PETITION ROUND 2!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

3 heads of organic garlic

time to consume: 2 weeks
material: mesh = polyethylene (PE)
label = paper
staples =
steel
time to decompose: PE = hundreds of years
paper = 1 to 3 months
steel = corrodes depending on environmental conditions


Dear All,
Sorry for the immense length of time that went by since the last post.
We were super busy turning into Studio Habeas Corpus; more on that later I promise.

Meanwhile, GREAT NEWS on the petition front:
the topic of Packaging substances used in organic food handling IS on the agenda of the upcoming spring meeting of the NOSB [National Organic Standards Board], which will be held April 25-27, 2016, in Washington DC.

Right before the NOSB's last meeting in the fall of 2015, I had delivered our first 4,500 signatures. Our petition remained OPEN after that, and for very good reason: polluting packaging is an ongoing problem, and we're only at the beginning of the fight toward the phasing out of plastics & metals in organic food packaging.

SO, THIS IS ROUND 2 - let's aim for 10,000 signatures! We're calling on all past signers to become motors of this change, by doing a sequence of simple things, BEFORE APRIL 14th, 2016:

1) SIGN if you haven't already
2) SHARE if you have already signed, on all social media possible. I cannot emphasize how important it is to share - this is where the momentum happens. If possible, share repetitively at a few days interval, to bring more visibility at different times for different people; also, remember to ask other people to sign AND share! If you are not on social media, consider copying this text in an email to friends who might be interested in signing.
3) COMMENT on the public platform of the NOSB (click on the 'Comment Now!' button at top right) before April 14th (1 week left)

4) GO TO THE MEETING if you are in the area & SPEAK YOUR MIND IN PERSON (you can reserve a slot for oral comments here before April 14th (1 week left)


THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS SUPPORT!!!
Together, let's get rid of the materials polluting our lives.

Warmly,
The Bare Necessities


Useful links:

- Petition
- Washington, DC, Spring Meeting Details
- Written comment
- Oral comment


Note: from conversations with the NOSB's main office, it appears that since the NOSB board members are all volunteers, they might not have time to research topics
>>> therefore, consumers / commenters, besides stating their wishes, are welcome to provide background info & evidence (for example by pointing to scientific material & studies) and even propose action plans themselves.

I personally will propose a
BEST PRACTICE OBLIGATION for starters: that all organic producers / handlers (including dairy) should adopt the least polluting practice currently on the market. [for example: all organic eggs switch to the paper pulp boxes, and plastic egg boxes stop being used]. This should be the easiest to visualize and implement, since there is no research / innovation involved, and the proof that it works is already on the market. Feel free to copy this and suggest this Best Practice Obligation if you feel so enclined.

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