Special Report from The Campaign...

Leading scientific organization documents that the organic industry is under direct attack by cross-pollination from genetically engineered crops!

Discover what you can do to help protect the integrity of your products and promote your company at the same time.

Recently the prestigious Union of Concerned Scientists issued a
70-page report called "Gone to Seed." According to the executive summary of the "Gone to Seed" report:

"Transgenic contamination of traditional seed varieties poses a special threat to the future of organic agriculture, an increasingly important sector of U.S. agriculture." It further states, "The ease with which the traditional seed supply can be contaminated with transgenically derived DNA unfairly frustrates organics farmers seeking to deliver high-quality products."


From the Desk of Craig Winters, President

Dear Natural Products Industry Associate,

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to review this special report from The Campaign. I encourage you to read this entire report because it contains a lot of valuable information. But since your time may be limited, I will give you the bottom line now:

We are asking you to support of our efforts to fight the widespread contamination of organic foods by genetically engineered crops.

The future of organic agriculture is in jeopardy! If we do not take action now to fight back, the USDA organic seal may come to represent inferior organic products that are contaminated with transgenic DNA.

This report will detail the problem and what we are doing to fight back --
and why your support is essential to our success.

If you already understand the seriousness of this problem and know you want to help, click here to place your company's logo on our three popular web sites.

Please call me directly at 425-771-4049 if you have any immediate questions.

Sincerely,

Craig Winters
President

P.S. If you request your logo listing within the next five days, we will send you three FREE bonus gifts that I am sure you will enjoy! Click here to see a preview of the bonus gifts.

P.S.S. We guarantee that you will be pleased with your logo listing on our web sites. If you change your mind within 30 days, we will give you a full refund -- and you can even keep the three FREE bonus gifts!

Early warning: the canary in the coal mine

You have probably heard that coal miners will take a canary into a coal mine as an early warning devise. If the canary dies, the miners know there is a gas leak and they need to get out quickly.

The organic industry's "canary in the coal mine" moment occurred in April 1999 when the trade journal, Natural Foods Merchandiser, featured a front page headline that stated "Exported Corn Chips Tainted With GMOs."

The article reported that organic corn chips shipped to Denmark were found to contain genetically modified organisms, otherwise know as GMOs.

Further, the article explained that the organic corn had been contaminated by cross-pollination from a neighboring corn field that was growing genetically engineered corn. This was a warning signal that could not be ignored.

In response, The Campaign was formed...

In April 1999, realizing the long-term implications that GMO contamination had for the natural products industry, Craig Winters, Alexander Schauss and Marlene Beadle formed The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods.

This trio had joined forces before. In 1991, they teamed up to form Citizens For Health out of Marlene Beadle's natural food store in Federal Way, Washington (Marlene's Market & Deli).

  • Under their management, Citizens For Health was very instrumental in passing the landmark "Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act" (DSHEA) through Congress in 1994.
  • Citizens For Health role in passing DSHEA was recognized by Senator Orrin Hatch in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
  • The American Society of Association Executives gave Citizens For Health the "Award of Excellence in Government Relations in 1994."

One major difference between launching Citizens For Health in 1991 and The Campaign in 1999 was the availability of the Internet. This experienced management team quickly realized the important role that web sites and e-mail could play in effective grassroots activism.

The Campaign's Mission Statement:

"To create a national grassroots consumer campaign for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States."

Why labeling and not a ban?

While The Campaign has called for a moratorium on the outdoor growing of all genetically engineered crops, the primary legislative effort is to pass a bill to require the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

In every country around the world where mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods is required, the food companies have chosen to not use genetically engineered ingredients in their products.

If companies no longer use genetically engineered crops in their products, then farmers will no longer grow them. If they are not being grown, organic crops will no longer be contaminated with genetically engineered DNA.

The Campaign has three criteria for genetically engineered foods:

   1) They should be required to be labeled.
    2) They should be required to be safety tested.
    3) They should be grown in controlled environments such as         greenhouses.

"Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act"

The Campaign is directly responsible for getting mandatory labeling legislation introduced into the U.S. Congress.

Soon after the organization was formed, The Campaign's president, Craig Winters, flew to Washington, DC, and met with Representative Dennis Kucinich (OH-D).

It was at that meeting that Representative Kucinich agree to become the sponsor of the "Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act." The photo shown above was taken the eventful day.

Three web sites for maximum impact -- AND maximum benefit to your company!

The Internet is an activist's dream come true! Rather than relying on expensive and slow mailings delivered by the U.S. postal service, using e-mail we can now communicate with thousands of concerned citizens instantly and for a fraction of the cost. And we have made it easy for people to connect with their elected officials, the media and corporate leaders.

The Campaign is maximizing the potential of the Internet with not just one, but THREE activist web sites!

The three web sites are:

Before discussing each of these popular web sites, here is something you will want to know:

You can now help protect the quality of organic foods -- and promote your business at the same time!

That's right, in recognition and thanks for your support of our efforts, your company logo will be prominently posted on our web sites. Further, your logo will be linked back to your web site driving increased traffic your way from grateful consumers of natural and organic products.

Space is limited, so take advantage of this excellent opportunity today!

When you visit our web sites, you will see 24 logo listings that appear on the home page and most of the inside pages. Each logo rotates up one spot each day to provide fair exposure to all of our supporting companies.

Sponsoring companies can choose to have their logo displayed for one or more weeks per month at the low price of only $100 a week.

However, since there are currently only 24 logo listings and 12 companies already have joined our efforts with full-time logo listings, the spaces available are limited. So act today to assure your logo listing!


Comments from Michael Funk
United Natural Foods

“Thanks to the work of The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods more and more people are educated about GMOs and understand the sense of urgency on the issue. We need to support with our dollars groups like The Campaign that are doing so much to educate the public.”

“I’ve known Craig Winters for a long time because of his involvement a few years ago in the supplements battle before Congress. I was really impressed with Craig’s ability to lobby effectively with minimal overhead and expense and I wanted to support Craig’s efforts to that end."

“Labeling is our best way to slow down the GE food people from continuing to expand the availability of these foods."

We invite you to join these fine companies in support of our mutual interests.

The following companies have full-time logo listings: United Natural Foods, NOW Foods, Nature's Path, Organic Valley, Lundberg Farms, French Meadow Bakery, SweetWheat, Organic Food Bar, MyChelle, Frey, Frontier and .

Spectrum Organic Products, Aubrey Organics, BumbleBar, Tribest, Kamut and Great Eastern Sun have logo listings that appear two weeks out of every month.

The following companies have logo listings that appear one week out of every month: UAS Labs, Emerald Valley Kitchen, Erewhon, Herb Pharm, Nancys, Rising Moon, Nutiva, Essential Living Foods, Amy's Kitchen, Annie's Homegrown, CC Pollen, and Mary's Gone Crackers.
Remember: your logo will appear on all three of our web sites for TRIPLE EXPOSURE to thousands of consumers of natural products each month!

Comments from Arran Stephens
President, Nature's Path

"The Campaign is the most credible voice and source of up-to-date, reliable information in the fight against the GMO goliaths, thanks to the tireless dedication of Craig Winters and his associates.

"Reflecting a true grassroots movement and the concerns of many concerned scientists and the organic industry, The Campaign is totally committed to bring about mandatory labeling, and a moratorium on the growing of genetically engineered foods. We share in this goal.

"Nature's Path will gladly continue to support The Campaign and thank you for acting on behalf of the interests of all the citizens of the USA & Canada, the environment, organic farmers and the organic industry."

 
Here are further details about the three popular web sites your logo will appear on:

The Campaign's primary web site is a major resource center for the latest news on all aspects of genetically engineered foods.

The web site is visited regularly by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and the national media. It has been highlighted by public radio, featured on CNN television and discussed in Time magazine.

From this web site, visitors can send instant e-mails and print out letters to their members of Congress urging support for legislation to require the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

Further, The Campaign's web site often features ACTION ALERTS on various issues regarding genetically engineered foods. Currently, an ACTION ALERT is in effect to put pressure on the chairman and members of the Health sub-committee in the U.S. House of Representatives to hold hearings on the "Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act." These hearings are an essential step in passing the legislation into law.

The Save Organic Food web site is specifically designed to address the contamination of organic crops head on.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) knows that genetically engineered crops are contaminating organic crops and is doing nothing to stop it.

The primary focus of the Save Organic Food web site is to put pressure on the Senate and House agriculture committees to hold hearings on the contamination of organic crops from genetically engineered crops.

The U.S. Congress has oversight authority over the departments of the executive branch of government, including the USDA. We want Congress to use this oversight authority to call the Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, on the carpet and ask him why he is allowing this contamination of organic crops to take place.

The outcome of these hearings should result in the USDA putting a moratorium on the growing of all genetically engineered corn. If the USDA does not act, we will push to introduce legislation to require the moratorium.

The facts are clear: organic corn is contaminated and the situation is getting worse every year. The USDA is clearly favoring the biotech industry at the expense of the organic industry. Let's do something about this problem now!

PharmCrops is our newest web site and is sure to gather a lot of attention. The controversy over these crops, genetically engineered to contain pharmaceutical drugs, is being watched closely by the media, the grocery industry and environmental activists.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been lax about properly regulating genetically engineered crops. But what they are proposing for these crops is nearly unbelievable. The USDA has issued "Proposed Rules" that will allow corn genetically engineered to contain pharmaceutical drugs to be grown only one mile from regular corn grown for human consumption.

It is well known that corn pollen can drift for miles. If the USDA allows these crops to be commercially planted, it is practically inevitable that pharmaceutical drugs will end up in the human food supply.

Even grocery industry trade organizations have told the USDA and the biotech industry that they do not want pharmaceutical drugs to be grown in ANY food crops.

The PharmCrops web site serves as an educational resource center and provides activist tools to oppose the USDA's plan to allow the commercial growing of these risky and controversial crops.


 ACT TODAY! For the low price of only $100 a month (or less if paid annually) your logo will appear one week out of each month on ALL THREE WEB SITES!

Thanks for reading this Special Report from The Campaign!
Copyright ©2007 The Campaign