Rest in Power: Remembering the Life of Ronnie Cummins
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of a friend and hero, Ronnie Cummins, on April 26, 2023. A passionate advocate for a free and organic food future, Ronnie was an inspiration to organizers and activists worldwide, specifically in the area of freeing our food and environment from harmful toxins. He dedicated his life to exposing the connections between disease and industrial environmental poisons, tirelessly fighting for justice, peace, and regenerative organic agriculture. Despite losing his battle with bone and lymph cancer, his legacy lives on through the many lives he touched and the work we will continue in his honor. We are immensely grateful for Ronnie’s contributions and will cherish his memory as we all work to carry the torch forward. Following is the official announcement, links and obituary from the Organic Consumers Association, where he served as the International Director and regular editor and contributor to OCA newsletters:
Dear Organic Consumers Association Supporters,
It is with heavy hearts we share that our beloved International Director Ronnie Cummins has passed away in Mexico on April 26, 2023. Ronnie tragically lost his life to recently diagnosed bone and lymph cancer after dedicating so much of his life’s work to exposing the connections of disease and the toxins in our environment.
All of us at OCA, Regeneration International and Vía Orgánica are heartbroken. We have been reeling with the loss. The outpouring of love and respect for Ronnie that we are receiving about the impact of his life’s work on others is lifting our spirits and is helping us through our own grieving process.
From OCA’s Field Organizer Director, Kaare Melby:
“I’m deep in grief with the loss of Ronnie. I’ve known him my whole life. He has been a mentor and teacher to me, and he taught me about radical populism. He helped me learn how to bring the theory of social change to reality. He taught me to stand up for truth, no matter the consequences. He taught me how powerful the truth is, even in the face of unimaginable power and greed. His lessons will be the stuff we will study for decades. But I still can’t assimilate the reality that he is gone. And when I approach that reality, the emotions are still too much. We needed him. But now that he is gone, the world needs us to pick up where he left off. The regenerative revolution is now OUR responsibility. Let us all find the strength to carry it on and make the future all that Ronnie knew it could be. He never stopped fighting for us, now let’s come together to fight for his regenerative vision.”
From OCA’s Political Director, Alexis Baden-Mayer:
“What a life and person to celebrate! He’s left us a fortune in books, articles, songs and speeches, not to mention farms & organizations. We’ll never have to be totally without him because he’s left so much of himself here with us.”
From Regeneration International Director, André Leu:
“I’m still in shock and deeply saddened by his passing. Ronnie was a genius, a brilliant mind, an inspirational leader, and a strongly principled change agent who promoted regenerative organic agriculture and fought against corruption and corporate greed. He was a wonderful and very close friend. I’ll miss him.”
Ronnie drew much of his inspiration from all of you, the OCA & RI supporters; let us all carry Ronnie’s torch moving forward in our activist work.
Celebration of life gathering will be held at the Vía Orgánica Ranch outside of San Miguel de Allende Mexico, Sunday May 7, 3:00 pm Central, 2:00 pm, Mexico. We invite you to light a candle and join the livestream.
In Solidarity,
OCA and RI staff
Memorial Donations to Organic Consumers Association
and Regeneration International
Ronnie’s Obituary
Ronnie Cummins (1946-2023), was a leading figure in the global organic regenerative food and farming movement. His enthusiastic organizing skills were infused with passion, warmth, courage and tenacity. He was tireless in his work for justice and peace.
Ronnie called three places home. He developed deep roots in Finland, Minnesota, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work brought him around the world where he formed close relationships with activists working on organic regenerative food, farming, climate, and health freedom issues.
He never gave up his passion for investigating the dangers of industrial food systems, genetic engineering and synthetic food technologies. He fought against the greed of the pharmaceutical, chemical, and pesticide industries, he was also earnest and optimistic in the search for climate solutions. Ronnie was the co-founder and International Director of the Organic Consumers Association, (OCA) and its international affiliates, Regeneration International and Vía Orgánica.
He had a passion for educating young people, and headed up the creation of Vía Orgánica, an agroecology farm school and research center in Central Mexico. The last few years he dedicated endless time, energy and research to Vía Orgánica and Regeneration International’s Billion Agave Project; he firmly believed this could be game-changing as a way to regenerate the land, make a major impact on carbon sequestration, the climate crisis, ease rural poverty and heartbreaking forced migration of so many small farmers around the world.
Ronnie tragically passed away on April 26th. He grew up in “Cancer Alley” but Ronnie thought he had a fair chance of dodging the cancer bullet with the good medicine of healthy organic food, laughter, connection to nature, and time with family, friends, and the inspiration he got from working with those who shared his passion for making the world a better place. Ronnie lost his life to recently diagnosed bone and lymph cancer after dedicating so much of his life’s work to exposing the connections of disease and the toxins in our environment.
We will continue this fight in his honor. Ronnie wrote countless hard-hitting essays relating to the organizations’ campaigns, working to inspire action with information. He edited OCA’s widely distributed newsletter Organic Bytes and was an engaging public speaker. Ronnie was the author of a series of children’s books called Children of the World, (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Cuba) as well as the book Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers. His other books included, Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal. Ronnie’s latest book was The Truth About COVID-19, co-authored with Dr. Joseph Mercola, which were both published by Chelsea Green. Most recently, he was in the process of writing a new book called Agave Power.
Ronnie especially loved daily hikes, swimming in the icy tannin rivers on the North Shore that flow into Lake Superior, singing, playing guitar, researching and writing. He enjoyed gatherings with home cooked food in the company of family, friends and activists, always forthcoming with: “This is the best meal I’ve ever had.” Ronnie has touched the hearts of so many throughout his life’s journey, he will be forever missed but his lifetime of passionate work leaves a legacy for all of us to carry on.
Ronnie is survived by the love of his life Rose Welch and son Adrian Cummins Welch, as well as many people he cherished, siblings, in-laws, many nieces and nephews, close friends and work family.
A Celebration of life gathering will be held at the Vía Orgánica Ranch outside of San Miguel de Allende Mexico, Sunday May 7, (streamed live here at 3:00 pm Central, 2:00 pm, Mexico.) There will also be gatherings in Minneapolis, May 14, and Finland, MN at the OCA AgroEcology Center on May 21. Memorial Donations to Organic Consumers Association (OCA) or Regeneration International.
Obituary Guest Book
Below are some heartwarming tributes on our OCA and Via Organica Facebook pages, and below we would like to share just a few of these tributes with you.
Rachel Parent
My heart is heavy finding out about the passing of Ronnie Cummins. Thank you Ronnie for leading with love in this movement for better food and a better world. You were so genuine and authentically yourself in every way. You instilled a revolution into the hearts of everyone around you. Your passion, courage, and your spirit have inspired so many beyond understanding, myself included. What an incredible and purpose driven life. Glad we met in this lifetime, you will be so so missed.
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin
All around the world, we say goodbye or better said “see you again when our time comes” to dear, amazing, unstoppable champion of the people. May we honor with our life example the incredible aspirations Ronnie embodied and led for a more just, peaceful world. I will miss this guy so dearly. During the Central American wars, and especially during the war in Guatemala he stood with the people suffering the atrocities committed by the Guatemalan Army, and fought the US involvement and financing of such crimes against us. I know a lot of people I here in MN who like Ronnie stood against these forces of evil, and I can with a high degree of certainty say that I myself have the privilege of being alive because of people like him who held those destructive forces back just enough for some of us to find a way through. I will remember Ronnie for as long as I live.
Dr. Vandana Shiva
Ronnie has been a dear friend and colleague since the 1980’s. In 1996 at the World Food Summit we initiated the fortnight action, Oct. 2nd to October 16th. We jointly founded Regeneration International in Costa Rica. Ronnie was a revolutionary and an institution builder. He will be deeply missed.
Pamm Larry
I have very few heroes in the world. Ronnie was one of them. His heart, his caring for the world, his commitment to freedom and honesty will be sorely missed. I had not seen him in years, but he was always kind to everyone who he touched/worked with, while being fiercely protective and truth telling of those who destroy the Earth and the Beings on it. I called him the “neck” of the Organic movement- as an homage to My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the mom says: your father may be the head of the household, but I am the neck”. Ronnie was that neck, always working behind the scenes, always for the betterment of humanity. His loss is hugely huge. Bless you and Thank You Ronnie for standing tall in the world, while always smiling and joking around. Hugs to Rose and the rest of his family, chosen and biological. Much love to you all and to all of us who he touched so deeply.
David Bronner
We lost a giant in the organic movement this week—Ronnie Cummins, who founded the Organic Consumers Association. Ronnie was an activist champion who channeled the hard core activism of the 60s into my generation, and into the fight for food justice and sovereignty. We partnered on epic fights for organic integrity in personal care against ‘organic cheater’ brands, as well as fought and won the right to keep personal care within the USDA’s National Organic Program. We also took on B.S. fair trade claims in the personal care space, and with Sue Kastensen and Dana Geffner, helped found Fair World Project to watchdog the rampant “fairwashing” in the fair trade world. The most epic fight of all that we fought together alongside other NGO and organic champions, was against Monsanto, Dow, DuPont, and the other big pesticide companies who were engineering major food crops to withstand huge amounts of their poisonous weed killers. Ronnie was hardcore but also so sweet and fun, and loved a good time. I will miss my epic teacher, friend, and comrade in how to fight for what’s right with every breath you got. Abrazos! Rest in Power Ronnie!
Mark Kastel
Ronnie
has been a friend, colleague, and ally for over 30 years. I met him in
the early 1990s when we collaborated along with others in fighting
Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (BGH). He
represented the interests of consumers through his work with the
Foundation on Economic Trends, along with another longtime friend and
colleague, John Stauber. I was a lobbyist for the Farmers Union at that
time. We were joined by others I still revere, like Dr. Michael Hansen
at Consumers Union and Tim Atwater, who at the time also represented
family-scale dairy farmers at Rural Vermont. Ronnie,
John, and I applied what we learned, endeavoring to build a more just
and equitable food system. John launched the Center for Media and
Democracy in 1993, Ronnie and his wife Rose
founded the Organic Consumers Association in 1998 and Will Fantle and I
founded The Cornucopia Institute in 2004 (more recently transferring our
hard-earned skillsets to OrganicEye). Ronnie
was tireless in his search for justice, with an emphasis on the
dysfunctional system of producing food in our country that disadvantages
eaters and farmers alike. He never gave up his passion for
investigating the genetic engineering, novel food technologies, and
production systems that turn us all into lab rats. Our phone calls and
emails were never exchanged frequently enough. But any time I called him
for help, he was always willing to back my efforts. Always. Before the
pandemic, we used to cross paths somewhat regularly when we were both
speaking at food and farming conferences around the country (sometimes
appearing on the same panel, such as at Ecofarm in California). Ronnie
was a rock star when it came to educating stakeholders about what was
at stake with the control of our food and health in the hands of
corporate agribusiness, big Pharma, and the biotechnology industry. Ronnie was a giant in his own right and I, for one, will miss him sorely.
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Interview with Ronnie:Here is a great podcast from Real Organic Project where Ronnie talks about his life and the beginnings of his food and farming activism.
Article From Sustainable Pulse: RIP Ronnie Cummins: Leading Figure in Global Organic and Regenerative Movement Passes Away, Sustainable Pulse
Ronnie’s Obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
