10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO RID THE WORLD OF GMOs
Ronnie Cummins- Organic Consumers Assoc.
ESSAY OF THE WEEK
Goodbye Monsanto, Hello Health
Have you ever noticed that when Monsanto, the FDA, or the Biotechnology Industry Organization are asked whether or not GMO-tainted foods are safe, they always say that GMOs are "just as safe" as "conventional" (i.e. chemical- and drug-tainted) foods, and pose no "unique" risks to human health or the environment?
In a twisted sense they’re right. Because both GMO and non-GMO chemical-intensive, factory-farmed crops and foods are dangerous. And both GMO and non-GMO chemical-intensive foods destroy public health, animal health, soil health and the environment. They are also the major driving forces behind global warming and climate change.
GMOs and Roundup, neonicotinoids, 2,4 D, atrazine, glufosinate, and dicamba—and all the other chemicals being sprayed on the food that we eat, and ultimately running off into water that we drink—are poison. The major reason chronic diseases like cancer, autism, diabetes, and obesity, along with reproductive, behavioral, endocrine and immune system disorders, are spiraling out of control is that our environment is toxic. We are ingesting—from the womb, to the hospital, to the grave—poisoned, pesticide-laden food.
Here are 10 actions consumers need to take to protect themselves and their families, and drive GMOs off the market.
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
Victory in Vermont!
It ain’t over yet. But you can score one for Vermont consumers and pro-labeling advocates all over the country.
On Monday (April 27), a federal judge in Vermont struck a major blow to the junk food and gene giant industries by signaling that Vermont has a constitutional right to require labels on foods produced with genetic engineering.
The judge’s 84-page ruling scuttled Monsanto’s plan to stall Vermont’s GMO labeling law, and instead paved the way for Vermont to finalize its rules for the country’s first statewide bill to require mandatory labeling of GMOs, effective July 1, 2016.
That’s great news for consumers in Vermont. It also bodes well for consumers in other states, including Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which are in the process of moving GMO labeling bills through their legislatures.
Today (April 30, 2015), hundreds of people are expected to turn out for a public hearing in Augusta, Maine, on two bills: LD 783, a Right to Food Bill; and LD 991, a bill that would speed up enactment of Maine’s existing GMO labeling law by removing the stipulation that four additional and contiguous states must also pass GMO labeling laws before Maine’s law can take effect.
One of the arguments against LD 991 being bandied about in the halls of the Maine State House? “We can’t pass LD 991 because it might be unconstitutional.” Thanks to the timely ruling in Vermont, that debate should be over.
Read the OCA press release on Vermont
More on the April 30 public hearing on Maine’s LD 991
MARCH AGAINST MONSANTO
Marching Orders
Oops! Last week we invited you to reach out to OCA for materials for your local March against Monsanto event—but we left out a piece of critical information in the signup form. So if you signed up for materials before April 27, your request didn’t go through. Please sign up again, so you’ll get your packet in time.
Each year, the global March Against Monsanto grows, as more people come to understand the crimes against human health and the environment being perpetrated by Monsanto and the rest of the Biotech Bullies.
This year, we’re facing the threat of a bill before Congress that would preempt states’ rights to pass GMO labeling laws and end, once and for all, the movement to require mandatory labeling of GMOs.
That’s why it’s more critical than ever that this year we turn out millions of people around the world to make it clear to world leaders that it’s time to hold Monsanto accountable.
March Against Monsanto will take place on May 23, all across the globe. Once again, OCA will provide leaflets and other materials, free of charge, to those organizing or participating in a March Against Monsanto event.
March Against Monsanto events list
Sign up for your free packet of Monsanto Makes Us Sick materials
Submit a letter to the editor about stopping the DARK Act
SUPPORT THE OCA & OCFDeep Pockets $63.6 million. That’s how much the gene giants and junk food companies spent in 2014 to keep you in the dark about the GMOs in your food. These are the same companies that want you to buy their story that it would cost too much to make a routine label change on their food products. Right. We all know the real reason Monsanto and PepsiCo don’t want labels on GMO foods. Because contrary to their propaganda, they know as well as you do that GMO foods are not only not “equivalent” to non-GMO foods, but since more than 80 percent of them are grown with glyphosate (recently declared a carcinogen by the World Health Organization) they’re not safe, either. Now that a federal judge has cleared the way for Vermont to enact its GMO labeling law in 2016, the biotech and food industries are going into overdrive to pressure Congress to pass a federal law that would strip Vermont (and any other state that passes a similar law) of the right to pass GMO labeling laws. Talk about “unconstitutional.” We’re going to do everything we can to stop this outrageous overreach in D.C. At the same time, we are in the thick of a fight right now to pass a GMO labeling law in Maine. And we are pitching in to help Massachusetts and other New England states as well. We’re not asking for $63.6 million. We don’t need that much. Because we have science, and the truth, on our side. But we do need to raise enough money to win in D.C., and in New England this year. Your donation today will help us wage a stronger campaign. Thank you! Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education) Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts) |
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VIDEO OF THE WEEKMeaningful Music, Powerful Imagery Last week, we announced that OCA has joined the Feed the World Project to offer you, for the first time, the ability test your drinking water, urine and/or breast milk for the world’s most widely used herbicide, glyphosate. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) admits that it does not test food for glyphosate residues because it's "too expensive." You doctor can't test you for glyphosate. And your local water testing company does not offer glyphosate testing, either). The Feed the World Project created a striking documentary trailer to accompany the launch of this global project. Haven't seen it yet? Don't miss this powerful video. Watch it. Share it. Spread the word.
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SAVE ORGANIC STANDARDSCluck, Cluck Chicken feed had its day in the sun this week, even though the chickens destined to eat that feed remained mostly cooped up indoors. The issue of whether or not to phase out synthetic methionine from organics commanded its fair share of attention at the Spring National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting in La Jolla, Calif. OCA’s Patrick Kerrigan attended the meeting, where he delivered testimony on why it’s time to get synthetic methionine out of organics. He also delivered your signatures and comments on the issue. OCA advocates for banning the use of synthetic methionine in organics. Synthetic methionine, which acts as a growth promoter, is used primarily by large, factory-farm-like operations that skirt U.S. Department of Agriculture rules requiring organic poultry farmers to provide outdoor access and pasture for their birds. Alternatives to synthetic methionine exist, including natural supplementation with organic whole wheat, organic whole oats, alfalfa meal, sunflower meal, fish meal and limestone, and access to pasture where birds can obtain methionine from a natural diet. Read OCA’s testimony on methionine |
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EDUCATION ALERTListen Up! Does someone in your family have allergies? Autism? Digestive disorders? Other chronic illnesses? If so, you’re not alone. If you’ve ever wondered whether changes in the U.S. food supply over the past few decades may have something to do with changes in your health, or the health of your family, your in good, and plentiful, company. Want to learn more about what you can do to change the food system and protect your health? A number of organizations, including Moms Across America, Moms Across the World, the Weston Price A. Foundation and others have organized an international Call to Action for Healthy Communities, on Saturday, May 2, at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. You can plug into the call, to hear from experts like Vandana Shiva, Dr. Michelle Perro, Evagellos Valliantos (author of Poison Spring) and others about what you can do to improve the health of your family and community. |
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LITTLE BYTESEssential Reading for the Week Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Agree to Remove Flame Retardant Chemical from Their Products
Is Scientific American Censoring GMO-Skeptical Comments?
Spend More Time in the Dark to Sleep Better
Restoring Our Soils by Learning from History
Just Because Your Chicken Is Organic Doesn't Mean It Was Raised Humanely
Prominent Government Watchdog Asks Obama Administration to Remove Organic Leadership at USDA |
ronniecummins@organicconsumers.org