Corporate Accountability - Combating Monsanto (#12)

Whatever your take is on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), I think it's safe to say that most of  Americans are FOR some type of disclosure or labeling of GMOs -  "Skepticism of Genetically Modified Foods".

While this poll may be informal, it still highlights the fact that people want to know what they are eating.  A few days ago in Mexico, they banned GMO corn from the country altogether citing "imminent harm" to their environment and native corn production.  Monsanto has an unsettling past of suing farms that have inadvertently been contaminated with Monsanto seeds by a gust of wind or cross-pollination.  They have been successful countless times in closing down small farms that don't have the financial means to take on these corporate giants in court.  

However, in my home state of Washington, the litigation tables have been turned on Monsanto financial contributors, Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA).  They have recently been sued by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the hopes to get some corporate accountability.  

Ferguson claims that GMA illegally obtained and spent over $7 million dollars to lobby for Monsanto while concealing the identity of its contributors, which include big junk food and GMO-heavy corporations like Pepsico, Coca-cola, and General Mills.  Ferguson claims the GMA is subverting the law of disclosure that states campaigns must identify the source of their funding.  With no transparency, how can citizens judge the agenda of corporate entities involved in combating legislation meant to inform the public.

This all started because Washington state created Initiative 522 which would "mandate the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)".  Big corporations have a vested interest in keeping their GMO use quiet, and the money being funneled into the "no labeling" campaign is astronomical.

Unfortunately, Initiative 522 did not pass and many say the almost $22 million dollars spent by the opposition may have been one of the main reasons.  Small grass-roots organizations cannot garner the public support and attention that glossy ads and millions can buy.  In the end, the rural areas of Washington just didn't support the labeling of GMOs, just like the California initiative of 2012.

Here is another article I ran across that talks about the engineering of junk food and what it does to your brain.  Scary stuff.   Why We Crave Junk Food.

                                                             Observation
The response to the Young Conservatives of Texas "game" was quite substantial and even gained celebrity support when America Ferrera showed up to the counter-response at the Towers on Wednesday.