On November 5, Washington State will cast their votes for
the people's initiative 522, "The People's Right to Know
Genetically Engineered Food Act." Your support is urgently
needed
The “NO on 522” campaign has already raised more than $11
million—nearly four times the amount raised by the
pro-labeling camp. Monsanto alone has donated $4.8 million
to the anti-labeling campaign
In the UK, where GMO’s require labeling already, Monsanto
ads urge Britons to seek such labels out, because Monsanto
believes “you should be aware of all the facts before making
a decision”
Moms for Labeling has sued the Grocery Manufacturers
Association, claiming the trade association is “laundering
money" from their members to “illegally” hide the donors
identities to prevent consumer backlash
We’re now only weeks away from the next big GMO-labeling vote
in the United States; this time in Washington State, where
citizens will cast their votes for the people's initiative 522,
"The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act," on
November 5.
Initiative 522 will require seeds, raw agricultural
commodities, and processed foods to be labeled if they’re
produced using genetic engineering.1
As in last year’s California Proposition 37 GMO
labeling campaign, the opposition from industry is fierce, with
millions of dollars being poured into the anti-labeling
campaign.
According to the Public Disclosure Commission,2
the “NO on 522” campaign has already raised more than $11
million—nearly four times the amount raised by the pro-labeling
camp. Monsanto leads the charge, having donated close to $4.8
million to the anti-labeling campaign.
I want to remind you that the success of this ballot
initiative is dependent on public donations, and we’re up
against industry giants with very deep pockets, so
please, help us win this key GMO labeling battle and continue to
build momentum for GMO labeling in other states by
making a donation to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
today.
The Two Faces of Monsanto
According to Robb Fraley, executive vice president and chief
technology officer of Monsanto, the company backs efforts to
prevent GMO labeling in Washington State “for the same reasons
we opposed the California initiative.” He recently told
Politico:3
“The reason people are funding campaigns for
mandatory labeling is because they basically want to get rid
of biotech, and they want biotech to suffer the same view as
salt or sugar on the label, and the science doesn’t support
it.”
Curiously enough, Monsanto is more than willing to “support”
GMO labeling once they run out of options. Here’s a Monsanto ad
from the UK, letting British consumers know how much the company
supports the mandatory labeling of their goods—even urging
Britons to seek such labels out—ostensibly because Monsanto
believes “you should be aware of all the facts before making a
decision.”
What’s the difference between British shoppers and American
shoppers? Why does Monsanto support one nation’s right to know
but not another? It’s time to put an end to this hypocritical
charade and label foods in the US, as has been done in 64 other
countries4
across the globe already!
GMA Sued for “Money Laundering” in Anti-GMO Labeling Scheme
In addition to Monsanto’s $4.8 million donation to the No on
522 campaign, Dupont has kicked in $3.4 million,5
and The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) $2.2 million.
UPDATE: The Grocery Manufacturers Association has just
kicked in another $5 million recently! The Grocery Manufacturers
Association has now contributed over $7 million against I-522!
Curiously absent from any list of donors are the big spenders
from last year’s No on Prop 37 campaign. The reason for this is
not likely to be due to a change of heart on these companies’
behalf. Rather we may be looking at yet another level of shifty
maneuvering.
Aren’t these companies willing to tell you the truth about
anything?Food democracy Now! recently notified
subscribers that the Washington State group Moms for
Labeling has sued6
the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), claiming the trade
association is “laundering money" from their members to
“illegally” hide the donors identities.7
GMA members include popular food and beverage giants like
Pepsi, Coke, Kraft, Kellogg's and General Mills. Last year, many
of them faced boycotts and bad publicity once people realized
the brands had spent large sums of money to keep them in the
dark about genetically engineered ingredients. So this year,
many of the same companies are simply trying to circumvent
having to reveal their position on this issue.
Last year’s labeling campaign also made many Americans aware
of the fact that some of their beloved and trusted
natural/organic brands are actually owned by the very same junk
food corporations that fought against GMO labeling in
California. This too caused outrage, and for good reason.
Essentially, you have brands that proclaim to be all natural
and/or organic taking a stand against your right to
know what’s in your food. It doesn’t get any more hypocritical
than that. As reported by the featured article:8
“[S]tate election rules requires political committees
to reveal their own donors so that voters can tell who's
behind political contributions from generic-sounding groups,
such as the GMA, that are helping fund initiatives.
The GMA is the lobbying group for the food industry,
but that doesn't necessarily make them a "political
committee." To be considered a political committee by the
state, an organization has to specifically solicit money to
influence an election or exist primarily to influence an
election. But the GMA is already a membership group whose
primary purpose isn't I-522.
However, in its complaint,9
the pro-522 activists contend, through whistleblower
sources, that the GMA specifically appealed to members to
contribute to the No campaign. The complaint states: "The
Grocery Manufacturers Association has made a special appeal
to its members in the form of a voluntary special
assessment, to fund the No on 522 Campaign." According to
state rules, if that's true, that would make the GMA a
political committee.”
Recent polls show that 64-66 percent of likely voters in
Washington State strongly support GMO labeling, which puts
further pressure on companies who’d rather not disclose such
ingredients. The following graphic reveals which brands support
labeling, and which ones hide behind the trade lobby group, GMA,
which is funding the NO on 522 campaign in its own name rather
than the companies’ whose donations are being used. Essentially,
that means any company maintaining membership with the
GMA becomes suspect in this regard.
You CAN Make a Difference
More than 25,000 people petitioned Dr. Andrew Weil to
withdraw his company, Weil Lifestyle, from the GMA for this
reason. He listened, and withdrew his membership. The Organic
Consumers Association is currently petitioning Aurora Organic to
take a clear stand and withdraw its membership from the Grocery
Manufacturers Association10
as well.
Will GMO Soil Microbes Herald Another Agricultural Disaster?
I’ve written extensively about the health hazards and
environmental harm caused by
glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide
Roundup. The New York Times11
also recently addressed the issue:
“Because glyphosate moves into the soil from the
plant, it seems to affect the rhizosphere, the ecology
around the root zone, which in turn can affect plant
health,” said Robert Kremer, a scientist at the United
States Agriculture Department, who has studied the impact of
glyphosate on soybeans for more than a decade and has warned
of the herbicide’s impact on soil health.
Like the human microbiome, the plants’ roots systems
rely on a complex system of bacteria, fungi and minerals in
the soil. The combination, in the right balance, helps
protect the crops from diseases and improves photosynthesis.
In some studies, scientists have found that a big
selling point for the pesticide — that it binds tightly to
minerals in the soil, like calcium, boron and manganese,
thus preventing runoff — also means it competes with plants
for those nutrients. Other research indicates that
glyphosate can alter the mix of bacteria and fungi that
interact with plant root systems, making them more
susceptible to parasites and pathogens.”
Incredibly, the article actually hints at the possibility of
engineering soil microbes to “make up” for the
detrimental effects of Roundup! Earlier this year, Monsanto
purchased “select assets” of Agradis,12
a “sustainable agricultural solutions” company founded by J.
Craig Venter, a scientist who sequenced the human genome to
develop various microbes and “agricultural biologicals.”
Monsanto also acquired a collection of Venter’s microbes.
According to Monsanto’s chief technology officer Robert Fraley,
“the foray into microbes... is to improve yield and address some
of the issues raised about glyphosate.” What the future might
hold if they actually go so far as to tinker with genetically
engineered soil microbes is anyone’s guess. But I’m betting it
won’t be good...
Join Us in Your Right to Know by Getting GMOs Labeled!
While California Prop. 37 failed to pass last November by a
very narrow margin, the fight for GMO labeling is far from over.
In the past few weeks, Connecticut and Maine have passed
GMO-labeling bills, and 20 other states have pending legislation
to label genetically engineered foods. So, now is the time to
put the pedal to the metal and get labeling across the
country—something 64 other countries already have.
I hope you will join us in this effort.
The field-of-play has now moved to the state of Washington,
where the people's initiative 522, "The People's Right to Know
Genetically Engineered Food Act," will require food sold in
retail outlets to be labeled if it contains genetically
engineered ingredients. Please help us win this key GMO
labeling battle and continue to build momentum for GMO labeling
in other states bymaking a donationto the Organic
Consumers Association (OCA).
Remember, as with CA Prop. 37, they need support of people
like YOU to succeed. Prop. 37 failed with a very narrow margin
simply because we didn't have the funds to counter the massive
ad campaigns created by the No on 37 camp, led by Monsanto and
other major food companies. Let's not allow Monsanto and its
allies to confuse and mislead the people of Washington and
Vermont as they did in California. So please, I urge you to get
involved and help in any way you can.
No matter where you live in the United States, please
donate money to these labeling efforts through the
Organic
Consumers Fund.
Sign up to learn more about how you can get involved by
visiting
Yeson522.com!
For timely updates on issues relating to these and other
labeling initiatives, please join the Organic Consumers
Association on
Facebook,
or follow them on
Twitter.
Talk to organic producers and stores and ask them to
actively support the Washington initiative.