BLOG POST OF THE WEEK

What the Heck?!

A number of our supporters wrote recently to complain about the cozy deal between MoveOn.org and Ben & Jerry’s. It’s a deal that lets the ice cream maker polish its image (and boost sales) by aligning its brand with progressive causes—even though the Unilever-owned company is responsible for the use of massive amounts of toxic chemicals that have all but ruined Vermont’s water.

One supporter wrote:

In case no-one else brought this to your attention, I received a solicitation over the weekend from MoveOn sponsored by Ben and Jerry’s. When I got around to reading it just now I responded by attempting to notify MoveOn’s administrators that they were being used by Ben and Jerry to once again present themselves as “socially responsible” citizens when in fact they are among the worst of the worst offenders of the public health and contamination of the commons through their actions.

This supporter (and others) were referring to emails to MoveOn members from “Ben & Jerry” with subject lines like “We’re worried” and “Stop Trump. Eat Ice Cream.”

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben & Jerry’s who later sold the company to Unilever, may in fact oppose the Trump administration. We’re fine with that.

But let’s be clear. This is free advertising for Ben & Jerry’s, a brand that masquerades as “socially responsible” when it isn’t. And it’s a great example of subliminal advertising, designed to convey this message: “Hey, we’re just like you. We care.”

The marketing gurus at Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s know full well that many consumersgo out of their way to buy products sold by “socially responsible” companies. According to a recent report, Unilever’s “Sustainable Living” brands are growing 46 percent faster than rest of business.

What better way to spread the message that you’re one of the “good guys” than by promoting your brand via a 6-million-plus email list targeting people who care about social justice and the environment?

Partnering with MoveOn is just one of several publicity efforts launched in recent months, all aimed at bolstering Ben & Jerry’s brand image—there’s more.

Read ‘What the Heck, Ben & Jerry’s? How about Cleaning Up Your Own Act?‘

Read our organization/business sign-on letter (To sign your organization or business on to this letter, email campaigns@organicconsumers.org).

TAKE ACTION: Tell Ben & Jerry’s CEO: Get pesticides out of your ice cream. Go Organic!

Support our ‘Ben & Jerry’s: Go Organic!’ campaign (donations to OCA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, are tax deductible

  

MILLIONS AGAINST MONSANTO

Disappearing Act

What’s the first thing Bayer did after the U.S. approved the Bayer-Monsanto buyout?

The German chemical giant announced that the name “Monsanto” will disappear.

Our response? Monsanto can run, but it can’t hide—as long as we stay committed to holding the “Biotech Bully” accountable for its crimes.

Bayer executives know that the name “Monsanto” is as toxic as the brand’s products and monoculture farming practices.

That’s why Bayer is desperate to distance itself from Monsanto’s ugly reputation—by “disappearing” the Monsanto name.

It’s up to us to keep Monsanto’s name in the news. And keep the pressure on until Roundup is banned.

TAKE ACTION: Please help us fund more litigation, more investigative journalism, and the most comprehensive study ever undertaken on Roundup weedkiller’s devastating impact on human health. Click here to donate online or for details on how to donate by phone or mail.

  

ACTION ALERT

Whole Foods Fail

Five years ago, under mounting pressure from consumers, Whole Foods Market (WFM) announced that by the end of 2018, the then-largest retailer of organic foods would require all of its suppliers to clearly label GMO ingredients and foods.

Whole Foods recently reneged on that commitment, or at least the timeline part of it.

This time, there was no flashy press release, no media fanfare. Instead, the news was circulated quietly in an email to the company’s suppliers.

If there were ever any doubt about WFM’s original intentions, those intentions are clear now: The company’s GMO labeling promise, too little too late from the get-go, was always more about saving face and scamming consumers than it was about real transparency and forcing Big Food to change its ways.

Read ‘Whole Foods Fails Consumers Again, ‘Delays’ GMO Labeling’

TAKE ACTION! Tell Whole Foods: The Time for Labels on GMOs is NOW!

  

NEW STUDY

Child’s Play

Good news for kids who like to play outside.

According to new research, a healthy and diverse microbiome may be key to preventing childhood leukemia. And one of the best ways to encourage “gut” health is to get plenty of exposure to dirt—preferably “healthy” dirt, not dirt whose microbial activityhas been killed or compromised by toxic agricultural chemicals.

Leading cancer researcher Professor Mel Greaves of the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at the Institute of Cancer Research in London theorizes that the onset of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)—the most common form of childhood leukemia—may be prevented if a child is exposed to common bacteria and viruses very early in life. Also known as microbes, these bacteria and viruses can be found in most natural environments, including in healthy soil and in human breast milk.

Most cases of childhood leukemia have high remission rates—up to 90 percent. But conventional treatments for the disease include chemotherapy, radiation and other cancer drugs. And those can create life-long negative side effects.

Read ‘Can Playing in the Dirt Help Prevent Childhood Leukemia?’

  

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

‘Spirit of Sadhana’

In August of 2017, severe flooding killed more than 1,200 people in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Against a backdrop of video footage from that summer, Velvizhi V explains that even though the city of Auroville, India experienced record rainfall, none of that rain managed to replenish the local aquifer.

The water was lost to sea, “wasted again” Velvizhi says. Deforestation throughout the region has stripped the soil of its capacity to absorb rainfall.

Velvizhi, a regeneration steward from Chennai, South India, works with Sadhana Forest, a volunteer-led organization that trains communities in agroforestry and water conservation to restore degraded lands by planting trees.

In “The Spirit of Sadhana,” Regeneration International’s roving reporter Oliver Gardinerinterviews Velvizhi about the Sadhana Forest project and how it is trying to restore food security around the world, by restoring degraded lands.

“The Spirit of Sadhana” is the first episode in RI’s “Trails of Regeneration” video series.

Read ‘Trails of Regeneration Episode One: ‘Spirit of Sadhan’

Watch the video

Sign up for the Regeneration International newsletter

Help us support Regeneration International with a tax-deductible donation

  

ORGANIC STOREFRONT

‘Wallet-Friendly’

Every time you wear a non-organic cotton t-shirt, you expose yourself to pesticides, toxic dyes and other harmful chemical residues—even if you washed the shirt before you put it on.

But did you also know that every time you expose yourself to non-organic cotton—by sleeping on cotton sheets, or drying off with cotton towels—you’re supporting Monsanto?

More than 90 percent of cotton is genetically engineered. And it’s sprayed with some of the worst chemicals, including paraquat, considered “extremely toxic” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Organic clothing can be pricey. We get that. Thankfully, Mercola.com has introduced a “wallet-friendly” line of organic clothing.

And here’s the best news: From now until midnight June 30, you can get 20 percent off your purchase of organic clothing with this promo code: ORGANIC618. Mercola will donate 20 percent of your purchase to OCA.

Read ‘Six Things You Might Not Know About Your Clothes’

Shop now and get 20 percent of your purchase of organic clothing

  

LITTLE BYTES

Essential Reading for the Week

Report: Federal Rules Haven’t Curbed Antibiotic Use in Pork

How to Boost Brain Health and Reverse Neurological Disease Without Drugs

50 Farms and No Regrets

Who Should Feed the World: Real People or Faceless Multinationals?

This Stinks

A Serious New Hurdle for CRISPR: Edited Cells Might Cause Cancer, Find Two Studies

Prevalence of Lethal Neurodegenerative Disease in Wild Deer Is on the Rise — What Eating Infected Meat Might Mean for Your Health