January 2018 is here and with it an opportunity to take the organic consumer awareness message to the next level: Mainstreaming organic policies, strategies and ensuing implementation at local, national, regional and international levels. Here below are key issues and examples of some measure of success, illustrated by concerted local, regional and international efforts.

• The increasing rates of OBESITY and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs)  from increasing consumption of unhealthy foods  - the OCA perspectives as summarized in two YouTube interview with Dr. Peter Mokaya,
• A high point for Organic Consumers Alliance(OCA) was the opportunity to show case its consumer awareness activities during the Organic Food Systems Program(OFSP) as part of the recent Organic World Congress(OWC) pre-conference workshops: https://hawthornevalley.org/events/special-presentation-organic-world-congress/
• SEED sovereignty is KEY to food sovereignty…without seed sovereignty organic agriculture is threatened: Examples from Africa on OPV seed policies and seed banks: file:///C:/Users/EMokaya/Downloads/Pelum%20Regional%20Newsletter%20Issue%208%20December.pdf
• The evidence that  “food is medicine” ; Turmeric is a good example in the management of diabetes, especially if the turmeric is grown withOUT synthetic fertilizers and pesticides aka ORGANIC: There are few evidence sources that match the efforts of Sayer Ji of greenmedinfo.com: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/turmeric-extract-may-prevent-even-reverse-diabetes-type-1-and-2? And Dandelion root for cancer treatment: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/dandelion-anti-cancer-powerhouse/?
• And finally, who better than Mike Adams, the Health Ranger to keep the Biotech and related Agro-Chemical and Big Pharma Mafia, in check, with robust evidence, than this brilliant warrior…providing evidence on what will occupy the Doctor of the Future… https://www.naturalnews.com/Quote-Doctor-of-the-Future-Thomas-Edison.html

Good people,

The month of November is here with us…it marks the beginning of a time of reflection of the journey we have travelled thus far….as December beckons. What have we learnt so far?

Find some science backed organic friendly findings:

• That indeed, ORGANIC foods, grown in diversified ecosystems and leveraging Mother Nature’s inherent patters and systems, is the way to “heal” both humanity and the planet.https://viacampesina.org/en/agroecology-way-life-struggle-resistance-capitalism/
• Do we have any evidence that organic (free from pesticides and agro-chemicals) foods have medicinal benefits and applications? YES: Take the example of  Bitter Melon which can treat pancreatic cancer and diabetes…normalizing blood sugar levels without the side effects of manufactured chemical drugs: http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/bitter-melon-can-treat-pancreatic-cancer-and-diabetes/?
• Here is locally researched and shared evidence, targeting organic farmers and consumers: Check page 5 of the publication: http://theorganicfarmer.org/sites/default/files/TOF%20No%20144%20May%202017.pdf
• And here is more evidence of food as medicine, including; Garlic, Honey, Apple, Sunlight and Turmeric: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/5-food-medicines-possibly-save-life/?

What is the way forward?

Here are some key recommendations from The Global Science, Technology and Innovation Conference (G-STIC) 2017 (www.gstic.org) held in Brussels from 23^rd to 25^th October, demonstrating more recognition and appreciation of agro-ecological approaches as the SOLUTION.

Good people,

December is here and with it the festivities …it is also a time for reflection and introspection:

Some have asked: “Daktari, why this passion for all things organic?”

• Here is the answer: To quote the visionary marine biologist and environmentalist, Rachel Carson, in her book: Silent Spring…”human health is intricately tied to environmental health”… like her i “see” a link between a toxic environment and poor health outcomes…that is what drives my team, at OCA, in contributing to creating Consumer  Awareness…all evidence based.
• Synthetic fertilizers and chemicals(remnants of WWII left over by-products!) are turning the Silent Spring(killing birds) into the Silent Night(killing frogs and other amphibians): https://www.elementascience.org/articles/10.1525/elementa.246/
• Here is evidence that the chemical-industrial model, which embraces GM approaches, has failed to achieve the promised food security: This approach promised to solve the hunger problem but instead has increased hunger and created a new form of malnutrition; Obesity,  which is increasing and with it, an increase in debilitating non-communicable diseases(NCDs), which include deadly diabetes and cancers. http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/
•  GMO technology promised to increase yield and reduce pesticide use but it has achieved the opposite: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29024306
• Here is the Australian experience with Bt. cotton evidencing the failure of this approach to deliver on the promises: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1071/CP17116
• In India, after failed promises, from Bt. Cotton, they are moving away from the failed GMO cotton experiment to embrace local varieties of cotton,  including organic cotton production:  India is currently the leading producer of organic cotton in the world: https://www.soilassociation.org/media/13510/failed-promises-e-version.pdf and here more evidence: http://www.pan-uk.org/cottons-chemical-addiction/
• What is the way forward? The solution includes a paradigm shift to an agro-ecological organic food production system in harmony with Nature.