WHO CONTROLS GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD?

        The field of genetically-modified food needs to be under the control of the people who will end up eating it, not the corporations who stand to gain millions of pounds from forcing it onto our tables. It is an uncharted area and those who stand to get rich by it should not be in the decision making of its suitability for human consumption.

This from SumOfUs:  

        A recent French study of Monsanto genetically-modified corn has turned up shocking and disturbing images of rats weighed down with disgusting tumors the size of golf balls. The two-year study found that rats fed Monsanto’s NK603 corn developed more tumors and severe diseases than a control group fed natural corn.

        France has twice banned the corn from its country, but twice has seen that ban overturned by the European Food Safety Authority, most recently in May. According to the EFSA, it is because "there is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment" to support a ban. But the results of this new study are too big to ignore, and with our help the EU might finally listen. Russia has already banned the product, and the European Union should be next in line to protect consumers.

Tell EU GMO Head Elisabeth Waigmann to support a ban of GMO NK603 corn.

         Monsanto and other GMO companies have an enormous amount of lobbying power, but through direct citizen-consumer action, we can get our own voices heard, and have an enormous impact. Speaking up with the combined power of our voices, members of SumOfUs.org are able to counterbalance some of the biggest corporations in the world. Together, we are building a healthier, safer world.

Thank you,

-Paul, Claiborne and the rest of us

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Further information:

Food and Chemical Toxicology: Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize, 19 September, 2012

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WORKERS BUY-OUT.

An Appeal from SumOfUs:

When the workers at a window and door factory in Chicago were told their factory was closing and they would lose their jobs, they decided that instead of letting the company's global investors determine their fate, they would raise the money to buy the factory and save their jobs.

But they can’t do it, even though they’ve put in a competitive bid on the factory. Why? Because the owner, Serious Energy, and its global investors Mesirow Financial, are in a rush to sell the factory to people who will sell it off for scrap instead.

We can help the workers save their jobs. Serious and Mesirow know pressure is mounting, which is why they are rushing to sell the factory off. If we weigh in today, the workers believe Serious and Mesirow will have to give them a fair shot at buying the factory and saving their jobs.

Stand with the factory workers in calling for Serious and Mesirow to discuss a fair deal that saves the factory and the workers’ jobs.

At the end of the day, this is about much more than saving one factory. This is a chance to showcase an innovative model of American manufacturing -- worker-owned cooperatives -- and deal another blow to the financial sector that relies on the failure of these companies to line their pockets. By saving this factory, we are helping to build a more just economy for all of us.

Thanks for joining us in fighting for good jobs,
Claiborne, Kaytee and the rest of us 

 Background story:

In February, workers at an energy efficient-window and door factory in Chicago were told that their plant -- owned by Serious Energy -- was about to be shut down, sliced up and sold off for parts.

The workers staged a factory occupation and got an agreement from Serious to delay the factory’s liquidation and give workers the opportunity to buy the plant themselves, with their newly-formed cooperative, New Era Windows. With no overhead for executive salaries, and the potential for contracts with the city of Chicago, which is gearing up for a big energy-efficiency campaign, New Era Windows was looking at a bright future as a worker-run factory.

But then, after months of stalling by Serious, the company suddenly announced on Sunday that all factory bids were due immediately, and that it wouldn’t accept New Era’s offer of $1.2 million -- instead, it asked for more money than it bought the factory for in 2009, and rigged the process to ensure that New Era didn’t have a chance.

These workers want a solution. They have been scraping money together to afford the factory and save their jobs. And they’ve fought like hell before -- back in 2008 they occupied their factory for six days and stood down their previous owner who attempted to fire 250 workers without severance pay.

Part of the pressure to sell is coming from Serious Energy’s owners, including Chicago-based Mesirow Financial. For Mesirow, selling the factory off to vultures means padding its profit by a couple percentage points. For the workers at New Era, the factory’s sale represents their livelihoods.

Stand with the workers at New Era Windows: Tell Serious Energy and Mesirow Financial to work with New Era Windows to find a reasonable solution.

Further Reading:

Workers seek arbitration to save Goose Island window factory, The Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2012
Workers vs. Investors: Chicago Window Factory in Danger of Liquidation, The Nation, 5 July 2012

SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

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