Occupy Scotts!!!

Since I first wrote about the fact that the National Wildlife Federation had made an apparent deal with the devil and partnered with Scotts Miracle Gro, the internet has been abuzz with outrage that NWF had sold out.

I can totally understand why people are so upset. I was deeply saddened by this news myself. But the outrage has continued to grow as garden writers, environmentalists, and other advocates have taken up the call against the National Wildlife Federation.

The NWF facebook page (you must click “Everyone” on the right hand side under the five photos across the top of the page) has been indundated as thousands of people have expressed their outrage, concern, anger, sadness, and sense of betrayal.

One of NWF’s iconic symbols, Ranger Rick, has become the target of scorn. To see this read WWRRD? (What Would Ranger Rick Do?), and take a look at this photo posted on the NWF facebook page:

The anger and sense of betrayal are real, and it is a good thing to hold accountable those organizations who make choices that seems to negate their own mission statement.

But there is another side to this, and one where all of this emotional energy would maybe be better directed.

In a recent interview with NWF spokesman David Mizejewski, I was trying to express to him that all of his prepared statements about their good intentions were getting lost because the headline is the actual problem, and people can’t get past what seems unbelievable:

The National Wildlife Federation Teams Up With Scotts Miracle Gro

This is a very odd pairing. It would be like saying “The Nature Conservancy teams up with Monsanto” The two things do not belong in the same sentence.

What I said to David Mizejewski was “As long as Scotts is selling Roundup and Miracle Gro, this partnership will never look like a good thing, no matter how you try to spin it.”

Roundup and Miracle Gro are the problems. Scotts is the problem. And Scotts sells a whole lot more nasty chemicals that do great harm to our waterways, our drinking water, our native beneficial insects, and more.

So why aren’t we angry at Scotts? Why isn’t their facebook page filled with the same outrage as is being posted on NWF’s facebook page?

Do we hold our environmental organizations feet to the fire yet ignore the corporations who are poisoning our planet?

I say no!

Let’s Occupy Scotts. Let’s take over the Scotts Facebook page and tell them exactly how we feel about their chemicals (you must click “Everyone” on the right hand side under the five photos across the top of the page).

  • Lets fill up their email box
  • Let’s call them
  • Even snail mail them

Please use all the ways of contacting them they have made available to us

But let’s not stop there. Seriously do we think we can get Scotts to stop the sale of Roundup with a few emails or facebook posts? Probably not.

Yes, we did get the National Wildlife Federations attention by doing this, but the only way to really get the attention of a giant corporation is to impact their bottom line.

Boycott Scotts products. And this includes Scotts Bird Seed, which the National Wildlife Federation would like to make the showcase of their new Save the Songbirds Campaign.

But our own little private boycott isn’t going to do much at all. I mean how much Roundup or Miracle Gro do you buy? For me, none.

So we have to take this further than that. We need to encourage our friends and families to choose our health and the health of the planet every time they buy something. We need to vote with our dollars.

Next time you’re in your local nursery or garden center, please tell the owner that you won’t continue shopping there as long as they are carrying these products.

Call Home Depot (1-800-466-3337) and tell them you will no longer purchase anything from them as long as Scotts products are the only choice for potting soil.

We need to take all of this energy that we’ve generated in the last few days and put it into effort that will actually make a difference for the environment and the health of our planet.

Let’s get to work!

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