The Cloud Mountain Foundation is a New York-based private foundation. Cloud Mountain shares little information about itself publicly and has only two staff member, but its financial filings indicate that the foundation supports political and environmental organizations that oppose agricultural biotechnology.
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a political activist group that has received over $500,000 from Cloud Mountain since 2012, works closely with organic-industry groups to challenge the scientific consensus around GMO crop safety, including the Organic Consumers Association (OCA). Jill Richardson, a policy advisor to OCA, is also a contributor to Source Watch, a wiki site published by CMD that tracks conservative activists who “manipulate public opinion on behalf of corporations ….”
OCA provided the initial funding to establish the anti-GMO group U.S. Right to Know (USRTK). USRTK works alongside law firms suing Bayer, alleging the chemical company’s herbicide Roundup causes cancer. USRTK archived internal company documents called the “Monsanto Papers” (Bayer owns Monsanto) which prove, USRTK claims, that Monsanto knew for years that Roundup is carcinogenic. Lisa Graves, CMD’s founder, also sits on USRTK’s board of directors.
Cloud Mountain has donated $50,000 to Food and Water Watch, an environmental group that lobbies the USDA to end field trials of GMO crops. Food and Water Watch says “the generous support from the Park Foundation, the 11th Hour Project, Tides Foundation …. and the Cloud Mountain Foundation” makes it possible to “fight back against the seemingly unlimited funds of the agribusiness industry.” In total, Cloud Mountain has given more than $4 million to Food and Water Watch, CMD and related anti-GMO groups.
Financial Data
Annual Revenue: $1,143,397 (2016)
Total Assets: 3,974,3161(2016)
Major Recipients (total contributions 2012-present)
Center for Media and Democracy $603,300
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund $525,000
Center for Environmental Health and Justice $449,500
Science and Environmental Health Network $430,000
TruthOut $170,000
Clean Production Action $75,000
Sustainable Markets Foundation $135,000
Clean Water Fund $80,000
Food and Water Watch $50,000
Earth Island Institute $40,000