What Else Is in Our Food Besides GMOs?
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You’ve heard a lot in the past few years about consumers’ right to know about GMOs. But what about your “right to know” about irradiated synthetic ingredients in “organic” baby formula? Or about Monsanto’s glyphosate in “100% Whole Grain” Shredded Wheat and “100% Natural” Nature Valley granola bars? And shouldn’t you have the “right to know” if the eggs you bought that had a “pasture-raised” label on them actually came from chickens that never spent a day outdoors, much less on a pasture?
Food manufacturers are lying to you. Every day.
That’s why the Organic Consumers Association is behind five lawsuits against food companies—and why they will soon announce several more.
The OCA has sent us the following information: Junk food makers spend millions of dollars studying consumer preferences. They know what you want—and what you don’t want. They know you don’t want food full of pesticides and hormones and other toxic chemicals. They know you care about the environment, about the welfare of farmers, and about the way animals raised for food are treated.
But rather than produce the food consumers want, companies like General Mills, Post, Earth’s Best, Handsome Brook—even a company that calls itself The Honest Co.—use false and misleading labels to trick you into thinking you’re buying the food you want.
And then they charge you a premium for it!
OCA announces our latest lawsuit, against Handsome Brook Farm. This egg producer was started by a husband and wife, on a “bucolic” farm in New York, according to a recent article in Forbes. When the company started out, its eggs probably came from “pasture-raised” chickens.
But like a lot of small companies, Handsome Brook has grown. According to Forbes, the company has contracts with 75 farms in six states, and its eggs are sold in more than 4,500 stores—including Kroger, Publix, Wegmans, and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Handsome Brook still labels its eggs “pasture-raised.” But it’s not true. And by lying about it, Handsome Brook is cheating you, and its competitors—those companies that are doing the right thing.
We’ve also recently sued Post Holdings (maker of Shredded Wheat), and General Mills and its subsidiary, Nature Valley, for claiming that their products that test positive for Monsanto’s glyphosate are “100% natural.”
In April, we sued two baby formula makers—The Honest Co. and Earth’s Best—for stating that some of their infant formula brands are “organic” when they in fact contain ingredients not allowed under federal organic standards.
Last month, we forced Colgate-Palmolive to take down a webpage that intentionally misled consumers into thinking Tom’s of Maine toothpaste, owned by Colgate, was organic. Fortunately, we didn’t need to sue—one letter from our attorney was enough to end the deception.
If Big Food companies refuse to label properly, OCA will sue them. You can support OCA by visiting its website (www.organicconsumers.org) for more information and how to donate.
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35 WEED SPECIES NOW RESISTANT TO ROUNDUP
When nature is assaulted, she responds. If humans apply toxic chemicals to kill weeds, nature changes the structure of the weeds to resist the chemicals. That’s what’s happened with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, Monsanto’s weed killer that has engulfed American farmland since the introduction of Roundup-resistant GMO crops 20 years ago, which allowed farmers to really pour on the Roundup. But the more of this herbicide you pour on the soil, the faster nature responds by making weeds resistant to it.
“After two decades of planting glyphosate-tolerant crops, resistant weeds have overtaken farm fields across the U.S., leaving farmers to battle an increasingly difficult situation,” according to Dr. Joseph Mercola. “At least 35 weed species are now resistant to glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup.
“Studies have also linked glyphosate to increases in Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), a deadly plant disease that causes plants to turn yellow and die — including crops that have never been sprayed with the herbicide but were planted in a field that received an application the previous season.”
In an effort to skirt disaster, Monsanto developed a new breed of genetically engineered seeds tolerant to other pesticides besides Roundup. This, they claim, is the answer to rising weed resistance — a side effect the company said would not occur from the use of their GE seeds in the first place.
There’s every reason to believe this next generation of GMO seeds will likely boost weed resistance, continue driving the increase in pesticide use, and make our food even more toxic.
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CALIFORNIA FARM AWARDED TOP ANIMAL WELFARE CERTIFICATION
The flock of laying hens at Browns Valley Farm near Marysville, California, is now certified as Animal Welfare Approved. This certification and food label lets consumers know these animals are raised in accordance with the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S. and Canada, using sustainable agriculture methods on an independent family farm. Look for the AWA seal on your organic products.
Like other AWA farmers across the country, Dan and Asunta Presson recognize the growing consumer interest in how animals are raised on farms. Managing animals outdoors on pasture or range has known benefits for animals, consumers, and the environment. The Pressons raise Certified AWA laying hens on 15 acres of pasture and woodland in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Asunta’s Browns Valley Farm’s 150 Rhodes Island Reds and Golden Sex Links chickens are free to move back and forth between the grasslands and wooded areas, where they feed on vegetation, grass seeds and insects, and can perform natural behaviors like running and dust bathing. The Pressons believe pasture-based management is not only better for the animals and the environment, but results in healthier, better tasting eggs for their customers. Scientific research shows that pasture-raised eggs contain three times as much vitamin E, seven times more beta-carotene, and twice the amount of omega 3 fatty acids as industrial eggs.
The Pressons are proud to be Certified AWA and hope it will highlight their high-welfare, sustainable farming practices: “After learning about AWA at a sustainable farming conference, we knew it was the right certification for our farm,” they explain. “The AWA logo also assures our customers that we really are raising our chickens according to the highest welfare standards, outdoors on pasture.”
AWA Program Director Andrew Gunther says, “The accountability and integrity offered by Animal Welfare Approved farmers like Dan and Asunta are unmatched in food production. We’re glad to have Asunta’s Browns Valley Farm in the AWA family.”
Certified AWA pasture-raised eggs from Asunta’s Browns Valley Farm are available at Briar Patch Coop Market in Grass Valley, and New Earth Market and Sunflower Natural Foods in Yuba City.
Called a “badge of honor for farmers” and the “gold standard,” AWA is the most highly regarded food label in North America when it comes to animal welfare, pasture-based farming, and sustainability. All AWA standards, policies and procedures are available on the AWA website, making it the most transparent certification available. AWA’s Online Directory of AWA farms, restaurants and products enables the public to search for AWA farms, restaurants and products by zip code, keywords, products and type of establishment. AWA has also launched AWA Food Labels Exposed, a free smartphone app guide to commonly used food claims and terms, available to download from the App Store or Google Play. A printable version is also available for download at www.AnimalWelfareApproved.org.
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ZIKA SPRAYING DECIMATING BEE COLONIES
The first video, taken by a new bee keeper in Naples, Florida, shows a thriving hive. The second video, taken three days later, shows a mostly dead hive. The area was sprayed for Zika-carrying mosquitoes the day before the second video.
The poison they are using, Dibrom, is contains an organophosphate neurotoxin.
The Huffington Post has even done articles on the studies that show the spray can cause autism and microcephaly–the shrunken head syndrome attributed to the virus.
In tangential news, Florida Governor Rick Scott’s wife owns part of the mosquito spray company. One doctor claims that the microcephaly isn’t caused by Zika, but rather by the pesticide. Over 40 million people in the Southeast live in Zika-prone areas. Dibrom is morbid spelled backwards. It’s banned in many nations around the world. And it’s up for its 10-year renewal by EPA this year.
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HAVE YOU HEARD OF GENE DRIVES? HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW
As thousands of government representatives and conservationists convene in Oahu for the 2016 World Conservation Congress, international conservation and environmental leaders are raising awareness about the potentially dangerous use of gene drives—a controversial new biotechnology intended to deliberately cause targeted species to become extinct.
Members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), including NGOs, government representatives, and scientific and academic institutions, overwhelmingly voted to adopt a de facto moratorium on supporting or endorsing research into gene drives for conservation or other purposes until the IUCN has fully assessed their impacts.
A long list of environmental leaders, including Dr. Jane Goodall, genetics professor and broadcaster Dr. David Suzuki, Dr. Fritjof Capra, entomologist Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, Indian environmental activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, and organic pioneer and biologist Nell Newman have lent their support to an open letter: “A Call for Conservation with a Conscience: No Place for Gene Drives in Conservation.”
The letter states, in part: “Gene drives, which have not been tested for unintended consequences, nor fully evaluated for ethical and social impacts, should not be promoted as conservation tools.”
“Gene drives are basically a technology that aims for a targeted species to go extinct,” explains ecologist and entomologist Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, president of the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER). “While this may appear to some conservationist professionals to be a ‘good’ thing and a ‘silver bullet’ to handle complicated problems, there are high risks of unintended consequences that could be worse than the problems they are trying to fix.”
Both the leading developers of the technology and also those concerned about gene drives will be attending the Oahu Congress and holding events to raise awareness, hype promises, or highlight the potential hazards of gene drives.
One near-term gene drive proposal, promoted by U.S.-based non-governmental organization Island Conservation, intends to release gene drive mice on islands to eradicate the exploding mouse populations. Another, led by the University of Hawaii, would develop gene drive mosquitoes for use in Hawaii to combat avian malaria which affects honeycreeper birds. The debate around gene drives is likely to resurface later this year at the negotiations of the United Nations Biodiversity Convention in Cancun Mexico in December.
“Gene drives, also known as ‘mutagenic chain reactions,’ aim to alter DNA so an organism always passes down a desired trait, hoping to change over time the genetic makeup of an entire species,” explains Dr. Vandana Shiva. “This technology would give biotech developers an unprecedented ability to directly intervene in evolution, to dramatically modify ecosystems, or even crash a targeted species to extinction.”
“Genetic extinction technologies are a false and dangerous solution to the problem of biodiversity loss,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. “There are real, sustainable, community-based conservation efforts that should be supported. We are concerned that genetic extinction technologies will allow new destructive agricultural practices and even use by the military. Speculative conservation claims are at best an unfounded diversion or smokescreen. We support those in the IUCN who recognize the gravity of irreversible and irresponsible technologies such as gene drives.”
Signatories of the letter, which include indigenous organizations and legal experts, raised legal and moral questions, citing an “ethical threshold that must not be crossed without great restraint.”
Some of the signing organizations will be holding a Knowledge Café event as part of the IUCN World Conservation Congress at 8:30 am HST (11:30 a.m. PDT; 2:30 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, September 5. The event will be live streamed at www.synbiowatch.org/gene-drives.
A short briefing outlining concerns about gene drives prepared by the Civil Society Working Group on Gene Drives is available at www.synbiowatch.org/2016/08/reckless-driving/.
A copy of the letter “A Call for Conservation with a Conscience: No Place for Gene Drives in Conservation” and a complete list of signatories is available at http://www.synbiowatch.org/gene-drives-letter/.
More details about the Island Conservation Project to release gene drive mice are available in this article: http://baynature.org/article/re-coding-conservation/. Plans to develop gene drives for Hawaii are being developed by the lab of Dr. Floyd A, Reed of Hawaii University: http://hawaiireedlab.com/wpress/?p=2270.
The IUCN Motion on Synthetic Biology and Conservation (motion No. 95) was supported by 71 Governments and 355 NGOs (out of a total of 544 votes cast). It includes the following amendment on gene drives: “CALLS UPON the Director General and Commissions with urgency to assess the implications of gene drives and related techniques and their potential impacts on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity as well as equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources, in order to develop IUCN guidance on this topic, while refraining from supporting or endorsing research, including field trials, into the use of gene drives for conservation or other purposes until this assessment has been undertaken.”
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MEET BJORN LOMBORG, BUT HOLD YOUR NOSE
An Op-Ed entitled, “Organic food is great business, but a bad investment,” by Bjorn Lomborg published recently in USA Today has prompted a letter to the editor from The Organic Center that appeared in a subsequent edition. In the response published in the Opinion section, The Center’s Director of Science Programs, Dr. Jessica Shade, points out that the Op-Ed ignored the scientific evidence supporting the multitude of benefits of choosing an organic diet. Her letter calls out inaccuracies in the piece and cites the most up-to-date scientific literature demonstrating that organic food has an advantageous nutritional profile and allows consumers to avoid exposure to dangerous chemicals and antibiotic-resistant bacteria while supporting a healthy environment.
And who is Bjorn Lomborg? He’s a guy who says that the best way to help poor people is to convince the world to ignore the threat of climate change.
Among other activities, Lomborg runs the Copenhagen Consensus Center (CCC). Though long associated with his native Denmark, it actually registered as a US-based non-profit organization back in 2008. Lomborg took a cool $775,000 in pay from the CCC in 2012.
The only income for the CCC in its first year in the US came in the form of a $120,000 grant from the New York-based Randolph Foundation. The foundation gave CCC another $50,000 in 2012.
The Randolph Foundation’s long-time president and director is Heather Higgins, a former Wall Street Journal editorial writer who is Chairman of the Independent Women’s Forum, which is predominately funded by conservative U.S. foundations, including the Koch brothers’ Claude R. Lambe Foundation. She’s also a board member of the right-wing Philanthropy Roundtable, which awarded Charles G. Koch the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.
Randolph’s board of trustees include Polly Freiss, the daughter-in-law of conservative businessman Foster Freiss, who helped bankroll Senator Rick Santorum in the 2012 GOP presidential primary and backs climate denialist news outlets like The Daily Caller. As ThinkProgress has documented, Foster and Polly Freiss — and Heather Higgins — all attended the Koch brother’s secretive 2010 conservative strategy meeting in Aspen.
The tax records of the Kansas-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation show it gave the CCC two $150,000 grants — one in 2011 and another in 2012. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is part of the Koch-funded group dedicated to “educating state and Federal judges,” as the Voter’s Legislative Transparency Project (VLTP) put it in a 2012 expose.
As VLTP explained, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and other Koch-backed groups are “interfering with our judicial processes by filing hundreds of ‘Amicus Briefs’ to state and federal courts in pending cases.”
Of course, somebody has to educate all the judges to appreciate the conservative arguments in those briefs — judges who, you won’t be surprised to learn, often decide against the Environmental Protection Agency and for ExxonMobil and Chevron USA.
That’s why we need all expense-paid trips for those judges to plush resorts for seminars run by academic centers like Northwestern University’s Northwestern Law Judicial Education Program and George Mason University’s Law and Economics Center.
Who funds those centers? For Northwestern, funders include the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation Donors Trust and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. For GMU — whose judicial seminars were featured by ABC in a 20/20 expose— those two foundations were joined in the past by the Randolph Foundation.
So Bjorn Lomborg is funded by foundations that are part of the Koch empire of influence. And Lomborg is a big-time pundit who argues for inaction on climate change, who writes articles like “The Poor Need Cheap Fossil Fuels” and “Organic food is great business, but a bad investment,” and who asserts “global warming has mostly been a net benefit so far” and will be for decades.
Look, anyone who tries to delegitimize organic agriculture and foodstuffs has a secret agenda going on. After all, organics is simply a benign, sustainable, non-toxic way to grow our food and keep us free from toxic chemicals. What’s not to love? Lomborg’s agenda is to discredit organics on behalf of conservative billionaires like the Koch brothers, who make their billions from fossil fuels and other environmentally sketchy sources. What does Lomborg get in return? Three quarters of a million dollars ain’t bad.
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LIKE RUSSIAN FOOD? TRY POPKOFF’S
I tried several Russian food favorites recently and was impressed. Pelmeni and vareniki are savory stuffed pierogies, made in San Francisco and flash frozen. They take five minutes to cook and are delicious. The vegetables are all locally grown in the Bay Area and the meats are antibiotic- and hormone-free. There are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives in any of the products. For more info, visit www.popkoffs.com
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