Does Monsanto have more rights than 90% of the people in Vermont?

I’m sharing this email because it’s just hard for me to believe that Monsanto has more rights than 90% of the people in Vermont who want their genetically modified food labeled. Isn’t labeling our food a fair practice? Don’t people have a right to know what they are buying in the grocery store? Apparently Monsanto doesn’t, but, as you read this email you will find out that 27 European Union nations, as well as Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia and China have labels on their GMOs.

This is not even about banning, it is about labeling. It’s like the pink slime that recently was on the news in ground meat, they used ammonia to process this meat. Don’t you think people should feel safe and have a choice about what they are buying. Well, read on and participate in Millions Against Monsanto!

______________________________________________________

 

Connecticut had the potential to become the first US state to require the labeling of genetically modified (GMO) foods.  But two days ago, the Governor stripped GMO labeling from a new bill that was supported by 90% of the residents of the state and a majority of the legislature on both sides of the aisle.

Representative Richard Roy, one of the bill’s original sponsors, says:

“The labeling provision was eliminated from the bill due to fears that it opened the state up to a lawsuit. The attorneys for the leadership and Governor’s office felt the Constitutional rights of Monsanto gave them the power to successfully sue the state. Their main duty was to protect the welfare of the state.”

We’re not talking about banning GMO’s here.  We’re talking about labeling them.  Something that’s already been mandated in all 27 European Union nations, as well as Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia and China.

As Summit speaker Jeffrey Smith’s Institute for Responsible Technology said in an action alert: “Governor Malloy chose to put the interests of the monstrous biotech industry in front of the rights of the people of Connecticut.”

A Food Revolution is No Small Endeavor

We’re all swimming upstream much of the time.

Most of us live in an environment where eating junk food is considered normal, and eating healthy food is considered weird.  Where you can buy a candy bar at almost any store, but you sometimes have to travel for miles to get a fresh piece of spinach.

It’s not easy to be a food revolutionary.  But it has never been more important.

 “We have changed our eating habits. Buying from Farmers market in season and trying to buy produce as near to home as possible the rest of the time. Eating almost no processed food.  Thank you for your work on behalf of our food!” — Jan Martin

Time to Take Action

If you learned anything in the Food Revolution Summit, and hopefully you learned a lot, then now is a great time to put it into practice.

So, to support you taking action, here are a few resources (more will be coming soon!):

1) Check out the Institute for Responsible Technology, a great resource to help you take effective action on GMO labeling.

2) Participate in Food Revolution Day on May 19.  Join with schools, businesses, chefs, restaurants and food lovers in celebration of local, fresh food, and better food education in our schools.  (This program is not directly affiliated with the Food Revolution Summit or Network, but we thought you might want to know about it.)

3) Join my dad, John Robbins, and me for Living The Food Revolution, an interactive online course starting June 6 that is designed to help you take the information and inspiration of this Summit and put it into action in your life.  Find out more here.

And most importantly, take a look at your life, take a look at your vision, and think of something you can do, that will be a step towards the life you want.

As Kathy Freston said in our interview with her, “It’s all about leaning into it, leaning forward.  I just take one step at a time, and keep moving in a good direction.”

Yours for a thriving and beautiful world,

Ocean Robbins

PS – Check out Living The Food Revolution, an interactive online course offered by my dad and me that starts June 6.

the power of our plate to help change our lives and our world for the better

Copy of an email that came to me from the Food Revolution Summit – The other night I took the time to listen to 2 of these interviews, Dr. Campbell and Dr Barnard. What an education! I will be ordering a set for myself (I do not receive any monies from this). Read and decide for your yourself. Information is power, action creates results.

The Food Revolution Summit has been a huge success, with over 32,000 listeners from all over the world. Be sure to take all the inspiring sessions and  information home with you. Your special discount ends tomorrow! Order your Empowerment Package Here Dr. Dean Ornish started things off by telling us many people have the belief that there’s a false choice between what’s GOOD for us and what’s FUN for us.  But it’s not true!  Better diet can lead to BETTER SEX and MORE ENERGY and a happier life! Dr. Mercola told us that Teflon and other coated non-stick pans are totally toxic. As soon as you heat them, the coating starts to vaporize. We know those vapors are toxic because if you heat them in a confined space with a canary, the canary can die. WOW! As you might imagine, I grew up in a family that talked about food a lot.  I’ve been editing my dad’s books since I was a teen-ager, and a focus on healthy diet has always been central in my life.  But I’ll be honest with you, even I’ve learned a lot of new things at this Summit.   As the interviews unfold, I keep being amazed by how much the experts know about the links between diet and health, between our food and our world.  It turns out that our food choices are one of the most potent leverage points we have for reclaiming our health, and for making a positive impact on the world around us. This is a place where we can in one fell swoop increase our quality of life, increase our longevity, reduce our risk of heart disease and cancer, and also contribute to a healthier, more humane, and more sustainable world. I am moving on from this Summit more fired up than ever about the power of our plate to help change our lives and our world for the better. I’m sure you agree that some of the information has been downright disturbing: GMO’s, long touted as an answer to poverty and hunger, are turning out to really be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s an attempted consolidation of power and money by big agrichemical companies – with disturbing implications for our soil, our health, and our farmers. Dr. Vandana Shiva told us that Monsanto’s GMO cotton now dominates 95% of the Indian cotton industry, and that since Monsanto’s takeover, 250,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide. Jeffrey Smith told us that there’s disturbing scientific evidence that GMO soy may be linked to an increase in food allergies. And it’s also documented that rates of food allergies in the UK rose by 50% shortly after Genetically Modified soy was introduced… The most important thing you need to do now is STAY EMPOWERED! The Food Revolution Empowerment Package is a complete collection of the audio RECORDINGS and TRANSCRIPTS of all 23 life-changing interviews, plus an extraordinary collection of FR*EE BONUS GIFTS valued at more than $300!! BONUS GIFTS from summit presenters include some generous goodies like webinars with T. Colin Campbell, a 6 week gold membership in Dr. Fuhrman’s health program, many inspiring e-books and recipe books, a free year’s membership in the Green Polka Dot Box natural and organic buyer’s collective, and a LOT MORE. We’ve got a special discount just for you but it goes away tomorrow, so ACT NOW! Order your Empowerment Package Here The information these speakers have shared is revolutionary, and based on your requests we plan to continue sharing their message long after the Summit completes.  Towards that end, we’ll be in touch in the coming weeks to offer resources that we hope can support your journey of health and contribution. We hope we can count on your continued partnership as we carry the Food Revolution forward in our lives and in our world. We wish you radiant health, abundant happiness, and good, nutritious food! Ocean RobbinsP.S. This deal will be gone as soon as the summit ends tomorrow. Act now to get your FR*EE BONUS GIFTS and a HUGE savings on all the recordings and transcripts! Order your Empowerment Package Here

Label GMO food! Vermont fearful of Monsanto lawsuit, Minnesota expecting fallout from Monsanto

How can this be!? This is our food, not Monsanto’s! But, their bullying, money and intimidation reach throughout all governments to keep people from the right to know when their food is GMO. Why would a monolithic corporation, like Monsanto, fight a worldwide battle to keep people from knowing that they are eating genetically modified food? If it is that good for us shouldn’t they be proud that they are feeding us and our children genetically engineered food.

They have threatened to sue Vermont if they pass a labeling law, I didn’t think that corporations could do that! How powerful to be able to back down state legislatures all over the country from passing GMO labeling laws. It’s not even saying don’t grow it, it’s just saying that people want to know, people want to have a choice, but, Monsanto has taken that choice away from us.

Why don’t they want GMO labeling for our food? Because, the majority of people do not want to eat GMO food and they know that if it were labeled in the stores people would not buy it. Other countries around the world have either prohibited GMO’s on one level or another or the food must be labeled, but, not the US, here the corporations have the ability to buy and bully the representatives that WE vote for, the people tell them that we demand labeling and then our representatives are stopped by either money or fear to pass a GMO labeling bill.

So, here are a couple of articles with actions to continue shining light on the subject of food. It is our duty, our right and what we need to do for ourselves and our children…

From the Organic Consumer Association:

Outrage!

What is going on? In the past few months GMO labeling legislation has been introduced in Washington State, Minnesota, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Vermont. In each state, the same frustrating story repeats itself. Legislators are optimistic, the bills seem to move quickly at first, they receive a record breaking amount of public support, and then they stall in committee and never move again, despite unprecedented numbers of calls and emails from citizens to legislators. A representative in Minnesota told us they expected “fallout” for supporting the bill, even though it didn’t pass. In Washington state an unprecedented coalition of anti-GMO wheat farmers and organic consumers were stymied by agriculture committee legislators, who, it turns out, had received money from Monsanto. In Vermont, legislators and Governor backed off from a California-style labeling bill, despite polls showing 90% of Vermonters supported the bill, openly admitting that they were fearful of a lawsuit from Monsanto and the biotech industry. It’s clear that Monsanto and the biotech bullies will go to great lengths to keep their stranglehold on our food supply, and unfortunately most state legislators are either intimidated by or complicit with Monsanto.

It is also clear that we are at a major turning point in this fight. More people than ever care about what is happening to our food supply. More people than ever want to see GMOs labeled. The energy is building!

Here’s what OCA wants to do about it:

Our Millions Against Monsanto Campaign plans to join forces with the Occupy Monsanto protests across the country the week of September 17th, 2012 to create the largest Days of Action for GMO Labeling ever! We want to raise the clamor for labeling to a fever pitch and you can help!

Here’s what we need:

More activists and more awareness in each state!

There are now 692,413 in our Millions Against Monsanto campaign! Let’s get one million by September 17th! In the months leading up to the Days of Action, we need you to gather petition signatures (PDF) and pass out leaflets at your local farmer’s market or natural food store. Summer is the perfect time to raise awareness about food.

Petitions (PDF)

Leaflets, Posters and other Educational Materials

Please contact us if you want any of these materials in quantity!

Support Labeling in California! Let’s Drop the Money Bomb on Monsanto!

Organizers have gathered 971,176 signatures to qualify us for the California State Ballot in November. Teams of volunteers across California submitted them Wednesday to County officials across the state, in some cases  wheeling them into the elections offices via baby strollers. If voters pass the initiative, food sellers would be required to use a label identifying foods grown from genetically engineered seeds or containing genetically engineered ingredients. The initiative would also outlaw the routine industry practice of marketing GMO-tainted foods as “natural.”

Now that nearly a million have been delivered, it’s only a matter of time before Monsanto brings out the Big Guns (and Big Wallets) to try to defeat California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, a citizen’s ballot initiative to label GMOs.

We’re going to win in California. Here’s how. Between May 1 and May 26, a broad coalition of food, farm, health, public interest, and environmental groups all over the country, joined by leading organic food companies, will attempt to raise one million dollars to support the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, a citizens’ ballot initiative, and other state GMO-labeling campaigns.

One million dollars. By reaching out to millions of people through multiple websites and e-newsletters.

Please help these groups raise one million dollars by May 26

Let’s show Big Biotech and Food, Inc. what we, the 99%, can do when we work together for a common cause.

Bill Maher Asks Congress to Pass Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act

One of my favorite organizations is the PCRM – Physicians for Responsible Medicine, they are in my blog roll and have been since I started this blog. They have been tirelessly exposing and working at getting legislation to stop the use of Chimpanzees and Great Apes in experiments. These animals are no longer needed and have been caged, some for decades. They deserve to live the remainder of their lives peacefully.

PCRM has a petition for you to sign and I’ve attached the pages for you to go to for information and to sign the petition. If you saw the movie Chimpanzee over the Earth Day weekend it was wonderful, but, the sad footnote is the loss of these animals in the wild. They need our help!

Bill Maher Asks Congress to Pass Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act

Outspoken television host Bill Maher recently told Congress that “it’s time to get real about ending invasive experiments on chimpanzees.” He wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and asked him to help pass the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.

“Nearly 1,000 chimpanzees are locked in laboratory cages across our nation right now—many are elderly and have spent decades trapped behind bars. Most aren’t even being used in active protocols, because researchers have moved away from chimpanzee experiments after realizing how futile they are for predicting how treatments will affect human health,” wrote Maher. “The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act would release federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries, allowing them to spend their final years in peace.”

Last month, the Senate held a hearing on the legislation. It was a significant step toward passing the bill, which now has more than 175 co-sponsors in the House and Senate.

Martin Wasserman, M.D., J.D., who has served as state health secretary for Maryland and Oregon and as the executive director of the Maryland State Medical Society, testified before the subcommittee:

“The timing of today’s hearing is perfect. Just four months ago, the Institute of Medicine released its report Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research: Assessing the Necessity, compiled at the request of Senators Harkin, Udall, and Bingaman. NIH has taken the IOM report seriously, and they are to be applauded for their efforts. But theirs is the response of current NIH leadership, and—as we all know—administrations change, leaders change, and policies change. Passage of this bill is essential to ensure that the unnecessary use of chimpanzees in invasive experimentation will not occur in the future.”

To ask your members of Congress to help pass the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, visit PCRM.org/GAPCSA.

Petition: Ask Your Senators and Congressperson to End Chimpanzee Experiements

Additional page with videos and more information.

 

 

Food Revolution Summit starts today!

Here what these people have to say about the Food Revolution. You can still signup, more than 25,000 people are attending and there is no cost to listen live:

Signup at: http://foodrevolution.org/

Earth Day – What if your food choices meant less suffering?

It’s quiet and time to think. I’ve had this thought running around in my mind for a couple of days, particularly with it being Earth Day today – 12:30 am.

For years I’ve practiced different ways of eating. When I was young I was a vegetarian for many years because it felt ‘right’. I didn’t really understand why, but, it was because of the animals. I grew up on a farm, caught fish and cleaned them for dinner, my parents were hunters so every fall there were deer hanging from our big maple tree in the front yard, I watched my dad shoot a cow right between the eyes and skin it so we could have food. And, I knew how to use a gun to learn how to hunt, but, I could never hunt, I couldn’t kill a rabbit or deer.

When I was little I spent time with a big steer in the meadows. It is such a vivid memory and I was so little and he was so big, yet, I would go out to see him as he was resting in the afternoon sun and cuddle up to him, sitting by his neck. As he would chew his cud I would pet him and talk to him and he quietly listened.

There was Beauty, our Guernsey milk cow, who was so beautiful and as she stood in the barn with her head locked gently in her stall to be milked, she would chew her cud and I would talk to her. I loved her big brown eyes and her gentle face and she would always lick me when I petted her. I loved the roughness of her tongue as she gently licked my arm.

When you grow up on a farm you learn that animals are here to eat and, yes, I ate them, it’s what I was given to eat and I was told that other children were starving so I had to eat what was on my plate and I obeyed.

But, as a young woman something bothered me about eating meat and I decided that I didn’t want to continue. So, that was my first nine year hiatus from meat, I was a vegetarian, I didn’t really know about veganism at the time.

Then, I gave up vegetarianism and began eating meat for a number of years, it was easier, the world, particularly the United States, ‘forces’ the need to eat meat upon it’s population. It’s a practice that has been handed down through the generations, and we must remember that as children we were not given a choice, neither were our parents, it is what we were taught.

However, the food industry has grown so commercialized that cows, like I knew, enjoying life in the pasture and chickens who were allowed to socialize and feed freely during the day aren’t raised in that manner anymore. They are commercialized with no humanity or understanding of their spirit. They are fed diets that pollute their bodies, and, in turn, ours. They live under circumstances that no being should have to endure and are killed with no compassion for the pain of dying. Happy California cows are rare.

The only way this can change is when people, not corporations, make choices that do less harm to animals. Less harm means eating less animal protein and planning some of your meals around a plant based diet. Now, of course, I would like to see more plant-based eating and a lot less animal consumption, but, I also understand the ‘addiction’ that we suffer from when it comes to eating meat and the power of corporations in selling us this addiction.

So, do what you will with this ‘food for thought.’ Perhaps you feel the need to comment on this idea or maybe you think someone you know would be willing to read this article. But, for many reasons I will continue to write about the many reasons that more of us need to practice plant based eating. Hope you’ll continue on this journey with me.

Enjoy Earth Day, Love and Care for this Beautiful Planet and ALL Beings – it’s all we have!

Earth Day Photo Blogs – WOW! What a Beautiful Planet

With over a billion people participating in Earth Day these photos touch our hearts and give us so many reasons to Love, Care and take care of our planet!

This Sunday, April 22nd will mark the 42nd observance of Earth Day. According to Earth Day Network, “More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.”

To inspire you to get in on this year’s celebration, here are eight amazing nature-related blogs on WordPress.com:

Birdlightwind.com

70degreeswest-explore.com

Leahyetter.WordPress.com

Drawandshoot.me

Beingmark.com

Beetlesinthebush.WordPress.com

Theblondecoyote.com

Lookingatthewest.com

So, how will you celebrate Earth Day 2012? Maybe Picnic for the Planet, or plant a tree? Whatever you do, be sure to share it on your blog! And don’t forget to tag your post with Earth Day to make it easier for others to find.

EWG and Earth Day – Creating Peace and Compassion for ONE DAY!

I’ve followed Environmental Working Group‘s work for years and for this coming Earth Day – Sunday, April 22, I thought that I would offer some of their suggestions for helping the planet, your skin and your health. These are great suggestions and different than many of the suggestions.

On Earth Day it would be wonderful for millions of people to eat vegan! What a great way to celebrate the earth, a plant-based day, saving millions of animals and minimizing the cruelty that those whom we eat suffer everyday. What if the repercussions of that was a wave of peace and compassion…hmmm, that’s a thought!

So, read on and do what you can on this great day….

 
Purify your morning routine: From shampoo to lotions to deodorant it’s important to know what’s in your brands. EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database is the original and most comprehensive cosmetics database. This is the go-to-resource for finding the safest personal care products.

Greener dinners: Eat less meat and feed your family healthier meals. EWG’s Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health is full of tips on how to eat and shop greener – with proteins that are better for your health and the environment.

Go outside: FoodCorps – a national non-profit organization that addresses childhood obesity by increasing vulnerable children’s knowledge of, engagement with and access to healthy food – wants everyone to get out and garden. Last week, FoodCorps service members gathered in Washington to kick off planting season in local school gardens.

At the pump: E15 – vehicle fuel that is 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent pure gasoline – will be coming to gas pumps as early as this summer. This new fuel is not good news for consumers or the environment. Make sure you have all the information you need about E15 with the EWG Guide to Safer Fueling.

Don’t get burned: Make sure your sunscreen has safe ingredients that will actually protect you. Check out the EWG Sunscreen Guide to shop for the best brands. And keep your eyes peeled – our 2012 update will be released soon.

 

 

We Have a Right to Know about our Food! Ask President Obama to speak out in favor of labeling GMOs!

Help us keep the pressure on Washington. Ask President Obama to speak out in favor of labeling GMOs!

Last month, you helped submit a record-breaking number of comments – more than one million – to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in favor of labeling genetically engineered foods.

And what was their response? “We haven’t made a decision yet.”¹

But we have the right to know what we’re feeding our families now. So we’re taking this campaign to the next level and asking President Obama to weigh in. Will you help?

The White House has an online tool called “We the People” that lets individuals launch petitions directed at the Obama Administration. If we get 25,000 signatures in the next 30 days, the petition will be reviewed by White House policy experts who will issue an official response.

We need you to show the President that this is an important issue that demands a public dialogue – and that he should speak out publicly in favor of labeling.

Here’s how it works:

1) Visit the petition on the White House website by clicking here.

2) If you already have an account, sign in. If not, click “Create an Account” and fill out your information – then check your email to verify your new account.

3) Then click “Sign This Petition” – and you’re done! Thank you.

We have less than 30 days to reach 25,000 signatures for this petition, otherwise the White House won’t respond. Your signature today will go a long way toward showing President Obama that this issue matters to the American public.

Please, take three minutes and sign our petition to the White House in favor of labeling genetically engineered foods.

And after you sign, please share the petition with your friends and family on social media by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter links on the petition page!

Thanks for keeping the pressure on our leaders in Washington.

– Alex, Nancy, Naomi, Sue, and the entire Just Label It team

1. http://justlabelit.org/fda-responds-to-1-1-million/

---

 

We’re building a movement of concerned citizens – parents, health care workers, small business owners, farmers, and more – who care about what’s in the food we eat.

In October 2011, the Just Label It campaign was formed when the Center for Food Safety filed a petition with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to require the labeling of all foods produced using genetic engineering. Days later, we asked citizens from around the country to join us and tell the FDA to “Just Label It.” More than one million Americans have contacted the FDA urging them to label genetically engineered foods. Ask others to sign on by taking action at http://www.JustLabelIt.org/takeaction.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Learn more at http://www.JustLabelIt.org

10 Vegan post at Green Living Planet – h

10 Vegan post at Green Living Planet – http://tinyurl.com/8x6kwea