Big Food Goes Classified with the Transpacific Partnership

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Big Food is the multinational food and beverage industry with huge and concentrated market power.  Big Food would be bigger than ever with the TPP Transpacific Partnership, the first classified trade agreement in history.

The TPP is being fought by numerous environmental, trade, human rights and food safety groups among others.  Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are some of the elected officials leading the fight against President Obama and the TPP.  A Fast Track process led to TPP approval in committee on April 22 and soon faces a full Congressional vote (with no opportunity of amendment or filibuster under Fast Track).

As originally reported by Elizabeth Palmer of Sojourners in 2012, over 600 corporations have had access and input to the TPP,  whereas We the People and those who represent us have been kept in the dark by President Obama and a select few in Congress. A recent WikiLeaks document confirmed what many suspected about the purposes of TPP.  One example is that corporations would be able to sue governments for refusing food imports and taxpayers would bear fiscal responsibility for lawsuits. Potential litigation could even include potentially radioactively contaminated food and beverage from Japan during the on-going triple radioactive meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi.

The U.S. food alliances and corporations responsible for formulating  language in the TPP include Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Kraft (all three have established operations in Japan).

Here is the list of 90 corporate food insiders as reported by Sojourner:

Alliance of Western Milk Producers

Almond Board of California

American Butter Institute

American Crystal Sugar Company

American Frozen Food Institute

American Meat Institute

American Peanut Council

American Sugar Cane League of the U.S.A., Inc

Archer Daniels Midland

Association of Food Industries

Blue Diamond Growers

California Canning Peach Association

California Citrus Mutual

California Citrus Quality Council

California Grape and tree Fruit League

California Walnut Commission

Cargill

Corn Refiners Association

Corn Refiners Association., Inc.

DavisCo Foods International, Inc.

Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association

Florida Tomato Committee

Goetze Candy Company, Inc.

Imperial Sugar Company

International Dairy Foods Association

Kidd Brothers Farms

Klein Farms, National Association of Wheat Growers

Kraft Food

Land O’ Lakes, Inc.

McKee Foods Corporation

Meadow Brook Dairy Farms

Michigan Sugar Company

Morris Farms

Moss Farms Partnership

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

National Chicken Council

National Corn Growers Association

National Cotton Council of America

National Council of Farmer Cooperatives

National Milk Producers Federation

National Oilseed Processors Association

National Pork Producers Council

National Renderers Association, Inc.

Nichols Family Farms LLC, Nichols Farms Corp., Inc. LLC

Oklahoma Cotton Council

Organic Trade Association

Pepperidge Farm, Inc.

Peterson Farms

Porter Creek Vineyards

Producers Livestock Marketing Association

Progressive Farm Management

Seneca Foods Corporation

Sombke Farms

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.

Starbucks Coffee Company

Stoneyfield Farms

Sunkist Growers

Tampico Beverages, Inc.

The Hershey Company

The Wine Institute

U.S. Dairy Export Council

U.S. Grains Council

U.S. Meat Export Federation

U.S. Rice Producers Association

U.S. Wheat Associates

United Farmers USA, Inc.

USA Poultry & Egg Export Council

USA Rice Federation

Washington State Potato Commission

Wellman Farms, Inc.

Western Growers Association

Please sign and share the petition to block radioactive food imports from Japan here: goo.gl/GYHDOj 

 

Resources:

Sojourners http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/06/29/insider-list

Flush the TPP http://www.flushthetpp.org/tpp-corporate-insiders/

Law 360 http://www.law360.com/articles/641602/house-dem-fears-tpp-will-flood-us-with-unsafe-seafood

Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network (FFAN) http://www.FFAN.us

Press Release Stop Fast Track TPP, Say NO to Radioactive Food from Japan  http://goo.gl/MH308f

Yes Magazine explains WikiLeaks and the TPP: http://goo.gl/F5DrJ8

Special thanks to Mark Casabier and Elizabeth Mueller

Kimberly Roberson is a certified Nutrition Educator and volunteer Executive Director of Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network (FFAN).  She wrote “Silence Deafening, Fukushima Fallout..A Mother’s Response” and co produced RAPT ~ Radiation Awareness and Protection Talk.  She can be reached at www.NewHealthDesign.com

 

 

Kimberly Roberson
Kimberly Roberson is a certified Diet Counselor and Nutrition Educator and has served on the board of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals. She has worked at Sane/Freeze, CALPIRG and Greenpeace USA, and lobbied for environmental and natural health issues on the state and federal level, and at the Food and Drug Administration. Kimberly is the founder and Executive Director of the Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network. She is the author of "Silence Deafening, Fukushima Fallout...A Mother's Response", available in print and ebook at http://amzn.to/12Nu4jv and may be reached at www.NewHealthDesign.com