Today, serious heresy, and rather peculiarly in the United States, is a deviant state of consciousness. Not so much deviant opinions as having a kind of experience which is different from "regular" experience. And as Ronald Lang..has so well pointed out, we are taught what experiences are permissable in the same way we are taught what gestures, what manners, what behavior is permissable and socially acceptable. And therefore, if a person has so-called "strange" experiences, and endeavors to communicate these experiences, because naturally one talks about what one feels, and endeavors to communicate these experiences to other people, he is looked at in a very odd way and asked "are you feeling all right?" Because people feel distinctly uncomfortable when the realize they are in the presence of someone who is experiencing the world in a rather different way from themselves. They call in question as to whether this person is indeed human. They look like a human being but because the state of experience is so different you wonder whether they really are. And you get the kind of.. the same kind of queasy feeling inside as you would get if, for example, you were to encounter a very beautiful girl, very formally dressed, and you were introduced, and in order to shake hands she removed her glove and you found in your hand the claw of a large bird. That would be spooky, wouldn't it?

The Value of Psychotic Experience

More here:
Alan Watts Lectures and Essays - deoxy.org

TEDDY bears of all shapes and sizes were brought out to enjoy a picnic with their owners in Haworth's Central Park on Saturday. (August 19)

Organised through the Friends of the Park group, and Haworth Village Hall and Community Hub, the event took place from noon to 4pm and included a teddy bear treasure hunt, teddy tombola, Scouts' barbecue and stalls.

There were prizes to be had and plenty of refreshments.

The event was held as a family fun day for the village and was followed upyesterday with a well-attended concert at the park's bandstand.

Haworth resident Gill Hill, chairman of the Friends of Haworth Park, had first put forward the idea for the Teddy Bears' Picnic.

She said the occasion had been a success, though did not attract as many people as had been hoped due to some indifferent weather on Saturday.

"It was our first attempt at this, though we didn't get the numbers we wanted because of the weather," she said.

"But those people who did come really enjoyed themselves and we've had some very positive feedback.

"This was mainly about having fun in the park and getting as many children as possible involved.

"The teddy treasure tail was a huge success and we were able to give away three home made teddies as prizes they were made by a lady who lives in Riddlesden.

"Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, who is a staunch supporter of the park, was a great help. She and her two daughters ran the teddy tombola.

"Councillor Gary Swallow, chairman of the parish council, judged the best dressed teddy competition. We had one clear winner in this contest, but every child who took part got a prize."

Mrs Hill said the afternoon also featured a children's dance competition, a raffle for the adults, a bouncy castle and a name the teddy contest.

Ian Howard, from Oxenhope, led a family jam session at the bandstand where youngsters could try their hand at percussion and other instruments.

And Alan Watts brought out his selection of children's music CDs to offer some additional musical accompaniment.

Mrs Hill said the following afternoon included a popular concert at the bandstand staged by GMC Jazz Band.

She explained this was one of a series of concerts organised by Bradford Council and supported by the friends group, which is in charge of preparing the bandstand.

She said this coming Sunday, (August 27) from 2pm to 4pm, will feature more music at the same venue performed by Bradford Metropolitan Concert Band.

"It's been a good summer for events in the park, we've had all sorts going on," she said. "Hopefully we'll put the Teddy Bears' Picnic on again next year."

See more here:
Fun at teddy bears' picnic in Haworth Central Park - Keighley News

Dear Editor:

There are a large number of significant and even dramatic changes occurring in Sedalia. Recently, Linda Christle stepped down as Economic Development Director and was replaced by Jessica Craig. I am leaving the Sedalia City Administrator position and will be replaced on an interim basis by Finance Director Kelvin Shaw. A permanent City Administrator will be named late this year or early next year. Also within City government there have been several recent upper level staff changes. Normally, there is very little movement with all of these positions.

A City foundation, The Sedalia Democrat, was recently sold and the papers format appearance is substantially different and there is a new Editor. After almost 45 years, KDRO Radio recently changed formats from country to talk. Additionally, there is a new morning personality.

Also noteworthy, the ongoing change in Sedalias retail landscape with the addition of large national chain stores. After being in the same location for about 45 years, and after the construction of a fire station a few years ago, a new police station soon will be under construction in downtown Sedalia. All of these changes and some not listed here, seem to bode well for the City. All of the new people coming on board are of the exceptionally high quality usually seen in Sedalia.

Extraordinarily, all these changes are happening at about the same time. Normally, such large shifts are spread out over several years. Philosopher Alan Watts said: The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it and join the dance. That certainly applies to Sedalia these days.

Gary Edwards

Outgoing City Administrator

Follow this link:
Extraordinary changes in Sedalia - Sedalia Democrat

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. The book is intended to be a guide for day-to-day living and stresses the importance of living in the present moment and avoiding thoughts of the past or future.

Published in the late 1990s,[1] the book was recommended by Oprah Winfrey[2] and has been translated into 33 languages.[3] As of 2009, it was estimated that three million copies had been sold in North America.[4]

The book draws from a variety of "spiritual traditions",[5] and has been described by one reviewer as "Buddhism mixed with mysticism and a few references to Jesus Christ, a sort of New Age re-working of Zen."[6] It uses these traditions to describe a "belief system based on living in the present moment".[7] Its core message is that people's emotional problems are rooted in their identification with their minds.[8] The author writes that an individual should be aware of their "present moment" instead of losing themselves in worry and anxiety about the past or future.[2]

According to the book, only the present moment is important,[5] and both an individual's past and future is created by their thoughts.[6] The author maintains that people's insistence that they have control of their life is an illusion "that only brings pain".[5] The book also describes methods of relaxation and meditation to aid readers in anchoring themselves in the present.[5] These suggestions include slowing down life by avoiding multi-tasking, spending time in nature, and letting go of worries about the future.[9] Some of the concepts contained in The Power of Now, such as the human ego and its negative effects on happiness, are further elaborated in the author's later books, in particular A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005).[7]

The chapters of the book are: "Introduction", "You Are Not Your Mind", "Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain", "Moving Deeply into the Now", "Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now", "The State of Presence", "The Inner Body", "Portals into the Unmanifested", "Enlightened Relationships", "Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness There Is Peace" and "The Meaning of Surrender".[10] Various chapters emphasize a "philosophy" of destroying the "destructive dominance of the mind and ego" in an effort to overcome "the pain body".[7] According to the author, his philosophy is directed towards people and their search for personal happiness and also has the potential to give insight into "historical disasters" like the justification of an "evil" political system such as Communism.[7]

In the book's introduction the author relates his past experiences of "continuous anxiety" with periods of "suicidal depression". Later, when he was 29 years old, he had a "personal epiphany" and writes: "I heard the words 'resist nothing' as if spoken inside my chest." He relates that he felt as if he were falling into a void and afterwards "there was no more fear."[11]

In chapter two, Tolle tells the reader that they must recognize their personal ego "without the ego creating an antagonistic response to its own denial or destruction" and explains the purposelessness of the "mental pain and anguish" that people hold on to.[12] According to the book: "The pain-body consists of trapped life-energy that has split off from your total energy field and has temporarily become autonomous through the unnatural process of mind identification."[8] In this chapter the author writes: "pain can only feed on pain. Pain cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible".[8] The author goes on to write that "many people live with a tormentor in their head that continuously attacks and punishes them and drains them of vital energy. It is the cause of untold misery and unhappiness."[5]

In chapter three, the author writes: "In the normal, mind-identified or unenlightened state of consciousness, the power and creative potential that lie concealed in the Now are completely obscured by psychological time. You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present. Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be."[8]

In chapter four, Tolle says that "tomorrow's bills are not the problem" and can be a "core delusion" that changes a "mere situation, event or emotion" into a reason for suffering and unhappiness.[13] The book also calls "waiting" a "state of mind" that we should snap ourselves out of.[13]

The book was originally published in 1997 by Namaste Publishing in Vancouver. It was republished in 1999 by New World Library, and this edition reached and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for years afterwards.[8] The book has been translated into 33 languages, including Arabic.[3][14]

In 2000, the book was listed as recommended reading in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine and, according to Winfrey, the actress Meg Ryan also recommended it.[2] By 2009 an estimated three million copies of the book had been sold.[4] A Christian author, Andrew Ryder, wrote a dissertation saying that "Tolle moves the traditional [Christian] teaching forward by illustrating how our obsession with the past and the future ... [prevents] us from giving our full attention to the present moment."[15]William Bloom, a spokesperson for the holistic, mind-body-spirit movement in the UK, wrote that "Tolle's approach is very body aware. He's done it in a nice accessible way for people."[8]

Some reviewers were more critical of the book. According to a review in the Telegraph Herald, the book is not very well-written but contains some good teachings.[5] Andrea Sachs wrote in TIME magazine that the book is "awash in spiritual mumbo jumbo" and "unhelpful for those looking for practical advice".[16] An article in The Independent said that "there is not very much new about The Power of Now" and described it as "a sort of New Age re-working of Zen."[6]

When Paris Hilton was incarcerated at the Century Regional Detention Facility in California in June 2007 she brought with her a copy of The Power of Now.[8] Singer Annie Lennox chose The Power of Now as one of her "desert island books".[8] Singer Katy Perry stated that she was inspired to write "This Moment", a song from her 2013 album Prism, after she heard the audio book of The Power of Now.[17]

Read more from the original source:
The Power of Now - Wikipedia

Eckhart Tolle TV is an internet subscription service that uses technology to bring the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and Kim Eng to the world. It is a monthly service whereby an issue containing new teachings from both Eckhart and Kim is released on the 1st of each month. Each issue contains a Private Seminar, which is a 60 - 90 minute talk delivered by Eckhart, a live meditation by Eckhartstreamed to your computer, and Eckhart answering questions from members (members are able to submit questions). Each month also includes exclusive content from Kim Eng in the form of questions being answered, or guided practices all of which complement the teachings of Eckhart Tolle.

Eckhart Tolle TV also hosts a robust community of people from over 130 countries. In this forum, people are able to start discussion threads and communicate with each other. Topics of the forum discussion range from support for understanding and living the teachings to more light natureddiscussions about experiences and life.

Finally, throughout the year, Eckhart Tolle TV creates an opportunity for the subscribers of Eckhart Tolle TV to join us in an intimate studio audience to participate in the filming of the content for the service. It is a wonderful opportunity to experience the teachings of Eckhart and Kim live.

Link:
Eckhart Tolle TV | Bringing the Spiritual Teachings of ...

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

It's no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, "the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death." Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback shows that only after regaining awareness of Being, liberated from Mind and intensely in the Now, is there Enlightenment.

See the rest here:
Eckhart Tolle - Barnes & Noble

Eddie Pepitone has been disgusted with everything longer than you have: Bed Bath & Beyond, the NSA, magicians, upscale grilled cheese, Parks and Recreation, and Wolf Blitzer are just some of his triggers. But what makes Pepitone my favorite comic is his persistent awareness of, and ability to hold, something that I call "the double horror." Not only does Pepitone expose the terrifying futility of those consumer identities we build to distract ourselves from the abyss, but he also reflects the anxious absurdity of simply being aliveand having a soulin the first place. "Is SleepyTime Tea going to make up for the fact that I was molested?" he asks. "Global capitalism is brutal and heartless. In other news I got a great app for my phone that allows me not to feel!!!" he tweets.

"At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face," wrote Albert Camus of the strangeness of being alive. Pepitone's comedy is the visceral experience of a man being continually struck. When I've shown Pepitone's Netflix special to friends, some have asked me, "How do you handle all of the screaming?" The truth is, I don't really notice the screaming. Perhaps because his screams echo my own in a world where those around me don't seem so shocked by the fact that we exist. Camus also wrote, "I draw from the absurd three consequences, which are my revolt, my freedom, and my passion." In Pepitone's work, I find that revolt, freedom, and passion. I feel that I have company on that street corner

I caught up with Eddie Pepitone by cellphone on his way to play a role in Jill Greenberg's Feminist Pigs, wherein seven women take revenge on their abusers. Pepitone was to be shooting a scene at a pool in Beverly Hills, and for the part, he would have to be electrocuted underwater. We talked about anxiety, sobriety, and why life is hell.

So Sad Today: So you're going to get electrocuted?Eddie Pepitone: This is the kind of shit it's typical for me today I'll be getting electrocuted and tomorrow I'm supposed to be upside down on a lucite cross. This is how my life goes. That's my m.o. is I agree to do things, and then it's like, "Oh God."

Yes, any time a plan gets canceled it's the best day of my life.My big thing lately is I'm just gonna show up for whatever. I'm gonna be an adult. I agreed to do this. The old me would have wiggled out somehow. Now I'm on the trip of walking through pain.

When did the new you start? I'm being dragged, kicking and screaming. So I don't want to make it likeI guess the new me that is doing that is pretty new. Like a year old?

The walking through pain aspect is interesting. When I first discovered your comedy it was when you performed at an addiction recovery benefit show. I know that we're both sober. For me, using drugs and alcohol was an attempt not to be human. So when painmy own humanityoccurs, it feels like something is very wrong.Drugs and alcohol are just a game plan to avoid pain, right? When you've done that for years, you have to rewire yourself, because you're so used to killing the pain and not facing stuff. And now all of a sudden, you're like me where everything is fraught with anxiety. I'm going to a pool, and I'm just worried.

What would you say are your major fears right now? I think like tremendous violence happening to me or collapsing from a panic attack in the streets and being abandoned alone. What the panic attack symbolizes for me is I'm going to die in the streets alone gasping for air, how fucking horrific is that image, and it also representslike my big issues areI guess abandonment. Like just being bereft and abandoned and nobody gives a fuck. And LA is a weird place to be if those are your issues.

LA is an abandonment issue. You start out abandoned, because everything is so far apart. But dying alone in public is definitely scarier than dying alone at home. Like I just want to die in my sleep, and I think it's unfair that some people get so much better deaths than others. I think it's also about ego death. When I'm listening to a speaker like Eckhart Tolle, I feel like I get it, but then as soon as I go back to my life, I feel that terror of losing things, of losing life.

I loved in The Bitter Buddha when you were listening to Eckhart Tolle in the car and then yelling, "Fuck you, asshole!" at another car. He makes ego death sound so soothing, but the real experiences I've had of ego death were like, I felt like a chair was dissolving under me, and everything was decontextualized. I was like, wait, I don't want to be conscious, put the blinders back on! Anyway, I wanted to ask you, why is everything a living hell?Yeah, why is everything a living hell? Well, I think it comes down to that, well for me, I just didn't get any guidance or nurturing when I was younger. So I grew up such a twisted person who was always trying to avoid pain I just think it's hilarious that I drive around LA, the rich and powerful LA, sunshine, everybody's talking about it, and meanwhile I'm listening in the car to how the body holds trauma, and just feeling it. So your question, why is everything a living hell? I think it's a perspective we have cultivated for so long. I'm just becoming conscious of myhold on

[I hear Pepitone talking to a woman who asks what he is doing. She thinks he is there to clean the pool. He responds that he is one of the actors in a film and is an hour early.]

Now I'm afraidmaybe I shouldn't be giving information, like the filmmaker has done something on the sly and I've just given information, like, yes we're filming in the pool. Oh, God. And I'm like, "I'm one of the actors. I'm a big actor who has trauma trapped in his body." So why is everything a living hell? Wait, I'm going to tweet that, "I'm a big actor who has trauma trapped in his body." I think it's funny to call myself a "big actor."

That's also something you would literally see: Don Johnson, 30 years later, in US Weekly, "How Don Johnson Got Through the Trauma Trapped in His Body."Don Johnson.

It all comes down to Don Johnson.It does, I think. But I think it happens young, the hell. I think the hell gets implanted in us young, and I think as we then deal with the world, especially getting intolike I got into smoking tons of weed at 14 and that was my big escape. Little did I know that I was just postponing the inevitable reckoning. You know, there's always a reckoning in life.

The reckoning is so annoying. Like I've been clean and sober now for more than 12 years, but I'm still such an addict that I will get addicted to fucking anything that gets me out of myself. I'm always looking for that thing that I can just have infinite amounts of without a reckoning. But the day of reckoning always comes.Lately, I've been really into my dogs. Like, just putting so much of my emotions and obsessionI'm constantly looking to soften every day. I'm so into my dogs, but there's always part of me now that's like, "They're going to die one day. And that's going to be the reckoning that's going to be hard." It's like this too shall pass, the bad things and the good things but I remember Mark Maron said, "I'm trying to get the pleasure out of a pint of ice cream now that I got out of an 8-ball."

Yeah, the party we cobble together gets shittier and shittier. I have, like, Twitter and porn. I have, like nothing.I'm trying not to watch porn now. I just feel like it's feeding this shitty part of me... but then I get drawn to it too, and I'm like, oh my God but it's that panicked feel. Anything that has that addictive feeling to it, it always leads you to crazy things. It's that empty calorie shit that's feeding that demon we have. I need to fuck this, I need to eat it, I need to fuck it and eat it.

Totally! The hungry ghost.But are we being overly dramatic about our stuff? We're both sober. I'm sitting here right now ,and I'm looking at the trees, and the air is really nice, so there is a part of me now that is more connected than ever before to good stuff too. But it's so fraught with the feeling that just on the other side, waiting for me, are the demons. Have you read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck? The big pain point is trying to avoid pain. We all think we should be riding around in a Maserati getting our dicks sucked, millions in the bank, everything is fucking great, and when adversity hits we're like, no, no, I don't want that, and that's what makes life unbearable. But it's the pain that leads to the good stuff. Like when you're in an intimate relationship, and you avoid at all costs a hard conversation about how you feel, but that kind of intimacy is what's going to make your life more intimate. We need to have the attitude that life isn't supposed to be a carousel ride while eating a fucking cake...which I love.

Of course. I want permanent cake. Like I want to be in the cake. I just want to be in the cake, all the time. But somehow not get sick of the cake. Like be high off the cake and just be able to eat the infinite cake. But in regards to the other shoe dropping and childhood stuff, I feel like it's a defense mechanism. To fully trust is just too scary. Because then I'm not in control when the shoe drops. Even though that control is an illusion. I think it's so fucking hard to let that go. And just to get into what's going on today, neo-Nazis and Trump, social media hysteria, you kind of look at the world and you go, Holy shit, it is a shithole. It is a fucking nightmare.

Yes, you look around, and there is plenty to verify that it's all shit. That's the scary thing.

There's horror. And then there's love. And then there's horror. But even nature is scary, toojust its randomness. I was watching this documentary the other day, and there was a crocodile who got in the mix with a bunch of hippos. And in defending themselves, the hippos had a stampede to chase the croc away. And they succeeded. But in the chaos, one of the hippos got accidentally stabbed by another hippo's tusk and was going to die. And I'm watching the hippo who got stabbed accidentally, and I'm like, fuck dude, that wasn't an act of evil. But it sucks for that hippo. And that scares me too. The randomness.Eckhart Tolle is constantly harping like a little bitch about the present moment. And I get his point butoh man, I felt that, the way that hippo got stabbed accidentally and was just going off to die, and the way animals like that go off to die is like my dying on the street alone. The way animals slink away when they're dying.

That hippo was having your nightmare death. I should have a picture of that hippopotamus dying, blown up, and just put on the biggest wall in my place.

It just says "The Worst That Can Happen."Right, the worst that can happen. And when people come over I just go uh, that hippo, that's just before she dies.

But what were you thinking about the present moment and that hippo?My thought is that, the reason why life is hell is that we don't stay in the presentlike you're watching that fucking documentary, and you're actually watching it on a comfortable couch, eating your cake, and that's your present moment.

But what about the present moment for that hippo? But I get it. I could spend 70 years worrying about my death and only five dying.Like, right now my present moment is fine. But what we do, we don't stay in the present moment. I'm worrying about my death, or my lack of faith. And that's what makes life hell it's our minds that are the fucking enemy. Like right now I'm sitting here, and it's really pretty and everything, but I'm in this really ritzy part of theI don't know where the fuck I amand I'm thinking, Someone with a gun could just come out and be like, Who the fuck are you? It's peaceful here.

Buy So Sad Today: Personal Essays on Amazon, and follow her on Twitter.

Original post:
'I'm Going to Die in the Streets Alone': Talking with Comic Eddie Pepitone - VICE

"A new generation of Futurists will be reading this seminal book and the incredible, important work of Hazel Henderson." Julie Friedman Steele, CEO / Board Chair, World Future Society.

SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla., Aug. 22 /CSRwire/ - Foundational futurist Hazel Henderson, CEO of Ethical Markets Media Certified B. Corporation, releases her first book Creating Alternative Futures:The End of Economics, Foreword by E.F. Schumacher (1978), helping launch the "Small Is Beautiful" cultural revolution.

The issues and ideas explored are now more relevant today: decentralized, democratic solar economies; ending fossil fuel use; globalizing human rights, environmental protection and organic agriculture; facing up to inequality with decent wages, basic incomes, employee-ownership, cooperative enterprises, public banking, beyond economics toward transforming finance. all the UNs Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

Theodore Gordon, founder of The Futures Group and co-founder of the Millennium Project says, This book burst like a creative seedpod and still germinates ideas among futurists, science writers and policy wonks worldwide.

Creating Alternative Futures in 300 libraries worldwide in many languages is also free from the University of Florida Digital Collections. Stephanie Mills, author of Epicurean Simplicity and On Gandhi's Path, says "Ahead of its time, right on time, and timeless, Hazel Henderson's first book abounds in courageous critical insight, immense sanity, systems wisdom, and inspiring reportage. Henderson, whose personal energy is positively solar, illuminates possible, urgent, evolutionary moves for our kind".

Original praise from founding futurists, including Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock(1964) and Barbara Ward, author of Spaceship Earth (1966). Elise Boulding, peace activist author of Cultures of Peace (2000) called Hazel "my favorite paradigm smasher"; oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau, said "In this book are most of the ideas we are fighting for"; Todays pre-eminent meta-historian William Irwin Thompson includes Hazel in his Lindisfarne Fellowship and "Thinking Together At The Edge Of History"(2016). Futurist philosophers Barbara Marx Hubbard and Jean Houston co-authored the Power of Yin with Hazel (1978). Physicist Fritjof Capra co-authored their Qualitative Growth. Alice Tepper Marlin, founder of Social Accountability International and founding godmother of socially responsible investing metrics discusses with Hazel "The Future of Finance" in our 2016 TV series, distributed globally.

About Ethical Markets:Founded by Hazel in 2004 to track and help accelerate the global transition to cleaner, more inclusive, knowledge-rich Solar Age economies, publisher of the Green Transition Scoreboard, founder of the EthicMarkAwards for Advertising that Uplifts the Human Spirit and Society http://www.ethicmark.org and a suite of global ethical standards and the MOOC, where Hazels book is also available free, along with resources for lifelong learners and aspiring global citizens.

Excerpt from:
Time Now for Creating Alternative Futures - CSRwire.com (press release)

08.23.17

Washington, D.C. Today, the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to extend the review of the proposed $13.7 billion Amazon.com-Whole Foods Market merger. The unusual and complex deal would pose substantial risks for consumers, farmers and innovative food manufacturers. The proposed mega-merger would jump-start Amazons floundering efforts to sell food and groceries by adding millions of square-feet of retail space at Whole Foods 436 U.S. locations.

The two companies already have many customers in common and the Whole Foods stores substantially overlap with Amazon Freshs distribution centers, giving the merged firm a strong platform to dominate the emerging online grocery and grocery delivery businesses. The deal also poses substantial risks to the thousands of smaller-scale and local farmers that have been supplying fresh fruits, vegetables and meat to local Whole Foods stores.

Amazons proposed takeover of Whole Foods could destroy long-standing arrangements with local farmers as the e-commerce giant pushes for larger scale suppliers and unreasonably low prices, said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. The deal could unravel decades of goodwill with local farmers who have helped build local food economies across the United States.

The deal could also harm independent organic and natural groceries and the innovative food manufacturers that have been delivering the healthier food that shoppers are increasingly demanding. Moreover, the deal could also weaken certified organic products, as Amazons chaotic third party marketplace could introduce fraudulent organic food and dilute organic standards, in part in an effort to push down on the price of organic farm goods. Already, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is struggling to combat fraudulent organic imports and the proposed deal could exacerbate the prevalence and problem of organic fraud.

Amazon has allowed its third-party sellers to sell counterfeit shoes, shirts and electronics the proposed deal could allow a flood of fraudulent organics that would dilute and undermine commitment to certified organic food, said Hauter.

Shoppers could also be disadvantaged in the face of Amazons opaque pricing algorithm that allows different consumers to pay different prices for the exact same goods. The complexity and volatility of prices and promotions can disadvantage and confuse consumers who may or may not be getting the best prices for any given good. This effective price discrimination is entirely inappropriate for food.

The FTC must extend the review of the Amazon-Whole Foods merger to fully investigate the wide-ranging implication of this latest mega-merger, said Hauter. Today, a tiny number of retailers dominate grocery sales and this proposed merger poses more risks than benefits for farmers and consumers.

Read Food & Water Watchs letter to the Federal Trade Commission.

Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905, [emailprotected]

Read more:

Food & Water Watch Calls on FTC to Extend Review of Proposed Amazon-Whole Foods Merger - Food and Water Watch

LAKEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --In a recent survey of Natural Grocers customers, respondents revealed their top 3 reasons for choosing to purchase organic produce.

These survey results offer insight into the growth we've seen in the organic sector over the last decade. This growth has been mirrored by an increasing amount of scientific evidence emphasizing the benefits of organic food and organic agriculture. Recent large scale meta-analyses that carefully weighed all the data available from previously published studies have shown that organic produce is higher in antioxidants and much less likely to be contaminated with harmful pesticides and heavy metals than conventional produce.i

Organic buyers reduce their exposure to pesticides

More than 90% of the respondents said that one of the main reasons they buy organic "is to avoid pesticides." This reasoning is backed by solid scientific evidence, as one study found that 94% of people in the United States have detectable levels of pesticide breakdown products in their urine.ii Conversely, studies focused on the effect of eating organic have shown that consuming a diet that contains at least 80% organic ingredients for just one week reduces the pesticide breakdown products in subjects' bodies by 96%.iii Given these examples, it's no wonder that avoiding pesticides is a primary reason consumers choose to eat organic.

Organic produce is naturally non-GMO

The next most common reasonchosen by 70% of survey respondentsto buy organic is to avoid genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are pervasive in our food supply, and produce is no exception. Currently, genetically modified (GM) summer squash, such as zucchini, is grown in the United States and sold as fresh produce in both the United States and Canada. Similarly, approximately 80% of the total papaya grown in the United States (predominately in Hawaii) is also genetically modified, which is likely to increase as more GM papaya is in the process of being grown in new places such as Florida. A small amount of sweet corn sold in grocery stores is also GM, meaning that the delicious sweet corn you throw on the grill could be a GMOunless it's organic. Other types of GM produce that have been approved to be sold in the United States include potatoes and apples, though they haven't made it to the marketplace yet. Buying organic is a great way to be 100% sure that your produce is non-GMO because GMOs are never allowed in organic production.

Organic produce provides higher nutritional content

The third most common reason Natural Grocers customers choose organic produce is because they believe it is a more nutritious option to feed their families. And they are rightside-by-side comparisons of conventional tomatoes and organic tomatoes have shown that organic tomatoes have 20% higher levels of lycopene and 30% higher levels of vitamin C.iv Other studies have shown similar results when comparing organic and conventional fruits and vegetables.

Many of the phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables that are beneficial for human health are naturally produced by plants in order to discourage pests from eating the plant. When plants are sprayed with pesticides, the plant's innate production of these beneficial phytonutrients is reduced, resulting in a less nutritious product, while organic crops are forced to rely on their own defenses and produce more phytonutrients to deter pests. And it's not just about what organic produce has more of, it's also what it hasless ofdata shows that organic produce has 48% lower levels of cadmium, a harmful heavy metal that makes its way into conventional soils through contaminated synthetic fertilizers.

Organic produce supports a healthy ecosystem and agricultural economy

As you can see, there are some pretty significant reasons why consumers choose to buy organic produce. There are other reasons to consider, too.

Organic agriculture is known to regenerate ecosystems and the soil, while conventional agriculture strips the environment, destroying our natural resources, and requires constant chemical inputs. There are also numerous hidden costs of conventional agriculture that burden society and decrease quality of life.

On the other hand, a recent study conducted by a Penn State agricultural economist found that communities with high levels of organic agricultural activity are more successful economically. So no matter what your reason is for shopping organic, you should feel good about your purchase and know that you are voting with your dollar for a type of agriculture that benefits the environment, the economy, and human health.

Written by Jonathan Clinthorne, Ph.D. Manager of Scientific Affairs & Nutrition Education

Jonathan F. Clinthorne, Ph.D., is an ultra-endurance athlete trained in immunology and expert in human nutrition. Clinthorne has served on numerous medical advisory boards and has authored a number of research papers covering topics such as probiotics, immune function, inflammation and human nutrition.

Jonathan's mission is to help make free science-backed nutrition education available to everyone and reduce our dependence on pharmaceutical drugs. Jonathan has been seen on Fox TV, Forbes, Ultra Running Magazine, Runner's World and Organic Authority.

About Natural Grocers by Vitamin CottageNatural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC; NaturalGrocers.com) is a rapidly expanding specialty retailer of organic and natural groceries, body care and dietary supplements. The company offers a flexible, neighborhood-store format, affordable prices and free, science-based nutrition education programs to help customers make informed health and nutrition choices. Founded in Colorado in 1955, Natural Grocers has more than 3,000 employees and operates 140 stores in 19 states.

i Baranski M, et al. Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. British Journal of Nutrition. 2014; 112(5): 794-811.ii Barr, Dana B et al. Concentrations of Dialkyl Phosphate Metabolites of Organophosphorus Pesticides in the U.S. Population. Environmental Health Perspectives 112:186200 (2004).iii Oates L,Cohen M,Braun L,Schembri A,Taskova R. Reduction in urinary organophosphatepesticidemetabolites in adults after a week-longorganicdiet. Environ Res.2014 Jul;132:105-11.iv Vinha AF,Barreira SV,Costa AS,Alves RC,Oliveira MB. Organicversus conventional tomatoes: influence on physicochemical parameters, bioactive compounds and sensorial attributes. Food Chem Toxicol.2014 May;67:139-44.

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SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.

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