April 11, 2013 |
The slogan for Eden Foods, which describes itself as the
“oldest natural and organic food company in North America,” is “creation
and maintenance of purity in food.” Its CEO and founder, Michael
Potter, has been prominent in debates over labeling of organic food and
GMOs. But the company has been quietly seeking in court another form of
purity — to Catholic doctrine about sex being solely for procreation.
That goes not just for Potter, but for all 128 of his employees.
That
is, Eden Foods — an organic food company with no shortage of liberal
customers — has quietly pursued a decidedly right-wing agenda, suing the
Obama administration for exemption from the mandate to cover
contraception for its employees under the Affordable Care Act. In court
filings, Eden Foods,
represented by
the conservative Thomas More Law Center, alleges that its rights have
been violated under the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Eden Foods,
which did not respond to a request for comment, says in its filing that
the company believes of birth control that “these procedures almost
always involve immoral and unnatural practices.” The complaint also says
that “Plaintiffs believe that Plan B and ‘ella’ can cause the death of
the embryo, which is a person.” (Studies show that neither Plan B nor
Ella
interfere with
fertilization, which is the Catholic definition of the beginning of
life, if not the medical one. In other words, not the death of an
embryo. Also, at that stage, it’s a zygote, not an embryo — let alone a
“person.”) The filing also said that “Plaintiff Eden Foods’ products,
methods, and accomplishments are described by critics as: tasteful,
nutritious, wholesome, principled, unrivaled, nurturing, pure.”
Until
now, Eden Foods’ conservative advocacy litigation has remained mostly
under the radar, even as their marketing seems designed to appeal to
liberals, from the slogan ”Organic agriculture is society’s brightest
hope for positive change” to the sixties imagery and the use of the word
“revolution” in some of its
print marketing. The
company’s mission statement includes its goal to “contribute to
peaceful evolution on earth,” “to maintain a healthy, respectful,
challenging, and rewarding environment for employees,” and to “cultivate
sound relationships with other organizations and individuals who are
like minded and involved in like pursuits.”
It’s not the first
time a company with a nebulously progressive image has actually been led
by someone whose politics would horrify many of its customers. John
Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, has publicly campaigned against the
Affordable Care Act, including recently
referring to it as “fascism.” And Lululemon’s executive adulation for Ayn Rand became famous when the yoga products company
printed bags
asking, “Who is John Galt?” But while those companies have been raked
over the coals, Eden Foods’ efforts have largely gone unnoticed.
Eden
Foods’ employees are covered under Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan,
but until recently, Potter was able to exclude what the insurance
company deemed (hilariously) “Lifestyle Drugs.” (Some rare consistency:
The exclusion also included Viagra.) But once Potter became aware that
the company’s plan had begun to cover contraception in accordance with
the Obamacare regulations, he teamed up with Thomas More Law Center to
sue. The Center focuses on violations of “religious freedom,” including
in connection with the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. They also
represented Pastor Terry Jones, who became famous for his plan to burn
Korans on the anniversary of 9/11.
They filed suit on March 20,
2013, against Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
and other government parties, demanding an exemption, despite the fact
that Eden Foods is a for-profit company. Two days later, District Court
Judge Denise Page Hood denied an emergency motion to be exempted,
writing, “Courts have held that the Mandate in question applies only to
the corporate entity, not to its officers or owners, and that as to the
individual owners, any burden imposed on them individually by the
contraception mandate is remote[.]” She added, “The purpose of the
Women’s Preventive Healthcare Regulations is not to target religion, but
instead to promote public health and gender equality.” A hearing has
been set for May 10.
According to
a scorecard compiled by the Becket Fund, another conservative legal
outfit that has represented plaintiffs against the HHS mandate, there
are 25 for-profit companies that have filed suit over the requirement to
cover contraception in employee health plans. Seventeen of those have
so far been granted temporary injunctions exempting them from the
regulation. Separately, 30 non-profit organizations, including
universities with religious affiliations, have been filed, but many are
in limbo as the administration clarifies who will be exempt. This week,
the public comment period on revising the regulations ended, and Planned
Parenthood’s Cecile Richards said in a statement on the policy, “The
idea that your employer could refuse to cover a prescription medication
because they disagree with one of its uses—that’s unacceptable.”
Many
customers of Eden Foods may feel the same way about a company marketing
itself to a liberal clientele and then quietly harboring a right-wing,
ideological agenda.
Irin Carmon is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @irincarmon or email her at
icarmon@salon.com.
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