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Wikipedia defines greenwashing as “a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company’s policies or products are environmentally friendly.” Bio scienctist Jonathan Latham delves deeper into the issue of “greenwashing” in an article in this month’s Dollars and Sense Magazine and he uncovers that some of the biggest conservation nonprofits are shockingly headed by CEOs of major corporations like Coca Cola and Bank of America. The current leader in the greenwashing industrial commodity agriculture is the World Wide Fund for Nature, better known as the World Wildlife Fund. Latham found that the World Wildlife Fund’s stated role is to “negotiate standards, provide credibility, and lubricate the entry of certified products into international markets.” However, as of 2012, major corporations sit on WWF boards. Members of the Round Table on Responsible Soy include Monsanto, Cargill, Nestle and BP — companies known to be against environmental regulation and known to be harming the environment through their practices. Identifying the hypocrisy in this scheme Latham wonders, “How many members of the Nature Conservancy will be pleased to find that their organization has been working with Monsanto to promote genetically modified crops as “Responsible?”

GUEST: Jonathan Latham, Executive Director of the Bioscience Resource Project, based in Ithaca NY

Click here to read the full article by Jonathan Latham.