Month: April 2014

Diana Reeves lost her son to cancer before creating GMO Free USA, an activist organization dedicated to exposing the multiple problems associated with genetically modified organisms and pressuring companies to stop sourcing their products with GMOs. Among other achievements, Diana initiated the Kellogg’s Boycott campaign in July of 2012.

We are proud to join with Diana, GMO Free USA, and thousands of other families in the Boycott Kellogg’s campaign. Our family has been boycotting Kellogg’s (and several other major purveyors of GMOs) for a few years now. And we certainly boycott Kellogg’s as we Run For a GMO Free USA. Why Kellogg’s? Following is a list of 14 reasons. Any one reason is sufficient to justify a boycott. All of them together make it impossible to justify NOT boycotting Kellogg’s.

1. Kellogg’s uses 100% poison-saturated, poison-producing GMO corn. GMO corn is registered by the EPA as a pesticide. (If GMO corn were sold in a hardware store, it would be most appropriately placed next to the other bug killers like Black Flag and Raid.) In addition to GMO corn, Kellogg’s products also include Round Up drenched GMO soy, GMO sugar, GMO canola and GMO cottonseed oil.

2. Perhaps more than any other breakfast cereal brand, Kellogg’s symbolizes quality American agriculture. Poison saturated GMOs are the product of modern chemical intensive agribusiness, not American agriculture. Boycotting Kellogg’s will help Kellogg’s return to its roots as a healthy food company.

3. GMO corn is America’s largest monoculture crop. Monocultures destroy natural plant biodiversity. Poison saturated GMO corn monoculture plays a large part in the recent precipitous decline in the numbers of Monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

4. GMO agriculture kills soil. One early soil scientist, Charles E. Kellogg, stated, “Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.” ~ Charles E. Kellogg, USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, 1939 (http://www.academia.edu/3419876/Global_Economic_Impact_of_GMOs)

5. Poison saturated GMO corn is implicated in a host of modern illnesses . . . including cancer. Some researchers believe that Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round Up) is the cause of these illnesses. Independent scientists now tell us that Glyphosate is multiple times more toxic when combined with the adjuvants found in Round Up. In addition, Glyphosate’s toxicity multiplies when it binds with metals in the soil. Sri Lanka recently banned the use of Round Up in certain regions due to an epidemic of kidney disease in agricultural workers.

6. Increasing numbers of scientific studies suggest that poison saturated GMO corn and soy are no more healthy for laboratory and agricultural animals than they are for humans. And most GMO corn and soy are fed to agricultural animals. Numerous farmers document that animals refuse to eat GMOs when given a choice. We recognize and honor the wisdom of the animals when we say no to Kellogg’s GMOs.

7. Kellogg’s markets toxic GMOs directly to children. Contrary to what Tony the Tiger says, That’s not “GRRRRRREAT!!!” When our kids tell us they’ll die if we don’t buy them a box of Fruit Loops, we get to show them the truth about deceptive and dangerous advertising. We show them our purchasing decisions matter and that we value their health over glitzy advertising.

8. Kellogg’s boasts the following on its website: “To further our commitment to people, Kellogg became one of the first companies to proudly display our cereals’ recipes and nutritional info on our boxes — so our consumers knew exactly what they were eating.” How then does Kellogg’s justify the nearly $800,000 it contributed to the propaganda campaign that defeated Proposition 37 to label genetically engineered foods in California? Any company that actively fights GMO labeling deserves to be boycotted.

9. Kellogg’s already sources its ingredients from non-GMO sources . . . in other countries. We will boycott Kellogg’s products until Kellogg’s provides the same GMO Free products it already sells in other countries.

10. Once a major company like Kellogg’s removes GMOs, its sales will increase and other major players will have to follow Kellogg’s lead to remain competitive.

11. We buy and eat a ton of organic cereal, thus showing our support for organic agriculture. Organic farmers face huge economic challenges in our pro-GMO agribusiness culture. One major risk they face is contamination from GMO crops and subsequent lawsuits for alleged patent infringement from the likes of Monsanto. The U.S. Supreme Court may be okay with such absurd lawsuits, but we are not. As more people buy organic, more farmers will take the risk to grow organic crops.

12. By boycotting Kellogg’s, we keep our money out of the hands of Monsanto millionaires and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Thus, we can rest assured that Monsanto and the GMA are not using our money to buy out politicians and deceptively (and sometimes illegally) influence voters to vote against their own best interest.

13. By boycotting Kellogg’s, we are joining with thousands of other families who are actively taking charge of their health and purchasing decisions. Diana writes, “For the last 3 quarters – that’s 9 months, Kellogg’s sales in the US have been down. Breakfast foods were down by 4% in the 4th quarter of 2013.” Together, we are making a difference.

14. We boycott Kellogg’s because we can! People often ask, “But what can we do, the system is so corrupt?” We can all boycott Kellogg’s. It’s easy to do. Kellogg’s needs us more than we need Kellogg’s. If everyone boycotted Kellogg’s, Kellogg’s would change its ingredients overnight. Other food manufacturers would follow. Boycotting Kellogg’s is not the only thing we can do, but it’s one thing we can all do.

This is a call to action! Boycott Kellogg’s now. Let’s boycott Kellogg’s until Kellogg’s returns to its roots as a partner in healthy agricultural practices and a provider of healthy products. We look forward to purchasing Kellogg’s breakfast cereals in the future, but until Kellogg’s removes GMOs and stops funding anti-labeling propaganda, we will continue to boycott Kellogg’s. Join with Diana and join with thousands of other families in our boycott of Kellogg’s products. And then when the day Kellogg’s finally goes GMO Free, we can all join with Tony and shout, “They’re Grrrreat!”

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Brett and his 15-year old son, David, are currently running from coast to America coast promoting a GMO-Free USA. Brett and David blog at RunningTheCountry.com. Brett wrote this blog in Dalhart, Texas, some 1,200 miles into their run. Support their run and mission at RunningTheCountry.com/donate.