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Frankenfish, Fair Trade, and Truth-in-Labeling

#264, February 17, 2011

In this issue:

• Frankenfish Alert: Congress Can Stop GM Salmon!
• Fair World Project Update: 10,000 Say No One Can Own "Fair Trade"
• Millions Against Monsanto Actions:
  • Get A Truth-In-Labeling Bill Introduced In Your State
  • Announcing the First Millions Against Monsanto Webinar!
  • Millions Against Monsanto Reminders
• Don't Forget to Take Action...
• Song of the Week: "Food Fight" by Seasunz
• Little Bytes

Frankenfish Alert

Congress Can Stop GM Salmon!

Take Action: Tell Your Member of Congress to Cosponsor H.R.521 & Vote for CR Amendment No. 491!

When the Food & Drug Administration took public comments on genetically engineered salmon last Fall, 21,095 Organic Consumers Association activists sent letters urging the FDA to block Frankenfish. We expect the FDA to release an environmental assessment of the GM salmon any day now, and when they do, we'll have another 30 days to submit public comments, but FDA approval seems all but certain.

Thankfully, there are members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, who are committed to stopping GM salmon, even if Obama's FDA gives it the green light. These Congresspersons know that GM salmon just isn't safe. Worse than even "normal" factory farmed fish, which are often deformed and disease-ridden, GM salmon is less nutritious, more likely to trigger allergies, and could increase cancer-risks in the people who eat it.

Please contact your Member of Congress and urge them to cosponsor H.R.521, Rep. Don Young (R-AL)'s bill to ban GM salmon, and vote for H.R.1 Amendment No. 491, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)'s effort to include a ban on GM salmon in the 2011 Continuing Resolution.

Take Action

February Fundraising Appeal

Donate and Help OCA Mobilize Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms

The powerful antidote to corporate crime and villainy is mass grassroots awareness and grassroots action. GMOs, Factory Farms, and deceptively labeled consumer products pose a mortal threat to public health, the environment, climate stability, farm animals, and all living things. GMOs and organic crops, GMOs and biodiversity, cannot "coexist." As we speak, organic crops are being contaminated with Monsanto's GMOs. We need your financial support to educate and mobilize consumers, to protect and maintain strict organic and Fair Trade standards, and to pressure the entire food industry to adopt Truth-in-Labeling practices.

Please Donate

Fair World Project Update

10,000 Say No One Can Own "Fair Trade"

Fair trade certifier TransFair USA wants to become "Fair Trade USA." TransFair has applied for the new name to be trademarked, along with the term "Fair Trade Certified." As the certifier that works with major brands such as Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's, it is, in effect, an attempt to legally claim, as an exclusive brand, a term that encompasses a broad movement that extends far beyond the work of TransFair.

Since our campaign began two weeks ago, 10,000 organic and justice-minded consumers across the United States have sent letters to TransFair USA opposing their name change to 'Fair Trade USA", pointing out that TransFair is trying to co-opt and corporatize the Fair Trade movement.

Consumers and organizations dedicated to building equitable markets for low-income farmers and artisans through Fair Trade, believe that the term "Fair Trade" should be celebrated as a movement, not a trademarked brand claimed by TransFair.

Learn More & Take Action

Millions Against Monsanto Actions

Model Legislation: Get a Truth-in-Labeling Bill Introduced in Your State

Thank you to the 6714 Organic Consumers Association activists who have written letters to your state legislators asking them to introduce legislation that would make GMO labels mandatory.

(If you haven't done this yet, please click here)

Congratulations to our members in Hawaii! Their efforts have resulted in the first comprehensive GMO Truth-in-Labeling bill of 2011 being introduced in Hawaii.

Many of you have written us, letting us know that your state legislators are interested in introducing a Truth-in-Labeling bill and they'd like to see model legislation. The Hawaii bill, H.B. No. 1534, is an excellent model. It's just two pages, it's easy to understand and it says it all. Please click here to read it (PDF).

We've updated our Truth-In-Labeling alert with this information. Please take action and spread the word!

Join Us

Announcing the First Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-Labeling Webinar!

Natural News' Mike Adams joins OCA director Ronnie Cummins for a live online discussion on the myth of "coexistence" between organics and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and how grassroots action and truth-in-labeling can start to drive Monsanto's genetically engineered crops and foods off the market. This is the first in a series.

This will be a call-in or participatory online seminar, an action-oriented effort to stop Monsanto's biotech bullying and force-feeding of GMOs to animals and humans. Learn how to help educate and mobilize the public about the GMOs in foods that are being sold right now, in grocery stores and even health food stores across North America.

When: February 24th, 2011, 7 p.m. Central Time

Registration for this free event is limited to 1,000 people.

Register Now

Millions Against Monsanto Reminders

Reminder: February is Millions Against Monsanto's Do-It-Yourself Truth-in-Labeling Month

If you missed it, please check out last week's Organic Bytes where we included the tools you need to take matters into your own hands and get "Oh No! Is It GMO?" labels on non-organic foods likely to contain GMOs as well as non-organic meat, dairy, and eggs coming from animals raised in CAFOs, (Confined Animal Feeding Operations), where they are force-fed GM grains.

Take Action

Update: Millions Against Monsanto Congressional District Chapters

So far, nearly 3,000 organic activists have signed up to volunteer to coordinate Millions Against Monsanto campaign chapters in their congressional districts, but we still need volunteers in the following districts:

AR-4, CA-39, CA-44, CA-47, FL-12, FL-21, GA-10, GA-12, GA-13, IA-5, KS-1, LA-4, LA-5, MI-10, MI-14, MS-2, NY-16, PA-3, TX-15, TX-27, TX-29, WV-3

Please Volunteer! (scroll down and check the "Volunteer for Millions Against Monsanto" box)

Don't know which congressional district you're in? Click here.

Update: Millions Against Monsanto Facebook Causes

We're using Facebook Causes as the home pages for the Millions Against Monsanto congressional district chapters. Our congressional district volunteers are busy creating local Millions Against Monsanto Causes.

Find out here if there's one set up yet for your congressional district.

If you don't see one for your congressional district and would like to help, please click here.

Alerts of the Week

Don't Forget to Take Action...

Ban Triclosan! Take action by April 8, 2011

New York: Label Milk From Cows Given rBGH (Genetically Engineered Bovine Growth Hormone)!

California: Label GM Salmon!

Hawaii: Demand Truth-in-Labeling! 

Song of the Week

"Food Fight" by Seasunz

In "Food Fight," Seasunz takes on a ruthless, back-alley persona in equating food industry's tactics with the violent acts of gangsters and genocidal governments. Over a sinister jazz/rap fusion beat, he paraphrases classic rap lines while calling out genetically modified foods and high-fructose corn syrup in warning that "there's a war going on inside no man is safe from." In another guest spot, stic.man takes cues from KRS-One as he spits: "Suicide, it's a suicide, don't want no microwaves, no pesticides, fast food slow death in disguise, its the wild wild westernized world of deception and lies, what's beef?"

Read an article about the song (from which words above are lifted)

Listen Now

Little Bytes

CFS to Sue USDA for Deregulating GM Alfalfa
READ MORE

Spotlight on Land O' Lakes - Doing Monsanto's Bidding on GE Alfalfa
READ MORE

Ag Workers Sue Monsanto in Class Action
READ MORE

Mexico Goes Back to the Land
READ MORE

Syngenta's GE Corn Modified for Use in Ethanol, Is Approved
READ MORE

LOCAL [[State]] NEWS OF THE WEEK

[[State]] - Get Involved Locally

• Learn more about OCA related action alerts and other news in [[State]] here.

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