Governor McAuliffe Announces Next Steps in SOL Reform Process

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced the process for the nomination and appointment of members to the Standards of Learning (SOL) Innovation Committee. The 2014 General Assembly directed Secretary of Education Anne Holton to establish the committee as part of a package of reforms to the commonwealth’s assessment and accountability system. The committee’s charge is to recommend further reforms, in addition to an already-approved reduction in the number of required SOL tests. 

“Innovation and accountability are critical components in building a public education system that meets the demands of a 21^st Century economy,” Governor McAuliffe said.  “The challenge for the SOL Innovation Committee will be to chart a course for reform that builds on the strengths of the current SOL system while creating more room for the rich, creative and innovative learning experiences that will prepare all Virginia students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in a global economy.” 

As directed by the 2014 legislation, Secretary of Education Anne Holton is soliciting recommendations and nominations from statewide organizations representing parents, teachers, principals, school boards, superintendents and other stakeholders.

In addition, applications and nominations are being accepted from individuals interested in serving on the SOL Innovation Committee.  Individuals can submit nominations and applications online by visiting the Gubernatorial Appointments page of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website and following the directions. Applicants and nominators should select the Education Secretariat in applying or recommending someone for service on the SOL Innovation Committee. Applications and nominations will be accepted until May 23, 2014.

“My goal is to have the committee begin its important work this summer,” Secretary Holton said. “I look forward to working with a diverse group truly representative of the commonwealth and united by a desire to make our nationally regarded public schools even better.”

The SOL Innovation Committee also will include four members of the House of Delegates appointed by Speaker of the House William J. Howell and two members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules on the recommendation of Senate Committee on Education and Health Chairman L. Louise Lucas. Secretary Holton, Board of Education President Christian N. Braunlich (or his designee) and Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Staples will serve as ex-officio members of the committee.

The reform legislation signed into law last month by Governor McAuliffe directs the SOL Innovation Committee to take a comprehensive look at the SOL assessments — including the computer adaptive tests now being piloted by the Virginia Department of Education — and related accountability and instructional issues and make recommendations to the Board of Education and General Assembly.

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Governor McAuliffe Names Six Members to Commonwealth Transportation Board

. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that he has named 6 new Virginia business and transportation leaders to the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

“Over the past several months, my administration has been working hard make Virginia a leader in the 21st Century Economy, be smart stewards of taxpayer dollars, and build a strong foundation for the next generation to succeed,” said Governor McAuliffe. “Investing every one of our transportation dollars wisely is central to meeting those goals. The bipartisan Virginia business and transportation leaders that I named to the Commonwealth Transportation Board today share my vision for the future of our transportation system, and will get right to work investing our resources in projects that ease congestion, promote economic development and support local communities across the Commonwealth.”

The new members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board and their brief bios are below:

Shannon Valentine, Lynchburg

Shannon Valentine is a lecturer, former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and advocate for serving the poor through economic opportunity. In January 2014, she completed an assignment as Director for the Transportation Policy Council for Governor McAuliffe’s transition team. During her time in the House of Delegates, 2006-2010, Shannon’s legislative priorities included ethics, economic development, education and transportation. She led the bipartisan, legislative effort to invest in intercity passenger rail service for the first time in Virginia’s history, worked to expand clean energy production, and created the first comprehensive legislative study of autism, which continues to serve as a blueprint today.

Shannon currently serves on the Board of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, Lynchburg City School Foundation, E. C. Glass Foundation, Converge Virginia, Habitat for Humanity Advisory Council, and Beacon of Hope, an organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing students for post-secondary education.

Court Rosen, Roanoke

Court Rosen is Vice Mayor of the City of Roanoke and has served on the Roanoke City Council since 2008. He has a deep background in business and public service. He currently serves as a principal with Walnut Creek Development Group, a residential real estate development firm. He has previously held several strategic communications positions on Capitol Hill. Court is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.  

Henry “Hap” Connors, Fredericksburg

Henry (Hap) Connors is Vice President for Government and Public Affairs at the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). In this role, Hap oversees corporate communications and outreach to federal, state, and local government officials to increase awareness of CIT’s mission and its economic value to the Commonwealth. Hap has 25 years of experience in strategic marketing and communications for business, non-profit and government entities. Hap’s background includes management of marketing and media relations activities for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the U.S. General Service Administration. Hap also served for nine years on the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, and currently serves on numerous boards of foundations and non-profits in the Fredericksburg area.

James W. Dyke, Jr., Reston

Jim’s broad practice covers corporate, legislative, education, governmental relations, and municipal law. He previously served as Virginia’s Secretary of Education under former Governor L. Douglas Wilder, and as domestic policy advisor to former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Jim has established a significant regional presence in the business, education and government arenas. He was elected chairman of the Greater Washington Board of Trade for 2010. The Board of Trade is the largest regional business organization in the Washington, D.C., area, advocating for the business community in Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland. During his term, he was co-chair of the Joint Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) Governance Review Task Force. He was subsequently appointed by Virginia Governor McDonnell to be the Commonwealth’s representative on the WMATA Board of Directors where he chairs the Governance Committee.

E. Scott Kasprowicz, Middleburg

Scott Kasprowicz has an extensive business and public service resume to compliment his substantial philanthropic and private aviation accomplishments. In 1981 Scott founded Texel, a privately held communications services company in Reston which he sold in 1999 after growing revenues in excess $45 million.

Scott, an avid conservationist and environmental impact advocate, later served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation under Governor Kaine. While serving as deputy secretary, Scott was influential in numerous planning and development initiatives including the advancement of the Dulles Rail project.

Marty Williams, Richmond

For over twenty years, Marty Williams worked from the inside at both the state and local government levels throughout Virginia. Marty’s public service began in 1990 when he was elected to the Newport News City Council and was twice selected as Vice Mayor by his peers. As member of the Newport News City Council he represented the city on a variety of regional boards and commissions, interacting with local political and administrative leaders across the state. Marty was elected to the Virginia State Senate in 1995, representing the Virginia Peninsula and was named Chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee in 1999, where he served until 2007.

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Vermont Passes GMO Labeling Bill

Soybeans in a plantation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Dr. Mercola

In a recent article titled "Monsanto GM Soy is Scarier than You Think," Mother Jones1 went into some of the details surrounding our genetically engineered (GE) food supply.

Soybeans are the second-largest food crop grown in the US, and more than 90 percent of it is genetically engineered. Some have been modified to withstand the herbicide Roundup (i.e. Roundup-Ready soy), while other varieties have been designed to produce its own pesticide, courtesy of the Bt gene (so-called Bt soy).

As noted in the featured article, organic soy production is miniscule, accounting for less than one percent of the total acreage devoted to soy in the US. The rest is conventionally grown non-GE soy.

Even if you don't buy soy products such as tofu or soy milk, you're undoubtedly consuming plenty of soy if you're eating any processed foods and/or meats from animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). A large portion of the GE soy grown actually ends up in your meat, as soy is a staple of conventional livestock feed. Much of the rest ends up as vegetable oil.

According to the US Soy Board, soybean oil accounts for more than 60 percent of all the vegetable oil consumed in the US—most of which is used in processed foods and fast food preparation. As noted in the featured article:2

"Given soy's centrality to our food and agriculture systems, the findings of a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Food Chemistry3 are worth pondering.

The authors found that Monsanto's ubiquitous Roundup Ready soybeans... contain more herbicide residues than their non-GMO counterparts. The team also found that the GM beans are nutritionally inferior."

New Research Questions Quality and Safety of GE Soybeans

Three varieties of Iowa-grown soybeans were investigated in this study:4

1. Roundup Ready soybeans
2. Non-GE, conventional soybeans grown using Roundup herbicide
3. Organic soybeans, grown without agricultural chemicals

All of the Roundup Ready soybean samples were found to contain residues of glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup, along with its amino acid metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA).

On average, GE soy contained 11.9 parts per million (ppm) of glyphosate. The highest residue level found was 20.1 ppm. Meanwhile, no residues of either kind were found in the conventional non-GE and organic varieties.

In terms of nutrition, organic soybeans contained slightly higher levels of protein and lower levels of omega-6, compared to both conventionally-grown non-GE and GE soy. Similar results were found in a 2012 nutritional analysis of GE corn, which was found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, compared to zero in non-GMO corn.

It may be worth noting that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actually raised the allowable levels of glyphosate5, 6 in oilseed crops such as soy, from 20 ppm to 40 ppm just last summer. It also raised the levels of permissible glyphosate contamination in other foods—many of which were raised to 15-25 times previous levels!

Why Glyphosate Contamination Matters

Nearly one BILLION pounds of Roundup are used each year for conventional crop production around the globe, but genetically engineered (GE) crops see some of the heaviest use. This is especially true for Roundup Ready crops, which are designed to withstand otherwise lethal doses of this chemical.

The issue of glyphosate contamination is well worth considering if you value your health. Recent research suggests glyphosate may in fact be an instrumental driver of many chronic diseases, and in my view, avoiding glyphosate is a major reason for buying organic, in and of itself.

Labeling GMOs could help you select products that are less likely to have heavy contamination, although you'd also avoid many other hazardous chemicals used in conventional farming by opting for products labeled 100% organic.

It's important to understand that these glyphosate residues CANNOT be washed off, as the chemical is actively integrated into every cell in the plant. Dr. Don Huber, who is one of the most prominent scientific experts in plant toxicology, firmly believes glyphosate is FAR more toxic and dangerous than DDT. A number of other studies have raised serious questions about the safety of glyphosate, including but not limited to the following:

• Research published in the International Journal of Toxicology7 in January revealed that glyphosate-based formulations like Roundup pose a threat to human health through cytotoxicity and oxidative effects. Such formulations were also found to be lethal to human liver cells
• A 2012 study8 found that 3 ppm of Roundup in water induced morphological changes in frogs
• A German study9 on poultry, published in 2013, showed that glyphosate tends to be more harmful to beneficial gut bacteria like Lactobacillus, while pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella entritidi tend to be largely resistant to the chemical. Subsequently, the microbial balance tends to shift toward pathogenic overgrowth when exposed to glyphosate, and can predispose the animal to botulism

Victory! Vermont Passes First Effective GMO-Labeling Bill

On April 16, 2014, the Vermont Senate passed the first no-strings-attached GMO labeling bill (H.112) by an overwhelming margin—28-2. The bill sailed through a House/Senate conference committee and was approved by the House of Representatives on April 23. 

Governor Shumlin has already indicated he will be signing the bill into law—which will require any genetically engineered food sold in Vermont to be labeled by July 1, 2016.10 Food served in restaurants, alcohol, meat, and dairy products would be exempt from labeling however. Foods containing GMO ingredients would also not be allowed to be labeled "natural."

"I am proud of Vermont for being the first state in the nation to ensure that Vermonters will know what is in their food,"Governor Shumlin said in a statement. "The Legislature has spoken loud and clear through its passage of this bill. I wholeheartedly agree with them and look forward to signing this bill into law."

This is truly an historical moment that will likely reverberate across the US in coming years. As noted by Ronnie Cummins in a recent Huffington Post article:11

"Strictly speaking, Vermont's H.112 applies only to Vermont. But it will have the same impact on the marketplace as a federal law. Because national food and beverage companies and supermarkets will not likely risk the ire of their customers by admitting that many of the foods and brands they are selling in Vermont are genetically engineered, and deceptively labeled as 'natural' or 'all natural' while simultaneously trying to conceal this fact in the other 49 states and North American markets. As a seed executive for Monsanto admitted 20 years ago, 'If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it.'"

The Burlington Free Press12 recently ran an excellent article on how the Vermont GMO labeling bill was won. I would highly encourage you to read it in its entirety, to get a real-world view of just how effective a grassroots campaign can be. It really boils down to letting your representatives know what you want. Despite the threat of a lawsuit from food manufacturers, Vermont legislators realized that their constituents were serious about wanting GMOs labeled. And they voted accordingly. Indeed, the chemical technology and food industry knows this, which is why they've fought tooth and nail to stop any and all GMO labeling efforts in the US. They've even threatened to sue any state that passes a labeling law—a threat taken seriously by Vermont.

Vermont Braces for Legal Challenge

Vermont Senate agreed to establish a state defense fund to pay for legal costs associated with defending the law against any legal challenge by the food industry, which will undoubtedly be spearheaded by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). It's unlikely that the industry would win such a legal challenge, however. As reported by the Burlington Free Press:13

"Rep. Teo Zagar, D-Barnard, told House members that... changes the Senate made will help the state prevail in court. 'This bill has been re-engineered to be more resistant to legal challenge,' he said."

As you may recall, after getting caught laundering money and narrowly defeating the Washington labeling campaign, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) sued the state of Washington, arguing they should be allowed to hide their donors—which is a direct violation of state campaign disclosure laws—in order to "speak with one voice" for the interests of the food industry.14 I subsequently named the GMA "the most evil corporation on the planet," considering the fact that it consists primarily of pesticide producers and junk food manufacturers who are hell-bent on violating some of your most basic rights, just to protect their own profits.

The GMA was initially forced to reveal their donors, but has since removed their online membership list—again hiding their members to prevent consumer awareness of who is behind this radical front group. You can find the cached members list on web.archive.org15 however. Not surprisingly, Pepsi, Coke, and Nestle—top purveyors of chronic ill health—were the top funders trying to hide their identity during the Washington State GMO labeling campaign.

There's no doubt that the GMA—at the behest of its members—is trying to end the right of consumers, and control US food policy to ensure that subsidized, genetically engineered and chemical-dependent, highly processed junk food remains the status quo. Think about it: the primary GE crops are corn, soy, and sugar beets. And the primary ingredients in processed food are high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats), and refined sugar. Add in all the pesticides and hazardous fertilizers used in this chemical agriculture system, and you have the perfect formula for death, disease, and environmental destruction. This is the business model the GMA is protecting—at your expense.

Oregon Up Next

The next major GMO labeling initiative will take place in Oregon, which will come up for vote this fall. Jackson County, OR, is also considering a proposal to ban GE crops from being grown altogether. According to an April 17 report in the Statesman Journal,16 supporters of the measure, which includes more than 100 local health professionals, have raised just over $180,000, while opponents have collected nearly $857,000. According to the article:

"Jackson County voters only get one chance to consider the issue. In September, the Oregon legislature passed a bill prohibiting local jurisdictions from regulating genetically modified crops and seeds. Jackson County's measure was exempt from the legislation because it already had qualified for the May 20 ballot...

'The out-of-state chemical companies flooding the county with money to try to defeat 15-119 are doing it for one reason: genetically engineered crops mean they sell more herbicides that end up in our county and our bodies. They sell a product that puts our health at risk and they just want to sell more of it,' said Dr. Matt Sheehan. 'Measure 15-119 makes good sense from a public health perspective and that's why I'm voting yes,' said Dr. Lanita Witt, who is also co-owner of Willow-Witt Ranch. 'Why would we want crops that put our family farmers at risk while significantly increasing the herbicides in our food, water and kids?'"

Chemical Technology Industry Counters by Trying to BAN GMO Labeling

Besides Oregon, there are no less than 66 active bills and ballot initiatives in 27 different states, aimed at getting GE foods labeled. The GMA is trying to make an end run to head off this avalanche by cooking up legislation that would effectively BAN individual states from passing their own food labeling laws. As recently reported by Reuters,17 Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo has introduced a bill that would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and nullify all state efforts to label GE foods.

"The bill, dubbed the 'Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act'... is aimed at overriding bills in about two dozen states that would require foods made with genetically engineered crops to be labeled as such," Reuters reports.18 "The bill specifically prohibits any mandatory labeling of foods developed using bioengineering... Makers of biotech crops and many large food manufacturers have fought mandatory labeling, arguing that genetically modified crops are not materially different and pose no safety risk. They say labeling would mislead consumers. Pompeo reiterated those claims, stating that GMOs are safe and 'equally healthy' and no labeling is needed." [Emphasis mine]

Ridiculous Example of How Far a Company Will Go to Silence Dissent

General Mills, one of the large junk food manufacture members of the GMA, recently showed just how far the industry is willing to go to restrict your rights to object to their disease-promoting and inaccurately advertised wares. On April 17, the New York Times19 reported that General Mills was amending its legal policies so that if you interacted with the company, you would have to forfeit your right to sue them, and agree to submit any future legal complaint to "informal negotiation" or arbitration20 General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas told the New York Times how the new policy would work:

"For example, should an individual subscribe to one of our publications or download coupons, these terms would apply."

Although Siemienas insisted that simply "liking" their Facebook page, for example, would not prevent a consumer from suing them, Julia Duncan, director of federal programs at the American Association for Justice (a trade group for trial lawyers) noted that the terms were so vague and "so exceptionally broad that it may be possible anything you purchase from them would be held to this clause." Imagine that! The news quickly spread on online communities like Facebook and Twitter, where many expressed disgust and distrust over General Mills' new terms. Mere days later, the company announced it was retracting the controversial changes to its terms of use. In an update, the New York Times21 wrote:

"'Because our terms and intentions were widely misunderstood, causing concerns among our consumers, we've decided to change them back to what they were,' Mike Siemienas, a company spokesman, wrote in the email. 'As a result, the recently updated legal terms are being removed from our websites, and we are announcing today that we have reverted back to our prior legal terms, which contain no mention of arbitration.'"

Take a Stand Against Industry Bullying

As you can see, we really cannot afford to let our guard down for even a moment, lest our rights be stripped away from us by greedy corporations that couldn't care less about public health or consumer rights. Vermont isn't the only state that has had to muster up a backbone to face a potential legal challenge by the chemical technology industry, which really does not want the food industry to be forced to give up on GE ingredients.

Rhode Island and Florida have also introduced GMO labeling laws this year, which would open them up to such industry bullying tactics. No matter where GMO labeling laws are considered, you can be sure of one thing—GMA lobbyists will be present, spewing falsehoods and threatening lawmakers. The Organic Consumers Association has created an Action Page where you can voice your opinions with the lawmakers in your state. Please tell them to stand firm; ignore the threats from the food industry, and do what's right for the people they were elected to represent.

Vote with Your Pocketbook, Every Day

Remember, the food companies on the left of this graphic spent tens of millions of dollars in the last two labeling campaigns—in California and Washington State—to prevent you from knowing what's in your food. You can even the score by switching to the brands on the right; all of whom stood behind the I-522 Right to Know campaign. Voting with your pocketbook, at every meal, matters. It makes a huge difference.

As always, I encourage you to continue educating yourself about genetically engineered foods, and to share what you've learned with family and friends. Remember, unless a food is certified organic, you can assume it contains GMO ingredients if it contains sugar from sugar beet, soy, or corn, or any of their derivatives.

If you buy processed food, opt for products bearing the USDA 100% Organic label, as organics do not permit GMOs. You can also print out and use the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible Technology. Share it with your friends and family, and post it to your social networks. Alternatively, download their free iPhone application, available in the iTunes store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications. For more in-depth information, I highly recommend reading the following two books, authored by Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology:

• Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating
• Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods.

For timely updates, join the Non-GMO Project on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter. Please, do your homework. Together, we have the power to stop the chemical technology industry from destroying our food supply, the future of our children, and the earth as a whole. All we need is about five percent of American shoppers to simply stop buying genetically engineered foods, and the food industry would have to reconsider their source of ingredients—regardless of whether the products bear an actual GMO label or not.

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