Remembering Ronnie Cummins, a Pioneer Organic Consumers Association Activist Who Died in 2023

On May 21, 1994, the first commercial genetically modified crop, the ‘FlavrSavr’ tomato, hit store shelves but was almost completely rejected by consumers, distribution centers, and even fast food restaurants.

It was soon phased out due to market rejection, which led to an public relations war between GMO food and chemical companies and the consumers and activist associations who wanted to preserve the integrity and purity of the United States food supply, among other countries.

The advent of Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF, Dow Chemical and other companies’ genetically modified crops has typically been seen in a negative light because of the hundreds of documented potentially adverse effects on human health that accompany them.

The other side of the highly controversial GMO movement is that has sparked a movement of farmers, consumers and advocates alike demanding clean food.

Former Organic Consumers Association president Ronnie Cummins is just one hero of the organic, pasture raised and regenerative farming movement, for his tireless advocacy, educational and other work.

In May 2023, Ronnie passed away from complications related to lymph and bone cancer, shortly after his diagnosis.

A Champion For Organic Food

I personally recall reading Ronnie’s work each week on the Organic Consumers Association’s blog and in its popular newsletter,

Ronnie often spurred me to action with his powerful words and dedication to what I have long felt is an incredibly important cause.

He served as the co-founder and International Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and its international affiliates Via Organica (Mexico) and Regeneration International, according to a report from Sustainable Pulse. 

He was on the frontline of many key issues including the push to label genetically modified foods and foods with genetically modified ingredients.

One of his Call-to-Action videos from 2012 shows his dedication to the cause and decades-long crusade to expose the truth about genetically engineered foods and crops, and to have them labeled so that consumers can know what they’re buying and eating.

He showed his passion for the cause in the video below as he did throughout his esteemed activism and leadership career.

Despite the general public widely supporting the plain text, common sense labeling of genetically modified crops and Ronnie’s optimism, Big Food has spent countless millions over the past decade, advertising their position to voters.

In 2022, Washington state’s attorney general Bob Ferguson slapped anti-GMO labeling companies Coca Cola, Nestle, Kellogg’s and others with an $18 million fine for illegal money laundering as part of a $22 million initiative to defeat Initiative 22, a GMO labeling bill.

Cummins and others’ contributions to GMO labeling and other key initiatives have not been forgotten, however, just part of the reason why it is important to continue their work for clean, healthy, organic and non-GMO food during a time when new experiments like GMO advocados and genetically modified, 3D printed milk protein laced fake dairy products are among the new science experiments being foisted on the unsuspecting general public.

Cummins’ Career and Legacy Lives On 

Today, the OCA continues to educate consumers on its popular blog, blowing the whistle on science experiments disguised as food, toxic chemicals in our environment, and other pressing issues.

Meanwhile, Cummins’ work lives on in the spirit of the OCA’s employees and those who support the successful and venerable watchdog organization.

Two million consumers make up the OCA’s network currently.

Cummins helped to build it from the foundation up, serving as a writer and activist since the 1960s with ‘extensive experience in public education, grassroots mobilization, and marketplace pressure campaigns,’ according to the Pulse article.

He co-founded the group Via Organica in 2009, a network of organic consumers and farmers based in Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

He also co-founded Regeneration International in 2015, a global network dedicated to Regenerative farming and environmental causes.

Ronnie’s books include the following, which can be purchased on Amazon.com (click on the text to purchase): ‘Children of the World,’ ‘Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers,’ ‘Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal,’ and his final book, ‘The Truth About COVID-19,’ co-authored with Dr. Joseph Mercola.

 

He also wrote a book called ‘Mad Sheep: The True Story Behind the USDA’s War On a Family Farm,’ which was released in 2007 and is still available for purchase.

I personally am incredibly grateful for Ronnie’s writing and advocacy work over the years and have looked up to him for quite some time.

When I heard the news it was incredibly sad. Ronnie was born in 1946 and passed away in 2023. His work, and his impact on the many lives he touched, will not soon be forgotten.

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RELATED READING: Remembering Mila de Mier, the Non-GMO Activist Who Died Face Down in a Swimming Pool in 2018

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