Organic Consumers Association

06/11/2026

06/11/2026

🍅 This week's Organic Bytes gets into the connections between what we grow, how we grow it, and what it does to our bodies.

Vermont just banned the deadliest chemical in U.S. agriculture. Lab-grown chocolate is threatening millions of farming families.

A common pesticide is damaging nearly every organ system in the body. And top food researchers say the system is rigged.

🍃 Plus, new data from France shows regenerative farms weathered the drought at three times the rate of conventional ones.

🌻 A lot is at stake in our food system right now.
Stay up to date every week with the Organic Bytes Newsletter!
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06/11/2026

Most schools across the UK still use pesticides to manage their grounds.

Children absorb pesticides more easily through their skin. Playing in areas treated with pesticides increases their exposure to some very toxic chemicals.

The most commonly used pesticides in schools are herbicides (weedkillers). They are applied to control plant growth on paths, playgrounds, sports pitches and fields. On some surfaces they are used in combination with other pesticides to control fungus and moss.

There is a growing movement pushing to move away from using herbicides to manage these spaces. Whole towns, cities and even countries have succeeded in making their complex patchwork of urban spaces pesticide-free. In comparison, school grounds are relatively simple.

We have teamed up with Natural England and the Department of Education to feed into a short, freely available course ‘Managing School Grounds for Biodiversity’. Read more here: https://www.pan-uk.org/managing-school-grounds-without-pesticides/

We also have a practical policy for schools to use in order to phase out their use of pesticides: https://www.pan-uk.org/pesticide-free-schools/

Do get involved by sharing these links with your school’s headteacher, governors, groundskeepers or maintenance staff.

We’d love to hear from you if your school goes pesticide-free!

06/10/2026

TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Follow Vermont’s Lead and Ban Paraquat! https://orgcns.org/4oo1wfc

06/10/2026

For years, the pesticide industry has defended glyphosate as safe ‘if used correctly.’ But evidence suggests that it is unsafe over the long term even at very low levels.

We need to stop the use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant - and the government needs to give support to farmers so they can move away from this damaging practice.

Pre-harvest desiccation is the practice of spraying crops with glyphosate, to kill them and dry them out prior to harvest. This can leave glyphosate in the crops - no time to dissipate.

It’s a simple change that could make a huge difference.

It's time to cut the chemicals from our food and farming.
If you agree, sign our petition.
✍️ https://soilassociation.co/cutthechemsFB

06/10/2026

Sip the Difference: Organic Wine, Meaningful Impact 🍇✨
We’re proud to spotlight Frey Vineyards, America’s first Organic and Biodynamic winery, for their longtime commitment to organic integrity and regenerative agriculture.

Located in Redwood Valley, CA, Frey’s wines are made without added sulfites, using native yeasts and land-healing farming practices that reflect the true flavor of the earth.
The Frey family are stewards of nearly 1,000 acres of wildlife corridors, protecting the habitat of bears, mountain lions, pollinators, and more.

Thank you to Frey Vineyards for supporting the Organic Consumers Association and helping us continue our mission to protect biodiversity, health, and justice in the food system.

Curious to try their wines? Use the code ORGANICCONSUMERS when you visit:
👉 https://www.freywine.com?couponCode=ORGANICCONSUMERS

06/10/2026

Thank you for leading the way Dr. Bronner's 🙌

“Dr. Bronner’s isn’t simply lobbing critiques from the sidelines or making big statements about accountability.

The company proposes a new model, one that emphasizes spreading wealth and well-being to everyone who’s involved with the creation or consumption of a company’s products, rather than relying on philanthropy to course-correct.

‘The real question shouldn’t be how billionaires distribute their fortunes. It should be why our economic system allows such extreme wealth concentration in the first place.’ —Les Szabo, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at Dr. Bronner’s

This is one of the reasons that Dr. Bronner's launched the Purpose Pledge with other deeply mission driven companies and organizations. The Purpose Pledge is a new business initiative built on 10 Commitments that supports companies who embed ethics and purpose into how they operate — from governance structure and employment policies to supply chains, impact measurement, and public accountability. ⁣

Jennifer Conrad spent months reporting this story for Inc. Magazine. We’re incredibly grateful for the time and care she took in writing it and exploring why we are so committed to changing capitalism as we know it.

Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/drbsinc

06/09/2026

U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran has choked off the Strait of Hormuz, and with it, the supply of fossil-fuel-derived synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Prices are spiking, and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization is warning of a potential global food crisis.

But the farmers who actually feed most of the world, small-scale family farmers, don’t rely heavily on the fertilizers caught up in this conflict. It’s industrial agriculture that built itself on synthetic inputs, routinely applying more fertilizer than crops can use and sending the rest into rivers, aquifers, and coastal dead zones.

This crisis was avoidable, and the people who will feel it most are the ones who always do. Short of actual food shortages, the biggest drivers of hunger are poverty, inequality, and conflict. Grocery prices are already climbing and that’s hurting working families. The people who depend on food aid and live in conflict zones are hit the hardest.

For people already buying directly from local regenerative organic farmers, not much will change. Those relationships with real farmers and short supply chains have always offered something industrial agriculture never could: a way to nourish communities, build a healthier food supply, local economy, and biodiverse environment, as well as offer insulation from the chaos of global commodity markets.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress: Stop Tying Our Food Supply to Fossil Fuels. Fund Organic and Regenerative Farming in the Farm Bill!
👇
https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/98891/action/1

Learn more: Regenerative Organic Solutions to the Fertilizer-Shortage Food Crisis
👇
https://organicconsumers.org/regenerative-organic-solutions-to-the-fertilizer-shortage-food-crisis/

Find farms around the world that are working toward a regenerative future on our Regenerative Farm Map.
👇
https://organicconsumers.org/regenerative-farm-map/

06/09/2026

Reduce is the only way. There are so many amazing alternatives to plastic out there. What changes have you made?

06/09/2026