YUMMY YUM YUM: Using fetal cells to create flavors for Pepsi and other companies deemed “ordinary business”

The controversy on whether PepsiCo and other companies like Kraft and Nestle can continue to contract with a company that uses the cells from a aborted fetus for research has been answered by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, and the answer is yes.
In a news release today from Children of God for Life, the agency, which has spearheaded the boycott, reports on the decision made last week after an SEC resolution from PepsiCo shareholders asked that they adopt a policy of human rights and stop contracting with a company doing fetal cell research for flavor testing. COG reports:

In a shocking decision delivered Feb 28th, President Obama’s Security and Exchange Commission ruled that PepsiCo’s use of aborted fetal remains in their research and development agreement with Senomyx to produce flavor enhancers falls under “ordinary business operations.”

So it’s ordinary to use an aborted fetus to derive cells on which to run testing for flavor additives? Actually, sadly, it is. Why shouldn’t it be? US legal code actually allows fetal research. Click here for the law. Last year the shareholders of the company filed a resolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal office that regulates stock, trading, and such practices. The shareholders asked that PepsiCo to stop using this research and adopt a “human rights policy” on the matter. That in itself was a big deal because a shareholder resolution is essentially a public complaint by investors; they don’t air interior dirty laundry unless it’s serious. But in the last week, PepsiCo and the SEC  both said, too bad.
Children of God for Life reports:

The letter signed by Attorney Brian Pitko of the SEC Office of Chief Counsel was sent in response to a 36-page document submitted by PepsiCo attorneys in January, 2012. In that filing, PepsiCo pleaded with the SEC to reject the Shareholder’s Resolution filed in October 2011 that the company “adopt a corporate policy that recognizes human rights and employs ethical standards which do not involve using the remains of aborted human beings in both private and collaborative research and development agreements.”

Not only that but here’s what PepsiCo’s lead attorney said the resolution should be disregarded because:

“[It] deals with matters related to the company’s ordinary business operations… certain tasks are so fundamental to run a company on a day-to-day basis that they could not be subject to stockholder oversight.”- PepsiCo lead attorney George A. Schieren (Source)

And the story adds:

PepsiCo also requested the resolution be excluded because it “probed too deeply into matters of a complex nature upon which shareholders cannot make an informed judgment.”

So PepsiCo can develop its products, including a new drink, and contract with Senomyx, using the cells of an electively aborted baby to do its research and that’s “ordinary.” According to PepsiCo’s attorney, the shareholders just don’t get it.
On the contrary I’d say the shareholders  get it better than the company.
Let me address something here. I’ve received numerous personal complaints that I am accusing Pepsi of putting aborted babies in their products. No one has ever said that (at least from reputable agencies). What we are saying is that PepsiCo (and Kraft, Frito-Lay, Nestle) are contracting with Senomyx which is a company that creates flavor testers and one of the ways they do it is with the cells of HEK 293, an electively aborted baby’s kidney cells. Of course the baby isn’t in the Pepsi or other product, but the flavor that makes it taste good to you was made from the profit of shedding of innocent blood. That’s why even PepsiCo’s own shareholders said enough was enough—and PepsiCo? They say, they are just doing business.
We aren’t sure of what exactly PepsiCo and the other companies are using the HEK 393 created flavoring in but take a look at this:

Vinnedge is warning consumers to be on guard for the roll-out of PepsiCo’s newest beverage that claims to cut sugar and calories by 50%. The product is called Pepsi Next and is anticipated to hit the market in the coming weeks.  PepsiCo stated that their goal with Senomyx is to produce new beverages with reduced sugars and calories. So is Pepsi Next the new Senomyx-PepsiCo creation?

The compromise we give now to our values by drinking a Pepsi or eating a Lean Cuisine (Nestle) or putting dressing on our salad (Kraft) or eating Lays at our basketball parties (Frito-Lay) may just open us up for more compromise later. As COG For Life notes:

While fetal components are currently not in the final product, there is growing concern among consumers that it could happen in the near future. With the explosion of health foods on the market, there is nothing to stop companies from using fetal remains as protein ingredients.

Every time we decide that it’s no big deal or we need to have something that we know for a fact has its hands in abortion, we are selling a piece of ourselves for that product. That’s my take at least. I’ve learned to re-shop since this all broke; it’s annoying since I live in a  rural area without a lot of grocery options, but for me, it’s what I need to do to live my convictions. I encourage you to take this to the Lord in prayer if you’re not sure. I can only tell you what I do and give you facts to make your own decisions, but I do think the flagrant disregard of even the shareholders shows where PepsiCo’s priorities are.

http://bound4life.com/blog/2012/03/05/using-fetal-cells-to-create-flavors-for-pepsi-and-other-companies-deemed-ordinary-business/