I was shocked reading this, which means I haven’t been doing my homework. While I’ve rarely purchased Honest Tea to quench my thirst, I’m certain to avoid buying it now and forever, and you should too if you want an honest company making your drinks.
From Organic Consumers Association:
Honest Tea is owned by Coca-Cola. And Coca-Cola spent $3.2 million to defeat GMO labeling laws in California and Washington State, some of that money illegally laundered through the Grocery Manufacturers Association (that anti-consumer group that has spent millions defeating GMO labeling laws, that has a bill in Congress to preempt state labeling laws, and has filed suit against Vermont to overturn the state’s recently passed labeling law).
Consumers just aren’t buying the Honest Tea company slogan: “Refreshingly HONEST®”.
Now it looks as if Honest Tea could have the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) questioning its honesty, too. Did President & CEO Seth Goldman intentionally mislead a Washington Post reporter when he said that Coca-Cola would not directly contribute to the NO on I-522 campaign to label GMOs in Washington State?
If so, he’s in violation of SEC rules prohibiting executives of public companies from making false public statements. If not, he was duped by his bosses at parent company Coca-Cola.
Here’s the thing. Consumers are tired of being lied to. Tired of dishonest, deceptive ad slogans and campaigns. Tired of companies that say their products’ ingredients are “perfectly safe”—but then turn around and demand Congress pass laws that allow them to keep those ingredients secret.
And we’re tired of paying a premium for organic products, only to have our money turned over to the likes of the GMA—a trade group whose number one priority is fighting truth and transparency in labeling.
Photo Source: Mercola
Filed under: Activism, Eco-Conscious Companies, Food, Genetically Modified, Organic, Product Reviews, Sustainability Tagged: Coca-Cola, GMO, organic, tea
