both Nature's Gate and Eminence do produce a few true USDA NOP certified organic products under their respective brands. However, the vast majority of their product lines are not certified under the USDA's National Organic Program, because their main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients are generally based on conventional or petrochemical, rather than organic agricultural, material. As a general rule when shopping for organic personal care, check for the USDA seal to be sure you're buying true organic personal care rather than fake organic products.

View The Spreadsheet"

"Why We Should All Eat More Organic Food" from OCA

From the good folks over at Organic Consumers Association;
"www.whatsorganicmovie.org The organic label has swept into supermarket shelves over the last decade, but what does it mean? Through the stories of five farmers who steward land from Harlem to the foothills of the Rockies, from upstate New York to Florida, WHAT'S "ORGANIC" ABOUT ORGANIC? offers the audience a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in creating a more sustainable food system. The film is a headfirst dive into the challenges that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market."



"Organic Food is More Nutritious

• Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.
• On average, organic is 25% more nutritious in terms of
  vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food's shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production.
• Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.
• Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil. UK and US government statistics indicate that levels of trace minerals in (non-organic) fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991....
• 
  
• Organic Food Is Safer
• 
  
• Organic food doesn't contain pesticides. More than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues remain on non-organic food even after washing. Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposure. One class of pesticides, endocrine disruptors, may be responsible for early puberty and breast cancer. Pesticides are linked to asthma and cancer.
• Organic food isn't genetically modified. Under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are prohibited.
• Organic animals aren't given drugs. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Hormone-laced beef and dairy consumption is correlated with increased rates of breast, testis and prostate cancers.
• Organic animals aren't fed slaughterhouse waste, blood, or manure. Eating organic reduces the risks of CJD, the human version of mad cow disease, as well as Alzheimer's.
• Organic animals aren't fed arsenic.
• Organic animals aren't fed byproducts of corn ethanol production (which increases the rate of E. coli contamination).
• Organic crops aren't fertilized with toxic sewage sludge or coal waste, or irrigated with E. coli contaminated sewage water.
• Organic food isn't irradiated. Cats fed a diet of irradiated food got multiple sclerosis within 3-4 months.
• Organic food contains less illness-inducing bacteria. Organic chicken is free of salmonella and has a reduced incidence of campylobacter."

Video - Grocery Store Wars

Starting the day with a smile.

Bermuda garden #1

This is the first garden, organic of course, I helped establish in Bermuda. On the right, behind the bench is the first bed, it was already full of soil and ornamentals. We planted lemon balm, parsley, bell peppers, marigolds, mesclun mix, jalapenos, kale, and red lettuce and are still harvesting from it.

The bed farthest from the camera was next. Built from recycled Bermuda limestone, we lined it with cardboard and imported lots of compost from the local horticultural waste dump site. We planted romaine lettuce, swiss chard, arugula, marigolds, mesclun mix and onions. We are still harvesting the lettuce, mesclun and swiss chard but the onions didn't do so good. I think we should have sourced some soil to mix with the compost.

The third bed, built in the same manner got some composted horse manure added to some sections. The onions appear to be doing better here. We've also planted eggplant, cayenne pepper, bell pepper, musk melon and tomatoe. It's a bit early to tell but it seems to be doing OK.

In the distance on the left is the solar hot water heater. We've also planted up some wooden wine boxes with basil and parsley, partially shaded, which have continued to produce. A large pot has yielded kale and chives. 4 garlic bulbs mysteriously disappeared thought they were doing well. Elswhere in the yard are 5 banana plants, some lemon grass, a few more tomatoes and the composting and leaf mould bins built earlier on and covered in an previous post.

I reckon this garden has produced 3 to 5 large salads per week since we started harvesting in May. I've especially enjoyed adding the jalapenos to anything and everything.

Here are some basic gardening tips I found posted over on Climate Progress. You can read more details about them there.

"Plant only what you can maintain. Overplanting will give you a headache and squander water, money, and other resources.

Compost your waste. Composting prevents yard trimmings, food scraps, and other household waste from entering landfills and reduces the need for watering by improving your soil’s water retention.

Ditch the pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Pesticides and fertilizers can pollute ground water and turn your fruits and vegetables toxic.

Water smarter. Water in the mornings or at night and not during the day because the afternoon’s intense sunlight will cause water to evaporate.

Avoid annuals. Most annual flowers, such as petunias or impatiens, have shallower root systems than perennials. Deep root systems allow plants to tap into water deep within the soil and survive with infrequent watering after they are established.

Stick with native and indigenous plants. Exotic plants typically need more water than native varieties.

Start an herb garden. Planting herbs can be the most economical decision you make with your garden, and they can save you trips to the grocery store. "