Blog

We know there is a lot of information to sort through. We hope the below links will help keep you up to date with the latest news on GMOs and toxins.

New GMOs are being developed all the time. A new tomato which kills the caterpillar which eats it is being considered by the FDA.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-killer-tomato_us_58656d4ae4b014e7c72ee012>

However, more research shows that GMOs are not what they are claimed to be.

The claim that GMOs are "substantially equivalent" to non GMO crops is simply not true.

See my latest article on a new paper by a team of distinguished scientists which shows that a GMO corn variety showed metabolic disturbances and the presence of chemicals which can be toxic. These finding prove that the moratorium of GMOs is completely justified.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/zenhoneycutt-117

Nor do GMOs work the way they are claimed to work.

GMO crops are becoming resistant to pests at alarming rates.
New research adds to evidence that the effectiveness of popular genetically engineered traits used to protect corn and cotton from insects is failing, putting U.S. corn production potential in jeopardy, and spurring a need for increased insecticide use.

Read Carey Gillam's article on GMO failures.

Hundreds of super weeds have built up a resistance to the most widely used herbicide, glyphosate, and the chemicals which are being used to replace glyphosate based herbicides are causing massive drift damage.

A peach farmer sues for crop damage:

��http://www.ecowatch.com/missouri-peach-farm-sues-monsanto-dicamba-drift-2133507960.html

The lawsuits are growing for wrongful death and cancer links to Roundup as well.

https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/Monsanto-Roundup/monsanto-roundup-lawsuits-causes-21956.html#.WGw5bFmIbqA

Please Let the FDA know that GMOs and toxins are NOT what we consider "healthy"!

The FDA is "redefining healthy" and they are getting ready to let food manufacturers off the hook again! 
Link to FDA comments:

http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/fda_means_to_let_food_companies_off_the_hook_again

Let then know that organic food has been proven to be more nutritious: 
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-organic-foods-20140715-story.html

GOOD NEWS: The UK now has an organic/biodynamic/permaculture conference that is TWICE as big as the conventional farming conference. Fantastic! We can't wait for that to happen here in the USA!!

And France has BANNED glyphosate in public greens! They will also NOT allow glyphosate use in backyards gardens by 2019!

Link: http://sustainablepulse.com/2016/12/31/france-bans-pesticides-in-public-green-spaces/ 

We hope you had a great holiday season and if you make any resolutions this year that they include eating healthy organic food, getting out in nature, and spending time laughing with loved ones. Your health is the most important thing, without it, you cannot commit yourself to anything else!
Much Love and Gratitude for you!

Happy New Year!!!!

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday and get a chance to rest. Unfortunately, the FDA never ceases their shenanigans.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Blair Fitzgibbon, 202-503-6141, [email protected]

Testing Reveals No Glyphosate Found in Wines from Two CA Organic Vineyards

Today, Moms Across America announced that wines from two California vineyards tested negative for glyphosate. Phil Larocca of LaRocca Vineyards, and Athan and Denise Poulos of Lolonis Family Vineyards & Winery both had separate glyphosate testing done on their own wine samples and reported that the results came back as undetectable. This is welcome news in a landscape of widespread use and contamination of glyphosate based herbicides.

“We are thrilled to celebrate these tests results and the bravery of these vineyard owners who took the risk of testing and finding out inconvenient and frightening information,” said Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America. “As Maya Angelou says, ‘Once we know better, we do better’, and we acknowledge that these vineyards wanted to know, so that they could do better if needed.”

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Media Availability
Contact: Blair Fitzgibbon, 202-503-614

Moms Across America and Virginians for Medical Freedom mothers will attend The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) which will meet diciembre 13-16, 2016. The panel will consider and review a set of scientific issues being evaluated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding EPA's evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of the herbicide glyphosate.  Glyphosate is the declared active chemical ingredient in Roundup and 700 other glyphosate based herbicides, the most widely used herbicide in the world.

All three mothers are speaking at the public comment portion Thursday morning and available all week for interview.

To all our Friends who donated to support Standing Rock,

Please see the updated action page on our website with the video report on our trip to North Dakota. You can also see the full supply list of what has been donated with your support. 

https://yesmaam.nationbuilder.com/protect_our_water

We are so grateful to know such generous, caring people. Thank you for being you!!!

If you are thinking of going to Standing Rock, please read this first, and please go if you can, they need support!


Volunteers sort the donations.

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Help Defund DAPL


If hundreds of thousands of people take their money out of the banks that are funding the Dakota Access Pipeline (put it in a local credit union) perhaps they will pull their money out too! The Norwegian Bank has already pulled 120 million dollars out. Now is the time. The Energy TRansfers Partners have a deadline of enero 1 for oil to be in the pipelines.

http://www.defunddapl.org/

Watch a video from Lakota Law on Standing Rock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMs39DxtStQ

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Widespread Glyphosate Contamination Confirmed



After initiating testing for glyphosate in urine, tap water and breast milk three years ago, seeing the low levels in water and the high levels in a few food tests after that, we could ascertain that glyphosate is in pretty much everything we eat.  We know that the EPA allows high levels of glyphosate on 158 food and feed crops, and we know that glyphosate based herbicides are used as a drying agent before harvest on many crops such as sugar, wheat, corn, soy, barley, hops, dried peas, beans and legumes. The widespread contamination of glyphosate in our food was confirmed recently by independent testing and the results are alarming. See the article here.

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Celebrate HUGE WINs!



The National Organic Standards Board has denied Carageenan from being in organic food!

They have also banned new GMO technology such as Gene Drives/CRISPR from being in organic food!

This is a huge win for our movement and we thank everyone who signed the petitions we circulated, who made comments and especially Cornucopia and the Organic Consumers Association for working so hard on this!

THANK YOU everyone for your donations to support Moms Across America and for being partners with us in creating healthy communities!

With Love and Best Wishes for a Peaceful Holiday!

Zen and MAA Team

Standing Rock Etiquette

The Dakota Access Pipeline, which if completed, would carry about 500,000 gallons of crude oil per day from North Dakota's Bakken oil field to Illinois.  The pipeline will be crossing the Missouri River just above the Standing Rock Reservation, threatening the water supply to over 18 million people who rely on this water for their very survival downstream. Reports say that the oil will not be used to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, but much of it will be exported. It will likely be used for fuel, made into cheap plastic products, or become an ingredient in herbicides which are sprayed on our food. Either way, the result is poisoning our planet and our people.

diciembre 5, 2016, will likely be the largest event in recorded history of native and non-natives standing side by side to protect water. 1000 Veterans arrive diciembre 4 and the Army Corps of Engineers has stated that anyone on the Oceti Sakowin main camp diciembre 5 will be considered trespassing. Reports of the National Guard coming in on diciembre 2, before the Veterans arrive, are also circulating. Concerns of violence on behalf of the Morton County Police and National Guard are high. The Water Protectors will not be swayed. They continue to call for thousands to stand in support with them. If you are so moved to go to Standing Rock, keep in mind that the short term visits have an impact on long-term resources. Be prepared. Please go to www.ocetisakowincamp.org and read their protocols.

The following is my perspective from personal experience. This is by no means all-inclusive. Please go to the orientation upon arrival. The orientation volunteers are doing an extraordinary job.

1. This is a peaceful demonstration.  Absolutely no weapons are allowed.
   
   
2. This is not Coachella. The Chiefs are not wearing headdresses. This means: treat all the Elders as if they are Chiefs, because they might be.
   
   
3. This is a ceremonial prayer camp. Please, leave your ideas about making Molotov cocktails at home or don't come. Get up early and go to the prayer ceremonies. Prayer sets the tone for your actions and your day.
   
   
4. This is an Indigenous-led camp. This means follow, do not attempt to lead, assert your plans, or impose your schedule upon the community. Go to the 9 am orientation at the Dome, it's imperative. 
   
   
5. This is not Burning Man. This means do not bring your guitars, drums, and hula hoops. No face painting, no drugs or alcohol at all. Don't take pictures unless you ask. The Native Americans are also not there for your entertainment or training on how to start a fire. And this is not a social event, festival or vacation. Come to be of service.

6. 

   Bring more than you take. This means bring your own food, only go to the kitchens if you absolutely need to, and the donation center is not an opportunity for you to pick out a new wardrobe. Also, if there are not 40 people around a campfire, there should be no wood burning. Resources are sorely needed for the long haul.  Take a look at the supply list on the camp website and bring as much as you can to help out. 
   
   
7. Be of Use. This means: get to work volunteering by 9 am and, if possible, don't stop until dark. Winter in North Dakota is a life or death situation. They need serious help to winterize. Go to the Volunteer and Resource center by the Sacred Fire near the main entrance road for opportunities to help. There is also a white RV being used as a whiteboard for the days projects in the center of the South side of the main camp, by three Tarpees with silver stove pipes.
   
   
8. Be honest. If you have stuff from your childhood that gets triggered when you are on the front line and you feel like lashing out, be honest and step back. The front lines are not a place to unleash your anger at authority or your Dad.
   
   
9. Be safe. There have been multiple rapes at camp. Buddy up, bring whistles and walkie-talkies and be aware of your surroundings.
   
   
10. Be smart. There are infiltrators at camp. Some have staged unsanctioned direct actions and led others to be arrested. Don't join in unless it is well organized and you see leaders you recognize from the morning meetings. Also, go to the legal tent at the top of Media Hill right after orientation. Without those forms filled out you will get lost in the cracks if arrested. Go to the Direct Action Training at 2 pm.
    
    
11. Come with a clean heart. We are all angry, sad, or hurt. Allow prayer to have you be open. Come with a clean heart and be peaceful. Prayer is powerful.

Last week Illana from Detroit called me to tell me about her successful GMO OMG movie night evening. She had 7 of her mom friends to her house, MAA flyers about GMOs and organic nibbles on her table. It was a warm, intimate group and she is inspired to continue to have monthly movie nights.

Before everyone left they all vowed to go organic. It can be challenging however, to switch, so they formed an email group and are now encouraging each-other with names of brands, cooking solutions and budgeting ideas.

My heart warmed with joy to here her describe how happy she was with the result. This is a busy mom of two young kids, one which had severe health issues (which got better), and she herself also has Hashimoto’s (down to almost no symptoms by eating organic) and yet she made the time to host a group of women to her home. How inspiring and lovely!

If all of us did this, even once, let’s just say 2000 of the people reading this email had 7 friends over for a movie night...if each of those 7 friends shared about GMOs, the movie, or about pesticides and the importance of eating organic with their 500 friends through social media, we could reach 7,000,000 people in a weekend.

If those 7 million people then bought 100 dollars a week of organic food, that would mean an increase of organic sales of $36,400,000,000 per year. That’s BILLION.

We don’t have to wait for for our government to approve bills that will become laws. We don't have time to wait for our President. We don’t have to wait for EPA policy.  We are busy moms.

What we do have is the power to transform the food industry, reverse the health crisis, and create Healthy Communities Today.

All we need is to be generous, have a Movie Night, Organic Potluck, or Holiday Party and we can fight corporate control, corruption in politics, pollution of our soil and waterways, climate change and create healthy communities too. I would say you would also be on Santa’s “Nice List” too!

Simply go to www.momsacrossamerica.org click on EVENT, scroll down and click “Host Your Own”. Create a Holiday party, movie night or potluck. If you do not want to post your home address, post a nearby school or post office and after people RVSP and you check them out, then you can contact them with the updated address. We encourage you to be open to having new people however, and invite your community. It’s so fulfilling to make a difference in someone’s life! Thank you for being generous and creating healthy communities with us!

Love,

Zen, Anne, and MAA Team

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On Thursday, noviembre 17, 2016, the National Organics Standard Board (NOSB) declared that carrageenan would no longer be allowed in food products labeled "USDA Organic".  The board voted 10-3 with one abstention after a 3 day meeting in their headquarters in St. Louis.

There may be many of thinking, "Great!  But what IS carrageenan?".  It seems to be one of those ubiquitous ingredients that shows up in many foods, even those found at your local health food store, making you believe that it was a "health food' and therefore okay to eat.

Carrageenan, also known as Irish Moss, has been derived through red algae since the 1930s.  It is used as a thickener and stabilizer, and therefore helps lengthen a products shelf life.  It is used in many products, including ice cream, yogurts, non-dairy milks, dressings, tofu, toothpaste and many others.

Some of the side effects of carrageenan include inflammation, which can lead to a host of ailments like intestinal distress, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and many others.  Remember, all disease stems from inflammation.  Interesting enough, in the medical field it is actually used as a laxative!

Unfortunately, it is not always listed on the label.  If the food producer is using carrageenan as a "processing aid" it is not required to be listed.  It is also used in beer making to clarify beer, but is not required to be on the label.

So, learn to read your labels and educate yourself on which products might hiding this ingredient if you are concerned or are having issues and think that this might be the culprit.  Cornucopia.com has a wonderful page explaining carrageenan in more detail.  Check it out AQUÍ. 

Here's to your health.

Anne Temple, MAA

Last night at Standing Rock, North Dakota nearly two hundred people were hurt by Morton County Police at a peaceful action which involved women, elders and young people in peaceful prayer. An attempt by Sioux nation leaders to clear two burned out vehicles which have been blocking a public road outside of Oceti Sakowin Camp suddenly became dangerous when the Morton County Police began shooting tear gas grenades, rubber bullets from close range, using water cannons and fire hoses to drench the water protectors in sub zero weather.

Moms Across America's director Zen Honeycutt, who has been at the camp for 4 days, reported that,"We were are asked to support the prayer on the bridge and did not expect to be a part of a massive onslaught of intentional police brutality by the Morton County Police. As I stood on the south side of the bridge, which was not considered trespassing, holding blankets for the Water Protectors who were getting soaked by tanks shooting water, several tear gas grenades exploded in front of me, burning my eyes, throat and causing me to go into convulsions. The grenades were also intentionally shot into grassy areas setting fire to the hills around me, provoking brave Native men to rush to the fires and extinguish them with their bodies. Objects that looked like large fireworks (or small bombs) exploded in the crowd. Rubber bullets caused elders, women and youth to collapse and scream for medics all around me. I saw women who were shot in the head and elders who were drenched with water in sub zero temperatures. Percussion grenades were going off and they were using the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) to try and control the crowd.   Planes with Stingers circled overhead with their lights off, redirecting our cell phone signals and shutting down our Facebook Live video service.

It was nothing less than an intentional act of violence and warfare by the Morton County Police. It is a tragic time in our history, one that deserves the immediate attention and intervention of our President."

The legal team reported that 167 people were injured by the water cannons, 7 sent to the ER for wounds from the rubber bullets, many of which were head wounds, countless others injured from mace, tear gas, and one elder is still in critical condition from cardiac arrest. The incident was not sparked by a willful act of protest. In fact, the Morton County police had stated that they would clear the cars which block the road for emergency vehicles and the general public two weeks ago. When they did not, the Native American local men attempted to clear them for emergency vehicles. Youth and women prayed with them that their work would be successful. When the spraying with water and rubber bullets began, a call for support went out to the nearby Oceti Sakowin Camp and over 1000 supporters stood in prayer and supported their efforts for over 12 hours, from around  5 pm until well past 5 in the morning.

The coordination, generosity and willingness of the supporters was awe inspiring. Women carried huge logs for a bonfire built on the bank of the Missouri River to keep warm. Men shoved logs across the river like a giant game of shuffleboard to get logs to the fire. Supporters brought tarps to protect the young adults who were being violently sprayed with a firehouse as they formed a human wall with their bodies to protect their fire. Non natives and natives alike brought coats, hand warmers, ponchos, soup and fry bread to sustain the supporters throughout the night. A camp fire was built on the south side of the bridge to warm the people who were soaking wet in the sub zero temperatures to prevent hypothermia. Many of the youth simply changed out of their wet clothes and went back to the front lines.

"What I witnessed were extraordinary acts of dedication and constraint by the water protectors. Over and over again, they were sprayed with freezing water and they continued to pray. They were shot with rubber bullets and yet they did not attack their attackers. They stood for 12 hours in the cold chanting to protect water, and did not retaliate with violence. Elders well into their eighties drummed past midnight to sustain the prayers. These young people, women and elders did this on behalf of 18 million people who stand to lose their primary drinking source if the Dakota Access Pipeline is installed under the Missouri River by permission of the Army Corps of Engineers. We call upon the Army Corps of Engineers to deny the permit for the drilling of this pipeline. We also request anyone who has bank accounts with Bank of America, Chase or Wells Fargo, to close your account and to tell them you are doing so because they have funded DAPL. The Norwegian Bank has pulled out and we expect these three banks to do so as well. It is not a matter of if the pipeline will break, but when, and we can no longer stand for or be a part of supporting the pollution of our planet.”

Moms Across America supporters is raising funds to Support Standing Rock. To find out how you can support go to www.momsacrossamerica.org and ACTION or www.ocetisakowincamp.org.

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On noviembre 15^th the National Day of Action to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, Moms Across America was supported by over 60 donors who gave over $4500 for us to go to Standing Rock, help as we can, report on the efforts, and donate supplies. Our supporters gave their resources to be a part of this historic movement of water protectors because it is yet another example of the corporate bullying of our government to put the profits of companies before the health of our people.

Moms Across America has a history of amplifying the voices of the moms. One of our supporters, Zoe Swartz said, “The rights of the chemical companies to make a profit in no way surpass the rights of a mother to protect her child.”

The following is the account of Zen Honeycutt - Founder and Executive Director of Moms Across America.

noviembre 19, 2016

The early morning light glowed dusky blue as the Standing Rock main camp, Oceti Sakowin rolled into view below us. My family and I released a collective gasp as hundreds of tipis, yurts and tents covered the valley by the Missouri River. Flags from over 300 tribal nations flapped in the wind, colorful images of bears, eagles, and symbols of earthly creatures. It appeared heavenly. Images of Dances with Wolves movie sprang to mind and my eyes filled with tears to see a modern day gathering of many races, honoring the Indigenous people in North Dakota, in reality before us.

However,  reality is harsh  -- and as I write this in the business center nearby, after a day of action, a young man recounts how he was arrested by local police last week for no reason, beaten, had all his camera equipment stolen, and traumatized by the people who were supposed to be protecting him. With a gash on his head, he was called “scum of the earth” .  What is even more disheartening, is that he has lost all faith in his government. There is not much more soul crushing than to see a young person without faith.

Earlier that day, I was full of hope however, the sheer numbers, over 9000 reported, that have come to support the water protectors, is awe inspiring. As we pulled into the dirt road, Native American security stopped and cleared us. The young warrior had been at the camp since July and you could tell he was proud.  Driving down the Crazy Horse Lane, with hundreds of flags around us is a moment I will never forget. Epic is a word that comes to mind. We settled in near a new barn being constructed, as the camp was feverishly preparing for winter.   The night before was the first night of snow. It was bitterly cold and the wind never stopped. Never.

Before we could even get a lay of the land and unload supplies, my family, Moms Across America assistant Lisa, and her son wrapped ourselves into as many layers as we could and headed to the community meetings. The meeting all begin with prayer, sage and grounding deep breaths. We are all reminded to be mindful of the fact that this is an Indigenous lead ceremonial prayer camp, not a music festival or activist protest gathering. We are here in support of the water protectors. We are here to be useful, generous, and honest. And that is what we intend to be. After the community meeting we went to an orientation in a cold military style rectangular tent with stoves that remained cruelly cold. Then we quickly signed the legal documents in case we went to jail, and finally moved to take action. The “Heart Action” was created by the Youth Council and it was a day to honor women, namely Red Fawn, who was in prison for reportedly grabbing a gun and firing three shots in the air. She faces 20 years.

After a ceremony of moving speakers and homage to Red Fawn, we walked in solidarity, hundreds of non-native women first, then Native women, children and our men behind us.  This was a risky move, as many of the direct actions in the past few months have resulted in horrifying police brutality: macing without warning, rubber bullet shots fired, dog bites, beatings and severe injuries. We were banking on the fact that we were unarmed women and children, appealing to their human decency, to not harm us and allow us to pray on the bridge before the barricade which kept us far from the drilling platform for the pipeline. It was a somber walk in silence.

Many of us were dressed in Red to honor Red Fawn and the women wore skirts to signify being in prayer. Our Water Protectors flapped in the brisk wind and our sons silently struggled to hold them up.  First we spelled out “Free Red Fawn” by the river bank with our bodies for an aerial view photograph. As we sat on cold mud we were warmed by greeting our neighbors, from Washington. Wisconsin, New York, Mexico and beyond.  After the drone got the shot we arranged ourselves for the prayer on the bridge. Non Native women in front, then native women, children and our men. I became anxious however from being separated from my littlest one who was cold, had a cough and was acting droopy, so I gave him a piggy back and kept him with me. I struggled with thoughts of risk- was keeping my child with me an act of protection or endangering? What world did we live in that walking with hundreds of women to a bridge to pray for clean water a risk to my child? We walked slowly to the steady beat of a drum in silence towards the barricade. Two camouflage military trucks blocked the bridge reportedly burned out by the DAPL workers to make it appear as if the Water Protectors were violent. They had not been moved for weeks, blocking the road to Bismark and making it much more difficult to take a detour. Rolls of sharp prison barbed wire blocked either side of the bridge. They were clearly preventing passage of the water protectors, general public and even emergency vehicles through this public road.

As we sat in silence, I closed my eyes and listening to the wind blow and felt the sun warm the numbness of my face.  There was a rumbling on the road and I heard vehicles approach.  My eyes flew open but I could not see past the barricade.  It had to be the police approaching - many of them, but I couldn't be sure.  I went into high alert, but all around me the women were still and calm.  No one shifted or turned to each other to whisper.  They remained resolute, prayerful, and powerful.  I was never more proud to be a woman.