The path has been cleared in Nitro, West Virginia, for the settlement of Superfund litigation against Monsanto for $93 million. The lawsuit relates to a Monsanto facility that produced Agent Orange and released toxic dioxin into a residential community, exposing thousands of people and contaminating their homes. The settlement includes long term medical monitoring of community residents and cleanup of their properties. The settlement also would allow residents to retain their right to file personal-injury lawsuits against Monsanto if medical tests turn up illnesses potentially related to dioxin exposure. Attorneys for the community, who are challenging the settlement, have 25 days to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider their petition. Medical monitoring and cleanup could start as soon as next month.
This is another great example of what Monsanto calls sustainability. Should this company be messing with our food?
The Pompeo bill has been introduced, appropriately nick named: "The DARK Act" Denying Americans' Right-to-Know. Don't let them kill all of our GMO Labeling Efforts!!
Congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas has introduced a bill that would ban states from passing GE food labeling laws and make “voluntary labeling” the law of the land. Tell Congress NOT to support this corporate bill "The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act" (LOL at the name, right?)
✎ Sign ✎ Don't let Congress deny your right to know: Oppose the DARK act!
and don't forget to 'thank' the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) members like Kraft, Nestle, General Mills etc... They are the ones sponsoring this bill, probably wrote every word of it and spend many millions to fight our labeling efforts. They took the list of members down but it can be found here: http://goo.gl/m7kC8B as of June 30. 2013.
Surrounded by NONGMO verified cereals and USDA Organic cereals two cereals stand out as out of place General Mills Cherrios and Honey Nut Cheerios, the later in it's iconic sunshine yellow box. The nearly neon Cheerios box stands out for a very good reason, they are not GMO-Free or carried by a normal brand found in a healthy foods supermarket.
At Earth Fare in Charleston, the cereal aisle, located by the bulk foods section is small, with a few select brands and their varieties. Earth Fare in Charleston offers it's shoppers a nice even thought small selection of NONGMO verified cereals and cereals with the USDA Organic signage on them. The question of the GM Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios seem to be answered by Earth Fare that these were at the request of their shoppers and to offer shoppers items so that they would not make purchases elsewhere. Earth Fare didn't seem to notice that there are several of their brands on their shelves with Oat Os. It seems like an empty reason and has bothered me since this was the answer was given via their face book page last summer when Cheerios lived on the bottom shelf.
With the debate on GMOs coming into more State's legislatures and ballots and coupled the recent poll of 90% of Americans want GMO labeling a customer has to ask WHY is this on a 'health' food store shelf?
Why indeed.
UPDATE:
Earth Fare replied via our FB posting found here :
Hi! Thank you for writing us! Cheerios has recently committed to being GMO free and all of their ingredients fit into our Food Philosophy (https://www.earthfare.com/food/foodphilosophy). This is a statement from Cheerios, "We don’t use genetically modified ingredients in original Cheerios. Our principal ingredient has always been whole grain oats – and there are no GMO oats. We use a small amount of corn starch in cooking, and just one gram of sugar per serving for taste. But our corn starch comes from non-GMO corn, and we use only non-GMO pure cane sugar." We appreciate your concern and hope this helps clear some things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions. Thank you for shopping with us!
What are your thoughts on Big Business products taking up space in 'health food stores' esp prime real estate giving the impression that this is an organic healthy option?
On May 24th, millions of activists from around the world will once again March Against Monsanto, calling for the permanent boycott of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and other harmful agro-chemicals. Currently, marches will occur on six continents, in 52 countries,with events in over 400 cities. In the US, solidarity marches are slated to occur in 47 states.
Charleston, SC will be marching to show a united demand for Senator Tim Scott and Lindsay Graham to worry more about the consumers in their states using and wearing GMOs than the farmer trying to sell the GMO/GE crops. Please RSVP on our event page and help us on 5/24/14 show South Carolina that we want to be part of the solution and not the problem.
I had no idea that Starbucks was largest purchaser of milk in the entire country. Of course that is milk from cows that eat a diet of 100% GMO soy, corn and alfalfa. As a nondairy drinker, I wish Starbucks offered organic soy and organic coconut milk as well. They'd sell the heck out of it for sure.
Your purchase power can change things. And it begins with one step, one email, one purchase, one request, one letter to a company you love, one share of a meme, one friend who sees your post, one head nod that says WE CAN DO BETTER.
What the Starbucks? Cows living in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are fed a grain diet comprised almost entirely of GMO corn, soy, alfalfa, and cottonseed.
Please watch this 5 minute video with the daughter of a Vietnam Vet to learn about the generational diseases she lives with - attributable to her father's exposure to Agent Orange, an herbicide manufactured by Dow and Monsanto.
They claim that Agent Orange is safe.
Kelly and the hundreds of thousands of Vets and their children know better. And yet, the USDA is poised to approve Dow's 2,4-D GMO crops. 2,4-D is one of two herbicides that make up Agent Orange and was recently banned in Australia.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH 2,4-D HERBICIDE AND DOW'S 2,4-D GMO CROPS?
One word: Everything.
Beyond threats to clean water and health, 2,4-D has a notorious history of drift, killing most plant life that it touches and putting non-GMO and organic crops at risk. And when damages occur, as usual, the agrichemical/biotech companies get off Scott-free. Rather than forcing organic gardeners and farmers to defend themselves against 2,4-D drift, the USDA needs to change its priorities, get out of bed with Big Ag, and start working to protect our environment and help farmers farm without poisons.
We need your voice. The USDA's public comment period original deadline was Feb. 24 but is extended through March 11th. Tell the USDA to reject Dow's 2,4-D GMO crops.
