When You Learn What They’re Up to Now, You Too Will Want to Boycott Monsanto and GMA
Dr. MercolaMay 27, 2014
On April 16, the Vermont Senate passed the first no-strings-attached GMO labeling bill (H.112) by an overwhelming margin.1 On May 8, Governor Peter Shumlin signed the historic bill into law.
The law will require food manufacturers to label genetically engineered (GE) foods sold in Vermont, and prohibits them from labeling foods with GE ingredients as "natural" or "all natural."
The Burlington Free Press2 recently ran an excellent article on how the Vermont GMO labeling bill was won. I would highly encourage you to read it, to get a real-world view of just how effective a grassroots campaign can be.
Ultimately, it boils down to letting your representatives know what you want. Long before the bill passed through the legislative branches, Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) had openly threatened to sue, should Vermont pass such a law.
Still, despite these threats, Vermont legislators realized that their constituents were serious about wanting GE foods labeled, and they voted accordingly. As expected, on May 9 the GMA confirmed it will indeed sue Vermont in federal court, in an effort to overturn H.112. According to a recent update by Ronnie Cummins,3 National Director for the Organic Consumers Association (OCA):
"Vermont is prepared to fight back. The state has already established a 'food fight' legal defense fund. Legal analysts say Vermont will likely win.
Vermont isn't the only state up against the multi-billion dollar lobbying group. The GMA, whose 300-plus members include Monsanto and Dow, Coca-Cola and General Mills, is pushing a bill in Congress that would preempt all states from passing GMO labeling laws.4 [Editor's note: The "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014,"5 dubbed "DARK" (Denying Americans the right to know) Act.]
It's time for consumers in every state to band together to defeat the GMA's full-on assault, not only on Vermont, not only on consumers' right to know what's in our food, but on states' rights and on our basic freedoms to protect our health and our communities."
Second Time GMA Sues for Right to Keep Secrets from You
This is the second time in mere months that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is suing a state for the right to pull the wool over your eyes. During the Washington labeling campaign, the GMA got caught in a money laundering scheme aimed at protecting the identity (and hence the reputation) of members who donated funds to the anti-labeling campaign.6
The GMA was forced to reveal the donors to the aggressive anti-labeling campaign,7 but shortly thereafter it sued the state of Washington, arguing they should be allowed to hide their donors—which is a direct violation of state campaign disclosure laws—in order to "speak with one voice" for the interests of the food industry.8
Since then, the GMA has again removed its online membership list. Clearly, there's a concerted effort to hide who is behind this radical front group. You can still find the cached members list on web.archive.org,9 however.
I recently named the GMA "the most evil corporation on the planet," considering the fact that it consists primarily of pesticide producers and junk food manufacturers who are going to great lengths to violate some of your most basic rights—just to ensure that subsidized, genetically engineered and chemical-dependent, highly processed junk food remains the status quo.
The primary GE crops grown in the US are corn, soy, and sugar beets, and the primary ingredients in processed food are high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats), and refined sugar. Add in all the pesticides and hazardous fertilizers used in this chemical agriculture system, and you have the perfect formula for environmental destruction, disease, and premature death.
This is the business model the GMA is protecting, and labeling GE foods will surely severely cripple it. This is why the GMA is willing to resort to everything, from illegal money laundering schemes to irrational and wholly ludicrous lawsuits arguing for "the right" to violate disclosure laws.
Your health, your rights to make your own decisions, and your financial wellbeing have absolutely nothing to do with the GMAs objections to GMO labeling. They're not protecting you from confusion, unnecessary complexities, or higher prices. They're protecting their own profits, and those profits depend on widespread consumer ignorance.
History Being Made in Oregon: Two Counties Vote to Ban Genetically Engineered Crops
In addition to Vermont’s GMO labeling bill, against all odds we also defeated the pesticide producers and those that patent life in a historic vote in Jackson County, Oregon. There, residents have now voted to outright ban the growing of genetically engineered crops. The measure passed with 66 percent of the votes. This despite the fact that proponents for the ban raised only $375,000, while the opposition raised nearly $1 million.10 As reported by ABC News:11
“With most of the ballots counted in Tuesday's all-mail election, Jackson County voters approved the measure by a 2-to-1 margin. A similar, lower-profile measure in neighboring Josephine County led 58 percent to 42 percent with nearly two-thirds of expected ballots counted...”
'The voters here have many generations of fruit and vegetable growing, so they're among the most educated voters,' said Chuck Burr, president of the Southern Oregon Seed Growers Association. 'The opposition spent a million dollars and couldn't convince the people.'
The outcome, however, won't start an immediate trend in Oregon because Gov. John Kitzhaber signed a bill last fall that prohibits local governments from regulating genetically engineered crops. An exception was made for Jackson County because its measure had already qualified for the ballot. Despite the bill, opponents of GMOs in Josephine County went ahead with their own measure, saying they'll let the courts decide if the vote is valid.
The banning of GMO crops in Jackson County is a pivotal win; one that moves beyond labeling and protects the entire food-to-consumer principle. As we move closer to changing the health paradigm, and people become more aware of the intrinsic connection between the food they eat and their health, we’ll begin to see a regeneration of health across the board. While it may be in its infancy, the decision taken in Jackson County is symbolic of what the future holds, and the important part we play in advancing the basic principles of health and the sanctity of life. As noted by Ronnie Cummins:12
“The passing of these two GMO bans in Jackson and Josephine Counties should send a clear signal to politicians that citizens not only reject unregulated and hazardous GMOs, but are willing to defy the indentured politicians who pass laws, like Oregon’s S.B. 863, that take away county rights to ban GMOs and obliterate a 100-year tradition of home rule and balance of powers between counties and the state.
This is a tremendous victory for the citizens of these two counties, and for the farmers who are determined to fight the threat of unwanted contamination by GMO crops. It is also a victory for the national anti-GMO movement as it builds momentum for similar bans in counties in other states.
The margins of victory for these two measures also bode well for passing Oregon’s Ballot Initiative #44 in November 2014, a statewide ballot measure to require mandatory labeling of GMO foods and foods containing GMO ingredients, sold at retail. And finally, these victories make it clear to agribusiness giants like Monsanto and Dow that the day has come when they can no longer buy and lie their way to victory.”
The Great Boycott Is Here
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