Organic Consumers Activists in Seven US Cities and Mexico City Dump Weedkiller-Contaminated Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

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OCA Calls on Ben & Jerry's to Go Organic, or Face International Boycott

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Aug 10, 2017, 09:00 ET

FINLAND, Minn., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) will hold protests today against Ben & Jerry's, a subsidiary of Unilever, in seven US cities, and Mexico City. US cities are: Austin, Texas; Burlington, Vt., Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; New York; and Washington, D.C.

Protests will take place at noon local time, except Los Angeles (4 p.m. PT)

Organic Consumers Association International Director Ronnie Cummins leads a Ben & Jerry’s protest in Minneapolis. Activists wearing hazmat suits dump Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cones and serve organic ice cream. Protests scheduled today in Austin, Texas; Burlington, Vt.; Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; New York; Washington; and Mexico City. On July 25, the New York Times reported that OCA testing detected Monsanto's glyphosate in 10 of 11 samples of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

"Ben & Jerry's built its brand on claims that its products are "natural" and "GMO-Free," and that the company is committed to "social responsibility," which includes concern about environmental issues, global warming, fair labor, animal welfare, and economic success for all partners, including dairy farmers," said Ronnie Cummins, OCA's international director. "Serving up ice cream made with milk from cows raised on GMO animal feed and contaminated with Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller violates those promises.

"Ben & Jerry's contributes to the massive pollution of Vermont and US waterways by supporting industrial dairy which relies on GMO crops for animal feed. By sourcing organic milk, the company could clean up Vermont's water and support organic dairy farmers who currently are forced to sell their milk at conventional prices because they lack markets," Cummins said.

On July 25, 2017, The New York Times reported on tests of Ben & Jerry's ice cream conducted by the OCA. Ten of 11 samples tested positive for glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, and/or AMPA, a metabolite of glyphosate. Three recent peer-reviewed studies link very low levels of glyphosate—lower than what was found in B&J's ice cream—to fatty liver disease, cancer tumors, kidney damage and more.

OCA is calling for Ben & Jerry's to immediately transition to using only organic ingredients, including milk, or face an international consumer boycott.

About Organic Consumers Association
The Organic Consumers Association is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public-interest organization advocating on behalf of more than two million U.S. consumers for health, justice, and regeneration. For more information, please visit www.organicconsumers.org. @OCA_Press.

SOURCE Organic Consumers Association