What: Hearing on false labeling of General Mills Nature Valley granola bars
When: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.
Where: Courtroom 13E of the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse
300 South Fourth Street 202 U.S. Courthouse Minneapolis, MN 55415
Why: The courts need to hear from consumers that we don’t like being deceived by false and misleading labels.

General Mills needs to hear from consumers—lots of them—that it’s not OK to label put a label that says “100% Natural” on granola bars that contain Monsanto’s glyphosate.

Can you attend a hearing on an important lawsuit against General Mills on Tuesday, May 30, at 9:30 a.m.? 

Last August, Organic Consumers Association, Beyond Pesticides and Moms Across America sued General Mills for misleading consumers by falsely labeling the Minnesota-based company’s Nature Valley granola bars as “Made with 100% NATURAL whole grain OATS” after testing revealed that the product contains glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. Our lawsuit is still making its way through the courts.

A companion lawsuit also was filed, in Minnesota, on behalf of Minnesota consumers.

On Tuesday, May 30, at 9:30 a.m., Judge Michael J. Davis will preside over a hearing for the consumer lawsuit, at the Minneapolis Federal Court. The hearing will be held in courtroom 13E of the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street 202 U.S. Courthouse, Minneapolis, Minn.

We need Judge Davis to know that consumers care about labels, and that we object to companies like General Mills intentionally deceiving us by labeling a product containing Monsanto’s glyphosate as “100% Natural.”

This is your chance to exercise your consumer power in person!

A 2015 study published in the journal Environmental Health links chronic, ultra-low dose exposure to glyphosate in drinking water to adverse impacts on the health of liver and kidneys. Glyphosate has also been linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, infertility and, even in very low doses, to hormone disruption. 

A 2014 Consumer Reports poll found that 66 percent of consumers believe a product labeled “natural” has no artificial ingredients, pesticides or genetically modified organisms, and 86 percent believe that it should mean those things.

Please attend the Tuesday, May 30, hearing to tell the courts that companies should not be allowed to deceive consumers by falsely labeling products containing glyphosate as “100% Natural!”

Thank you!

Katherine and Patrick, for the OCA Team