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OCA puts Monsanto, Whole Foods on Notice

#278, May 26, 2011

In this issue:

• Lies of the Week: Monsanto
• Alert of the Week: Whole Foods Market Plays Dumb
• Millions Against Monsanto: Campaign Updates
• Internship Opportunities with OCA!
• Little Bytes
• OCA Affiliate Program

LIES of the Week

Monsanto on OCA's Millions Against Monsanto Campaign

Monsanto has, up until now, remained silent on OCA's Millions Against Monsanto Campaign. From their perspective, it makes more sense to ignore our criticisms and hope we'll go away, while they pretend that genetic engineering is being accepted as the new norm in agriculture. However, the Millions Against Monsanto movement and grassroots efforts to require mandatory labels on GMOs in 14 states are getting too big to ignore. The growth of organics, increasing public concern about the damage to public health and climate stability, and the failures and dangers of GE crops are all approaching critical mass. More people care about sustainable food and farming than ever before, and more and more people are angry about the lies and practices of the Biotech Bully of St. Louis. Monsanto has literally become one of the most hated corporations on earth.

Monsanto just acknowledged this growing awareness and sentiment against genetic engineering in an article published on May 19th in Brownfield Ag News for America concerning the Food Dump held in Chicago as part of OCA's recent Millions Against Monsanto Campaign.

Read More

Alert OF THE WEEK

Whole Foods Market Plays Dumb on Activists' Arrests, Unlabeled Frankenfoods

Ask WFM to Respect Consumers' Right to Know About GMOs...

... and Anti-GMO Activists' Freedom of Speech!

As OCA activists Alexis Baden-Mayer and Mike Durschmid await a June 7 court appearance resulting from their arrests at a Whole Foods GMO Food Dump in Chicago, the debate over whether food retailers should label genetically modified foods is heating up.

On May 24, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times published Monica Eng's report, "Consumer Activists Seek Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods: They Have Become So Common That Even Organic Retailer Whole Foods Says It Can't Avoid Stocking Some."

Eng writes:

"Used in an estimated 70 percent of all American processed food, genetically modified crops make up 93 percent of all soy, 86 percent of all corn and 93 percent of all canola seeds planted in the U.S., which makes stocking only non-GMO products difficult, said Joe Dickson, quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Market.

"'Until there's federal government mandated labeling of GMO ingredients, there's no way to tell if packaged products contain GMO ingredients," Dickson said. "Our approach is to work in the spirit of partnership with our suppliers to encourage them to take active steps to avoid GMO ingredients.'"

The idea that Whole Foods has no control over the unlabeled genetically modified foods sold in their stores is as credible as their initial claim that no anti-GMO activists had been arrested at their Chicago store. (Once they gave up pretending there was no arrest, they insisted they had nothing to do with it, even though police were on site before the GMO Food Dump began and could only have been alerted by Whole Foods employees or executives.)

We can't let the "world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket" continue to play dumb. It's time Whole Foods' took responsibility for the Frankenfoods in their stores and for trying to stifle anti-GMO activists!

Tell Whole Foods to respect consumers' right to know about GMOs and stand up for activists' right to free speech.

Take Action

PLEASE DONATE

Millions Against Monsanto Fundraising Appeal

Three hundred thousand have already signed up as participants and supporters in our Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-Labeling Campaign. But we need money to print leaflets, to buy educational videos, to print up T-shirts and bumper stickers, and to pay our campaign staff. As you know, GMOs, Factory Farms, and deceptively labeled consumer products pose a mortal threat to public health, climate stability, and all living things. As we speak, organic crops are being contaminated with Monsanto's GMOs. We need your financial contributions to educate and mobilize consumers, to protect and maintain strict organic standards, and to pressure the entire food industry, including natural food stores and co-ops, to adopt Truth-in-Labeling practices.

Please Donate

Millions Against Monsanto

Campaign Updates

A big thanks to the Seattle United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 21 who came out to support the Millions Against Monsanto campaign on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Dozens of anti-GMO activists gathered in front of the University Trader Joe's to demand labeling of foods contaminated with genetically modified ingredients. Activists in HAZMAT suits shopped for and labeled likely offenders and then, ceremoniously "dumped" the food into a biohazard bin. The point of this guerilla theater was to educate shoppers about the widespread (mis)use of GMOs and the myth of "natural" food. Remember, if you're not buying organic, you're supporting bio-tech and conventional, chemical producers.

Next stops after Seattle...

Boulder, Colorado - GMO Food Dump, June 28

New York - Green Festival October 1-2, GMO Right2Know March October 2

Ready to make something happen in your town?

Join your local Millions Against Monsanto chapter to coordinate a GMO Food Dump or a GMO Right2Know Rally or March in your town.

Millions Against Monsanto Get Ready for World Food Day Actions 10/16/11

On Sunday, October 16, 2011, the Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign is calling for World Food Day actions to get genetically engineered organisms out of our food.

Get involved by joining your local Millions Against Monsanto chapter

Anyone who can't attend an action on 10/16/11, can join the virtual rally by signing the Millions Against Monsanto petition .

Time to start planning! Here's how to get started!

Internship Opportunities with the OCA!

Technical and Campaign Internships in OCA's National Office Available in June 2011

Gain valuable nonprofit and organic movement experience by working in OCA's national office in scenic Finland, MN. The OCA office is located very close to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the North Shore of Lake Superior, as well as nearby woods, lakes and streams, offering a great environment for outdoor recreation and local food foraging in your spare time. General store, restaurants and post office are all within walking distance.

For the Campaign Internship we need someone who is strongly motivated to work on OCA's current Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-Labeling campaign. The OCA Office is where the campaign coordination is occurring, and we need interns who are interested in helping out! We need interns with good online, email and phone skills who can help with the organizing for this campaign! We also need a Technical Intern, someone who has skills with HTML, Coldfusion, databases, FBML, Twitter, Facebook, other social media and/or content management systems and programs. Each internship entails a variety of tasks, with opportunities to engage with active campaigns and outreach. Interns will also participate in community activities and events, volunteer at a local CSA, and visit a local organic dairy. This internship offers living quarters and a small stipend.

Learn More and Apply

Little Bytes

Listen to an Interview with Ronnie Cummins
READ MORE

Bill Mckibben: Climate Change, Tornados, Floods and Extreme Weather
READ MORE

Court of Appeals Dismisses Monsanto's Appeal of Biotech Beets Case, Preserves Victory for Farmers, Environment
READ MORE

Acres USA Interviews Dr. Don Huber on Dangers of Monsanto's Roundup-Ready Crops
READ MORE

OCA's Response to Whole Foods' Alibi on Why They Are Selling GMO-Tainted Foods
READ MORE

Europe May Ban Plastic Bags
READ MORE

OCA Affiliate Program

It's Easy to Help!

The Organic Consumers Association Online Affiliate Program benefits everyone! By taking part, you help grow an interdependent network of the best organic producers, the most conscientious consumers, and all of us at the OCA who tirelessly defend organic standards.

How does it work?
When you click on the special links to the websites we provide, our Affiliate Partners can then track your purchases and donate a percentage to the OCA.

Check Organic Bytes every week for new, 100% organic, GMO-free products we can all get excited about!

Book of the Week

Help Us Build a Sustainable Future!

 Our friends at Chelsea Green offer the latest books on sustainability, democracy, new science, and pathways to peace. Thanks to our new Affiliate Program, your online purchase supports the OCA!

This weeks featured book is: Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice, Second Edition

We are rapidly destroying our only habitat, Earth. It is becoming clear that many of the treaties, laws and policies concluded in recent years have failed to slow down, let alone halt or reverse, this process. Cormac Cullinan shows that the survival of the community of life on Earth (including humans) requires us to alter fundamentally our understanding of the nature and purpose of law and governance, rather than merely changing laws.

In describing what this new 'Earth governance' and 'Earth jurisprudence' might look like, he also gives practical guidance on how to begin moving towards it. Wild Law fuses politics, legal theory, quantum physics and ancient wisdom into a fascinating and eminently readable story. It is an inspiring and stimulating book for anyone who cares about Earth and is concerned about the direction in which the human species is moving.

Learn More

Message From Our Sponsors

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