The weather has become chilly, making it the perfect time to grab a quick organic coffee or a leisurely coffee with interactive conversation and sharing of information with other citizens who are concerned about Monsanto’s proposed plans in our community.

This Organic Coffee & Conversation event will take place at San Giorgi’s Coffee, 6435 N. Thornydale Road, this Saturday, December 3, between 1 and 3 p.m. San Giorgi’s is an independent family owned coffee shop in northwest Tucson that not only offers organic and fair trade coffee and tea but also organic milk, coconut milk, or almond milk to add to your drinks.

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The Community Pushes Pima County to Delay a Vote on Monsanto Tax Incentives; What’s Coming Next?

by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

Headline and photo from the November 23 online version of the Arizona Daily Star

The people of Pima County emphatically told the Pima County Board of Supervisors at its board meeting on November 22 that they do not want multinational chemical corporation Monsanto in the Tucson area. A few hundred people attended the meeting, and many held yellow signs that read “Say NO to Monsanto.” There were more than three hours of statements from more than 50 speakers, and virtually everyone who spoke opposed Monsanto’s plans to build a facility in Avra Valley. The eclectic tidal wave of opposition persuaded the board to delay its vote on a tax incentive for Monsanto.

For more coverage of this story, see the Arizona Daily Star article, “Pima County Delays vote on Monsanto Tax Incentives,” and the KGUN 9 news segment, “Outcry Leads Pima Supervisors to Delay Monsanto Decision.”

Grassroots Power

At the meeting, a few children spoke out against the corporation. One woman described Monsanto as a Trojan horse, trying to give gifts now so Pima County would bring in the corporation and then Monsanto would destroy our community from within. Ida Drucilla “Dru” Heaton wore a lei in honor of her Hawaiian heritage and what the Hawaiian people have experienced at the hands of Monsanto.

The collective arguments against Monsanto melded beautifully together and pushed the board away from greenlighting a tax break for Monsanto. Instead, the board unanimously agreed to delay the vote until its meeting on February 21, 2017. The board also agreed that five open public meetings—one in each district—will take place about Monsanto and its proposed plans before that date.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have become the food issue of our time, yet most Americans continue to have big gaps in their understanding about these laboratory created food impostors.

If you wish there was a way that you could quickly learn the most important information you need to know about GMOs in an easy-to-understand way (and if you live in Southern Arizona), don’t miss the opportunity to hear me speak on “How to Shop and Eat Non-GMO (Even Without Mandatory Labeling!)” at the new Natural Grocers store at 5600 E. River Road in Tucson at 11 a.m. this Saturday, October 1, 2016.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

I am delighted to be a featured speaker during the Grand Opening of the new Natural Grocers natural food supermarket at 5600 E. River Road in Tucson this month.

On Tuesday, September 20, 2016, at 6 p.m., I will present “Going Against the Grain for Health: How to Make Food Your Best Medicine.” In this presentation, I’ll cover the health troubles caused by refined grains, whole grains, gluten grains, and genetically modified ingredients hidden in grain-based foods, and explain how to use this information to lose unwanted weight, reverse disease processes, and revitalize health. I’ll also give my answers to common questions I receive, such as “was wheat always not good for us, or has it become worse for our health in recent years?” and answer any other questions that you have.

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by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

When it comes to avoiding GMOs at the grocery store, Americans and Canadians are pretty much in the same boat. However, there are a few differences.

A shortened version of the information I gathered on this topic appeared in “How to Avoid GMOs at the Grocery Store” by Gail Johnson on Yahoo Canada.

Genetically modified foods entered the Canadian food system 20 years ago, yet most people don’t know they’ve been eating them because those foods aren’t labeled. That’s because mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods isn’t required in Canada (or in the United States) like it is in 64 other countries around the world. But even without mandatory labeling, there’s a growing movement of people who are concerned about genetically modified foods and want to avoid them.

Here I answer questions of interest to Canadians about the controversial issues surrounding GMOs, why there’s a movement of people who want to avoid them, and how people can learn to avoid GMOs when they shop.

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by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

(Opinion) – Are you appalled, outraged, or incensed that less than a week after mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) went into effect in Vermont, our country’s senators acted to preempt that law and prevent future state GMO labeling laws? Virtually everyone who knows even a few facts about the situation is.

Under the first-in-the-nation GMO labeling law to be enacted, consumers could easily determine whether the products they were considering buying were real foods or pseudo-foods, most of which are doused with probable cancer-causing pesticides. The Vermont law was working—many national companies had already clearly labeled their foods to comply with the law, and CocaCola products were being pulled off store shelves because they didn’t want to label them as containing GMOs.

But instead of letting the law in Vermont stand (or, better yet, make the Vermont law the standard for a national law, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders proposed in an amendment), 68 senators prostituted themselves, sold our country out to Big Money, and passed a nonsensical Senate bill that makes it impossible for the masses to look at a package and instantly determine whether GMOs are in the foods they’re buying. People are supposed to have a smart phone and take the time to scan a QR code on each product to get the information they want.

“The idea that people would need to walk around the grocery store scanning product codes just to find out what’s in the food they’re buying is ridiculous and unfair,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, who opposed the measure.

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by Melissa Diane Smith, author of Going Against GMOs

Just a quick reminder: This Tuesday evening, April 12^th, at The Loft Cinema is the not-to-be-missed, non-GMO food and film community event of the year in Tucson!

It starts at 6:00 p.m. with a Non-GMO Information & Food Fair in the patio: You can buy a non-GMO dinner from a food truck, do some farmer’s market shopping for fresh produce (don’t forget to bring a cooler!), and purchase non-GMO skin care products, snacks, desserts and a personally autographed copy of Going Against GMOs from local vendors at the fair.

That’s followed by the premiere screening in Tucson of Consumed, the first dramatic thriller feature film set in the world of GMOs at 7:30 p.m.

After the movie, farmer Anne Loftfield of High Energy Agriculture and Renee Kreager, owner and operator of Renee’s Organic Oven, will join me in a short post-film panel discussion covering effective ways to take action against GMOs. A written statement from Congressman Raul Grijalva (D) also will be read.

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