The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to nearly double the amount of formaldehyde it considers safe to inhale by adopting a new exposure threshold.

That new car smell? It’s actually the off-gassing of toxins, primarily formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde isn’t just in car interiors. It’s used as a preservative and adhesive in just about every consumer product you can think of, from furniture, flooring, and carpets, to clothing, children’s toys, vaccines, cigarettes, air fresheners, cleaning supplies, hair and nail products, cosmetics, pesticides, and fertilizers.

You can also be exposed to formaldehyde from candles, gas stoves, and fireplaces, and, of course, workplaces where formaldehyde is used in manufacturing and their surrounding communities are top formaldehyde hotspots.

Formaldehyde causes more cancers than any other toxic air pollutant. It’s also implicated in allergic reactions, asthma, miscarriage, and birth defects.

Scientists have never found a safe level of exposure to formaldehyde. Now Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency wants to call dangerous levels “safe.” Trump put Nancy Beck and Lynn Dekleva of the American Chemistry Council in charge of chemical safety at the EPA. They used to lobby the EPA on behalf of formaldehyde producers like Merck. Now they make the rules.

Don’t miss your chance to weigh in: The EPA is accepting comments on a proposal to raise formaldehyde limits until February 2, 2026.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the EPA to Ban Formaldehyde!

As the year comes to a close, we’re filled with gratitude and hope as we reflect on the progress we’ve made and the challenges still ahead in our mission to build a healthier, safer, and more organic and regenerative food and farming system for all.

To our valued supporters who have donated in the past, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of this collective effort! Your trust and partnership mean the world to us. And to those who have yet to support our work, we invite you to join our community of changemakers. Every contribution, big or small, brings us closer to a better food system.

Please consider making a donation today to support our work and help us build on our past and present progress in these areas, and continue to drive forward these 5 Key Initiatives:

1. Influence regulations, policies, and laws that impact our food system.
2. Hold corporations accountable and promote transparency.
3. Empower citizens to shape the future of our food and agriculture.
4. Support policy initiatives for a more just and organic regenerative food system.
5. Nurture our organic and regenerative teaching ranch and expand our educational outreach.

Since 1998, OCA has grown with the support of people who care deeply about the world around them, and together we’ve made a significant impact.

Donate today and help us build on our momentum – together, we can continue to make a difference!

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International, our international sister organization

Have you considered making a gift from your IRA?

The Cornucopia Institute:

“A dwindling number of organic brands are independent — most are owned by large conglomerates. What happens when an independent brand is bought out? Each story is unique and often unclear. In a common scenario, major corporations gobble up a successful brand, lower the quality of the ingredients, and sell it to us under the same trusted logo. Corporate owners take advantage of our brand loyalty. Sometimes the brand disappears altogether once it has been bought out by Big Food.

This project is informed by the important work of Dr. Phil Howard, Michigan State University professor and member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.

To see how consolidation has impacted the marketplace, see Cornucopia’s updated Who Owns Organic? Infographic.”



Cornucopia offers this list of nationally available, organic brands that are currently independently owned (scroll down for list.) These brands are committed to selling only certified organic products.

Molly Glick, Nautilus:

“An international team of scientists analyzed how PFAS moved across more than 100 food webs spanning land and water. Gathering data from 64 studies, they conducted the first meta-analysis of data on PFAS accumulation across food chains around the world. The researchers hoped to clear up inconsistencies in past research, which has pointed to both minor amounts of PFAS accumulating in some food webs and massive build-up in others.



The researchers traced levels of 72 different types of PFAS, and found that increases from one rung of the food chain to the next depend on the substance. For example, F-53B, a chemical used to manufacture some machine parts, showed the highest average increase—around three-fold from prey to predator. F-53B was designed as a less toxic alternative to a substance that’s restricted or banned in many countries. But like several of these new alternatives, its concentration multiplied as it stepped up the food chain at a greater rate than the predecessor.”

Read how given what we know about PFAS toxicity from other studies, these extreme accumulation rates in top predators suggest serious health risks

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Ban PFAS Pesticides!

David Cox, BBC:

“From the brain to the heart, singing has been found to bring a wide range of benefits to those who do it, particularly if they do it in groups. It can draw people closer together, prime our bodies to fight off disease and even suppress pain. 

So might it be worth raising your own voice in good cheer?

‘Singing is a cognitive, physical, emotional and social act,’ says Alex Street, a researcher at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research who studies how music can be used to help children and adults recover from brain injuries.

Psychologists have long marvelled at how people who sing together can develop a powerful sense of social cohesion, with even among the most reluctant of vocalists becoming united in song. Research has shown that complete strangers can forge unusually close bonds after singing together for an hour.”

Read how from a biological standpoint, it’s thought that singing activates the vagus nerve which is directly connected to the vocal cords and muscles in the back of the throat

PBS Digital Studios:

“Women of the Earth features stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change.

This is just one piece of this excellent documentary series: How Reviving Buffalo Could Revive a Way of Life, Season 2 Episode 1

The near extinction of buffalo across North America had devastating consequences—especially for Indigenous communities, for whom buffalo were a source of food, shelter, spiritual connection, and governance. Today, Lucille Contreras, founder of the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, is leading a powerful effort to restore buffalo to their ancestral lands in Texas.”

Watch the whole series here

Regeneration International, in conjunction with the Organic Consumers Association, proudly hosted the 5th annual People’s Food Summit in October, bringing together visionary leaders in regenerative agriculture and food system transformation. 

We are thrilled to celebrate 39 remarkable individuals from around the world who are pioneering innovative solutions that prioritize soil health, biodiversity, and community resilience. Their dedication to developing and sharing regenerative practices is transforming our food system one success story at a time and inspiring a global movement.
From climate-resilient grazing practices to agroforestry and urban gardens, these heroes are driving real change in their communities and beyond. 

Through their work, they’re showing us that a more sustainable food system is possible – one that’s led by small-scale producers, indigenous communities, and regenerative farmers. 



Join us in recognizing and celebrating the achievements of these incredible individuals, who are paving the way for a more just, equitable, and regenerative world.

 

Meet our 2025 Regenerative Heroes:

• Karen Mapusua, IFOAM Pacific – Fiji
• Alan Broughton, Mekong Organics – Australia and Vietnam
• Niels Olsen, GIPPSLAND Adapt – Australia
• Prof. Dr. André Leu , Regeneration International – Australia
• Miyoshi Satoko, IFOAM Asia – Japan
• Jennifer Chang, IFOAM Asia – Asia
• Kesang Tshomo, Ministry of Agriculture – Bhutan

And 32 more visionaries from around the world… 
be inspired by their success stories to learn about and help create a more regenerative world together!

Eric Galatas, Colorado News Connection:

“As 2025 comes to an end, just half of farmers in Colorado and across the U.S. are expected to turn a profit, because of a number of issues including higher costs for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the global economy through tariffs.

But a new report shows how organic farming has quietly become the most reliable path to profitability.

Andrew Smith, chief scientific officer for the Rodale Institute, said organic farms are seeing significantly higher margins than conventional farms and those returns are affecting entire regions. ‘Counties — and actually surrounding counties — that have higher numbers of organic farms have increased median incomes and reduced poverty rates,’ Smith reported.

Last year, organic food sales surpassed $70 billion and farmers earned between two and three times more for their grains, dairy and key crops than conventional growers who use petrochemical inputs not allowed in organic operations.”

The report “Organic Farming Economics” outlined how farmers can weather the three-year transition to organic production

Ayurella Horn-Muller, Grist:

“At a White House roundtable last Monday, president Donald Trump, alongside Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and a handful of other leaders in the government, announced a $12 billion farm aid program intended to offset the economic blowback that U.S. farmers have faced this year as a result of the president’s volatile trade policies. 

But there’s a catch: only major commodity farming operations — such as those that grow corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, wheat, and soybeans — will be eligible for more than 92 percent of the money, which is scheduled to begin flowing in February. Just $1 billion of the bailout has been set aside for farmers who produce other crops; when those payments will be made available has not yet been announced. 

The move is par for the course from the administration, which has allocated a near-record total of $40 billion in farm subsidies this year, with at least two-thirds of those payments having gone to commodity farms. But Trump’s latest billion-dollar bailout does much more than funnel even more cash into Big Ag, which accounts for a significant share of the roughly 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions released by agricultural activities nationwide.”



Read how the corporate handout is also adding kindling to a feud brewing within factions of the right wing in American politics

by The Civil Eats Editors:

“Civil Eats has reported on food justice since we began publishing in 2009. At the time, many people were unaware of the critical connection between race, food, poverty, and equity.

As a central tenet of our work, we focus on stories that highlight those issues. A fair and equitable society requires universal access to healthy and sustainable food. It also encompasses environmental factors and climate change, as both disproportionately impact poor communities and communities of color, creating additional challenges for those facing food insecurity.

In 2025, the U.S. food system came under increasing pressure, making stories about food justice all the more critical. This year, we reported extensively on how federal budget cuts scaled back the food safety net and eliminated many farming initiatives, including climate and food justice projects. But even with fewer resources, farmers and advocates across the country are still finding ways to feed their communities, support the next generation of producers, and teach sustainable agriculture to urban farmers.”

Read the biggest food justice stories from 2025 by Civil Eats

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Air Passengers Exposed to Extremely High Levels of Ultrafine Particle Pollution, Study Finds

Wooden Spoon Only Thing In Man’s Life That Not Giving Him Cancer

Can Kyoto’s Buddhist Cuisine Teach us All to Eat Better?

Sitting by a Window During the Day May Help People With Type 2 Diabetes

Stingless Bees From the Amazon Granted Legal Rights in World First

The Bizarre Ways Food Messes With the Medicines We Take

Only One Country in the World Produces All the Food It Needs, Study Finds

Monsanto Funded the Science. The Government Called It Safe.

MAHA Muscle: The Rise of the Mom-Driven Movement Shaking up Washington

Climate Protesters Face Greater Risk of Crackdown Amid Rising Authoritarianism

Nosy Researcher’s Quest To Map the World’s ‘Smellscapes’