Dear Signers, April 14th (in 1 week) is the last day that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will accept written public comments on their online platform for the upcoming spring meeting, as well as the day I will submit our updated petition to them. 1) We're close to 7,000 signatures. Help us give it one last boost to 10,000 by SHARING this petition again, on all your social media - and remember the most important thing is to ask people to sign AND SHARE as well. This is what creates momentum, i.e. power for all of us. 2) Please consider WRITING A COMMENT to the NOSB expressing your concern on the plastic pollution created by the packaging of organic food. 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. (Ex: all plastic egg boxes should be replaced with paper pulp boxes, all bananas should have zero packaging, etc). Feel free to suggest similar things if you feel so enclined. Since the NOSB board members are all volunteers, they might not have time to research all topics the way we can; 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. Link to Public Comments Platform: https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=AMS-NOP-15-0085-0001 3) If you live near Washington, DC, you can also SHOW UP IN PERSON and speak your mind directly. Link to reserve an Oral Comment slot: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ecc69cz70570249f&llr=5eqfe4dab Location & Logistics of the Spring Meeting: https://www.ams.usda.gov/event/nosb-spring-2016-meeting-washington-dc 4) Lastly, you can also participate in the Public Comment webinar on April 19th: https://www.ams.usda.gov/event/public-comment-webinar-nosb-spring-2016-meeting Thank you again for your time and care. This is the beginning of a long fight. Warmly, The Bare Necessities