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ESSAY OF THE WEEK
Letter from Lima
Marching and chanting (“Change the System, not the Climate!”), an energetic and colorful corps of indigenous people, campesinos, students, union members, and climate activists make our way through the traffic-clogged streets of Lima, from the Campo de Marte to the Plaza San Martin.
Today’s “Mega-March,” 15,000 strong, is both invigorating and frustrating.
Invigorating to take to the streets with a growing international Movement.
Frustrating to realize that we are still losing the battle.
We need to move beyond the dull, disempowering messages of “climate change mitigation” and “climate change adaptation” to boldly stating that we are part of a growing global Movement that has the ability to reverse global warming, rejuvenate soil fertility, restore forests, stop the melting of the polar ice caps, and eliminate rural poverty and malnutrition in the Global South, where the majority of the world’s population live.
ACTION ALERT
All We Want for Christmas
If Stonyfield can do it, so can the other Big Three Organic Dairies.
On December 5 (2014), Stonyfield Farm resigned from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), a trade group that is suing Vermont to overturn the state’s GMO labeling law, passed earlier this year.
The resignation came about five months after OCA and a number of our allies sent anopen letter to four leading organic dairy companies—Stonyfield, Organic Valley, White Wave/Horizon Organic and Aurora Organic Dairy—demanding they withdraw their membership in the IDFA.
Last week, we sent a second letter, to Marc Peperzak, CEO, Aurora Organic Dairy; Scott McGinty, President, Aurora Organic Dairy; George Siemon, CEO, Organic Valley; and Gregg Engles, Chairman & CEO, White Wave, telling them that all we want for Christmas is for them to do the right thing—resign immediately from the IDFA.
So far as we know, these leading organic dairies are all still dues-paying members of the anti-labeling, anti-consumer IDFA. Maybe that will change if they hear from thousands of loyal customers who won’t be so loyal anymore, unless their favorite organic dairy companies start supporting consumers instead of Monsanto and Big Food?
FAIR WORLD PROJECT
At What Cost?
Companies like Safeway, Subway and Darden Restaurants (owner of restaurants like Olive Garden and the Yard House) are raking in the profits from selling cheap fruits and vegetables, imported from Mexico.
Who isn’t profiting? Mexican farm workers who work under primitive, sometimes illegal and violent conditions, while only too often returning home penniless.
An investigative report recently published by the Los Angeles Timesconfirms the rampant illegal, abusive and unsafe conditions often endured by laborers on farms in Mexico that supply fruits and vegetables to U.S. companies.
You would think that consumers could rely on the Fair Trade USA certification process to ensure that they’re buying produce from companies that don’t exploit workers. But according to the LA Times report, two companies licensed to sell Fair Trade USA certified produce-- SunFed and Andrew and Williamson—are among the buyers of produce from farms that exploit workers.
Under the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA), U.S. imports of fresh fruits and vegetables from Mexico have more than doubled. And most of this produce comes from farms where workers are exploited and underpaid. According to the report, major U.S. companies have done little to enforce social responsibility guidelines that call for basic worker protections such as clean housing and fair pay practices. The report cites lack of public pressure to force U.S. companies to make safe, clean, fair conditions for farm workers a priority.
It’s time these companies heard from all of us.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Subway, Darden and Safeway: We will insist on oversight and victim compensation.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Fair Trade USA: Do Not Let SunFed and Andrew and Williamson Fairwash.
SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF
What Lies Ahead
It’s been a year of ups and downs, twists and turns.
But it may end up looking like a smooth ride, compared with what lies ahead.
Last week’s hearing on H.R. 4432, a federal bill to preempt state GMO labeling laws, provided a glimpse of what we will be up against in 2015.
And it’s worse than we thought.
If you thought that no member of Congress in his or her right mind would dismiss the opinion of 90 percent of Americans, and instead support a law denying you the basic right to know whether or not the food you buy has been genetically modified (and drenched in pesticides), think again.
The DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) ACT is gaining momentum. As is Monsanto’s public relations campaign designed to paint food grown with copious amounts of dangerous toxins as “perfectly safe.” And in January, Vermont will be in court to defend the country’s first no-strings-attached GMO labeling law.
You have built a movement that knows the insanity of poisoning our soil, air, water and food . . . as well as the insanity of thinking that by allowing this dangerous form of “agriculture” to go on unabated, we won’t poison ourselves.
Thank you for carrying us to victory in Vermont this year. And for helping us come to within 800 votes of a win in Oregon (which most likely would have been a win, had the state agreed to count 4600 so-called contested votes).
We’re counting on you to keep this movement strong in 2015. Thank you!
Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)
Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Oregon, Vermont and other states)
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Rally on Capitol Hill, Starring You!
Hundreds of you rode overnight on buses, hopped on planes or made long road trips on your own to help us deliver a message to Congress on December 10 (2014).
That message—that we oppose H.R. 4432, an outrageous anti-consumer bill to preempt states’ rights to label GMOs—rang out loud and clear, thanks to you.
We also had a little help from some passionate and eloquent speakers.
To everyone who attended, thank you! For those who couldn’t make it in person, watch this video for a glimpse of energy and diversity of the more than 600 people who participated.
TRAVEL PROMO
A Different Kind of Vacation
Looking for a spring getaway? On fire about food? Concerned about water resources? Want to connect with other folks interested in your passions?
How about combining a trip to Mexico with workshops on sustainable food and water?
The Center for Appropriate Technology and Indigenous Sustainability (CATIS Mexico) will host two action-packed trips this spring. CATIS works in conjunction with OCA's Via Orgánica Project, based in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. These two courses, geared to anyone who wants a different kind of vacation, overlap with many college spring breaks.
Here’s what Tchinossanda Kandimba, one of last year’s attendees, had to say after taking one of the workshops: “My experience was amazing, unexpected and surpassed anything I could’ve imagined.”
But don’t take someone else’s opinion for it. Find out for yourself!
March 7-15: Sustainable Food Systems: You are what you eat. (Via Organica is one of the projects showcased.)
March 14-22, 2015: Integrated Water Systems: Water is life
$950 fee for each course includes workshop, most meals, simple housing and transportation.
For more information and to register click here, or contact Jennifer Ungemach.
LITTLE BYTES
Essential Reading for the Week
GMOs and CAFOs Drive Disease Statistics and Destroy Communities
Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York State, Citing Health Risks
Seeds of Truth: Vandana Shiva and the New Yorker
Scientists Need to Rethink Their Beliefs about GMOs
What’s the Real Cause of Heart Attacks?
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