Blog Posts: Activism

By Patty Lovera

Read the report, “Monsanto: A Corporate Profile”

If you’re following what Monsanto’s up to these days, it’s a truly mixed bag. Today, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a farmer had infringed on Monsanto’s patent by saving biotech seeds and replanting them. The farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, was ordered to pay Monsanto $84,000. Thus, Monsanto’s bullying of farmers who don’t play by their rules continues.

The good news? Last Friday, the USDA announced that it would be doing environmental impact statements for crops tolerant to dicamba and 2,4-D—the chemical that Monsanto and Dow, respectively, are seeking to commercialize to deal with superweeds that have evolved to become tolerant of applications of Roundup. The industry currently estimates that at least 60 million acres of crops are now resistant to at least one herbicide.

This more rigorous review of the chemicals is good news and shows that the USDA can be pressured to do the right thing if enough people speak up.

The USDA received over 400,000 petitions against Dow’s applications to deregulate 2,4-D corn and soybeans, and 500 individual comments and 31,000 letters on Monsanto’s petition to deregulate dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. Food & Water Watch supporters submitted more than 50,000 comments opposing the approval of these crops.

This delay in commercialization is a victory for people concerned about industrial agriculture. So far, the Department has failed to address the critical need for a new approach to evaluating biotech crops and the chemical use that accompanies them. To fully address all of the environmental impacts of crops engineered to withstand applications of harsher herbicides, USDA must also review the evolution of superweeds that become resistant in droves to any and all herbicides matched with these biotech crops and the danger posed to the environment, farmer and farm worker health and neighboring crops that could be damaged by drift.

Finally, stay tuned tomorrow for the release of our new report that analyzes State Department diplomatic cables between 2005 and 2009. You’ll be interested to see how many times the name Monsanto comes up in official State Department communications about biotech crops.

Wenonah signing books at a recent event in Red Bank, N.J. Photo Credit: Jim Rapp

By Wenonah Hauter

Since January, I have been traveling the country promoting my book Foodopoly. While the travel is exhausting, the people I meet on the road keep me going. They tell me how much they appreciate Foodopoly’s honest account of the imbalance of power at the root of our dysfunctional food system and often share with me their personal experiences. Farmers impart stories of having to sell their land and find other work because they can’t compete in an unfair marketplace. Former neighborhood market owners explain how they’ve been pushed out of business by large national chains. And everyday consumers lament their frustration with the consolidation of every type of food – especially organic – that has diminished most real choice on grocery shelves. These are the people I wrote Foodopoly for.

Today, I am in Willits, a little town in Northern California, where I will be speaking at the Little Lake Grange. Willits is called the Gateway to the Redwoods – majestic tree groves and farmland form a beautiful patchwork in this tiny town in the heart of Mendocino County – and it is a welcome detour from my typical tour route of big cities.

Sadly, however, this beautiful patchwork is endangered by an unnecessary freeway bypass project. And peaceful protests by residents against the project have been trounced by a massive occupation by the California Highway Patrol. Since March 21, Willits has had the highest CHP-to-citizen ratio in the state.

The Willits Bypass would require clear-cutting an old growth forest, cause severe damage to the watershed, seasonal wetland and wells. The bypass construction and mitigation would take more than 2,060 acres of farmland out of production. If the bypass is constructed, the valley would essentially be owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), with no mind to the farmers and residents who will be forced to live in the bypass’s shadow.

And, the saddest part of this obsolete monstrosity is that there is no need for it. Sara Grusky, who runs Save Little Lake Valley and coincidentally used to work for Food & Water Watch, tells me that the traffic volumes through Willits do not call for a project of this size and her group has proposed several time- and environment-saving alternatives to the bypass.

“The bypass is an obscene waste,” Sara told me. “It is all part of the same obsolete model as the Keystone XL pipeline, fossil fuel intensive energy solutions that we just cannot let go forward.”

Which is why Sara, the brave tree sitters, and other residents of Willits are risking arrest and injury to protect their town and precious ecosystem. I am awed by the fortitude shown by the people of Willits and hope their courage will inspire others to stand up for what they believe in. Whether it’s stopping a destructive, wasteful freeway project from tearing your town apart, fighting to get genetically engineered food labeled in your grocery store, or holding the Department of Justice accountable for blocking food monopolies that harm farmers and consumers, we must all do our part to take back our political system.

By Sam Bernhardt

Sam Bernhardt, Pennsylvania Organizer for Food & Water Watch

Last night’s Allentown city council meeting was the latest slap in the face for residents who have been trying to exercise their right to weigh in on the fate of their water and sewer system. Mayor Ed Pawlowski is rushing through a proposed 50-year lease of the city’s water and sewer system as fast as he can, and many members of the city council appear to be going along with it and silencing dissent.

At the meeting last night — a mere day after the city opened the final bids — the city council introduced a resolution and a bill to approve the lease to the winning bidder, the Lehigh County Authority.

More than 100 city residents, many wearing red shirts to show their opposition to the water lease, packed the council chambers to give public comment against the lease. However, the City Council President Julio Guridy and Vice President Ray O’Connell denied the public the right to speak on the water lease, stating that it was tradition not to discuss or take public comment on a bill the night it is introduced.

Residents made clear that the city charter did not say that the council should refuse public comment that night. Check out Rich Fegley, the owner of Brew Works, and other residents taking a strong stance and challenging the council, in the video on 69 News WFMZ-TV.

In fact, the charter explicitly states that the public has the right to comment on any topic of concern and be heard by the city council at the beginning of a meeting (see photo):

There are many good reasons why Allentonians oppose the lease, which Mayor Pawlowski touts as the only way to offset budget shortfalls and pay down the city’s pension debt. However, a new Food & Water Watch report released today, Borrowing Trouble: Water Privatization Is a False Solution for Municipal Budget Shortfalls, explains that taxpayers ultimately suffer when water systems are leased off. A lease is a one-shot ploy that simply masks, not alleviates, local budget shortfalls. Such backdoor borrowing may take debt off the city’s books, but it is only possible because the city is sacrificing future revenue and allowing the authority to hike water rates.

Residents in Allentown are well aware of these problems and have been working to try to stop the water lease. But they have faced an uphill battle against a mayor so intent on his lease scheme that he has undermined the democratic process. Last fall, for example, Mayor Pawlowski interfered with the residents as they worked to collect the signatures to put a question on the ballot to require voter approval before any major lease or sale of public assets.

Despite his interference, they collected more than 4,000 signatures, more than enough to get a public vote. Unfortunately, however, the county rejected the petitions because the residents collected them at the wrong time by following the city’s charter, which differed from state law.

The mayor’s administration has also bullishly supported the lease by limiting public input and refusing to disclose important information about the companies that sought to take over the water and sewer systems. It refused to reveal the full identities of the bidders and the responses to the request for qualifications for the water and sewer concession. This lack of transparency is common with these asset deals, and it is clear the mayor is trying to hide behind closed doors to rush this deal though.   

By Adam Scow

Despite the narrow loss of Proposition 37 last November, the movement to label genetically engineered foods in California is stronger than ever. A new statewide coalition has emerged to continue and grow the movement to win labeling in California. Coalition participants include a wide range of organizations at the forefront of food issues including the Center for Food Safety, Pesticide Action Network, Consumers Union, California State Grange and dozens of other organizations. The coalition is considering advancing state legislation and revisiting the possibility of another ballot initiative in the near future. Stay up-to-date on the lastest by following us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FoodWaterWatchCalifornia

The looming threat of the approval of GE salmon by the Food & Drug Administration has also galvanized local activists across California to petition the agency to not allow the potentially dangerous salmon to reach our plates. If approved, GE salmon would be the first “transgenic” animal allowed into our food supply. It’s also unlikely that it would have to be labeled, so you might not even know you’re eating it. Recognizing these threats, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to approve a resolution to oppose FDA approval of the salmon and we were pleased to testify and support its passage, introduced by Councilmember Paul Koretz.

Video courtesy of Citizens for Health

Pennsylvania Senator Daylin Leach speaks, with dozens of supporters of his GE food labeling bill, on the main steps of the Capitol rotunda.

By Liam Hart

On March 12, we took an important step in the fight for GE food labeling here in Pennsylvania. Food & Water Watch joined State Senator Daylin Leach in Harrisburg to publicly introduce legislation that would require the labeling of GE foods in PA. Over a dozen supporters of the bill stood behind Senator Leach on the main steps of the Capitol rotunda as he addressed members of the media, as well as other supporters.

Senator Leach was not the only one to speak on behalf of the bill. Brian Snyder, executive director of PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture), and Roman Stoltzfoos of Springwood Farm pointed out that the GE issue is not only important to food consumers, but also to food producers. Sam Bernhardt, FWW’s Pennsylvania organizer, emphasized the broad base of support that the bill has across Pennsylvania. In fact, our coalition includes over 70 organizations that come from every corner of the state. The support comes from food coops, organics retailers, farmers, student groups, advocacy groups and others. Fortunately, this support is also reflected in the co-sponsorship of the bill. We currently have a dozen co-sponsors, representing both Republicans and Democrats from all over the state.

Following the press conference, some of the bill’s advocates answered questions for the media while we had meetings with staffers from several other senators’ offices to discuss their positions on the legislation. These meetings resulted in the addition of at least one co-sponsor for the bill, and we are optimistic that we will gain more support in the coming days.

Read earlier field notes from the Pennsylvania campaign to label GE food.

Please join us in telling Pennsylvania legislators to make labels for GE food the law!

Liam is an intern at FWW’s Philadelphia office.

Volunteers in the field reach out to their fellow community members.

By Lynna Kaucheck

Floridians from Tallahassee to Miami have rallied in support of labeling genetically engineered (GE) food. Since Food & Water Watch hit the ground in Florida at the end of August, our allies and activists have helped generate over 8,000 petition signatures, over 2,000 emails and nearly 500 calls to key lawmakers. In addition, over 220 businesses and organizations from around the state have joined us in signing a letter to lawmakers, asking them to support labeling GE food in Florida, including Global Organics, Sierra Club Florida Chapter, Florida Farmworkers Association, Florida Right to Know, and Sunshine State Interfaith Power and Light.

Our “Let Me Decide” team is working hard to label GE food in Florida and we’re growing every day. We have solid local groups working in four communities and we’re focused on developing two more. The local groups are run by strategic and passionate volunteers that are out in the community educating people about the issue. They organize educational forums, community dinners and activist trainings, and are instrumental in growing the movement to support labeling.

And all the hard work is paying off! On March 1, GE labeling bills were introduced in both the Florida House and Senate. Representative Michelle Rehwinkel-Vasilinda introduced HB 1233 and Senator Maria Lorts Sachs introduced S 1728.  The whole “Let Me Decide” team in Florida applauds these lawmakers for their leadership on this important issue.

Floridians, like concerned citizens everywhere, want to know what’s in the food their feeding their families and how that food was produced. And labeling food is nothing new to folks in Florida, as they were one of the first states to pass country of origin labeling back in 1979.

When we sit down at the dinner table at night, we want to know that the food we’re eating wasn’t grown in a way that put a family farmer out of business, that it didn’t poison the land that it grew from or the farmworker that helped get it to our table. We want to know that the food that sustains us isn’t also harming us. Above all, we deserve to be able to make informed decisions about the food we buy.

This year’s legislative session runs March 5 – May 3, so we have just 10 short weeks to make something happen. But we’ve built army of activists and allies and we’re ready to fight to make GE labeling the law in Florida. Join us!

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FWWFlorida

By Marcela Olivera

This blog was originally posted at Thebrokeronline.eu.

In the Americas, we have been fighting water privatization since the early 1990s: from Detroit in the United States to Buenos Aires in Argentina. After the infamous 2000 water war in Cochabamba, Bolivia, that led to the expulsion of a multinational corporation, social movements throughout the Americas have organized themselves to protect water from greed.

In August 2003, in El Salvador, several organizations from the Americas assembled and decided to create the Red VIDA (Network for Inter-American Vigilance in Defense of and for the Right to Water).  Through this network, we would launch a coordinated hemispheric campaign to defend water as a common good. 

Since its beginning in 2003, we have worked very hard resisting water privatization and expelling corporations that were profiting from our water sources and water utilities. We have also insured that constitutional amendments were passed that prevent the commodification of water. In Uruguay, for example, the Red VIDA was active in the campaign that led to a constitutional amendment declaring access to water as a human right. 

Read the full article…

FWW’s Alison Auciello, left, and Ariel Miller speak about the importance of GE food labels at the annual Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) conference.

By Alison Auciello

There’s been a flurry of activity in the Ohio “Let Me Decide” campaign. From Cleveland to Granville to Cincinnati, Ohioans are pushing for nationwide labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods. 

On Feb. 15, we met with Cleveland Councilmembers Joseph Cimperman and Matt Zone, asking them to sponsor a resolution to pressure the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and federal legislators to mandate labeling of GE foods. The council members are excited to be working with us and are committed to bringing the resolution before the Cleveland City Council. Should Cleveland pass the resolution, they will become the second city in Ohio to call for GE labeling, following the lead of Cincinnati, which unanimously passed the resolution last November. We will continue our efforts to pass similar resolutions in Ohio and call on Senator Sherrod Brown to work toward national legislation for GE labeling.

On Feb. 16 and 17, we attended the 34^th annual Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) conference; Ohio’s largest on sustainable food and farming. We were invited to present a workshop on the campaign to label genetically engineered foods in collaboration with Ariel Miller, an activist working with OEFFA to organize support for a national mandate to label GE food. Our presentation included an overview of genetically engineered foods – the health and environmental impacts of GE foods, myths perpetuated by biotech companies like Monsanto – and the campaign to label GE food.

Judging from the questions Ariel and I got, the farmers and good food advocates are not only supportive of GE labeling, they want to make sure their farms aren’t contaminated with genetic material from neighboring farms. Contamination is a big concern for farmers here in Ohio and across the country, who fear Monsanto could potentially bring lawsuits against them for the possession of their patented genetic material. OEFFA has joined in the lawsuit to protect farmers against this type of intimidation from Big Agribusiness.

Throughout the conference, workshop speakers tied in their own issues to the problems presented by GE foods to the work they are doing, from sustainable farming practices to bringing whole, healthy foods from farm to plate. Farmers, advocates, and consumers alike vowed to keep GE foods off their farms, out of their businesses, and off their plates. A Food & Water Watch partner on food issues and fracking, Mo Tressler from All Things Food in Bryan, OH, stressed in her workshop how important the connection is between the farmer and the consumer. From her perspective, not only should we know what’s in our food, we should know and support our local farmers.

Warren Taylor, of Snowville Creamery, calls for nothing short of a revolution to take on the corporate control of our food system and democracy. He says that if we want to change the policies that perpetuate corporate subversion of our democracy, we’ve all got to throw our hat in the ring! How will you get involved? Follow Food & Water Watch’s Ohio on Facebook and join us in our campaign to make GE labeling the law.

Assembly Members Linda Stender and David Wolfe with GE Labeling activists (FWW’s Jim Walsh back left) at the New Jersey Statehouse

By Seth Gladstone

Of the many busy days at the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton, February 21 stood out. Legislators and hurried staffers weaved through the crowded hallways from committee hearings to caucus meetings and back. Lobbyists and reporters moved from hushed conversations to new hushed conversations. And activists devoted to causes ranging from gun control to education reform to Lou Gehrig’s Disease gathered in meeting rooms and offices to press their cases with lawmakers.

But perhaps the broadest and most diverse group of activists at the Statehouse that day were gathered for a single, united cause: the launch of a statewide campaign seeking legislation requiring the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in New Jersey. Along with Food & Water Watch, a mix of activists and advocates from environmental, labor, health, student, farming, faith and business organizations were joined to tell legislators and the press, “Let me decide” when it comes to GE foods.

“Over the years, consumers have fought for labeling of calorie counts, fat content and ingredients lists so they can make smarter, healthier choices for their families,” said Jim Walsh, Food & Water Watch’s Eastern Region Director. “But as food production technology evolves, so should our food labeling. Consumers have a right to know which products on market shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients. In short, let us decide.”

Amanda Nesheiwat, a student leader with NJ Sustainable Collegiate Partners, echoed Jim’s sentiment. “Just as we label food with allergy warnings, we should label GE foods. The health risks tied to GE foods are reason enough not to give corporations the power to dictate the decisions that consumers should be able to make on their own,” she said.

 Joining the activists at the Statehouse were two state legislators representing two different political parties, both pledging their commitment to do all they could among their peers to move GE labeling legislation in the coming weeks and months. Assembly Members David Wolfe (R) and Linda Stender (D) both spoke passionately about their own personal motivations – family health, constituency health, and community health – for working hard to make a GE labeling law a reality in New Jersey.

 On a busy day at the Statehouse, optimism ran strong that New Jersey might become the first state in the union to label genetically engineered foods. The campaign marches on.

By Nisha Swinton

Supporters of the “Right to Know GMO CT” coalition united at the Legislative Office Building on Feb. 8 to ask the Connecticut General Assembly a candid question: Are you standing up for consumers’ rights to know whether or not the food they eat and feed their families with has been genetically engineered?
 
Food & Water Watch is excited to support the great work and grassroots power that GMO-free CT has initiated to pass groundbreaking legislation to label genetically engineered foods in Connecticut. The growing Connecticut Coalition includes GMO-Free CT, NOFA CT, Sierra Club, Food & Water Watch and many others – over 100 local, state and national organizations who are committed to ensuring Connecticut consumers know whether their foods are genetically engineered. Over the past few weeks alone, 109 businesses and organizations across the state have joined the coalition, 180 residents have attended campaign action meetings, and grassroots leaders have scheduled over 20 educational events around the state (for a full events listings visit: see www.gmofreect.org).

The vast majority of processed foods contain GE ingredients, which are largely untested, unlabeled, and potentially unsafe. Unfortunately, far too many American consumers remain clueless about whether or not their food is genetically engineered, but Connecticut residents are sharp, informed, driven and refuse to sit back in silence when it comes to demanding that GE food be labeled. Perhaps the most critical action we can take right now towards creating and sustaining an honest food system is to label GE foods. Once these foods are labeled, all consumers – regardless of where their live or how much money they make – become empowered with the knowledge to choose safety over processed chemicals.
 
“As someone who has lived in the Hartford area all of my life and worked as a reporter for several of the state’s newspapers, I am keenly aware of the sophistication and intelligence among Connecticut residents. I have faith that business owners, residents and coalition allies will not stop fighting until they know for certain that GE food labeling will become a way of life,” says Joanna Smiley, Food & Water Watch Public Relations Volunteer.
 
Rep. Phil Miller, D-Essex, and Diana Urban, D- North Stonington, in separate committees, introduced a bill to label GE foods, which is currently in the revisor’s office. Next steps and the exact timeframe is still to be determined, but we will keep building public support and awareness for the bill.