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Dear Moms and Friends, 

This is the tale of three school districts and the mothers asking for healthier school lunches.

31 million GMO school lunches are served daily to our children in America.

These meals also contain food dyes, pesticides, synthetic chemicals, and high fructose corn syrup which have been linked to diabetes, autism, food allergies, ADHD, and autoimmune diseases.

We are three Moms requesting that Choicelunch (which offers pesticide-free, dye-free, and high fructose free and WILL supply GMO-free lunches to our districts if accepted) be considered as a vendor for our schools and offer a second option.

We have 3 minutes before our school board at an open meeting to present.

Two weeks ago, Kathleen Hallal approached her school board in Irvine; she took the approach of not focusing on GMOs and just requesting that the food be synthetic chemical and pesticide free. Then she met with her school's Food Services Department, shared the full story of health risks and behavioral impact,  and left the meeting saying, "Zen, it was like a miracle!” The Food Services nutritionist who was also present has a 14-month-old, and she already knew something about organic food. Both she and the director were open to the idea of having a “clean food” option. They were interested in not just offering a second choice but replacing some of the other foods in the cafeteria as well!

I was THRILLED and inspired and so hopeful! We are going to do this! It just takes one person to make a difference!

Zen Honeycutt (that’s me) presented last week to my board. I was nervous, but I quoted stats and chose to mention genetically modified foods once during the three minutes. I am not sure if it is because I mentioned GMOs or not, but my district is taking a different view. Yesterday, I requested a follow-up meeting with my Food Services Director but was told, “I have just been advised that the Board is not interested in pursuing the Choicelunch option at this time. Therefore there is no need to pursue this further and set up a meeting with the company.”

No reason. No meeting to even present the concept. No interest. I felt like my heart was crushed.

I implored the Food Service director to meet with me anyway, as her program assessment would make a difference. 

Instead of a response from her, I got a response back from the Board of Ed,  saying that they are not interested “due to all the reasons the food service director previously explained to you.”

Which was... that the Board of Ed decided not to...which is not a reason...

I wracked my brain. Then a journalist from the OC Register, who is doing a story on what I proposed,  called me and told me that she just spoke to the Food Service Director, and she reasoned that food was too expensive and that they didn’t want to offer healthier meals to some kids but not to others. The last reason made me want to scream inside ...so do NOTHING?? So NO child gets a choice?

I was afraid I might turn into a screaming banshee, so I took a deep breath and responded with as much clarity as possible.

I addressed the cost only first, explaining how the online cost of $4.50 is for individual orders. The district cost would be only 15 cents more or less than our current price of 2.50, and parents are willing to pay a dollar more, resulting in a 1.5 million dollar profit for the school district if only 25% of the students in the district ordered the lunches. That money could potentially go towards improving the organic options in the national lunch program meals for the kids who cannot afford 5.00 more per week, resulting in improved lunches for all.

Their response was, “the cost was the least significant reason for the decision. It is more about the implications it would have on our Federal and State programs. The Board is not willing to jeopardize funding or compliance issues.”

ARRRRGH!!! It’s always money over health! Always! And that is why the status of our children’s health is the way it is!!

Again, breathing, I responded, “Ok, I understand you do not want to jeopardize funding or compliance issues. Of course. This program is successfully working in 250 other schools, however, that have worked out funding and compliance issues. Can I connect you with a food service director and board member from another school where they have sorted that out?”

The response 5 minutes ago was, "No, thank you. The board has made their decision.”

Breathing...breathing...I have not responded yet.  What do you think?

What has my chest tighten and throat clench is the thought and fear that somehow, I am messing this opportunity up for thousands of kids in my district...that the way I am being about this, persistent, passionate, and clear that GMOs are one of the reasons for my request to offer a healthier lunch, is somehow screwing it up. Kathleen did better not mentioning GMOs. I have a history with my food services director where I did discuss GMOs with her, so she knows this is a mission of mine. What boils my blood is that GMOs might even be controversial.  What has me deeply dismayed is the possibility that the Food Services director disagreeing with my approach for any reason could affect the health of so many. The skepticism, the fear of rocking the boat with the current system, and the resignation that things could be any other way are soul-crushing. It feels like the worst defeat of all because it affects children's futures. But I know I am not defeated.

I want to be clear. I WANT to affect the federal and state programs. I WANT to have less money go towards nutritionally bankrupt, toxic GMO food with additives like high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, and synthetic chemical pesticides that have been linked to autism, diabetes, ADHD, life-threatening food allergies, autoimmune disorders, and more. I am proposing a plan for THAT food to get less of our money and organic food to get more. YES.

I ask all Moms and anyone who wants to rock the boat, disrupt the current system, and put a dent in the 31 million GMO meals served a day to our kids, to stand up and speak at your board meeting. It just takes one to speak, but it will take thousands of us supporting the speakers to have this happen.

Monica Serratos presents at her school board tonight. She is a woman of great generosity, clarity, and leadership, and we know she is going to do great. We pray her school board allows a further inquiry into what is possible for the sake of our children.

Go Monica and her daughter Alicia who is speaking too!

Stay tuned.

Zen honeycutt

Look up choicelunch.com for a CA vendor that has promised GMO-free lunches to large school districts by fall.

If you have a school lunch vendor that offers GMO-Free and organic, please tell us, and we will share them with the nation.

If you present to your board, let us know your approach and results. Together we can do anything.

I know the last thing any Mom needs is more bad news. Here's the thing. This can also be good news.

Finding out the possible reason for any health issue is always good news. Because then we can do something about it. Then we can stop it. 

Any Mom's "Spidey sense" will go off when you see these charts. They clearly show an undeniable correlation between Glyphosate ( found in many herbicides but most commonly in RoundUp ) and increases in many western ailments including Autism, Thyroid cancer, Kidney Failure, Pelvic cancer, Alzheimers and more.

http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/glyphosate/glyphosate.html

Glyphosate is sprayed on the soil of most non organic foods ( and is absorbed into plant), directly ON GMO foods and (cannot be washed off), on schoolyards, parks, and landscaping.

 Report links Glyphosate with leukemia and anemia.

GreenMedInfo article on leukemia, anemai and glyphosate link

Glyphosate is even linked to Cancer in dogs. Anyone bury a dog before his time was really due and have to explain it to a kid? Oy Vey. 

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/05/study-shows-herbicides-used-on-house-plants-and-grass-are-linked-to-cancer-in-dogs/

According to the http://www.seedsofdoubtconference.com/ ( video segment 5 about 3.35 in )

Glyphosate ( Roundup) was found to be highly toxic to animals at .1ppm, causing organ damage.

The new EPA standards examples: allow berries .2 ppm, sweet potatoes 3.0 ppm, carrots to have 5.0 ppm, and canola oil 40.0 ppm!!! WHAT?? PLEASE comment to the FDA that this is UNACCEPTABLE!! And ONLY eat organic!!!

Please comment on the EPA board about the insanely high levels of Glyphosate allowed on our foods!
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0132-0009

And then sign our petition to STOP Spraying Glyphosate on school yards, parks and our food crops.

Moms and Supporters Say "Stop Spraying Glyphosate!"

It's time to take a stand for our children. We clearly see danger and it's time to stop it.

Together we can create a world that is safe for our kids... to roll down a hill at school on the grass, blow a blade of grass like a whistle at the park, and eat berries by the handfuls a friend's birthday party.

Thank you for your partnership!

"We ask you not to ignore the risk of spraying Glyphosate, a chemical in RoundUp and other herbicides, on our school yards, public parks and spaces, gardens and food crops. Err on the side of safety. Please stop spraying Glyphosate today.

Instead: Use natural pesticides, boiling water or vinegar and bio-ag practices to balance the soil and reduce weeds, or recruit a troop of Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts for a regular service project to pull weeds. Together we can create a safer environment for our children and citizens."

Thank you.
Moms Across America
and Supporters
www.momsacrossamerica.com

Will you sign this petition? Click here:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/moms-and-supporters-say?source=c.em.cp&r_by=5118310

Thanks!

Zen honeycutt

Dear Moms

” If every Mom knew how awesome they are , every problem in the world would be fixed.” – Kid President

When I watched this video,  my heart giggled. My soul glowed and I thought of all the times when I stopped, looked and listened to the glory of childhood…and sometimes even joined in with a booty shake and high five. The awesomeness of being a Mom is not all the things we do, but it how present we are to what we are doing.

In short, it’s who we are BEING. Mostly I don’t take the time to think about or create that, but when I do, when I choose that Today is the Day that I am being Courageous, Creative and a Contribution…whoa, watch out world…things are done that have never been done. My kids get a Mom who is happy to build a volcano with them instead of resentful.  I reach out and do activism in the world to make  a future for our kids great in ways I never imagined before. And when I see other moms being present with their kids, being gentle, curious and giggly, I know that all our activism is for those moments…the fleeting, magical, moment of love and delight.

So  I invite every Mom on Moms Across America, to really get how awesome you are. Not because of all the doing, but because of who you are being. You are being your kids champion. You are being Courageous, Creative and a Contribution. You are the Gateway to Adventure! You are the most awesome person on the planet to at least one person and in their eyes, you can do anything.  Look at yourself through their eyes …because theirs is the most beautiful perspective in the world.

Zen honeycutt

As founder of Moms Across America our mission is Empowered Moms, Healthy Kids. Our current commitment is to empower millions to educate themselves about genetically modified organisms or GMOs, label them and offer America GMO free solutions.  

We have created the Moms Across America March to Label GMOs on julio 4. We have  partners all across the nation like Robyn O’Brien ( Mom of 4 and TedX Talk speaker “Patriotism on a Plate”),  LabelGMOs.org, The CA Guild, GMO Free USA ( Mom Diana Reeves), Green America/GMO inside, March Against Monsanto (Mom Tami Monroe), Institute for Responsible Technology, NYR Organics,  Dr. Bronners, Nature’s Path, Nutivia, Holistic Moms and many more.

We hope you will join us in marching in parade on the 4th of July in your hometown or town on vacation near you. This is  the one opportunity we have to share our message with thousands locally and millions nationally, who are ready, waiting and interested.  So grab a balloon, your kids and trike and join us!

Sign up at http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/

For more info about GMOs go to http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/gmo

Read more: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/the-power-of-moms/#ixzz2TNyOBSTs

On Our Moms Survey: Your Family's Health

Moms are speaking out. The responses are amazing. Americans are seeing positive results from going GMO Free.

Here is a photo of my son's allergic reaction to Carageenan before and after eating GMOs regularly. We found out about GMOs, went GMO free and 4 mnths afterwards he was accidentally exposed to Carageenan again in the toothpaste at the dentist office. His reaction was drastically less inflammed and painful. I only took photos at the time to text to my doctor. These are real photos he wants us to show them to help heal other kids..

Update: my same son recently ate walnuts by accident. Usually he would have been near death in the ER for 6 hours, instead his toungue itched and he felt queasy. He was back in school in two hours. From life threatening to a mild allergy. This is huge!

Read these real results from real Moms from our Moms Survey. No scientific peer reviewed publishing needed, just some Moms willing to share their reality.

 "My son just entered high school and his new teachers cannot even tell that he used to have severe autism symptoms. All I did differently was feed him organic food for the past two years, and I am a single Mom and make 40K, so it's not easy but it's that important. Even after two weeks of going organic my Dad saw his behavior changes and thought I had given him a new drug. I said, "Nope, no drugs, just organic food." Avoiding GMOs is the best thing I have done for my son, his life is totally different now."- Cindy RI.

"My son was diagnosed with asthma. We went organic and he went from being on a nebulizer 3xs a day to zero asthma. I lost 13 pounds, doing NOTHING else different, just eating organic only." Karen L.TX

"My son had a rash around his mouth now and then but since getting off GMOs he doesn’t have that problem any more. My daughters tummy used to puff out after meals and she’d get a belly ache. She doesn’t get those after meals since we went off GMOs. I used to feel like my skin was crawling but I don’t get that anymore since being off GMOs." Laurie O. WA

 I had an auto immune diseases for 8 years. I was on different medications for it and actually had surgery for it. It was a living nightmare. I took GMOs almost completely out of my diet 8 months ago and the symptoms are gone! Some of my family think I'm crazy for posting so many food posts about GMOs but I know first hand how devastating the effects are. Doctors said there is no cure for my disease. I found the cure...stop eating GMOs!!!!- Morgan M.

Here is a video from Jennifer Lawrenson who recorded this for the Moms Across America Initiative for World Child Health Day 2013.

 More testimonials:

Do you or your family members have health issues that you suspect may be connected to GMOs?

( Before going GMO Free) "I had, depression, myofacial pain syndrome, constipation, chronic pain, atrial fibrillation.weight gain food cravings. My mom Parkinson’s Disease, obesity, depression, lots of surgery. My dad died of colon cancer, he ate white bread all of his life with Coke as his main beverage. My Husband, Barret’s Disease, weight gain after age 50 around the middle with back pain, swelling in feet and ankles. Our son, pimples, adhd type symptoms, that I would not medicate him for. Sleepiness and lack of energy. Real food real health." - Ellen B. Oregon

Why are you supporting this movement?

"My husband was in the hospital 5 times last year Doctors wanted to remove part of his intestine because it was so infected instead doctors pumped him full of antibotics for a week when he got out of hospital I changed his diet and all our family food choices to NON- GMO foods WOW what a diffrence he’s doing great and food never tasted so good! I will march sign petitions anything to reclaim our healthy labeled food choices. God Speed JUST SAY NO TO GMO’S ….MAAM! "-Rhonda B. 

Here is a video from a Mom of twins.

These are just a few of the hundreds of responses we are getting. We want you to know, if you have health issues and suspect GMOs might be connected, that you are not alone. We get your frustration, upset and confusion as to why this could possibly be allowed. We also have health issues or have loved ones with health issues. We also know many people who don't have health issues, but are preventing them by supporting this movement.

Share your reality today: http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/moms_survey

The fact is that we don't know how GMOs could affect you. Everyone is different. But we do see, after testimonials like this, that every GMO bite is a gamble we don't want America to  take.

We LOVE America. We LOVE our kids and the amazing people in this country and we know we are going to love our kids future spouses someday. We want them to be healthy. For the sake of future generations, and our right to freedom as an American, we demand GMO LABELING NOW! We also demand testing immediately from the agencies that are supposed to protect the American people, the CDC and the FDA. Please sign our petition today and share this petition and blog with everyone you know.

http://www.momsacrossamerica.com/action

 ¡Gracias!

Zen honeycutt

In this NBC news story they are talking about food allergies.  They say that there has been a dramatic increase since 1997.

What really is the news is what they are not saying.

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51755274/#51755274

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51755274/#51755274

What they are not saying is that:

1997 is the first year of widespread implementation of Roundup Ready soybeans and cotton, in other words GMO soy and cotton. 

Roundup Ready soy, Roundup Ready cotton and BT cotton all sprayed with Roundup,a patented trademark of Monsanto.  

The active chemical ingredient in Roundup is Glyphosate, which chelates, or holds and prevents  the availability of vital nutrients in the soil, plants and grain wherever it is present. Glyphosate chelates manganese, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron etc...all nutrients we need to be healthy and thrive and fight off disease.

Glyphosate is a registered pesticide and patented as an antibiotic with the USPTO 7771736*. It is also a foreign chemical and the body fights foreign invaders. An anaphylatic allergic reaction (swelling of the throat) is the body responding to a foreign invader and trying to keep it out. Peanut allergy is the most common cause of death from a food allergy. 

2007 was the last printed public statement of RoundUp use. 185 million pounds of glyphosate were being sprayed on all kinds of non organic foods at that time. 

It has been reported that the use of pesticides on GMO crops increased 26% in 2008 alone.Roundup is used as a burndown herbicide before planting for conventional crops. It is sprayed directly ON and absorbs into GMO RR soy, cotton and corn. It cannot be washed off.

The real news is that the major rotation crop in cotton growing areas is guess what? Peanuts.

Plant a peanut crop after a RR cotton crop and you have glyphosate residue in the soil that the peanut plant (legume crop) will take up. Glyphosate also causes an increase in opportunistic fungi in the soil which causes plant diseases which cause the development of mold and mycotoxins to be in peanut crops.** To combat that, guess what? They spray the peanut crop with a fungicide. Might there be fungicide residue in the peanuts?

Why would there ever be a problem with allergies? I hope you get the sarcasm here.

The real news is:

How many kids have died from peanut allergies? Are you a parent of a child who has a peanut allergy?

Do you fear for their life like I do? 

If not, did you know that 78% of the children who die from a food allergy never had a severe allergic attack before?

In a neighboring school district the number of kids who need Epi Pens was 750 last year. This year it is 2000.

That is 2000 kids that could die from food. Die. OUR kids! Is there anything more outrageous or horrible???

Why are we permitting corporation profits to be more important than our children's lives?

The REAL story is the hold that Monsanto has on our media. 

We demand NBC and all major media put the health and well being of our nation's children before the call of the almighty dollar from your commercial sponsors. Otherwise the major news will not be what you report but how false the news is that you do report.  The lack of accountability that Monsanto lays claim to will drain the integrity of every person and corporation that associates with, or protects them, by not reporting the truth.

We have access to information and we will share it.

We are Moms and we see the truth right before us.

It's called: Our kids GET BETTER when they GET OFF GMOs.

Zen honeycutt

 * USPTO patent of Glyphosate: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&S1=7771736&OS=7771736&RS=7771736 .

 ** This information is from a 3rd generation farmer. It doesn't matter who..ask any farmer who knows about farming peanuts. They call it " Farmer's common sense". Want to discredit this? Show us the reports of glyphosate levels in peanuts and ALL our foods!

Despite the  mess in the food industry we currently have, something beautiful and strong is emerging. The connections we are all creating by speaking up for a healthy future and freedom to choose our food are making America stronger. I had the privilege and honor to connect with Nancy Massotto, Founder and Executive Director of Holistic Moms Network. The Holistic Moms Network has partnered with Moms Across America to increase GMO awareness and spread the word about Moms Across America. In doing so we get to know Holistic Moms better. What an amazing organization and powerful woman!

 What was your intention when you started Holistic Moms network 10 years ago?

Nancy Massotto is the Founder and Executive Director of the Holistic Moms Network and mother to two boys. She founded the Holistic Moms Network to meet other parents who shared her passions for living healthy and living sustainably, and to help raise awareness about natural living options. Before becoming a mom, she completed three graduate degrees, including a Ph.D. in political science, specializing in gender studies and feminist theory and spent several years working for non-profit research institutes, including the Women’s Research and Education Institute (WREI) and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), while residing in the Washington, D.C. area. As a mom and community leader, she is dedicated to empowering women, supporting mothers, and raising her two sons as naturally and sustainably as possible.

 Last night, after doing a talk for 18 awesome Moms and Dads I was told I should train others. I thought I would share my response as a blog post for all the Moms who want to know how to share about about GMOs and just don't know where to start. Feel free to copy, paste and formulate your own outline or talk.

First of I want you to know one thing. There is no "right way" that I have or anyone else has. The way to do a talk in front of others is to trust yourself. You have everything it takes and all the love in the world to do a perfect talk in front of your best friends or in front of thousands. Now how can you say that? You might ask...you don't even know me...you don't know that I am shy, or soft spoken, or I just can't look people in the eye...I can't be a speaker. Phooey to that, is what I say.

I know you. You are a Mom. You love with ever fiber of your being where you don't even know there are fibers. Your commitment goes to unknowable depths and then some. You are more powerful and more clear and more moving than any fancy advertising or well oiled marketing report ever. When you are present to that love you have for your children, you can do anything. So my "training advice"is that you set aside any chatter in your head that you can't do this or don't know how and take a deep breath. Just think about how adorable your kids are and how you would like them to experience the profound love that you have for them, for their own child one day, that they created and birthed, and then get on with it.

To be a speaker about GMOs:

"Glyphosate Exposure in a Farmer’s Family"

Journal of Environmental Protection, 2012, 3, 1001-1003 doi:10.4236/jep.2012.39115 Published Online septiembre 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/jep) 1001

The following studies explain the health crisis in America. Really truly. This is it...all the searching for the cure is over. These studies show the cause. And as a mother, I am both outraged and relieved to finally know. Now we can do something about it. If there was ever a reason to eat organic and share information, this is it.

Glyphosate may not be a household word, but Roundup* is. You likely spray it on your weeds, or your neighbor does. Your children's school definitely does. Your city sprays it on your sidewalks and parks and the farmers who grow your food have been told it's the best thing since sliced bread to spray on the grounds surrounding almond trees, fruit trees, strawberries and almost every non-organic vegetable grown in America. Roundup is the most widely used pesticide in the world, 185 million pounds (1) are used in the USA alone each year and glyphosate is the active chemical ingredient.

Not only is it sprayed on the soil, the chemical is drawn into it root system and plant, it is also now being sprayed on the GMO plant in ever increasing doses and it is absorbed into every cell of the plant. It's called "Roundup Ready”. The problem is, that means it is in our food, potentially for 14 years plus, it cannot be washed off, and the food is not labeled.

Some of you may know this already...but what you may not know is that the impact of Glyphosate is equally as potentially harmful as Genetically Modified foods. In a peer reviewed published scientific study titled "Glyphosate Exposure in a Farmer's Family" published in the Journal of Environmental Protection. This has not been widely circulated in the USA however, Moms Across America just found out that glyphosate has been proven to harm humans more than anyone realized. 

The family in the study lived 1.5 miles away from their fields that were sprayed with Roundup. The father would spray the fields, come home and wash his hands thoroughly, but not take a shower. Apparently he hugged his children, because the levels of glyphosate found in their urine were far above what has shown to be toxic in animals. The glyphosate level in the  father's urine was 9.5 ppm and the children's was 2 ppm. It is scientifically documented that infertility is caused by glyphosate at .5 ppm and endocrine disruption (which causes birth defects) is caused by glyphosate at .2 ppm.

 The farmer and his wife had two children with birth defects including imperforated anus, growth hormone deficiency, hypospadias (which is when the urethra of the male penis's opening is not at the end but under, and along the side instead), heart defect and micro penis.

We also have a brand new scientific study which connects glyphosate and numerous diseases which have skyrocketed in our Western culture since the introduction of GMOs to our food supply . 

 "Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases" states that glyphosate residues have been found primarily in corn, sugar, soy and wheat. Good God, that is practically in everything all of us eat!

"Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins."

 This new 48 page published scientific study is extensive and complicated. I have to say as a mother I would much rather be playing play dough with my kids or even cleaning a crusty toilet than scouring through these scientific reports and trying to decipher sentences like "Elevated amounts of shikimate-derived benzoic acids such as protocatechuate and gallate are also found in plants exposed to glyphosate."

 So without further ado, I post these studies for you to make sense of. All I know is that glyphosate = harm to my family. So Stop It People! Stop spraying it on my food, stop spraying it on my school playground and stop spraying it in the city parks. And tell your city council, your representative, your congressmen/women. Share this report with them and demand that we stop using this chemical. If for no other reason than to err on the side of safety.  These are our families we are talking about.

You need someone to pull up weeds? They are called Boy Scouts who need community service projects. No harmful side effects from a Boy Scout.

Zen honeycutt 

 Harm to Farmer’s Family Study page 1

 Harm to Farmer’s Family Study page 2

 Harm to Farmer’s Family Study page 3

Glyphosate/Modern Diseases Study page 1

Findings of Glyphosate/Modern Diseases Study page 29

Conclusion of Glyphosate/Modern Diseases Study page 30

For the full report ( which is 48 pages long and too big of a file for my site) go to www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy

(1)http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Glyphosate.pdf from the latest 2007 report)

* Roundup is a registered trademark of Monsanto

There is an uprising happening in America. It's not visible like in Europe where they are tearing up crops and being dragged away from protests in Hazmat suits.... in America the uprising is in kitchens and coffee shops and on the internet. Moms who once found their lives exhausting are now waking at 6 am automatically and posting everything they can about GMOs. They are spending money from their savings to start a ballot initiative for their state and learning the ins and out of politics that they once abhorred. They are doing radio shows and sharing their rage with thousands. People are MAD. Moms are LIVID. The recent reports, there seem to be a new ones every day now, are so many that if you don't scan Facebook for two hours you are out of the loop...and these reports now show categorically that GMOs are dangerous, not only to our health but to the environment and  our economy. This is something I knew in my bones as soon as I saw Robyn O'Brien's TedX Talk "Patriotism on a Plate" and Jeffrey M. Smith's movie Genetic Roulette, but my brain did not have proof of human harm on paper until just these past few weeks. See here for many of those reports.

These new reports, coupled with the devastating impact of the President signing the "Monsanto Protection Act", have Moms practically spitting fire on the internet. Our Moms Survey, along with testimonials that their kids have gotten better off GMOs, have numerous responses saying:  

"I HATE GMOS"

"I WILL NEVER FEED MY KIDS GMOS"

"I WILL FIGHT GMOS UNTIL MY DYING BREATH"

Yes, all in CAPS, all SHOUTING. They are MAD. That's why 69,000 people liked the "March Against Monsanto" on mayo 25, and 9,000 signed up in about a week. People are angry...and worse than angry...people like me feel betrayed.

Usually we leave politics out of this at MAAM because anyone and everyone eats and Tea Partiers, Democrat and Republicans alike are working together on our team. I have to express for myself and all the Moms that I have talked to, that voted for Obama like I did and know about GMOs, that we want to weep with sadness. I feel betrayed. I feel a heavy weight and shame in being gullible and I am outraged at him about that. How could he? How could Michelle allow it? It's like my world turned inside out and upside down. Suddenly I have taken the blue pill and I can see clearly now that we are in the matrix.

For example: Walmart makes big profits, partially by paying their employees so little, and those workers must resort to buying cheap, nutritionally bankrupt foods. Big Agriculture profits from from the purchase of these cheap foods by Walmart and other poorly paid employees. When they get sick from this so called food, they have to pay huge amounts of whatever income they have left to pay for drugs from Big Pharmaceuticals. Big Media operates off commercial ads for those drugs which are paid for by Big Pharmaceuticals which also makes herbicides and pesticides for Big Ag, they are one and the same. Together they run our Whitehouse and Big Government.....paying for all the laws to be written in their favor to continue this circle of profit.

I am sure another website could put together much better statistics for this situation, exactly how much money they control, how many senators and congress people they have bought out...frankly the graphics that show the overlap of former Monsanto, Phizer and Dow employees that literally run our government, is sickening. Like a bad accident, I can't look at it for more than a few seconds. I don't want to know. It's too deep of a betrayal to everything I love about America.

Especially as Mom, I love our freedoms, our opportunities, the fact that we are not at war with another country on our homeland and our children are mostly safe...but now with GMOs in every school, church gathering, birthday party and scout outing...I feel like they are being attacked by food and our government knows this and lets it happen. My faith in our country is deeply shaken...and our food is slowly and literally killing us. ( I say this in reference to Dr. Huber's report, see link in first paragraph, that it has been discovered that soy has a new pathogen which causes birth defects and miscarriages in animals AND humans and we now have the lowest recorded birth rate in history. These are our BABIES.)

Unless I fight the status quo, be the one who doesn't have her kids sit down and eat the pizza at the bowling party, be the one who says "No you can't have popcorn" (at the movie theater because it was impromptu and we didn't smuggle in popcorn without GMO canola oil on it) "because it's GMO", loud enough for everyone around me to hear and not care...

Unless I am VIGILANT, tirelessly, actively, vigilant, my kids will be harmed by GM food over time. I know thousands of Moms get this and feel the same way. It's EXHAUSTING isn't it? Don't you just want to say "F it" and move to New Zealand or Peru where they ban GMOs?

Can you just NOT BELIEVE what a twilight zone of a mess our country is in right now? I hate to say this because it seems so un-American. I want to shake myself and wake up. I want to be able to eat at a restaurant and not feel like crap for two days afterwards. I want be able to send my kids to school with 3 dollars and say "Sure, buy lunch today". I want to be able to go to parties and smile authentically at the host and thank her and accept the cake, but that is not going to happen now. Not because I can't, because I could do all of those things, I just choose not to. 

We have a choice but many don't. They don't know what they don't know. They are eating GMOs and wondering why the hell they can't loose the weight or why their autistic kid is not responding to therapy. Everybody, teachers, librarians, parent friends, bankers are all  trying to give our kids GMO candy or sweets as rewards. They just don't know...and not only do they not know they are literally having the freedom to choose their food taken from them by not being told what is in their food. What is truly American is to have faith in the people. That's what our founding fathers did a couple hundred years ago and that's what this movement of mothers is doing now.

So as Moms, as exhausted and mad as we are, I invite us all to channel that energy, that relentless vigilance and tireless love for our children, to share. Share everyday, and in every way you can imagine as an act of generosity for fellow Moms and as an investment in the future of America. We are the ones. There is no one else that is going to swoop down from the sky and fix this for us. This is our country and our kids and it's up to us. We just need to shift from what's bad and wrong to what's possible...

What is possible for our movement as we go from Mad to Inspired? From Betrayed and Depressed to Creative?

What would be possible for our children if,  rather than stewing in our own anger, we share with all our Mom friends from a place of love? Right now, that is the kind of leadership we need in America. If each one of you shared with 10 Moms, let's say you had a movie night, and each one of them shared with 5, who all shared with 5 and they shared with 5 Moms, then you would be personally responsible for 1,270 Moms finding out about GMOs and empowering them to have the freedom to choose their family's food. Multiply that times 100 thousand Moms ( that's only 2000 per state) and we have brought freedom to over 127 million Moms. That is way more than the tipping point needed to cause consumer rejection of GMOs and food manufacturer profit loss of 5%. This will spark the food manufacturers to make the switch to NON GMO. By signing up to march on julio 4 and sharing GMO info flyers with your WHOLE TOWN all at once, we will be causing that tipping point simultaneously around the nation!

My friend Montgomery posted on Facebook last night:

It’s almost abril 2013 and the planet is going through a mass transformation. There are many aspects to this transformation, and in the end one must come to realize the basic building block for global change starts with us, humanity on a collective level, together.- Collective Evolution

My husband gave me a well worn book the other day, "The SIXTIES: Years of Hope, Days of Rage". It seems to me we are mimicking those times in many ways...they had "Pranksters" just like "Anonymous" they had a women's uprising and Gloria Steinmen like we have Vandana Shiva. They had war (with the involvement of the same chemical company today, Monsanto) and meeting of community groups like we did with Prop 37 and protests like Occupy Wall Street. What I derive from posts on Facebook that speak of transformation, a shift in consciousness, and the energy I see rising everyday, is that it's not hippy-ish or weird, it's real...we are on the cusp of something bigger and more different than any of us can image.

Think of the huge shift in society from the 50's to the 60's. HUGE. The average person in the fifties, with their crisp suit or housewives with hats, matching shoes, prim purses and gloves, would have laughed their butt off in disbelief or told youthat were loony if you told them how people would be in the 60's...long haired, bell bottom wearing, freely pot smoking and maybe even swapping spouses. I am not saying we should fight for the 60's again but I am saying there is a correlation between the standards and ideals in the fifties that came from marketing and advertising and the standards and ideals that we have now about our food system. We've been "sold" a way of eating that doesn't work for us, this advertising is brainwashing for their maximum profit not for the nourishment of the people. There is a freedom before us, if we continue to rise, connect, garden, grow our own food, gather with love and empowerment, that will transform our world. The cool thing is, that this time around, we can still shave our armpits.

When I think about the food revolution that we are up to causing, my energy comes back. I can set aside my resentment for the President. I shift my focus to the new and amazing relationships that are being created from this movement. Like my new friend Monica and her daughter Alicia, the 6 year old who is petitioning  the Girl Scouts to make NON GMO cookies, that I only met because of this movement. I get inspired by my kids who want to write letters to Monsanto's employees telling them what they are doing. My heart fills with joy and awe when I get calls from across the USA and even from other parts of the world, saying "We support you, keep going". Then I want to weep tears of gratitude, fulfillment and wonder at the amazing resilience and generosity of the human spirit.

Thank you to ALL of you who keep on keeping on. We are standing for Empowered Moms and Healthy Kids, no matter what.

Zen honeycutt

Please note: I do not know whose graphic this is, it was posted on Facebook and I just love it. If you know whose it is so I can credit them, I would appreciate it. My feeling that they just want it to be seen and I am thrilled to share it.