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Cucurbits, Italians and Russians, Water Fresh Farm, GMOs: another reason to go organic  . . .
Long Life Farm
Dear <<First Name>>,                                                                                                                                                                                                                     JUNE NEWS

June flew by so fast, I almost want to call this the July news.  We have had a very busy month planting, weeding and harvesting.  In June, our shareholders picked up almost 100 Long Life Farm Shares.  We are pleased that 38 families are enjoying their weekly or bi-weekly shares of vegetables.  We are still taking on shareholders on a pro-rated basis.  Our summer  schedule of farmers' markets has begun: Hopkinton Farmers' Market on Fridays from 1-6pm, Ashland Farmers' Market on Saturdays from 9am-1pm and the Whole Foods Farmers' Market on Mondays from 4-7pm in the parking lot in front of the Bellingham Whole Foods. For those that have not experienced the new Ashland Farmers' Market, it is becoming a real destination for families on Saturday mornings.  They have a great band every week, and one could get everything for the week's meal planning from vegetables, seafood, fresh bread and pastries, cheese, eggs, fresh pasta, honey, coffee, meat and many crafts.  The organizers have done a great job and everyone is very pleased by the success of this market.

Overall the crop outlook looks good.  I feel like there is a lull between our spring and summer vegetables.  The extreme heat forces us to delay plantings as the young seedlings would just wither away. Overcast and rainy days are our friend when it comes to transplanting seedlings.  We are on alert for late blight which has been confirmed in Natick and Wayland. This is a highly catagious disease caused by an airborne fungus that can destroy solanaceae (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and potatoes). The rainy weather in the Northeast creates the ideal conditions for it. The last serious late blight in 2009 virtually destroyed the tomato crop in the Northeast.    In this case, the hot sunny weather is our friend as it will slow it down.  We will keep you posted about our 1/4 acre of solanaceaes: 600 ft of peppers, 600 ft of eggplants, 1300 ft of tomatoes and 400 ft of potatoes. Laura Davis

Ashland Farmers' Market 



Do You Know You Are Eating Genetically Modified Foods?
My wife is a girl scout troop leader who needs to read the food labels on the items the troop will be eating to protect the health of those girl scouts who have food allergies.
One seven year old girl reacts violently to any soy and milk products. The food labels in this country ensure the safety of girl scouts and other consumers who need to know what is in the food they are eating. For most American’s eighty percent of their diet consists of processed foods, and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the labeling of all these products. Soy products in processed foods need to be identified in a label to give a warning to those people who have an allergy to it. But, unlike 49 other countries, the US government and the food industry are fighting to prevent the labeling of a specific kind of product. They are made from plants whose DNA has been altered through genetic engineering and are known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
 
Since their rapid and controversial approval in the late eighties into the American food market, GMO soy, corn, and sugar beets are in almost all processed foods and have been for over twenty years. Corn, soy, sugar beets, and other plant species have had their DNA engineered to produce a pesticide (ie. Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria.) and to resist being harmed by herbicides which are manufactured by a select group of Fortune 500 companies. The government bodies entrusted to ensure the public’s safety (USDA, FDA, EPA) are solely relying on the safety studies conducted by the same companies which manufacture genetically altered plants and their by-products such as soy protein, corn syrup, and sugar.
 
In 1992 the FDA established a policy that says genetically engineered and or modified organisms are developed in the same process as mother nature’s, and do not need to be labeled as a different food because they are “substantially equivalent” to its natural counterpart. This concept of “substantial equivalence” was endorsed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1996. The seal of “substantial equivalence” by government bodies permits the marketing of new GMO foods in the same process with respect to safety as conventional food or components, and thus saves the biotechnology companies the expense and time required to do additional safety studies for a new and different food.
 
Scientific, environmental, and consumer safety organizations have opposed the entry of GMO foods largely on concerns that the
long term consequences from bioengineered foods will have adverse health and environmental effects which have not been adequately tested. Writer and activist Jeffrey M. Smith documents in his books “Seeds of Deception” and Genetic Roulette” an extensive list of laboratory research proving GMO foods health hazards. His Institute for Responsible Technology notes that children are particularly vulnerable to GMO health risks and sites they are three to four times more prone to allergies than adults.

The FDA identifies soybeans and their products as one of the eight major food allergens in the US and are mandated to be labeled under the
Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA)2 (Public Law 108-282) because they can bring on severe or life threatening reactions. Still, the FDA says data hasn’t been presented to them to sway them from their current label policy to identify GMO foods. So, why are the biotechnology industries and the food companies lobbying Congress, government regulatory bodies, and the public to oppose any GMO food label law that would permit a girl scout troop leader or any parent or consumer to read genetically modified products in a label?
 
In Europe, Australia, Japan and China a shopper can pick up a food item and its’ label can read, “genetically modified soy products, genetically modified corn syrup, genetically modified sugar”, etc. That’s a lot of attention to GMOs , and for most Americans they are largely unaware that they are eating GMOs with every bite of most processed foods.
 
In California one woman decided the current US policy on GMOs was wrong and initiated the
California Right to Know campaign through her organization Label GMOs. And on May 2, 2012 Pamm Larry and her army of volunteers submitted 971,126 signatures for California’s first ballot initiative to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. If the ballot passes in November the world’s eighth largest economy will join the other forty nine nations who notify their citizens which foods have GMOs.

The biotechnology and food industries opposed to such a labeling measure have already won a victory in the US Senate when an amendment submitted to the 2012 Farm Bill by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and co-sponsored  Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) to require labels on genetically altered foods was defeated on June 21. But, if the California ballot passes to allow consumers in that state to clearly identify genetically modified foods in their diets the rest of the nation might just wake up and want the same GMO label transparency.
 
Even for our family it is very difficult to avoid GMOs although we try very hard. For those who wish to try to avoid GMOs, choose organic foods which prohibits their use or look for the “non-GMO verified” seal on the product. If the food product is not organic or does not display the “non GMO” seal then avoid at risk ingredients made with GMO crops: corn, soybeans, canola, cottonseed and sugar beets as well as their invisible by-products. Get the
Non-GMO shopping guide and choose brands that have made a commitment to non-GMO products. Donald Sutherland
 


Lacinato and Winterbor Kale

Cucurbitaceae

The cucurbitaceae or cucurbit family includes summer squash, zucchini, winter squash, watermelon, cantelope, gourds and pumpkins. These plants were some of the earliest cultivated crops both in the new and the old world.  

Italian's and Russian's new home

Tony Lulek and his son Anton delivered the Italian and Russian honey bees to their new home at Long Life Farm.  Tony and his family run Little Bee Hive Farm in Holliston and was kind enough to place a few hives on our farm to help with pollination of our vegetables.  Make sure to try their honey, honey mustard, candles, hand and body lotion, lip balm and hand made soaps at the Hopkinton and Natick Farmers' Market or online

Water Fresh Farm

We are happy to announce that Water Fresh Farm in Hopkinton just started carrying Long Life Farm vegetables.  Our customers have asked us repeatedly if we have a farm stand where they can buy a few extra vegetables. Until now, we did not have a good location or the staff to man a farm stand.  This marketplace at Water Fresh Farm helps us supply nutrient dense vegetables to our community.  Thank you to Jeff Barton and Lenny at Water Fresh Farm for reaching out to establish this relationship.

NOFA/Mass Summer Conference, August 10-12, 2012 UMass Amherst

If you have not ever attended the Northeast Organic Farming Association Summer Conference in Amherst, MA,  you are missing out on all the fun. It is not just for farmers, consumers, back yard gardeners and food lovers all have enjoyed the conference for over 37 years. This year the keynote speakers are Representative Chellie Pingree and Jeffrey Smith, author of "Seeds of Deception".   There are over 200 workshops on organic farming, gardening, land care, draft animals, homesteading, sustainability, food politics, activism and much more.  
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