USDA Farm Data Release

The USDA is today peeling back another layer of the subsidy onion...read about it here and read what even conventional farmers are saying about subsidies here. Also, click here to learn more about the Environmental Working Group, whose research is helping to educate the public and change policy.

NATION'S LARGEST DAIRIES TRYING TO AVOID MONSANTO'S BOVINE GROWTH HORMONE

The largest retailers and distributors of milk and dairy products in the U.S. are considering eliminating rBGH from their products. According to the trade journal Dairy Food and Market Analyst, Wal-Mart and Dean Foods have begun pressing suppliers for a larger supply of milk produced without rBGH, in response to increasing consumer demand. The synthetic hormone rBGH is a genetically engineered drug designed to make dairy cows produce more milk. The controversial hormone has been banned in Europe and Canada due to its links to increased risks for cancer and antibiotic resistance. Despite these bans, 18% of U.S. dairy cows, especially those on factory-style farms, continue to be injected with the drug. Over the past few years, millions of consumers have switched to milk and dairy products from organic farms, which ban the use of rBGH and antibiotics. Starbucks, by the way, is still serving up coffee drinks across the country that are laced with rBGH--another good reason to patronize local independently owned coffee shops that offer organic and Fair Trade alternatives.

More information on LA South Central Farm

L.A. POLICE INVADE NATION'S LARGEST COMMUNITY GARDEN
Armed police stormed a community garden in South Central Los Angeles this week, arresting 25 people including actress Daryl Hannah. The 14 acre plot of land, tended by over 350 neighborhood fruit and vegetable farmers for a decade, is the largest urban community garden in the country, and a symbol of hope for the embattled South Central neighborhood. Although the highly successful garden provides affordable, mostly organic food for low-income residents in this economically depressed area, a ten-year ownership dispute over the land has led to a dramatic standoff between neighborhood residents and the powerful real estate lobby of Los Angeles. Despite massive public opposition, multi-millionaire real estate developer Ralph Horowitz obtained a court order to pave over the community garden and replace it with an industrial warehouse. After back-tracking on a proposal to sell the 14 acre plot to neighborhood residents for $16 million, Horowitz called in the police and bulldozers to clear the property of inhabitants. Neighborhood farmers and residents, along with the L.A. organic community, have vowed to keep up the struggle and save the community garden.

USDA to approve GE plums!! Open to public comments NOW

TAKE ACTION: USDA CLOSE TO APPROVING GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PLUMS
The United Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting public comments regarding the commercial approval of a genetically engineered plum, known as "C5." The approval of C5 would be the first widely released genetically engineered (GE) tree in the United States. Approval of C5 will also pave the way for more GE tree and fruit varieties, including peaches, cherries, and apricots. GE tree pollen can drift for several miles, leading to contamination of neighboring organic crops and indigenous trees. The USDA is currently accepting public comments on this issue.

Food For Thought...

A few articles here:
Can Organic Farming Feed Us All? An interview with Worldwatch Institute Senior Researcher Brian Halweil.
Can Organic Farming "Feed the World"? A paper by Christos Vasilikiotis, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.
And last but not least, PARADISE SOLD: What are you buying when you buy organic? by Steven Shapin, which appeared in the May 15th edition of the New Yorker.

Conference in Oct. (in AZ): Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable World

AASHE 2006: The Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable World
October 4-6 (Wed-Fri), Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

www.aashe.org/conference

About the Conference

The theme of this North American conference is The Role of Higher Education
in Creating a Sustainable World. AASHE 2006 aims to significantly advance
sustainability efforts in higher education. There will be a special focus on
incorporating all dimensions of sustainability - not just the environment- in decision-making.

The conference is open to participants from every sector of higher education
as well as interested businesses and NGO. Anticipated attendees include
administrators, faculty, students, sustainability practitioners, facilities
officers, operations staff, consultants, vendors, higher education leaders,
government representatives, and many others. The program format will promote
the active exchange of ideas and knowledge through highly interactive
forums, informal networking, and open, facilitated discussion.

Come join this unique and exciting gathering of the higher education
sustainability community. For more information visit
www.aashe.org/conference.

Keynote Speakers
* Ray Anderson
- chairman and founder of Interface, Inc.

* Hunter Lovins
- president and founder of Natural Capitalism, Inc., and co-founder of
the Rocky Mountain Institute.

* Bill McKibben
- author and
scholar whose books include The End of Nature and Hope, Human and Wild.

* Beverly Wright
- founder of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.

Happy Vibes & Good Tunes!!

If anyone's looking for music this Sunday night,
my friend Paige is playing up in Felton:
Sunday, June 11 • 7pm
Don Quixote's
6275 Highway 9
Felton, CA
You can listen to audio samples on her myspace page.