List of food companies who are spending heavily to defeat GMO initiative labeling in Washington
On November 5th, 2013, the good citizens of Washington will make a decision to label foods that have been genetically engineered in the laboratory of multi-billion dollar food corporations. So far, biotech and chemical companies have donated more than $17 million to defeat ‘Yes on 522’ campaign. These food companies have also been illegally hiding their identity (for opposing GMO labeling in Washington) through the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). ‘No on 522’ campaign has raised nearly $17.2 million, where $7.2 million was donated through GMA on the behalf of food corporations and nearly, almost all the rest of the money is coming from biotech companies.
However, on October 16th, Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against GMA, for illegally concealing the identity of corporations who donated money to ‘No on 522’ campaign. Within few days after the lawsuit was filed, GMA disclosed the list of the corporations who were hoping to conceal their identity, in order not to suffer the bad publicity for opposing GMO labeling.
"The people of Washington demand transparency in elections," Ferguson said in a statement. "I'm pleased the GMA board recognized their responsibility to disclose the names of companies who contributed to opposing Initiative 522, and the amount of their contributions."
The next day in a press release, GMA stated that “In the spirit of continuing cooperation and in an effort to provide Washington voters with full transparency about GMA’s funding for the “No on 522” campaign, the association has voluntarily decided to establish a Washington State political committee and to file reports with the PDC disclosing the source of all funds used in connection with Washington State elections”.
Here is the list of 34 food corporations who have been donating money to defeat GMO labeling in Washington:
Pinnacle Foods Group LLC $120,846
The J. M. Smucker Company $241,091
Rich Products Corporation $24,049
General Mills, Inc. $598,819
PepsiCo, Inc. $1,620,899
Bunge North America, Inc. $94,993
Bumble Bee Foods, LLC $36,073
Bush Brothers & Company A $16,233
Moody Dunbar, Inc. $1,804
Dean Foods Company $120,245
Kellogg Company$ 221,852
Nestlé USA, Inc. $1,052,743
ConAgra Foods $285,281
Bimbo Bakeries USA $94,693
Welch Foods, Inc. $28,859
Knouse Foods Cooperative, Inc. $14,429
Bruce Foods Corporation $3,006
Abbott Nutrition $127,459
Campbell Soup Company $265,140
Del Monte Foods Company $86,576
Sunny Delight Beverages Company$ 21,043
Shearer’s Foods, Inc. -$ 25,251
Mondelez Global LLC $144,895
Land O’Lakes, Inc. $99,803
The Coca-Cola Company $1,047,332
The Hillshire Brands Company $97,398
The Hershey Company $248,305
Hormel Foods Corporation $52,908
Clement Pappas & Company, Inc. $21,043
McCormick & Company, Inc. $102,208
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. $55,313
Flowers Foods, Inc. $141,288
Cargill, Inc. $98,601
The Clorox Company $12,024
Total $ 7,222,500
In a free country, should we not have the choice to eat GMO-free foods if we want?
The ‘No on 522’ is heavily spending money on TV ads and sending deceptive mails to most households in Washington, trying to scare and confuse Washingtonians to vote against their own interests.
But the fact is that whether the biotech, chemical or giant food companies like it or not, their battle against GMO labeling has come to a turning point. Although the pesticide companies desperately have been trying to mislead everyone that the anti-GMO movement has been motivated by fear mongering of the social media, the truth is that a great movement has been started and grown rapidly from the heart of the American people and the Main Street to object the Washington corporate lobbying and Wall Street.
The pockets of chemical and biotech companies is running so deep to manipulate the scientific studies, pressure the independent scientific community members (those who have openly have opposed and raised concerned about the toxicity of Monsanto’s best selling herbicide ‘Roundup’) and buy the US Congress or US regulatory agencies including USDA or FDA.
But, we’ve certainly passed the era of being ignorant about GMOs’ deadly health problems and side effects such as increase in allergies, infertility, organ failure, gastrointestinal problems, autism, premature aging and cancer. Click here to find out why GM foods are a recipe for global famine.
Don’t let corporations buy your vote:
The biotech and chemical food corporations are spending heavily to kill your right to know what you are eating. Last year, they spent $46 million to defeat GMO labeling movement in California. The only reason that the pesticide companies are spending heavily against GMO labeling movement is the fact that they know once the majority is aware of their scam, the game is over.
So, regardless of what comes out of the voting booth on November 5th, the victory is ours, but your ‘Yes’ vote on 522 can shorten the life span of the hypocrisy and double standard of the food companies about GMOs. Despite, where you live in the US, please get involved and support GMO labeling movement by donating money to Organic Consumers Fund. Also, find more how you can get involved and support I-522 in Washington: Yeson522.com
Resources:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/326331-food-companies-give-millions-to-block-gmo-labeling/
