Die Grocery Manufacturers Association (eine Organisation der Lebensmittelbranche) wurde im Staat Washington der Geldwäsche für schuldig befunden. Zu den Mitgliedern des Verbandes der amerikanischen Lebensmittelhersteller gehören Konzerne wie Monsanto, Kellogg’s und Nestlé. Die GMA wurde im Bundesstaat Washington bei einem illegalen Geldwäschemanöver ertappt, als sie Geld von großen Lebensmittelherstellern an die Organisatoren einer Kampagne gegen die so genannte »Initiative I-522« zur Kennzeichnung von gentechnisch veränderten Produkten weiterleitete.
Richterin Anne Hirsch urteilte jetzt in dem Fall der Klage gegen die GMA, die durch Generalstaatsanwalt Bob Ferguson erhoben wurde. Durch die Geldwäsche der GMA wurde die Identität der Unternehmen verborgen, die Gelder gespendet hatten, um die Kennzeichnungsinitiative I-522 für GVO in Washington zu Fall zu bringen.
Die “GMA hat es darauf angelegt, die Aktivitäten der großen Lebensmittelkonzerne vor der Öffentlichkeit zu „verbergen“, obwohl diese das Recht hat zu erfahren, wer die Abstimmung gegen die Initiative 522 beeinflussen will… Das Verhalten der GMA war so ungeheuerlich, es gehört zu den schlimmsten Verfehlungen in der Geschichte des Staates“ sagte der Generalstaatsanwalt des Bundesstaates Bob Ferguson.
Die GMA ist die gleiche Handelskonzerngruppe, die den DARK ACT S.2606 von Senator Pat Roberts‘ DARK ACT, S.2606 verfasst hat, der den Verbrauchern das Recht nimmt, zu erfahren, ob etwas genmanipuliert ist. Diese GMA ist eine kriminelle Organisation.
Die GMA bildete einen Sonderfonds – “ Defense of Brands „, der Zahlungen aus verschiedenen Unternehmen sammelte, wie Fortune berichtete:
PepsiCo: $ 1 700 000
Nestle USA: $ 1 100 000
General Mills: 646 000 $
Coca-Cola: $ 565 000
ConAgra: 308 000 $
Campbell Soup: 286 000 $
The Hershey Company: 268 000 $
JM Smucker: $ 260 000
Kellogg’s: 239 000 $
Mondelez: 156 000 $
Seit 2013 behauptet der Washington Generalstaatsanwalt Bob Ferguson, dass die GMA versucht, die Namen seiner Spender in einer Kampagne der „Initiative 522“ zu verstecken. Diese Spender versuchten mit dem Geld, die Kennzeichnungspflicht der genmanipulierten Lebensmittel zu verhindern, was Ihnen daraufhin auch gelang – das „Washington Gesetz“ wurde mit knapper Mehrheit abgelehnt!
20 Jahre dauert der Kampf der Amerikaner bereits, 20 Jahre schon verlangen sie eine Kennzeichnungspflicht für gentechnisch veränderte und chemisch behandelte Lebensmittel.
Dazu auch Möchten Sie wissen, ob Ihre Lebensmittel gentechnisch verändert sind?
Court: GMA unlawfully hid donors’ identities from public
Grocery Manufacturers Association Guilty of Money Laundering Scheme in Washington State. Judge Anne Hirsch awarded summary judgment in a suit brought against the GMA by Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The GMA concocted a money laundering scheme that shielded the identities of its corporate members donating funds to defeat Washington’s 2013 GMO labeling ballot initiative, I-522. Members of the GMA include Monsanto, Kellogg’s and Nestlé. “GMA worked to ’shield‘ the actions of major food companies from the very public entitled to know who was trying to influence their vote on Initiative 522… GMA’s conduct was so egregious that it ranks among the worst in state history,“ charged State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. THANK YOU, AG Bob Ferguson for seeing this lawsuit through!
The GMA is the same corporate trade group that wrote Senator Pat Roberts‘ DARK ACT, S.2606, to take away your right to know if its GMO. The GMA is a criminal organization.
Petition – Stop Monsanto’s Dream Bill!
Monsanto’s Dream Bill S.2609 passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee by a vote of 14-6 and is headed to a vote in the full Senate. Please take action below even if you have before.
Monsanto’s Dream Bill (S. 2609) would prohibit any state efforts to require labeling of genetically engineered foods (GMOs) — and it already passed in the House of Representatives and has passed through the Senate Agriculture Committee. We have to stop this bill in the Senate!
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, an industry group that represents Monsanto, Nestlé, Dow and Pepsi, is pushing this bill because it would let them continue to keep quiet about their production and use of GMO foods.
We need to make sure our Senators hear from their actual constituents, since they’re already hearing from the industry lobbyists. It’s our right to know what is in our food, and corporations should not be allowed to keep us in the dark. >>>> please sign here
Court: GMA unlawfully hid donors’ identities from public
Source: www.atg.wa.gov
Mar 11 2016
AG Ferguson prevails in landmark campaign finance lawsuit; penalty decision to come
OLYMPIA — In a decision made public today, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association violated Washington campaign finance disclosure laws by shielding the identities of major corporate donors funding efforts to defeat a food labeling initiative in Washington.
“This landmark case has been a long fight for accountability,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. “This ruling sends an unequivocal message: Big money donors cannot evade Washington law and hide from public scrutiny. My office will hold you accountable.”
The case, State v. Grocery Manufacturers Association, concerns GMA’s financing of a 2013 campaign against Initiative 522, which sought to require labeling of genetically engineered products. GMA, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association, was the largest single donor to the “No on 522” political committee.
GMA raised $14 million from its members in solicitations for a new “Defense of Brands” account, above and beyond regular member dues. PepsiCo, for example, contributed nearly $3 million to the account, and Nestle and Coca-Cola upwards of $2 million each.
GMA then donated $11 million of the $14 million from corporations to “No on 522.” In an effort to shield individual companies from required disclosure, the money was listed as coming from GMA, not the actual donors, such as Pepsi, Nestle and Coke.
“In enacting the Public Campaign Finance Laws, the people of Washington directed that they be interpreted liberally, to promote transparency and full disclosure to the voters,” Judge Anne Hirsch’s decision reads. “By its actions creating the [Defense of Brands] account, the GMA violated the spirit and letter of Washington’s Public Campaign Finance Laws.”
The court also determined that there remains a factual dispute whether GMA’s violation of the law was intentional. The court, therefore, did not determine what penalty would be imposed at this point in the proceedings, and the case will continue to trial on the disputed facts. Under the law, sanctions for campaign finance disclosure violations can include a penalty equal to the amount not reported as required. If the court finds that the violation was intentional, that penalty amount can be tripled.
Ferguson filed the lawsuit against GMA in October 2013. Internal GMA documents released as a result of this lawsuit revealed a systematic effort to conceal the true sources of $11 million in contributions to oppose I-522.
For example, meeting minutes from the GMA Board’s Finance and Audit Committee meeting show a discussion on the creation of the “Defense of Brands Strategic Account,” largely to oppose I-522: “By doing so, state GMO related spending will be identified as having come from GMA, which will provide anonymity and eliminate state filing requirements for contributing members.” In a GMA Executive Committee meeting, the Executive Vice President for Government Affairs noted that the fund would “shield individual companies from public disclosure and possible criticism.”
“The undisputed evidence further shows that the GMA’s intent was to create a plan to ‘provide anonymity and eliminate state filing requirements for contributing members,’“ Judge Hirsch wrote, citing GMA’s own documents. “As a matter of law, GMA members had knowledge of the plan to conceal the true source of contributions received and expenditures made in opposing I-522 and therefore GMA violated” Washington’s campaign finance laws.
The court also found: “There is one, and only one, reasonable inference that can be drawn from the facts before this court: that the GMA intentionally took steps to create and then hide the true source of the funds in the DOB account from the voting public of Washington State.”
In 2013, the top 10 contributors to GMA’s Defense of Brands account and their contributions (as of 12/3/13) were:
- PepsiCo: $2.696 million
- Nestle USA, Inc.: $1.751 million
- The Coca-Cola Company: $1.742 million
- General Mills: $996,000
- ConAgra: $949,000
- Campbell Soup: $441,000
- The Hershey Company: $413,000
- J.M. Smucker: $401,000
- Kellogg: $369,000
- Land O’Lakes: $332,000
Katrina Asay, chair of the Public Disclosure Commission, praised the decision: “The Commission is very pleased with the ruling. This case sends a strong message that the Commission will not tolerate efforts to conceal the truth about who is funding campaigns and attempting to influence elections. We appreciate how quickly the Attorney General acted in this matter, and we believe his staff did a great job of defending Washington’s campaign disclosure requirements for the people of Washington State.”
Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton, Deputy Solicitor General Callie Castillo, and Assistant Attorney General Garth Ahearn are handling this case.
Netzfrau Andrea Escher
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