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Associate Program Manager, Central States Dairy Initiative

Green America (www.greenamerica.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a just and sustainable society by harnessing economic power for positive change. Our unique approach involves working with consumers, investors and businesses on both the supply and demand sides of the market to build and economy that prioritizes the well-being of people and our planet. Our workplace reflects our goal of creating a more cooperative, environmentally sound economy. We have a participatory decision-making process, which aims to build consensus within the departments and teams.

The Center for Sustainability Solutions at Green America supports several innovation networks, focused groups of stakeholders with the objective of making significant, industry-wide system change. The program team of the Center for Sustainability Solutions provides the strategic direction, stakeholder engagement program, facilitation and coordination services, and program management for participating individuals and companies in each working group.

The Central States Dairy market initiative is a specific application of our Innovation Network methodology to the supply chain that serves dairy production in the central midwest. Green America will be working with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the supply chain, from seed to cow, to develop an orderly, cost-effective transition to non-GMO feed for large dairies.

Reporting to the Manager, Central States Dairy, the Associate Project Manager will support a wide range of activities to refine the market initiative and translate it into action. Specific tasks may include: conducting landscape and targeted research to understand market dynamics or market opportunities, designing and evaluating research programs, supporting the planning and implementation of stakeholder meetings, coordinating the efforts of external subject matter experts, contributing to project reports, maintaining accurate meeting notes and project records, and other tasks.

Strong candidates for this position will have experience with and passion for developing robust, sustainable food systems. Demonstrated experience in agricultural extension, relationship development, stakeholder engagement and collaborative project work is highly relevant for this position. Experience with supply chain management, field research, dairy systems, or process consulting a significant advantage.

The position may involve occasional domestic travel (3-4 times per year). The position would be based in Washington, DC at the Green America offices or in Boston, MA. Remote work is not available for this position. This is a two-year, grant-funded position.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The overall objective of this role is to support and coordinate the implementation of Green America’s supply chain partnership in the midwest. As the Associate Program Manager, this person will work closely with the Manager, Central States Dairy, the Director of Sustainable Food Supply Chains, other Center and Green America staff, and working group participants.

Coordinate Central States Dairy market initiative:

  1. Support efforts to identify and invite participants to the Initiative.
  2. Support research efforts aimed at understanding non-GMO dairy market dynamics, mapping existing supply chain design, assessing agronomic models for non-GMO feed regimes, and identifying industry leaders to engage or follow. May involve on-line research, scheduling and conducting interviews by telephone.
  3. Participate in outreach to farmers, growers, policy makers, and other key stakeholders.
  4. Establish professional working relationships with key players in the network.<
  5. Provide administrative support the Central States Dairy Design Team (support meeting planning and scheduling and ensure Design Team notes are taken, distributed and filed)
  6. Track project progress against goals and timelines using work management software.
  7. Participate in the creation of accurate, high quality deliverables.
  8. Maintain appropriate project confidentiality and manage proprietary information with care.

Participate in activities of Center for Sustainability Solutions:

  1. Attend and contribute to Center meetings.
  2. Attend and contribute to Green America Staff meetings and processes.
  3. Regular reporting to Manager, Central States Dairy and Director, Sustainable Food Supply Chains. Updates to the Center Director or other staff as needed.
  4. Keep accurate records of time and expenses for client billing purposes.

You will be a good fit for this position if:

  • You believe passionately in the importance of making positive changes to the agricultural system.
  • You have strong stakeholder engagement skills.
  • You have excellent communication skills (written and spoken).
  • You understand the positive impact that a large corporate supply chain can have, and you are eager to help make changes within it.
  • You understand that system change is hard and you are eager to work with all willing partners to make progress.
  • You have urgency to get things done, and you also understand that sometimes change is neither linear nor immediately obvious. You are comfortable with uncertainty.
  • You are comfortable working in an environment with many remote stakeholders.
  • You can manage multiple demands with a cool head and poise.
  • You have a growth mindset and see every situation as an opportunity to learn.
  • You use your resourcefulness to find creative solutions.
  • You like a good laugh. You take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.

Qualified candidates will have:

  • At least two (2) years of experience in program management, agricultural program management or extension, management consulting or network coordination.
  • Bachelor's Degree
  • Key skills:
    • Research skills to effectively and efficiently complete complex research tasks and synthesize findings (e.g. assess relationship between agronomic practices for soil health
    • Ability to earn trust of farmers and extension services providersExcellent soft skills around relationship management, distributed and shared leadership, and creative problem solving (essential)
    • Confidence and poise when working with senior corporate leadership
    • Ability to professionally represent market initiative to a diverse set of stakeholders
    • Demonstrated written communications and marketing skills
    • Strong work ethic and organizational skills (work accurately to deadlines)
    • Flexibility to enable working effectively in a highly collaborative environment

Knowledge:

  • Working knowledge of dairy policy or operations; soil science, agronomy, or farming; industrial food supply chains; or non-GMO advocacy (highly desirable)
  • Demonstrated familiarity with current and emerging trends in the agriculture sector, sustainability metrics or measurement, or CSR (desirable).
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite and experience with customer relationship management processes and tools. (essential)
  • Familiarity with Zoho or other CRM; experience with Wrike or other comparable work management platform. (desirable)

Send cover letter and resume to CentralStatesDairy@greenamerica.org or to Green America, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006.

No calls, please.

Green America is an equal opportunity employer.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we will not respond to every application we receive. If we wish to contact you for an interview you will hear from us by phone or email.

5 Tips to Jump-Start a Plant-Based Diet

So you’ve realized that a diet free from animal products is better for the planet, your health, and your wallet, not to mention it can be enjoyable and it doesn’t have to be hard? Great! Now you're ready for a plant-based diet.

Before you embark on a new way of eating, try these tips to make it as smooth a transition as possible. If you follow these, you will have a much easier time sticking to a vegan or vegetarian diet, but remember: the goal is simply to reduce dollars spent on animal products. Slip-ups in your diet aren’t a big deal. No one’s perfect and you’re new at this!

1. Start your Plant-Based Diet Slowly 

If you’re currently eating a diet that includes meat, dairy, eggs, and other animal products, going directly to a vegan diet will be a huge shift from what you’re used to. Starting out with a vegetarian diet or even just giving up one kind of meat at a time (for example, beef this month, chicken next month) will help you transition easily.

If you’re currently vegetarian and looking to begin a vegan diet, you might begin by eating vegan only when you cook at home, one day a week, or on the weekends. You can learn what kinds of plant-based meals you like during these periods and then use them as you expand your vegan diet into the rest of the week!

Replacing every product in your kitchen (condiments, dressings, etc.) with a plant-based version can be costly, and will contribute to food waste. A better idea would be to replace non-vegan items as they run out with their vegan counterparts. This will make it an easier transition both financially and mentally.

Above all, be forgiving and kind to yourself. You are trying your best for yourself and the planet. Progress is not always linear and if you keep at it, you will get there!

2. Make a meal plan and shopping list

To get meal inspiration, look on the internet or in cookbooks for some meat-free recipes that appeal to you. For healthy, allergy-friendly and delicious plant-based recipes try Minimalist Baker, Oh She Glows, and Veganuary. You can write down ingredients from these recipes and create a shopping list.

If you prefer to go a simpler route, just make a shopping list of some veggies you like, tofu or tempeh, and your favorite beans, legumes and nuts. Add a whole grain and a healthy oil like organic coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil.

You can mix and match these ingredients to create simple grain bowls topped with roasted veggies, fresh greens, and tahini or curry sauce. Pasta dishes are another great way to tie in a bunch of colorful veggies without using a bunch of dishes. Soups and salads are also simple, tasty, and healthy options.

3. Shop smart 

A plant-based diet can be far more cost-effective than one containing animal products. If you know how to shop properly, you’ll wind up saving tons on groceries. Here’s how:

  • Buy from bulk bins if your store has them
  • Stock up on staples like lentils, beans, grains and rice
  • Shop at the farmers market and shop seasonally whenever possible
  • Cook and prepare things yourself as much as possible (more processing = higher prices)
  • Grow your own food (start a Climate Victory Garden!)

4. Always bring a plant-based snack

While it’s likely that there will be plant-based options (or simple modifications you can make to menu items) there will inevitably be times when you are away from home without a vegan option. Always having a snack or two in your car or bag allows you to avoid being hungry in situations where there is no plant-based snack or meal. Some great options are nuts, fruit, popcorn, and crackers with peanut butter or hummus.

5. Be kind to others

Just like you want people to respect your decision to eat ethically, going plant-based will be a lot more enjoyable if you withhold judgment. Everyone is in a different place in their life when it comes to living sustainably. Have patience and inform other people about the environmental benefits of a meat-free diet when they show curiosity or inquire. Preaching will only make people defensive. The best way to encourage others to eat better for the planet and themselves is to focus on your own delicious, nourishing food and how great it makes you feel. Being such a great example, you’ll be sure to inspire others.

The Benefits of Vegetarian Diets: 5 Reasons to Go Veg

by Jamie Landa, Food Campaigns Intern

One of the most important things we can do as consumers to lessen our impact on the climate is to reduce the amount of animal products we eat. Raising animals for food produces over 51 percent of global greenhouse gas emission in addition to using more water and creating more pollution than growing plants.

Going vegan or vegetarian can seem inconvenient, expensive, and just plain not-fun. But it doesn't have to be—it can be easier and more enjoyable than you think. In fact, there are many benefits of vegetarian diets that can make it feel like a daily accomplishment for both people and planet.

Cutting down on animal products doesn’t mean you need to adopt a label. Holding yourself to a standard like veganism or vegetarianism can mean setting yourself up for failure. It helps to go into a meat-free life with the attitude that nobody’s perfect and the less animal products you consume, the better for the Earth. And if you’d like a label that gives you some wiggle room, you can always be a reducetarian.

Once you get past the fear that you need to be perfect, eating a plant-based diet can be fun and easy. Here’s 5 reasons why it’s exciting to ditch animal products from your diet:

Minimalist-Baker.png

1. Try new things 

It’s easy to get stuck in a food rut, we all do it. Cooking and ordering the same dishes day after day can become a bore. Cutting out meat means changing up your diet and trying interesting new restaurants and meals.

Whether it means learning to cook with plant-based proteins like tofu and tempeh or trying that new vegan spot in town, going vegetarian/vegan continually exposes you to new foods. Even better, these new options can be healthy, satisfying, and just as flavorful.

2. Get healthy 

According to the American Heart Association, vegetarians have a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain kinds of cancer than meat-eaters. Some people fear that they will struggle to get enough protein on a vegetarian or vegan diet, but there are plenty of plant-based protein sources including nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, soy, quinoa, hemp, and vegetables. Furthermore, this worry over vegans’ protein levels isn't necessary since many people may be getting too much protein.

A diet free of animal products can also result in weight loss. Provided you steer clear of vegan junk food, (Oreos are accidentally vegan) a diet rich in greens, colorful vegetables, and whole grains will keep you fit and full of energy!

Organic-Authority.png

3. Save money 

Want to save over $700 dollars a year on food? Reducing the meat in your diet can get you there. Eating a vegan or vegetarian diet often is looked at as overpriced and designated for a privileged few. The reality is that if you shop consciously, you can end up saving money on a meat-free meal plan. A diet focused on whole and minimally processed foods is often the most economical. In-season vegetables and fruits as well as grains, nuts, and seeds can be found at very low prices compared with animal products and prepared foods.

4. Stop the guilt

Factory farmed animals often suffer prematurely short lives in terrible conditions. To make the most profit, factory farms confine large numbers of animals into small spaces, restricting their movement. This also creates unclean conditions in which animals can easily get sick.

To prevent this, large amounts of antibiotics are administered regularly. The livestock industry uses 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics annually. This overuse of antibiotics has led to antibiotic resistance in humans as well as the development of drug-resistant “superbugs.” Large chains like Starbucks use milk and meat sourced from factory farms, making it difficult to avoid supporting these operations unless you buy items free of animal products.

Giving up animal products means you no longer are using your money to support animal cruelty, human health damage, and environmental harm. Being able to enjoy your meals guilt-free makes them so much more enjoyable!

MindBodyGreen.png

5. Eat delicious food 

There are so many great vegetarian/vegan recipes out there. Check out all the recipe links found in the captions of the tasty-looking photos in this post. More great recipes for yummy vegetarian/vegan meals can be found at Minimalist Baker, Organic Authority, and MindBodyGreen. Happy cooking!

5 Everyday Products that May Have Lurking Asbestos

As early as the 1930s and 1940s, doctors confirmed that asbestos was causing serious illnesses among factory workers who handled the heat-resistant mineral. But that did not stop companies from continuing to use the material in building construction and household items.

Up until the late-1970s, asbestos was used in products to help you cook your food, get ready in the morning and even grow the plants in your garden. But it wasn’t until 1989 that the EPA banned asbestos and created a timeline for phasing it out. In 1991 that ban was overturned by a federal appeals court in New Orleans, making the substance legal in limited uses today. Although regulations regarding asbestos use are much tighter today than they were 40 or 50 years ago, the dangerous material may still be in your home.

All forms of asbestos can cause serious illnesses like asbestosis, mesothelioma, and ovarian, lung, or laryngeal cancers, though they may take decades after exposure to develop. If you do find items in your home that you think might be contaminated, don’t try to remove them on your own. Make sure to have a licensed professional remove the asbestos for you. Searching "asbestos removal" on a search engine should give you local results.

5 Everyday Products that May Have Asbestos

1. Crock Pots

Crock pots made prior to the mid-1970s contained asbestos, both as an insulator found in the lining between the inner and outer pots and around the power cord to help prevent electrical fires. Due to its excellent insulation abilities, crocidolite asbestos (also known as blue asbestos), was likely used as the insulation for the cords, mainly because the products would be plugged in for long periods of time.

2. Home Appliances

Asbestos wasn’t just in the kitchen. You could find asbestos-laden items all over the house, including hair dryers, ironing board covers and popcorn poppers. In the case of hair dryers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission called some of the biggest hair dryer manufacturers together to get those containing asbestos off shelves and out of homes. Unfortunately, a voluntary recall in 1979 only recovered a fraction of the 18 million affected dryers sold.

3. Toys

In 2015, CNN reported that asbestos was found in several boxes of crayons and two toy crime lab kits tested by a lab hired by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Action Fund. In each case, the toys were produced in China and imported to the US. This wasn’t the first time the mineral has been found in these toys. Similar tests in 2000 found traces of asbestos in crayons, and a 2007 test by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization found the substance in toy fingerprint exam kits.

4. Vermiculite Insulation (Zonolite)

Vermiculite is a lightweight and fire-resistant mineral that can expand between 8-30 times its size when exposed to high heat. For that reason, it found its way into attics, walls and other insulated areas. However, from 1919-1990, about 70 percent of the vermiculite sold in the U.S. was mined near Libby, MT, and was contaminated with asbestos. If you have vermiculite insulation in your home (usually sold by the brand name Zonolite), you can assume asbestos is there too.

5. Potting Soil

Vermiculite found in potting soil is great for seedlings because it absorbs water and helps retain moisture. It’s also inert, which helps protect seedlings from fungus and other killers. The problem is that the vermiculite used in some soils was also mined in Libby, MT, where asbestos contamination took place. Today’s vermiculite is much safer to use, though some gardeners now also use perlite, which has many of the same qualities but retains air and offers better drainage.

Asbestos has largely been removed from our daily lives in favor of much safer alternatives, though the mineral has still not been banned in the U.S. With that said, you may not have to look as hard as you think to find an asbestos-containing product in your home, and perhaps even find it in something you use every day.
 

About the author:

Charles MacGregor is a health advocate with the Mesothelioma.com working to spread awareness about the disease and advocate for a ban of asbestos in the United States.

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Planned Giving with Green America

You can help grow Green America’s work for generations to come with Planned Giving.

Planned giving, either through one’s will or a financial instrument, is a way to ensure that our work together for a more just and sustainable society continues into the future.

 

Include Green America in your will. 

In your will, you may leave a specific amount or designate a certain percentage of your assets to Green America. You can also indicate assets of a particular type or reserve a portion of your estate that remains after taxes and expenses are paid. The following bequest language can serve as a guide for including Green America in your will:

  • “I hereby bequeath to Green America, a non-profit corporation, headquartered in Washington, DC, and with a tax identification number 52-1660746, __________ (insert percentage of estate or dollar amount) to be used for general purposes as determined by the Board of Directors."

Also, Green America has recently partnered with FreeWill to give all of our supporters a free and easy way to make a legally valid will in 25 minutes or less. Making a will is one of the best ways to support the people you love and the causes you care about the most. Many people like to include a gift to Green America to be an important part of the transformation to a socially just and environmentally sustainable nation.

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Designate Green America as a beneficiary. 

Your life insurance, IRA, Donor Advised Fund, retirement plans, and some bank accounts allow you to name multiple beneficiaries. You can designate Green America as a full or partial beneficiary of your policies and accounts. 

Green America's Legacy Circle

Please let us know if you have made a planned gift to Green America so we can thank you now for your legacy gift and invite you to join our Legacy Circle!  You can choose to remain anonymous, and we always respect that choice. Legacy Circle members receive special updates, invitations to special events and webinars on social justice and sustainability topics, and recognition (with your permission) as a Legacy Circle member in our annual thank you ad published in our Green American magazine.

 

leave a legacy with Green America

 

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Making a stock gift is quite simple.  Below are the details your broker will need in order to make the stock transfer. 

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Reactions swift after Trump's withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord

The reaction to President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement was swift Thursday evening.

In a press conference at the White House today, President Donald Trump announced that, although the U.S. will no longer participate in the accord, it will begin negotiations to possibly re-enter the Paris Agreement or work on a new accord with terms that he believes are more fair to the United States.

"So we are getting out but we are starting to negotiate and we’ll see if we can make a deal that’s fair," Trump said.

Reactions from politicians, business leaders and environmental organizations came quickly across social media.

 

Politicians

President Barack Obama

Obama issued a statement saying he believes the U.S. should be at the "front of the pack," leading the remaining nations that will "reap the benefits."

"A year and a half ago, the world came together in Paris around the first-ever global agreement to set the world on a low-carbon course and protect the world we leave to our children," Obama said.

He expressed confidence in Americans to continue to lead the way to protect the environment.

"But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got," Obama said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan

"The Paris climate agreement was simply a raw deal for America," said Ryan. "Signed by President Obama without Senate ratification, it would have driven up the cost of energy, hitting middle-class and low-income Americans the hardest. In order to unleash the power of the American economy, our government must encourage production of American energy. I commend President Trump for fulfilling his commitment to the American people and withdrawing from this bad deal."

Hillary Clinton

 

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Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton

A historic mistake. The world is moving forward together on climate change. Paris withdrawal leaves American workers & families behind.

 

 

Former Secretary of State John Kerry

Kerry wrote a Facebook post and called the move to withdraw from the Paris agreement a "big mistake" that "isolates the United States after we had united the world."

"The President who promised 'America First' has taken a self-destructive step that puts our nation last," Kerry said. "This is an unprecedented forfeiture of American leadership which will cost us influence, cost us jobs, and invite other countries to walk away from solving humanity’s most existential crisis."

 

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

"I applaud President Trump and his administration for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama Administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs," said McConnell. "President Obama made commitments in this deal based off a costly power plan that we knew at the time was on shaky legal ground. By withdrawing from this unattainable mandate, President Trump has reiterated his commitment to protecting middle class families across the country and workers throughout coal country from higher energy prices and potential job loss. Today’s move builds on action Congress took to rebuff then-President Obama’s regulatory rampage, which put American jobs at risk. When the previous administration signed America up for this unattainable mandate, we made it clear we would fight this unilateral action any way we could, and this day could not have happened soon enough. President Trump has once again put families and jobs ahead of left-wing ideology and should be commended for his action."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

"President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement is a devastating failure of historic proportions," said Schumer. "Future generations will look back on President Trump’s decision as one of the worst policy moves made in the 21st century because of the huge damage to our economy, our environment and our geopolitical standing. Pulling out of the Paris agreement doesn’t put America first, it puts America last in recognizing science, in being a world leader and protecting our own shore line, our economy and our planet. It’s now crystal clear President Trump is comfortable both ceding the moral high ground and the economic upper hand to countries like China, and endangering the future of our planet.

Former Vice President Al Gore

Gore called the decision an "indefensible action" that "undermines America’s standing in the world and threatens to damage humanity’s ability to solve the climate crisis in time."

"But make no mistake: if President Trump won’t lead, the American people will," Gore said. He called on "civic leaders, mayors, governors, CEOs, investors and the majority of the business community" to take up the challenge.

"We are in the middle of a clean energy revolution that no single person or group can stop," Gore said. "President Trump’s decision is profoundly in conflict with what the majority of Americans want from our president; but no matter what he does, we will ensure that our inevitable transition to a clean energy economy continues."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Cuomo called the decision "reckless," adding that it will have "devastating repercussions" for the planet.

"New York State is committed to meeting the standards set forth in the Paris Accord regardless of Washington's irresponsible actions," Cuomo said. "We will not ignore the science and reality of climate change, which is why I am also signing an Executive Order confirming New York's leadership role in protecting our citizens, our environment, and our planet."

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

"Americans are not walking away from the Paris Climate Agreement. Just the opposite – we are forging ahead... As a sign of our commitment, Bloomberg Philanthropies, in partnership with others, will make up the approximately $15 million in funding that the U.N.’s Climate Secretariat stands to lose from Washington. Americans will honor and fulfill the Paris Agreement by leading from the bottom up – and there isn’t anything Washington can do to stop us.”

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh

Walsh called the move to withdraw from the Paris agreement "irresponsible" and "a setback."

"This damages our nation's reputation as an international leader and puts future generations at risk to the threat of climate change," he said. "Boston will not standby given what's at stake."

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto

 

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bill peduto @billpeduto

As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future. https://twitter.com/presssec/status/870367903337644032 …

 

 

California Gov. Jerry Brown

The governor of California said Trump has "chosen the wrong course."

"California will resist this misguided and insane course of action," said Brown. "Trump is AWOL but California is on the field, ready for battle."

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

The governor of Washington said Trump's announcement will leave "full responsibility of climate action" to states and cities.

"While the president’s actions are a shameful rebuke to the work needed to protect our planet for our children and grandchildren, states have been and will continue to step up," said Inslee.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio

The mayor of New York City also vowed to commit to the Paris climate agreement, saying New Yorkers are "already experiencing hotter summers, more powerful storms and rising seats, which disproportionately affect already vulnerable communities."

"President Trump can turn his back on the world, but the world cannot ignore the very real threat of climate change," de Blasio said. "This decision is an immoral assault on the public health, safety and security of everyone on this planet."

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker

"While the decision by the Trump-Pence Administration to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement is disappointing, the Commonwealth is committed to working with our partners around the nation and world to reduce carbon emissions," said Baker. "Despite today’s announcement, Massachusetts is aggressively working to exceed the goals of the Paris Agreement on the state level, while growing our economy through clean energy innovation and environmental stewardship. In Massachusetts and around the world, climate change is a shared reality and our ability to rise and respond to this challenge will shape future generations."

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin

"While I believe that the United States and the world should continue to pursue a cleaner energy future, I do not believe that the Paris Agreement ensures a balance between our environment and the economy," said Manchin. "To find that balance, we should seek agreements that prioritize the protection of the American consumer as well as energy-producing states like West Virginia, while also incentivizing the development of advanced fossil energy technologies."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz

 

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Ted Cruz @tedcruz

I commend @POTUS for putting American jobs first. This is great news for the TX economy & for hardworking Americans https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage/posts/10155243015687464 …

 

 

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul

 

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Senator Rand Paul @RandPaul

This action by @realDonaldTrump is great news for the economy and could save as many as 6 million U.S. jobs.

 

 

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy

 

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Chris Murphy @ChrisMurphyCT

Dear planet, we're sorry. Please just hang on for three and a half more years and we'll fix this. We promise.

 

 

Maine Sen. Susan Collins

 

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Sen. Susan Collins @SenatorCollins

Climate change requires a global approach. I'm disappointed in the President's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement 

 

 

 

Business Leaders and Businesses

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

 

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook

 

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Tim Cook @tim_cook

Decision to withdraw from the  was wrong for our planet. Apple is committed to fight climate change and we will never waver.

 

 

CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk

 

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Elon Musk @elonmusk

Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.

 

 

Chairman and CEO of General Electric Jeff Immelt

 

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Jeff Immelt @JeffImmelt

Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government.

 

 

Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff

 

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Marc Benioff @Benioff

Deeply disappointed by President's decision to withdraw from ParisAgreement. We will double our efforts to fight climate change.

 

 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

 

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Sundar Pichai @sundarpichai

Disappointed with today’s decision. Google will keep working hard for a cleaner, more prosperous future for all.

 

 

Microsoft

"We believe that climate change is an urgent issue that demands global action," said Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith. "We remain steadfastly committed to the sustainability, carbon and energy goals that we have set as a company. Our experience shows us that these investments and innovations are good for our planet, our company, our customers and the economy. While we are disappointed that the White House has chosen to exit the Paris Agreement, we will continue our work to support a resilient, sustainable low-carbon future for everyone on the planet."

Mars Incorporated

"Mars stands by the Paris Climate Agreement," said Mars CEO Grant Reid. "We remain committed to work with all governments and our supply chain partners around the world to achieve the carbon reduction targets the planet needs."

Shell

 

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Shell Oil Company @Shell_US

Our support for the  is well known. We will continue to do our part providing more & cleaner energy. http://go.shell.com/2rpFagR 

Our work to address climate change - Shell Sustainability Report 2016

A greater role for natural gas; Government-led carbon pricing mechanisms; Carbon capture and storage; Low-carbon energy and biofuels

reports.shell.com

 

 

Foreign entities

France, Germany and Italy

In a joint statement, the heads of state for France, Germany and Italy said they "take not with regret the decision by the United States of America to withdraw from the universal agreement on climate change."

"The Paris Agreement remains a cornerstone in the cooperation between our countries, for effectively and timely tackling climate change and for implementing the 2030 Agenda sustainable development goals," the statement read. "We deem the momentum generated in Paris in December 2015 irreversible and we firmly believe that the Paris Agreement cannot be renegotiated, since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economies."

The United Nations

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general of the U.N., said the decision to withdraw is a "major disappointment for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote global security" and that it is "crucial that the United States remains a leader on environmental issues."

"The Paris Agreement was adopted by all the world’s nations in 2015 because they recognize the immense harm that climate change is already causing and the enormous opportunity that climate action presents," Dujarric said. "It offers a meaningful yet flexible framework for action by all countries."

 

Environmental groups

Green America

In a statement, nonprofit Green America denounced the decision to reject the Paris Climate Agreement.

"This move is exactly the wrong direction for our nation and world," said Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director. "There is tremendous urgency –- for the sake of our communities, human health, the environment, and the economy –- to expedite the transition to a clean energy economy that works for everyone. Trump’s decision to support the fossil fuel industry over the interest of people and the planet is an historic failure."

 

 

Green America @GreenAmerica

194 countries
1000s of climate scientists
100s of business leaders
vs. Trump’s climate deniers. 

 

 

Environment Entrepreneurs

Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement will hurt American workers and businesses, said Environment Entrepreneurs, which describes itself on its website as a nonpartisan group of business owners, investors and others who advocate for policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment.

"President Trump is ceding American leadership and sending a message to clean energy investors to look elsewhere for opportunities," said Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs. "It will inflict real financial pain on millions of American workers who earn their paychecks every day in the clean energy and clean transportation sectors. This action ignores strong public support for the agreement voiced by American businesses, big and small, in every state and every industry."

Sierra Club

The Sierra Club, a New York City-based nonprofit, said that generations from now Americans will look back at Trump’s decision as “one of the most ignorant and dangerous actions ever taken by any President.”

“Trump’s decision to ignore the vast majority of the American public and the scientific community will harm our country, costing us lives, jobs and our role as a world leader,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “Trump has isolated our country on the world stage, ceding our leadership position and our economic advantage on clean energy to India and China, and justifying it all by chanting a slogan from a baseball hat.

Socially Responsible Mutual Funds That Empower Women

Many socially responsible mutual funds screen for diversity and/or equal employment opportunity (EEO). In fact, in US SIF's Mutual Fund Performance Chart (the association for socially responsible investment professionals and institutions), there are 17 mutual fund companies that have funds that either seek investments with positive impacts in this area, or seek to avoid poor performers.

Some companies, however, are taking a more proactive approach. The companies listed below stand out as the mutual funds most directly involved in women’s empowerment. These remarks are intended to give readers an idea of each company’s special take on women’s diversity, but are not an exhaustive description of a company’s policies. Company Web sites and prospectuses offer additional information.

Calvert Investments

Engaged in socially responsible investing (SRI) since 1982, Calvert has also been committed to promoting diversity and women’s empowerment for many years. Calvert’s Women's Principles, which define a global code of conduct on empowering women and date back to 2004, were used as the basis for the UN's Women's Empowerment Principles, which came out in March 2010. Calvert also developed model charter language on board diversity that companies can use to “formalize their commitment to an independent and inclusive board.”

Calvert advocates for women’s empowerment through actively voting its proxies, bringing shareholder resolutions and conducting dialogues with corporate leadership. In 2010, for example, Calvert filed 14 resolutions on diversity and women in the workplace, resulting in eight companies changing their board of directors selection criteria to include race and gender diversity, as noted in its 2010 Shareholder Advocacy Report.

For more information, visit http://www.calvert.com/sri-women.html.

Domini Social Investments

Domini’s investment standards include a commitment to diversity in the workplace, which states in part, “ We therefore look for companies that have substantial representation of women and minorities among management-level positions, in particular among their senior line executives; companies that have created a notably open work environment for minority groups—for example, for gay and lesbian employees; and companies with strong programs for training on sexual harassment and respect for diversity. Conversely, we view with concern companies that have a record of diversity-related controversies and regulatory sanctions, including those related to sexual harassment and discrimination.”

Domini’s Proxy Voting Guidelines also state that the company will vote against boards of trustees that do not include women or people of color.

Domini’s commitment to diversity can be found here; Domini investment standards can be found here, and Domini Proxy Voting Guidelines are here.

Neuberger Berman 

The “Social Investment Guidelines” for the NB Socially Responsive Fund include, in part, the following statement on diversity: “ The Fund strives to invest in companies that are leaders in promoting diversity in the workplace. Among other things, it will look for companies that: promote women and people of color into senior line positions; appoint women and people of color to their boards of directors; offer diversity training and support groups; purchase goods and services from women- and minority-owned firms; and have implemented innovative hiring, training, or other programs for women, people of color, and/or the disabled, or otherwise have a superior reputation in the area of diversity. The Fund attempts to avoid companies with recent discrimination lawsuits related to gender, race, disability, or sexual orientation….” It also notes, “While the Fund encourages companies to have diverse boards of directors and senior management, the absence of women and minorities in these positions does not warrant a company’s exclusion from the Fund.”

For more information, call 800/223-6448 or click: https://www.nb.com/

Parnassus

“For all our Parnassus Funds, we consider diversity, including minority and women’s representation at different levels in the company, and equal opportunity, which includes policies and practice towards employees from underrepresented groups, including women, racial minorities, GLBT, and religious groups,” says Nancy Reyes, director of advisor relations at Parnassus Investments. “We fully support attention that women in the workplace are getting in the U.S. and abroad in the press and proxy season. However, we also think that a wider lens on the issue of diversity is important to our research.”

In information on proxy-voting policies, Parnassus notes, “We will vote for resolutions to improve the representation of women and ethnic minorities in the workforce, particularly at the executive level. We will also vote for proposals to issue reports on a company’s efforts to increase diversity and to assure that all women and ethnic minorities are paid comparably with their counterparts.”

The Statement of Additional Information for Parnassus Funds dated May 1, 2010, is available here. For more information, go here.

Pax World Investments 

Pax World has been a key player in promoting women’s empowerment and diversity through investing. Recently, Pax World published a paper on “Gender Equality as an Investment Concept,” by Joe Keefe, president & CEO of Pax World. In the report, Keefe writes about the “mounting evidence that gender diversity has positive financial consequences.”

In October of 2007, Pax World bought the Women’s Equity Fund, and later renamed it the Pax World Global Women’s Equality Fund (PXWEX). It is uniquely focused on investing in companies that are “global leaders in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.” In May of 2010, Pax World reconfigured and relaunched the fund, “making it more global and imposing higher standards,” according to the company. Pax World is also active in voting proxies, filing shareholder resolutions and conducting corporate dialogues to promote corporate diversity and women’s empowerment.

For more information, go here.

Praxis Mutual Funds

Praxis Mutual Funds (formerly MMA Praxis), managed by Everence Capital Management, don’t have a diversity screen per se. “But are we concerned about these issues? Yes,” says Mark Regier, director of stewardship investing at Everence Financial. Praxis reviews a company’s financial strengths as well as its ability to reflect certain core social values, such as “respecting the dignity and value of all people” and “demonstrating a concern for justice in a global society,” notes the mutual fund prospectus.

Regier adds that Praxis has taken on some challenges related to women’s empowerment in that it is pursuing shareholder actions against practices of modern slavery, including human trafficking. For example, last year Praxis participated in a shareholder dialogue with global hotel chain Wyndham Hotels to improve training and procedures to protect people from human trafficking on hotel grounds. Praxis was also involved in a shareholder dialogue that recently lead to Delta Air Lines becoming the first US airline to sign the tourism Code of Conduct, known as “The Code,” an initiative done in collaboration with ECPAT International that aims at protecting children (often girls) from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism.

For more information, click here.

Walden Asset Management

Walden’s investment approach is to “work with clients to prioritize their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns and to translate them into individually tailored investment guidelines.” Strengths Walden would look for in a company would include strong equal employment opportunity programs and policies, diverse representation in management and on boards of directors and “above-average employment policies encompassing benefits, work-life,” according to a summary of its screening procedures. At the same time, concerns would include a history of systemic discrimination, among other things. Walden is also active in shareholder engagement initiatives, including advocating for inclusive non-discrimination policies.

For more information on shareholder engagement, call 800/282-8782, x.7050, or click here:

http://www.waldenassetmgmt.com/social/action/library/SummResChart_Summ10.pdf http://www.waldenassetmgmt.com/social/action/library/WaldenSummer5.pdf http://www.waldenassetmgmt.com/social/action/library/resolutions08.pdf

To FERC: Oppose Pipeline Under the Potomac

Dear Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,  

Green America, with outreach to 200,000 individual members and 3,000 business members, is writing to comment on the proposed Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, Docket number CP17-80-000.  Based on our review of the proposed project, and the risks that it poses to drinking water for people throughout the National Capital Region as well as threats to the natural environment, air quality, and local landowners and businesses, Green America strongly urges FERC to reject this project. 

Green America is concerned that FERC is only assessing the TransCanada/ Columbia Gas portion of a much larger project that is on both sides of the Potomac River. The pipeline needs to be assessed in full across all the affected states. FERC should assess the diverse impacts of the entire pipeline, including a full environmental impact statement, with public hearings. 

The potential harms of this project are alarming: 

1. Leakage to Groundwater Supply 

The geology of the pipeline’s path is such that any leaks from construction or use of the pipeline could be devastating to the water sources of the local population. The pipeline would sit on top of a type of bedrock called Karst, which is highly porous and would allow discharges to enter groundwater supplies. Additionally, the area is prone to sinkholes, which is a further risk to integrity of the pipeline. This would clearly create environmental harm, and would also harm residents and local economies.  

2. Risk of Explosions  

The main component of natural gas is methane, which is highly combustible, leading to dangerous explosions. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) collects data on all reported incidents for gas pipelines. Between 1996 and 2015, there were 11,192 incidents costing $6,678,631,880. These incidents killed 371 people and injured another 1,378. We are opposed to the construction of this dangerous and expensive energy source. 

3. Violation of Private Property Rights 

Green America is opposed to the way that energy companies have coerced or intimidated individuals into selling their property. We strongly oppose energy companies’ right to invoke eminent domain as this project serves no public interest. 

4. Threat to the Potomac River 

The Potomac River is the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast and the 21st largest in the United States. It drains 14,670 square miles of land area from four states and Washington DC. The proposed pipeline will go under the Potomac River in an area listed as sensitive on the Nationwide Rivers Inventory. The method used to drill under the river could destabilize the bedrock. Even without a catastrophic accident during construction or operation of the pipeline, this increases the risk of serious spills. A spill would have devastating effects on the health and livelihoods of the more than 6 million people who live within the Potomac watershed. 

The creation of the Rover Pipeline in the Midwest, approved by FERC a few months ago, already resulted in the spill of 2.5 million gallons of drilling fluids into pristine wetlands in Ohio. Those wetlands will never be the same. That’s why FERC needs to do more rigorous environmental impact statements, based on real risk analyses. 

5. TransCanada’s Poor Safety Record 

Natural gas production in the United States has greatly increased over the last decade. Pipelines are being rushed and built with fewer quality controls. The failure rate of new pipelines is on par with those constructed as far back as the 1940s. 

TransCanada is known for explosions, leaks, poor materials, and for ignoring its own safety inspections and quality controls. We cannot allow our natural resources, health and safety, and personal livelihoods to be in the hands of such a company. 

6. Methane Emissions and Climate Change 

Methane is a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide over the short term in terms of trapping heat. New evidence is showing that methane leaks from natural gas infrastructure like pipelines is a much more severe problem than we thought in terms of climate change. The climate and polluting effects of methane endangers public health and welfare.  

In addition to the above, Maryland recently enacted a ban on fracking, which received strong support from the public. Residents of Maryland oppose fracking and do not want additional fossil fuel infrastructure construction in their state. 

In closing, our nation needs to move away from fossil fuels and to invest with all due speed in the further development of our clean energy-based economy. Investment in renewable energy creates jobs and provides clean, climate-smart energy and energy security. Rejecting the Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project is a wise decision for the Potomac region and our nation. 

Sincerely yours, 

 

 

Todd Larsen 

Executive Co-Director, Green America

Green America Magazine Landing Page Header
8 Things You Didn’t Know Were Made with Sweatshop Labor

Trade is essential for any economy—or community—to thrive, but not all trade is equal. Our globalized economy makes it easy for companies to use the cheapest labor they can find anywhere in the world, even through means of exploitation, while also making it harder for people to know anything about the conditions under which their goods were made. Together we can change that.

Tomatoes

Mexican farmworkers, and their children, are treated more like tools than people as they slave away in the hot sun harvesting tomatoes, eggplants, chile peppers, and other produce items bound for US supermarkets and restaurants. In a December 2014 expose, the LA Times documented the abysmal conditions under which Mexican farmworkers labor. Workers are promised good wages and free room and board, but in reality they are paid very little. Often their pay is withheld illegally until the end of their three-month contract, and in the meantime they have racked up debts at the over-priced company stores to pay for necessities. Workers live in cramped and filthy camps, sometimes infested with bedbugs or rats. Workers and their children, even infants, spend long days in the hot sun, often without access to drinking water. Adults and children are malnourished, sometimes surviving on just tortillas and watery soup. These workers are migrants, on the move from one harvesting region to the next, which means children are not able to be in school, creating an endless chain of poverty and hardship.

The US companies importing this produce, the farms, the labor camps, and the labor brokers who recruit workers from other regions to the farms all shirk responsibility, denying the problem or pointing the finger at another actor.

Worst concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Child labor
  • Forced labor
  • Low Wages
  • No Right to Organize

Alternatives

For produce from Mexico, you can seek products that bear the Fair Trade label, which ensures certain labor standards are met and that the working conditions on the farms are inspected on an annual basis by a third-party.

Additionally, you can seek tomatoes from companies that have signed on to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers Fair Food Campaign. The experience of Mexican farmworkers is similar to what laborers have faced for years in Florida’s tomato fields . However, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has had some success in getting major brands to pay 1 penny more per pound of tomatoes they buy to bolster the farmworkers’ poverty-level wages, including Whole Foods, Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Burger King.

Take Action

If you enjoy tomatoes, eggplants, chile peppers, or products containing these ingredients, such as salsa from Mexico, you have an important role to play. US brands that import produce from Mexico need to know their consumers care about the conditions under which their favorite products are grown. Call the hotlines of your favorite restaurant and grocery chains asking questions and demanding fair treatment for workers.

On behalf of US tomato pickers, you can support the Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s latest campaigns targeting Wendy’s and Publix grocery stores.

Garments

The 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Bangladesh was the deadliest industrial disaster in modern history, killing 1,129 workers and injuring over 2,500 more. However, clothing manufacturing has been an exploitative industry long before 2013, all over the world. The global “race to the bottom”—in search of an ever-cheaper labor force—coupled with consumer demand for cheap and fast fashion, leaves garment workers paying the price. In some areas, it even leads to child labor, either because child work is less expensive, or because children may be forced to work in order to pay off a family debt. The US department of labor has found bonded child labor in Argentina and India and forced child labor in Thailand and Vietnam, where children may have been trafficked from Burma or Laos, or Vietnamese rural areas.

Garment workers face long hours; low pay; restricted freedom of movement (some may be locked in their factories day and night, posing a grave safety risk); exposure to toxic dyes or other chemicals; physical or sexual abuse; and inadequate food, water, and rest. In India, the Sumangali scheme, forbidden but still used, allows for adolescent girls to be sent to work in spinning mills or garment factories for three to five years to earn a dowry. During their contract, the girls live on factory compounds, work exhausting hours, and have little contact with the outside world. Many tire out before they ever earn the bonuses promised to them.

Additionally, Rana Plaza was not the only factory with structural safety issues. There have been deadly fires, explosions, and building collapses in garment factories around the world.

Worst concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Child labor
  • Abusive management
  • Low wages

Alternatives

Luckily, there are many alternatives to sweatshop garments. Union-made is a great option. Fair trade companies, either certified by Fair Trade USA or members of the Fair Trade Federation, make products under healthy, just, and safe working conditions. Additionally, you can by locally produced clothing, second-hand, or even make your own.

Business in the National Green Pages® have been screened for their commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Take Action

Clothing brands have begun to improve building safety in Bangladesh—nearly 200 have signed on to the legally binding Accord for Building and Fire Safety. However, some companies—namely Gap, Walmart, The Children᾿s Place—still refuse to sign on, so we᾿ve launched a petition to pressure these brands into doing so. Read more about our activism for garment workers in Bangladesh here (link to GAM Shareholder piece).

Additionally, the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights leads a number of campaigns to support garment workers around the world.

Seafood

Thailand is the world’s third-largest seafood exporter, behind China and Norway. Every year, the Thai fishing fleet finds itself short by tens of thousands of hands, so human traffickers help boat captains fill that gap by kidnapping men from Thailand or luring men from Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Cambodia onto boats with false promises.

Once aboard, the workers toil for years in horrific, extremely dangerous conditions, including 20-hour workdays, homogenous diets of scrap or “trash” fish, cramped quarters, and physical and mental abuse. Captains have been reported use methamphetamines to keep fishermen working and violence is common. Some never see land for years.

Only one in six Thai fishing boats is registered—the rest operate as a “ghost fleet”, coming into port and leaving without registering their presence or their workers with authorities.

In 2014, in response to pressure from NGOs including Green America, the US State Department downgraded Thailand to “tier 3,” or the worst level, in its annual Trafficking in Persons report. This downgrade sent a strong message to the Thai government to end the corruption that allows human trafficking to persist.

Recently, the Thai government proposed a scheme to supply prison laborers to fishing boats—a plan that would replace one vulnerable population (migrants) with another (prisoners) and would do nothing to prevent human rights abuses. In January 2015, Green America and our allies were quick to oppose this plan in the press, and the Thai government has stated it will not move forward.

The Thai government is not the only actor that bears responsibility for labor abuse in the country’s fishing sector. Global seafood companies profit tremendously from cheap labor and lax regulation in Thailand. In 2014, the Guardian connected the “trash fish” used to feed shrimp sold in Costco and Walmart to slave labor.

Learn more about Thailand’s “Ghost Fleet” in our Spring 2015 Green American Magazine.

Worst Concerns:

  • Forced labor
  • Abusive management
  • Disaster risk
  • Long hours

Alternatives

Over the past decade, global awareness of overfishing has grown, and in response, a number of standards and certification bodies have been developed to ensure the world doesn’t fish the ocean empty. However, there is still work to be done with seafood companies and certifiers to address human rights issues in production, not only environmental problems.

Here are some labels you are likely to encounter at the grocery store and what they mean:

Fair Trade USA is the first certification that addresses both environmental and labor issues with its standard for wild-capture fish from small-scale fisheries. Fair Trade Tuna from Indonesia will be available at Safeways in Northern California, Portland, and Seattle starting in March 2015.

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

Standard for sustainable marine-caught fisheries.

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

Standard for sustainable fish farms

The MSC and ASC standards help ensure fish was caught or farmed in a sustainable way. These standards focus primarily on ecological issues, such as preventing overfishing, minimizing the environmental impact of a fishing operation, and monitoring waste water and genetic diversity. These standards do not focus on human rights issues; however, they do require certified partners to follow local labor laws. At present, neither MSC nor ASC has certified any fishing operation in Thailand.

Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)

BAP certification focuses on the sustainability of fish farms, as well as hatcheries and processing facilities. The BAP standard includes provisions for both environmental and human rights issues. BAP has certified hundreds of fishing operations throughout Asia, Australia, the US and Mexico, and South America.

Take Action

Sign our petition demanding that Costco source from only sustainable and socially responsible fisheries and fish farms, and trace its shrimp down to the boat level, including the boats catching “trash-fish” used as feed on fish farms.

Cigarettes

The US is the fourth largest producer of tobacco worldwide, after China, Brazil, and India. 90 percent of tobacco sold in the US comes from North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Several hundred thousand children work on US farms, and most put in 50–60 hours per week, which is legal in the US, so long as the child is in school, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). While no data is available on the number of children working specifically on tobacco farms, these farms are among the most dangerous for child workers.

“Children working in tobacco farming…may use dangerous tools and machinery, lift heavy loads, and climb several stories without protection to hang tobacco in barns,” HRW stated in a May 2014 report, Tobacco’s Hidden Children: Hazardous Child Labor in US Tobacco Farming. Children also reported that tractors sprayed pesticides in nearby fields, making them vomit, feel dizzy, and have difficulty breathing and a burning sensation in their eyes.

Beyond the use of dangerous tools and exposure to toxic pesticides, children on tobacco farms may suffer from nicotine poisoning.

HRW interviewed roughly 150 children aged seven to seventeen for its report and found that 63 percent had had symptoms consistent with acute nicotine poisoning such as nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. In December, Altria, owner of Philip Morris and other large cigarette companies, announced its producers could no longer use workers under the age of 16; however, workers aged 16 and older still risk getting sick from nicotine and pesticide exposure.

Adult tobacco farm workers in the US earn poverty-level wages and face harassment, discrimination, and grave health risks from the chemicals sprayed on tobacco plants and long hours in the heat.

Worst concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Child labor
  • Low wages
  • Long hours
  • No right to organize

Alternatives

None. While some smokers have turned to e-cigarettes as a lower-nicotine alternative, researchers from the University of Portland published a letter in the January issue of the New England Journal of Medicine stating that they found concentrations of carcinogenic formaldehyde in e-cigarette vapor at levels five to 15 times higher than in regular cigarettes. While more study is needed to confirm these findings, they do indicate that e-cigarettes may not be less toxic. People who live in tobacco-growing regions can make a point of supporting local organic farms to help farmers transition to a profitable, and less toxic, crop.

Take Action

Join Farm Labor Organizing Committee’s campaign to push Reynolds American to respect migrant workers’ rights in the tobacco fields in North Carolina.

Sign Human Rights Watch’s letter to ten tobacco company CEOs demanding that they end child labor on US tobacco farms.

Conflict Minerals

Conflict minerals include tantalum, tin, tungsten, platinum, and gold. They’re so-called because their sale helps fund wars.

Globally, mining is very dangerous, with risk of injury from heavy equipment, landslides, or getting trapped in a mine.

The mines of eastern Congo are even deadlier because of ongoing conflict there that has led to 5.4 million deaths to date. This warfare is predominantly funded by the illicit sale of metals mined in the Congo, smuggled out through neighboring countries, and ultimately used in electronic devices. Congolese miners often do not work voluntarily and live in very poor conditions. The US Department of Labor also reports that children in the Congo have been abducted and forced to work in these mines.

Worst concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Child labor
  • Forced labor
  • Disaster Risk

Alternatives

Electronics: When you need to replace your electronics, buy used. If you need to buy new, consult the Enough Project’s electronics rankings, which are based on the companies’ use of conflict minerals. Its latest rankings named Intel and HP as industry leaders.

Jewelry: When buying gold jewelry, choose secondhand, vintage, or recycled pieces, or look for conflict-free gold. Additionally, you may be able to find Fair Trade gold in some countries.

The Responsible Jewellery Council certifies gold and platinum-group minerals (platinum, palladium, and rhodium) as being conflict free and responsibly sourced throughout the supply chain.

You can also consult the “Jewelry” category of Green America’s National Green Pages® to find green and fair trade jewelry companies that offer non-gold jewelry or use recycled or conflict-free gold.

Take Action

The Enough Project’s Raise Hope for Congo Campaign shares tools to push your school, municipality, or favorite brands to go conflict-free.

Wine and Grapes

Nearly all of the table grapes grown in the US, and 90 percent of the wine sold here, come from grapes grown in California. Here, farmworkers—mainly immigrants or migrant workers from Latin America—conduct backbreaking labor, hand-harvesting grapes in extreme heat and cold. They work long hours, are exposed to the hot sun and pesticides, and are often not properly hydrated.

Despite Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta’s historic grape strike and boycott in the early 1960s, Latino workers continue to struggle for decent wages and workplace protections. Many workers in the California grape fields are undocumented and fear speaking out about poor conditions. As a result, they earn far less than the minimum wage, roughly just $5/hour, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. One worker estimated she earned 1 to 5 cents for a bushel of grapes sold in the grocery store for $1.40. “Federal law has never covered farmworkers,” writes photojournalist David Bacon, author of The Right to Stay Home: How US Policy Drives Mexican Migration (Beacon Press, 2013), in a January article on California grape pickers for Al Jazeera America. “Only a tiny percentage of the nation’s farmworkers have union contracts, and wages and conditions in farm labor are worse than in almost any other occupation.” An ever-increasing amount of grapes are being machine-harvested, but where labor is available cheaply, handpicking is still used, as machines can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In South Africa, Human Rights Watch has documented unfit living conditions, pesticide exposure, no access to water or toilets while working, and union blocking on vineyards in its report Ripe with Abuse.

Worst Concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Low wages
  • No right to organize

Alternatives

For imported wines, choose Fair trade options. Fair trade ensures that workers labor in safe and healthy conditions and earn a living wage.The Triton Collection imports and distributes fair trade wines, and lists retailers where you can find them in your area.

Look for wine from local and unionized wineries. Local vintners can often tell you exactly who harvests their grapes. If it’s migrant workers, consider talking to some of them about their working conditions, and offer a helping hand if they’re not being treated fairly.Chateau St. Michelle in Washington State is a unionized winery, and Frey Vineyards, organic winemaker in Redwood Valley, CA, employs 20 people full-time, including vineyard workers, all of whom earn a living wage and receive health care, maternity leave, and paid vacation.

Take Action

United Farm Workers of America (UFW) works to improve conditions for farmworkers in 10 states on issues related to pesticide use and exposure, heat exposure, fair pay, and more. You can support their campaigns and also look for products grown on farms under UFW contract.

Sugar

Central America supplies 23 percent of US sugarcane. For the past 20 years, tens of thousands of men working on Central American sugarcane plantations have died from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). While the exact cause of the epidemic is yet to be identified, a study released in February 2015 by researchers from Boston University linked the disease to the sugarcane workers’ jobs. Many of the workers themselves told National Public Radio that they blame the farm chemicals they’re exposed to.

What Central American sugarcane workers have in common, besides CKD, are the conditions they face: exhausting manual labor, working in hot conditions without enough water, and exposure to pesticides.

While the US does not import sugar from Myanmar (formerly Burma), the US State Department reports that children often labor in the country’s sugarcane fields. The same is true in Bolivia, where the DOL estimates that 25 percent of those working in sugarcane are under age 14. Some are forced to work to pay off debts of their parents who have passed away or are unable to work.

Worst concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Long hours

Alternatives

Buy fair trade cane sugar. Fair trade ensures that workers labor in safe and healthy conditions and no child labor was used.

Choosing sugarcane also ensures that the sugar you are eating is not genetically engineered. Approximately half of sugar sold in the US comes from sugar beets, around 95 percent of which are genetically engineered. Sugarcane is not genetically modified at present and fair trade standards also prevent genetic engineering.

Take Action

Fair Food International campaigns to improve occupational health and safety among sugarcane farmers in Nicaragua.

Toys

Hundreds of thousands of young Chinese migrant workers toil away in factories making toys for major international brands. A recent report by China Labor Watch (CLW) exposed dozens of violations in four factories that make toys for Mattel, Fischer-Price, Disney, Crayola, and others. Violations included unpaid wages, lack of safety training, excessive overtime, poor living conditions, environmental pollution, and lack of fire safety.

Like electronics, toy manufacturing can also be very chemically intensive, requiring various hazardous inks, solvents, paints and phthalates (used in plastics). While potentially dangerous for consumers, these chemicals are even more dangerous for workers who are exposed on a regular basis in higher concentrations, often without safety training or protective equipment, as found by CLW. Additionally, the management in these factories can be very abusive. A worker named Hu Nianzhen killed herself in November 2014 after working at a Mattel factory for two years because of the demanding conditions of her work and the verbal abuse and threats from her superiors.

Worst concerns:

  • Poor health and safety
  • Abusive management
  • Low wages
  • Long wages

Alternatives

When purchasing new toys, buy from green and fair trade companies in Green America’s Green Business Network®. You can also find some of Green America’s favorite green toy choices of 2014.

Take Action

Sign China Labor Watch’s Change.org petition to Mattel asking it to address sweatshop conditions in its supplier factories.

Sign Stop Toying Around’s letter to Mattel demanding that the company “immediately take measures to prevent any further suicides, to reduce moral and physical pressure on the workers, and to improve the working conditions.”

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General Mills drops GMOs from Cheerios

No more GMOs in your Cheerios.

General Mills Inc. said it is no longer using genetically engineered ingredients to make its signature cereal.

The switch comes after a nearly yearlong campaign by a consumer activist group to pressure General Mills to drop genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs, from the popular breakfast staple.

The food giant said Thursday that it has stopped sourcing bioengineered corn starch and sugar cane for its original Cheerios. Whole grain oats, the chief ingredient in the cereal, are not affected by the change because they are not available in genetically modified varieties, the Minneapolis firm said.

The company maintains that government-approved genetically engineered foods are safe to eat. And it denied that outside pressure motivated the change. The only explanation given by company officials was that they believed the new formulation would be popular.

"We believe consumers will embrace it," General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas said.

GMO Inside, an anti-GMO campaign, was quick to claim victory. Organized by members of Green America, a Washington-based nonprofit advocating environmental sustainability, GMO Inside encouraged thousands of people on Facebook to urge General Mills to make Cheerios free of genetically modified organisms.

"We decided General Mills and Cheerios were a good place to focus our energy because a huge company like that could have a major impact," said Elizabeth O'Connell, director of the campaign.

The effort came on the heels of the failed 2012 ballot initiative in California known as Proposition 37 that called for labeling of many genetically engineered foods. Supporters of GMO labeling were stung again by a similar loss in Washington state in November known as I-522.

But O'Connell said consumers are doing what governments have failed to do by threatening to take their grocery dollars elsewhere.

"This shows consumers that their voice does make a difference," she said. "Collective action makes a difference. The ballot actions added awareness and created frustration. Having a win is a great way to show we do have power against these huge corporations."

Genetically modified food is one of the most divisive issues in America's culture wars. Farmers have always bred crops for special traits such as drought tolerance. But genetic engineering takes place in a lab where plant genes are altered.

Proponents laud the innovation as a way to boost yields, build disease resistance and feed hungry nations. Today, 93% of all soybeans and 90% of all corn grown in the U.S. are genetically modified varietals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Up to 80% of processed foods in America contain genetically engineered ingredients, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Assn.

There is no definitive science showing such foods are harmful to human health when consumed. But critics say that more time and testing are required to ensure safety, and that the process is unnatural and makes farmers beholden to a handful of seed manufacturers.

A June ABC News poll found that 93% of Americans favored GMO labeling laws and more than half believed GMOs to be unsafe.

There are no national labeling laws in the U.S. But 64 countries, including all those in the European Union, Japan and Australia, require food manufacturers to indicate to consumers if their products contain GMOs.

General Mills represents the largest brand to remove genetically engineered ingredients, but others too have made similar moves to meet consumer demands.

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's said last year that it would strike the controversial ingredients from its products. Restaurant chain Chipotle said it would phase out GMOs this year. Whole Foods has pledged to label all products in its stores with genetically engineered ingredients by 2018. Last month the grocer said it would stop selling the popular Chobani Greek brand yogurt because it contained GMOs.

General Mills' decision to drop GMOs from Cheerios is an attempt to burnish its reputation, according to Colin O'Neil, director of government affairs for the Washington-headquartered Center for Food Safety. The company spent nearly $2 million defeating the labeling initiatives in California and Washington, an effort that angered many consumers.

"I think grass-roots pressure to change some ingredients is one of the pressure points," O'Neil said. "The real pressure is that the industry has to spend millions on every state to defeat labeling. And we'll get to the point sooner rather than later when these major companies recognize their brand reputation is on the line the more they funnel money into these anti-consumer campaigns."

Oregon and Colorado could be the next to put GMO labeling initiatives on the general election ballots this year.

General Mills opposes state-by-state labeling laws because it would be too costly but supports a national initiative.

The company said it was relatively easy to exclude genetically engineered ingredients from its original Cheerios because the recipe calls for only a small amount of corn starch and sugar.

The cereal maker said it could not do the same for its other products such as Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch because genetically engineered foods were so pervasive in the food system.

"For our other cereals, the widespread use of GM seed in crops such as corn, soy, or beet sugar would make reliably moving to non-GM ingredients difficult, if not impossible," the company said on its website.

Siemienas, the General Mills spokesman, declined to say whether the company was considering dropping bioengineered ingredients from its other foods.

The Cheerios victory would be short-lived if General Mills didn't expand its list of non-GMO products, said O'Connell of Green America.

"If time passes and General Mills hasn't increased its commitment, then perhaps this was just for PR," she said. "We're hoping this is just the first step."

david.pierson@latimes.com

Green America & Child Labor Coalition Warn of Curtis Ellis in Dept. of Labor

Groups Say Ellis Unfit to Serve, Citing “Xenophobia,” “Lack of Regard for Human and Civil Rights.”

WASHINGTON, DC – May 18 2017 Green America and The Child Labor Coalition issued the following statement of concern regarding the consideration of Curtis Ellis for the position of Deputy Undersecretary in charge of the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB):

“We express deep concern that Curtis Ellis is a contender to serve as Deputy Undersecretary of the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). ILAB plays a vital role in advancing the United States’ positions addressing the important issues of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking worldwide. The Deputy Undersecretary position for which Mr. Ellis is being considered serves as the Department of Labor’s top diplomat; the position requires great tact and the ability to work with diverse countries and groups. However, Mr. Ellis’s stated views on issues of race, refugees, and immigration demonstrate a level of xenophobia and lack of regard for human and civil rights that make him unsuited to serve as the leader of ILAB and the voice of the United States on important labor and human rights issues

“The denigration of groups based on race, ethnicity, or national origin is racist and directly contrary to the vital role of addressing the rights of workers overseas. For this important position, the United States needs a person who demonstrates professionalism and the desire to uphold the rights of all people worldwide. It is essential that those who espouse white supremacy not be elevated to positions of authority in the federal government, much less a position as vital as the Undersecretary of ILAB. A white supremacist should not be setting policy on child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking – issues which are often dependent on exploitation of people based on race, ethnicity, and national origin.”

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation's leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides economic strategies and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin, (703) 276-3255, or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.

Harmful Stereotypes and Native American Mascots: an Interview with Dahkota Franklin Kicking Bear Brown

Dahkota Franklin Kicking Bear Brown is a 15-year-old Miwok student who was named a 2013 Champion for Change by the Center for Native American Youth. In 2012, he founded the nonprofit NERDS (Native Education Raising Dedicated Students) to provide peer-to-peer tutoring and mentoring to Native students. His speech for the Center for American Progress on how stereotyped team mascots affect Native youth went viral earlier this year.

Green American/Tracy Fernandez Rysavy: From your personal experience as a student, how are Native stereotyped team mascots harming Native youth?

Dahkota Brown: They really are. Native American youth have the highest dropout rate, the lowest graduation rate, the highest suicide rate among any ethnicity. I honestly believe part of that can be linked to the use of Native mascots. Our teens see things like this fan who goes to all the Philadelphia football games, and when they play the Washington R-word team, he carries a spear with a fake head on it wearing a headdress. We see these people who seem to hate Indians, and it gives this false sense of who we are—they think we’re savage. And these teens lose their cultural identity and don’t feel they fit in anywhere. For me, it’s been a struggle.

I started my own nonprofit, NERDS, or Native Education Raising Dedicated Students. We’re a peer-to-peer tutoring and mentoring program, and a lot of what I hear is that these Native mascots really are offensive to students and do have an effect on their lives.

Green American/Tracy Fernandez Rysavy: Tell me more about NERDS. Why the name “NERDS”? 

Dahkota Brown: Back in 2012, when I was in 8th grade, I saw that some of my friends and cousins were on the verge of dropping out, so I encouraged them to come to our Indian peer education and tutoring group after school. We started out small, just a couple of students, and it was a place to hang out and be around good people. I got more and more students coming. Their grades started to improve, and they were feeling better and better about themselves. 

One who was in 7th grade at the time hadn’t turned in an English assignment all year, and [after participating in the group], he was the first one to turn in an essay. The teacher was so proud of him and read his essay out loud, and his friends were kind of making fun of him, calling him a nerd. He came to me, and I said, “That’s not so bad. Native people have been called a lot worse.” So we decided to use it as an acronym. 
NERDS is now trademarked. We’re a 501(c)3 nonprofit. We started a summer school program last year. We currently have seven chapters in northern California, and we’re trying to reach beyond that. I’ve had contact from Nevada, and I went to South Dakota a couple of months ago to the Rosebud reservation, because they were interested in starting NERDS clubs.

Green American/Tracy Fernandez Rysavy: In addition to removing these mascots, how can schools do better at lifting up Native American youth? 

Dahkota Brown: At my school, we have students who have dropped out because our faculty weren’t willing to work with Native students and our culture and lifestyle. [Schools could make a difference by] actually taking the time to sit down with Native students and talk to them about what they’re going through. Try to relate with us on a personal level about our culture. 

Our Native students, a lot of the time, are really quiet. We won’t speak up to teachers and don’t really have an advocate who can speak out on our behalf. So we can get pushed to the back of the classroom and ignored. 

My brother is going to be a senior at Stanford this year. He’s working on a program for teachers, and he’s testing it out pretty soon in my own district. It provides cultural competence training on how to work with Native students and be sensitive to our beliefs. Schools can e-mail him for more information at dahltonb@stanford.edu.

Brown is also willing to work with any school interested in starting up a NERDS chapter. Contact dahkota.brown@gmail.com. To support NERDS, visit gofundme.com/ansi50/.

Something That Means Justice: An Interview with Suzan Shown Harjo

When I called up Native American activist Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee) for our article, “The Shame of Stereotypes as Team Mascots,” I had no idea I was in for one of the most moving interviews I’ve ever conducted. I was quite familiar with her work on getting the Washington NFL football team to move away from using the R-word as its name and mascot: She’s the woman who organized the two high-profile cases that challenged the US Patent and Trademark Office to revoke the team’s patents on the basis that the R-word is “disparaging to Native Americans” (Harjo et al. v. Pro Football, Inc. and Blackhorse et al. v. Pro Football, Inc.)

But she is also a poet, writer, lecturer, curator, and policy advocate, who has helped Native Peoples protect sacred places and recover more than one million acres of land. She has developed key laws in five decades to promote and protect Native nations, including the act that established the National Museum of the American Indian. She served in the Carter administration, was principal author of the 1979 President’s Report to Congress on American Indian Religious Freedom, and was a member of the Obama ’08 and Obama ’12 Native American Policy Committee. And she has a breadth of important knowledge of Native American heritage and history that reaches across tribal nations.

After our fascinating two-hour conversation, I knew I had to share more of it than I could fit into the mascot article with our Green American readers. 

—Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, Green America editor-in-chief

Green American/Tracy Fernandez Rysavy: You’ve been working on getting the Washington football team and others like it to eliminate stereotyped names and mascots long before this issue started getting so much press. What drove your passion to start this work?

Suzan Shown Harjo: In 1963, a group was started in Oklahoma, where I’m from, called National Indian Youth Council (NIYC). The Council’s Oklahoma representative, Clyde Warrior, who is Ponca, was a college student who was well-known as a fancy dancer in the pow-wow circuit. He used his fame and organizing ability to call attention to Little Red, the long-time mascot of the University of Oklahoma. 

The mascot was a live person who put on what was supposed to be an Indian outfit and did what was supposed to be an Indian dance. Everyone called him “the dancing idiot.” It was always a white guy. 

But at one point, the administrators asked Native students to dress up as Little Red. Two did, but one went to a game in the outfit and didn’t dance at halftime. People started yelling, and it turned racially ugly really quickly. That was a huge lesson for everyone. 

NIYC had demonstrations on the University of Oklahoma campus and a sit-in in the chancellor’s office. All of the committees across campus, like the Women’s Committee, the Chicano Committee, and the Black Student Union, had endorsed getting rid of Little Red. That coalition of people of color and women was being replicated on other campuses [with stereotyped mascots], but OU led the way. NIYC also organized at Stanford, Dartmouth, Syracuse, Marquette.

Then, in 1970, the OU chancellor made the decision to drop the name and retire Little Red. That was the first mascot to fall in American sports. In ’72 and ’74, Native Peoples eliminated the Stanford and Dartmouth Indians. In ’76, Syracuse’s Saltine Warrior. 

In between, lots of elementary, middle, and high schools and colleges and universities were also dropping their stereotypical names and images. By our count, there were a little over 3,000 racial stereotypes across America when we started. Today there are just over 900. We collectively have eliminated over two-thirds of these stereotypes from the American sports scene. 

Each time we organized, we would bring up the Washington football team, saying, no matter where the rally was, “And the worst one is in Washington, DC, in the nation’s capital.” Because it seemed like the federal government was endorsing the R-word, and it was the national team calling us this.

When my husband and I moved to Washington at end of 1974, he was given tickets to a Washington football game. So we went. We’d been fans of the University of Oklahoma team, so we had a long history of going to games and averting our eyes from Little Red! 

At the game, someone said to the person sitting next to them, “I think they’re R-words,” using the name of the team. 

I said, “No, I’m Cheyenne and Muscogee, and he’s Muscogee.” 

Then someone else said a similar thing. Not to us, just about us. And then a person sitting next to us started tugging our hair, kind of petting it, and saying, “Look! Here’s this R-word hair.”

We had to get up and leave. That is the real effect of objectification, where you take away a person’s humanity and are just touching them in inappropriate ways. I would never, in a million years, sit next to someone and touch their hair. You just don’t do that.

I also hate the name because of its heinous origins. It reminds us of the bounty days, when bounty hunters would take in the bloody red skins of killed Indians as proof of an Indian kill. 

In the bounties, they would say “scalps,” but what they meant was genitalia. They were paid on a sliding scale—so much for a man, so much for a woman, so much for a child. The only way you’d know gender or age was from the genitalia.

[The bounty hunters] were doing things that hadn’t ever been done by Native people in wartime—beheadings and skinnings that were so unusual that in every place I’ve ever been in Indian Country, people talk about it. 

When I was working from 1967 and on repatriation issues—which means the return of dead relatives and sacred objects and cultural patrimony to Native tribes from educational institutions and federal agencies—the People, everywhere we went, talked about a history of fearing they would be skinned, people having a relative skinned, of coming upon trappers who had Indian skins. 

This is the kind of history that comes to mind for Native peoples about the R-word name. This is the worst word that we can be called in the English language. This is the N-word for us. There’s nothing even comparable that’s used for any other peoples.

 

Green American/Tracy: That quite powerfully contradicts the argument that Native Americans call themselves the R-word, so it’s okay to use it for the team.

Suzan: The first documented use of this word in the English language is of a white person who said an Indian had approached him and had used that word to describe Native people. Of course! It was a common word in English. Native people, especially those in the east, [where this usage occurred], would not have done that [in their own language], because Indians were getting skinned! 

In no Native language that I know does a person introduce themselves by their skin color. It just doesn’t happen. The closest is the Muscogee word Este-cat’e, which means “red person” (or blood relative). But it’s person (not a body part, like skin). 
There are others where a similar word means “relative”—as in establishing kinship with a real relative or with a person you’re not actually related to but with whom you want to get off on a good footing. 

It’s always red “person” or “man”. It’s not the color of your skin or any attribute. It’s who you are, your essence. You’re announcing your humanity.

Green American/Tracy: Another common argument is that the 
R-word name and others like it “honor” Native Americans. How do we respond to that?

Suzan: I often hear, “What about the [Dallas] Cowboys?” 
That’s a profession. Native people are not a profession. 
“What about the Fighting Irish?”
It’d be a different situation in Ireland. You don’t see those kinds of [team names] in Ireland. 

At Notre Dame at one point, the main football players were all Irish, so the Fighting Irish name is closer to self-identification, if you will. I still don’t think it’s right, but that’s up to them. Their name arose at a time when the Irish weren’t treated well and had all sorts of slurs used against them. They were the new immigrants who were being berated. 

Here’s what a name like the Fighting Irish breeds: Marquette played them in the 1990s and sent a person dressed as what was supposed to be a drunken leprechaun onto the field. Notre Dame demanded an apology. Leprechauns aren’t real, but they’re so closely 
associated with the Irish that it was meant as a slur.

Green American/Tracy: You’ve also said that these team names come from the efforts to de-culturalize Native American tribes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Suzan: These names arose from the federal Indian boarding schools where the Bureau of Indian Affairs was trying to de-tribalize and de-culturalize the Native peoples. So they were trying to create pan-Indian events and pan-Indian personae. 

At the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, [a model school for assimilating students into Euro-American culture], they created a plains Indian look with a headdress [for the school mascot], because the head of Carlisle, Richard Henry Pratt, had fought plains Indians under General Sheridan and George Armstrong Custer. 

This is how you had these names arise in schools, during the time when Native people were being confined to reservations. Indians were not being permitted to go to our sacred places and usual hunting, fishing, and gathering places; not permitted to visit other Indians; not permitted to ride ponies; not permitted to dance. These things were criminalized under the Civilization Regulations from 1880s, which were not withdrawn until 1930s. 

The Civilization Regulations outlawed the Sun Dance and traditional giveaway ceremonies for death and birth and marriage. They cut Native people off from the usual places where they got their buffalo, elk, salmon, and other high-protein foods, and confined them to reservations so they had to substitute flour, grains, sugar, rancid meats for this great diet. 

The estimate is that there were about 50 million in all of North America [before the Civilization Regulations]. By 1900, the count of Native people in the US was 250,000 people. That’s so low. 

It was out of this history—and while the Civilization Regs were still in force —that the name of the Washington team arose.

Green American/Tracy: The shocking thing is how little you hear about this in school. I think we’re taught that massacres of Native people like the one at Wounded Knee were isolated events.

Suzan: Every single Native nation had a Wounded Knee. At least one. Almost everyone had a Long Walk or a Trail of Tears.

The people who raised me raised me to do what I’m doing. Everyone said, “Don’t believe anything you read. Believe what you hear. Believe what people are saying, the people who know what has happened. Everyone has a piece of oral history, a piece of the way things really happened.”

The more I do research—and I’ve done a lot of it—the more I really delve into the written documents, the more I see the accuracy of Native American oral history and how the things that I was told about the Sand Creek Massacre and Washita and Little Bighorn are true. 

People tell me, “This happened to me. I saw this happen to this person who was related to us in this way, and she was killed.” 

You hear about very fine people who were just killed. If you grow up with this oral history—with an understanding of all the people we were deprived of, all the great minds or the good spirits or the good-hearted people, or knowledgable people, or the people who could really apply medicine...they were just gone in an instant by a bayonet wound or a gunshot, or they were left to die on the side of the road during those long walks, the trails of tears—you can’t hear this history being passed down without being affected by the sense of loss, by the sense of “what if”. 

All of these things come to mind when we’re mocked in public, and when we have these reminders of this horrible history right in our faces.

Green American/Tracy: Right, or the ones who say there are more important things to worry about.

Suzan: We’re the ones who are also doing those bigger things! But [changing stereotyped team names and mascots] is also one of the bigger things, because it’s foundational and atmospheric and contextual. It sends a signal to our kids that we’re not going to take this anymore. I don’t want my kids and grandkids asking me, “Why didn’t you try to do anything about it?” 

I answer to them. I answer to my elders, to the memory of my elders and what they experienced, and to the coming generations and the people of my own time. 
It’s always about educating people so they’ll understand what happened and try to do something in the modern time that means justice, no matter how big or small. That’s what we’re trying to do with our lawsuit. It won’t be all the justice that’s due, but it’ll be something. 

[The Washington football team mascot] is a symbol, and symbols are important. Symbols come out of attitudes and create attitudes and lead to actions. If people begin to understand that, then they understand the importance of these symbols and what it means to the people who are the target population.

Green American/Tracy: Do you think you’ll see that justice when it comes to the Washington team?

Suzan: I have no doubt that this name is going to change. I don’t know when. But I have no doubt it’ll happen.

Recycled Green Gifts for the Holidays

Looking for thoughtful green gift ideas for the holidays but worried about holiday-related resource use? 

You’re right to be concerned—the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the volume of US household trash increases by 25 percent, adding around one million tons of extra garbage. But it is possible to minimize holiday waste, embrace the spirit of giving and green, and make your loved ones smile.

Green America has a growing list of low-impact and DIY gift ideas
 

And if you want to find gifts that maximize recycling/upcycling and minimize waste, consider the green companies that made it into the list of top ten finalists for the Summer 2015 round of Green America’s People & Planet Award. Each specializes in recycling in some way.

Green America asked the owners of these green companies to share their best ideas for upcycled products to give as gifts (their own, or other companies’), and for any other tips for reducing waste during the holidays. 

Mr. Ellie Pooh

People & Planet winner Mr. Ellie Pooh produces 100-percent recycled paper products made from 50 percent post-consumer waste paper and 50 percent fiber reclaimed from elephant dung. Since an elephant’s diet is all vegetarian, the staggering 500 pounds of waste per day produced by the average elephant is basically raw cellulose, all of which can be cleaned (It doesn’t smell!) and processed into a linen-like paper.

As a member of the Fair Trade Federation, Mr. Ellie Pooh pays the artisan groups that make its paper a living wage, ensures safe and healthy working conditions, and pays workers a premium for improving their communities.

For the holidays, Karl Wald, owner of Mr. Ellie Pooh, recommends his line of Letter Press Cards, some of which are holiday-specific, and all of which are blank on the inside. Like Mr. Ellie Pooh’s notebooks, loose paper, envelopes, and journals, the cards are produced in Sri Lanka and then printed in the United States.


photo from lur apparel

lur apparel

When asked his advice for greening your holiday gift giving, Mark Heiman, founder of lur apparel,a recycled-fiber clothing company for women, says: “One word: upcycle!”

That’s just what lur apparel does with the cotton scraps it collects from commercial apparel and textile factories, and the post-consumer plastic bottles it recycles into polyester to produce the cotton-poly fabrics of the company’s tunics, dresses, and outerwear. It even recycles the scraps from its own production processes, making them into one of lur apparel’s signature products—the Aphrodite Rope Scarf.

Heiman also invites Green Americans to upcycle on their own for the holidays, crafting new items for loved ones just as lur apparel does on a business scale.

“Instead of going with all-new gifts and purchases these holidays, get crafty instead,” he says. “We all have so much DIY material to work with.”

Heiman suggests giving new life to old clothes by repurposing their fabric into new items—pot holders, pillows, rugs, or anything that can be sewn, stitched, or braided.


 

Recyclebank

People & Planet finalist Recyclebank, headquartered in New York City, runs a “rewards for recycling” program that partners with communities and brands and has boosted recycling rates in 300 communities across the US. Through the program, people earn points when they recycle, and they can trade those points for discounts from local and national retailers. If your community doesn’t offer a Recyclebank recycling program, you can still earn points through interactive features on the Recyclebank website.

Around the holidays (from November 12 to January 4), Recyclebank also runs an online store called One Twine, which donates five percent of its profits to a greener-schools program. The One Twine store offers a recycled-glass bird feeder; a reclaimed-wood iPad stand; recycled drinking glasses; and other upcycled, reclaimed, or creative-reuse products that make great gifts.

Temperpack 
People & Planet finalist Temperpack has developed a patent-pending plant-fiber insulation designed for e-commerce companies that ship food. The company’s “Jutebox” is made from 100-percent recycled jute plant fiber derived from burlap sacks used to transport coffee and cocoa beans, and can be composted with any other yard or food waste after use.

While the company doesn’t offer any consumer products for holiday giving, Temperpack co-founder Brian Powers reminds Green Americans to compost all organic holiday waste, and suggests that setting up a home compost garden for a friend or loved one can make an excellent holiday gift. 

RocknSocks Rainbow socks
photo from RockNSocks
Summer 2015 People & Planet Award winner RocknSocks offers 100 percent recycled socks for men and women, made from cotton scraps cast off by textile manufacturers.

RocknSocks 
RocknSocks is proud to be the first made-in-the-USA sock company that repurposes cotton scraps from textile manufacturing to make its products. The company offers an entirely recycled line of socks for men and women.

RocknSocks intends to use the $5,000 prize from winning the People & Planet Award to take its recycling mission to the next level; it will begin recycling its own damaged or returned socks into a line of “sock-creature” toys.

For holiday giving, founder Misty Reilly recommends RocknSocks’ “Elsa Knee Highs,” a unisex line of knee-high socks available in patterns ranging “from classic to psychedelic.”

Reilly also advises Green Americans to look for products from artisans in their local areas who make new clothing out of old clothes. One of Reilly’s favorites in her local community is San Francisco’s Miranda Caroligne, who makes new sweaters, dresses, shrugs, and skirts out of discarded sweaters.

TerraCycle 
Finally, for both recycled gift ideas and for recycling waste that you can’t avoid over the holidays, consider People & Planet winner TerraCycle. TerraCycle develops and runs innovative, free consumer recycling programs for hard-to-recycle waste like baby-food pouches, CLIF Bar wrappers, toothbrushes, make-up containers, e-waste, and more. Under the “Send Your Waste” tab on the TerraCycle website, visitors can purchase a “Zero Waste Box” that will facilitate recycling all categories of waste, including any holiday garbage like wrapping paper.

On both the TerraCycle website and their associated Etsy site, you can find recycled products like “monogram” wine-cork sticky-note boards (shaped like capital letters), wallets made from retired mailbags, and coasters made from circuit boards.

Still, TerraCycle’s Colleen Duncan points out that to reduce waste, there are plenty of options for less-wasteful gifts: “If you’re looking to give a gift that doesn’t involve packaging, for kids, season passes to an amusement park or lessons in their favorite hobby are non-material gifts they’ll enjoy for longer than the latest highly packaged toy.”

Shareholders Take Action

In this new Trump era of deregulation, it’s clear the government isn’t going to look out for the common good or for future generations when it deals with corporations. So responsible shareholders are picking up the slack, standing up to Corporate America on behalf of people and the planet.

In fact, they’ve been using their economic clout to pressure major companies to be more responsible since the 1970s, when they issued the first demands that companies pull out of South Africa to protest the country’s racist apartheid regime. 

One of their main weapons is the shareholder resolution, or a 500-word formal request to corporate management. Any shareholder who owns at least $2,000 in company stock for a year or more may put forth a resolution, although the strongest resolutions come from shareholders in coalition, including institutional investors. 

These resolutions appear on a company’s annual proxy ballot, which all shareholders may vote on by mail or in person at the company’s annual meeting.

“The democratic aspect of the US system, which allows an investor who has only $2,000 worth of the company to force a dialogue with management through shareholder resolutions, is phenomenal,” says Amy Domini, CEO of Domini Social Investments. “As a shareholder, you get a unique kind of access to the people behind the corporation.”

Owning just one share of stock gives you the right to vote on shareholder resolutions—making you a shareholder activist. 

The votes aren’t binding, but they do send a powerful message that a company’s stockholders—who are also its customers—want change. 

Investor activists have filed 430 shareholder resolutions related to social and environmental responsibility in 2017, according to the 2017 Proxy Preview report (see box, p. 22) from As You Sow, the Sustainable Investments Institute, and Proxy Impact. Many votes were still pending as this guide went to press.

Shareholders as Activists

Often, major shareholders or shareholder coalitions will first try dialoguing with a company behind the scenes about their concerns, so a request may never go any farther if the company takes action. If dialogues aren’t successful, shareholders may then resort to crafting a resolution. 

If you notice that a particular resolution has been “withdrawn,” that means the company likely agreed behind the scenes to the shareholders’ request. However, in some cases, it may mean that the company successfully filed a “no-action request” with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to have the proposal excluded from the proxy ballot.

Interestingly, SRI resolutions don’t have to win a majority vote to make companies take notice—social and environmental resolutions only reached an average high vote of 20.5 percent in 2016. 

“When we file a shareholder proposal, we don’t expect huge numbers in any given year,” says Pat Miguel Tomaino, director of socially responsible investing at Zevin Asset Management. “Often, a proposal getting a lower percentage of the vote is sufficient to put an emerging issue on the radar of a ... board. We can point to the fact that, let’s say, 16 percent of shareholders view an issue as a material concern.” 

To keep popping up on shareholder ballots year after year—and spurring shareholder discussion and potentially negative publicity for the company—a resolution only needs to earn three percent of the vote its first year on the ballot, six percent the second year, and ten percent thereafter.

“This filing and refiling of resolutions keeps key issues of concern in front of management year after year and doesn’t require majority support to spur change,” says Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director. 

2017 Victories & Resolutions to Watch

Climate change 

In spite of Washington, the business community seems to be on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and commit to renewable energy—including “a majority” of Fortune 100 companies, says Michael Passoff, CEO of Proxy Impact. 

“Part of this is due to the growing recognition that global warming demands immediate action,” he says. “And part of this is just realizing the financial benefits of being climate-friendly. The Carbon Disclosure Project found that four of five companies earn a higher return on carbon reduction investments than in their overall corporate capital investments, and energy-efficiency investments earned an average 196 percent return on investment.”

For those companies that aren’t climate change leaders, shareholders are putting on the pressure. In 2017, investors have filed more than 80 climate-change proposals. Many ask companies to report on the impacts of climate change to the company bottom lines and their strategies for coping. Others request companies set targets to reduce methane emissions, set goals for and report on renewable energy use, and more. 

Ceres is coordinating the majority of climate-related proposals at oil and gas companies like ExxonMobil and Hess, as well as utilities like Dominion Resources and Xcel Energy. And investors filed ten resolutions asking other companies like UPS, CVS, PepsiCo, Lowe’s and SuperValu to report on or set renewable-energy goals.

So far this season, signs point to a sea change in the amount of shareholder pressure companies are getting on this issue. As Trump moved to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Exxon shareholders cast an unprecedented vote of 62 percent in favor of a resolution asking the company to report on the long-term portfolio risks of its climate-change policies and technological advances. A similar proposal at Exxon last year earned 38 percent of the vote. 

Joining shareholder activists were conventional large-scale investors Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard, which have historically voted against climate resolutions. Blackrock, along with JPMorganChase, had earlier this year agreed to revisit its approach to climate-related shareholder resolutions after dialogues with Zevin Asset Management, according to Tomaino. Zevin was also a co-filer on the Exxon proposal.

“[The Exxon vote] is a clear signal from the capital markets—investors big and small, sustainable and very, very mainstream—that climate risk is a financial risk, no matter what the US does on the policy front. And that we need to see the biggest emitters, folks with most climate risk, acting on climate risk now,” he says. “This is a clear statement from shareholders that Exxon’s previous action and analysis on climate hasn’t been enough.”
Climate-related shareholder resolutions also garnered record support at other companies. A proposal at Dominion Resources earned 47.8 percent, one at Duke Energy earned 46.4 percent, and one at DTE Energy earned 45 percent.   

Recycling 

Led by As You Sow, investors are once again asking several companies to adopt comprehensive recycling policies. A 2017 report from As You Sow calls for the replacement of polystyrene packaging as it’s not recyclable, is a possible human carcinogen, and is clogging up ocean waters and choking wildlife. While the government isn’t taking action on this toxic plastic, 15 major brands—including Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, Dow Chemical, Danone, Mars, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble—have endorsed the report.

Meanwhile, As You Sow is the lead filer on resolutions asking laggards Amazon, McDonald’s, and Target to phase out polystyrene packaging, and it’s also filed proposals at Kroger, Kraft Heinz, and Mondelez requesting information on their use of non-recyclable packaging.

The resolutions at Amazon and Target were withdrawn after both companies agreed to address the issue. 
The polystyrene resolution at McDonald’s earned 32 percent support. The packaging resolution earned 13 percent of the vote at Kraft and 27 percent at Mondelez. It’s still pending at Kroger as of press-time. All of these votes are more than enough to guarantee the resolutions will return on next year’s proxy ballot. 

Equal Pay 

In March, President Trump signed an executive order rolling back protections for women in the workplace. The order revoked President Obama’s 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order, which ensured that federal contractors complied with 14 labor and civil rights laws—including rules mandating paycheck transparency.

Meanwhile, shareholders are pressing companies to close the gender wage gap. Thanks in large part to investor pressure, more than 100 companies have signed the Obama administration’s White House Equal Pay Pledge. And seven of the nine tech companies that had equal pay shareholder resolutions on their ballots in 2016—including Apple, Intel, Expedia, Amazon, Microsoft, and eBay—did not see similar resolutions on this year’s ballots, as they have made commitments to publicly disclose and close their gender-based wage gaps.

Pax World is filing equal pay resolutions with several companies. So far this season, Goldman Sachs, Bank of New York Mellon, Verizon, AT&T, and Qualcomm have agreed to “enhance their pay equity disclosure practices.”
A resolution from Zevin  asked Colgate-Palmolive and at TJX to identify and reduce pay inequities based on race, gender, or ethnicity. Zevin withdrew the resolution at Colgate when it agreed to take “material steps in the right direction.” The TJX resolution earned 16 percent of the vote and will be back next year.  

Diversity 

As the White House continues to hire a preponderance of white men in key government positions, shareholders are zeroing in on diversity issues.

Trillium Asset Management is the key filer in most of the 12 proposals filed asking companies like AFLAC, T.Rowe Price Group, Visa, and Amazon to report on diversity and Affirmative-Action efforts.

After being pressed on diversity issues for years by shareholders, 150 companies had joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion as this guide went to press, committing to fostering more open discussions about race and gender in the workplace. 

LGBTQ rights 

Shareholders have a long history of pushing for LGBTQ anti-discrimination. Prior to last year’s election, many, including Heidi Walsh of the Sustainable Investments Institute, thought that battle was largely won, as a majority of S&P 500 companies have LGBTQ-friendly policies. 
“Alas, not so fast. We’ve seen some worrying trends,” says Walsh. “This year, we saw ... the transgender discrimination law in North Carolina. And disquieting questions have arisen about how companies will respond to a slate of ‘religious liberty laws’ that are starting to crop up around the country.”
Religious liberty laws would make it legal to discriminate against the LGBTQ community for “religious reasons.” 
Walden Asset Management, Trillium Asset Management, and NorthStar Asset Management have separately filed nine resolutions asking companies to adopt gender identity and sexual orientation anti-bias policies. So far this year, Dentsply, EOG, and Verisk Analysis, and Johnson Outdoors have agreed to update their LGBTQ anti-discrimination policies. 

In addition, “investors, coordinated by Trillium and the New York City Comptroller, called on North Carolina state officials to reject their state’s current wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation,” according to Proxy Preview. A similar effort about pending Texas legislation is in the works. 

Sacred Resistance

Since early January, a wave of anonymous bomb threats against Jewish community centers, day schools, synagogues, and other Jewish-affiliated buildings has swept across the country, from Albuquerque to Chicago to Birmingham. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that more than half of all US states and one Canadian province have experienced nearly 150 bomb threats since the year began.

As of March 9th, the Trump administration has yet to meaningfully respond, despite all 100 US Senators sending an open letter to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and FBI Director James Comey two days earlier.

“We write to underscore the need for swift action,” the lawmakers wrote. “… We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating, and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs [Jewish community centers], many of which are institutions in their communities.”

In addition, three Jewish cemeterieshave been vandalized in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Ft. Wayne, ID, since the beginning of the year. And hate crimes against Muslim communities continue to rise as well, with numbers surging 67 percent from 2014 to 2015, and rising another 7 percent the following year, according to the FBI.

The FBI arrested a St. Louis man in early March whom they say is connected to nine threats, including eight against Jewish institutions and one against the ADL.

The president did condemn the bomb threats, as well as the shooting of two Indian immigrant engineers in Kansas City, in his February 28th address to Congress. However, earlier that day, he’d suggested to state Attorneys General that the threats might have been orchestrated “to make others look bad,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Acts of violence against Muslims and Jews will only make us stronger and bring us together.” — Rabbi Yosef Goldman

“To cast doubt on the authenticity of anti-Semitic hate crimes in America constitutes anti-Semitism in itself, and that’s something none of us ever dreamed would disgrace our nation from the White House,” Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, said in a statement about Trump’s remark.

In the face of White House inaction, Jews and Muslims across the country are reaching out to each other to offer support and aid in the wake of increased hate incidents and crimes.

United Against Hate 

After vandals toppled more than 170 headstones at the Jewish Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery in St. Louis the weekend of February 18th and 19th, Muslim-Americans Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi knew they had to act.

“While these senseless acts have filled us with sorrow, we reflect on the message of unity, tolerance, and mutual protection found in the Constitution of Medina: an historic social contract between the Medinan Jews and the first Muslim community,” the two wrote in a joint statement. “We are also inspired by the example of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who stood up to pay respects for a passing Jewish funeral procession. When questioned on why he stood for a Jewish funeral, he responded, ‘Is it not a human soul?’”

Sarsour is the cofounder and CEO of MPower Change, a Muslim organization working on social and economic justice for all, and she’s one of the organizers of the Women’s March on Washington. El-Messidi serves as director of Celebrate Mercy, a nonprofit promoting a better understanding of the Prophet Muhammad. The two set up a crowdsource fund on LaunchGood.com, asking for monetary support to repair the headstones at Chesed Shel Emeth.

Just a few weeks later, on March 5th, vandals struck at the Mount Carmel Jewish Cemetery in Philadelphia, toppling nearly 100 headstones. Sarsour and El-Messidi added a request for support for the second cemetery to their LaunchGood fundraising page. 

Coincidentially, Mount Carmel is only a few miles from El-Messidi’s home, so he drove to the cemetery to see how he could help. There, he found several fellow Muslims side by side with local Jews and Christians, working together to repair the desecrated stones.

A local rabbi, Yosef Goldman, was at the cemetery as well, and he was also struck by the spirit of fellowship and cooperation between the two communities.

“We’re turning upright the stones that are light enough for us to do so. And I’m feeling that the faith community in the US is strong,” he wrote in a public statement on Facebook. “A caretaker for a nearby Quaker cemetery has been here for hours, and Muslim and Christian friends and colleagues are reaching out. Acts of violence against Muslim and Jews will only make us stronger and bring us together. #sacredresistance #lovetrumpshate”

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that several Muslim military veterans have posted public offers on Twitter to stand guard over Jewish cemeteries and synagogues in several US cities to protect them from vandals and arsonists.

Delivering Chai 

Jews across the US are showing up for their Muslim neighbors in the face of hate incidents and hate crimes as well, says Rabbi Goldman.

“We have shown up in force to rallies in support of immigrants and refugees, and congregations around the country are adopting refugee families and becoming sanctuary synagogues,” he said in a sermon he delivered at the Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel on March 4th, which he shared with Green America. “Jews have shown up at Muslim community centers and mosques in solidarity with our Muslim neighbors, here in Philadelphia and throughout America. We know what it’s like to be on the wrong side of immigration policies and of religious discrimination. And so we’re showing up. And it’s making a difference.”

One particularly moving story of Jews making a difference for Muslim victims of hate crimes comes out of Tampa, FL. Late at night on February 24th, a small fire broke out in the Daarus Salaam mosque. Firefighters later ruled that the official cause was arson.

Although there was only a small amount of fire damage, the mosque’s main prayer hall sustained significant water damage after the blaze triggered the mosque’s sprinkler system. Daarus Salaam has been forced to hold prayer services in a nearby building while the mosque undergoes repairs and law enforcement investigates the arson.

Shortly after the fire, mosque member Adeel Karim set up a crowdsource page at LaunchGood.com to raise funds for the mosque, particularly so it can “continue to promote interfaith events and dialog with our neighbors.”

“This community has held several events for outreach, and the money will double down our efforts to ensure love, empathy, and compassion are instilled,” he wrote on the page. Though Karim’s LaunchGood campaign only had a goal of raising $40,000, the site brought in over $60,000 in less than a week, and it had reached nearly $80,000 by March 9th.

But Karim noticed something odd about the donations.

“I couldn’t understand why people were donating in what seemed like weird amounts to the cause,” Karim wrote on Facebook. “There are sums of 18, 36, 72 dollars, etc. Then I figured out after clicking on the names Avi, Cohen, Goldstein, Rubin, Fisher … Jews donate in multiples of 18 as a form of what is called chai. It wishes the recipient a long life. #chaidelivered”

Karim said that the local Jewish community has shown up “in force” to support the mosque’s worshippers.

Mosque members told Tampa’s WFLA News that they’ve received hundreds of e-mails and text messages of support.

And Jews, Christians, and others attended a solidarity gathering in front of the mosque on February 24th. “When I see a rabbi or I see a priest here, it makes me feel so good. So proud,” mosque member Mahfoud Rabbani told WFLA at the gathering. “Cause … this is what this country is about.”

It Doesn’t End with Flint

The tragedy happening in Flint, MI, right now (see People of Color Are on the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis) may have finally shone a light on environmental injustice in a way that hasn’t happened in the past. But it’s important to understand that environmental racism, including the climate racism we’ve discussed in this issue, does not begin and end with Flint.

These are not accidents. Communities of color have been targeted for decades by toxic, polluting, climate-warming facilities and are being left out of basic government protections against global warming’s worst effects and more. Purposefully. Willfully.

In fact, the same communities are being targeted multiple times. Flint itself is home to a wood-burning power plant that releases lead and other pollutants, as well as three hazardous waste sites, all near primarily Black communities.

In Perry County, AL, resident Esther Calhoun movingly explains her community’s situation in an article for the Associated Press:

My family has lived in Uniontown, Alabama, for generations. My daddy and granddaddy were sharecroppers who grew cotton, corn, and okra. The people here, mostly African-American like me, have strong ties to the land. They are proud of this piece of the country. At least they used to be. That was before Arrowhead Land ll turned Uniontown into a dumping ground for the eastern half of the nation, before Arrowhead received permission to take in tons of toxic coal ash from the disastrous 2008 coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee. The toxic heavy metals in coal ash arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, and thallium have been linked to cancer and other illnesses. Children are experiencing nosebleeds, headaches, and breathing problems.

It’s not an isolated incident. Dr. Robert D. Bullard and Dr. Beverly Wright have released several studies showing that communities of color that receive one toxic facility often end up with a cluster a fact that Calhoun confirms, saying Uniontown also has a prison, a catfish-processing plant, and other polluters within its borders. Why did Uniontown become a dumping ground for the eastern half of the country? she asks. No one thought that this poor community would fight back or that anyone would listen to us.

But they are fighting back, with a civil rights lawsuit against the landfill and the EPA. This issue is dedicated to them and all the courageous people who battle these injustices on a daily basis. Join us in pledging to do all we can to stop climate and environmental and our climate justice resources for a place to start.

Methane regulations on public lands preserved

The US Senate votes against a Congressional Review Act (CRA) measure that would have eliminated Bureau of Land Management’s regulations to limit methane emissions from oil and gas operations on public lands.

Green America's individual and business members spoke out strongly in favor of preserving the rule.  We also mobilized businesses and individuals to support the original rulemaking in 2016. 

fields side by side
pieces of chocolate
People & Planet Award

People & Planet Award for Green Businesses

Since 2012, our People & Planet Award has recognized outstanding small businesses with deep commitments to social justice and environmental sustainability. This project has been made possible thanks to a special donor committed to giving a boost to innovative entrepreneurs. The People & Planet Award has bestowed over $300,000 on green businesses since its inception. We are pleased to recognize the winners in the final award cycle. 

Following nominations by the public, our top five business nominees for the Award each quarter are determined by our volunteer panel of judges: Justin Conway, Calvert Impact Capital; Tess O’Brien, Clean Power Perks; Erlene Howard, Collective Resource, Inc.; Dale Luckwitz, Happsy.com; Jonathan Reinbold, Organic Valley; Martin Wolf, Seventh Generation; and Scott Kitson, Beth Porter and Fran Teplitz of Green America.

Thank you to all who have nominated and voted for businesses to win the award over the past several years, and thank you to all the great businesses innovating and pioneering to be sustainable and just for all. 

Own Stocks? Use Your Power to Vote for People & Planet

As a shareholder, you have a unique and important role to vote on company resolutions that let management know you want corporate practices that support people and the planet.

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TheGreenOffice.com features the widest selection of environmentally-friendly office products on the market, all ranked by greenness. And where green solutions won’t do or don’t exist, we offer conventional alternatives for true one-stop shopping. Our 110% Price-Match Guarantee ensures the best pricing on the market and through Green America, you'll save an additional 5% using the discount code “GreenAmericaMember”. »

 

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  • "Contact" Functions. Some pages on our sites offers users the opportunity to email either Green America, its affiliate organizations or other companies or organizations about specific issues.  To do so, users are asked to provide certain personal information to facilitate these communications. This information often includes the user’s name, email address, and, depending on which contact method the user chooses, postal address. This information is used to create a template letter or message from the user to the organization or company and, if the user chooses to email the message using our automated function, it will include the user’s email address to as part of the email message. This provides the organization or company a way to respond to users regarding the content of the message.
     
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  • "Survey" Function. We occasionally ask users to complete surveys on our sites and may ask for personally-identifying information as part of that process.  Unless otherwise clearly specified at the point of the request, this information is not used for Green America for any purpose other than to process or analyze the results of the survey or to fulfill a request that you make as part of the survey.
     
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All our employees and processors who have access to the personal data of users and are associated with the processing of that data are obliged to respect the confidentiality of users’ personal data.

Text Message Service Privacy Policy

We respect your privacy. We only use information you provide through this service to transmit your mobile messages and respond to you. This includes, but isn't limited to, sharing information with platform providers, phone companies, and other vendors who assist us in the delivery of mobile messages. WE DON'T SELL, RENT, LOAN, TRADE, LEASE, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER FOR PROFIT ANY PHONE NUMBERS OR CUSTOMER INFORMATION COLLECTED THROUGH THE SERVICE TO ANY THIRD PARTY. Nonetheless, we reserve the right always to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or governmental request, to avoid liability, or to protect our rights or property. This Text Message Service Privacy Policy applies to your use of the Text Message Service and isn't intended to modify our general “Privacy Policy”, incorporated by reference above, which may govern the relationship between you and us in other contexts.

COSTS OF TEXT MESSAGES

We do not charge you for the messages you send and receive via this text message service. But message and data rates may apply, so depending on your plan with your wireless or other applicable provider, you may be charged by your carrier or other applicable provider.

FREQUENCY OF TEXT MESSAGES

This Text Messaging Service is for conversational person-to-person communication between you and our employees. We may send you an initial message providing details about the service. After that, the number of text messages you receive will vary depending on how you use our services and whether you take steps to generate more text messages from us (such as by sending a HELP request).

OPTING OUT OF TEXT MESSAGES

If you no longer want to receive text messages, you may reply to any text message with STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE. As a person-to-person communication service, opt-out requests are specific to each conversation between you and one of our employees and their associated phone number. After unsubscribing, we may send you confirmation of your opt-out via text message.

CONTACT US

For support, contact us at info@greenamerica.org or (202)872-5307 or Green America."

Complaints

Green America will work with users to resolve any complaints about our privacy policies or practices.

If you have a complaint about our privacy and fair information practices policy or about our implementation of the policy, you can contact us. Green America will try to resolve any problems that arise in a fair and prompt manner.

Technical Issues Related to Your Privacy

Green America uses a number of specific technical tools and techniques to ensure convenient, reliable and timely service. While we work to ensure the security of personal information, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure and some of these tools and techniques may affect your privacy concerns.

As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or from our online products or services, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.

Cookies and other technologies: Green America uses one or more companies to place advertisements for our organization on third-party sites. Cookies and other technologies such as Web beacons or tags are used to measure the effectiveness of our ads and to determine the display of content and advertising to you based on your interests both on our site, as well as on third-party sites where you may visit. To support this interest based advertising solution, we, and companies who we have contracted with, may use anonymous information about your visits to our and other Web sites. The information collected and used by this process is always anonymous, and does not enable any third-party to identify you individually

Although it is our hope that you find the display of advertising to you based on your anonymous interests valuable, if you would prefer not to participate in the services offered through these solutions, you can always opt-out of this activity by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) website by clicking http://optout.networkadvertising.org

Because of this practice, if you are younger than 18 years of age, we request that you follow the above link to opt out of display advertising.
 

Web Logs: Green America maintains standard Web logs that record basic information about visitors to our Web site. These logs contain:

  • The Internet domain from which you came to our Web site.
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We use Web log information to design our Web site, identify popular features, and in similar ways. We do not try to identify individuals from Web logs or to link Web logs to other user information. However, if someone tries to damage our Web site or use it in an unauthorized or illegal way, we may share Web log information with law enforcement agencies. Green America may provide aggregate information such as the number of users who visit particular pages of the site, or the number of people who link to certain external sites from our site, to other parties.

Links to Other Sites: Green America does carry advertising on some of its sites and provides links to other sources of information which we believe may be of interest to site visitors.  We have no control over the content of the sites to which we link in Green America's sites and these sites may have different privacy policies, which we encourage you to review. When you click through to other Web sites, you may get cookies directly from them. Green America does not see or use these cookies, and we do not control how other sites use cookies.

Changes to Privacy Policy

Green America's features and services will change over time and our information-gathering practices and policies may also change.

While our philosophy of protecting user information from inappropriate uses and disclosures will not change, this policy will be updated occasionally to include any change that materially affects the collection, maintenance, use, or disclosure of personal information.

Other changes to this privacy policy statement that reflect refinements, improvements, updates, and new features will be made as appropriate and posted as soon as possible. Whenever the privacy policy changes, we will modify the date to reflect that a change was made.

Does Green America rent, share, sell or trade my information?

Green America does not rent, share, sell or trade supporter e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. We occasionally have third parties perform supportive services on our behalf, such as data processing, analytics, billing, etc. These third parties have access to your personal information only as needed to perform their services for Green America and are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the personal information.

If you are a Green America member and you do NOT wish to have your information shared with third parties, please call us toll-free at (800) 584-7336 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Thursday to speak to one of our Member Services representatives or email Members@GreenAmerica.org. It would be helpful if you had your Member ID available, as that will shorten the amount of time it takes to locate your member information.

If you are not a Green America member and you have provided personal contact information on our web site by signing up for a list, or sending us feedback, your information WILL NOT BE EXCHANGED.

How to Request and/or Correct Information

Although Green America has no programs or utilities to collect information other than those which have been outlined in this Privacy Policy, you may request in writing any personal information about you that we hold, or correct or amend information about you if it is inaccurate.

The following Web sites are operated by Green America, located at 1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006. Our telephone number is (202) 872-5307.

www.greenamerica.org
www.greenbusinessnetwork.org
www.responsibleshopper.org
www.greenpages.org
www.gmoinside.org
www.centerforsustainabilitysolutions.org

Click here to contact us regarding privacy-related concerns.

Green America's Policy on Accepting Company Funds

Green America is committed to creating an economy that works for people and the planet. An important component of the organization’s work is engaging with companies of all sizes to encourage them to increase their environmental and social responsibility.

Green America has strict policies about accepting company funds.

Green America does not accept donations from companies that generate revenues primarily from tobacco, fossil fuels, mining, production of toxic chemicals (including synthetic pesticides), weapons, and/or armaments.

Dues

Green America accepts dues from companies that meet our published standards for economic and social progress in their industries. Green America only promotes businesses to the public in our National Green Pages® and Green Pages Online that have successfully completed our certification process (in addition to paying dues). Furthermore, only businesses that have successfully completed our certification process may advertise in Green America publications, Web sites, emails, and other electronic comments.

Donations and Sponsorships

We believe that companies should provide funding to support nonprofit organizations that are growing a truly green economy, and that this funding should not influence the mission or programs of the nonprofit. Green America does accept donations and sponsorships from companies that successfully complete the organization’s Green Business Certification and receive certification. These are the leading green business in the US. Green America also accepts donations and sponsorships from companies that demonstrate a clear commitment to the organization’s mission and promote goods and services that benefit people and the planet. Green America provides the logos of sponsoring companies on the Web site pages of the programs being sponsored, and allow sponsors to share content through our social media and email channels.

Green America promotes the products and services of select green businesses to our individual members, and in return, receives a portion of the proceeds. Only businesses that have earned Green America’s certification are eligible to promote products and services to these members. Green America promotes royalties to business members as well. We promote the greenest options available to these members. In limited cases (such as shipping services), there are no green businesses providing a particular service needed by Green America’s business members.

Fees for Service

We believe that when nonprofits assist companies in greening their supply chains those companies should pay for the service. These payments, in turn, provide revenues that the nonprofit can use to promote a more sustainable and equitable economy.

Green America accepts fees for service from companies that are engaged in increasing the sustainability of at least some of their goods or services. Green America provides consulting and educational services to companies to help them adopt social and environmental practices.

Partnerships

Green America may partner with organizations that do accept donations from companies that Green America won’t accept donations from. Green America will only partner with those organizations on projects that further Green America’s mission.

Green America may also partner with companies that have received Green America’s certification in order to execute a campaign or program. These companies may play an active role in executing and promoting a campaign or program but will not influence or change Green America's goals or policy positions.

Disclosure of Funds and Programmatic Independence

Green America discloses the existence of donations, sponsorships, dues, and fees received from companies.

The receipt of company funds does not influence Green America’s position on any issues, or any public statement Green America wishes to make on issues, or critiques of any company’s practices, or campaigns related to those practices. Green America reserves the right to terminate any relationships with a company and/or return company funding at any time.

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The entire content included in this Site, including but not limited to text, design, graphics, interfaces, or code and the selection and arrangements thereof is copyrighted as a collective work under the United States and other copyright laws, and is the property of Green America. The collective work includes works that are licensed to Green America. Copyright 2005. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names (collectively the "Marks"), including Green America™, Green Pages Store®, WoodWise®, Green Pages Directory™ and National Green Pages™, are trademarks or registered trademarks of and are proprietary to Green America.

How to Read a Proxy Ballot

Supporting social and environmental shareholder resolutions is as easy as checking a few boxes and tossing the ballot back into its postage-paid envelope. Whatever you do, don't throw your shareholder ballots in the recycling bin! Use your power to raise for your voice on social, environmental, and corporate governance issues.

Using the fictional Fizzy Cola company, Green America walks you through a sample proxy ballot, so you'll be ready to cast your votes in the spring. Click here to read this as a pdf in another tab.

proxy ballot sample

Graphic created by Tracy Fernandez Rysavy and Dennis Greenia.

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Learn more about Green America's board of directors, executive team, and staff. We'd love to add you to this page. See Green America's job openings here.

What's Wrong with Modern Wheat

Bob Quinn is the man behind KAMUT® Brand khorasan wheat, a unique ancient grain from Mesopotamia. After receiving a Ph.D in Plant Biochemistry from UC Davis and selling his business interests in Northern California, he moved back to his family farm in Montana. Through the use of a trademark he has dedicated his company to protecting the integrity of khorasan wheat and is able to set high standards for the ways in which it is grown. Kamut khorasan wheat can never be cross-bred with modern wheat and must always be grown organically. 

There are a growing number of wheat growers joining Quinn in a movement to reestablish ancient grains and turn to organic growing methods. This is a forward thinking movement looking at the least chemically intensive, environmentally destructive, while being the most profitable to farmers. At the same time there is a band of biotech companies determined to introduce genetically engineered (GE) wheat.

What’s wrong with modern wheat?

To understand the implications of GE wheat it is important to understand the concerns surrounding modern wheat in general and what differentiates it from ancient grains, such as Kamut khorasan. Ancient grains are those that are derived from ancient civilizations and have been left practically unaltered by human interference since that time. Ancient grains are gaining in popularity, with grains such as spelt, khorasan, einkorn, and emmer (faro) becoming more common to consumers.

The vast majority of the wheat we consume today has been drastically altered from its original form. While wheat has yet to be genetically engineered it has been altered through intensive conventional breeding. According to Bob “what is inherent and drives modern wheat breeding programs are higher yields and more loaves of bread, linked with the national drive to sell cheap food in this country. Cheap food is the main food policy these days. With that being the main goal many things have been changed.  To make higher yields, plants were made shorter and more uniform, they were made more disease resistant, and more resistant to insects.” But all of these changes plus others have had many unintended consequences. “What is probably even more significant is the change in the proteins and starches in the kernel to make more loaves of bread with less wheat.  This is significant because this is the part we actually eat,” says Bob.

The cheap wheat most often consumed today is stripped of much of its nutrients and removes many of the benefits that can be found in ancient grains. All of this is done to lower costs. Research shows that it is how we have altered modern wheat that is resulting in so many health complications linked to wheat. The health implications of modern compared to ancient grains are a major focus area for Kamut International. Bob thinks, “recent changes made to modern wheat is probably at the heart of the troubles that people are having eating wheat, these unintended consequences are what people are struggling with.”

Why GMO wheat isn’t the answer?

The most common types of GE crops, such as corn, soy, and alfalfa, are developed to be herbicide-resistant, allowing entire fields to be sprayed with herbicides without damaging the crops. This increases the amount of pesticide residue left on food and increasingly studies are finding high levels of pesticide residue in our water and our bodies. Major biotech companies are pursuing GE wheat developed to be resistant to glyphosate, dicamba, 2,4-D, and glufosinate.

For Quinn there are a number of reasons that GE wheat simply isn’t the answer. There is the general concern for the impacts resulting from the type of agriculture promoted by GE crops: costly chemical inputs, monocropping, and the impact on surrounding ecosystems. But his concerns go far beyond these and are focused on the farmers growing wheat and consumers. In Bob’s own words, here are some of the main concerns surrounding GE wheat:

The increased cost of production incurred to the farmer:

“In Montana the cost of chemicals is so high compared to what people are getting for their wheat, they can’t afford to grow it anymore. They can’t afford to farm in this way. They can’t pay their chemical bills with the amount they are receiving for the grain they are harvesting. I think that this is a crazy and unsustainable system that is going to lead, many into financial ruin.  Many will be forced to sell their farms and suicide by those who feel trapped has already started to occur. Right now, the price of organic wheat is at 4 or 5 times the price of conventional. With organic you are taking so much more net profit to the bank that it puts you in a very comfortable position rather than being on the edge of break even all the time or even worse, farming at a consistent loss. The current system is an artificial system that is only propped up by large government subsidies, which are starting to disappear. This leaves farmers in a system where they are completely vulnerable and almost unable to make a living.”

Health concerns with herbicide use:

“More and more research is starting to point to the chemicals causing some of the trouble that people are having with wheat. Research in Canada has demonstrated that glypohsate residue is mimicking the symptoms that people have from wheat sensitivities and there have been all kinds of health problems that disappear, in children when they go on an organic diet.”

The economic viability of US wheat abroad:

“Montana’s main customers are Japan and South Korea, both countries have made it abundantly clear that they will not purchase GE wheat. The problem with wheat will be that there is no way to distinguish a GMO kernel from a non-GMO kernel. This will be the problem in the marketplace; there is no way to differentiate it. The first time we end up with a boatload of wheat in Tokyo bay where they find traces of GMOs will produce a huge fall out. Who will pay for the GMO contaminated wheat that is rejected in faraway countries. We have already seen some boycotts of US wheat in 2013 when unapproved GE wheat was discovered in fields in Oregon.  More recently there were other cases of unauthorized, unapproved GE wheat found in a Montana experiment station and in a field in Washington.  Although these finds did not trigger the economic fall out that the Oregon find triggered, they raise serious doubts about how GE wheat will be controlled if it is approved and released.  Contamination seems a certainly and huge loss of markets to the detriment of US wheat growers seem a high probability. “

Lack of control of the seed system:

“The other problem is stripping farmers’ control over the seed and agricultural system. Surrendering those choices to just a few agrochemical companies who prohibit farmers from keeping seed they grow for planting means that the companies will now provide all the seed and all the chemicals in a very controlled way.  Farmers will have no say over price, they will have no say over what seeds they can use, and what chemicals they can spray with. Farmers will be sold a promise that this will make them more money but once they buy into it they will be worse off than they already are now, because they bought into a closed system which is totally dependent on the chemical company. When the prices of the commodities go down and the prices for the chemicals go up they are stuck in a system they cannot escape.”

 

Beyond the many concerns around the impacts of GE wheat on both the farmer and the environment there is an underlying tension that is being propagated by the chemical companies pitting the conventional and organic farmers against one another. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Bob believes that “farmers don’t need to be at odds. They are being put at odds. The chemical companies are putting out the image of conflict and controversy and battle. Of course they are afraid to lose market share. There main claim is that only they [the chemical companies] can feed the world and now people are starting to see research coming out more and more that debunks that notion.” The chemical companies are misleading consumers and policy makers. At the end of the day farmers simply want to support their families and farms and grow nutritious food for a hungry world, and chemical intensive crops are not the solution.

“The path forward is organic agriculture. The future is organically produced food.  Only this type of agriculture can feed the world.  It is important to understand that with every dollar consumers spend on food; they are voting for chemical or organic agriculture. If people would make the connections between organic food and health and nutrition, then it would be easy to justify choosing organic food. There are other benefits of organic agriculture compared to chemical agriculture such as the reduction of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from the production of chemical fertilizer and the reduction in chemical pesticides contaminating our water and soil. The impacts of chemical agriculture can be significantly reduced if we move towards more acres under organic production.,” says Quinn.

 

This interview has been edited for length. 

 

Let's Talk About Miracle Whip and GMOs (Part 2)

Kraft Miracle Whip is a household staple full of less-than wholesome ingredients produced in ways that put people, animals, pollinators, and the planet at risk. Half of the ingredients are likely produced from GE crops. The eggs are also problematic because Kraft sources them from factory farms where they are fed diets high in GMOs, as well as live in inhumane conditions.

Concerns about Eggs and CAFOs in Miracle Whip

Corporate and Geographic Consolidation

Gone are the days of pastures, barns, field crops, and farm animals. Eggs are produced in industrial operations with hundreds of thousands of laying hens in each facility, growing by nearly 25 percent from 1997 to 2007. Nearly half of egg production is concentrated in five states: Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, California, and Pennsylvania. Egg operations have grown in size by 50 percent in the same ten-year period, averaging 750,000 hens per factory farm. Though headquartered in Mississippi, Cal-Maine is the largest egg producer in the United States, selling 685 million dozen eggs in 2007 with a flock of 23 million hens.

Animal Welfare

The manner in which laying hens are raised directly affects their wellbeing and health.Egg-laying hens are subjected to mutilation, confinement, and deprivation of the ability to live their lives as the active, social beings they are. More than 90 percent of eggs in the US are produced in confinement conditions. Welfare abuses run rampant in egg CAFOs including: killing male chicks upon hatching because they have no value to the egg industry, debeaking young female chicks causing severe pain, living in battery cages with the equivalent of less than a sheet of paper of floor size, being subjected to a process called “forced molting” where hens are starved and deprived of food for up to two weeks to shock their bodies into the next egg-laying cycle, and slaughtering them after their egg production declines in 1-2 years even though the lifespan of an industry chicken would be 5-8 years.

There is growing concern about the living conditions in which food animals are raised; however, there is little oversight when it comes to product labels, as we have recently seen in the news regarding the label “natural”. The majority of egg labels have no official standards or oversight or enforcement mechanisms, nor much relevance to animal welfare. Labels include: cage-free, free-range, free-roaming, pasture-raised, certified organic, vegetarian-fed, and more. The highest-welfare eggs come pasture-raised with certification from Animal Welfare Approved. Unfortunately, few farms are certified to this standard. Check out the organization’s mobile app to find products near you.

Even certified organic is not without flaws. According to a report by Cornucopia, industrial-scale organic egg producers, with facilities holding as many as 85,000 hens each, provide 80 percent of the organic eggs on the market. This means that less than half of a percent of egg-laying hens in this country are on pasture-based farms. Therefore, it is important to dig deeper and do research into the company. Local producers offer a shorter supply chain and more transparency.

The eggs Kraft Miracle Whip sources come from factory farms and do not have any animal welfare certifications. Hellmann’s at least uses cage-free eggs; while that still results in thousands of hens are kept in an indoor structure with little to no access to outdoor grazing, it does not use battery cages.

Public and Environmental Health

Poor living conditions directly impact public and environmental health. Large-scale factory farm operations produce more than just that little white orb used in baking recipes and for brunch dishes; they are also breeding grounds for disease and pollution.

Large hen facilities house hundreds of thousands of animals in each structure and result in Salmonella poisoning of eggs. Due to a Salmonella outbreak in 2010 where close to 2,000 cases in three months were reported, the US experienced the largest shell egg recall in historyhalf a billion eggsWhile Salmonella rates are higher in battery cage systems, it is still a problem for cage-free facilities due to the sheer number of hens living in such close quarters.

As seen in other factory farm operations for pigs and cows, chicken CAFOs produce higher levels of waste than can be disposed of in a timely and environmentally responsible manner. The imbalance of a large number of animals in an increasingly smaller space causes mountains of fecal matter to pile up. Ammonia levels increase, negatively impacting air quality by creating particles inhaled by animals and people and producing unpleasant odors. Elevated ammonia levels also negatively impact water quality, running off into local streams and rivers. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), ammonia can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before returning to the ground and then into waterways. The nutrients in runoff from animal waste can then cause algal blooms, which use up the water’s oxygen supply killing all aquatic life, leading to “dead zones.” Dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico are growing larger every year, in addition to those along the East Coast.

In addition to having a devastating impact on aquatic life, industrial egg production also contributes to climate change. After assessing the lifecycle of eggs from “cradle-to-grave” production, the Environmental Working Group reported that consuming two extra-large eggs isequivalent to driving a car more than one mile.

Kraft Miracle Whip, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and GMO Labeling Opposition

Not only is Miracle Whip made of bad ingredients, its parent company, Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (formerly Kraft Foods Inc.), has its own tainted history.

Kraft has a long sordid history of company mergers and name changes. In 1915, J. L. Kraft and his brothers began producing processed cheese in tins. This is the company that created the epitome of processed food in America: Kraft Singles American Cheese. In 1988, Kraft, Inc. becomes a part of Philip Morris Companies, Inc., a company made infamous for cigarettes. In 2011, Kraft Foods announced its intent to split into two independent, publically traded companies, Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and Mondelez International, Inc. The new Kraft Foods Group is focused mainly on grocery products for the North American market, while Mondelēz is an international distributor of Kraft Foods snacks and confectionery brands. In March, 2015, 2015 Kraft Foods Group Inc, announced that it would merge with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, owned by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., contributing to the problem of corporate consolidation by forming the world’s fifth-largest food and beverage company. The new company is called The Kraft Heinz Company.

In addition to providing processed foods and continuously changing ownership, Kraft (under various legal names) has been a big player when it comes to funding opposition to state GMO labeling campaigns. Kraft gave $1.95 million to oppose California’s Prop 37.  Though Kraft Foods Group did not contribute directly to oppose Initiative 522 in Washington in 2013, it is still a dues-paying member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The other Kraft spin off company, Mondelez Global, LLC gave $210,335. Kraft got back into the game in 2014 by spending a total of $1.9 million in Measure 92 in (OR) and Prop 106 (CO).

Additional Resources

GMO Inside released an updated mayonnaise scorecard showing how various major brands measure up in terms of GMO ingredients, prevalence of eggs from CAFOs, and sustainability. Within the scorecard you will find better alternatives and highlight which brands to avoid. We also posted recipes for making homemade mayonnaise to give consumers the ultimate ability to control the quality of ingredients used to make the ever-present spread.

*For our purposes, the term mayonnaise includes mayonnaise and mayonnaise-like products known as salad dressings that contain either whole or powdered eggs.

FAQs on Green Credit Cards

 

Responsible credit cards from community development banks and credit unions create benefits for people and communities nationwide, while offering you all the conveniences you expect from a credit card. They make a great choice for anyone seeking a credit card.

Since many people are new to community banks and credit unions, they often have questions about how responsible, green credit cards work. People often have questions about the process of switching to a new credit card.

Here are common questions and answers about switching to a responsible credit card, with thanks to our allies at This! Is What We Did for answers to some of these questions.

How does a community development bank or credit union that issued the credit card benefit from my credit card transactions? If there is a non-profit group tied to the card, how do they benefit?

With each of your transactions, the community development bank or credit union and any partnering non-profit organization featured on the card, benefit financially from your credit card transactions. For cards that benefit nonprofit groups, with each purchase made using the card, a percentage of the interchange income is split between the bank or credit union and the non-profit group, providing both entities with a revenue stream to support their missions.

Will my credit card with a community development bank or credit union work overseas?

Yes. Credit cards issued by community development banks and credit unions use the Visa or MasterCard networks, and the cards will work anywhere that a Visa or MasterCard issued by a megabank will work.

Can I use my responsible card for online purchases and bill paying?

Yes. Your responsible credit card operates just like a conventional credit card. You can use it to make online purchases, pay bills, or anything else you would use a conventional card for.

Can I earn points redeemable for rewards or cash back with my responsible credit card?

Many responsible credit cards offer point programs redeemable for merchandise, cash, or services. Contact the financial institution or nonprofit organization that benefits from your specific card for information on their awards program.

Can I use my responsible card to withdraw cash from ATMs?

Yes. You can use your credit card to withdraw cash from ATMs that accept your card, subject to the terms of your card. Check the listing on the ATM to see whether or not a fee will be applied. If the ATM accepts Visa or MasterCard, then you may not be charged.

How secure is my responsible credit card?

Your responsible card has all the security of any credit card. You have all the same legal protections against theft or loss that you have with any other credit card.

Can I manage my responsible credit card account online? Can I get a paperless statement with my responsible credit card?

Online accounting and electronic statements are often available – check with the bank or credit union issuing the card.

Whom do I contact for customer service for my responsible credit card?

The customer service number for your responsible credit card is located on the back of your card.

If I end my airline credit card issued by a megabank, will I lose my airline miles?

Once your airline miles are transferred to your frequent flier account, your current miles are yours to keep. You will not be able gain more miles after you cancel your airline credit card. This is the same for all airline-bank partnership cards (for example, the Southwest Visa card issued by Chase), but not all miles-earnings cards (for example, the Chase Sapphire card). Learn more.

Will closing a long-held credit card negatively impact one’s credit score? How can one maintain a good credit rating if one ends a long-held credit card?

The short answer is, it can. The average age of your open accounts affects your score, but other factors have a greater impact on your score. This article from Nerdwallet compares the different factors. You may want to explore opening a new sustainable credit card with an equal or higher credit limit to help balance out the cancellation, as well as following these steps to close accounts safely. The impacts of closing a credit card account are temporary, and can be offset by other factors like using a new card with an equal or higher credit limit and maintaining a credit-utilization ratio below 30% (the lower, the better). If you are planning on making a big purchase (e.g., a house) or you are a renter and looking to move soon, you may want to wait until those processes are completed before ending a long-held or high-limit credit card.

Can opening a new credit card lower your credit score?

Opening a new credit card can potentially lower your credit score in the short term. When you apply for a new card, the company will likely do a hard inquiry into your credit history, which may temporarily lower your score. In the long-term, opening a new account and using the card responsibly (maintaining a ratio below 30%) will help your credit score.

Are Visa and Mastercard green?

Unfortunately, any mega-corporation is not likely to be “green,” in part due to investment and shareholder practices. For example, asset managers BlackRock and Vanguard are major shareholders for both Visa and Mastercard, and they are also major funders of fossil fuel projects worldwide. Only you can decide what is “green enough” for your personal situation. For now, our top focus is to put pressure on the worst climate-bad megabanks -- so we encourage folks to prioritize moving away from Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, and to announce your move loudly and widely.

Are you ready to switch? Try one of these better cards now.

And remember, please use your credit card responsibly: Only charge the amount of purchases you know you can re-pay.

Tell Godiva: End Child Labor

This is a former Green America campaign, and progress was made! Thanks to the pressure of nearly 40,000 action takers Godiva has issued a public policy on responsible cocoa.

Within this policy, Godiva commits to taking steps to scale child labor monitoring and remediation systems to 100%, commits to working with suppliers so that cocoa farmers earn a living income, and to no deforestation, among other commitments.

Godiva’s golden boxes of chocolates and decadent chocolate-covered strawberries contain some unsavory ingredients: poverty and child labor.   

Nearly 70% of the world’s cocoa, including Godiva’s, is sourced from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where cocoa farmers and their families live on less than $1 per day—well below the global poverty line of $1.25/day.  

Child labor, a symptom of extreme poverty, has been a known problem in West African cocoa fields for more than a decade. The US Department of Labor found more than 2 million children work in hazardous conditions growing cocoa—such as burning fields, applying agrochemicals, carrying heavy loads—and many do not attend school.  

Thanks to pressure from Green America members, Godiva has been exploring what sustainability means to the company and what a policy might look like. While we applaud Godiva for taking an interest in sustainability, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Many fair trade chocolate companies have sourced directly from cocoa farmers for years, ensuring fair payments, safe working conditions, and no child labor. 

Throwing a Fair Trade Party

Educate others about fair trade and help them go sweatshop-free. 

When Carmel Jud decided to help Afghan women suffering from impacts of the Taliban regime, she started holding house parties. Not your everyday gathering, Jud’s house parties focused on selling fair trad goods that Afghan women had made in their homes and sold for fair prices.

“The response was amazing,” Jud recalls. “We would show a video about how the Taliban was forcing women out of schools and professions. Then, we would display the crafts we had for sale and explain how the Afghan women making them were now able to earn money to support their families and maintain their dignity. The guests would be so moved that not only would they buy many of the items we had for sale, but most of them would sign up on the spot to host their own parties.”

With the holiday season approaching, now’s the perfect time to think about hosting a fair trade house party. “The party can be your holiday gift to your friends,” suggests Nancy Potter, director of sales and marketing for A Greater Gift (a program of SERRV International). “You can show them that their choices do make a difference and that their purchasing dollars can provide hope and justice to fair trade artisans.”

Here are details on how you can host a successful party—one that pleases your guests and encourages their support of a fair economic system.

Why Fair Trade House Parties?

In conventional trade, much of the purchase price of a product usually goes to middlemen, and the workers who produce the products often earn poverty-level wages insufficient for supporting their families. Fair trade ensures that producers receive prices that cover their costs of production and allow them to invest in the well-being of their families, their communities, and the Earth.

Fair trade crafts—including jewelry, clothing, and household items—can be obtained from businesses belonging to the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), which screens its members based on fair trade criteria. Fair Trade Certified™ commodities such as coffee, chocolate, and bananas sold in the US bear the seal of TransFair USA, the organization that certifies that the producers have received a fair price for their products.

House parties are an excellent way to support artisans around the world by selling their fair trade products. A host will gather a group of friends, neighbors, or coworkers to explain what fair trade is and to encourage them to purchase fair trade crafts such as embroidered bags, colorful shawls, and handcrafted jewelry, or gift baskets featuring Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate, coffee, and tea. Perhaps most importantly, house parties educate guests about fair trade and spur them to spread the word about it.

“Most of the people attending fair trade house parties don’t tend to know much, if anything, about fair trade,” says Dana Geffner, who often sells fair trade items at house parties through the fair trade organization Pachamama, which she founded in 2002. “Then they get so inspired that they start going to their local supermarkets and asking for Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, or pledging that all of the gifts they buy will be fair trade.

The Gathering

Most fair trade parties are informal gatherings, and Jud suggests aiming for 10–15 guests to keep the group intimate. To encourage attendance, she advises sending invitations that emphasize the social aspect of the evening and the opportunity to purchase beautiful crafts. If you’re holding your party in holiday-shopping season, you can also tell your friends that it’ll be a chance for them to fill all their gift-buying needs in a single evening.

At the party, beverages and finger food—perhaps featuring Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, tea, or chocolate—can help encourage socializing as the guests arrive and everyone gets settled. Then it’s on to the two main activities of the evening: learning and shopping.

Educating Your Guests

To get your guests excited about fair trade, you’ll want to point out the injustice that exists under today’s economic system and explain the solution that fair trade presents. Geffner has brought guest speakers, including members of fair trade cooperatives and human rights groups, to parties, but she says that the host can also fulfill the role of fair trade educator. You can also show videos about fair trade, if you wish.

To brush up on your fair trade knowledge beforehand, consult an organization such as the Fair Trade Resource Network. Vendors from whom you request merchandise or catalogs may also supply educational materials, such as brochures or videos.

In Jud’s experience, a speaker who can talk firsthand about conditions in developing countries can help guests further understand “how their choices affect individuals around the world.” If you wish to go this route, you can appeal to friends, family, or coworkers to connect you to potential speakers; contact a community center of an immigrant group in your area; or appeal to a radio station that broadcasts in a non-English language.

“One of my most powerful speakers came to me through a Spanish-language radio station,” Jud says. “I wanted someone from Mexico who could talk about conditions in Juarez, because so many of the sweatshops that produce clothes for US consumers are located there.” Within ten minutes of the station broadcasting Jud’s request for a speaker, a woman who’d worked in a Juarez sweatshop volunteered to tell her story.

“The guests found her story shocking,” Jud recalls. “She talked about how the buses from the factories to the residential area didn’t have enough space for all of the workers, and how the women would fight to get on because they knew that if they had to walk home, they would risk being attacked and killed, the way several young women there have been.”

Once the host or speaker has highlighted the problem, it’s time to talk about the solutions that fair trade offers. You can provide an overview of how the system works and then use specific 
products and producer groups as success stories.

Unveiling the Fair Trade Products

If you can manage it, a few representative craft items can be useful props when telling stories about individual artisans or cooperatives—and they can help show your guests how beautiful 
and unique their products are. Jud recommends concealing the items before the initial presentation so that people won’t decide what they do or don’t want to buy until they’ve heard the whole fair trade story. She prefers to uncover items one at a time, introducing each one with the name of the person who made it and describing the impact that fair trade has had on that person’s life.

Some organizations have kits available for people holding fair trade sale events, and these kits will often include educational materials as well as sample products or products that you can sell on the spot. If you want to order products or kits, find out how soon before your party they can ship the items and how soon after the party you need to return them.

Ten Thousand Villages has a program designed for larger events, such as community days or church fairs; this is worth considering if you belong to a group that might like to host one of these “Ten Thousand Villages Festivals.” Pre-formed modules contain $4,000 worth of goods, plus promotional and educational materials; hosts are expected to sell approximately $2,000.

The Do-It-Yourself Model is flexible: You obtain a few catalogs (Visit the FTF Web site or peruse the Green Pages™ Online—our directory of green businesses that includes FTF members—and request catalogs from businesses whose products you find appealing), then have your guests fill out order forms at the party and take care of placing the orders on their own. If you own a few fair trade items already, you can show them off as samples. Or, you can buy your holiday gifts early and display them before passing them along to their intended recipients.

Jud’s nonprofit, Rising International, has been holding California fair trade house parties for the past two years. Recently, the organization decided to put the parties on hold while considering the best direction in which to expand. Jud says she’s still happy to serve as a resource for anyone with questions about holding fair trade house parties.

So, if you’ve got space for a small party and a dozen friends or coworkers who could use some help with their holiday shopping, think about hosting a fair trade house party. An evening of learning, shopping, and socializing can direct fair trade dollars to artisans around the world, and it can turn your guests into advocates for an economic system that treats workers fairly.

Green American Magazine Archives

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Green America at the Climate March
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Economic Action Against Hate

A burst of over 1,000 hate crimes and incidents have occurred since Election Day, and the President's words and actions are only making perpetrators bolder.

With white supremacists in the cabinet and anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric coming out of the White House, we need green, people-centered solutions that bring people together—and don't depend on Washington.