#366
FEb 7
2013
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ORGANIC
Org a nic Consum er s A sso ci at ion
BY TES
F o o d & C o n su m e r N e w s W e e k ly
w w w.org a nicconsum er s.org
This is a condensed print version of our weekly newsletter. For links to action alerts as well as in-depth
information about each story, please visit the online version: organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob366.htm
Cook Organic, Not the Planet
Prop 37 Recount: How One County Clerk Killed It
If we’re serious about heading off a climate crisis, we better start paying attention
to what’s on the end of our forks. As it turns out, factory farms are one of the
biggest culprits in the climate change calamity.
On inauguration day, President Obama promised to "respond to the
threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would
betray our children and future generations.” Empty words? Or
did he mean it? On February 17, OCA will march with nearly 80
other organizations in what promises to be the largest climate
rally in history, Forward on Climate. We’ll join hands and voices
with thousands of others in Washington DC to pressure Obama to
reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and enact tough carbon
limits on our nation’s dirty power plants.
But we’ll bring our own message, too: cook organic, not the planet. Because
while new, green technologies have their place in solving the climate crisis, a simple tried-and-true technology to restore carbon to our soil and keep greenhouse
gases out of our atmosphere has been right under our noses and our feet for centuries: climate-friendly organic farming. orgcns.org/VaM47h
Will we ever know if the majority of California voters really voted against an initiative that would
have required mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? Probably not, according to an analysis of the Prop 37 recount by Brad Friedman, author
of The Brad Blog. On November 6, 2012, Prop 37, the California Right to Know
GE Food Act, was defeated by a narrow margin. Too narrow, according to election integrity experts who found numerous inconsistencies in the ballot counting process. Activists called for a recount. What followed next is a tale of how
optical-scan ballot counting and corrupt election officials conspired to kill the
recount, deprive citizens of due democratic process, and may well have cost
the entire country the right to know what’s in our food. orgcns.org/VaME4U
Sweet Revenge: Boycott Dagoba and Hershey’s
Dagoba chocolate may be organic, but its parent company, Hershey’s, is a loser by
any standard. Hershey’s spent more than a half million dollars to defeat Prop 37,
the California Right to Know GMO labeling law. No wonder. The Hershey’s kisses
and chocolate bars sold here in the US are loaded with cheap genetically modified beet sugar and genetically engineered soy lecithin. And where does the giant
chocolate maker get its cacao? From regions where child labor and workers’ rights
abuses run rampant.
Hershey’s cuts corners by using cheap GMO ingredients and exploiting little kids
in impoverished countries so its CEO, John Bilbrey, can personally pocket millions—$10.6 million in 2011. But guess what? In the UK, where consumers have
the right to know what’s in their food because they’ve insisted on mandatory GMO
labeling laws, Hershey’s products are GMO-free. The company once said: “We took
this decision based on our belief that customers in the UK do not currently wish
to see GM ingredients in these products.” What about Hershey’s customers here in
the US? Let them eat GMOs. orgcns.org/VV1gA7
We’d Love to Get Money Out of Politics
But until we do, we need your help. It was money, $46 million, that overcame the
will of consumers in California last year and narrowly defeated grassroots efforts
to pass a major GMO labeling initiative that would almost certainly have guaranteed GMO labeling at the national level. It was money, or lack of it, that scuttled
a recount of the Prop 37 vote when election integrity experts cried foul. County
election officials fought back by requiring unreasonably high, and arbitrary fees
for carrying out the recount. Now, according to activists in New Mexico, money,
in the form of paid lobbyists, has bought off state legislators to keep them from
passing a statewide GMO labeling law. Consumers opened wallets to help the Prop
37 campaign. We didn’t get the win, but we rallied millions of concerned consumers who will not walk away from this battle until we win. We couldn't have done it
without your support. Now, two new GMO labeling battles are looming, in Washington and Vermont. We will win in one or both of these states, but we’ll need your
help to run successful campaigns. The OCA has already sent money to both state
campaigns, and has pledged more. Your generous donation today will help us keep
these campaigns strong so we can bring home a win. Thank you.
Donate to the OCA (tax-deductible, helps support work on behalf of organic standards and fair trade):organicconsumers.org/donations.cfm
Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, for legislative
efforts in CA and other states): www.organicconsumersfund.org/donate/
Look Who’s Talking About GMO Labeling
A few weeks ago, OCA broke the news about a secret meeting in Washington DC between
Walmart, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and other food giants and representatives of the FDA. The article
almost slipped quietly by. But then, it grew legs. Grist's Tom Laskaway was the first to pick up
on it, in an article where he confirmed that the meeting took place, and filled in more detail.
Then the New York Times fleshed out the story even further, reporting that nearly 20 major food
companies attended the January 11 meeting, and interviewing some of the key players involved.
Michelle Simon, of Appetite for Profit followed with her analysis, which focused on the OCA’s
cautionary note that, while it’s great to see the junk food conglomerates break with Monsanto
et al, we should be very wary of any federal legislation written with input from the very industry
that has been fighting tooth and nail against GMO labeling. orgcns.org/YrTM81
Have the junk food companies suddenly come over to our side? Are they hoping to write a federal, loophole-filled GMO labeling law? What will the FDA do? Stay tuned. orgcns.org/10rgc0l
Washington and Vermont Advance GMO Laws
We may have narrowly lost the GMO labeling battle in California, but the movement for mandatory GMO labeling is far from down and out. Washington and Vermont are pushing forward, and
from all accounts, the chances look good for victory in both.
Washington: Last week, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman certified the 353,331 signatures turned in by the grassroots campaign behind I-522, The People’s Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. Next step? Legislators have three options. They can pass I-522 into
law as is. They can take no action, which means the initiative will go directly to the voters in
November 2013. Or they can write their own alternative version of the bill, send both to the ballot in November, and let voters pick one. I-522 has tremendous support already from legislators,
farmers and the general public. Of course, it helps the cause that the FDA wants to approve GMO
“frankenfish” in a state where wild salmon is iconic. orgcns.org/VaNheY
Vermont: For the third time in the last three years, Vermont legislators have introduced a bill to
require mandatory labeling of GMOs. This time, H.112 has tri-partisan support from a third of the
members of the Vermont House, including 50 Democrat, Progressive and Republican co-sponsors, plus the Chair of the Senate Agriculture committee, Carolyn Partridge. Vermonters are
determined to prevent a repeat of last year, when a similar bill was passed out of the House Agriculture Committee late in the session with a strong 9-1 vote, only to have the Governor scuttle it
after Monsanto threatened to sue the state if it passed. Vermont has a long history of firsts when
it comes to progressive legislation. We’re counting on them to do it again. orgcns.org/YrTM81
Shop Responsibly This Valentine’s Day
Planning to treat someone special to chocolate and flowers on Valentines Day? Choose wisely,
and your gift could help make the whole world a better place. More than 40% of the world’s conventional chocolate is non-organic and non-Fair Trade. Most of it comes from the Ivory Coast,
where enslaved children work under grueling conditions to line the pockets of executives and
shareholders of big commercial chocolate companies, like Hershey’s. And those pretty flowers? The folks at the Pesticide Action Network point out that commercial flowers, produced in
Colombia and elsewhere, are the most toxic and heavily sprayed agricultural crops on Earth.
Visit our Valentine’s Day page for a guide to Valentine’s Day shopping, or to download an OCA
Valentine’s Day card and learn more about Fair Trade. organicconsumers.org/valentines/
Written and edited by Katherine Paul & Ronnie Cummins · Please post, distribute, & subscribe: organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.cfm
Read more and take action online: organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob366.htm · Please Donate: organicconsumers.org/donations.cfm