By Barbara H. Peterson
[UPDATED on Sept. 6, 2011] The Green PolkaDot Box is a new online “organics” store that is set to open in early October. It is an online buying club that is soliciting memberships. According to Mike Adams, this club is being supported by none other than Natural News, the Organic Consumer’s Association, and The Institute for Responsible Technology.
Something significant is happening in the organic foods industry: There’s a new player on the block, and its name is Green PolkaDot Box. It’s a new online organic store that’s launching in just a few weeks, and it has the potential to save organic and non-GMO consumers thousands of dollars a year on foods and health products. (Natural News)
Good news? On the surface, this seems like an excellent idea. However, upon further investigation, it appears that The Green PolkaDot Box may not be what it seems to be. I went to the products page on the company’s website and looked up one of its products – Earth’s Best. Earth’s Best sells USDA Certified Organic baby food. The products that I saw did not have the 100% Organic label, nor did they have any type of non-GMO certified label. Why? Maybe because Earth’s Best is owned by the Hain Celestial Group, which is also represented by the Box. But who owns Hain? Let’s just follow the money, and go to the NASDAQ site to find out the company’s current stock ownership.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN) Stock Holdings Summary (Ownership)
This company gets around. Even George Soros dipped his fingers into the pie:
One of the company’s supporters was billionaire George Soros, whose Soros Fund Management bought a 16 percent stake in early 1997 and still owned nearly ten percent in October 1998. White Rock, a Texas corporation and limited partnership, owned 20.1 percent. Simon held 10.7 percent of the shares. (Funding Universe)
This is from the Organic Consumer’s Association’s own website in 2003:
HERE ARE THE DETAILS: Bearitos, Bread Shop Granola, Celestial Seasonings, Garden of Eatin’, Health Valley, Imagine Foods (Rice Dream), Terra Chips, and Westbrae (canned vegetables, soy drinks, pastas, Little Bear Corn Chips), are all owned by the Hain Food Group whose prime investments are managed by companies like “Wellington Management.”
Their principal stockholders are PHILIP MORRIS (cigarettes), MONSANTO (genetically modified food), CITIGROUP (rainforest destruction), (genetically modified foods), EXXONMOBIL (global warming), WAL-MART, ENTERGY NUCLEAR, LOCKHEED MARTIN (weapons), WASTE MANAGEMENT INC (giant landfills), PFIZER (drugs), MERCK (drugs), BANK OF AMERICA (racial discrimination) & (animal cruelty), etc. All of the above are themselves significantly owned by Citigroup, “the World’s Most Destructive Bank” –Rainforest Action Network. Citigroup backs corporate prisons, Third World debt, genetic engineering, predatory lending, and rainforest destruction. H.J. Heinz Co. owns nearly 20% of Hain: Editorial in Natural Progressions, by Bob Swientek 11/99: “Back in April, I wrote in this column that the corporate suits (mainstream food manufacturers) were overrunning the tofu eaters (natural foods processors) at the Natural Products Expo-West. Well, the “run” is now a full-fledged sprint.
In September, Heinz bought a 19.5% stake in Hain Food Group for nearly $100 million. Hain, the leading producer of natural foods in the country with annual sales of $206 million in ’99, acquired the Earth’s Best baby food brand in the deal. By gaining entry into the natural and organic foods arena, Heinz may be in the initial stages of reinventing itself. It better…most of its businesses, including its profitable ketchup franchise, are slow growth.” Heinz itself is owned by same mutual funds that own Hain, and its prime stockholders include the same multinationals. € Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen are owned by Small Planet Foods which is owned by GENERAL MILLS, whose principal investors are PHILIP MORRIS, EXXONMOBIL, GENERAL ELECTRIC, CHEVRON, NIKE, McDONALD’S, TARGET STORES, STARBUCK’S, MONSANTO, DUPONT (weapons & pesticides), DOW CHEMICAL (Agent Orange, breast implants, napalm), PEPSICO, ALCOA ALUMINUM, DISNEY (exploit Third World labor), TEXAS INSTRUMENTS (weapons: one of GW Bush’s top contributors), PFIZER. (Organic Consumer’s Association)
Natural News touts The Green PolkaDot Box as supporting “small organic product companies.” Here is Reason #3 of why Natural News, The Organic Consumer’s Association, and The Institute for Responsible Technology support the Green PolkaDot Box, according to Mike Adams:
Reason #3) We believe in creating more distribution opportunities for small organic product companies which have wonderful products that need to be better represented in the marketplace. As part of their operations, Green PolkaDot Box plans to bring in a wide array of products from small, under-publicized companies whose products deserve more mainstream distribution. Unlike many food retail chains, GPDB does not charge “marketing fees” to carry products from companies.(Natural News)
The statement above lends one to believe that your friendly neighborhood farmer will be represented by the Box. Finally, the little guy gets a break. This is good. But not all of the Box’s products come from small organic companies that are under-represented. Here is some information about Vanguard, the fifth largest stockholder of HAIN:
Vanguard is unusual among mutual-fund companies since it is owned by the funds themselves. In this structure, each fund contributes a set amount of capital towards shared management, marketing, and distribution services. The company says that this structure better orients management towards shareholder interests. (Wikipedia)
What does this mean? It means that the people/institutions that invest in the long list of shares from companies such as Monsanto, Halliburton, Coca Cola, McDonalds, JP Morgan Chase, Phillip Morris, Pepsico, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and who knows how many other ne’er do wells listed on the 190 page NASDAQ report, actually own Vanguard.
In the light of this information, how does Hain Celestials qualify as one of the “small organic product companies, which have wonderful products that need to be better represented in the marketplace?” It doesn’t. It is one of the many conglomerates that promote organics while behind the scenes, is partially owned by people who support some of the worst enemies of organics. It is a money-making enterprise with organic lipstick. Can we spell SELLOUT? Betcha they are betting we can’t. 
But let’s give the top organics and non-GMO guys the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they don’t really mean to support something that has ties to organizations that if stepped on, would need to be scraped off the bottom of your shoe before entering the house. And maybe, just maybe, pigs CAN fly. So, why are they doing it?
I’ve communicated with Rod, CEO of the Box, and he has stated, in essence, that he really doesn’t care where the products come from just as long as they are healthy products. How can we be sure that the products made by companies with such a checkered background as Hain Celestials are really what they appear to be? We can’t. I have also communicated with Mike Adams, and he has indicated that he is working with the Box to get rid of products such as Hain Celestials. Let’s hope that they do. Because I cannot, in good conscience, have anything to do with a company that promotes and sells “organic” products that are produced by a company partially owned by the likes of people who also support Monsanto et. al.
© 2011 Barbara H. Peterson
Tags: Barbara H. Peterson, false opposition, Farm Wars, farmwars, GMO, green polkadot box, halliburton, jeffrey smith, mike adams, monsanto, natural news, oca, Organics
Way to go Barb!
I’ve been looking sideways at Mike Adams of Natural News for a while. He played a real “rope a dope” on his readers. He was/is the “Health Ranger” who came to enlighten us all offering tons of “free” information on holistic medicine and exposing government corruption. Then suddenly, he went all corporate, started selling everything and offering “discounts” for “members only.” He gave some lame story about how a female friend convinced him that it was okay to do good and still profit (which is true, but….). Well, now it seems like he is all about PROFIT. He has a computer graphics background and does great little illustrations and animations which are very humorous and usually true. This is part of his marketing along with associating himself with Alex Jones. He became really well known after his “Don’t touch my junk” video went viral, mentioning of course that “Alex Jones was right.”
As someone who has naturally healed himself of pre-diabetes and prostate cancer, I was particularly concerned about some of his “facts” used in his lame booklets and on his webpages. He uses a lot of words like “might” “probably” “could be” “is thought to possibly be” etc., etc. He also keeps pushing a vegan lifestyle and yoga as a way to cure prostate cancer and other nutritional deficiencies. Some things, he gets right, like exercise and a healthy diet based on natural raw foods. But blaming meat is deceptive.
The reason I believe he is deceiving people on the benefits of meat is because: the problems associated with most meat are from the BIG MEAT INDUSTRY wholesalers who literally pack thousands of “farm” animals into giant warehouses where they live in grotesque filth and disease-ridden cages. They are fed processed feed and even feed that contains animal parts of the same species, creating cannibals, not farm animals. They are also injected with mandatory hormones, steroids, vaccines, etc. in order to satisfy regulations and to fatten them up for McDonald’s (usually the biggest buyers). This is why I buy all-natural meats directly from the farmer or his small professional butcher/packager. And I am lean and mean. ;-)
Just my opinion, based on my own experiences and observations. Trust but verify.
Hi Will,
I appreciate your response. What I am trying to emphasize is to not support the “Walmarts” of cheap, quasi-organic products, but to support a network of smaller farmers who actually care about their customers and know exactly what goes into their products. With a major shareholder of HAIN supporting the likes of Monsanto, there is no way that the company can not bow to shareholder interests, IMHO.
Rod in the Box has stated on this site that he doesn’t care where the products come from, just as long as they are healthy. My question is, how can you be sure they are healthy when they come from a company who has to answer to shareholders that support Monsanto, et. al.? You can’t. That is the point.
We really need to dump this system of mass-produced garbage called food slapped with a “natural” or “USDA Organic” label and replace it with local food options that do not depend on mass transit of food across the nation or world for that matter, that might or not not be contaminated with GMOs.
There is no threshold for GMO contamination in USDA Certified Organic food! It is process based. Meaning that if there is no reason to believe that contamination has occurred, then no testing is required. Please see this article: http://farmwars.info/?p=5426. If a company is partially owned by people who could care less about contamination, how stringent will their policy be regarding this? I think we all know the answer to that.
Barbara, I appreciate your updating the post in response to my comment. The conclusion of your post now is that one of the major shareholders of HAIN also invests major sums in Monsanto, Exxon, etc. This is correct.
It is, unfortunately, in the nature of things that many of the shareholders of a public company will be interested only in making money and not necessarily in organics or GMO. If HAIN is turning a profit, anyone can and will buy their shares–HAIN doesn’t pick their shareholders. Maybe there are other problems with HAIN–I don’t know their history–but it strikes me a stretch to implicate HAIN, without other evidence of influence, on the basis of one of their shareholder’s other investments. And a further stretch to implicate Green PolkaDot for carrying their products.
That said, having a base of shareholders who want only to make money, all else be damned, will certainly put significant pressure on HAIN to cut corners to turn profits. Consumer awareness, helped by blogs like yours, is probably the only thing keeping “organics” companies honest. However, to be consistent, this criticism must be applied to EVERY company of significant size, not just HAIN–certainly any public company, and any large private company probably has private investors to satisfy. My point, I suppose, is that this isn’t a problem with HAIN, it’s a problem with our economic system generally. To escape it you would need a different, localized economy, as articulated in your post here: http://farmwars.info/?p=6431
Barbara — Thanks, once again, for exposing the strange bedfellows in this venture. I look forward to all the e-mails from your group! We were treated to similar stuff when fighting the Food Safety Modernization Act, where my local Northeast Organic Farm Association supported the Act. When I followed the money, sure enough, most of their funding was from USDA grants. USDUH!
Whenever I cross-post information about organics, I always tell folks to buy as locally as they can, from the farmer directly, and that the little green and white sticker does not give me any warm fuzzies whatsoever!
Thank you Barbara for the courage to come out and tell us the truth as you see it. If we don’t agree, it’s our job to do our own research.
I, for one, have been suspicious of Mike Adams for a while as he pushes the “overpopulation” button — although he’s tried to skirt the issue nowadays. He also pushes the “vegan” button, which I disagree with and am a support of Weston A. Price. Also, recently on the raw milk issue, he didn’t truthfully report all the facts and just pushed it was a push against raw milk, which wasn’t entirely the truth — leaving out truthful information — vital information — is a form of lying, I believe.
I don’t know about Jeffrey Smith — I’ve read his books — but I’ve been concerned that he started this institute — it just seems to me that these things get infiltrated so easily — I don’t know what to say about him.
OCA accepts funds from a Rockefeller foundation and so we can pretty much be assured that this is a “plant,” in the eat healthy food arena.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I appreicate your trying to bring out the truth despite opposition. Thank you.
In the supplier side of alleged “natural health food” there are very few distributors, one is UNFI, the largest and most connected to corporate agenda. They pretty much control what products are sold, and where, even in coops.
If you think NNews is a bastion of health then do more research into the “connectedness” of that operation.
Hi Joann,
I updated the entire article, including info on Vanguard. Here is a portion:
“Vanguard is unusual among mutual-fund companies since it is owned by the funds themselves. In this structure, each fund contributes a set amount of capital towards shared management, marketing, and distribution services. The company says that this structure better orients management towards shareholder interests. (Wikipedia)
What does this mean? It means that the people/institutions that invest in the long list of shares from companies such as Monsanto, Halliburton, Coca Cola, McDonalds, JP Morgan Chase, Phillip Morris, Pepsico, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and who knows how many other ne’er do wells listed on the 190 page NASDAQ report, actually own Vanguard.”
Another update in the article:
“I’ve communicated with Rod, CEO of the Box, and he has stated, in essence, that he really doesn’t care where the products come from just as long as they are healthy products. How can we be sure that the products made by companies with such a checkered background as Hain Celestials are really what they appear to be? We can’t. I have also communicated with Mike Adams, and he has indicated that he is working with the Box to get rid of products such as Hain Celestials. Let’s hope that they do. Because I cannot, in good conscience, have anything to do with a company that promotes and sells “organic” products that are produced by a company partially owned by the likes of people who also support Monsanto et. al.”
From Barbara to Will: “see current update”..(here or where?) I have that ‘hanging feeling’.. If Will is correct – and I think he is – can we not have a fact-summary of company relationships that will clarify influence/ownership/investment entities. If interpretations have been based on an error – or partial error – may we have clarification?
In any case, it appears that there is an unsavory mix of financial interests from which we cannot determine the existential results in the certified organic marketplace- or can we?
Rhetorical Question: For those with fewer options for pure organic purchases, do we have a “Pandora’s” ‘Box’ to walk away from – or, after comprehensive research, do we make allowances based upon outcome and results of this new endeavor?
I do want to say that this has been a worthwhile investigation and discussion.
Will,
Please see the current update.
Barbara, please let me clarify:
I’m afraid you’re not correct when you say that “the shareholders from Vanguard” include Exxon, Monsanto and the other companies listed. If that were true it would be correct, in a sense, that HAIN’s “owners” are ultimately Exxon, Monsanto etc.
However, the companies listed are not Vanguard’s shareholders. They are Vanguard’s investments. Therefore, Exxon and Monsanto are NOT shareholders of HAIN, even indirectly.
Vanguard is an investment company–they run mutual funds and buy stock in all manner of companies. They buy Monsanto and they buy HAIN. That doesn’t make Monsanto an owner of HAIN even indirectly. It is as if I buy some HAIN stock and also some Monsanto stock. The fact that I own both stocks doesn’t give Monsanto any kind of influence over HAIN.
Please understand I’m just trying to clear up what appears to be an error and definitely not attempting to defend Monsanto. I was researching Green PolkaDot’s commitment to anti-GMO because I was thinking of signing up and I came across your post. I just thought the claim that Monsanto owned HAIN was surprising (and disturbing!) and so looked into it further.
To all my readers:
I have been admonished that those of us working to fight the pollution of our food supply should work together in a positive manner. My writing style happens to be a bit on the “in your face” side, and for that I do not apologize. That is my style.
If we are truly working together to fight a common foe, then we need to realize that bringing the likes of shareholders such as Monsanto into the picture is not productive.
I understand that starting a company is difficult at best. But the road to compromise does not spell victory. It merely spells….. compromise. That is my opinion. We can do better than this!!!!
My article was intended to be a wake-up call. Compromise is not the solution. Complete boycott of all that we know to be corrupt to the best of our ability is all that I ask, as well as complete transparency.
We can do better than this!!!!
Will,
You are correct in that you have to click “Vanguard” on the Hain page. Are you saying that the shareholders from Vanguard have nothing to do with Hain? I updated the article with the full first screenshot. It might be a bit difficult to see, as I had to reduce the page size to get it. So it seems that the shareholders of the 5th largest shareholder is the technically correct term. Is that correct?
This entire discussion is based on an error, and I’m surprised it’s gotten this far without the error being pointed out.
The list of share holdings taken from the NASDAQ website is NOT a list of the owners of HAIN.
The share holdings shown represent the “Institutional Portfolio” of Vanguard, which is one of HAIN’s institutional investors (actually, the fifth-largest investor in HAIN). That is, the share holdings listed are the companies Vanguard owns, NOT companies that own HAIN. Vanguard’s holdings start with Exxon and somewhere way down the list include HAIN.
You can check this by just following the Nasdaq link provided in the article and noticing that the list of investors does not match the list shown in the screen shots in the article. You only get the list of investors shown in the article when you click on VANGUARD GROUP INC in the list of HAIN’s top 5 holders.
Without even following the link to the Nasdaq site, there’s obviously something amiss in the list provided in the article. Notice that the value of the top holding is more than $14 billion and that there are many, many multi-billion dollar holdings listed below it. This would make HAIN one of the world’s largest corporations. In fact, HAIN’s total market cap is about $1.3 billion.
Contributing to the confusion is the fact that the the screen shots have been edited to remove any reference to Vanguard. Follow the link to the NASDAQ site provided in the article, click on VANGUARD GROUP in the list of HAIN’s top 5 holders, and you’ll see the source for the screen shot. Under the top banner with HAIN’s logo and the heading “Institutional Portfolio” is a section of information about Vanguard, the institution whose “institutional portfolio” is being shown. This section mentioning Vanguard has been edited out of the screen shots used in the article. Perhaps this was done to save space?
Doug,
You are right on the mark, IMHO. My philosophy is – eat the fish, spit out the bones. Get rid of what you know to be untrue, and keep the rest of what you understand to be true in a state of constant vigilance. Question everything, and believe only part of what you hear. I, for one, am with you. I don’t want any part of a company owned, even in part, by such destructive forces. The challenge then becomes to do the research and start cutting out the rotting flesh such as Monsanto, et. al., one discovery at a time. I understand others feel differently, and they have a right to feel that way. I have that same right, and choose to exercise it.
Keep up the good work Barbara. Mike Adams is another who started out strong, but the power and money which comes with success does have a way of leading to compromise. I read a scathing piece about the relationship between Adams and Alex Jones, written by Les Visible, and both Adams and Jones have now been placed in my “gatekeeper” list of supposed ‘alternative’ news sources, who are not so alternative, and in fact often deflect for the benefit of the status quo. I managed, and then owned, and couple of small health food stores back in the late 80’s, before the big boys were taken in by the growth of organics…….back when Hain and all the others that have become part of their group were for real and did not sell out. Like most everything else, the natural foods industry has changed, and not for the better. People can talk about access and availability all they want, but when it comes with the caveat of being purchased from the likes of Monsanto/Wal-Mart/Exxon-Mobil, who wants any part of it? Not I.
Dear Barbara,
Please consider that you have an open and direct line to me ANYTIME (except Sundays), meaning that I welcome your phone call or email so we can discuss any concerns or questions.
My email address is: rsmith@greenpolkadotbox.com.
If you will be kind to write me I will reply with ALL my contact information.
Thanks, again, for your great work!
Rod
Hi Rod,
I am glad that you chose to respond and clarify your position. All we ask is transparency, and your response has provided this. Thank you.
Dear Barbara:
I’m delighted to weigh in on this little tempest. But, first, I’d like to applaud you and the work you are doing. I believe us to be allies; that we are working together in a common cause. I hope that what I have to write will, at least, provide some clarification if not resolve the concerns of your readers altogether.
Mike Adams was right. Our business model allows us to help develop the small organic farmers and manufacturers, to give them a stage that is equal in billing to the so-called giants in the industry. Though I can’t speak entirely for Mike, I don’t think he intended to convey that we would support the little guys to the exclusion of the proven performers. That is just not wise or practical. We want to give consumers a complete offering of clean foods, from whatever source.
Our dear Rachel, an 18-year old student who is attending BYU Idaho, enrolled in the nursing program, doesn’t have the experience to do battle with you in the war of words. I’m sure she was addressing only a part of your expressed concerns, neglecting to reply to the “investor” questions. But I really liked her response and wouldn’t take to much away from it, deflecting the main substance of her reply. That written, I am willing to reply the that question.
The question: “Whether we should carry products from companies in which our enemies (Monsanto, George Soros, etc.) invest?” is something we have never contemplated. The old adage that we need to choose our battles wisely couldn’t be more applicable concerning this question. From a timing perspective, alone, we aren’t ready to take on the entire world of finance; and we don’t have the disposition to do so right now. Our priority is offering clean food at the lowest possible price with legendary speed and service. When we can carry a club as big as whole food’s…then we can dictate to vendors who can invest in their company–if they want our business.
We are focusing on the positive right now, on what we can control. We are trying to be inclusive, not exclusive as long as vendors provide us with clean food or demonstrate a willingness to do so. We are building friends and alliances to accomplish the greater good in which we are engaged. Do I like to hear that Monsanto is a stakeholder in HAIN? NO. But as far as I am concerned HAIN is ally if they offer clean foods. Investors come and go. It’s more likely they will leave because of their philosophical differences, first, anyway. But that is just speculation. We have enough to worry about right now. If HAIN is not against us they are with us. That’s all that matters right now.
It may not be the answer you want to here, but then you’re not trying to build America’s first online membership club for clean foods. I sincerely ask for the patience and indulgence from you and your readers so that we can be about our business. We are like-minded. We have the same goals and ambitions. Let’s stick together and build support so we can win the war.
Yours,
Rod Smith
CEO
The Green PolkaDot Box
My response to Rachel:
Dear Rachel,
Really. Just exactly what isn’t 100% true or honest in the article? Please explain with appropriate citations. In the article, I never stated that the products contain GMOs. I stated:
“I went to the products page on the company’s website and looked up one of its products – Earth’s Best. Earth’s Best sells USDA Certified Organic baby food. The products that I saw did not have the 100% Organic label, nor did they have any type of non-GMO certified label.”
What about that is not true or honest? My source was your own site. The fact that you call into account my “source’s” credibility based on something that I never said says a whole lot about your credibility.
I went on to supply the NASDAQ stockholder’s info. Is that not true? Is NASDAQ not a credible source? How about Mike Adams, or the Organic Consumer’s Association. Are they not credible sources?
When faced with something that cannot be refuted, you chose to launch an ad-homenim attack and attempt to cast doubt on my credibility, but have successfully trashed your own. By the way, do you guarantee that all of the products on your site are 100% GMO-free?
GMOs? We don’t need no stinkin’ GMOs!
Barbara H. Peterson
http://farmwars.info
Whole Foods’ Corporate office told me that there are only TWO products in their 365 house brand of foods that are guaranteed NON-GMO. Their corn on the cob is always GMO. My local Calif. WF also stopped selling raw milk. People are FOOLS to shop at Whole (Paycheck) Foods.
I applaud Petersen for exposing the conflicts of interest with this new start-up.
Jeffrey Smith seems to have good investigative info but I don’t trust him. I wondered who funded him (he travels constantly) and asked him in an email. He wouldn’t tell me. Then I met him in person and found him to be suspiciously impotent; as if he’s deliberately trying to slow down the (grassroots) non-GMO movement.
Mike Adams is another one I’m not sure of. I’ve heard contrary things about him that weren’t flattering. If there’s anyone out there that has heard similar negatives on him, please let us know in this comment section.
There are so many disinfo agents out there; one has to be discerning.
Got the response from Rachel. COMPLETE DENIAL! Here it is:
“Dear Barbara,
Thank you for your interest in The Green PolkaDot Box, we are grateful for your feedback and I hope I can address your concern sufficiently.
We have had a few inquiries from people who have read your farmwars article, and we feel our company has been misrepresented. The reason there is a “conflict” between what is said in this article and what is said on our website is because what was written in this article isn’t 100% true or honest. We are not carrying any products on our site that contain GMO’s. In fact, the Hain products that were referred to in this article are even USDA certified organic or labeled as GMO free. That fact alone should let you know that your source is not very credible.
We are not experts when it comes to the business affairs and investments that have been made in the Hain Celestial Group. It would be impossible for us to keep track of the investments that have been made by and in the vendors we are working with. However we do know that ALL of the products we have chosen to carry, including those who are owned by Hain, are clean, healthy, GMO-free products. I can assure you that we take great care and pride in our product selection and we will do all possible to ensure that our products our clean of any harmful ingredients.
Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything else I can do or if there are any other questions you have.
Have a wonderful day!
Best,”
Notice that she simply says that the article isn’t true. Hmmmmmm….. Please compare what I said in my article and tell me what isn’t true. Do the NASDAQ financials lie? Didn’t I say the products were USDA Certified Organic, but not 100% Organic? What isn’t true? She completely skipped addressing the NASDAQ findings. This is a typical ploy. These people know exactly what they are doing, and this proves it. Everything in my article is 100% completely true. They cannot refute it so they DENY in spite of the truth.
I just sent Rachel of the Box the Hain Celestial shareholder info. Let’s see what happens.
Irene,
Be aware, and use the information you have to strengthen yourself and those around you. There is always hope, even in the worst of times. We just need to learn how to take care of ourselves without depending on others to do it for us who may or may not know what to do themselves. We can’t blindly follow the leader because everyone is subject to human frailty. Including those in the “organics” and “non-gmo” movement. Check out this response to Ric, who contacted the Box:
“Dear Ric,
Thank you for contacting us with your concern. We will be sure to look into Hain Celestial and remove them from our site if necessary. Please feel free to contact us with brands you would like to see on our site.
Again, we appreciate your concern and we hope you have a lovely day!
–
Rachel M. Smith
Lengendary Member Services
The Green Polka Dot Box”
The next thing to do is follow up to make sure that this company follows through and gets rid of Hain. We can make a difference, one step at a time. I know that we are surrounded, but when confronted with total destruction, the only answer is: UP YOURS!!!!
Great news, Ric! Now we need to follow up to make sure that this actually happens.
this whole thing freezes my soul. I’m upset and frightened and now I’m reconfirming there is no escape.
Good Work Barbara! Hold your ground, I know you will.
A LOT of people have been getting quite suspicious about Adams and his Natural News lately. It’s not just his flood of advertisers or his connections to high cost products offered as ‘answers’ to the problems he discovers. It’s also not his subtle references slipped in his articles that seem to side with the causes of ‘foreign-owned’ corporations, although that can be a dead giveaway.
There are thousands of paid shills whose only job is to misdirect the exposure of the huge clandestine operations of the owners of the corporations referenced above, and the comments sections of blogs such as yours is where they live. (Like the one that spends 5-10 hours a day on the jews’ nwo). GET A LIFE LOSER. Just keep slapping these shills down.
We do not trust any of the corporations involved and certainly will not give our money to them so they can dominate the organic food industry and destroy it as they have the rest of the so-called food we are offered in their grocery stores. I personally will never spend a penny on the Box corporation and as far as Mike Adams ability to change-up and to mix the facts in his stories, well, what about his cozy relationship with the biggest shill on the zionist controlled media- alex jones???
‘Nuff said……….
I hate that we have to have watch dogs out there. Thank you so much Barbara. We should get use to this system of greed. Find things and companies of integrity, stay with all their products. Share and update quarterly to make sure that company did not get bought out recently. If the label changes rules are something has changed, ingredients, weight or worst.
Great job Barbara! Send all comments to To: rachel@greenpolkadotbox.com Be Heard!
Dear Ric,
Thank you for contacting us with your concern. We will be sure to look into Hain Celestial and remove them from our site if necessary. Please feel free to contact us with brands you would like to see on our site.
Again, we appreciate your concern and we hope you have a lovely day!
—
Rachel M. Smith
Lengendary Member Services
The Green Polka Dot Box
Melissa, LOVE IT!
Lee,
Just explain to me where the article is “way off base.” Was it the products page, the financials from Hain, the fact that these three orgs are supporting the Box, or ????? Please refute the facts, and not what you “perceive” those facts to be. Even Dr. Mercola touts 100% Organic as the best way to ensure that you are getting mostly organic ingredients. The National Organics Program has admitted that there is no GMO threshold for GMOs in the finished “organic” products. So, I suggest that YOU check the facts. Or is it easier to simply attack the messenger? P.S. I never said “that Greenpolkadot box is the same as Kraft, Philip Morris, Monsanto, Google, Wal Mart, Nestle, ADM, Cargill.” I merely pointed out that Hain, a product that the Box sells, and the big 3 supports, has a myriad of very nasty shareholders, and posted the NASDAQ financials. Eat what you want. That is your business. And I will continue to broadcast the facts, I don’t care whose idol gets torn down.
ORGAN-INC.
thanks to barbara. seems as soon as a small conscious company producing good gmo free organic foods gets popular, the megas buy them out and degrade it. we aren’t aware it’s happened so continue to buy the product. sometimes it’s obvious it’s changed, sometimes not. i’m sick of trying to keep up with who’s been sold out! better just to buy the veggies and fruit and avoid any processed food at all.
I too went to check out Green PolkaDot Box as a subscriber of NNews,,,it really seemed sketchy to me, so I didn’t sign up. I support local farmers, and am fortunate to live in a state (WA)where you can buy raw milk. I think it all boils down to buying local and organic, if you can. Either that, or grow your own, if possible.
I hate to rain on everyone’s parade, but as a former
reader of this site and general fan of the content, this article is WAY off base. I’m not one to pick sides blindly or allegiantly without merit. On this issue, I am just posting how I see it.
So I did my own DD (due diligence) on the GreenPolkaDotBox thing at their site, and reviewed the details, and cursory checked a big portion of the organic/non-GMO brands they offer with their service. Yes, I did notice a number of large brands that have subsidy with a couple corporations that we all don’t like. BUT, I would say 60-70% of all the products/companies offered are one’s I’ve never heard of and on further looking ARE in fact small start-ups and mom-pop operations that to me are just what they are advertising, nothing more nothing less.
I was actually impressed with the variety, and as a long time passionate person in the health/nutrition/naturopathic field, I didn’t recognize most of the brands offered and when I looked them up, they were very recently started by a couple people or are literal mom-pop started small food companies from even back to 40’s who can/bottle/make their own stuff… This is a diabolical Soros’ conspiracy? lol…
I have been studying NWO for 10 years now, daily, 5-10 hours per day most days… while I love a good meaty conspiracy angle, I don’t see one here.. plus the memberships for this service will be free as far as I can see for regular members..
Also, in the start of this article I looked at the Earth’s Best infant/baby food, etc. and I looked at the label and every food listed on the label of said products were organic… now some weren’t labeled NON-GMO, but give me a break.. they didn’t claim to be all things to all people.
stay alert, be discerning of course, but fact check first…
guilt by association (in regard’s to Hain Corp, which is like a 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon situation here, flimsy at best) rarely works.. like Ron Paul and his detractors.. if some of his supporters, heck even donation contributors are vile nasty human beings, does that mean that Ron Paul agrees with them, endorses their behavior/beliefs, and sides with them? no of course not… so to me to say that Greenpolkadot box is the same as Kraft, Philip Morris, Monsanto, Google, Wal Mart, Nestle, ADM, Cargill ,etc etc is silly….
my 2 cents…
ps. I’ve been going to Natural News periodically for YEARS and have never seen anything nefarious going on or sinister motives from content I’ve read or otherwise… I credit a lot of cutting edge content and health news, for free… can’t beat that..
Dick,
I didn’t attack Jeffrey Smith. Mike Adams said they supported the Box. I looked at the products page and posted the financials of just one company. If exposing the truth is interpreted as an attack, then so be it. I have yet to explore the other companies listed on the page. It makes no difference to me where you shop, or if you eat organics with “just a small bit of junk mixed in.” That is your choice. I, for one, prefer to grow my own. That way I know what I am eating, and I’ll just bet some others feel the same way.
Meh… Better to attack Earth’s Best for not pursuing Non-GMO Project certification than to attack someone like Jeffrey Smith (whose anti-gmo cred is basically unimpeachable) for giving a thumbs-up to what looks like a nice resource with a small bit of junk mixed in.
Same thing with Whole Foods – I get why people criticize them, but until farmer Joe pulls up with year-round organic fruits, vegetables, bulk grains, bread and packaged goods, I’m happy enough to shop with people who have supply chain management figured out and use discernment about what I buy.
This does not surprise me. NNews and other bastions of good health and vitamins have me confused. The prices for products they hawk is up there with the capitalists. For God’s sake how much can you charge for a bottle of vitamins and these green drinks??? Hello??? They should be ashamed of themselves. Grow your own gardens and watch how much you SAVE and how much you do not need supplements of any kind, because you will be growing the most nutritious you can get.
I prefer “Rice Dream” over regular milk – except raw one, which isn’t available in this area. But cheese is and I buy it!
guess naturalnews is sold out now : (
It was I who sent Barbara on the “search” when I sent her the link to the green polka dot box.
Disclaimer this is my personal referall link
I totally understand what she is saying. To me this is somewhat of a catch 22. The company is just starting, it seems reasonable that they would need to be using products like this go get going.
If they start and cannot fulfill the need there is, they will fail. I think that it’s unreasonable to expect a company with a national distribution to start with only small company suppliers.
I do think, based on what I have seen that the company does have intentions to broadening their product range and options of bringing on more small organic and NON-gmo companies and products.
You have to have money to do something like this, it’s a fact, you cannot start a business like this without any money or any financial backing. It’s an unfortunate truth of traditional business models I think….
here is some links to some alliances that Green Polka Dot Box has started.
1. Green PolkaDot Box™ founder Rod Smith today announced his partnership with Viktoras Kulvinskas, the father of the raw food movement.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/.....718163.htm
2. Green PolkaDot Box™ founder Rod Smith today announced that Living Light International, the world’s premier organic raw vegan chef training organization, and the Green PolkaDot Box are collaborating to offer consumers of organic plant-based raw food and healthy gourmet foods an online natural foods shopping alternative.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/.....720692.htm
now don’t get me wrong, I totally appreciate what Barbara is doing here and it’s good to have this information, but I’m going to see what happens with this.
I personally do not need this service, because I live in an area that is a mecca for local and organic food. I buy raw milk and locally raised meats. these are all widely available where I live but I know there are a lot of people who do not have access to this kind of food and if this is an option for them to get it, at a price they can afford, I am all for it.
I have opened an account with them and I’m going to wait and see what happens.
I do appreciate Barbaras research even with that said.
Don’t you know the debate on global warming is over. Global warming is fake.
For a decade or more the corporate moguls have been buying up the “natural food” product companies. I’ve covered this since the late 90s. The change is because there is money in it for investors. The problem as I see it is that the quality of the foods, now mostly packaged has dropped substantially, the same with the Big PhRMA corps buying up the supplement companies since the 80s. Then we have the Whole Foods scam, a place where people should just stop shopping, based on the CEO and his arrogant I am better than you attitude. There is more to a natural lifestyle that just thinking it is cool to shop at WF. The other issue is the lemmings that can’t see through the smoke screen of Mike Adams operation, he is not what you seem to think he is and he isn’t very honest about his operation or open to transparency. Just a big copy cat with little or no ethics. There are other ways to get access to the natural foods market place but so far I have not seen too many people try to use those options. I do and have for about 45 years.
Barbara – GPDB may not be the organic Nirvana your looking for but they do expand the organic message to an audience beyond your reach. Why would anyone be surprised by the fact that ‘big business’ follows the money – duh. Sorry to vent but I’m growing weary of people who bleed green and then criticize others. Hains and other puppet companies employ thousands, support organic farmers and offer consumers a choice. Let George Soros make his money any way he legally can. Give me the products.
bloody brilliant research Barbara! well done.
yeah the links are a real can of worms..and that demeans worms which are actually useful fellas. unlike this collective scum.
Hienz Aus is shutting down their sauce plant here, ruining local growers. they are going to use NZ and imported, read china brazil tomato.
so even as a rare treat Hienz is OFF my buy list, home made suce from now on.
and Coke just announced theyre closing the local canneries, hundreds of jobs plus growers now struggling to find a future.
yeah the big guys really DO NOT care about the people they profit off of.
So what’s the solution? It’s hard to buy anything these days that doesn’t have questionable ties if you trace them back far enough. Is it possible to form a company that can be totally independent of the “Big Boys” without getting busted?
The organic food product marketplace is dominated by brands that are owned by big corporations – from the quoted statement about Green PolkaDot Box it sounds like they are just offering a non-discriminatory marketplace that will allow smaller organic product companies to share their products alongside the big players. It doesn’t say that those corporate conglomerate-owned organic brands will be banned. I wouldn’t rush to judgment here, though I would observe carefully how this venture plays out.
To be sure, there is lots of money in the organics market so the investor class will always have a presence. Throwing everyone under the convention food bus however, is certainly not supporting the organic movement. If anything, organic companies need to be coaxed to start representing their brand more aggressively via advertising. The reality is most Americans do not understand what’s happened to their food over the last 15 years plus. Their perceptions of organic are warped coupled with health-related ignorance that has contributed significantly to one of the most unhealthy societies on the planet today.
The big companies are only about making money. Investing in organics is prudent as more and more people are awakening to its merits. With growth and success, there will be more opportunities for companies to fill organic market niches. In the financial markets only is where conventional and organic can coexist, so don’t be so fast to condemn. Take your energies and focus on stopping the GMO contamination threat in the farmer’s field. This is a battle that must be won to preserve what organic purity that’s left.
Thankfully we have a wonderful person Like Barbara watching out for us. Stopping there slow kill agenda
You got to be discerning with Natural News. They got their “biases”. They didn’t report on the recent Taiwan plastic in emusifier food scandal because they apparently got Taiwan interests. Natural News is till useful but one has to remain discerning and not swallow everything Mike Adams puts out as the truth.