GMO LABELING - JUST ONE STATE IS ALL IT WILL TAKE

The other thing Monsanto doesn’t want you to know.

We all know that Monsanto doesn’t want you to know which foods contain genetically modified ingredients (almost 80 percent of all processed foods), and which don’t.
We also know that Monsanto doesn’t want us to know how genetically modified organisms (GMOs) affect our health, which is why the company refuses to allow independent testing of its GMOs (under pretense of protecting its patented technologies).
And clearly, Monsanto doesn’t want you to know that labeling GMOs won’t increase food costs (it hasn’t in all the other countries where GMO labeling is mandatory by law). Or that it won’t provoke an avalanche of lawsuits against food retailers (that wouldn’t be the case under any of the proposed state GMO labeling laws).
But here’s something else Monsanto doesn’t want you to know: that if we win even one state labeling law, we will deal a near-fatal blow to the biotech industry’s multi-billion dollar foundation of lies, greed and destruction.
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.
So far, we’ve raised about $127,000. That means we have to raise $123,000 between now and Monday of next week. 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.
You’ve been down this road with us before. You fought with us, you raised money with us, to pass a similar initiative, Proposition 37, in California last year. When we lost by a mere 3 percentage points (48.5% to 51.5%), you mourned the loss with us. But you also celebrated the fact that we’d mobilized more than 6 million voters in California, that we’d made “GMO” a household name, and that we’d turned the issue of GMOs in our food into a mainstream public health issue.
A lot has happened since Nov. 7, 2012. Thanks to consumers like you who hammered the food companies that poured millions into defeating Prop 37, those companies have split from the biotech industry and are likely to sit out the battle over I-522. Thanks to your overwhelming support for Prop 37, more than 30 other states are working together on model language for statewide GMO labeling laws. And thanks to your criticism of Whole Foods for its failure to lend any meaningful support to Prop 37, the nation’s largest organic food retailer recently announced that it will voluntarily label GMOs in its stores in the U.S. and Canada.
But we still need a win. We still need a state labeling law. And I-522 is our next best opportunity.
Just as with California, a GMO labeling law in Washington State will force food companies to label nationally. And while a federal labeling law would likely be written by lobbyists to favor Big Food and Big Biotech, I-522 has been written with consumers’ best interests as top priority.
The money you contributed to Prop 37 created huge forward momentum for the GMO labeling movement. It had an impact that still reverberates today. If we stop fighting now, we throw away our investment. Your investment.
It’s not often that someone comes along and offers a $250,000 matching gift. Please help us take advantage of this generous gift and, more importantly, show Monsanto and the biotech industry that we are strong. We are determined. We will not give up this fight.
Between today and April 1, your donation will be worth twice as much, as long as we reach our goal of $250,000. Every cent we raise will go directly to support the I-522 campaign. Please help us keep this fight alive with your donation today.
You are the GMO labeling movement. And we are grateful for your passion, your energy, your commitment and your generosity.
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.