From: PHIL Harrison
Subject: Monsanto just gave you one more reason.
Date: 25 March, 2013 9:27:41 PM PDT
Below is information about the Washington State mandatory gmo labelling ballot initiative.
Although not about Surrey, this is an important local opportunity. This can succeed, after the recount in California the NO side won by less than 1%, even after outspending on advertising by about 10:1.
Please consider donating. See below for details.
thank you
Phil Harrison
GE Free Surrey
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association <ronniecummins@organicconsumers.org>
Date: 24 March 2013 07:06
Subject: Monsanto just gave you one more reason.
Dear Organic Consumer,
As if the existing threats to our health and environment weren’t enough reason to fight for labels on food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Monsanto just gave us one more.
Three days ago, bowing down to Monsanto’s well-funded lobbyists, Congress voted to allow Monsanto to grow GMO crops that could be harmful to human health and the environment – even if a federal court or a regulatory agency rules that the planting of those crops is illegal. Under this new law, sneaked in at the last moment as a rider to the federal appropriations bill, not even the federal courts will be able to stop Monsanto from introducing a slew of new, potentially poisonous GMO crops into our food supply.
It’s just one more reason to pass a statewide GMO labeling law, one with real teeth.
In November, voters in Washington State will decide on I-522, a citizens’ ballot initiative to label GMOs. The OCA has pledged $500,000 to the I-522 campaign. If we raise half of that – $250,000 – by April 1, a generous donor will match those funds so we can fulfill our pledge. Can you help us reach our goal by April 1 with a donation today? You can donate online with a credit card or Paypal. Or you can mail a check. Or phone in your donation.
If you’ve already contributed to this campaign, thank you! Perhaps you can pass this message along to friends and family? If you haven’t donated yet, please consider a donation today. Every dollar counts toward this critical matching gift.
We’ve heard it many times, from food retailers and manufacturers, and especially from politicians, that what we need is a federal GMO labeling law. State laws would be too confusing, too difficult to enforce. But you and I both know that a law written in Washington D.C., where Monsanto lobbyists have politicians in their back pockets, will do more to protect Big Biotech and Big Food than it will to protect consumers.
I-522 is a citizens’ ballot initiative, written to protect consumers, not industry.
If you’re reading this letter, you probably supported a similar initiative last year, Prop 37, the California Right to Know GMO labeling law. And like me, you were deeply disappointed that we lost that fight.
You may be wondering, is it worth raising all this money again, for another, similar initiative? Yes. And here’s why.
- This initiative stands an excellent chance of passing. With the FDA about to approve the first genetically engineered salmon, Washington State fishermen and consumers are fiercely determined to pass this law.
- If we force food producers to label GMOs in Washington State, they may as well label in every other state.
- Thanks to the groundwork we laid in California, the I-522 campaign is off to an early start and better able to anticipate the opposition’s strategy.
- Thanks to your hammering of the food manufacturers who contributed millions to defeat Prop 37, those companies won’t likely throw more money at defeating I-522.
- The advertising market in Washington is much smaller than the California market. Monsanto will no doubt saturate it. But because advertising there costs so much less, we will be able to reach every voter with our message, well before November. And at a far lower cost than it took to reach far fewer voters in California, where we couldn’t begin to compete until the final week of the campaign.
But the most compelling reason to support I-522 is that we must not throw away our investment in Prop 37, we must not let the momentum die, we must not give up the fight for a right so basic that it’s the law in 61 other countries.
Between today and April 1, your donation to the I-522 campaign will be worth twice as much, as long as we reach our goal of $250,000 and earn a matching gift. Every cent we raise will go directly to support the I-522 campaign. Please help us keep this fight alive with your donation today.
I’ve heard from so many people who were inspired by the work we did in California last year on this issue. I always tell them that we couldn’t have done it without our dedicated, determined, rabble-rousing supporters. You are not only the reason we do this work, you are the engine that drives this movement. Thank you.
In solidarity,
Ronnie Cummins
National Director, Organic Consumers Association and Organic Consumers Fund
P.S. Prop 37 would never have had the impact it had, without your support. Our $1.5 million donation to the campaign came from individual donations, from people like you. If you still believe in this fight, please donate today. Help us show Monsanto that we intend to win the GMO labeling battle!
Paid for by the Organic Consumers Fund Committee to Label GMOs in Washington State.
Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power!
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