Press Releases
WASHINGTON D.C. — The nonprofit organization Regeneration International will hold a press conference today at 9 a.m. at the National Press Club, titled “The Future of Food: From Degeneration to Regeneration.”
A panel of 10 international experts on organic agriculture, carbon sequestration and world hunger will speak to the capacity of organic regenerative agriculture to draw excess carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it in soil; how regenerative agriculture provides livelihoods for farmers, revitalizes local economies, and produces abundant food for populations most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.
Ronnie Cummins said: “Regenerative organic food, farming and land use, scaled up globally on billions of acres of farmland, grassland and forests, can feed the world and reverse global warming and deteriorating public health. An international alliance of small farmers, ranchers and indigenous communities, allied with conscious consumers, can literally cool the planet, restore soil health and biodiversity, and move us away from climate catastrophe and societal degeneration.”
Watch the press conference live here: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1MnxnBrqOmexO
AUGUSTA, Maine—A bipartisan group of 95 state lawmakers (representing 21 states) who have either sponsored state GMO labeling bills, or supported state GMO labeling ballot initiatives or bans on GMO crops, have signed on to a joint letter asking Congress to oppose H.R. 1599, or any other federal law that would preempt states’ rights to enact GMO labeling laws.
In their letter, the lawmakers argue that states have a constitutional right to pass GMO labeling laws, as affirmed by a District Court in April with regard to Vermont’s labeling law. They also reject claims by supporters of H.R. 1599 that state GMO labeling laws would create a “messy patchwork” of laws that would be burdensome for food manufacturers.
Maine Rep. Michelle Dunphy (D-Old Town) is lead author of the letter. Rep. Dunphy is also lead sponsor of Maine’s LD 991, a bill before the Maine state legislature that would speed enactment of Maine’s existing GMO labeling law (LD 718) by repealing the clause requiring five contiguous states, including Maine, to pass GMO labeling laws before GMO labeling can be enacted in Maine.
Mazatlán, México- La Asociación de Consumidores Orgánicos México (ACO) se ha unido a Greenpeace para exponer la amenaza al medio ambiente y la salud que implica la utilización de 29 agroquímicos tóxicos en México, cuyo uso está prohibido en otros países, incluyendo los Estados Unidos.
Como parte de la campaña “Tierra Sana, Comida Sana”, Greenpeace México ha solicitado a 15 compañías alimenticias trasnacionales mexicanas y estadounidenses tales como Bimbo, Coca-Cola, La Costeña, Bachoco y Maseca, que procuren métodos de producción de alimentos que sean orgánicos y sustentables y más saludables para los consumidores y el medio ambiente.
Mazatlan, Mexico- The Organic Consumers Association Mexico (OCA Mexico) has teamed up with Greenpeace to expose the environmental and health hazards of 29 toxic agrochemicals used in Mexico that are currently banned or restricted in other countries including the US.
As part of its “Tierra Sana, Comida Sana” (Healthy Earth, Heathy Food) Campaign, Greenpeace Mexico has petitioned 15 transnational Mexican and US food brands such as Bimbo, Coca-Cola, La Costeña, Bachoco and Maseca, to seek out more sustainable organic food production methods that are healthier for consumers and the environment.
FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today called on President Obama to veto any federal bill, including any version of H.R. 1599 which was recently passed by the U.S. House, that would preempt state or federal laws requiring labels on foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
“President Obama is on record promising Americans he would make GMO labeling a priority,” said OCA International Director, Ronnie Cummins. “He also issued an Executive Order in which he said that it was his Administration’s general policy that state laws not be preempted.
Leading Consumer Advocacy Group Published ‘Open Letter’ to Sanders and Launches National MoveOn.Org Petition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2015
CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association: Katherine Paul, 207-653-3090, katherine@organicconsumers.org
Passage of HR 1599 by the House Sparks Outrage, Triggers National Grassroots Lobbying Campaign to Stop the Bill
FINLAND, Minn. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, commonly known as the “DARK Act” (Deny Americans the Right to Know), a bill falsely represented by its sponsors as providing “certainty” and “clarity” for controversial genetically engineered foods, In fact, the legislation’s intent is to permanently preserve the right of food manufacturers to deceive consumers.
Big Food Lobbying Group Sends Letter to Vermont Gov. Shumlin
MONTPELIER, Vt.—Claiming “enormous challenges” and fines of up to “$250,000 per day,” the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) yesterday sent a letter to Vermont Gov. Shumlin, in which the multi-billion dollar Washington D.C.-based lobbying group suggested the burden on food manufacturers of complying with Vermont’s GMO labeling law by July 1, 2016, might be so onerous as to prevent food companies from selling their food in Vermont.
SCIENTISTS, BUSINESS AND FARMERS FROM 21 NATIONS LAUNCH MOVEMENT TO FEED THE PLANET AND REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE VIA REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
FINCA LUNA NUEVA, Costa Rica—Representatives from organizations as diverse as Texas A&M University, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Patagonia, Greenpeace and The Millennium Institute are participating in a three-day conference in Costa Rica. The participants are working together to develop and promote a significantly different approach to food production, land use and climate change, by harnessing natural systems to solve each issue in a related manner.
FINLAND, Minn—The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today responded to an Associated Press article reporting that the U.S. Department of Agriculturehas developed a new government certification and labeling program for foods that are free of genetically modified ingredients.
“This is yet another gift to the biotech industry,” said Ronnie Cummins, OCA’s international director. “Instead of requiring the manufacturers of GMO foods to label their products, the USDA wants to penalize producers of non-GMO foods by making them pay for a label to prove their products are GMO-free. If we follow the biotech industry’s talking point that the cost of GMO labels would be passed on to consumers, are we now going to force consumers to pay more to avoid GMO food products—products whose safety has been called into question by hundreds of scientists and doctors? Instead of the other way around?”
“Consumers, more than 90 percent of whom want mandatory GMO labeling laws, should be outraged that their tax dollars will be used to support a program that puts the burden of identifying non-GMO ingredients on food manufacturers whose products are GMO-free, while letting the manufacturers of GMO foods off the hook,” Cummins said.
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