> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Send in the (Pro-GMO) Clowns - newsletter from Organic Consumers Association - URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/send_in_the_pro-gmo_clowns-0411140718/ - Published: 2014-04-11T20:17:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T18:11:02.000Z - Description: The Organic Consumers Association attacks H.R. 4432, Rep. Mike Pompeo's “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014,” which would create a voluntary federal GMO labeling standard, bar states from requiring labels, and let “natural” appear on products containing GMOs. - Author: Food Consumer - Tags: GMO, Food Safety, #vivvo-import #### TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK # Send in the (Pro-GMO) Clowns Oops. Don’t bother. They’re here. As promised, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), the[Congressman from Koch Industries](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2f6%2Bn4wsCETFJqoZyABys7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org), has [introduced](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xeQG2hFaZea0O0s0%2BlVxoAVV%2F3oA%2B8zN&ref=foodconsumer.org)a federal bill to keep labels off GMO-contaminated foods. And he’s recruited a few fellow clowns, um, colleagues to stick out their necks along with him. They’re calling it the [“Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014."](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5a7hYDFtTCwrIndRwQQKmr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) Of course, it’s anything but. In a call promoting the bill, Pompeo said the “scientific community has spoken with one voice.” He went on to say: “There is not a single example” of anyone getting sick after eating food made with GMOs.” Either Rep. Pompeo lacks the intelligence required to understand what “long-term” negative health impact means. Or he thinks you do. The scientific community has [*not* ](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Z81wRNO23wRKwEOIgqIEbb%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org)[spoken](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tqmqfSqq4e0jVZRbKFeC37%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) with one voice. Genetic engineering is [*not*](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TBHxS4rROeUwjpCZxIMxGr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) what’s needed to feed the world. Genetic engineering has led to an [*increase*](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TJ%2FbJT1zsF2FDV8YTJoTBL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) in the amount of pesticides and herbicides used to grow food. And those toxic chemicals *are* [making us sick](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wnnDhXcN3AXxyThto6TgZ7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org). H.R. 4432 would lead to a useless “voluntary” federal labeling standard for GMOs. It would prohibit states from passing their own mandatory GMO labeling laws. And it would allow food manufacturers to use the word “natural” on products that contain GMOs. **This is a law written by pesticide and junk food manufacturers. Sponsored by members of Congress whose nests are feathered by the likes of Monsanto and Coca-Cola.** This week, Vermont [moved closer](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MSrf2bRlbQEkY8OBi4spU7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) to passing the country’s first no-strings-attached law requiring mandatory labeling of GMOs. H.R. 4432 seeks to take away Vermonters’ right to enact that law. This is an attack on consumer rights. On public health. On democracy. Together, we will stop it. [**NEW! TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative: Don’t Support Big Food’s Bill to Kill GMO Labeling Laws!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Avmj61ZqRoUVceEjUvZjrr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**TAKE ACTION: Tell the FDA: No Watered-Down, Voluntary Federal GMO Labeling Rules!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lgXXltdv3udJ%2FzUw%2FMb2r7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**TAKE ACTION: Tell Michelle Obama: Consumers Want Labels on Genetically Modified Foods!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=6csn4HxzF5ku4S%2BWgaydJr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014** ](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jww0W9tkbu3FmseqtgFDa7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Pompeo Dear Colleague letter**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mCV6XPRr%2B0i%2FR41t9fpkNb%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) #### ACTION ALERT ## If It Walks Like a GMO . . . When you buy a certified organic product, you know it’s GMO-free—because genetic engineering isn’t allowed in organic. You also know the product and its ingredients haven’t been irradiated. Because irradiation is also banned from the USDA Organic certification rules. **But here’s something you probably don’t know. USDA Organic rules *do* allow something called mutagenesis in organic. Even though mutagenesis is a form of genetic modification. Involving radiation.** [Mutagenesis](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=37uKV0uqMFugjc%2B92GFU4wVV%2F3oA%2B8zN&ref=foodconsumer.org) is a method of plant breeding that involves subjecting plants to radiation, or dousing them in chemicals, in a way that scrambles their genes in order to produce new traits. The goal is to produce plants suitable for modern industrial agriculture, where crops are grown in vast monocultures with the aid of chemicals and machinery. If that sounds a lot like genetic engineering, it’s because it is. We don’t think mutagenesis should be allowed in organic. But if we want it out, we have to convince the [National Organic Program](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OyB55BVn5w1YTYhb5Lf9Cr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) to change its mind—and call for a change in the regulations governing organics. [**TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA National Organic Program: Mutagenesis Doesn’t Belong in Organic!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=iMTRtUtYzbJjlcyxJep%2BGQVV%2F3oA%2B8zN&ref=foodconsumer.org)[](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Xczs%2F9EJndFaMHcBf4Oy%2BL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) #### ACTION ALERT ## Hey McDonald’s, Detox Your Taters! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if you spray pesticides, and the wind is blowing, those pesticides are gonna drift. A group of Minnesotans calling themselves the [Toxic Taters Coalition](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AddgJdO0PPAwhoscMnQyb7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) is tired of putting up with toxic chemicals and pesticides drifting into their yards, schools and farms—the result of the frequent spraying of potato fields by companies growing non-organic potatoes. The coalition says it’s time for McDonald’s—the largest buyer of potatoes in the U.S.—to keep the promise it made in 2009 to reduce pesticide use in the production of the company’s famous fries. How? By demanding that the companies that supply its potatoes, like R.D. Offutt Company (RDO), change their ways. McDonald’s buys more than [3.4 billion pounds](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9%2BNXh2OHhvgtJRXSZhmMGL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) of U.S.-grown potatoes every year. The multi-billion dollar fast food chain has the power to create change in potato-producing regions all across the country. All it has to do is require its potato suppliers to implement proven strategies to reduce the use of pesticides. It’s time to get potatoes off of [the list](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=eCFtpz8hMzuZ3UQFqqt%2Fqb%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) of the top 10 toxic fruits and vegetables. And McDonald’s can help. [**TAKE ACTION: Tell McDonald’s: Stop Toxic Pesticide Drift. Require Your Potato Producers to Reduce Pesticide Use.**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=cfp39cAM3AKhOMBct4LhxL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**More information here**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2Bb6vqObBDdbiVyxOviucYL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Watch the Toxic Taters video**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AddgJdO0PPC%2F20DFEJ8gwL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) #### SUPPORT THE OCA & OCF ## We Will Not Be Muzzled Monsanto has a long and storied history of discrediting (and silencing) any scientist who dares expose the company’s lies about the “safety” of its genetically engineered crops. It’s a little tougher for the Biotech Bully to silence consumers. At least, not without spending a lot of money. We saw it in California. We saw it in Washington State. Two citizen ballot initiatives to require mandatory labeling of GMOs, narrowly defeated. By $70 million of industry money. **Now the money is pouring into Jackson County, Ore., where citizens wanting to protect their farms and families have launched an initiative to ban GMO crops. $455,000 so far. In a county with a population of under 207,000 people.** Monsanto and friends will keep digging into their pockets. Because they’re terrified we’re going to win. And we are. Sooner or later. In one state, one county, after another. Because we will not be muzzled. [**Donate to the Organic Consumers Association**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mM1avm1ey7GdOOR2mIITDwVV%2F3oA%2B8zN&ref=foodconsumer.org) *(tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)* [**Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AMq3CgHLJNN7vdCIYxkDFQVV%2F3oA%2B8zN&ref=foodconsumer.org) *(non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our legislative efforts in Oregon, Vermont and other states)* #### NEW STUDY ## Roundup Ready Breast Milk? It’s only a small pilot study. But the numbers are alarming. And the implications profound. In the first testing done of its kind, Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse found high levels of glyphosate, the key active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, in the breast milk of American women. **The pilot study has led to funding for further, more extensive testing. But the key take-away is this. For years, Monsanto has claimed that Roundup does not accumulate in human tissue. This study contradicts that claim.** [**Learn more**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GmzAzZ1QKZvj5N%2BZwTewC7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Full testing report**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=GmzAzZ1QKZv%2BEHhnrtTDRr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Read the OCA press release**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=BmSc%2BpEw3%2BBf%2BbKr%2BJhM5L%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) #### ORGANIC TRANSITIONS ## Save Your Life. Save the Earth. Americans spend less than seven percent of their income at the grocery store. On average, that’s about [$151 per week](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=dtn1utyXv%2FMbwhhpMZ32j7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org). All that cheap food is costing us. Non-organic foods—foods grown with massive amounts of chemical fertilizers, and toxic pesticides and herbicides—might come with a lower sticker price. But that doesn’t mean they actually cost less. **Next time someone tells you they “can’t afford” to buy organic, share this video of OCA National Director, Ronnie Cummins, and Will Allen, owner of** [**Cedar Circle Farm**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=WsrNI%2BTU21gSzMz5gbn7pgVV%2F3oA%2B8zN&ref=foodconsumer.org) **Vermont.** [**Watch the interview**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QVMjGBxJuazwKPnTPrqrWL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) #### VIDEO OF THE WEEK ## Surfing for Change Listen to the answers people give when they’re asked “What’s a GMO”? We still have a lot of educating to do—even in Hawaii, the testing ground for so many genetically engineered crops. [**Watch the video**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=v6JgUMLwFBj7as0gwS6WOr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**More on the anti-GMO movement in Hawaii**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=g5aPimo4zWBDOTc3bgcX%2B7%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) #### LITTLE BYTES ## Essential Reading for the Week [**Muzzled by Monsanto**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5aW7Zn6lZkc5qh4NzwAj3r%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Are Secret, Dangerous Ingredients in Your Food?**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=rj6AslOOp%2BAgZlgGPrdEzr%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Call Climate Change What It Is: Violence**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HH8ggBXtt2qR81MHQDzOmL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**How the Corporate Takeover of Society Is Leaving Us Feeling Empty inside**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hiKeJq5pmvGCfovr%2FEKRZb%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**Monsanto Killing Bees?**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vv6to3GJDXmM0TiQ6bR1%2FL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org) [**10 Reasons to Raise the Minimum Wage (with Charts)**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Fn4fgzikaI0bdLlbdF%2BxIL%2Bq4IY6Yj0K&ref=foodconsumer.org)