www.msnbc.msn.com
MONTPELIER, Vt. - The 1,500 cows at Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport are producing more than just milk. They’re generating electricity.

The methane gas from their manure is being used to produce electricity for Vermont’s largest utility.

"This is the first time anywhere in the country that a farm-based generation has been offered to customers as a renewable choice," Central Vermont Public Service Corp. spokesman Steve Costello said Friday.

Other farms have generated electricity for their own use, he said.

2/11/2005

ACTION ALERT--TERMINATE THE TERMINATOR
Consumer, farmer, and environmental organizations across the globe are
mobilizing to stop the legalization and commercialization of the
controversial Terminator Gene Technology, whereby seeds are genetically
engineered to become sterile or commit suicide after one growing
season. The
Monsanto corporation and the biotech industry support the Terminator
Technology, because it will force many of the 1.4 billion farmers
around the
world to stop saving their seeds and instead to purchase patented seed
varieties from the Gene Giants. In addition, scientists are concerned
that
genetic pollution from Terminator crops will lead to killing off a wide
range of crops and plants, as Terminator pollen and seeds are spread by
the
wind, insect pollinators, and commercial seed co-mingling and
transportation. After a massive international campaign in 1998,
Monsanto
Corporation announced they were shelving plans to commercialize the
Terminator, while the United Nations (UN) called for a global ban. But
today
(2/11/2005), renewed efforts to overturn the worldwide ban were
launched at
a UN conference in Bangkok.

Learn more and sign OCA's petition to the UN to terminate the
Terminator
Gene: http://organicconsumers.org/un.htm

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CATHOLIC LEADERS CLARIFY VATICAN'S STANCE ON GENETIC ENGINEERING
Catholic leaders around the world are standing up against the biotech
industry's claim that the Vatican endorses genetically engineered (GE)
crops. Biotech proponents have enjoyed a major public relations boost
by
trumpeting a portion of a report released by the Vatican last year. In
one
part, the report stated that it is the Catholic Church's stance that
God
gave humans the right to manipulate and control the natural environment
on
any level, including genetic engineering. The biotech industry has
failed to
mention that the report also states that GE crops should not be spread
unless they are conclusively proven to be safe for human health and the
environment. The Vatican report elaborates on that point, indicating
that
the Catholic Church does not believe adequate testing of GE crops has
been
done, saying, "available scientific data are contradictory or
quantitatively
scarce. It may then be appropriate to base evaluations on the
precautionary
principle." Learn more...
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SHARING GOD'S PLANET
The Church of England is seriously discussing making major changes in
its
practices, in order to exercise the type of stewardship towards the
earth
that they believe is commanded by God in the Bible. The changes include
serving fair trade coffee, providing organic bread and wine, increasing
recycling, using natural fibers in clergy robes, and pressuring the UK
government to take a stronger stance on global climate change.
Archbishops
will meet in late February to discuss these changes as well as a new
report
by the Church of England entitled "Sharing God's Planet," in which
Christians are urged to take much more active roles in protecting the
environment, in order to "celebrate and care for God's creation." Learn
more...
__________________________________
MAD COW TIDBITS
The British government is investigating a report that cosmetic plastic
surgery injections for fuller cheekbones and plumper lips with infected
collagen could spread the human form of mad cow disease, called
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Due to increasing demand for such
procedures, a number of rogue clinics have opened that are not adhering
to
the stringent guidelines dictating that collagen "fillers" should be
sourced
only from tissues guaranteed to be free from Mad Cow. UK Tests have
already
found illegal and potentially contaminated collagen in widespread use,
derived from dead cows, birds, and human tissue. Learn more...


Japanese officials confirmed the human variant of mad cow disease
caused a
man's death. The victim is believed to have become infected with the
disease
in 1989 when he was on a short visit to the UK. At the time, the UK was
undergoing an massive outbreak of mad cow disease. Japan has tested all
of
its cattle for the disease since 2001 and banned U.S. and Canadian beef
imports after the disease was discovered in those countries. Learn
more...

More cases of Mad Cow are being diagnosed in North America, but beef
industry practices in the U.S. remain unchanged. The fatal disease can
be
expected to spread across the continent as the massive feeding of
slaughterhouse waste, blood, and manure to animals continues unabated.

RBGH MILK IS RBGH MILK
The Center for Global Food Safety, an industry front group funded in
part by
the Monsanto Corporation, has launched an aggressive "Milk is Milk"
campaign, claiming there is no difference between milk produced by cows
injected with genetically engineered hormones (Monsanto's recombinant
Bovine
Growth Hormone), and organic or naturally produced milk. The FDA is
aiding
the industry's anti-organic "Milk is Milk" campaign, saying they will
crack
down on organic and rBGH-free dairies that label their products as
"hormone
free." Monsanto's controversial hormone has been banned in every
industrialized country in the world, other than the U.S., Brazil and
Mexico,
due to scientific evidence indicating that the milk from injected cows
contains more pus, antibiotic residues, and IGF-1, a potent cancer
tumor
promoter. The drug also seriously damages the health of the cows. Read
an
analysis of the risks of rBGH and a response to the launching of the
"Milk
is Milk" campaign by Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.(University of Illinois at
Chicago School of Public Health) and Ronnie Cummins of the OCA. Learn
more...
__________________________________
TEENY-TINY NEWS TIDBITS

North Dakota legislators are proposing a bill that would keep
information
about factory farm feedlots confidential and inaccessible to the
public.
People living near a feedlot currently have the right to information
regarding the facility's pollutants. Proponents of the bill say that it
is
necessary to begin to keep that information secret so that it doesn't
fall
into the hands of terrorists. Learn more...
http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/feedlot20805.cfm

__________________________________

ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of:
ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION
6101 Cliff Estate Road
Little Marais, MN 55614
Phone: (218) 226-4164 Fax: (218) 353-7652

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__________________________________

For additional daily environmental and political news, visit:
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http://www.planetsave.com

-- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, focused monsters can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."