Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In observance of April Fools Day, activists with the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) will on April 1, deliver jester hats to several key U.S. Senators. The activists will deliver the hats along with thanking the Senators for their March 16 votes against the DARK Act (S.2609), the bill introduced by Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) that would Deny Americans the Right to Know about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used to produce our food.
Minneapolis, Minn. – About 50 local advocates for transparent food labeling staged a rally in the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar today, after requests to speak with her were unmet. The demonstrators, organized by Food & Water Watch (FWW) and Organic Consumers Association (OCA), wanted Klobuchar to know that they are unhappy about her support of a federal bill that would preempt states’ rights to pass mandatory GMO labeling laws.
WASHINGTON DC—Today Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, Director General for the Economic and Environmental Performance of Enterprises of the French Ministry of Agriculture spoke to climate and agriculture reporters and climate and food activists about “4 per 1000: Soils for Food Security and Climate,” an initiative to mitigate, and eventually reverse, climate change. The Initiative, launched in December at the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, calls for countries to increase soil carbon worldwide by 0.4% per year. So far, 26 countries and more than 50 organizations have formally signed on to the initiative.
FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association today called out U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for fear mongering and misleading Congress on the issue of mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
“Secretary Vilsack’s comments, quoted in PoliticoPro today, are an example of shameless fear mongering, and of loyalty to corporate lobbyists instead of American consumers,” said Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association.
FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) issued the following statement today on a bill introduced Friday, by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), which would preempt Vermont and other states from enacting GMO labeling laws, and also substitute a voluntary federal standard for labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs):
Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association, said:
“The introduction of this bill is just another example of U.S. politicians doing the bidding of Monsanto and giant food corporations. It is an egregious attack on states’ rights, and consumer rights. The Organic Consumers Association will pull out all the stops to prevent this bill from passing in the Senate.
FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today announced that it has joined the Organic & Natural Health Association, a new trade group committed to bringing together “a broad coalition to work towards preserving and advancing the health and well-being of people, animals and plants, and the planet as a whole.”
“The Organic & Natural Health Association fills a void in today’s market for a trade group that is dedicated to serving the needs of suppliers, retailers and consumers who seek truthful, unbiased and credible information, based on the latest health- and nutrition-based science and research, about organic and natural products,” said Ronnie Cummins, OCA’s international director.
FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued the following statement following the announcement by Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) will label products that contain genetically engineered ingredients:
“Today’s announcement by Campbell’s marks a significant win on the GMO labeling front for consumers,” said OCA International Director, Ronnie Cummins. Whether this major food company’s decision was forced by Vermont’s GMO labeling law, set to take effect July 1, or whether it is a result of direct pressure from consumers and consumer boycotts, the decision proves that when consumers consistently, and persistently, demand transparency, food corporations will eventually comply, rather than risk their brand images or retail sales.
“The decision by Campbell’s sends a clear message to Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association which have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat GMO labeling laws. And unless Campbell’s announces price hikes resulting from these new labels, this move proves that industry threats that labels will makes products more expensive have been nothing more than empty fear mongering.
PARIS – As the International Year of the Soils officially ended on December 5, World Soil Day, Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and IFOAM Organics International (IFOAM) praised the French Government’s 4 per 1000 Initiative as the most important climate strategy to come out of the COP21 Paris Climate Talks.
“This is the most exciting news to come out of COP21,” said Andre Leu, president of IFOAM Organics International. “By launching this Initiative, the French Government has validated the work of scientists and farmers and ranchers who have demonstrated the power of organic regenerative agriculture to restore the soil’s natural ability to draw down and sequester carbon.
“What better way to celebrate World Soil Day than to recognize that healthy soil is our most available, most promising solution to global warming,” said Ronnie Cummins, OCA’s international director.
OCA and IFOAM Organics International are among the 100 partners who were signed on at the launch of the “4 per 1000” Initiative. Partners include developed and developing states, international organizations, private foundations, international funds, NGOs and farmers' organizations.
One of the world’s most criminally corrupt corporations will finally get its day in court—and it won’t be pretty.
The OCA, along with IFOAM International Organics, Navdanya, Regeneration International (RI), Millions Against Monsanto and dozens of global food, farming, environmental justice groups announced today that they will put Monsanto MON (NYSE) on trial for crimes against nature and humanity, and ecocide.
The trial will take place in The Hague, Netherlands, next year on World Food Day, October 16, 2016. OCA, Millions against Monsanto and other groups will organize a global protest against Monsanto on that day. The announcement was made at a press conference held in conjunction with the COP21 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, November 30 – December 11, in Paris.
“The time is long overdue for a global citizens’ tribunal to put Monsanto on trial for crimes against humanity and the environment. We are in Paris this month to address the most serious threat that humans have ever faced in our 100-200,000 year evolution—global warming and climate disruption. Why is there so much carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere and not enough carbon organic matter in the soil? Corporate agribusiness, industrial forestry, the garbage and sewage industry and agricultural biotechnology have literally killed the climate-stabilizing, carbon-sink capacity of the Earth's living soil.” - Ronnie Cummins, international director of the OCA (US) and Via Organica (Mexico), and member of the RI Steering Committee
Organic Consumers Association Calls Senate Hearing on GMO Labeling a Travesty
Biotech and Food Industries Stack Hearing on H.R. 1599 with Pro-GMO Witnesses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2015
CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association: Katherine Paul, 207-653-3090, katherine@organicconsumers.org
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