Pepsi, Nestle scandal – flavour ‘enhanced’ by aborted foetal cells

OPINION
BY BILL MUEHLENBERG

For some time now we have known that the taste of Pepsi is based in part on the use of aborted babies. And now the Obama administration informs us that this is no big deal – just business as usual. Just more chilling scenes from the culture wars and the battle for life.

Last year pro-life groups were already warning about this, and asking that those concerned about life boycott PepsiCo for this practice. It is still continuing, and Obama’s people consider it to be just fine. Here is how one news story reported matters last year:

“Scores of prolife groups are calling for a public boycott of food giant, PepsiCo, due to its partnership with Senomyx, a biotech company that uses aborted fetal cells in the research and development of artificial flavor enhancers. LifeSiteNews previously reported on Senomyx’s partnership with major food corporations, most notably PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, and Nestlé.

“Pro-life watchdog group, Children of God for Life (CGL), is now joined by major pro-life organizations calling upon the public to target PepsiCo in a boycott. Pepsi is funding the research and development, and paying royalties to Senomyx, which uses HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cells) to produce flavor enhancers for Pepsi beverages. ‘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,’ says the Senomyx website.

“‘What they do not tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors,’ stated Debi Vinnedge, President for CGL, the watch dog group that has been monitoring the use of aborted fetal material in medical products and cosmetics for years. The aborted fetal cells are not in the product itself. However, ‘there are many options PepsiCo could be using instead of aborted fetal cells,’ noted Vinnedge.”

That report came from May of last year. Despite many people sharing their concerns with the company and with the government, it seems their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Obama’s administration has dismissed these concerns, and simply want Pepsi to carry on with business as usual.

Consider this news item from yesterday: “PepsiCo has come under fire from pro-life advocates because it has been contracting with a research firm that uses fetal cells from babies victimized by abortions to test and produce artificial flavor enhancers.

“Now, the Obama administration is set to face more criticism because an agency has declared that Pepsi’s use of the company and its controversial flavor testing process constitutes ‘ordinary business.’ In a decision delivered February 28, the 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.’

“Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God for Life, the organization that exposed the PepsiCo-Senomyx collaboration last year, informed LifeNews today that a 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 a 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.’

“PepsiCo lead attorney George A. Schieren noted that the resolution should be excluded because it ‘deals with matters related to the company’s ordinary business operations’ and that ‘certain tasks are so fundamental to run a company on a day-to-day basis that they could not be subject to stockholder oversight.’

“Vinnedge said she is appalled by the apathy and insensitivity of both PepsiCo executives and the Obama administration. ‘We’re not talking about what kind of pencils PepsiCo wants to use – we are talking about exploiting the remains of an aborted child for profit,’ she said. ‘Using human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) to produce flavor enhancers for their beverages is a far cry from routine operations.’

“Vinnedge said 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.’ ‘In other words, PepsiCo thinks its stockholders are too stupid to understand what they are doing with the remains of aborted children,’ she said. ‘Well they are about to find out just how smart the public really is when they turn up the heat on the world-wide boycott’.”

So the battle continues. The moral of the story is this at least: the next time you are craving a cola, avoid Pepsi. And tell others about these ghastly practices. Boycotting their products should also be part of our response. Contacting them and letting them know what you think is another option. You can contact Pepsi at this link and share your concerns

RELATED STORY: An investigation into fetal body parts trading for medical research