Pepsico's 'Naked Juice' to feel the pain after boycotting Prop 37

Naked Juice is the next company to feel the hurt, after their parent company, Pepsico, contributed $2.5 million against Proposition 37, the ballot initiative for mandatory GMO labeling in the recent elections.

Digital Journal reported recently on the attack on Cheerios' Facebook page, in retaliation for General Mills' support of the "No on Proposition 37" campaign. Now there is yet another company feeling the strain. 

 

Did you know that Pepsico owns some of your favorite "organic" and "natural" brands, including Naked Juice, Tostitos, Tropicana, Tazo, Loóza, Izze, Sabra, Smartfood, Stacy's, Mother's and Near East? And that Pepsico contributed $2.5 million against GMO labeling in the recent elections in California? 

 

Well now, Organic Consumers Association has started a campaign against Naked Juice and is calling on consumers to boycott the product. Concerned citizens can send an email to Mike Torres, senior director of communications for PepsiCo, telling him they're all done buying Naked Juice - or any other Pepsi brand - until PepsiCo and Naked Juice support GMO labeling and product transparency. 

 

Anti-GMO protesters and activists are also invited to share their thoughts and speak their minds on the Facebook page for Naked Juice, and will find plenty of company amongst all the comments already pouring in. 

 

 On top of this, it is interesting to note that Naked Juice is the subject of a class-action lawsuit for fraudulently promising that its beverage products are "100% juice," "all natural," and "non-GMO." 

 

According to the lawsuit, Naked Juice uses soy ingredients that are genetically engineered "by design or by contamination." (Naked Juice doesn't use certified organic or verified non-GMO soy.) 

 

The lawsuit also accuses Naked Juice of intentionally using misleading language to give consumers "the false impression that the beverage's vitamin content is due to the nutritious fruits and juices, rather than the added synthetic compounds such as calcium pantothenate (synthetically produced from formaldehyde)" and "Fibersol-2 (a proprietary synthetic digestion-resistant fiber produced by Archer Daniels Midland and developed by a Japanese chemical company), fructooligosaccharides (a synthetic fiber and sweetener) and inulin (an artificial and invisible fiber added to foods to ... increase fiber content without the typical fiber mouth-feel)." 

 

The plaintiffs in this class-action suit are requesting compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction against Naked Juice stating that its products are 100 percent juice, are all natural and that they contain no genetically modified organisms, when this is clearly not the case.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/339270

African Civil Society petitions the African Union to ban GMOs

In the wake of the recent ban by Kenya on the importation of GMO products until proper health evaluation has been completed, the African Civil Society is now requesting the African Union (AU) to ban GMOs.

Digital Journal reported recently on the ban by Kenya on the importation of genetically modified products. 

Following this ban, the African Civil Society has called on the AU to discuss banning all genetically modified organisms throughout the African Union at the next AU summit, set to be held in January 2013.  

 

The African Civil Society is represented by 400 African Organizations consisting of small-scale farmers, social movements, non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, organic producers and consumers, business people and ordinary citizens. As a group, they signed a statement, which has been sent to the Permanent Representative Council (PRC) of the AU. In the statement, they point out the lack of safety data on GM foods, as well as condemning the patenting of life and privatization of agriculture, which will threaten to displace the control of African food producers over their production systems. 

 

An extract from the statement reads:

"We also call upon the governments of Africa to take note of our additional strong objections to GMOs. These concern the patenting of life forms and privatization of agriculture, which has led to the dependence by farmers, rural communities and indigenous people on external private and monopolistic seeds suppliers. We are also extremely concerned about the adverse impact of industrial and GM based agriculture on biodiversity and climate change. We cannot ignore the suicide epidemic of farmers in India - a direct result of farmers' dependence on GM cotton - and the resultant increased costs and unmanageable debt"

The full statement can be read here. 

 

The group requests that African leaders address this issue at next year's Summit, which is themed “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance”. 

Elizabeth Mpofo is Chairperson of the East and Southern African Farmers Forum (ESAFF) and member of La Via Campesina, an international peasant movement. Mpofu says that, “corporate-owned, genetically modified seed won’t solve any of our problems. We have our own varieties, we have our own knowledge. We need to be supported so that we can flourish in the agricultural systems that are our heritage”.

 

The group's call for a ban is consistent with the Precautionary Principle, which states that "where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent that damage."

 

A prevalent issue of concern is the long term safety of genetically modified products and their consumption, and this concern has escalated after the results of an independent study were published in the Journal of Chemical and Food Toxicology in September 2012.

 

The peer-reviewed study, run over the lifespan of the test rats by Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini, and his research team at the University of Caen in France, found that GM maize and its related chemical, glyphosate, had a significant impact on the kidneys and livers of rats, as well as their hormonal balance, mortality rates and life spans. 

 

The rats developed cancerous tumors within the fourth month of the study.

Director of the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB), Ms Mariam Mayet, explained that, “the results of this study have been discredited by scientific bodies with industry ties, but even they acknowledge that long-term safety studies do not exist and are necessary. Maize is a staple food for millions of Africans, making it imperative to ensure that it is safe in the long term”. 

 

The statement by the African Civil Society reminds the PRC that “the African Union has played an important historical role in shaping global biosafety policy and shown admirable political will to protect African citizens. They must now show the rest of the world that GE crops can only be accepted when society is satisfied that their benefits outweigh the risks. Currently, that is not the case”.

 

Faustin Vuningoma, Secretary General of the PELUM Association, an African regional network representing over 200 organizations, said that its members “stand to fight for food sovereignty through securing indigenous seed rights and practising ecological systems of agriculture that are affordable to the small-scale farmers and sustainable to feeding the masses”. 

 

 In October 2012, in the wake of the peer-reviewed study, ACB, a consumer watchdog organization, also called on South African Authorities to enact a ban on Monsanto’s tumor linked maize crop known as NK603, saying, “We urge the South African government to take the necessary steps to protect its citizens.”

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/338726

Monsanto Co. seeks to take over Mexico's heartland with GM maize

If their requests are approved by outgoing president Felipe Calderón, Monsanto Co. and DuPont will be planting 2,500,000 hectares (more than 6 million acres) of transgenic or GM maize in the heartland of Mexico.

According to ETC Group, the consequences will be devastating for the heart of the center of origin and diversity for maize, and also globally. 

Mexico is considered to be the global repository of maize genetic diversity, as scientists have identified thousands of peasant varieties of maize.

Should Monsanto's applications be approved, this would mark the world's first commercial-scale planting of GM varieties of a major food group, in it's center of origin.Basically this would wipe out all biodiversity, and all the various local varieties of maize, developed over around 7,000 years... read more and find out how you can help/sign petition.

If their requests are approved by outgoing president Felipe Calderón, Monsanto Co. and DuPont will be planting 2,500,000 hectares (more than 6 million acres) of transgenic or GM maize in the heartland of Mexico.

According to ETC Group, the consequences will be devastating for the heart of the center of origin and diversity for maize, and also globally. Mexico is considered to be the global repository of maize genetic diversity, as scientists have identified thousands of peasant varieties of maize. Should Monsanto's applications be approved, this would mark the world's first commercial-scale planting of GM varieties of a major food group, in it's center of origin.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337459#ixzz2CxYEVCur