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In 1998, a Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, entered into a David vs Goliath battle when he decided to take on Monsanto.
Like many traditional farmers, he saved seeds from his previous harvest for planting. But when more than 320 hectares of his fields were found to be contaminated with Roundup Ready canola, Monsanto sued him for patent infringement.
Schmeiser fought back and, after a decade-long battle, won. The agri-giant settled out of court, agreeing to pay for all clean-up costs.
This was a much-needed win for him and for farmers everywhere. It also set an important precedent, that farmers may be entitled to reimbursement when their fields are contaminated with unwanted GM crops.
Now a new film, “Percy,” starring Christopher Walken as the unsinkable 70-year-old farmer, tells the dramatic story about how, by taking on the big guys, Schmeiser became an unsuspecting folk hero in the battle to protect farmers’ rights and the world’s food supply against corporate greed.
This inspiring, uplifting film is released nationwide, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020.
MORE ABOUT PERCY SCHMEISER
Christopher Walken Crusades Against Global Corporate Behemoth, Monsanto, in New Film ‘Percy’
Grain Farmer Percy Schmeiser Claims Moral Victory in Seed Battle Against Monsanto
GET INVOLVED
Check out our Millions Against Monsanto campaign page
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Make a tax-deductible donation to the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign
You’ll probably agree that the U.S.’s exploitative system of CAFOs and factory farming is a massive problem that needs to change. But how?
Consumer demand for organic, grass-fed, and pasture-raised food is important—but it can only go so far when industrial agriculture maintains its unfair advantage of heavy subsidies and other policy support.
But there’s hope. A regenerative Green New Deal just might be key to transforming our climate-destructive, corporate-controlled, factory farm system into an equitable family farm-based, regenerative system of farming and ranching.
Join us Tuesday, October 13, 7 p.m. CDT for a 1-hour panel discussion about the potential of the Green New Deal to help end factory farming.
Panelists include:
• Garrett Blad, Sunrise Movement
• Seth Watkins, Farmers and Ranchers for a Green New Deal
• Shawn Sebastian, People’s Action
• Mackenzie Feldman, Data For Progress Fellow & Herbicide-Free Campus
If you’re interested in the power of the Green New Deal to transform our food and farming system for the better, then this is your panel!
Register here to join via Zoom
Sign up here to join via Facebook
Can’t join live? Register here anyway, and we’ll send you a link you can watch anytime
TAKE ACTION! Sign the petition: It’s Time for Radical Reform: No More Factory Farms!
As a conscious consumer you’ve already got your work cut out for you when it comes to making sense of all the certifications and marketing and labeling claims floating around on egg cartons and egg brands’ websites.
You shouldn’t have to also worry about whether egg brands are playing fast and loose with those claims. That’s why in March, Organic Consumers Association sued Happy Egg Co. for false, deceptive and misleading advertising claims related to the use of the term “pasture raised.”
As is typical when OCA sues a company for deceiving consumers, Happy Egg promptly asked the court to dismiss the case. We thought you’d like to know that the court denied Happy Egg’s motion to dismiss, so the lawsuit will proceed.
We also thought you’d be either interested, amused or perhaps annoyed to learn how Happy Egg’s corporate “marketing brain” and legal team tried (unsuccessfully) to justify the less-than-straightforward language the company uses in an attempt to get more consumers like you to buy its brand.
Read this week’s blog post ‘Happy’ Eggs from ‘Happy’ Hens? Here’s what Happy Egg Co. Really Believes for an “eggcellent” example of how brands defend their marketing tactics.
An international team of scientists has been convened to examine the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a laboratory.
The team, brought together as part of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, will make recommendations on how to avoid or at least better defend ourselves against another pandemic.
Sounds good, right? But the devil is in the detail—and guess who’s in charge of the inquiry?
The team will be led by “Gain-of-Function Hall of Shamer” British zoologist Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance and a top scientific collaborator and grant writer for virus hunters and gain-of-function/dual-use researchers, both military and civilian.
Expressions of outrage and disbelief have greeted his appointment because many consider Daszak to be one of the most conflicted and unreliable voices on this issue.
Daszak has promised to undertake the investigation “with an open mind.”
But—come on—how open is the mind of a man who has already dismissed suggestions of a laboratory leak as “preposterous,” “baseless,” “crackpot,” “conspiracy theories” and “pure baloney”?
We don’t hold out much hope for this toxic inquiry—but we do think people power can help stop this madness.
READ: Scientists Outraged by Peter Daszak Leading Inquiry Into Possible Covid Lab Leak
As we inched toward our first-quarter fundraising goal, we couldn’t help but notice how many of you pitched in this time around. From all of us, thank you.
Webster’s defines “trust” as the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.”
In a world where it’s increasing challenging to apply words like “reliability and truth” to our political leaders and government agencies, it’s more heartening than ever to know that we can trust you to help us stand up against Monsanto, corruption in the EPA and D.C. politicians whose only loyalty is to the almighty dollar.
There are so many good causes in need of your support right now. Which makes us all the more grateful for each and every donation you send our way. Thank you.
Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic standards, fair trade and public education)
Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our GMO labeling legislative efforts)
Support OCA’s Regeneration International Project (tax-deductible, helps support our work on behalf of organic, regenerative agriculture and climate change)
Monsanto sells soybean seeds coated in neonicotinoids (a class of pesticides directly linked to the mass die-off of honeybees) under pretense of helping farmers increase their yields.
But according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pre-treating soybean seeds with neonics doesn’t deliver on that promise. And now, new evidence suggests that not only do pretreated soybean seeds not provide any benefit to farmers, they may actually cause a decrease in crop yields.
So why perpetuate the madness? When we know neonics are poisoning pollinators, our soil, our drinking water, and even our food?
Profits, of course. Neonic sales are a $2.6 billion business, according to a report by Friends of the Earth. And the big profiteers are the usual suspects: Monsanto (who sells the seeds), and Bayer and Syngenta, who make the poisons.