You may not think of GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) as a human rights issue. Is the suppression of GMO food labeling a violation of human rights?
According to Causes.com, "the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)—Monsanto's Evil Twin—is pulling out all the stops to keep you in the dark about what's in your food.
"The GMA plans to sue Vermont to overturn its new GMO labeling law, H.112. And it's pushing a bill in Congress that would not only overturn every state's right to enact a GMO labeling law, but also legalize the practice of labeling GMO foods 'natural.'"
These actions of the GMA have one purpose. To silence and make impotent the critics of genetically engineered food. Either we have the constitutional right to live freely and pursue happiness or we don't. Being as healthy as possible allows one to exercise that right. The GMA does not think you should have the right to decide what is best for the health of your family. We know we can't depend on government to make good decisions about our health nor about what is in the best interest of the Common Good. The government gives private industry a free pass to use the public as human guinea pigs in whatever technological innovation that industry thinks will increase their profits. Only when it is scientifically verified that an innovation is doing grievous harm does the government do anything to stop it. Now the GMA wants to take away your right to opt out of the GMO experiment by not letting you know what foods contain GMO ingredients.
This also has a negative effect on the Common Good because of "Superweeds" (www.ucsusas.org/news/press_release/superweeds-overrun-farmlands...) that are resulting in more polluted farm runoff and higher food prices.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
There is a pledge you can take at Causes.com sponsored by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) to boycott the companies that belong to the GMA. I will list the most popular companies and some of their familiar brands. This way you can contribute to the boycott even if you can't sign the pledge.
According to the OCA, the following "corporations spent about $68 million just to defeat GMO ballot initiatives in California (Prop 37) and Washington State (I-522). And they continue to fight against your right to know by supporting the GMA's latest efforts to overturn states' rights to pass GMO labeling laws.
"Who are the Traitor Brands? Here are the worst culprits, their parent companies, and the amount they spent just to defeat Prop 37 and I-522:"
PepsiCo ($4.8M) - IZZE, Naked Juice, Frito-Lay, Doritos, Quaker
Coca-Cola ($3.2M) - Honest Tea, Odwalla, Dasani, Dr. Pepper, Minute Maid
Nestle ($3M) - Gerber, Sweet Leaf tea, NesCafe, Purina
Kraft/Mondelez ($2.4M) - Boca Burgers, Green and Black's, Maxwell House, Chips Ahoy!, Caprisun
General Mills ($2.1M) - Cascadian Farm, Larabar, Muir Glen, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Gold Medal
ConAgra Foods ($2M) - Alexia, Pam organic cooking sprays, Chef Boyardee, Hunt's, Healthy Choice
Kellogg's ($1.1M) - Bear Naked, Gardenburger, Kashi, Morningstar, FarmsFamous Amos, Pringles
Campbell's ($980k) - Plum Organics, Wolfgang Puck organic soups, V8, Pepperidge Farms, Goldfish
Smucker's ($900k) - R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz organic, Smuckers Organic, Dunkin Donuts, Folgers, Jif
Hershey's ($880k) - Dagoba
Bimbo Bakeries ($560k) - Earthgrains bread
McCormick ($400k) - Simply Asia, Thai Kitchen
Other companies that I recognize and that do not want GMOs labeled according to www.theboycottlist.org/infographic.html include the following:
Bayer Crop Science-S.C. Johnson, Windex, Pledge
Dupont and Solae-Teflon
Monsanto-Roundup, Asgrow, De Ruiter seeds
Syngenta-Dow Agro Sciences, Golden Harvest
Merck-Coppertone, Dr.Scholl's, Claritin
Cargill-Truvia
3M Company
Starbucks
McDonald's Corporation
Del Monte Foods
Dole Packaged Foods
Welch Foods
Hewlett Packard Co.
General Electric
Sunny Delight Beverages Co.
Proctor and Gamble Co.
Godiva Chocolatier
Waste Management, Inc.
University of Phoenix
Blue Diamond Growers
Morton Salt
Bumblebee Foods
Chiquita Fast Express, Inc.
Goya de Puerto Rico, Inc.
The Clorox Company
Colgate-Palmolive
Hormel Foods Corp.
Georgia-Pacific, LLC
DelGrosso Foods, Inc.
Sun-Maid Growers of Calif.
Land O' Lakes, Inc.
Nielson Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
Safeway, Inc.
For the entire list check out www.theboycottlist.org/infographic.html. There is a non-GMO Shopping Guide that can be downloaded from www.responsibletechnology.org. If you are willing to stand up for human rights, you can do so by boycotting these companies and their products.