Beware of organic brands that are fighting Prop. 37

Organic consumers beware!
The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to “Promoting Economic Justice for Family Scale Farming,” as its motto puts it, recently came out with a detailed news article (go to www.cornucopia.org to see full story) revealing that “[c]orporations owning some of the nation’s most popular organic brands (Horizon, Silk, Kashi, Cascadian Farm, R.W. Knudsen, etc.) have joined Monsanto and the biotechnology industry in fighting California citizen initiative Proposition 37 that will mandate GMO labeling.”

“Consumers might be surprised to find out that brands hiding under ‘natural’ façades are in fact owned by multibillion-dollar corporations that are contributing bushel baskets of cash to defeating Proposition 37,” said Charlotte Vallaeys, Cornucopia’s director of Farm and Food Policy.

As the article pointed out, “[m]andatory labeling of genetically engineered [GE] food in California is viewed as a watershed event by many industry observers, as many companies will find it logistically or economically difficult to produce foods with labels identifying GE for California while producing a different product line of foods for the rest of the country.” It will cut into their bottom line, their profits, in other words.

Why not cut into the profits of these sly companies now by not purchasing products from them?

Don’t buy these brands
Of the $23.5 million donated so far to fight Prop. 37, here is the breakdown, by brand/corporation, according to the Cornucopia Institute: Monsanto: $4,208,000; PepsiCo (parent company of Izze and Naked drinks): $1,716,300; Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla and Simply Orange drinks): $1,164,400; Conagra (French Meadow, Alexia, Lightlife): $1,076,300; Kellogg (Kashi, MorningStar Farms, Gardenburger, Bear Naked): $632,500; General Mills (Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, Lärabar): $520,000; Smucker’s (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic): $387,000; and Dean Foods (Horizon Organic milk products, Silk soy milk): $253,000. Additionally, the Council for Biotechnology Information (made up of agricultural-pesticide giants Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, Bayer CropScience and BASF Plant Science) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association each have donated $375,000, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization has put in $250,000 toward trying to make sure Californians do not have access to accurate labeling of the food they buy as far as GMO content goes.

Support these natural-products companies:
Dr. Bronner’s liquid and bar soaps, Nature’s Path organic cereals and cereal products, Richvale-based Lundberg Family Farms rice products, Nutiva coconut and hemp oils, etc., Organic Valley milk, Amy’s natural and organic frozen meals, Eden Foods, Baby’s Only organic baby formula, Marshall, Calif.-based Straus Family Creamery Organic milk and cream and Uncle Matt’s organic juices. Collectively, along with Illinois physician Dr. Joseph Mercola (go to www.mercola.com for info), the Organic Consumers Association and Michael Funk, CEO of United Natural Foods, Inc., they have donated $2.6 million toward the support of Prop. 37. It’s a far cry, unfortunately, from the big money donated by big corporations such as Monsanto, PepsiCo and Kellogg—so help support the pro-37 battle by boycotting brands that are trying to prevent the labeling of foods containing GMOs. (By the way, certain companies that one would expect to support Prop. 37 have yet to donate to the campaign, according to the Cornucopia Institute, such as Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market and Stonyfield organic dairy products.)

Go to www.cornucopia.org/prop37-petition to sign Cornucopia’s petition telling anti-Prop. 37 corporations that you won’t give them your business, thanking pro-37 companies and asking noncommittal companies, such as Trader Joe’s, to provide financial support.