Joining RIFPC Health Group, New Opportunity Via Amazon Smile,

Thoughts on Raw Milk & Actions, Reminder of “Skin Deep” Database

**OTHER NEWS:  Experts Call For Reevaluation of Glyphosate

**ACTIONS:  Protect Rights to Choose: Raw Milk & Non-GMO Petitions,

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                                            LIB TALKS

**REQUEST FOR ABCS OF PESTICIDE-FREE GARDENING:

For our Spring 2016 informational flyer, we plan to offer two pages

of brief, basic tips on successful gardening & landscaping without

ideas for this list from you!  If you have any simple ideas (tricks?)

to share about how you have caused your lawn or garden to flourish

** WHO IS A NEW MEMBER OF RI FOOD POLICY COUNCIL’S

attended the first meeting of these good folk a few weeks ago, and we

are discussing all sorts of concerns & how to address them.  Stay tuned

for news of our progress! 

**NEW WAY TO SUPPORT TIP –WITHOUT SPENDING AN EXTRA DIME!

You may or may not be aware that when Amazon customers shop on a new

version of the company's website – smile.amazon.com – the company will

donate 0.5% of the purchase price to charity.  And you can use this to

benefit Toxics Information Project.  Click on this link, which will take

you to the site with TIP already selected as your charity.

You then shop on smile.amazon.com the same way you would have shopped

on www.amazon.com, but the donation will go to us (at no cost to you).

with you next time you go shopping!

**THOUGHTS ON HANDLING ACTIONS.  I had a hard time this

Here’s what I decided:  I included full descriptions of the Raw Milk

protection & Personal Care Products safety items, simply because

they are new here and have not been significantly addressed by

activists.  Then, I looked at other “Action” items and thought,

“Hey, if I just include the links, it won’t take a lot of reading,

everyone knows about these issues, and they can just take

one minute to click and sign, if sharing the concern.  So, I’m

going to try only including the text descriptions with “petition

posts” if there is new info which folks may not yet have heard,

Let me know if that works for you. 

bring us to the great work of Environmental Working Group, including

their valuable consumer guides.  We especially tend to wind up in

the comprehensive Skin Deep Cosmetics database, at:

Today, we turn to EWG for info & action on nail polish & which

brands are the baddest  of the bunch. (Note:  I never use the stuff

like “fragrance” the problem is that there are no restrictions or

disclosure required for this product’s chemical ingredients).

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                                  GOOD NEWS

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                      DENMARK IS ON ITS WAY TO

                BECOMING AN ORGANIC COUNTRY

  http://foodrevolution.org/blog/denmark-organic-country/

Imagine an organic country. Does this seem possible or realistic?

In the U.S., where only 1 percent of U.S. farmland is certified organic,

much closer to reality.  Plus, the Danish government is working in

multiple ways to convert the entire country’s agriculture into organic

67-point plan to double organic farming,& serve more organic

food in the nation’s public institutions by 2020.

organic food.  They are the world’s leading nation in organic food

consumption. And since 2007 their organic exports have increased by

200%.  As part of the plan, government land will be cultivated using

organic and biodynamic methods only. The government will also support

and finance people working and investing in this sector to develop new

technologies and ideas.  A second goal of the plan is to increase

demand for organic products.  Which, as we’ve seen, is already high.

The first target is to increase the amount of food served by the

government to the public to 60%. This means schools (beginning from

nursery schools), hospitals, and non-privatized cafeterias. Every day,

the country’s national  public institutions serve about 800,000 meals,

so the impact is large. Other areas of Denmark’s government are

taking part, too.

                                    OTHER NEWS

                          (Signs of growing awareness!)

                          ***********************************

          EXPERTS CALL ON FEDS TO RE-EVALUATE

THE WORLD’S MOST HEAVILY USED HERBICIDE

Health scientists—in a review of the published data on glyphosate—

see a “desperate need” for federal regulators around the world to

revisit the herbicide's health impact  U.S. and European health

and health impacts of glyphosate herbicides, according to a group

of health scientists worried about the chemicals’ explosive worldwide

growth.  Glyphosate—a key ingredient in many weed-killer herbicides

—works largely by inhibiting a plant enzyme that doesn’t exist in

mammals, so it was initially thought the chemical posed little risk to

humans and other vertebrates. However, evidence has been mounting

of Agriculture n 2011 found glyphosate in 90 percent of 300 soybean

samples & the UK Food Standard Agency found it in 27 out of 109

bread samples in 2012.

It’s been linked to liver and kidney problems, birth defects, and it

potentially disrupts the proper functioning of hormones. In recent

years, scientists have increasingly suspected it might be at least

partially behind a widespread kidney disease epidemic in Sri Lanka

and parts of India and Central America. Last year the World Health

Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in March

changed glyphosate’s status from a “possible” to “probable” human

carcinogen.  One of the main gaps identified in the report is the lack

of endocrine disruption testing, said Frederick vom Saal, University

of Missouri biologist and co-author of the report. There is increasing

evidence that glyphosate may impact human hormones, which can

spur numerous later  health impacts.  See more at:

www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2016/feb/glyphosate-roundup-monsanto-cancer-endocrine-disruptor-science

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                TELL CONGRESS: CONSUMERS WANT

                    THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE RAW MILK!

The health benefits of raw milk have been widely documented. Yet in

many states, farmers and retail stores can’t sell it, and consumers

can’t  buy it.  It’s time to protect farmers from raw milk raids, and

the only food banned in interstate commerce in the U.S.  And although

Congress has never passed a ban on raw milk, the FDA (U.S. Food

& Drug Administration )  has used its regulatory authority to conduct

raids on, & prosecute, farmers for distributing raw milk.  Two bills

slowly working their way through Congress would pave the way for

farmers and consumers to sell and buy raw milk.

The Milk Freedom Act of 2014 (HR 4307) would prohibit the federal

government from interfering with the interstate traffic of raw milk

products, offering relief for small farmers who have been harassed,

fined, or prosecuted for distributing raw milk.

The Interstate Milk Freedom Act of 2014 (HR 4308) would prevent the

federal government from interfering with trade of unpasteurized natural

milk or milk products between states where distribution or sale of

such products is already legal.  TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress:

Consumers Want the Right to Choose Raw Milk! Ask Your Congress

Members to Support HR 4307 and HR 4308.

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18257

*                            *******************************************

  SUPPORT THE PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS SAFETY ACT

Like most consumers, you may think that the U.S. government reviews

the safety of cosmetics and other personal care products.  But right

into personal care products sold in the US – even known carcinogens

– without any safety testing and without disclosing all the chemicals

on labels.  To bridge this gap in oversight, Senators  Dianne Feinstein

(D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced the Personal

Care Products Safety Act in an effort to modernize the regulatory

process  & make sure the products we use every day are safe. 

EWG needs our help to persuade Washington that passing it

is the right thing to do. 

This bill would establish a safety review process for ingredients in

personal care products and give federal regulators additional tools

they need to protect consumers.  Companies would register and be

required to report when products cause harm to someone's health.

The FDA would also have the authority to recall dangerous products

if companies won't do it voluntarily. These are all straightforward,

common sense proposals - and they are long overdue.

Reach out to your senators –click here to urge them to add their

names in support of the Personal Care Products Safety Act.

http://action.ewg.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=2184&tag=201602CosmeticsGP

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  GMO LABELING ACTIONS - KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE!

          (Familiar Concerns, Continued Need to Speak Out)

BREAKING NEWS:  Washington state has announced that

Monsanto's GMA will face a huge fine of $14 to $42 million due to

their illegal campaign contributions made to deceive Washington

voters in 2013.!  (States do take action!  That's why we have to

stop attempts at federal  preemption of states’ rights to protect

their people.  Please sign the GMO action items below.)

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                  URGENT: SENATE INTRODUCES BILL TO BLOCK

          VERMONT'S GMO LABELING LAW!  SAY NO, YOU DON’T !

Contact your Senators today. Ask them to reject Sen.Roberts' bill that

would permanently let food companies off the hook for labeling GMOs!

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18302

                    TELL THE SENATE: STOP THE DARK ACT! 

                    (Again! Three more calls for this action.

                  They may be considering the bill right now)

https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18341

      Reject the Latest GMO-QR Code Labeling Compromise!

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18302

MONSANTO'S DREAM BILL WAS JUST INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE

Tell Your Senators To Support Real Gmo Labeling, Not The Dark Act!

TAKE ACTION! Call your Senators: Dial 888-897-0174! 

Ask them to reject Sen. Roberts' DARK Act and also oppose any

Also sign the petition:

https://action.organicconsumers.org/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18302

                                ********************************

                                        RESOURCES.

                          **************************************

                    NAILED -ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR IN NAIL

www.ewg.org/research/nailed?inlist=Y&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=201510NailedRelease

It’s not surprising that many nail polishes contain potentially toxic

chemicals – but according to a new study, at least one of those

chemicals could be ending up in your body.  The study, co-authored

by EWG and researchers at Duke University, found that triphenyl

phosphate (TPHP) – a suspected endocrine disruptor also used

to make plastics and as a fire retardant in foam furniture – could be

ending up in your body if you’ve painted your nails lately. 

The EWG-Duke study tested the urine of 26 women who had recently

painted their nails and found evidence of TPHP in every participant.

The study found that when women applied nail polish with TPHP

their urine increased nearly sevenfold compared to when participants

wore gloves and applied the polish to synthetic nails.

Scientists knew little about the toxicity of TPHP until recently. Now

there is growing evidence that it could affect hormones, metabolism,

reproduction and development.  Besides disrupting hormones,

scientific evidence shows that TPHP could contribute to weight gain

and obesity. In animal studies, it has caused reproductive and

developmental problems.  Click link below  to learn more about

the potential dangers of TPHP from EWG’s latest analysis, :

Bodies.”  and see which brands sell nail polishes that contain it.

(Note: This web page also contains an Action item!) 

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                  CONTACT US WITH YOUR THOUGHTS,

                            COMMENTS, QUESTIONS!

AND BY THE WAY – WE’RE SMALL, WE’RE ACTIVE, WE DON’T

BOTHER YOU WITH LOTS OF PITCHES FOR MOOLA – BUT WE

                REALLY DO NEED SOME HELP!

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        BENEFIT TIP WHILE SURFING THE WEB at: 

          www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=818190

*      ************************************************

** SUPPORT TIP WHILE SHOPPING AMAZON

Just go to: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/14-1862385 and the

link will take you to the site with TIP already selected as your

charity. You then shop on smile.amazon.com the same way

donation will go to us (at no cost to you).

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  **OR MOST OF ALL, MAKE A DONATION:

          (We are a tax deductible organization)

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Toxics Information Project (TIP)

P.O. Box 40572, Providence, RI 02940

Tel. 401-351-9193, E-Mail:  liberty@toxicsinfo.org

Website: www.toxicsinfo.org