ORGANIC SACRAMENTO’S 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AND MILESTONE
Hey, There’s Reason To Celebrate !!
Organic Sacramento has just passed a landmark and is now one year old !!
May is the one year anniversary of Organic Sacramento’s emergence as an official
group, having moved from an idea and concept to a functional entity.
The idea for Organic Sacramento originated as a result of concerns about
genetic engineering raised during the USDA and State Department’s Agricultural
Ministerial which was held at the Sacramento Convention Center two years
ago, in June 2003. The realization that the increasing use of genetically
modified seeds, along with the continued general lack of oversight and regulation,
threatens the very existence of organic options, inspired the vision to initiate
an “organic revolution,” and work toward making Sacramento the “Organic Capitol
of the World.” With the help of Alicia Oldfield at the Sacramento Natural
Foods Co-op, Organic Sacramento was born.
In some ways this last year has gone very fast, in other ways it is difficult
to believe the group has only been in existence one year as so much has transpired,
not only in the kinds, amounts, and levels of activities OS has been involved
in, but also in it’s transition from a very, very fledgling group to merely
a quasi-fledgling group and in the impact it is beginning to have on the
community. Organic Sacramento has been extraordinarily successful in
the many diverse activities it has been involved in (and there was even enough
time for three weddings mixed in there!). Some of these activities
include:
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- Demonstrating in the May 2004 protest against formerly Sacramento-based
Ventria Biotech company regarding their intent to grow pharmaceutical rice
in California.
- OS members attending the “Reclaim the Commons” anti-genetic engineering activities in San Francisco last June.
- Writing letters and petitioning to maintain the current organic standards for non-food products.
- Arranging for two OS members to attend CA’s for GE-Free Agriculture’s
weekend training session last August, which resulted in the formation of
GE-Free Sacramento.
- Sponsoring and hosting Jeffrey Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception,”
for a multi-day visit last September, complete with community talks and book
signings, radio and cable television interviews, and meetings with government
officials.
- Sponsoring Steven Druker, the attorney who sued the FDA for lack
of labeling and testing, effecting the release of previously undisclosed
FDA documents revealing FDA scientist’s documented concerns about genetic
engineering. This included significant talks in Sacramento and Davis,
and two debates at UC Davis last October.
- Providing support to members of Chico’s GE-Free Butte in their attempt to pass a GE-free initiative last November.
- Co-hosting a progressive Christmas Holiday Party and Potluck.
- Co-hosting screenings of The Future of Food at the Crest Theater
in Sacramento and the Veterans Memorial Theater in Davis. These were
both extraordinary events and were highly complimented, even by the film’s
producer Deborah Koons Garcia. (A couple members of our group also
appeared on Access Sacramento’s program Soap Box, to promote this event.)
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While we are currently actively arranging a Farm Dance
and Potluck at Goethe Ranch as a benefit for Soil Born Farm, there are many
other activities we have been working on and involved with as well.
This last year has seen significant growth in our website, with many additional
changes and great plans for other information to be added as time allows.
We look forward to a very busy upcoming year, with many new challenges and
opportunities for growth.
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About Us: Mission, Vision, & Goals
Mission
Our mission is to elevate consciousness of the primal
relationship between humans and the land by actively fostering public awarness
of the benefits of orgnically grown food; promoting sustainable, organic
gardening and farming techniques; and creating a resource center of organic
information for farmers, distributors, consumers, educators, business purveyors,
and other organic advocacy groups, as well as to achieve these goals through
loving compassion, open communication, honesty and respect.
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Our Draft Vision Statement
Working with others, Organic
Sacramento will lead California and the nation in promoting organic and sustainable
technologies to afford safe and healthy foods for people in Sacramento, California,
the nation and the world, paving the way to an organic future.
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Our Three Year Goals are:
Information Gathering and Publishing
We will build a network and clearinghouse of organic and sustainably produced
products, including information on and for food purveyors, farmers, gardeners,
consumers, and activist organizations promoting the use of organic products
and sustainable technologies and techniques. This includes an extensive web
site, of which this is only the beginning, which will act as a clearinghouse
of organic information and contacts, and will help facilitate the easy access
and ready availability of organic products and activities for the interested
public. We intend to gather a resource library of information related to
organic topics and post them here, as well as provide a forum for the growing
organic community to discover each other and build an organic future for
everyone.
Education and Community Outreach
Organic Sacramento will work to provide education and community outreach
services to encourage the interest in organically grown products and sustainable
agricultural practices. This includes working with local governments, businesses
and citizens groups to encourage organic parks, organic community gardens,
tastings and festivals of organic foods, as well as distribute information
directly to citizens. We intend to work with legislators to encourage and
facilitate healthier meal choices for schools and children, healthier farming
practices and policies, and other organic issues that need to be addressed
at the legislative level. We also plan to educate the public through the
creation and distribution of fliers, t-shirts bumper stickers and other merchandise
promoting organic products and practices.
Address Biotechnology Issues
We will address issues associated with biotechnology including
the effects of the use of pesticides, genetically engineered organisms and
nanotechnologies. We hope to encourage awarness of questionable practices
and behaviors of the industries developing these technologies, investigate
the dangers associated with current testing procedures, lack of long term
safety studies, as well as the impact of lack of containment of genetically
engineered organisms. We also intend to explore the impacts of these technologies
on developing nations, biodiversity and world hunger.
The mundane details
Of course we have to deal with housekeeping issues including fundraising
needs, organizational structure, developing a monthly meeting program, managing
the mailing list system, managing phone lists, and collecting member information.
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