Sign the Petition: Tell Obama to VETO the DARK Act!

While we normally don’t participate in petitions, we feel petitioning Obama to veto the DARK is a worthy effort. Please sign & share!

UPDATE

Even after over 100,000 people signed the petition,
OBAMA STILL SIGNED THE DARK ACT INTO LAW 😡

NO DARK ACT!

This week the Senate is scheduled to vote on the DARK Act!

Call them NOW! And tell them to vote NO on the DARK Act!

March Against Monsanto, May 23, 2015

Occupy Monsanto supports the March Against Monsanto!

Below is the News Advisory for the Washington, DC March Against Monsanto.
Click here to the read the Global March Against Monsanto News Advisory.

WASHINGTON, DC – On May 23, 2015, for the third year in a row, hundreds of thousands of concerned individuals will gather across 38 countries and 428 cities to join in peaceful protest against the Monsanto Company as a part of the March Against Monsanto grassroots campaign. This movement seeks to raise awareness to the dangers surrounding Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds and cancer-linked herbicide Roundup.

The campaign comes as the demand for GMO labeling and non-GMO food alternatives continues its exponential climb, with states like Vermont enacting mandatory GM labeling legislation that will require food corporations to let consumers know if their products contain GM ingredients.

In polls conducted by the New York Times, Washington Post, Consumer Reports, and many others, over 90% of respondents were in support of national GMO labeling – an initiative that has been defeated time and time again at the state level thanks to heavy spending by Monsanto-backed lobbying groups.

Highlighting the concern over Monsanto’s products is the latest report from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, which listed the primary chemical in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup, glyphosate, as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” This finding has drawn many researchers and health experts to stand behind the goals of March Against Monsanto.

WHO: Concerned consumers, students, and gardeners, members of DC March Against Monsanto, GMO Free DC, Occupy Monsanto, and the Organic Consumers Association.
WHAT: The Washington, DC March Against Monsanto
WHERE: Lafayette Park, north of the White House to Monsanto’s Washington, DC offices.
WHEN: Saturday, May 23. Marchers will gather at noon and march at 1pm

The complete list of this weekend’s Marches Against Monsanto taking place around the world can be viewed at https://www.march-against-monsanto.com/events/

“We are marching because we’re tired of being ignored by the White House, FDA, and the USDA,“ says Gene Etic, an organizer with Occupy Monsanto. The White House has failed to respond to multiple GMO labeling petitions and has gone so far as appointing former Monsanto employees to positions of power in the FDA. Officially, the FDA does not believe there is any material difference between patented GMO plants and their non-GMO counterparts, but marchers believe that patented plants deserve a label in order to fully inform consumers of the novel technology.

“We already label foods that are irradiated, a process that everyone agrees is safe, so if GMO ingredients are also safe, why not label them as well?” asks Natalie Freeds, an organizer with DC March Against Monsanto. “I want this basic information so I can choose which foods to feed my children.” In fact, over 64 countries around the world either ban GE foods or require them to be properly labeled, including Russia, China, and the European Union.

Marchers will also be taking a stand against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement that will prevent GMO labeling in America and force Monsanto’s patented products on to countries that wish to be GMO-free.

There are two GMO labeling federal bills currently in Congress called the “Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act,” which would require the mandatory labeling of GMOs sold in America. The House version, H.R. 913, is sponsored by Rep. Defazio (D-OR), and the Senate version, S.511, is sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Aside from marching against Monsanto and the TPP, organizers are marching against Rep. Pompeo’s H.R. 1599, colloquially known as the D.A.R.K. Act (Denying Americans’ Right to Know). This legislation promoted by Monsanto and other industrial agricultural proponents would pre-empt state labeling laws and would undo the GMO labeling laws that have been passed in Connecticut, Maine and Vermont.

Americans Demand GMO Labeling

In 2011 and 2012 over a million Americans signed the “Just Label It” FDA petition for GMO labeling, but the FDA has responded with silence. “The Food and Drug Administration is not listening to the overwhelming majority of Americans who want meaningful food labels,” says Jessica Payne, founder of Loudoun Against GMOs. “We have signed numerous petitions but we’ve received no response. We only want the same food labels citizens of over 64 countries enjoy.”

The deafening silence on GMO labeling reaches to President Obama’s White House as well. Activists have chosen to gather outside the White House because in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 President Obama’s White House failed to respond to three “We The People” online petitions on the White House website that have reached the required signature threshold for a response.

On September 23, 2011, on the second day after the “We The People” online petition website was launched, the first GMO labeling petition was created. This petition is the oldest unanswered petition on the “We The People” website. It has received over 66,000 signatures and has not received a response, while a petition on raw milk, which was also created on the very same day, was responded to after only 6,000 signatures. In April of 2012 another GMO labeling petition was created and 37 months & over 115,000 signatures later, there is still no response from the White House. Best replica watches is fitted with swiss eta movement. Most recently, in October, 2014, another petition concerning the EPA’s approval of GE crops resistant to the highly toxic chemical 2,4-D reached the required threshold of over 100,000 signatures but has gone unanswered. In the meantime, the White House has answered three petitions on cannabis legalization and responded to insignificant petitions on issues like building the Death Star and the White House beer recipe. “What is the point of petitioning our government when our petitions fall upon deaf ears?” asks Gene Etic. “We are taking to the streets because our concerns can’t be ignored any longer.”

The listing below was updated on May 22, 2015 with only Marches that have Facebook Event links. Please click here for the most up-to-date listing!

The listing above was updated on May 22, 2015 with only Marches that have Facebook Event links. Please click here for the most up-to-date listing!

SEE YOU IN THE STREETS!

Occupy Monsanto’s 2015 Annual Shareholder Meeting

The following Call to Action is from the Organic Consumers Association:

On Jan. 30, a representative of Moms Across America, as a proxy shareholder for Harrington Investments, will attend the Monsanto shareholders’ annual meeting. She will present personal testimonials and scientific evidence linking glyphosate, the key active ingredient in Roundup, to a wide range of human health issues.

Outside of the meeting, OCA and others will hold a rally, with presentations from two physicians, about the health hazards linked to Monsanto’s Roundup and GMO foods.

Join OCA, Moms Across America, SumOfUs, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, GMO Free Midwest, Occupy Monsanto, and more, at the Monsanto Shareholders’ Annual Meeting in St. Louis!

Shortly after 12 p.m. we’ll hear from Zen Honeycutt, founder and director of Moms Across America, and Lisa Lindsley, senior shareholder advocacy director of SumOfUs, before they head into the meeting. And SumOfUs will present Monsanto with its “Most Evil Corporation in the World” award.

Physicians Jeff Ritterman, M.D. and Norm Shealy, M.D. will speak about the health hazards linked to Monsanto’s Roundup and GMO foods.

After the speakers, we’ll construct a memorial to the victims of Monsanto’s Roundup in front of the Monsanto sign. The luxury replica rolex flagship daydate line, which remains the company’s top-selling collection comes. This will be a somber event, everyone attending should wear black. You can also bring a memento (photo, flowers, stuffed animal, candle, etc.) for the memorial.

After the rally, GMO Free Midwest will host a potluck at 6 p.m. at the Community, Arts & Movement Project (CAMP), 3022 Cherokee St., St.Louis, MO 63118. Bring a dish to pass and connect with local leaders and activists.

+ Click here to RSVP with OCA
+ Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Rally for States’ Rights to Label GMOs!

The following Call to Action is from the Organic Consumers Association:

The battle for the right to know if your food contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could come to a screeching halt with the signing of one bill in Congress.

We need to stop that bill in its tracks.

H.R. 4432—the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) ACT—was introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) at the bidding of Monsanto, Big Food and the Koch Brothers.  If passed, H.R. 4432 will strip your state of the right to pass a GMO labeling law.

The DARK ACT will have its first hearing on Capitol Hill, on December 10. If we don’t turn out in numbers to protest this bill, our voice could be silenced.

The Organic Consumers Association, with help from Friends of the Earth, Credo, Cornucopia Institute,  Maine Sierra Club, Weston Price Foundation, Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association, Green America, Mercola.com and other groups, is organizing busloads of people to attend the hearing, followed by a rally and an organic lunch. But if we want to have an impact, if we want to attract the attention of Congress and the media, we need a minimum of 1000 people to be there.

Here’s how you can help. 

• Organize a bus from your area. OCA will help pay for a bus from your state to Washington D.C., if you can fill the bus. Call us at 218-226-4164 or email campaigns@organicconsumers.org if you want to organize a bus.
• Get on one of the buses that have already been organized. We have bus captains trying to fill buses in in Pennsylvania (one in Lancaster, one in Philadelphia), Boston, Central New Jersey, Detroit, Chicago, Indiana, West Virginia, New York City, Maine, Florida, S. Carolina, N. Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. If you live in one of those areas, please use the links below to find bus schedules and reserve seats.

If you can attend, please read:

• Bring a black and red blindfold, to symbolize being kept in the dark. Red and black will tie in with our Stop Monsanto’s Attack on Democracy/Stop Sign image.
• Please try to schedule (in advance) a meeting with the staff of your state representative or senator. Download this flyer, fill in the name of your state, and leave it behind with the staff to deliver to your member of Congress. (Find your senator;  Find your representative.)
• Please make a hand-made sign that says: [NAME OF YOUR STATE] Against Monsanto’s Attack on Democracy! We want to show Congress and the media that people have come from all around the country to protest this bill.

If you can’t attend:

• Sign our petition asking Congress to reject Pompeo’s DARK ACT here.
•  Help flood the phone lines on Capitol Hill on December 10. We’re asking everyone who can’t be there in person to call their Congress members on December 10, beginning at 9 a.m. When you are connected with a staff person, you can say: “Hello, my name is [FIRST NAME, LAST NAME] and I live in [CITY, STATE]. I couldn’t attend today’s protest against H.R. 4432, a bill that would preempt states’ rights to label GMOs, but I am calling to ask [NAME OF CONGRESS PERSON] to reject H.R. 4432 and to support states’ rights to pass mandatory GMO labeling laws. Thank you.”
• Make a donation to help offset the cost of buses, speakers, the press conference and organic lunch.

States that are already organizing buses:

• New Jersey (Wall township, Robbinsville, Cherry Hill): Reserve your seat here 
• Pennsylvania (Lancaster, Philadelphia): Reserve your seat here
• Michigan (Ann Arbor): Reserve your seat here
• Maine (Bangor, Augusta, Portland): Reserve your seat here
• Chicago: Reserve your seat here
• Massachusetts/Rhode Island (Boston, Marlborough, Providence): Reserve your seat here
• Martinsburg, WV: Reserve your seat here
• Fort Wayne, IN: Reserve your seat here
• New York City: Reserve your seat here
• Orlando, FL: Reserve your seat here
• N. Charleston, SC: Reserve your seat here
• Knoxsville, TN: Coming soon!
• Concord, NC: Coming soon!
• Atlanta, GA: Coming soon!

Additional buses may yet be organized, so please check back. If you want to organize a bus, please email campaigns@organicconsumers.org, or call OCA at 218-226-4164.

This could be the most important action you’ve taken yet to protect your right to know about GMOs. Come to Washington D.C. on December 10. Meet other activists! Hear some great speakers! And help us send a clear message to Congress that states should have the right to pass GMO labeling laws!

March Against Monsanto, May 24, 2014

On Saturday, May 24, 2014, March Against Monsanto in your community! Below is a spreadsheet export made on May 21, 2014 that lists all of the upcoming marches with Facebook Event invites. For the latest spreadsheet of planned marches, check out the official listing on the March Against Monsanto website.

SOURCE: March Against Monsanto — May 21, 2014