By Dr. Mercola
Two years ago, Seth Goldman sold a significant portion of
Honest Tea—the organic beverage brand he co-founded—to
Coca-Cola.
As you probably know, Coca-Cola has donated millions of
dollars to anti-GMO labeling campaigns to make sure genetically
engineered ingredients remain hidden. Meanwhile, Goldman, a
self-proclaimed activist who is still CEO of Honest Tea, claims
his company is for transparency in labeling.
The conflicting interests between Honest Tea and Coca-Cola
appear to have resulted in false statements that are anything
but transparent. Could these public statements by
Goldman constitute an SEC violation, considering these
statements may have reassured concerned customers to continue
purchasing organic products whose profits were used to fight the
consumer's right to know?
Is Coca-Cola and/or Honest Tea Guilty of SEC Violation?
In a September 3, 2013 article in the Washington Post,1
Goldberg states that "after internal discussions,
Coca-Cola will not be directly lobbying against a similar effort
in the state of Washington, although it is a funder of
trade associations arguing against the labeling."
Fast-forward a couple of months, to when the Grocery
Manufacturers Association of America (GMA) was caught red-handed
in a
money-laundering scheme aimed at protecting the identity of
its anti-GMO labeling donors during the Washington campaign.
Once the GMA was forced to reveal where the money for its
anti-labeling campaign came from,2,
3 Coca-Cola Company was is shown right there on
Washington's official political disclosures, front and center,
as the fifth largest contributor, having thrown $1.5 million
into the pot!
So, did Coca-Cola lie to Goldman, leading him to make a false
statement? Or did he lie, knowing that Coca-Cola was really
planning on laundering its donations to the Washington
anti-labeling campaign? This way, no one would know
that Goldman lied, and that Coca-Cola paid big bucks to squash
GMO labeling yet again.
If you're wondering why these are newsworthy questions, it's
because executives making false or misleading statements about
their company, including false or misleading financial
statements that benefit a publicly traded company, is an SEC
violation4—it's
pretty serious stuff.
And, from a more personal standpoint, do you really want to
support a company that lies right to your face about such an
important issue as whether or not they will spend that money
that you gave them to prevent you from learning
what's in their products?
Besides the legality of making such false statements, it's
just plain wrong. Goldman now says he's going to change Coke
which is an interesting comment in itself, but it appears we
should be far more concerned about major junk food companies
destroying organics.
GMA Sues to Overturn Vermont's New GMO Labeling Law
The Grocery Manufacturers Association of America (GMA)
consists primarily of pesticide producers and junk food
manufacturers who are downright ruthless in their efforts to
ensure subsidized, genetically engineered and
chemical-dependent, highly processed junk food remains the
status quo.
Most recently, the GMA has shown its true colors by suing
Vermont5,
6 in an effort to overturn H.112—the first
no-strings-attached GMO labeling in the US.
The bill was passed by an overwhelming margin,7
and Governor Peter Shumlin signed the historic bill into law on
May 8. 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 GMA's lawsuit claims that their members are going to end
hunger with their pesticide-laden GMOs, but we already know that
the problem with hunger is not production, it's distribution.
There's more than enough food to go around; it's just poorly
distributed.
So their worldwide rescue plan is to fatten up the developing
world on high fructose corn syrup from GE corn, sugar from GE
sugar beets, and trans fats from GE soybean oil or GE cottonseed
oil – what a gigantic lie!
GMO Promises Fall Flat Again and Again... Because They're Not
Based on Truth
The traits of GE plants require MORE water, not less, placing
increasing pressure on areas already suffering from lack of
potable water. Many GE plants also produce their own internal
pesticides. This was meant to reduce pesticide requirements, but
instead, these plants require more pesticides than ever
before—just to keep up with the proliferation of resistant
pests and weeds!
For example, Bloomberg8
recently reported that "BASF, the world's biggest chemical
maker, plans to produce 50 percent more dicamba weedkiller in
Texas to keep pace with anticipated demand from a new generation
of genetically modified crops."
Dicamba—this is the weedkiller that has been linked to
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. And Texas is
gearing up to dump 50 percent more of it on its crops in the
near future. How is this benefiting anyone's health and
well-being? The list of failed GMO promises goes on and on...
Countries that recognize these facts and risks are even being
more or less blackmailed into accepting GE crops, especially if
they're in need of aid. El Salvador is one such example.9
GMOs Have Labeling Requirements in More Than 60 Countries, But
Not in the 'Land of the Free'
The words "Contain GMOs" are required on labels in 64 other
countries around the world—a fact the GMA lawsuit neglects to
mention. It is truthful information, and just like added flavors
must be labeled "natural or artificial," and juice must state if
it is from concentrate, whether or not an ingredient is
genetically engineered falls under truth in labeling.
To take it a step further, it prevents fraud. Free market
principles require certain understandings. If you label a
product "salmon," a buyer and seller understand what salmon is.
If you splice eel genes into salmon, it is now sEELmon, or
some-such-thing. It's no longer plain, regular old salmon. If
you continue to mislabel this eel-spliced fish as salmon, the
seller is committing fraud. Labeling GMOs—transgenic plants and
animals—is a truthful right of the consumer.
We consider non-labeled transgenic products to be fraud that the
federal government has allowed based on "substantial
equivalence"—a term invented to monopolize and patent life
between a few gigantic corporate interests.
Largest Boycott EVER, Now in Progress!
Joining the Grocery Manufacturers Association of America in
this lawsuit against Vermont are the Snack Food Association
(SFA), International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), and the
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). These are deep
pockets, my friends! On June 12, Organic Consumers Association's
National Director, Ronnie Cummins responded to the news by
calling for a nationwide boycott of ALL GMA member brands and
products, saying:10
"Today's move by the Grocery Manufacturers
Association to prevent Vermont from requiring food companies
to disclose the truth about what they put in the billions of
dollars' worth of food they sell to consumers is a desperate
attempt to protect corporate shareholder profits at the
expense of consumers' rights and health.
More than 60 other countries have either banned GMOs,
or require mandatory labeling of foods that contain them.
Consumers in the U.S. have every reasonable right to the
same information that consumers in other countries have
about foods and ingredients that have not been subjected to
independent, pre-market safety testing.
Beyond the truth and transparency in labeling issue,
every U.S. citizen should be concerned when a multi-billion
dollar corporate lobbying group sues in federal court to
overturn a state's right to govern for the health and safety
of its citizens... The GMA's membership includes more than
300 companies in the business of selling junk food,
pesticides and drugs.
The OCA today calls on consumers to
boycott the products sold by all of those companies,
including the organic and natural brands whose parent
companies are members of the GMA. We also
call on consumers to support those companies that
demonstrate solidarity with consumers by withdrawing their
membership support from the trade association. Marketing
statistics show that boycotts impact sales, and that this is
the best way for consumers to influence corporate
decision-makers."
Please Support Vermont's Legal Defense Fund
To help Vermont defend its GMO labeling law against these
multi-national giants, please also consider making a donation to
the Organic Consumers Fund, which has been set up to raise funds
for this purpose. The fund has also pledged $500,000 to help
Oregon pass a GMO labeling initiative in November. As noted by
the Organic Consumers Association:
"After years of good old-fashioned work, and playing
by the rules, the grassroots labeling movement achieved its
first real victory this year, when Vermont passed the first
no-strings-attached law requiring mandatory labeling of
foods containing genetically modified organisms.
But the rules mean nothing to the rich and powerful
companies like Monsanto and Coca-Cola, who belong to one of
the country's most powerful lobbying groups—the GMA. This is
the moment of truth for the grassroots GMO labeling
movement. If Monsanto and the GMA succeed in overturning
Vermont's GMO labeling law, lawmakers in the other 29 states
that are currently considering GMO labeling bills will drop
them like hot potatoes.
We can't let that happen. Your donation today will
help us defend Vermont, and pass GMO labeling in Oregon.
Legal experts assure us that Vermont's labeling law will
hold up in court. But we can't win in federal court unless
we show up. And that means paying a legal team to defend
what's rightfully ours. This battle is about your health,
and the health of your environment. This battle is about the
rights of states to pass laws to protect their citizens.
This is our battle. And it's going to take all of us pulling
together to win it."
Crazier Still—the 'DARK' Act
The GMA, whose 300-plus members include Monsanto, Coca-Cola,
and General Mills, is also pushing a Congressional bill called
the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014."11
The bill, dubbed the "DARK" (Denying Americans the Right to
Know) Act, would actually preempt all states from
passing GMO labeling laws12.
They're actually trying to take away individual state's
rights – which were encouraged by our constitution. The
constitution was meant to prevent federal superpowers becoming
corrupted, and from creating an authoritarian, fascist federal
government. We've watched our individual and state rights
deteriorate over many decades, succumbing to these enormous
industry powers, and this is probably one of the biggest, most
blatant overreaches yet.
Why Boycotting the Organic Elite Is Necessary to Protect the
Future of Real Food
So take a moment to consider all of this: Coca-Cola is a
member of GMA—and one of the biggest contributors to its
anti-labeling efforts. This means that Coke is using money they
make from Honest Tea to fight GMO labeling, and sue
states that successfully pass their own labeling laws. AND,
money from Honest Tea and other organic brands owned by big junk
food manufacturers is also used to push a bill that will
effectively BAN states from passing labeling bills in the first
place!
It's completely outrageous! Furthermore, ALL of the organic
elites are essentially providing funds to sue Vermont by being
members of either the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the
Snack Food Association, the International Dairy Foods
Association, or the National Association of Manufacturers.
So HOW exactly is Coca-Cola or any of the other organic
elites helping organics? The answer is, they're not helping one
whit. They're actually helping destroy and "bury" organics
within the folds of a very opaque, very greed-driven, and
decidedly anti-health—not to mention anti-freedom—industry.
This is why the GMA Boycott—aimed at boycotting every
single product owned by members of the GMA,13
including natural and organic brands like Honest Tea—is so
important. If you think that the GMA has any concern whatsoever
for your health, your rights to make your own decisions, or your
financial wellbeing, then think again. Its objections to GMO
labeling are not aimed at protecting you from confusion,
unnecessary complexities, or higher prices. The GMA is
protecting the profits of their members, and those profits
depend on widespread consumer ignorance!
Coca-Cola Is Front and Center of Nutritional Ignorance Campaign
Coca-Cola Company actually appears to have taken a center
role in the fight to keep you as ignorant of nutritional facts
as possible, and this effort is not restricted to genetically
engineered ingredients. It applies to ANY ingredient in their
products that have well-established dangers, such as high
fructose corn syrup and aspartame.
Growing awareness of the health dangers associated with both
diet and regular soda has caused soda sales to rapidly dwindle.14
Sales of carbonated beverages in general fell three percent in
2013, while diet Coke and diet Pepsi both dropped by nearly
seven percent.15
Coca-Cola's strategy to regain its customers has included a
number of ludicrous publicity stunts.
First, it rolled out an ad campaign encouraging people to
unite in the fight against obesity by exercising more.
Fortunately, most people saw the 2013 campaign as a poor attempt
at damage control,16,
17 considering the overwhelming evidence linking soda
consumption to obesity. Shortly thereafter, Coca-Cola launched
another
ad campaign. This time—in the misleading guise of a public
service announcement18,
19 no less—they tried to assure you that diet
beverages containing the artificial sweetener aspartame are a
safe and healthy alternative to regular soda.20
Most recently, the soda industry funded a study that claims
to confirm what theconflicting
interests industry has been saying all along—that
drinking diet soda will help you lose weight.21,
22 Not only that, but drinking diet soda will make you
lose more weight than drinking no soda at
all—a claim that flies in the face of research findings spanning
some 20 years! This study was in part funded by the American
Beverage Association, and naturally, Coca-Cola is one of its
most prominent members.23
So, not only does Coke not want you to understand the facts
about the role of high fructose corn syrup in obesity, it also
does not want you to be aware of the health dangers associated
with the artificial sweetener aspartame (or that aspartame
actually makes you pack on more pounds, faster, than regular
sugar), and it does not want you to know that it probably uses
genetically engineered corn in its beverages.
Coca-Cola uses profits from its organic brands to keep you in
the dark about these nutritional facts in a number of different
ways; through misleading advertising, money-laundering schemes
to hide campaign funds, and "research" that supports whatever
crazy notion they want you to have about their product...
Other Ways Coca-Cola Misleads You
Speaking of misleading advertising: The US Supreme court
recently decided24
that POM Wonderful can sue Coca-Cola for misleading consumers;
its 59 ounce containers of “Pomegranate Blueberry Flavored Blend
of 5 Juices” actually only contains two teaspoons of
pomegranate and blueberry juice. More than 99 percent of the
product is apple and grape juice.
And, speaking to the reality of consumers being mislead, when
Coca-Cola’s attorney claimed that “only unintelligent consumers
might be duped” by the label, Justice Kennedy replied: “Don’t
make me feel bad because I thought that this was pomegranate
juice!” In this case, it’s quite clear that Coca-Cola was out to
deceive you. If the label says pomegranate juice, why would you
assume it’s something else entirely?
Coke says it is “tackling obesity,” when it really should
accept a large portion of blame for causing obesity.
Coke is nothing but a Marlboro in liquid form when it comes to
shortening your life. These artificially sweetened low-calorie
drinks essentially just equates to making a smaller cigarette...
At some point in the future, I predict these junk food purveyors
to confront the same obvious problems the tobacco company faced.
In the meantime, they will do anything to rake in funds from
making people sick. One thing’s for sure though; diet soda is a
fraud, and implying that you can lose weight by drinking diet
soda is a scam.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.