Tell General Mills: Remove Monsanto's toxic Roundup from children's food

An analysis released today by the Environmental Working Group's Children's Health Initiative found that 21 of General Mills' oat-based cereals and snacks were contaminated with glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup) and all but four products contained levels higher than what EWG scientists consider safe for children.¹ 

The petition to General Mills reads: "Remove all traces of the toxic pesticide glyphosate from your foods immediately." Add your name:

Right now, children are quietly ingesting harmful levels of Bayer-Monsanto's toxic, cancer-causing Roundup herbicide, and the family brand behind this is doing nothing to stop it. While General Mills denies its food is unsafe for children, millions of kids continue to eat these popular products. We must hold General Mills accountable and demand that it removes all glyphosate from its foods immediately. Tell General Mills: Protect children and public health and remove all cancer-causing Roundup in your foods. Click here to sign the petition. Roundup is the most widely used weed killer in the United States, with roughly 300 million pounds used on crops and lawns each year.2 Scientists have documented a link between the rise in glyphosate use and a corresponding rise in conditions including celiac disease, autism, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, obesity, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Parkinson's.3 In 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate "probably carcinogenic," and a recent study by the University of Washington concluded that exposure to glyphosate raises cancer risk by 41%.4 While Roundup is mainly used on so-called "Roundup-ready" genetically modified crops like corn and soy, glyphosate is also regularly sprayed on oats as a drying agent, allowing farmers to harvest the crop earlier.5 This toxic residue then ends up contaminating popular oat-containing foods produced by General Mills. In its analysis, the Environmental Working Group found that six Cheerios varieties and 14 Nature Valley products contained glyphosate residue – with some foods containing a lot.6 EWG considers glyphosate levels in foods over 160 parts per billion unsafe for children, yet the study found four to five times that level in some General Mills cereal and snacks that they analyzed.7 As countless children continue eating Cheerios and Nature Valley snacks contaminated with cancer-causing Roundup, General Mills continues to stick its head in the sand and deny their food is unsafe. Will you join us and demand that General Mills comes clean and removes all glyphosate residue from its food? Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/general-mills-roundup?t=9&akid=33035%2E3130208%2E5eBg9w - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Olga Naidenko and Alexis Temkin, "In New Round of Tests, Monsanto’s Weedkiller Still Contaminates Foods Marketed to Children," Environmental Working Group, June 12, 2019. Jennifer Sass, "Regulatory Failures = Superweeds and Glyphosate Cancers," Natural Resources Defense Council April 11, 2019. EcoWatch, "15 Health Problems Linked to Monsanto's Roundup," Jan. 23, 2015. Emily Dixon, "Common weed killer glyphosate increases cancer risk by 41%, study says," CNN, Feb. 15, 2019. Ibid. Ibid. Aimee Picchi, "Cheerios, Nature Valley cereals contain Roundup ingredient, study finds," CBS News, June 13, 2019. More Information  Cancer-Causing Ingredient in Weedkiller Found in Cheerios - U.S. News, June 12, 2019 Cheerios, Nature Valley cereals contain Roundup ingredient, study finds - CBS News, June 13, 2019

Ask Godiva what it is doing to fight child labor in cocoa

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Valentine's Day is a big deal for chocolate. So big of a deal, in fact, that Americans spend almost $2 billion on candy for Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire, one of the major producers of cocoa, on average earn $0.78 a day.

Not only is that not enough to buy a chocolate bar at the store, it's not even enough for a farmer and his family to get by.

This imbalance contributes to one of the darkest secrets of the chocolate industry: the fact that over 2 million children are still working in cocoa fields.

They're not just helping out on family farms. They're working dangerous jobs like spraying pesticides or wielding machetes.

Most major companies have shared detailed plans about what they are doing to address child labor in their supply chains. Most – but not all.

Tell Godiva you want to know what it is doing to fight child labor in cocoa.

Godiva has shared that it will source 100% sustainable cocoa by 2020. But it hasn't shared what it is doing to achieve this goal, how close it is to achieving its goal, or even what sustainable cocoa means. And it definitely has not shared what it is specifically doing to meaningfully address child labor.

So this Valentine's Day, we're asking you to put down that heart-shaped box of chocolates and stand up for child laborers and cocoa farmers. Join us in asking: Godiva, what are you doing to fight child labor in your supply chain?

Then share our video about child labor in chocolate to increase the pressure on Godiva.

- Caroline Chen, Social Justice Campaigns Manager, Green America

Click here to sign the following petition: 

Dear Ms. Young-Scrivner,

As someone who enjoys eating chocolate and sharing it with those I love on special occasions, I was disappointed to learn that Godiva does not share specific plans, timelines, and programs to ensure that your supply of cocoa is fully sustainable and free of child labor by 2020.

Throughout West Africa, cocoa farmers and their families live in poverty. To be truly sustainable, Godiva must be able to trace where its cocoa is coming from down to the farm level, and under what conditions it was grown. I urge Godiva to ensure that all the farmers that produce your cocoa are lifted out of poverty.

Additionally, forced child labor is a major problem on cocoa farms in West Africa. I strongly urge your company to purchase 100% of your cocoa certified by a third-party as being free of child labor. Additionally, you should establish an independent, community-based child labor monitoring and remediation system for all the farms that supply your cocoa. This will assure your customers that you do not rely on the exploitation of children to produce your products.

Finally. as you make these commitments, I encourage you to share your progress with the public through a corporate responsibility report on your website that makes your progress on farmer income, child labor, and environmental protection fully transparent.

Thank you for your time and attention to this message. I look forward to learning more about what Godiva is doing to ensure that your chocolate is sustainable, and does not rely on child labor.

Tell the Senate: Ban this extremely toxic brain-harming pesticide

The petition to the Senate reads: "Chlorpyrifos, the toxic insecticide that damages the developing brains of children and infants, has been banned for home use since 2001, yet millions of pounds are still sprayed on crops, threatening farmworkers, rural children and our food supply. Pass the 'Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act' to ban the use of chlorpyrifos in food." Add your name:

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, climate-denier Scott Pruitt and his polluter-friendly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused earlier this year to ban chlorpyrifos – the extremely toxic pesticide linked to a whole host of debilitating neurological disorders, long-term damage to children's brains and even cancer. Chlorpyrifos is so dangerous that the EPA banned the toxin for home use nearly two decades ago, yet Big Ag still sprays nearly 10 million pounds of the chemical on crops across the country, which poses a major health risk to farmworkers — many of whom are immigrants — and children in rural communities. Since the EPA would rather give handouts to the chemical industry than protect consumers, farmworkers and children, a group of Democratic senators have introduced the "Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act" to completely prohibit the use of chlorpyrifos in food. We must demand the Senate act immediately to pass this critical legislation. Tell the Senate: Ban toxic chlorpyrifos now. Click here to sign the petition. Chlorpyrifos is the most widely used insecticide in the world and belongs to the same family as sarin nerve gas.1 People who have been exposed to the chemical have experienced permanent changes in brain structure, loss of IQ, increased likelihood of children developing ADHD or other developmental and behavioral disorders, reduced lung function, asthma, and cancer.2 In 2015, President Obama's EPA proposed banning chlorpyrifos for all agricultural use, but earlier this year, Donald Trump's anti-science, pro-industry EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, well-known for denying climate change, reversed that decision, claiming the science behind the chemical's toxic effects were inconclusive.3 Media reports at the time suggest Dow Chemical, the major manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, played a significant role influencing Pruitt's decision.4 Activism to force lawmakers to more strictly regulate chlorpyrifos is working – but we can't stop now. This summer, CREDO, along with our allies at the Pesticide Action Network, Friends of the Earth and other organizations, delivered more than 167,000 petition signatures urging California Gov. Jerry Brown to ban this pesticide. In response, California regulators are drafting new rules for chlorpyrifos use.5 That's why we must now call on the Senate to pass this bill to protect the developing brains of small children, the health and safety of farmers and farmworkers, and our food supply from this dangerous and extremely toxic pesticide immediately. Tell the Senate: Ban toxic chlorpyrifos now. Click on this link to sign the petition. - Josh Nelson, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References Zoë Schlanger, "The US government is ignoring its own scientists’ warning that a Dow pesticide causes brain damage in children," Quartz, March 30, 2017. Pesticide Action Network, "Chlorpyrifos," accessed Aug. 29, 2017. Eric Lipton, "E.P.A. Chief, Rejecting Agency’s Science, Chooses Not to Ban Insecticide," The New York Times, March 29, 2017. Lorraine Chow, "EPA Chief Met With Dow Chemical CEO Before Deciding Not to Ban Toxic Pesticide," EcoWatch, June 28, 2017. The Associated Press, "California tightens rules on popular pesticide for farmers," Aug. 18, 2017.