[Health&Healing] Corporate Takeover of Organic Food Market- Monsato in Disguise

[Guest guest]

Wow!! I had no idea some of my favorite brands were actually fronts

for some of the companies I strive to avoid most...

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

What We Need to Know About the Corporate Takeover of the

" Organic " Food Market

 

http://www.corporganics.org/

 

 

 

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

 

Bearitos, Bread Shop Granola, Celestial Seasonings, Garden of

Eatin', Health Valley, Imagine Foods (Rice Dream), Terra Chips, and

Westbrae (canned vegetables, soy drinks, pastas, Little Bear Corn

Chips), are all owned by the Hain Food Group whose prime investments

are managed by companies like " Wellington Management. " Their

principal stockholders are PHILIP MORRIS (cigarettes), MONSANTO

(genetically modified food), CITIGROUP (rainforest destruction),

(genetically modified foods), EXXONMOBIL (global warming), WAL-MART,

ENTERGY NUCLEAR, LOCKHEED MARTIN (weapons), WASTE MANAGEMENT INC

(giant landfills), PFIZER (drugs), MERCK (drugs), BANK OF AMERICA

(racial discrimination) & (animal cruelty), etc. All of the above

are themselves significantly owned by Citigroup, " the World's Most

Destructive Bank " --Rainforest Action Network. Citigroup backs

corporate prisons, Third World debt, genetic engineering,

predatory lending, and rainforest destruction. H.J. Heinz Co. owns

nearly 20% of Hain: Editorial in Natural Progressions, by Bob

Swientek 11/99: " Back in April, I wrote in this column that the

corporate suits (mainstream food manufacturers) were overrunning the

tofu eaters (natural foods processors) at the Natural Products Expo-

West. Well, the " run " is now a full-fledged sprint. In September,

Heinz bought a 19.5% stake in Hain Food Group for nearly $100

million. Hain, the leading producer of natural foods in the country

with annual sales of $206 million in '99, acquired the Earth's Best

baby food brand in the deal. By gaining entry into the natural

and organic foods arena, Heinz may be in the initial stages of

reinventing itself. It better...most of its businesses, including

its profitable ketchup franchise, are slow growth. " Heinz itself is

owned by same mutual funds that own Hain, and its prime stockholders

include the same multinationals.

 

Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen are owned by Small Planet Foods

which is owned by GENERAL MILLS, whose principal investors are

PHILIP MORRIS, EXXONMOBIL, GENERAL ELECTRIC, CHEVRON, NIKE,

McDONALD'S, TARGET STORES, STARBUCK'S, MONSANTO, DUPONT (weapons &

pesticides), DOW CHEMICAL (Agent Orange, breast implants, napalm),

PEPSICO, ALCOA ALUMINUM, DISNEY (exploit Third World labor), TEXAS

INSTRUMENTS (weapons: one of GW Bush's top contributors), PFIZER.

General Mills is also being boycotted for animal rights abuse.

 

 

Stoned Wheat Thins is made with GMOs and is owned by NABISCO, which

has been bought by PHILIP MORRIS (12/00), which also owns KRAFT

General Foods Philip Morris Boycott & In Fact & Nabisco/Labor &

Nabisco News & pension funds & other

 

 

Odwalla Juice is owned by Coca-Cola, part of the Minute Maid unit.

Coca-Cola prohibits unionizing: WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire --

Edgar Paez, of the Colombian trade union Sinaltrainal, was joined on

Monday by Teamster representatives, the AFL- CIO, members of the

clergy, civil rights activists and political leaders as he described

the brutal torture, kidnapping and murders of union workers in his

country -- particularly those working at Coca-Cola bottling

facilities. The group assembled for a peace vigil in front of the

World of Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, GA. " My brothers and sisters

in Colombia have suffered unspeakable horrors because they belong to

a trade union, " Paez said. " We stand united with American workers to

demand that Coca-Cola stop the violence. " Coca-Cola paid $192.5

million to settle a U.S. racial discrimination lawsuit in 2000.

 

Fresh Samantha, a Maine juice brand that merged with Odwalla in May

2000, " has already begun reducing its fresh-fruit content by

boosting the water content--a way to make juices cheaper and longer-

lasting, " according to Bill Sipper, marketing vice-president of the

Ultimate Juice Company.

 

 

Boca Burgers is owned by Kraft Foods, which is owned by Philip

Morris. Hearty & Natural veggie burgers is owned by Sunrich Food

Group, which is owned by Stake Technologies, which is owned

principally by Gruber & McBain Capital Management, whose principal

investors are Boeing, Lockheed Martin and by Polymedica, whose

principal investor is Safeco, whose principal investors are

ExxonMobil, General Electric, and Citigroup. Morningstar Farms

(Kellogg's) has been contaminated by Starlink GM corn. Silk Soy

Drink is owned by White Wave, which is owned by Dean Foods

(5/9/02), whose main shareholders are Microsoft, GE, Philip Morris,

Citigroup, Pfizer, ExxonMobil, Coca Cola, Wal-Mart, PepsiCo, Home

Depot. Stonyfield Farm (yogurt) is not yet dominated by

multinationals, but has " partnered " with GAIAM, whose major

stockholders include IBM, EXXON, CITIGROUP, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, WAL-

MART, and will be owned by Danone by 2004, which has been (like

Nestlé) 'breaking code on baby milk for Third World' (1/17/03

http://www.independent.co.uk). Danone is publicly traded: (DA) and

has trace ownership by Citigroup, GE, Wal-Mart, Exxon, etc.

Gardenburger is getting on the corporate gravy train, with 20% of

its stock owned (8/02) by such companies as PFIZER, WAL-MART,

MICROSOFT, CITIGROUP, AMERICAN EXPRESS, GILETTE, EXXON. Among their

brokers is Patman Foods, a major factory farm meatpacker.

 

 

Arrowhead Water and Poland Spring Water are owned by NESTLE, which

is being boycotted because its " breast milk substitute " causes the

deaths of millions of babies. Nestle Boycott & breastfeeding.com &

Baby Milk Action: " These babies are twins.(see photo) Their

Pakistani mother was wrongly advised that she would not have enough

breastmilk to feed both and so bottlefed her daughter while

breastfeeding her son. The girl died the day after this photo was

taken in Islamabad Children's Hospital. 'Use my picture,' said the

mother, 'if it will help others not to make the same mistake.' "

 

Seeds of Change is now owned by M & M-Mars Candy: " Women are from

Venus, Seeds are from Mars " Earlier this year, Seeds of Change, an

idealistic company formed in the 1980s to " preserve and spread a

diversity of organic seeds through the gritty, caring hands of

backyard gardeners, " was bought out by M & M-Mars, Inc, the candy

company. As Seeds of Change Vice President Steve French explained to

the incredulous editors at Food & Water magazine, " I don't think

there are any real differences between Seeds of Change and Mars....

whether it's a Mars product or it's a Seeds of Change product, the

product benefits are very, very similar if we're talking about

nutrition here. " --Earth Island Journal, Fall 98 RETURN TO INDEX

 

HERE'S A LIST of these multinational brands to print out.RETURN TO

INDEX

 

 

Impact on Organic Standards & SupplySome have said they welcome

major corporate investment in the natural food market, as

vindication of the value of natural foods. We should be concerned,

however, that control of the natural foods industry by fewer

companies will result in multinational corporate control of organic

acreage and marketing, forcing out smaller regional/family

suppliers, reducing competition, leading to weakened organic

standards (sewage sludge, irradiation, GMOs). We have already seen

the political effects of media integration-- once there were

thousands of independent radio stations and daily papers, now there

are a handful of TV networks and newspaper chains owned by these

same corporations. As well, payments by GreenStar shoppers to these

companies reinforce corporate control of other markets and of

lobbying, where they do great damage. " If we don't pay attention to

the politics of health food industry then we will shortly not have

organics. " --Milo MacTavish, manager, Whole Foods Co-op, Norfolk, VA

For additional corporate link updates, see also VeganBuyout

RETURN TO INDEX

 

 

HEALTH IMPACTSGreenStar's Mission Statement:

" Emphasizing the sale of nutritious food in as natural a state as

possible. "

BOTTLED WATER BOYCOTT:

 

" Evian is Naive spelled backwards "

" most bottled water is nothing more than tap water in a bottle "

--New York State Department of Consumer Affairs

" Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype? "

FDA Rules for Bottled Water are Generally Less Strict than Tap Water

Rules

--Natural Resources Defense Council

" Every year 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water and

toxic chemicals can be released during the manufacture and disposal

of the bottles. "

--Worldwide Fund for Nature

" Bottled water may be no safer, or healthier, than tap water in many

countries, while selling for up to 1,000 times the price. "

--World Wildlife Fund

" If you are concerned about the quality of your drinking water and

regularly buy bottled water, you should invest in a water filter.

The production, packaging, and transportation of bottled water uses

an enormous amount of resources. Water filters are economical when

compared to bottled water and much kinder to the earth. " --Co-op

America Categories of Bottled Water

Breast cancer and plastic bottles

Increasing drinking water protection in New York State REJECTED:

A.3205-C: " This legislation requires the water resources institute

to prepare and disseminate information regarding cryptosporidium to

those individuals who are more susceptible to illness caused by

exposure to cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium is a waterborne

pathogen which may cause death to individuals with compromised

immune systems and may cause illness to healthy individuals. It may

be transmitted through bottled water as well as by way of regular

tap water. Consumers of bottled water will be better informed about

the dangers of a variety of waterborne pathogens through the

enhanced labeling program set forth in this legislation. "

This bill passed the Assembly but died in the Senate. "

" NATURAL FLAVORS " . may include aspartame, a potent carcinogen.

" Since it was granted blanket [FDA] approval it's mixed with sugar

and other sweeteners, unlabeled and mixed in artificial and natural

flavors. " citation more and more and see also FLAVORS

" Natural flavorings " in Celestial Seasonings contain " free glutamic

acid, " the bad part of MSG. See also www.truthinlabeling.org

Tom's of Maine toothpaste contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), a

known mutagen. See also Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth

Sulfate

" Harmful if Swallowed "

GreenStar is prohibited from selling products containing refined

sugar.

" Brown sugar " consists primarily of refined white sugar coated with

a fine molasses film. Milk hazards to health & environment & " Not

Milk! "

Petguard contains " Ocean Fish " which may include unregulated

non-dolphin-safe tuna catch.

 

Animal Protection Institute & Pet Food Ingredients & more yuck

Food Additives is book describing harmful ingredients in health

foods.

 

" While not all vegetable-protein products are 100% organic, most of

them sport the label 'made with organic soy.' According to the new

FDA rule, this means no genetically modified foods. The Wall Street

Journal decided to challenge GMO-free labeling by testing 20

products labeling that claim. One product tested showed 40% of the

soybean DNA in a veggie bacon came from genetically modified

plants. " --Soyinfo.com

Ten Reasons Why GMOs Will Not Ensure Food Security

To say that the cosmetics industry is very poorly regulated is an

understatement. The FDA can make suggestions or recommendations to

manufacturers about cosmetic products or their ingredients, but the

manufacturers do not have to comply.

" Most products are labeled to 'sell' rather than to provide accurate

information about the product. Terms like natural and hypoallergenic

do not have official definitions, so the manufacturers can use them

to mean anything they want. This often leads to misleading

information about the product on the label. " --From Dying to Look

Good: The Disturbing Truth About What¹s Really in Your Cosmetics,

Toiletries and Personal Care Products By Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C.

HARMFUL INGREDIENTS IN SHAMPOOS AND COSMETICS --EcoMall

Harmful Ingredients in Personal Care Products

" When it comes to soaps and shampoos, " almost every product out

therelabeled organic isn't, " said Ronnie Cummins, executive director

of the

Organic Consumers Association. The United States Department of

Agriculture, which regulates organic food labeling, has neither

standards nor the

authority to regulate labels on personal care products. " --

NYTimes 5/18/03: " Is Organic Shampoo Chemistry or Botany? "

" Restoring Health to Health Foods "

RETURN TO INDEX

 

 

EXCESS FOOD PACKAGING is one of GreenStar's founding concerns.

" Recycled " soymilk containers are taken to the Tompkins County

Recycling Facility, then trucked to Philadelphia where they

are " hydropulped " (paper part removed). The plastic and aluminum

parts are trucked to New Jersey, where they are burned in a " waste-

to-energy " plant. Burning the plastic creates dioxin, which causes

birth defects and cancer downwind. Here are overpackaging details.

As well, Food packaging may contain carcinogens.

RETURN TO INDEX

 

 

MISCELLANY:no dolphin safe tuna due to weakened purse seine

standards: " At least six to 10 percent of eastern spinner dolphin

mortality, and 10 to 15 percent of northeastern offshore spotted

dolphin mortality, is caused by the separation of baby dolphins from

their mothers during the chasing and netting process. " --National

Marine Fisheries Service The current supply of GreenStar t-shirts

( " Ithaca Is Gorges " ) were assembled in Honduras and El Salvador.

Chances are above 90% that these shirts are made by teenage girls

working long hours in brutal conditions for less than livable wages:

 

" Right now, no college code contains a provision that companies must

pay a living wage. But without this provision, we will not be able

to call our university clothing " sweatshop free. "

" When I look at a college sweatshirt made in Honduras, I feel pretty

confident it was made in a sweatshop, " said Ginny Coughlin, the

sweatshop campaign coordinator for United Needletrades, Industrial

and Textile Employees. T-Shirts & Sweatshop Watch & Sweatgear &

CISPES e-mail.

Here's an alternative: Union-made t-shirts

CHOCOLATE: Chocolate Slavery & Cadbury attacks chocolate slavery &

Thornton's against Chocolate Slavery. GreenStar has slavery-free

brands.

Corporate Agriculture Research Project & California's Central Valley

THIS PAGE IS BEING CONTINUALLY UPDATED AS MORE INFORMATION IS

GATHERED.

RETURN TO INDEX

 

 

THE GOOD NEWS:

There are healthy and tasty alternatives in all of these food

categories, owned by companies which are locally/regionally- and/or

family-owned.

GreenStar's GreenFuture explains how GreenStar can help create more

locally-owned businesses to supply our health food needs.

Shopping is Voting (cartoon) dramatizes the difference between

corporate and co-op food supply.

Co-op members here and elsewhere have a lot of power: " Did you know

there are more than 48,000 cooperatives in the United States serving

120 million Americans and generating in excess of $500 billion in

economic activity? From childcare to healthcare, agriculture to

housing, electricity to telephone service, hardware stores to

grocery stores, credit unions to media outlets, cooperatives provide

Americans with the basic services they use everyday. Revenue

generated by cooperatives tends to stay in the community as it is

distributed to local members rather than removed shareholders.

Cooperatives exist not to generate a profit for themselves or

outside investors, as do other businesses, but rather to provide

goods and services at the lowest possible cost. With cooperatives

serving almost 40 percent of all Americans, cooperative members

comprise a significant percentage of the electorate. " --Alison M.

Christie Marketing, Merchandising, & Member Services Manager,

GreenStar Cooperative Market, Inc.

Building a Green Store from the Ground Up

This web page therefore is created not only for GreenStar members

who care about environmental and labor issues, but for members of

all co-ops and all other grocery shoppers. Together we can create a

loyal national market for independent non-corporate organic brands,

and restrain small labels from selling to multinationals.

GreenStar's Mission Statement: " emphasizing and promoting locally

produced goods, and items made or distributed by other

cooperatives. "

 

 

Co-op America's Green Pages is an inspirational portrait of the

variety of alternatives available.

http://www.mofga.org/mofgj00h.html " >Organic Agriculture and the

Small Farm Crisis

GreenPeople and Organic Consumer's list thousands of alternative

brands.

Organic Certification

Community Food Security Coalition

The Food Alliance

Organic Means Local

PCC Natural Markets: A Partner in the Community

Harvest Co-ops

Links to Vegetarian Products -- The Vegetarian Resource Group

CROPP: largest organic farmers cooperative in North America (owns

Organic Valley) Loyalty to the farming members is the guiding

principle for CROPP's operations. " We plan to stay a cooperative, "

says Siemon. " We are not planning for growth so that we can sell to

a corporation or for a favorable business valuation; we have no exit

strategy. " Quill's Apothecary in Buffalo, N.Y. sells natural

soaps. " When any of our suppliers is bought by a chain traded on the

stock market, we cease purchasing that brand. " homemade skin care

Natural Organic CHIPS:

Here's a look at tortilla chip machines & Organic Production Index

Pecans for our pecan pies could be bought from this Georgia co-op of

black growers.

Consumer Reports water filter survey. water filter recycling

RETURN TO INDEX

 

 

GreenStar Education CommitteeGreenStar's Mission Statement:

" Educating ourselves about the co-op, the goods we sell, and the

principles to which we . "

To revive the founding purposes of GreenStar (favoring

regional/local producers, least packaging, boycotting companies

which damage nature and labor, educating members about these

issues), the following reforms are presented to GreenStar's board

and members:

1) Formation of an independent GreenStar Education Committee (not

appointed by the board) dedicated to bringing this information to

GreenStar's members.

2) Display space in the front of the store about these products, and

alternatives.

3) Placement on lower shelves for products which are owned by

publicly traded corporations.

4) Promotion and shelf prominence for regional products in these

product categories.

5) Color coding on shelves (red, yellow, green) to grade products

according to corporate ownership, packaging, environmental impacts,

labor impacts, local/regional ownership.

6) Creation of two superworker shifts for research into the above.

If GreenStar's board takes the initiative to enact these reforms,

then our co-op will get credit for upholding these values, and will

further distinguish GreenStar from Wegmans and Tops. The change of

product line will be orderly and will least affect our budget.

See our REFERENDUM to enact the above.

RETURN TO INDEX

GreenStar's Mission Statement: " ...to build an alternative social

and economic structure... "

To join the GreenStar Members' Education Committee and/or provide

more information, contact Paul Glover (member since 1972) (607) 272-

4330, or Marlo Cappocia The GreenStar Members' Education Committee

has endorsed the following candidates for GreenStar's Council

(elections throughout April 2002): DISSIN, HARBER, RADIN, YOUNG,

ZWACK. See statements by all candidates at GreenStar's website and

at ithacanews.org/greenstar.candidates.html "

 

Shopping is Voting!