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organic consumers association
Monsanto Loses Landmark Case Roundup Weedkiller Case; Jury Awards $290M to Cancer Victim
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued this statement in response to today's verdict in the case of
Aug 10, 2018
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued this statement in response to today's verdict in the case of Dewayne Johnson vs. Monsanto Co., awarding $290 million in damages to plaintiff Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper who, after being required to spray Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, is terminally ill with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"This verdict proves that when ordinary citizens, in this case a jury of 12, hear the facts about Monsanto's products, and the lengths to which this company has gone to buy off scientists, deceive the public and influence government regulatory agencies, there is no confusion," said Ronnie Cummins, OCA's international director. "This is a company that has always put profits ahead of public safety, and today, Monsanto has finally been held accountable."
"We hope that this is just the first of many defeats for Monsanto, and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will pull this product off the market immediately. In the meantime, OCA looks forward to the next steps in our own lawsuit against Monsanto, for misleading consumers about the safety of Roundup for humans and pets. And we are grateful to Mr. Johnson for bravely facing down the 'most evil corporation' in the world."
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Pilot Study Shows Consumers Should Be Concerned About So-Called 'Safe' Levels of Glyphosate-Based Weedkillers
May 16, 2018
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued the following statement on the announcement by the Global Glyphosate Study that preliminary test results of a single-dose study on glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) in rats, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) guidelines for 'safe' levels, produced adverse health effects in rats.
International Director Ronnie Cummins said:
"For years, the U.S. EPA has dismissed consumer concerns about glyphosate-based weedkillers in their drinking water and in their food, claiming that exposure to the chemical at low levels is harmless. This new pilot study confirms what many responsible scientists have been saying all along: There is no such thing as 'safe' levels when it comes to glyphosate, especially when it comes to children.
"In fact, the EPA established what it calls 'safe' levels without having any scientific evidence to back up its claim because, until now, there have been no long-term, peer-reviewed studies of the potential health impact of glyphosate exposure at levels lower than the EPA's guidelines.
"This new study confirms that consumers should be alarmed when products such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream test positive for glyphosate at any level--despite corporations' claims that these levels are 'harmless.'
"OCA looks forward to the completion of the full Global Glyphosate Study and will continue to test food products for glyphosate and warn consumers when food products test positive for this toxic chemical, no matter how small the amount."
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Judge Rules Non-Profits Can Sue Monsanto for Misleading Labeling of Popular Herbicide Roundup
Beyond Pesticides (BP) and The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today responded to a federal judge's ruling against Monsanto Co.'s motion to dismiss the groups'
May 07, 2018
Beyond Pesticides (BP) and The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today responded to a federal judge's ruling against Monsanto Co.'s motion to dismiss the groups' lawsuit, filed in April, 2017.
Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, the lead plaintiff in the case, said:
"In the face of EPA's poor regulation of pesticides, misleading pesticide product labeling cannot be left unchecked. The court's decision to allow our case to move forward, in denying Monsanto's motion to dismiss, is critical to showing that the company is deceiving the public with a safety claim on its Roundup (glyphosate) label. Its advertising and labeling claim that Roundup 'targets an enzyme found in plants but not in people or pets' is false, given the devastating harm that glyphosate has on beneficial bacteria in the gut biome. The disruption of the gut biome is associated with a host of 21st century diseases, including asthma, autism, bacterial vaginosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, Crohn's disease, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, leaky gut syndrome, multiple sclerosis, obesity, Type 1 and 2 diabetes, and Parkinson's.
The science on the hazards of Roundup (glyphosate) are clear and Monsanto officials know it. With this case, we seek to ensure that the public is not misled by false advertising and product labeling in the marketplace. It is a critical step toward ensuring that people are fully informed before purchasing toxic products that can poison them, their families, and the communities where they live."
OCA International Director, Ronnie Cummins said:
"Monsanto aggressively markets Roundup as 'safe' for humans and animals, despite newer studies indicating that glyphosate may be carcinogenic and its use may affect human and animal cardiovascular, endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems. No reasonable consumer seeing the claim on this product that glyphosate targets an enzyme not found 'in people or pets' would expect that Roundup actually targets an important bacterial enzyme found in humans and animals, affecting the health of their immune system.
Survey after survey shows that consumers rely on labels to guide their purchases and keep them and their families safe. When corporations mislead on the issue of a product's effect on consumers and their families, they put everyone, but especially young children--in this case, playing in yards and parks--at risk, leaving the public no other recourse than to use the legal system to seek the removal of this misleading information."
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ruled that OCA and BP presented enough evidence to support that Monsanto's labeling of its flagship weedkiller, Roundup, misleads consumers.
Through their attorneys, Richman Law Group, OCA and BP sued Monsanto on behalf of the general public, in Washington D.C., under the District of Columbia's Consumer Protection Procedures Act, for misleading the public by labeling its popular weedkiller Roundup as "target[ing] an enzyme found in plants but not in people or pets." The nonprofits allege that this statement is false, deceptive and misleading, because the enzyme targeted by glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is, in fact, found in people and pets.
Beyond Pesticides is a national grassroots non-profit organization headquartered in the District of Columbia that works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. For more information, visit www.beyondpesticides.org.
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. For more information, visit: www.organicconsumers.org.
Richman Law Group (RLG) is a boutique law firm specializing in consumer protection and civil rights. RLG is dedicated to serving the greater good by holding large corporations accountable for actions that harm consumers, the environment, and the general public. For more information, visit: www.richmanlawgroup.com.
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On World Water Day, Organic Consumers Assoc. Renews Call for International Boycott of Ben & Jerry's
Mar 19, 2018
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today called for an international boycott of Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry's in conjunction with World Water Day, March 22.
"Ben & Jerry's and its parent company, Unilever, spend millions on marketing to create the false image that the Vermont-based brand is a champion of the environment, when in fact Ben & Jerry's supports an industrial dairy system that is responsible for a water pollution crisis in Vermont," said Ronnie Cummins, OCA's international director.
"The theme for this year's World Water Day is 'Nature for Water'--exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.'Today we once again call on Ben & Jerry's to convert its dairy supply chain to 100-percent organic and pasture-raised to help end the dumping of hundreds of thousands of pounds of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers into Vermont's water supply," Cummins said.
According to a Regeneration Vermont report, an estimated 40 - 79 percent of the phosphorus and nitrogen pollution in Vermont's waterways comes from dairy farms, and almost all the pesticide pollution comes from these dairies. The dairy industry is responsible for up to 85 percent of the pollution in the state's most contaminated waterways, including the Lake Carmi region.
Regeneration Vermont recently reported on newly released data, covering 2014-2016, showing a dramatic increase in the use of pesticides, including glyphosate, 2,4-D and atrazine on Vermont's dairy farms, linked to the 92,000 acres of GMO corn grown in Vermont, almost exclusively to feed cows on dairy farms. The most heavily used cornfield pesticide in 2016 was glyphosate, with 62,458 pounds used, more than doubling the 27,440 pounds used in 2014.
In July 2017, OCA reported that 10 of 11 samples of Ben & Jerry's ice cream tested positive for glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, and/or AMPA, glyphosate's main metabolite. In October, OCA reported that samples of Ben & Jerry's in four European countries also tested positive for glyphosate residues.
A petition launched by OCA, and another circulated by OCA and seven other organizations have garnered more than 165,000 signatures. Both petitions call on Ben & Jerry's to go organic. Nearly 160 businesses, farms and NGOs have signed a letter asking Ben & Jerry's to go organic.
According to the United Nations, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of water abstractions worldwide and plays a major role in water pollution, which poses a risk to aquatic ecosystems, human health and productive activities. The UN reports that today, 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water at home, affecting their health, education and livelihoods.
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