Organic Consumers Association’s Petition to the Environmental Protection Agency:

Bayer (Monsanto)’s dicamba herbicide is meant to be used on its genetically modified dicamba-tolerant crops, but when it gets sprayed, it is extremely drift prone, and drifts away from the GMO farms and causes extensive injury to cultivated and wild landscapes, insects, animals and humans. There has never been a weed killer that has been more destructive in terms of crop damage.

Due to the millions of acres of extensive damage it causes, there have been ongoing disputes and court rulings regarding dicamba’s use, but Environmental Protection Agency keeps working to reapprove it.

Dicamba doesn’t just kill plants–it increased cancer risk and has also been linked to other potential health issues, including neurotoxicity, kidney and liver damage, sensitization, irritation, birth defects, and respiratory illnesses.

Thank you.

Your name

TAKE ACTION BY AUGUST 22: Tell the EPA to Ban Bayer’s Crop-Killing Dicamba Herbicide!

Tom Perkins, The Guardian:

“Exposure to multiple pesticides increases the chances of pregnancy complications compared to exposure to just one pesticide, new peer-reviewed research suggests. The findings raise new questions about the safety of exposure to widely used pesticides and herbicides in food and agricultural communities.

The study, which bio-monitored pregnant women in a heavily agricultural state in Argentina, adds to recent-but-limited evidence pointing to heightened dangers in mixtures of pesticides.

The authors say research into how pesticide mixtures impact human health is important because the vast majority of studies look at exposure to a single pesticide, and regulations on the substances’ use are developed based on toxicity to just one.”



Read how people are frequently exposed to multiple pesticides in non-organic meals, or when living in agricultural regions around the world

Editor’s note: The above article speaks to the crucial point of the dangers of untested pesticide mixtures that our International Director of Regeneration International, Dr André Leu, has been making since he wrote “The Myth Of Safe Pesticides” in 2014.

Dr. André Leu, IProf., D.Sc., BA Com., Grad Dip Ed, International Director of Regeneration International:

A good example of this is the approval of formulated pesticide products as safe based solely on testing one of the ingredients without evaluating the entire formulation.

Since the other chemical ingredients are active and added to enhance the effectiveness of the primary ingredient, the assumption that they are inert and will not increase the overall toxicity of the formulation lacks scientific credibility.

Limited scientific testing of formulated pesticide products indicates that they can be hundreds of times more toxic to humans than the pure, single active ingredient. There are no requirements to test the toxicity of the entire formulation to establish its safety in preventing noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes.

Learn how there is no requirement to produce credible, evidence-based scientific data to demonstrate that formulated pesticide residues in our food are safe, and more

Anna Kenyon, University of Lancashire:

“Every day, we’re faced with constant opportunities for stimulation. With 24/7 access to news feeds, emails and social media, many of us find ourselves scrolling endlessly, chasing our next hit of dopamine. But these habits are fueling our stress – and our brains are begging for a break.

What our brains really need is some much needed time off from concentrating. By not consciously focusing on anything and allowing the mind to drift, this can reduce stress and improve cognitive sharpness.

This can often be easier said than done. But attention restoration theory (Art) can help you learn to give your brain space to drift. While this might sound like a fancy name for doing nothing, the theory is supported by neuroscience.”

Read how whether you’re watching a ladybird crawl across your desk or visiting a vast expanse of nature, allow your attention to be undirected. It’s not laziness, it’s neurological maintenance.

Paul McClure writes for New Atlas:

“New research by scientists from Marshall University, West Virginia, has uncovered how obesity significantly reduces the number of specialized gut cells, called enteroendocrine cells (EECs), leading to metabolic dysfunction. They also found that byproducts produced by gut bacteria when they break down certain amino acids can restore them.



The study (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)  is important in terms of its potential real-world implications. The findings suggest a non-drug strategy for restoring GLP-1 production in obesity by encouraging the growth of tryptophan-metabolizing gut bacteria (e.g., probiotics like L. acidophilus) and using dietary supplements rich in tryptophan to fuel these bacteria. Unlike synthetic GLP-1 drugs, which can cause side effects like nausea, this approach may naturally stimulate the body’s own GLP-1 production with fewer risks. 



The study also highlights the potential for personalized nutrition and microbiome therapies where tailored diets or supplements are used to boost microbial production of beneficial metabolites to prevent or treat obesity and the metabolic dysfunction, such as type 2 diabetes, that often accompanies the condition.”



Learn more

If you are following our work you know we try to stay on top of the most important issues of the moment, this week we are focusing on what we all can do about the growing and destructive consequences of agricultural pesticides on our health, how Bayer’s (Monsanto) dicamba herbicide is wreaking havoc on farms, pesticide exposure is putting pregnant people’s health at risk, and toxic sewage sludge contaminated with “forever chemicals” is threatening our food and water supply.

At the Organic Consumers Association, through our newsletter, emails and social media, as well as working with and building allies, we’re working tirelessly to give people a voice on these crucial issues.

We’re pushing for policy change, raising awareness, and building a community that’s passionate about creating a better future.

We know if you are reading this newsletter, you’re already making choices that support a healthier planet – thank you for being part of the solution! If you’re not already an OCA supporter, we’d love for you to consider joining us with a donation.

Every bit helps us build a better food system for everyone.

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

August is nationally recognized as “Make a Will Month”

OCA has partnered with FreeWill, which is the best online service for people to make their own will for free in less than 20 minutes. We highly recommend this for how straightforward and simple it is to do!

If you have not done so, you can take the opportunity to also use this tool to draft your health directive, or use it to document your wishes before finalizing your plans with an attorney.

As you plan for the future of your family, please consider providing for the future of OCA’s work as well. Including OCA in your will lets you support your commitment to public health and the environment well beyond your lifetime. It’s easy to leave a bequest of any specific dollar amount, or a percentage of your estate, by including the proper language in your will.

Make your will or health directive for free

Organic Consumers Association’s Petition to the Environmental Protection Agency:

The Draft Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS in Sewage Sludge underestimated the human health harms.

The EPA’s model assumed sludge contains far lower levels of the two PFAS chemicals than tests show it does. The EPA only looked at exposure from one source at a time (water, milk, beef, eggs, and fish) rather than combined dietary exposure. And, the EPA’s data was limited to average exposure rather than looking at the high levels people in PFAS hotspots are exposed to.

And, yet, the EPA still found that PFAS in sewage sludge dumped on farmland causes kidney and liver cancers, decreased birth weight, increased cholesterol, and diminished immune function.

This is terrifying and it speaks to how urgently the health threat of PFAS must be addressed. PFAS-contaminated toxic sludge should never be disposed of on farmland. More importantly, the EPA should stop the pollution at its source by banning the use of fire-retardant, non-stick, and water-resistant PFAS chemicals. PFAS chemicals shouldn’t be used, not in consumer products, manufacturing, aviation, the military, or in any other way.

Please continue your work on PFAS chemicals, with the aim of protecting human health from every harmful forever chemical.

Thank you.

Your name

TAKE ACTION BY AUGUST 14: Tell the EPA to Ban Toxic Sludge from Farmland!

Read this alarming new report about PFAS contamination in U.S. waterways from agricultural practices

by Jamie Schneider, mindbodygreen:

“We tend to think of stress in terms of how we can evade it—much like anxiety and inflammation, stress is typically stamped with a negative connotation. And while stress management is a crucial pillar of overall well-being, it’s chronic stress that becomes so worrisome—acute stress, on the other hand, isn’t always harmful.

In fact, a bit of physical stress on your body can actually be quite healthy.

Same goes for the foods we eat: According to longevity expert and Harvard geneticist David Sinclair, Ph.D., food that faces a little bit of stress is actually healthier. ‘I look for organic foods’, he shares on the mindbodygreen podcast. ‘It’s because organic foods aren’t held with gloves. They’re a little bit more stressed-out usually.’



According to Sinclair, the more stressed out the food is, the brighter colors it will have. Those pigments, he continues, are evidence of defensive phytochemicals.”

Read how those colors are actually an indicator of other molecules that plants produce to try and survive when they’re stressed

Beyond Pesticides reports:

“A study following a mass mortality event of approximately 200 monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) in Pacific Grove, California, highlights the role of pesticides, synthetic pyrethroids in particular, in causing lethal and sublethal effects to nontarget organisms.

‘On average, each monarch butterfly contained 7 pesticides,’ the authors report. They continue, ‘Notably, three pyrethroid insecticides—bifenthrin, cypermethrin, and permethrin—were consistently detected at or near each chemical’s lethal dose (LD50).’ LC50, or Lethal Concentration 50, values represent the concentrations of chemicals lethal to 50% of a test population.

The more recent mass mortality incident in California adds to the wide body of science that highlights the ongoing risks pesticides pose to monarchs and other pollinator species. The alternative to toxic chemicals that do not threaten health and biodiversity?”

Learn how organic land management is the only solution

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Save America’s Pollinators! Ban the Neonicotinoid Insecticides Now!


Peter Dennis, Circular:

“The Lancet review found that plastics endanger human and planetary health at ‘every stage of their lifecycle’, from fossil fuel extraction, production, use, recycling and disposal. Plastics are a ‘grave, growing, and under-recognised danger’ to human and planetary health, the study found.

The world is in a ‘plastic crisis’, it concluded, that is responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1·5 trillion annually with impacts ‘disproportionately’ hitting low-income and at-risk populations.

The study says the principal driver of the crisis is plastic production, which is 200 times higher than in 1950 – increasing from 2 megatonnes (Mt) in 1950, to 475 Mt in 2022.

Plastic pollution has also increased with 8000 Mt of plastic waste now polluting the planet and less than 10% of all the plastic that’s ever been made ever being recycled.”

Learn how the harms caused by plastic can be mitigated with evidence-based laws and policies

Rima Sabina Aouf writes for de zeen:

“Still in early development, Khan’s WoolTech is made from a novel wool-based biomaterial, in which conductive pathways can be created using lasers.

This carbonises the material so it carries electricity, while the un-carbonised sections provide natural insulation.
The innovation could help to tackle the issue of e-waste, reimagining components that are usually made from a mix of metals and petrochemicals using a single organic, biodegradable material.

It could also help to lower demand for mined metals, which are associated with dangerous working conditions and child exploitation. However, Khan originally came to the idea after exploring solutions to a different problem: wool waste.

From watching farming documentaries – especially Clarkson’s Farm, following former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson – she learnt that farmers in the UK have been shearing sheep purely for animal welfare reasons, with the wool itself having little value.”

Read about the emerging designer, Hinna Khan, who started WoolTech and her aims to pave the way for a regenerative materials future

Chemical Pollution a Threat Comparable to Climate Change, Scientists Warn

Support Moms Across America’s Zen Honeycutt and Family In the Heartbreaking Loss of Her Son

Discover the Two-Shift Sleep Cycle of the Middle Ages That Might Actually Be Healthier for Us

WATCH: Is Bayer Losing the Roundup Fight? By Carey Gillam

Venting Doesn’t Reduce Anger, But Something Else Does, Says Study

The Most Important Food Policy Changes of 2025 So Far

High Amounts of Ultra-Processed Foods May Increase Lung Cancer Risk by 41%

Black People Reclaim Rest as Radical Resistance

The American Child Death Toll Is Mortifying


States Sue USDA Over Efforts To Gather Food Stamp Data on Tens of Millions of People

What the Presence of Sheep Means to the Diné

Want To Lose Weight? New Study Sheds Light on How Processed Foods Affect Our Health

AI, Climate Change And The Creeping Risk Of Ecofacism

The Vast Majority of U.S. Adults Are Stressed About Grocery Costs, an AP-NORC Poll Finds

Sweden Goes Cage-Free in Historic Animal Welfare Move