The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by carrot farmers.

THREE CHEERS FOR BOLTHOUSE!!!!!  

Radicals, every one of them.

.

OK, I don't need to buy any more carrots.

Go ahead, boycott away.  We love carrots and my horse can eat all you don't.

now heres a few of you a lesson..just because an issue is being rammed down peoples throats by a few people on a blog..doesnt mean its going to be a fact in the real world..

Ahhhh yummmm...Carrot Cake anyone??

There would be no chance of winning for boycotters....They're going against rabbits, horses, carrot cake makers, carrot juice squeezers, and carrot lovers like me. Sorry but for those who are happy with the new proposal regarding gay marriage...this is bad news....

mmmm, who thought something so orange could be so gooood  :D

Chinese-made synthetic carrots will soon flood the U.S. produce market, and before long Bolthouse will be so broke that he can't pay attention...

Good on him.  I don't agree, but he's putting his money where his mouth is.

Also, I'm glad he's spending his money someplace where it won't make a difference rather than on close elections.

Wouldn't the $100,000 be better spent improving the sanitation at Bolthouse Farms?  Anyone remember the FDA press release from a couple of years ago?   For those who don't, here it is:

FDA Warns Consumers Not To Drink Bolthouse Farms Carrot Juice Due to Botulism Concerns

In response to a fourth case of botulism being linked to Bolthouse Farms, Bakersfield, California brand carrot juice, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to drink Bolthouse Farms Carrot Juice, 450 ml and 1 liter plastic bottles, with "BEST IF USED BY" dates of NOV 11 2006 or earlier.  Consumers should discard this product. FDA is also reiterating its advice to consumers to keep carrot juice — including pasteurized carrot juice — refrigerated.

The fourth case of botulism poisoning involves an adult female in Florida who is currently suffering from paralysis. To date, one link between the illness and the consumers appears to be that the juice they drank was not properly refrigerated once it was in the home, which allowed the Clostridium botulinum spores to grow and produce toxin.  FDA is investigating other possible links.

Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium commonly found in soil.  Under certain conditions these bacteria can produce a toxin that if ingested can result in botulism, a disease that may cause paralysis or death.  Cases of botulism from processed food are extremely rare in the U.S.

Symptoms of botulism can include: double-vision, droopy eyelids, altered voice, trouble with speaking or swallowing, and paralysis on both sides of the body that progresses from the neck down, possibly followed by difficulty in breathing. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.

Adequate refrigeration is one of the keys to food safety and is essential to preventing bacterial growth. Refrigerator temperatures should be no higher than 40°F and freezer temperatures no higher then 0°F. Consumers should check the temperatures occasionally with an appliance thermometer.

Consumers should look for the words "Keep Refrigerated" on juice labels so they know which products must be kept refrigerated. FDA is looking into whether industry's current juice labels provide clear refrigeration instructions

Was BoltHouse bought buy a larger company, recently?  I haven't bought Bolthouse drinks for awhile. They are kind of pricey, but Costco has good deals on them.  Now, I definately won't be buying their drinks.  I even have a family member who works for them.  

A report from a couple of years ago means they should put money nto sanitation?  Anything on the current conditions?

The Bolthouse Farms website has a nifty little store locator function for Bolthouse Farms drinks and dressings.  According to it, Bolthouse Farms drinks are sold in 137 stores in San Francisco.  I wonder how many of them will carry the stuff once the word gets out and customers start complaining.  San Francisco is a world unto itself, and a Bolthouse boycott there will most certainly work.

Buy Grimmway!!! I heard that Bolthouse is reducing employee benefits, and they are spending money to fight gay marriage. Talk about screwed up priorities.

Sounds like Bolthouse is going down in SF.

Does anybody know if Bolthouse receives any federal agricultural subsidies?

OMG!  Bolthouse drinks are sold at the Ralphs in West Hollywood!  I'd hate to be the store manager there!

Sounds like there will be excitement in Weho

Here's some info from wikipedia.

Controversy

[edit] Bolthouse Foundation

Bolthouse Farms company profits are used to support the The Bolthouse Foundation^[4], which supports groups including Evangelical Christian organizations.^[5]

Controversy surrounds the foundation as it, along with figures such as Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince, are major donors for the Alliance Defense Fund that is itself criticized for their perceived legal team offense against Separation of church and state (as defined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution), their stance against homosexuality, their focus on proselytism, as well as their opposition to birth control and sex education amongst other reasons.^[5][6]

The controversy surrounding the company has led some Bolthouse consumers to boycott Bolthouse Farms products^[7]

[edit] Carrot botulism outbreak

In September 2006, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered a voluntarily recall on the Bolthouse Farms "100 per cent Carrot Juice" and other Bolthouse Farms products due to several cases of botulism resulting from consumption of the products. On September 29, 2006 the United States Food and Drug Administration recommended that Georgia residents not purchase Bolthouse Farms carrot juice and, the same day, warned consumers not to purchase Bolthouse Farms products dated November 11, 2006 or earlier.^[8]

The warning and recalls were due to reported cases of consumption of the beverages resulting in six cases of botulism in the United States and Canada. Two cases in Toronto, Canada resulted in paralysis; three cases recorded in Georgia, United States resulted in respiratory failure, with the patients requiring ventilators; one case recorded in Florida resulted in hospitalization. The patient in Florida has remained unresponsive since mid-September of 2006.^[9]

In response, Bolthouse Farms claimed that the illness was the fault of the consumers who had failed to properly refrigerate the products^[8]. The US Food and Drug Administration cited that this may not be the case and an investigation continues.^[10] Bolthouse Farms has subsequently released an FAQ regarding the event.^[11]

[edit]

If you looked up the campaign contributions of all the producers of your produce and used that for your buying decisions, you might just be left with nothing to munch on unless you know a backyard gardener whose political views you agree with. This is a conservative town, so it's not suprising the local produce farms have owners donating to conservative causes.

Pediatric cancer?   Naw.

Children starving in Angola?   Nope.

Rainforest depletion in South America?   Boring!

Ballot initiative banning gay marriage in the State of California?   Bingo!

Cat, everyone has their priorities.  Skewed though they may be!

Guess I'm off carrots.

I'll be taking my carrot money and donating it to fight this initiative.

This is a tad off topic...but then, maybe not so far off.

Have you folks ever noticed that generally, people don't get involved in "causes" until that "cause" strikes close to home?  I doubt many people get active in the Juvenile Diabetes fundraisers for instance until a family member is diagnosed with it.  (or any other organization)

Back on topic.  Like it or not folks, this farmer has a right to financially support his beliefs.  You have a right to protest by not buying the product.  There are an awful lot of people out there who agree with Bolthouse..

My boycott of a two bag a year purchase of carrots  would hardly topple the Bolthouse carrot industry.   I'll let it ride.

Are you saying this issue strikes close to home for the Bolthouses?   :-)

Nancy

There are just as many people who agree with them who will start eating carrots as there are carrot eaters who will stop because they disagree.

Audrey,  Not at all..I was just thinking about that from Cats comment about Pancreatic Cancer...just a wandering thought.  That's why I qualified it with it being a tad off  topic.  People tend to put their money and energies into causes that are important to them personally.  According to maggzies article, they support evangelicals so that would explain their stance on gay marriages.

You could be right about those who will start eating carrots to support Bolthouse.  Now THAT would be funny.  Choking down carrots just to support Bolthouse.  I don't particularly like carrots so it's a moot point for me.   I buy a few bags a year for stews and pot roast but since I don't cook much any more, the carrot industry will neither rise nor fall on my purchases, or lack of.  Come to think of it, I don't even eat the carrots I put in those dishes and only put them in if someone else will be sharing the food.

Good Lord.  Imagine that.  The US may mimic the Roman Empire over carrots and Sausage McMuffins.  Whouda thunk it?  :-)

I thought a majority of voters were for same sex marriage. Why the panic over what Bolthouse does? Couldn't be there are doubts about polling statistics, could it?

Is this the same carrot company that nearly destroyed workers comp. benefits a couple of elections back?  One of them[carrot companies] used lots of money and deceptive campaigning to have the laws changed so injured workers benefits and rights were lessened significantly.  If so this fits in with that personality.

 Pediatric cancer?   Naw.

Children starving in Angola?   Nope.

Rainforest depletion in South America?   Boring!

Ballot initiative banning gay marriage in the State of California?   Bingo!

He may donate to those causes, as well. This is just one cause.

This is $100,000 he won't be donating to just causes.

Nancy: You're right. I never got involved in epilepsy causes until my son developed it. And in really thinking about it I have slacked off on my donations since he outgrew it. I guess I had better find my checkbook......

Edit: Shoot, almost forgot the glut of pink items in my house that appeared after the wife developed breast cancer last year. I'm still active in that cause, though.

 This is $100,000 he won't be donating to just causes.

Pssh! Says you. Sounds like a just cause to me.

probably has a child with a little clutter in the closet, seems like a very vindictive statement AND is it tax deductable?

CA Supreme Court denies stay on same-sex marriage ruling.

Witbee:  How many children will it save?  Zero.  How many children might it hurt:  thousands.

Depends on your definition of "save" and "hurt." I bet ours are different.

Great<he has every right to his opinion,donation and so do we all. I'd spend my $100,000 a bit differently that is for sure. 

Again folks~ we need to recognize messing around with the constitution,state or federal, is a serious issue,not a step to be taken lightly or without thought.

If all these people want to take it in the A** Let them !!! as long as you are not sleeping with them who cares !! This world is full of wired people whats a few more..

"Wired," indeed.

i was wondering if that was a typo or not?

Somebody check to see if Bolthouse receives Federal Subsidies which in turn is a part of the $100,000.

I think that stinks.  I mean, granted it's HIS money and he is perfectly entitled to do what he wants with it.  I have gone around and around with people on this, but personally I see no problem with gay marriage and never have.  I'm sure this will open up a firestorm, but it's the truth.  Like gay people raising children; I'd rather see a child brought up in a home with two loving gay parents than two abusive STRAIGHT parents...but back to the issue at hand; I'm sure that Mr. Bolthouse is a fine upstanding Christian man with Christian values; which homosexuality HUGELY violates, therefore I can see HIS point and HIS view.

After all, Bakersfield is a predominantly Christian town, which is why I'm assuming this is creating such an uproar.  Personally I feel that this money could be MUCH better spent, like another poster said, upgrading the facilities and creating better employee benefit packages.  However, this IS America, we DO have first amendment rights, and Mr. Bolthouse has the right to spend his money any way he sees fit.  I feel it is a terrible shame for him to spend it to fight something that really, DOESN'T need to be fought but due to the popular sect (Christianity), it will be a never-ending issue.  Welcome to the world, I guess.  Hopefully there will be someone who will come up with $200,000 at some point to lobby FOR gay marriage and I will certainly throw my dollar in on THAT bandwagon. 

That being said, I will not be buying any bolthouse products anytime soon.

People are free to believe and sponsor what they wish but when it's something that's condonning bigotry, hatred, discrimination and just plain ignorance ...... sigh ....

i never was a big fan of carrots anyhow....

My definition of "save" and "hurt" are primarily physical harm, but also emotional harm as well.   I'm aware your priorities may be different.  I think the anti-gay rhetoric is patent nonsense.

let's grow our own freedom carrots

Sage,

I think CA's Constitution is changed every election with the propositions.  It is very difficult to change the US Constition via  amendments.  Since the US Constitution was implemented over 200 years ago there have been only 17 amendments added to the original 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights.  People reinterpret the Constitution to establish new laws or overturn previous laws.  The Constitution is not static. It is continually being reinterpreted.

William Bolthouse's actions are an embarrassment to those who work for Bolthouse and people who live in Bakersfield, who try to believe that Bakersfield is not filled entirely with rednecks. However Bolthouse has a huge market abroad, so I doubt a national boycott would put them out of business. But, I won't buy their drinks because I don't want William Bolthouse to have any of my money. 

By the way, I do care about other issues.  This year I have donated money to CARE and the ACLU.  I admit that I need to switch from Olbermann to world news. But, I love the way Olbermann gets so fired up.

It is really too bad that people spend so much time worrying about what other people are doing in their lives, rather than seeing to their own!  If a straight person feels that gay marriage being legalized somehow undermines their marriage, then they must have a problem in their marriage!   I say, if you don't like it, don't look at it!  How stupid that people are wasting their time and their money fighting something that has nothing whatsoever to do with their lives, except the attention that THEY choose to give to the issue.  And I thought that church and state were supposed to be separated anyway!  This clearly crosses the line.  (No pun intended!  HAH!)  Silly Christians.  Jesus said to love, not judge. 

I see your point~ but still caution and really thinking about changes is the right approach. BTW~ the stay has been denied,and my friends August marriage is still on!

Don't forget about the farmer's market on Saturday. Golden State Hwy and F St. 8-11am Saturday.

It's good to see a Christian who is taking a stand against what is evil.  This is why we have abortion, because Christians did not stand up and fight against it.  God's Word clearly speaks against homosexuality...and we must take a stand.  A lot of Christians have stood back and said..."Oh well...as long as it doesn't hurt me..."  Christians...wake up!!!  It is hurting us...it's hurting the family unit!!!  This is just the beginning of their agenda.  We MUST vote those into office who value the unborn life as well as those who wish to preserve the family.  

Yes, we need to be loving and kind to all people, including people who are in this lifestyle, however, we do not have to accept it.  When you accept it...you embrace it...when you embrace it...you go against God's Word.  The Homosexuals want their sin to be accepted, and I for one, can not accept it.        

For those against Bolthouse, it is your right to boycott who you want...just like it is mine.  It's also your right to support those who take a stand for something...just like it is mine. 

I realize that I am in the minority here, and that is ok...but one must speak out at such times as these.  Your name calling will get you no where with me.  It will only show who you are.  I have not name called, I have only spoken the truth...and unfortunately, it hurts sometimes.