On May 25, protests against Monsanto will take place all over the world. Ronnie Cummins of Organic Consumers Association which runs the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign and Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch tell us about Monsanto’s long history in the chemical business, poisoning and polluting our communities and Monsanto’s mission to own access to our food through ownership of seeds and use of genetically engineered seeds which contaminate organic seeds. Adam Eidinger of Occupy Monsanto tells us about the May 25 International Day of Protest against Monsanto. Visit Occupy Monsanto to find a protest near you or to plan one. You will also find links below to places in the US where Monsanto has offices so you can let them know how you feel about them and a list of seed companies that are not owned by Monsanto.
Listen Here:
Reasons to Protest Monsanto with Ronnie Cummins, Patty Lovera and Adam Eidinger by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Watch here:
Relevant articles and websites:
The Growing Global Challenge to Monsanto’s Monopolistic Greed by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
Why Monsanto Won the Angry Mermaid Award by Alexis Baden-Mayer and Ronnie Cummins
Monsanto’s Permit to Poison Us by Ronnie Cummins
Monsanto’s Patents on Life by Katherine Paul and Ronnie Cummins
Monsanto: A Corporate Profile by Food and Water Watch
Monsanto Returns to the Scene of the Crime by Scott Edwards
Organic Consumer’s Association
Where to Occupy Monsanto in the United States
Guests:
Ronnie Cummins is founder and Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a non-profit, U.S. based network of 850,000 consumers, dedicated to safeguarding organic standards and promoting a healthy, just, and sustainable system of agriculture and commerce. The OCA’s primary strategy is to work on national and global campaigns promoting health, justice, and sustainability that integrate public education, marketplace pressure, media work, litigation, and grassroots lobbying. Cummins is also editor of OCA’s website www.organicconsumers.org(30,000 visitors a day) and newsletters, Organic Bytes (270,000 subscribers), and Organic View.
Cummins has been active as a writer and activist since the 1960s, with extensive experience in human rights, anti-war, anti-nuclear, labor, consumer, environmental, and sustainable agriculture campaigns. Over the past decades he has served as director of US and international efforts such as the Pure Food Campaign, and the Global Days of Action Against GMOs. From 1992-98 Cummins served as a campaign director for the Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, D.C. In 1998, Cummins organized the SOS (Save Organic Standards) Campaign, spearheading the largest consumer grassroots backlash against the US Department of Agriculture in recent history. He is also a frequent lecturer, both in the US and abroad. Cummins has published numerous articles and authored a series of children’s books called Children of the World. Cummins’ most recent book is Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers (Second Revised Edition Marlowe & Company 2004). He lives with his wife and 12 year-old son in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, headquarters of the OCA in Mexico, as well as in Finland, Minnesota on the north shore of Lake Superior.
Patty Lovera is the Assistant Director of Food & Water Watch. She coordinates the food team. Patty has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Lehigh University and a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Michigan. Before joining Food & Water Watch, Patty was the deputy director of the energy and environment program at Public Citizen and a researcher at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.
Adam Eidinger initiated the Mintwood Media Collective after leaving Rabinowitz Media Strategies in April 2000. Before his tenure with Rabinowitz, he worked in Israel as Director of Middle East Affairs for Halo Technologies where he established a regional marketing office. While at Rabinowitz, Adam promoted media events for the Dalai Lama; Ibrahim Rugova, President of Independent Kosovo; Ehud Barak, Israeli Labor Party Leader; Yasser Arafat; Justice Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor at the Hague; and various Israeli political leaders. He played a central role in promoting press coverage of the Tibetan Freedom Rally outside the U.S. Capitol, the largest rally for human rights in China and Tibet ever held on American soil. He also made three trips to Croatia, where he organized non-governmental organizations in support of local newspaper editors on trial by the Tudjman government for criminal libel. Adam was lead media coordinator for the World Bank and IMF protests in April 2000 which were featured in every American news magazine and newspaper as well on national and local television.
Since forming the Mintwood Media Collective in May of 2000, Adam has worked for dozens of groups and businesses to generate media coverage and train communication staff. Mintwood was responsible for publicizing the story of military mother Cindy Sheehan in 2005. He initiated and was co-producer of Operation Ceasefire, a day long concert attended by 100,000 people at the Washington Monument to bring the troops home from Iraq. Adam is currently working on behalf of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps facilitating public relations for various initiatives the 64 year old company supports. In this capacity Adam created Hemp History Week on 2010 which is now a major annual marketing event for the Hemp Industries Association. Past and present Mintwood clients include: Dr. Bronner’s;Vote Hemp; Organic Consumers Association; Fair World Project; Galludet University Faculty Staff Student Alumni Coalition; Military Families Speak Out; Gold Star Families for Peace; Bring Them Home Now Tour; Camp Casey; Operation: Cease Fire; Justice Policy Institute; American Friends Service Committee; Iraq Veterans Against the War; Veterans For Peace; September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows; March for Women’s Lives; Peace Action; Code Pink; Hemp Industries Association; Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies; Drug Policy Alliance; Service Employees International Union.
For more information, visit Mintwood.com.