Organic Bytes: Frankenfoods in Your "Natural" Foods Store

| SUBSCRIBE & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Frankenfoods in Your "Natural" Foods Store #272, April 14, 2011 In this issue: Quote of the Week by Jesse Ventura Essay of the Week by Ronnie Cummins Alert of the Week: Tell Whole Foods to Stop Selling Monsanto's Unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms Millions Against Monsanto Summits: Chicago, Seattle & New York! Videos of the Week: How to Identify GMOs Sold in Whole Foods Market Filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia Calls Out Sewage-Sludgers for Ecoterrorism Smear Little Bytes Quote of the Week We Ain't Got Time To Bleed. It's Time for the Revolution. "You control our world. You've poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you. You've liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence. You've stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions. You've profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You've monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit...we are bleeding...but we ain't got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution! " -Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, April 12, 2011 Read More Essay of the Week Frankenfoods in Your "Natural" Foods Store: Whole Foods or Whole Hypocrisy? By Ronnie Cummins "Whole Foods claim they support mandatory labeling of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Well, where are the labels on the vast array of non-organic foods in their stores that contain genetically engineered soybeans, corn, canola, cottonseed oil, or sugar beets? Where are the labels on their so-called 'natural' meat, eggs, or dairy products, reared on GMO grains and animal drugs?" Read More PLEASE DONATE Donate to OCA & Receive Access to Yoga, Fitness and Meditation Videos Online The Organic Consumers Association is happy to be partnering with My Yoga Online to provide OCA donors with a month's worth of instructional web fitness videos at no cost with any size donation. Your donations help us continue to do the important work that you read about each week in Organic Bytes and each day on our website. OCA highly recommends this resource for anyone who is online and has a computer! Choose the type of fitness video, ability level and length that works for you. Check out the My Yoga Online website to browse their dynamic library of hundreds of yoga, health and wellness videos and articles. Just put "yoga offer" in the comments of your donation!  Please Donate Alert OF THE WEEK Tell Whole Foods to Stop Selling Monsanto's Unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms Whole Foods Market supports mandatory labels for foods produced with genetically modified organisms: "We have advocated for mandatory labeling of GE foods since 1992, even before they were made commercially available." But Whole Foods Market sells unlabeled foods produced with genetically modified organisms: "The reality is that no grocery store in the United States, no matter what size or type of business, can claim they are GE-free...we are not going to mislead our customers with an inaccurate claim." (Source: Internal memo sent to store managers January 30, 2011.) As Millions Against Monsanto activists were told by store employees when they protested Whole Foods last weekend, any food in Whole Foods that isn't Certified Organic or Non-GMO Project Verified might be genetically modified, but store employees were unable to answer questions about whether specific products contained genetically modified ingredients. This is unacceptable. Why is Whole Foods Market letting Monsanto take up shelf space? Why isn't it training store employees to help consumers identify GMO foods so we can avoid them? Please ask Whole Foods Market to stop selling unlabeled GMOs. Take Action Millions Against Monsanto Summits Thanks, San Francisco! Now, on to Chicago, Seattle & New York! To gear up for the Millions Against Monsanto actions on World Food Day, October 16, 2011, we're hosting regional anti-GMO summits at each of the Green Festivals around the country: Chicago May 14-15, 2011 Seattle May 21-22, 2011 New York October 1-2, 2011 We need volunteers in each city to host gatherings at their homes or community centers, to put up OCA staff and volunteers in their homes and to work in the Millions Against Monsanto booths. To volunteer, please click here. Last weekend, OCA political director Alexis Baden-Mayer was in San Francisco with filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia (The Future of Food), Pamm Larry (Label GMOs: It's Our Right To Know, a 2012 CA Ballot Initiative), Rebecca Spector (Center for the Food Safety), organizers of the Right 2 Know GMO March and the Sustainable Living Roadshow, and local leaders of the Millions Against Monsanto (MAM) Truth-in-Labeling campaign, including: Carla Hernandez, MAM-CA-4 (Rocklin) Metha Pace, MAM-CA-5 (Sacramento) Rachel Danesi & Michelle Simonson, MAM-CA-6 (Marin & southern Sonoma) Cheryl Vantress Taufa, MAM-CA-7 (Richmond, Vellejo, Vacaville & Pittsburg) Alexis van Gelder & Denise Sullivan, MAM-CA-8 (San Francisco) Shoban, Cesar, Jeff, Amanda Ayotte, Michele Jordan & Nancy Schimmel, MAM-CA-9 (Oakland, Berkeley & Piedmont) Wendy Hershey, MAM-CA-10 (Concord) Ashley Ramirez & Leni Felton, MAM-CA-11 (Tracy) Andrea Sanchez & Shannon Doyle, MAM-CA-12 (San Francisco) Michelle Berman & Robin Bougeja, MAM-CA-17 (Santa Cruz, Aptos) Terry Schroder, MAM-OR-3 (Portland) Thanks especially to John, Kevin, Terry, Guy, Karen, and all the fantastic volunteers who helped us spread the word, worked the Millions Against Monsanto booth and Rallied for the Right to Know at Whole Foods Market! Videos of the Week How to Identify GMOs Sold in Whole Foods Market Activists with the Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign went to Whole Foods Market in San Francisco to try to identify which foods are genetically engineered, but couldn't get any help from store employees... Make sure to check out the our latest videos while you're there! Watch Videos of the Week Filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia Calls Out Sewage-Sludgers for Ecoterrorism Smear Deborah Koons Garcia, director of the films "The Future of Food" and "Symphony of the Soil," condemns dumping toxic sewage sludge onto farms and gardens, a deceptive and widespread practice. She strongly criticizes her hosts and especially co-keynoter Sally Brown, a BioCycle columnist, for smearing opponents of toxic sludge as "ecoterrorists." BioCycle and Brown, a U of WA associate professor, promote growing food in sewage sludge which they always call by its PR term "biosolids," or simply refer to as "compost." Watch Little Bytes Organic Consumers Association and Food Rights Network Demand Retraction at April 12 BioCycle Conference in San Diego READ MORE Calling Sewage Sludge Organic Compost: Would You Like A Bit Of Heavy Metal With That? READ MORE And Now, for the Kill READ MORE GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies READ MORE Stop the Corporate Takeover of Organics! READ MORE Message From Ouur Sponsors Dr. Bronner's Magic All-One! 5 Generations and 150 Years of Soapmaking Excellence Marking the 60th Anniversary of the company, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps is pleased to announce that all classic liquid & bar soaps are now not only certified under the USDA National Organic Program, but also certified Fair Trade! In addition, we are pleased to introduce a revolutionary new range of high-quality organic products, from hair rinses to shaving gels – all certified under the same USDA program that certifies organic foods. Visit us on the web Become an OCA Sponsor! Every issue of Organic Bytes now goes to 265,000 organic consumers with a thousand new subscribers each week. Please help us and your business by letting our subscribers know who you are and that you support the work of the OCA. Please contact us if you want more information! Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! Organic Bytes is a publication of Organic Consumers Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652 Subscribe & Read past issues and print- friendly PDF versions of Organic Bytes Connect with us: