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TAKE ACTION
U.S. Commercial Development of Transgenic HB4 GMO Wheat is Now Underway
Capital Press:
“Argentina-based Bioceres Crop Solutions Corps and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation will jointly develop and commercialize HB4 wheat in the United States. HB4 is a transgenic wheat trait that incorporates drought tolerance transferred through a sunflower gene. According to Bioceres, HB4 wheat demonstrated up to a 43% yield improvement in targeted environments.
The USDA in August 2024 approved HB4, the first GMO trait ever deregulated in the U.S. for wheat. As part of the collaboration, Bioceres will grant the research foundation ‘exclusive, sublicensable rights’ to the HB4 trait in the U.S. territory. The foundation will serve as ‘trait manager,’ facilitating broad access to HB4 wheat for third-party breeding programs and commercial channels, and leading engagement with U.S. stakeholders, according to a joint announcement from Bioceres and the foundation.
The parties will work together with industry participants to develop, register and commercialize new ‘broad-spectrum’ herbicide formulations tailored for HB4 wheat.”
Learn what makes GMO wheat a really terrible proposition: What’s Wrong with Modern Wheat
PROF. DR. ANDRÈ LEU
Why I Became a Leader and Founder of the International Regenerative Movement
Prof. Dr. André Leu, International Director of Regeneration International:
The reasons I became involved are complex and varied. We formed Regeneration International as an umbrella—a partnership of like-minded, nature-based systems to facilitate the shift away from industrial agriculture. A small group of leaders from the organic, agroecology, holistic management, environmental, and natural health movements started Regeneration International as a genuinely inclusive and representative umbrella organization.
The concept was initially formed at the United Nations Climate Change Meeting in New York in October 2014 during a meeting at the Rodale headquarters. The aim was to establish a global network of like-minded agricultural, environmental, and social organizations to facilitate the paradigm shift from degenerate industrial agricultural systems to regenerative, nature-based systems.
The initial steering committee meetings included Dr. Vandana Shiva from Navdanya, Ronnie Cummins from the Organic Consumers Association, Dr. Hans Herren from The Millennium Institute, Steve Rye from Mercola Health, and me, André Leu from IFOAM-Organics International. It was soon expanded to include key leaders from every continent.
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE
30 Years of Climate Summits: Have They Delivered on Their Promises?
Mercedes López,Via Orgánica & Regeneration International:
Nearly three decades ago, in 1995, the world gathered in Berlin, Germany, for the first United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP1. Since then—except for the year 2020, when the pandemic halted international travel—these annual summits have aimed to unite nations around one urgent mission: tackling global warming.
But 30 years on, the planet’s fever is only getting worse. From stronger hurricanes and longer droughts to melting glaciers, raging wildfires, and deforestation, the impacts of climate change are accelerating. Pollution continues to spread across oceans and landscapes, and communities defending their natural resources face increasing threats.
Despite ambitious pledges and countless declarations, critics argue that the COP process has failed to produce tangible progress toward climate justice, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
USDA WATCH
How the Shutdown Broke America’s Food Chain — And What Happens Next
Ayurella Horn-Muller writes for Grist:
“In a dramatic twist of political defections and contentious concessions, the longest ever federal shutdown came to a close late last Wednesday as Congress finally managed to agree on a deal to reopen the government.Government agencies are now beginning to resume operations, employees are returning to work, and federal payments are beginning to flow once again.
Experts say, though, that the shutdown has left behind fractures on the nation’s food system that are only beginning to appear. These cracks will only widen with time as they join with all of the other major food and farming policy changes enacted by the Trump administration — which altogether are affecting who eats what, where that food comes from, and which communities get left behind.
‘When agencies like the USDA or FDA halt or scale back operations, there are ripple effects through the supply chain because of the effect on crop payments, insurance, inspections, and nutrition programs,’ said Ginni Braich, a data scientist studying food insecurity and climate change at the University of Colorado, Boulder.”
HEALTHY LIVING
Fire Cider Recipe: The Spicy Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic for Immunity & Wellness
Margaret Boyles, Farmers Almanac:
“Fire cider—it sounds like something a medieval knight might drink before battle, but it’s actually a zesty herbal tonic that’s been loved for generations. Packed with fiery flavors from ginger, garlic, horseradish, and hot peppers, then mellowed with sweet honey, this vinegar-based elixir is the ultimate immune-boosting, cold-fighting kitchen potion. See what fire cider is all about—plus a great recipe.
This potent tonic is the modern reincarnation of a home remedy used for generations to help ward off winter colds, flu cases, and other infirmities. Many folks mix it into salad dressings or festive grog.
Indigenous healers have been brewing herbal vinegars for millennia. In fact, humans began making vinegar as long as 10,000 years ago, using it in food and drinks, for food preservation, and for many medicinal and antiseptic purposes.”
Read about how anywhere in the world that you find apples, you’ll find cider vinegar remedies
FOOD ACCESS
With Hunger on the Rise, Urban Gleaners Seek to Strengthen Local Food Security
Elena Valeriote writes for Civil Eats:
“It was too much of a good thing that brought a dozen volunteers to Wild Roots Farm in Troutdale, Oregon, on a blue-sky day in the middle of August. As the sun rose over the farm’s 1.5 acres, the volunteers began to harvest surplus basil, tomatoes, and zucchini.
Each crop had its own unique reason for being left in the field. More basil had flourished than could be sold; the tomatoes showed minor blossom-end rot from summer rain; and the zucchini was, by restaurant standards, oversize. For the farmer, it would have been more work than it was worth to harvest.
Not so for the gleaners.
Urban Gleaners, a Portland-based nonprofit, hosts weekly harvests at this farm. It then makes the surplus produce—plus excess food collected from supermarkets, restaurants, universities, corporate campuses, and event sites—accessible to community members through 47 distribution points, including 24 free-food markets throughout the city.”
Learn how collecting surplus food offers an age-old solution
GIVE TO THE MAX
Why This Work Matters Now
Our already degenerative food system is fracturing even further.
In this newsletter you’ll read the article ‘How the Shutdown Broke America’s Food Chain — And What Happens Next’. That’s where we come in.
The OCA makes sure your voice counts!
We enable and empower everyday citizens like you to let your elected officials and the big companies know how important a non-toxic, locally supported, clean, and just food system is to you, your families, and community. We make sure your voice counts!
For more than two decades, Minnesota based Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has spoken and taken action on behalf of consumers, farmers, and communities who believe in real food, healthy soil, and honest labels. Together with millions of supporters, we’ve helped advance organic standards, challenge misleading marketing, advocate for GMO transparency, and support a global transition toward regenerative agriculture.
OCA is facing a significant funding gap after the loss of a major long-term donor. At the same time, the threats to organic integrity, food safety, and public health are increasing, from new PFAS loaded pesticides, to genetically engineered wheat, greenwashing and the rapid expansion of synthetic and ultra-processed foods.
We have a lot of work to do and the next steps are crucial. Together, we can protect real food and strengthen the movement for organic and regenerative agriculture.
As a Minnesota based organization, today we are asking you to join the effort to support our nonprofit through Minnesota’s annual Give to the Max Day.
Your Give to the Max Day gift whether $25, $50, $100, or more will ensure OCA continues to educate, advocate, and defend organic integrity for years to come. Together, we can carry this mission forward, even in the face of adversity.
Can you help support our work?
Support OCA, Give to the Max Day
Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
FOOD SAFETY
Introducing the SHAM GRAS Act, a Bill To Weaken Food Chemical Safety
Sarah Sorscher reports for Food Safety News:
“Last week, some of the biggest players in Big Food, including household names like Nestlé, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Hormel and PepsiCo, teamed up to launch a lobbying coalition to permanently undermine food safety in the United States.
The new coalition is purportedly seeking to reform the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) loophole, a federal policy that allows food companies to self-certify their ingredients as safe and then introduce them into the market without even informing FDA. At the same time, there are rumblings of Sen. Roger Marshall R-KS, introducing a federal bill to amend the GRAS process, pairing it with a preemption provision, a move that aligns with the interests of the new group.
It may come as a surprise to no one that the new front group, ironically titled ‘Americans for Ingredient Transparency,’ has a special interest in taking on federal food chemical safety reform.”
READ: Truth or Deception? Inside “Americans for Ingredient Transparency”
NEW STUDY
World’s Most Used Insecticides Damage Male Fertility in Rodents
Pamela Ferdinand, U.S. Right to Know (USRTK):
“Neonicotinoid pesticides, the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, are linked to male reproductive toxicity in lab animals, especially at higher doses, according to a new scientific review of two decades of evidence.
The findings, published [December 2025] in Environmental Research, add to growing evidence that these insecticides may harm human fertility. Known as ‘neonics,’ neonicotinoid pesticides are banned in the European Union but widely used in the U.S.
The scientists analyzed 21 laboratory studies between 2005 and 2025. Despite differences in design, species, and dosing, more than two-thirds found neonic exposure damaged testicular function and sperm: Sperm counts dropped. Sperm moved more slowly. Shapes became abnormal, and hormone levels changed.
The effects worsened with higher doses or more prolonged exposure to neonics, causing more severe or permanent injury.”
HEALTH
Why We Should Eat Beans Every Day — And Which Are the Healthiest
Peta Bee, The Times:
“Are you full of beans? You should be. Nutritionists have long urged us to consume more of them to benefit our health and, this week, celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tom Kerridge have declared their support for the Bang in Some Beans campaign, launched by the UK charity the Food Foundation.
According to the campaign, diets low in beans are associated with up to 9,000 premature deaths in the UK each year, while a regular intake is linked to lower risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer.
Harvard researchers who tracked the dietary habits of more than 206,000 men and women in America for more than three decades reported that those eating more plant-based diets — including plenty of beans — had lower rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Another paper in the Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal found that eating a serving of beans daily for eight weeks dramatically improved gut health and cancer outcomes.”
Here are the best beans to try and great information about their specific benefits
Editor’s note: It goes without saying, choose organic: “EWG tests conducted in 2020 found glyphosate in 60%of conventional bean and lentil samples and more than 80% of conventional hummus and chickpea samples.”
LITTLE BYTES
Other Essential Reading and Videos for the Week
Massages Are Often Part of Healthcare – Here’s How They Affect Physical and Mental Health
Shutdown Deal Kills Rules to Prevent Food Contamination and Foodborne Illnesses
USDA Secretary Says All SNAP Recipients Must Reapply, Dubiously Citing Fraud
Skin Cancer Cluster Found in 15 Pennsylvania Counties With or Near Farmland
Lights Out: Can We Stop Glow-Worms and Fireflies Fading Away?
A Win: Never Be Afraid to Speak Up
Protesters Blockade COP30 Summit Over Plight of Indigenous Peoples
5 Things We’re Thankful for in the Fight Against Factory Farming
Adirondacks’ Most Futuristic Farm Hits Market for $6.5m
‘A Devastating Global Audit’ Shows How Climate Change Is Undermining the Health of Millions
Big Food ‘Transparency’ Campaign Seeks To Block Tough New Food Safety Laws
Four-Day Workweek Goes Global: 90% of Trial Companies Keep It, Reporting 40% Productivity Gains
The post Organic Bytes Newsletter #918: HB4 GMO Wheat To Enter U.S. Market appeared first on Organic Consumers.
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