GMO « Eugene Chapter, Weston A. Price

VOTE NOW: GMOs are ugly!

This comes to us from Occupy Monsanto. Help raise GMO awareness by voting for the Fishy Sugar Beet car in the ugliest car contest (I think it is kinda beautiful, and would much rather ride in it than some of the others, but voted for it as ugliest):

We all know that GMOs are ugly… But just how ugly are they?

We were just informed by our friends at the Are We Eating Fishy Food? campaign that Fishy Sugar Beet was nominated for CarTalk’s “Ugliest Car” contest.

Let’s hijack the vote and tell the world just how ugly GMOs really are! If we win, we’ll interject a discussion about GMO, GMO labeling, and GMO ethanol into a nationally syndicated radio show about cars.

Voting will only take 15 seconds of your time, so scroll down & vote for #8:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/vote-ugliest

Have a great weekend,

Gene

GCU@Occupy-Monsanto.com
www.Occupy-Monsanto.com
Twitter.com/GMO917
Facebook.com/GeneticCrimesUnit

PS.
The other cars are pretty awesome, but don’t vote for them!

Now is the time to get rid of GMOs

This comes to us from the Institute for Responsible Technology:

Donate Today!

Drive the Tipping Point – The Time is Now!

Dear Lisa,

As you have just heard, we are at a critical point in the movement against GMOs. In fact, this may be the single most important window of opportunity in the history of the cause. In order to take advantage of this pivotal moment, we need your help.

Nutiva, one of our favorite superfoods companies, was so inspired by our work that they have presented us with a challenge:

If we can raise $20,000 with help from supporters like you, they will match these funds dollar-for-dollar with a $20,000 gift, for a total of $40,000! Every single donation you give will be matched!

By making a donation between August 28 and September 6, you can double the impact of your support to the Institute for Responsible Technology.

With these funds, we will be able to launch the massive outreach campaign we’ve been planning to finally turn the corner in our movement. We have the power to end the use of GM ingredients in our food. Now is the time! This is not only an investment in our work at the IRT. This is an investment in our health, our environment, and our future!

Donate today before the matching funds run out!

Thank you so much for your support.

Jeffrey M. Smith
Executive Director of The Institute for Responsible Technology

Shopping Guide | Donate | Unsubscribe

March Against Monsanto – In Review

The world-wide March Against Monsanto took place on May 25th, 11AM (Pacific). I (Lisa) took part in this event. GMOs are not the main issue of the Weston A. Price Foundation (a return to traditional foods is our focus), but as Jeffery Smith says: “Healthy food starts with no GMO.” For those of you who don’t understand why we oppose GMOs, take a look at Jeffery Smith’s talk at the Wise Traditions Conference.

I saw a number of familiar faces, but not as many as I would have liked to see. So for those of you who missed it, here are some photos!

We gathered in the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in downtown Eugene, across from Saturday Market. Parking was horrible. I wound my way up and then down the Parkade without finding a single space, and there were more people streaming in as I left. I wanted to tell them it was full. So I found some on-street parking a few blocks to the West, grabbed my bags (I wanted to do some shopping at the Farmers Market), and walked over.

A full circluar Rainbow around the sun shown overhead!

There was already a crowd gathered when I got there, so I slowly worked my way towards the front, to try to hear what was happening. There were several speakers (most of whom I couldn’t hear). Someone pointed up. Above us shown the sun surrounded by a full circlular rainbow! Beautitful!

I watched people, read protest signs, and took pictures. Here are a few of the slogans I captured in photos:

Bee Truthful
Stop Monsanto
Food Freedom Now
30+ Countries have already banned GMOs. Why haven’t we FDA?
The Food Revolution Has Begun
OMG GMO WTF are we eating?
Quit Playing God with Our FOOD!
I Do Not Want Your GMO! I Do Not Like You Monsanto
Right to kNOw GMO!!
Give a Damn
Get Monsanto Out!
No Bees – No Food! Hungry?
Monsanto ends honey, takes our money!
Go Organic
Farmers Against Monsanto
Monsanto Out of US & other countries
GMOs = Mutated food that no one should be subjected to, we have the right to stop seeds of corruption
Bee Smart! No GMOs
Go back to hell Monsanto, leave our planet alone
Buzz off Monsanto!

Many signs and costumes showed support of bees

Corporate Greed Kill$
Get Mon$nto out of our government
Corporate Greed Kill$
Monsatan – Infertility – Alzheimer’s – Famine – Autism
FDA: Bought & Paid For – Shame on you!
Monsanto’s Worst Enemy is an Informed Public
You have the right to grow it? We have the right to KNOW IT! – No GMO
Either Mankind will STOP MONSANTO or… Monsanto will STOP MANKIND
No No GMOS! The MPA has GOT to GO!
Lable It or Table It
(Child’s scribbles) Think of the Children!
The World Doesn’t Need Your GMO!
Label GMOs
Stop Monsanto Now
GMO OMG WTF are we eating?
If Corporations were REALLY People, Monsanto would be in Prison!!
Demand Non-GMO – GMO’s have never been proven safe – reduced crop yeilds – killed bees/pollinators – require more & more herbicides/pesticides – that pollute our water – damage organic crops – cause tumors & ??? – Protect Your Food Supply & Your Body
Power to the People
GMO Poison – It’s NOT what’s for dinner
Quit Playing GOD with our FOOD!
No to SB 633
Stop Monsanto Before They Mutate Us All!!
Save the Bees – Stop Monsanto
Hell No GMOs Stop Monsanto Now
Ban GMOs
We Want Organic
Pesticide Resistance – GMOs Suck
Our police escort stopped traffic while the Marchers crossed
Shame on Obama for signing the Monsanto Protection Act!
Love the Earth DON’T Poison It!
Real Food Self-Replicates!
Bee Smart – Stop Using Garden Sprays
Monsanto = BioTerrorism
No GMO on My Tray

Police estimated about two thousand marchers!

Then someone said something about the March, and I listened to try to hear what was being said. He told us to line up on the sidewalk. He aid that when we were marching to stay on the sidewalk, and when we got to a corner keep going, we had permission to cross against the lights. So we all worked our way to the sidewalk and began marching North. March organizers had volunteers stationed along the way leading chants and keeping the energy up. There were some volunteers on bikes who rode along side the marchers, back and forth, shouting out chants or leading songs. I found a group of energetic young women and moved up by them so that I could join in their chant. We tried a number of different ones along the way. The one I remember now was: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, GMO, has got to go!” Or the variation: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Mon-san-to, has got to go!” It was wonderful being in the middle of all these people who care enough about our food supply to come out and march on a beautiful Saturday spring day. The amazing thing about being in the march was not being able to see either ends of line! I would love to see a aerial view of how many blocks we stretched across!

Where are we as a society when a bunch of organic carrots becomes a political statement?

When we came to the first corner our police escort stopped traffic for us to cross. The street was beginning to look like a parking lot when they finally halted our line and let traffic take a turn. We marched past 5th Street Public Market, and people stopped to take photos of our line of marchers (I took photos back!). We went under the overpass and past the EWEB building. Then we headed across Ferry Street Bridge. There was a young woman behind me who lead the chant in our area, and held high a bunch of organic carrots as her sign!

Our line covered both sides of Ferry Street Bridge!

I couldn't see the ends of the line!

I estimated that I was somewhere in the front third of the line. The most wonderful sight was when we marched across the Ferry Street Bridge. We marched along the East side of the bridge, looped around underneath, and then when we marched back along the West side of the bridge. Our line of Marchers covered BOTH sides of the bridge! Cars honked in support. It was awesome! (view my 27 second video here)

Then we turned and headed for the Campbell Community Center (our final destination). We lost a few marchers at this point, as most of us were hot and tired by now. Many people headed back to their cars. The rest of us settled onto the grass under the shade of the trees. There was water provided by McKenzie Mist, and Coconut Bliss handed out ice cream bars (I think they were free, although I wasn’t given one). There was a tent and music set up. Musicians played, and power for the amplifiers was provided by three stationary bicycles!

The full Rainbow over Ferry Street Bridge

There were speakers who came along later after the musicians finished. One of the event organizers said that he spoke to one of our police escort who estimated that there were about two thousand marchers!

Someone from Kid Food Matters (formerly Eugene Coalition for Better School Food) spoke about the sorry state of 4J school lunches. She expressed the vision of seeing 4J adopt a program of making food from scratch in kitchens at the schools, and she told us of how The Village School has started an organic garden and school lunch program. They are leading the way among local schools!

Marchers gathered to rest, dance and show off their signs.

Ingrid Edstrom of Infrared Breast Health, spoke about the connection between herbicide and pesticide exposure and breast health. She said that in her practice, most breasts she scans have questionable results. The women with the worst breast scans usually eat conventional food or live on christmas-tree farms that use lots of chemicals. She advises an organic diet free of GMOs as part of the treatment.

The Rainbow followed our entire march!

The rainbow followed us through our entire march. It gives me chills now, remembering the rainbow. I took it as a very portentous sign. Here were around two thousand people gathering to show their suport of nature over factory food. Gaia, Nature, God, the Universe, whatever you call it, was pleased! I am sure of it.

The mainstream media ignored marches all across America. The Register Guard had essentially no coverage of the Eugene event. Monsanto is scared, they are trying desparate measures to protect themselves from the tidal wave of lawsuits that are coming. They know people don’t want GMOs. If they did they would proudly label them. They resort to bullying and passing backroom laws to protect themselves, not us!

We are reaching the “Tipping Point” when public rejection of GMOs will turn the tide. You don’t have to take to the streets to make a change. You can sign the petition to Repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act”, and even more importantly, you can be a food revolutionary in the privacy of your own kitchen! There is hope for the future and it resides in each individual making the choice to buy non-GMO food.

Links:

Repeal the "Monsanto Protection Act"

Below is an email from Senator Jeff Merkley, who started a petition on the MoveOn website, where anyone can start their own online petition.

——————————————————————————–

Dear Oregon MoveOn member,

It’s one of the most outrageous special interest provisions in years.

Written anonymously, the “Monsanto Protection Act” allows corporations to sell genetically modified seeds even when federal courts have blocked them from doing so.

Think about that: We have a process for making sure that genetically modified seeds aren’t sold, planted, and grown until we know that they don’t pose a threat to other crops or to humans. The “Monsanto Protection Act” overrides that process. It lets Monsanto and others ignore a court order designed to protect other farmers, the environment, and human health.

That’s just wrong.

And even worse, the “Monsanto Protection Act” was passed in secret, stuffed quietly into the budget bill that averted a government shutdown.

That’s why I’ve proposed an amendment to the farm bill that would repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act”.

Please join me and demand a vote in the U.S. Senate that would end this outrageous special interest override of judicial decisions.

The petition to the United States Senate says:

Written anonymously and passed in secret, the “Monsanto Protection Act” allows agribusiness to ignore court orders blocking the sale of genetically engineered seeds.

I support the repeal of this outrageous special interest provision—and demand a public vote in the U.S. Senate.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Senator Jeff Merkley

This petition was started by Senator Jeff Merkley on MoveOn Petitions Political Action Edition, which is licensed to and paid for by MoveOn.org Political Action. Senator Merkley didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

China Destroys GMO Corn

This comes to us from one of our local members:

When even China has the will to destroy Monsanto’s GMOs, you know there’s something wrong with officials in the US who sit idly by as millions consume Monsanto’s Roundup-drenched GMO foods on a daily basis. Thankfully, action is being taken at warp speed. We have the March Against Monsanto taking place in just 2 days, and we have more support than ever for exposing the corrupt GMO giant and GMO infestation at large.

Read the full article here: http://www.nationofchange.org/china-incinerates-3-us-shipments-genetically-modified-corn-1369407166

Karen

May 25: March Against Monstanto

This is not a Eugene Chapter or Weston Price event, but we post it here as a service to our members. Healthy food begins with no GMO!

March Against Monsanto
Date: Saturday, May 25 2013
Time: 11:00 am PST (2pm EST Everywhere!)
Location: Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza
Eugene, Oregon

The fight for our food!! Join us for a Rally and March and Party for a sustainable food system. Speakers, Music and more information to be announced as available. This event is being held in conjunction with the worldwide March Against Monsanto. Please spread the word!!

Contact info for Eugene: Lizzy http://on.fb.me/10N8737

This is a Call to Action for a Non-Hierarchical Occupation of Monsanto Everywhere

Whether you like it or not, chances are Monsanto contaminated the food you ate today with chemicals and unlabeled GMOs. Monsanto controls much of the world’s food supply at the expense of food democracy worldwide. This site is dedicated to empowering citizens of the world to take action against Monsanto & it’s enablers like the FDA, USDA, EPA, GMA, BIO, and the processed food companies that use Monsanto’s products.

We urge you to help organize and attend the closest March Against Monsanto taking place everywhere on Saturday, May 25, 2013!

Help block GM canola in the Willamette Valley

This is not a Eugene Chapter petition. We post it as a service to our local members:

I currently have collected 2919 signatures in just one week for my petition to stop the introduction of GM canola into the Willamette Valley. Please read the following:

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is currently pushing to open 2500 acres of Oregon land to GM canola farming.

Oregon is a major producer of the world’s seeds for European cabbage, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga and turnips. The introduction of GMO canola would not only threaten the livelihood of these seed farmers but it would also pose serious dangers (such as increased pesticide use & herbicide resistant superweeds) to the environment.

GM Canola has been genetically altered to withstand the herbicide Roundup; allowing farmers to spray more herbicide without destroying their crops.. The cross-pollination of GM crops with weeds creates superweeds that are also herbicide resistant. The Huffington Post reported that more than two dozen weed species have become “resistant to Roundup’s chief ingredient glyphosate, causing farmers to use increasing amounts both of glyphosate and other weed killing chemicals to try to control the so-called “superweeds.” The dilemma facing farmers is now driving up the “volume of herbicide needed each year by about 25 percent” And farmers are being for ced to expand use of older, more dangerous herbicides in order to deal with the new superweeds. GM Canola has become itself an herbicide resistant weed found growing in California.

That’s why I created a petition to “Stop the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s decision to open 2500 acres to GM Canola.”

Can you help us collect more signatures?

Thank you 🙂

http://signon.org/sign/stop-gm-canola-in-oregon?source=c.fwd&r_by=2133151

Thanks again!
Kendra

Non-GMO March in Washington DC – Jan 10

This is not a Eugene Chapter event. We are posting it as a service to our members. This comes to us from Food Democracy Now!:

RSVP: I will attend A Citizen’s Assembly of Support for Family Farmers vs. Monsanto on Thurs. Jan 10th @ 10:00 am

Dear Lisa

If you haven’t already heard, next Thursday January 10th, family farmers will enter a courtroom in Washington DC in the appeal of their landmark court case challenging Monsanto’s abusive patent infringement lawsuits against America’s family farmers.

Once again leaders in Washington DC have proven themselves out of touch with the will of the American people. Nowhere is this more true than in food and agricultural policy, where both parties have allowed agribusiness and biotech companies to write the rules and ram the approval of new GMO crops down our throats, threatening human health, the environment and the livelihoods of family farmers.

Over the holidays Food Democracy Now! sent several urgent alerts regarding GMO salmon and our lawsuit, OSGATA vs Monsanto, to protect family farmers from unwanted contamination of their crops by Monsanto’s genetically engineered pollen.

Read more…

Wise Traditions Conference 2012 – Thursday

Wise Traditions Conference 2012:

Part 1 – Wednesday
Part 2 – Thursday
Part 3 – Friday
Part 4 – Saturday
Part 5 – Sunday

Thursday:

Sally Fallon Morell at the Chapter Leader Meeting

Thursday morning the conference started with the Chapter Leader meeting. This had up until this year been held on the Monday following the conference, but they moved it this year.

The Chapter Leader’s meeting, where you might think we learn the secret handshakes and other mysterious stuff, was actually taken up with presentations of information for us to take back to our chapters.

Sally Fallon Morell:

Our first speaker was Sally Fallon Morell (president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions). We learned that there are now 15,700 members in WAPF! There are 580 chapter leaders worldwide. Ten percent of them are overseas with New Zealand having the highest number of members per capita of any country. Sally keeps saying; This is truly an international organization now.

Pete Kennedy:

Our next presenter was Pete Kennedy, is a lawyer and president of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/). The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund was created by Weston Price people to “Protect the constitutional right of the nation’s family farms and artisan food producers to provide processed and unprocessed farm foods directly to consumers through any legal means.” (read the FTCLDF mission statement)

Pete spoke about membership in the FTCLDF. There are 4 membership categories:

Farmer – $125/yr
Consumer – $50/yr
Associates – $250/yr
Artisan Producers – $125/yr

The memberships include free legal advice, and the possibility of legal representation (see http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/benefits.html for more info). They provide a 24-hour 1-800 number for members to call in the case of situations such as the health department coming to your door. We highly recommend everyone join this organization.

Chapter Leader group photo

Pete also gave us updates on some recent cases they had taken on. You may have heard about one in particular that resulted in a statement by the FDA that made the rounds on the internet. The FDA went on record as saying that (in their opinion) we have no fundamental right to consume or feed our children the foods of our choice! (see more: http://farmtoconsumer.org/litigation-FDA-status.htm) Wow, and who gave them that power? I say its time to take that power back into our own hands.

Chapter Leader Photo:

Next we took a break for our Chapter Leader group photo.

Elisa vander-Hout-Schmidt:

Next we heard from Elisa vander-Hout-Schmidt, who is the wife of Michael Schmidt. Michael is a raw milk farmer in Canada where it is illegal to sell raw milk. Michael has gone to jail and on a hunger strike in order to forward the raw milk movement in Canada.

Gary Cox:

Gary Cox

What to do during a raid

Gary Cox from the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund gave a wonderful presentation on what you should do in case of a farm raid (We also had in the audience Victoria Bloch, a chapter leader from Los Angeles, who went to jail in the raid on Rawsome Foods. She said she was going to have a T-Shirt made that said “I’ve been strip-searched for Raw Milk!”)

None of us like to think of the possibility of a raid happening to our farmer, but the presentation was very good. I am going to try to get a hold of the PowerPoint to show locally. Contact me if you would like more info.

In case you can’t read the points on the What to do during a raid photo, they are (you can also click on any of the photos to view them larger):

Read the warrant
- Specificity of places to be searched
- Specificity of items to be seized
- Demand copy of inventory
Notify all members
Bring Camera/video recorder / take notes
Follow course of inspection
Do not hinder, thwart, obstruct or delay the inspection
Do not make any statements

And of course, if you are a member in the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, the very first thing to do is call the 1-800 hotline and get some legal advice! Gary talked about situations where the health inspector was in the process of telling the farmer to dump all their food in the trash, when the FTCLDF discovered that the warrant didn’t give them the right to do this at all.

Beef Stew, Herb Roasted Acorn Squash, Winter Greens with Shaved Fennel and Celeriac, Sauerkraut and Butter

Lunch:

Lunch was provided by New Trends Publishing (publishers of Nourishing Traditions and many other great books). We had the first of our wonderful meals at this conference.

We had Beef Stew, Herb Roasted Acorn Squash, Winter Greens with Shaved Fennel and Celeriac, Sauerkraut and Butter. The Herb Roasted Acorn Squash was my favorite! Makes my mouth water just to think about it. For desert we had roasted bananas with coconut. It was way too sweet for my tastes, and I wished I’d finished with a second helping of the squash.

Charlotte Smith:

After lunch we had a presentation from Charlotte Smith of Champoeg Creamery (right here in Oregon!). Champoeg Creamery is the first farm to be certified by the Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI). The Raw Milk Institute was launched last year. Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy in California was one of the founders.

Charlotte Smith

She gave a touching account of the situation that lead to her creating the Oregon Raw Milk Producers Association. Charlotte told the story of a farm in her area that had a recent serious outbreak of disease. She had heard that this farm wasn’t clean. She felt so helpless to watch this terrible thing happen, and wanted to do something to prevent future outbreaks. So she got the idea of founding the Oregon Raw Milk Producers Association in order to provide safety, structure and education to raw milk in Oregon. Mark McAfee joined her on stage and she and Mark talked about their common goal of responsible and safe raw milk production. We saw photos of her farm, and heard about her experiences with becoming certified with RAWMI. I was very pleased to hear about the work that Charlotte is doing with raw milk producers. She is also the organizer of the Raw Milk Seminar in Junction City (at Deck Family Farm on November 19th).

Sara Pope:

Sarah Pope

Sara Pope is a chapter leader in Florida, and has contributed many videos on the Weston A. Price website. She talked about introducing raw milk to moms. She started off saying that she was from the South, and they have a saying:

“If Momma ain’t happy… Noooooooobody happy”

She said that the mommas she came into contact with are not happy. More moms are having to work outside the home, run single-family households, take care of their families, and their kids are getting more and more sick. The moms she sees have lost their fear of raw milk, and are desperate for anything that will help their children. She gave some strategies for introducing raw milk to moms. She said to talk one on one. Moms are getting more suspicious of “authorities” telling them what to do. Especially when so much of the info is in conflict with each other. Raw milk is helping children recover their health.

Judith McGeary:

Judith McGeary

Judith McGeary is a lawyer and organizer that has been instrumental in fighting back the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). She said that for a history of the farm bureau, etc. a great book was called “Dollar Harvest”. She also said that in the 2008 campaign Obama made a promise to label GMOs. She said there is a good YouTube video of this.

I found this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqaaB6NE1TI

We ended the Chapter Leaders meeting with a panel discussion. In years past we had breakout sessions, in which we meet in small groups around tables, and each table discusses a different subject. I was kind of disappointed not to have one this time.

Thai meal at restaurant in San Jose

After the day’s events my traveling companions and I drove into San Jose to find some dinner. We ate at a Thai restaurant. We had some roast duck, a chicken thing (that I can’t remember the name of), salad, and a couple of sauces. One side dish was a pineapple chutney-type sauce that we figured had traditionally been fermented. Jasmine rice was served in a cup made from a piece of real bamboo.