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VICTORY IN VERMONT!

Ronnie Cummins- Organic Consumers Assoc.

April 17, 2014

Victory in Vermont!

Earth Day is coming up next Tuesday. This year, Mother Earth has at least one thing to celebrate—the beginning of the end of Monsanto’s evil empire.

Yesterday, Vermont passed H.112, this country’s first no-strings-attached law requiring the mandatory labeling of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and outlawing the practice of labeling GMO-contaminated foods as “natural” or “all-natural.”

With the passage of the Vermont GMO labeling law, after 20 years of struggle, it’s time to celebrate our common victory. But as we all know, the battle for a new food and farming system, and a sustainable future has just begun.

Monsanto will likely sue Vermont. And lose. And the Gene and Junk Food Giants will still try to pass a federal law intended to strip Vermont, and every other state, of the right to pass GMO labeling laws.

But we will fight back. And we will win.

Read Ronnie’s essay

Read the press release

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ACTION ALERT

A Synthetic Soup of Unnatural Nutrients

Recent studies reveal convincing evidence that certain organic foods are nutritionally superior to their non-organic counterparts.

That’s no surprise, in a world where non-organic food is genetically engineered, irradiated, soaked in pesticides, fertilized with chemicals or sewage sludge, teaming with antibiotic-resistant bacteria bred in factory farms, and laced with artificial ingredients.

But this may surprise you. Thanks to the USDA National Organic Program’s failure to close the illegal loophole it created for synthetic nutrients, vitamins and minerals, some of the vitamins and nutrients in your organic food come from synthetic sources—including genetically modified microorganisms.

The USDA recently changed the rules for getting unwanted synthetics and other nutrients, ingredients and processes out of organics. So it’s going to be an uphill battle. But worth the climb.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA National Organic Program you want nutrients from organic food, not synthetic vitamins!

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ACTION ALERT

An Inconvenient Question

On February 27, First Lady Michelle Obama went to bat for the FDA’s proposed new-and-improved rules for labels on food.

Conspicuously absent from all the media buzz was any mention of the number one food policy issue in this country right now—GMO labeling.

How could Mrs. Obama talk about food labeling laws and not even mention GMO labeling? With more than 30 states working on GMO labeling initiatives or laws?

OCA first approached Mrs. Obama in 2012, with more than 200,000 signatures on a petition asking her to remind her husband, President Obama, of his 2007 campaign promise to label GMOs.

She ignored us then. She’s ignoring us now.

And it seems, she’s ignoring the makers of, Fed Up, a new documentary that says the food industry is to blame for America’s health crisis.

If Mrs. Obama wants us to believe that she’s genuinely interested in the health of this country’s children, she needs to answer our question, no matter how inconvenient, about GMO labeling.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Michelle Obama: Consumers Want Labels on Genetically Modified Foods!

Read the press release

SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF

The Beginning of the End

Thanks to the millions of you who have worked so hard over the past few years (20 years for some of us!), we are celebrating today.

We hope you are, too.

The passage yesterday of this country’s first trigger-free, no-strings-attached GMO labeling law, in Vermont, is a testament to the power of grassroots movement-building.

It’s also a blow to Monsanto, Big Food and every state and federal politician who has turned his or her back on the citizens of this country, in order to support the profits of huge corporations.

This law would not have passed without your tremendous financial support of California’s Proposition 37 ballot initiative, and Washington State’s I-522 ballot initiative. The narrow losses in those states emboldened citizens all over this country, and helped propel the grassroots to a win yesterday in Vermont.

This is just the beginning of the end of Monsanto. We will have to fight legal challenges by the Gene and Junk Food Giants, and attempts by indentured politicians in Washington to kill Vermont’s laws.

The best way to do that is to push forward. With your help, we will win a state GMO labeling ballot initiative in Oregon in November, and initiatives to ban GMO crops in several Oregon counties this year. Thank you!

Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Oregon, Vermont and other states)

GMO LABELING CAMPAIGN

Cheap Date?

Last week, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), the Congressman from Koch Industries, introduced a federal bill to keep labels off GMO-contaminated foods, and allow the use of the word “natural” on foods that contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

It’s called the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014." Of course, it’s anything but.

How much did it cost the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Monsanto to buy a congressman from Kansas? About $170,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Pompeo’s sponsorship of the GMA’s bill reflects everything that’s wrong with today’s political system. Elected by Kansans to represent their best interests, Pompeo is ready to sell out the people of Kansas to companies such as Coca-Cola, Monsanto and Koch Industries.

Read OCA’s Op-Ed in the Wichita Eagle

Call Rep. Pompeo’s office 202-225-6216

If you live in Kansas, contact Pompeo’s office here

If you live outside Kansas, tell your Representative: Don't support Big Food's bill to kill GMO Labeling laws!

Tell Pompeo what you think on facebook

ORGANIC TRANSITIONS

Teaching Generations to Love Mother Earth

Do you know where the largest and oldest state organic organization is in the Unites States?

It’s in Maine!

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), formed in 1971, is the country’s longest existing and biggest state organic organization in the country. MOFGA’s mission is to help farmers and gardeners: grow organic food, fiber and other crops; protect the environment; recycle natural resources; increase local food production; support rural communities; and illuminate for consumers the connection between healthful food and environmentally sound farming practices.

MOFGA led the charge to pass a GMO labeling law in Maine. But the group is probably best known for its annual Common Ground Country Fair, attended by nearly 60,000 people every year.

MOFGA and the Common Ground Country Fair are unique and creative in their approach to teaching people of all ages how to love our Mother Earth.

More here