Are You Concerned About GMOs? Here’s How You Can Help!

Below is an important note from Jeffrey Smith about GMOs.  (I love this picture above that I took of he and his wife, Andrea, last month when we all went out to dinner before the conference.)

What is a GMO and other Q & A’s:

Find out more at this list of frequently asked questions about GMOs.

Spread the word!

Readers, if you can spread the word via blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc., it would help this movement so much!  (At the least, will you please retweet this post using the button above?)

Dear Friend,

Based on the success of October’s matching grant, we’ve received
another offer to match up to $10,000 in donations, received by
midnight on December 25th.

By supporting our efforts to end the genetic engineering of the food
supply, you will give a gift to the whole world, and each dollar will
be doubled.

I know many of you are hurting due to the economy, and we are no
exception. For those of you that can, please go to this link and make
a donation in any amount.

Thank you for recognizing our hard work, as we continue to fight for
our collective food safety.

I hope you all share a non-GMO holiday surrounded by your loved ones
this year.

Jeffrey Smith
Executive Director
www.responsibletechnology.org
Help us Create the Tipping Point of Consumer Rejection of
GMOs!

More about GMOs:

The Problem with GMOs

The current generation of genetically modified (GM) foods is one of the greatest threats to human health and the environment. Although there have been only 5 major GM crops (soy, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets), their derivatives are found in about 70% of foods in grocery stores.

GM products are linked to thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, damage to virtually every system studied in lab animals, and thousands of toxic or allergic-type symptoms in humans. Basic assumptions in support of the technology have been disproved, and numerous ways in which genetically modified organisms (GMOs) create side effects have been identified.

In addition, GM crops concentrate corporate control of food, increase herbicide use without increasing average yields, endanger food security, are detrimental to sustainable and organic farming, and trap farmers in a cycle of debt and dependence. They shrink biodiversity, harm beneficial insects, damage soil bacteria, contaminate non-GM varieties, persist in the environment, and are antithetical to solving the problem of hunger.

The Solution: A Tipping Point Strategy Based on Success

After the European media reported the health risks of GM foods in early 1999, consumer concern reached a tipping point. Within a single week, virtually all major food manufacturers committed to remove GM ingredients from their European brands. This market rejection has kept GMOs out, in spite of official approvals by EU authorities.

The fact that GM food flourishes in the US where corporations continue to sell GM foods on the basis of consumer ignorance leaves the agricultural biotech industry extremely vulnerable. If the health risks got onto the US national radar screen, a European-style tipping point could be achieved.

Even a small percentage of consumers changing brands based on GM content could accomplish it. We believe that 5% of shoppers—15 million people or 5.6 million households—is more than sufficient to trigger an industry-wide cleanout.

rbGH Rejected

The recent widespread rejection of milk from dairies using genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH)—including Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Kroger, and about 55 of the top 100 dairies so far—demonstrates the effectiveness of our tipping point strategy in the US. As the market collapsed for their product, Monsanto sold off its rbGH division in the fall 2008. IRT was one of several organizations educating consumers and schools about the health risks of rbGH, turning the hormone into a marketing liability.

Health is the Key Motivator, Non-GMO Brand Choices are Essential

With support from its Executive Director, international bestselling author and filmmaker Jeffrey M. Smith, the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) has compiled the evidence that GMOs are unsafe, and produced educational materials that compel consumers to reduce or eliminate GM brands from their diet. They also has jointly publish a Non-GMO Shopping Guide, and are in the process of distributing the print and electronic versions to millions—through enthusiastic organizations, websites, list serves, magazines, medical practitioners, religious groups, conferences, and natural food stores. (See www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com.) In fact, labeling GMOs alone might be sufficient, since 53% of Americans say they would avoid them if labeled. IRT

Targeting Receptive Groups, Plus Mass Media Messaging

IRT is reaching out to demographic groups that will readily make changes to their diets, including Health-Conscious Consumers, Parents, Schools (meals), Faith-Based Groups; and Healthcare Professionals and their Patients. In addition, IRT uses public relations, internet strategies, GMO-related films, and other educational materials to reach out to the general public. They have already generated hundreds of millions of media impressions, and are rapidly building momentum for the coming non-GMO tidal wave.

They seek money to help get the word out.

Subscribe in a reader

Learn more from the COMMENTS BELOW - join the conversation!