‘Rage against the Monsanto’

Tomorrow is the day we will likely witness, again, the DARK side of our democracy. The side where bought-and-paid for politicians will stop at nothing to protect corporate profits.

Tomorrow is also the day we wrap up our current fundraising campaign. As our team works today to try to prevent the votes needed to pass Monsanto’s DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act in the Senate, I am asking that you help us reach another fundraising goal, so we don’t miss out on matching funds from Mercola.com.

Please help us raise about $15,000 more by midnight tonight, March 15. You can donate online, by mail or by phone, details here.

I’ll be perfectly honest. We may not win in the Senate tomorrow. The millions of dollars of campaign contributions that flow from Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, General Mills, Kellogg’s and all the other members of the multi-billion-dollar Grocery Manufacturers Association into the campaign coffers of our politicians have hopelessly corrupted the system.

We’re not just dealing with genetically modified foods. We’ve also got ourselves a genetically modified democracy.

If the Senate passes a bill tomorrow that preempts Vermont’s GMO labeling law, and sets up a worthless federal voluntary QR barcode system instead, we won’t give up. We will pressure President Obama to veto that bill.

But no matter what happens, the rebellion against Monsanto, against toxic herbicides poisoning our food and our environment, against a commodity-based agribusiness industry that destroys biodiversity and local economies while it promotes global warming will not end tomorrow.

To borrow a theme from music history, we will continue to “Rage against the Monsanto.”

Labeling has always been just one battle in the global war against a system that by every measure has failed, yet persists because it has managed to pollute entire governments.

Though here in the U.S. we may not force Monsanto and Big Food to label the ingredients they claim to be so proud of, our voices are having an impact all over the world.

In Europe, 1.5 million people have signed a petition demanding a ban on Monsanto’s glyphosate. And EU member countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden have launched a “shock rebellion” against Monsanto’s Roundup.

In Mexico, our sister organization Via Organica, and our 300 member coalition, Sin Maize No Hay Pais, (Without Corn We Have No Country), just won a major legal battle when a judge ruled that Monsanto and the other Gene Giants cannot sell or cultivate GMO corn in the country.

Monsanto, once a Wall Street darling, was recently downgraded by Goldman Sachs and Citi Group.

Yes, we will be outraged if Congress hands Monsanto another win tomorrow. Outraged. But not silenced.

And we will need your voices, and your support, to build a healthy, regenerative food and farming system..

Please help us raise about $15,000 more by midnight tonight, March 15, so we can close out this campaign. You can donate online, by mail or by phone, details here.

Ronnie Cummins
National Director, Organic Consumers Association and Organic Consumers Fund

P.S. Please make a generous donation today to stop Monsanto’s wrecking ball! Donations made to the the Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) are tax-deductible. If you don’t need the tax deduction, please consider making a donation to our 501(c)(4) lobbying arm by clicking here. Thank you!