Thursday, October 4, 2012

Fwd: GMO Battle for the Hearts and Minds



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Organic Consumers Association <ronniecummins@organicconsumers.org>
Date: Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 11:14 AM
Subject: GMO Battle for the Hearts and Minds
To: linda Sierra <lcyerra1@gmail.com>


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Prop 37 Ad Wars: Monsanto's $ vs. The Truth About GMOs

According to the latest Los Angeles Times poll, California supporters of Prop 37 – the November 6th ballot initiative that will mandate labeling for genetically engineered food – outnumber our foes almost three to one.

We're going to have to fight hard to hold onto this lead.

Opponents of our Right to Know – Monsanto, DuPont and their allies – are currently outspending us seven to one, and we expect that margin to grow to ten to one before election day. Big Food Inc. and the Biotech Bullies have $35 million to spend on TV ads, and they're already bombing the airwaves.

We're not raising enough money to get our ads on TV as often as theirs, but we've got something else they don't.

The truth!

And people like you.

If you share our Right to Know TV ads with your friends, the videos are sure to go viral.

Also, please sign up to volunteer for the campaign – you don't have to be in California to contact the state's voters via phone, email or social media.

WATCH THE ADS & GET INVOLVED

 
 
 

Whole Foods — Stop the Greenwashing!

It took them months, but Whole Foods Market finally endorsed Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.

Or did they?

On closer look, the endorsement appeared to serve more to confuse consumers and discredit Prop 37, than it did to rally support for the most critical food policy fight to come down the pike in decades.

And financial support? From the most successful organic foods retailer and its multi-millionaire executives? Nuthin'.

READ RONNIE'S ARTICLE ABOUT WHOLE FOODS & THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT GMOs HERE

 
 
 

Support OCA and OCF

Here's What We're Up Against – And Here's How You Can Help

Californians turning on their TVs this week were met by $35 million worth of ads – paid for by Monsanto and other pesticide and junk food manufacturers – intended to frighten and confuse them about Prop 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.

Case in point: The opposition trotted out Dr. Henry Miller, a long-term cheerleader for the biotech industry, and an opponent of safety testing of GMO foods. Miller is senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank. For 15 years he worked for the FDA, where he founded the FDA Office of Biotechnology.

Miller also was a key supporter of The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, the European junk science front group funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris.

Miller has a string of fancy letters after his name, wears a suit, and looks and sounds like the typical voice of authority, trying to convince voters that Prop 37 is a ploy by "special interest" groups instead of what it really is – a grassroots, citizens initiative designed to give consumers the same basic right to know what's in their food that citizens in nearly 50 other countries already have.

Could a guy like Miller talk voters out of voting YES on 37? Not if we can get our message out to voters – but we have to get it out often enough, and in the right places.

Please help us counter the lies by donating today. Thank you!

DONATE TO THE ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION (tax-deductible, helps  support our public education work against GMOs and chemical food, and our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and sustainable farming)

DONATE TO THE ORGANIC CONSUMERS FUND (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in California and other states)

 
 
 

Scientists Defend Study Showing Monsanto's GMOs & Pesticides Make Rats Grow Tumors

A new peer-reviewed research paper by the French group of Gilles-Eric Seralini reveals devastating effects on rats fed diets containing genetically modified corn, with and without the herbicide Roundup, as well as Roundup alone. Seralini's study extends the work of others, which have demonstrated the toxicity and/or endocrine-based impacts of Roundup. This peer-reviewed study has been criticized by a group of indentured scientists whose views have been widely reported in the popular press.

But a growing number of independent scientists are defending Seralini, with the following warning:

"When those with a vested interest attempt to sow unreasonable doubt around inconvenient results, or when governments exploit political opportunities by picking and choosing from scientific evidence, they jeopardize public confidence in scientific methods and institutions, and also put their own citizenry at risk."

With the news that lifetime feeding studies show that Monsanto's herbicide RoundUp and genetically engineered RoundUp Ready crops cause deadly cancer in rats, Russia, France, India and other countries are considering bans. Please read the scientists' entire statement, then send a letter to U.S. regulators urging them to review the new evidence as well.

TAKE ACTION

 
 
 

YouTube Censors 'Organic Spies' Video Exposing GMOs at Whole Foods - Watch It At NaturalNews.com

The recent "Organic Spies" video that exposed Whole Foods selling GMOs was starting to go mega viral on YouTube, so guess what happened?

YouTube censored the video! It got yanked under some bogus "terms of service" excuse.

Why doesn't YouTube want you to see this video? Because it tells the truth!

Natural News got the video and posted it on TV.naturalnews.com, their own private video network. Please read about what happened, watch the censored video and tell Whole Foods what you think.

WATCH AND TAKE ACTION

 
 
 

SignOn Petition Media Events Set for Oct. 11th

Thanks to all of you who signed OCA's SignOn petition to First Lady Michelle Obama - it now has over 201,000 signers! The petition urges Mrs. Obama to ask President Obama to honor his campaign promise to require GMO labeling. It also asks President Obama to endorse California's Proposition 37, a citizens' ballot initiative to label GMOs.

On October 11, we're going to deliver the petitions to Michelle Obama at the White House and Barack Obama at his campaign offices in San Francisco, home of Prop 37 campaign headquarters.

We'll be inviting everyone in the San Francisco and DC areas to help us deliver the petitions. Stay tuned!

And if you haven't added your signature to the petition yet, you can still sign on here.

 
 
 

Seeds of Doubt Conference – GMOS 'The Compelling Research'

Renowned experts Don Huber(PhD), Michael Antoniou(PhD), Michelle Perro(MD), and Gilles-Eric Seralini(PhD), present the latest science and research behind the detrimental effects of GMOs and their impact on our health and environment.

JOIN THEM ON OCTOBER 6th IN LOS ANGELES, CA, AND ONLINE

 
 
 

Seed Freedom Fortnight of Action

From October 2nd (Gandhi's Birthday) to October 16th (World Food Day), the Global Alliance for Seed Freedom is planning intensive actions to create a global citizens' response on the issue of Seed Freedom that they hope will act as a wake up call for citizens and the government.

FIND AN EVENT NEAR YOU OR ADD ONE TO THE CALENDER

 
 
 

Illegal GMO Vaccines in Organic

Last week, we alerted you to the problem of synthetic nutrients in organic baby food. This week, while preparing to present public comments at the National Organic Standards Board meeting, October 15-18 in Providence, RI, we learned that the NOSB will also be taking on the issue of illegal GMO vaccines in organic.

Like synthetics, GMO vaccines are prohibited in organic without special permission. However, since the Bush Administration, the National Organic Program has acknowledged that even though no GMO vaccine has ever been approved for use in organic, most vaccines are GMO and are not labeled, thus many GMO vaccines are being used in organic illegally.

The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) has created a working group to address the problem and the new group will present an update of its progress at the Providence meeting.

TAKE ACTION

 
 
 

There Are Alternatives to the Madness of GMO-Driven Industrial Agriculture!

In San Francisco, a secret project bears fruit...

The Guerrilla Grafters are turning the city's non-bearing public trees into an urban orchard — despite city regulations.

In Todmorden, England, a group of volunteers started growing vegetables, fruit trees and other edible plants all over the town. From the train station to the police station, they are growing food in every place they can. It is called "Incredible Edible" and it could take root in your town.

Read these inspiring stories and more on our Organic Transitions page.

READ MORE

 
 
 

Natural Products Shouldn't Be GMO!

It's not a radical idea. Most consumers think natural means non-GMO. Shockingly, the Natural Products Association disagrees. They've even come out against Prop 37, the California ballot initiative for our right to know about GMOs!

Now, their Facebook page is on fire with comments like this one:

"Say YES on Prop 37! Otherwise you are creating massive CONSUMER FRAUD."

If you think natural should mean GMO-free, let NPA know what you think.

TAKE ACTION

 
 
 

Little Bytes


Essential Reading for the Week

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How Fracking Is a Danger to Your Health

A Marijuana Revolution on Election Day: Outright Legalization Likely in Colorado and Washington

A Growing Movement for Community-Supported Fisheries

Gut Bacteria Affects Fat Absorption

 
 
 

Message From Our Sponsors

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Learn More Here and Watch the Introduction Video

 
 
 

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linda Sierra
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Take good care,
Linda