Posted on 07/30/2015 6:24:46 PM PDT by Morgana
A pro-life group that monitors the use of cells from babies victimized by abortions is today highlighting a biotech company, Senomyx, which it says produces artificial flavor enhancers using aborted fetal cell lines to test their products.
The group Children of God for Life is calling for a public boycott of major food companies partnering with Senomyx.
Debi Vinnedge, the director of the pro-life organization, tells LifeNews.com today that, in 2010, her group wrote to Senomyx CEO Kent Snyder and pointed out that moral options for testing their food additives could and should be used. But when Senomyx ignored her letter, the group wrote to the companies Senomyx listed on their website as “collaborators” warning them of public backlash and threatened boycott. They included food giants PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup, Solae and Nestlé. (See update below.)
“The company’s key flavor programs focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients that are intended to allow for the reduction of MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products,” the Senomyx web site says. “Using isolated human taste receptors, we created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor.”
Vinnedge says a boycott is important because the collaborating companies provide Senomyx with research and development funding plus royalties on sales of products using their flavor ingredients.
“What they don’t tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors,” she said. “They could have easily chosen animal, insect, or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors.”
Vinnedge says she has contacted the food companies working with Senomyx, but said it took three letters before one company, Nestlé, finally admitted its relationship with Senomyx and company officials claimed the line of cells from abortions was “well established in scientific research”.
Both PepsiCo and Campbell Soup also responded.
PepsiCo wrote: “We hope you are reassured to learn that our collaboration with Senomyx is strictly limited to creating lower-calorie, great-tasting beverages for consumers. This will help us achieve our commitment to reduce added sugar per serving by 25% in key brands in key markets over the next decade and ultimately help people live healthier lives.”
Related Links
Children of God for Life
Campbell Soup officials told the pro-life group: “Every effort is made to use the finest ingredients and develop the greatest selection of products, all at a great value. With this in mind, it must be said that the trust we have cultivated and developed over the years with our consumers is not worth compromising to cut costs or increase profit margins.”
While Campbell Soup didn’t state they would change their methods, their response, gave Vinnedge hope.
“If enough people voice their outrage and intent to boycott these consumer products, it may convince Senomyx to change their methods,” she said. “Otherwise, we will be buying Coca-Cola, Lipton soups and Hershey products.”
UPDATE: Within hours of its press statement to LifeNews.com, the pro-life group received notice from Campbell Soup that the company has severed its ties with Senomyx. Juli Mandel Sloves, Senior Manager of Nutrition & Wellness Communications at Campbell Soup Company, told Vinnedge, “We are no longer in partnership with Senomyx. This fact was discussed during the Senomyx conference call with its investors earlier this month.”
ACTION: Contact the companies at:
Kent Snyder, CEO Senomyx 4767 Nexus Centre Drive San Diego, California 92121
Edmund M. Carpenter, CEO Campbell Soup 1 Campbell Place Camden, NJ 08103-1701
Paul Bulcke, CEO Nestlé USA 800 North Brand Boulevard Glendale, CA 91203
Jamie Caulfield, Sr.VP PepsiCo, Inc. 700 Anderson Hill Road Purchase, NY 10577
Irene Rosenfeld, CEO Kraft Foods/Cadbury Chocolate Three Lakes Drive Northfield, IL 60093
Mr. Torkel Rhenman Chief Executive Officer Solae 4300 Duncan Avenue St. Louis, Missouri 63110
More “nutrition” labeling, less nutrition. Seems that if it’s on the label (letter of the law), the standards (spirit of the law) take a permanent vacation.
And then there’s the stuff labeled “product of China”. Who even knows what that is.
Growing up, processed food was a much smaller % of the overall diet than it is in modern society. Now the quality of it all is degraded or highly suspect.
Even so, lots of people in their 50’s on up are technically alive, but...
If you lived back in the ‘50s, then yeah, it was not that bad. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, processed crap became common but the main difference was that we were much more active back then. Today, helicopter parents wont allow their children outside unless it’s a sponsored activity.
There ya' go. Abortion is never okay, the passage of time does not matter. It is still murder.
At least 2 years ago, when it was discovered that Campbells and Pepsico were cooperating in these experiments, they both swore they’d quit doing it and broken their relationship with the outfit. So it appears they were lying. They apparently never missed a beat, and continued right on with it.
I don’t know about Pepsi, but has anyone noticed all the new unusual flavors of soup Campbell’s has put on the market in the last few years, packaged in pouches rather than cans?
I’m done with Pepsi, and wouldn’t touch any Campbell’s soup with a ten foot pole. Progresso will do just fine. Thanks.
I had always assumed that the human taste testers these companies used were, you know, LIVING employees that had very well developed senses of taste and smell.
What kind of moron thought it would be a good idea to even risk associating death with the food and beverages their companies make?
Well it doesn't seem to be working as the new low sodium products taste like schnit straight from the can ...
What difference does it make if it was one, or thousands?
“Oh, just one lampshade was made from actual free range jewskin- the rest are just cloned from that first jew and then the clones were raised/cultured for the purpose.”
We need to be as accurate and honest as possible.
There is no reason to exaggerate or mislead because truth is with us.
In this case it is really only the headline. the article was clear.
I’m waiting for the findings about cosmetics and lotions...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.