Label GMOs Whole Foods Supports Americans’ Right to Know


Whole Foods Market has become the first company in the industry to decide that all products containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) in its U.S. and Canadian stores must be so labeled


by 2018. “We support the consumer’s right to


know,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, in announcing the policy. “The prevalence of GMOs in the United States, paired with nonexistent mandatory labeling, makes it very difficult for retailers to source non-GMO options and for consumers to choose non-GMO products.”


Genetic engineering introduces changes in DNA structure—usually to increase crop yield, plant hardiness and aesthetic appeal, rather than improve nutritional content. Acknowledged downsides of artificially transferring genes into plants include substantial increases in the use of chemicals and genetic cross-contamination of fields. While major food companies funded the defeat of California’s Prop 37 calling for GMO labeling, 82 percent of Americans are pro-labeling, according to a recent poll by market research firm YouGov. On April 8, Americans will demand that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stop choosing Monsanto’s industrial interests over policy transparency and public health. Concerned citizens are beginning to take back America’s food system.


Join the Eat-In for GMO Labeling, Stone Soup style, outside of the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 8. Visit Occupy-Monsanto.com.


Online Literacy Students Learning to Adopt Internet Academics


Thrifty Threads Levi’s Latest Sustainable Moves


World record holder and Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt will soon model Puma boots that are “made for rotting,” and when the next Levi Strauss collection arrives, their new jingle will be, “These jeans are made of garbage.” Crushed brown and green half-liter plastic bottles will be on display at retail store displays, of which the equivalent of eight, or 20 percent, are blended into each pair of Waste<Less jeans. Nike and Gap have their own sustainability programs, and Patagonia has long supported a small ecosystem of Earth-friendly suppliers. But as the biggest maker of jeans in the world, with sales of $4.8 billion in 2011, Levi’s efforts command the most attention. Levi joined the Better Cotton Initiative, a group of companies that work with local nongovernmental organi- zations in Pakistan, India, Brazil and Mali to teach farmers how to grow cotton with less water. Last year marked the first cotton harvest given this effort and Levi has blended its share into more than 5 million pairs of jeans. With cotton prices on the rise and pressure from


activist groups such as BSR, an environmental orga- nization that works with businesses, large clothing manufacturers are starting to adopt more sustainable practices.


Source: Business Week natural awakenings April 2013 11


The findings of a survey of teach- ers conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, in collaboration with the Col- lege Board and the National Writing Project, show that the Internet has opened up a vast world of information for today’s students, but digital literacy skills need improvement. Three-quarters of Advanced Placement and National Writing Proj- ect teachers say that the Internet and digital search tools have had a “mostly positive” impact on their students’ re- search habits, but 87 percent say these technologies are creating an easily distracted generation with short atten- tion spans, and 64 percent say they do more to divert students’ attention than to help them academically. The good news is that 99 percent


of teachers in the study agree with the notion that, “The Internet enables students to access a wider range of resources than would otherwise be available,” and 65 percent agree that, “It makes today’s students more self- sufficient researchers.”


Read the full report at Tinyurl.com/ TeenResearch.


Suburbia is where


the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.


~Bill Vaughan


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