SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Consumer Advocates Press Michelle Obama for Genetically Modified Labeling Support
Group brings signatures to White House asking First Lady to remind President of campaign promise
Oct 12, 2012
Consumer advocates calling on First Lady Michelle Obama to press her husband to keep his promise to have genetically modified food labeled brought their message to the White House on Thursday.
Their message came through 203,000 signatures from an Organic Consumers Association petition demanding that President Obama keep the promise he made in 2007 when the then-presidential candidate said: "We'll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying."
The battle over labeling genetically modified food (GMOs) has surged this election season with California's Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, on the ballot.
"It's time for President Obama to honor his 2007 campaign promise to label GMOs," said Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director, the Organic Consumers Association, who delivered the signatures to the White House. "Recent studies reinforce what scientists and doctors have been saying for years: genetically modified organisms are not safe, and should not be hidden in 80% of our foods without our knowledge. The OCA calls on President Obama to join the 90% of Americans who have already said they want GMOs labeled, and to endorse Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act."
Zack Kaldveer, Assistant Media Director for the Yes on Proposition 37 Campaign, also sees the importance of the President's endorsement of the ballot measure.
"Prop 37 would give California consumers the right to know what we're eating and decide for ourselves what is best for our families," said Kaldveer. "We appreciate President Obama's support for the labeling of genetically engineered foods, and we urge he endorse the nation's one opportunity to make that a reality."
Figures from Maplight, a nonpartisan guide to ballot measures, show that the group fighting to keep genetically modified food unlabeled has dramatically outspent the Yes on 37 campaign, with $34.5 million raised compared to $4.1 million raised, according to data up to Sept. 30.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Consumer advocates calling on First Lady Michelle Obama to press her husband to keep his promise to have genetically modified food labeled brought their message to the White House on Thursday.
Their message came through 203,000 signatures from an Organic Consumers Association petition demanding that President Obama keep the promise he made in 2007 when the then-presidential candidate said: "We'll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying."
The battle over labeling genetically modified food (GMOs) has surged this election season with California's Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, on the ballot.
"It's time for President Obama to honor his 2007 campaign promise to label GMOs," said Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director, the Organic Consumers Association, who delivered the signatures to the White House. "Recent studies reinforce what scientists and doctors have been saying for years: genetically modified organisms are not safe, and should not be hidden in 80% of our foods without our knowledge. The OCA calls on President Obama to join the 90% of Americans who have already said they want GMOs labeled, and to endorse Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act."
Zack Kaldveer, Assistant Media Director for the Yes on Proposition 37 Campaign, also sees the importance of the President's endorsement of the ballot measure.
"Prop 37 would give California consumers the right to know what we're eating and decide for ourselves what is best for our families," said Kaldveer. "We appreciate President Obama's support for the labeling of genetically engineered foods, and we urge he endorse the nation's one opportunity to make that a reality."
Figures from Maplight, a nonpartisan guide to ballot measures, show that the group fighting to keep genetically modified food unlabeled has dramatically outspent the Yes on 37 campaign, with $34.5 million raised compared to $4.1 million raised, according to data up to Sept. 30.
Consumer advocates calling on First Lady Michelle Obama to press her husband to keep his promise to have genetically modified food labeled brought their message to the White House on Thursday.
Their message came through 203,000 signatures from an Organic Consumers Association petition demanding that President Obama keep the promise he made in 2007 when the then-presidential candidate said: "We'll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying."
The battle over labeling genetically modified food (GMOs) has surged this election season with California's Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, on the ballot.
"It's time for President Obama to honor his 2007 campaign promise to label GMOs," said Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director, the Organic Consumers Association, who delivered the signatures to the White House. "Recent studies reinforce what scientists and doctors have been saying for years: genetically modified organisms are not safe, and should not be hidden in 80% of our foods without our knowledge. The OCA calls on President Obama to join the 90% of Americans who have already said they want GMOs labeled, and to endorse Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act."
Zack Kaldveer, Assistant Media Director for the Yes on Proposition 37 Campaign, also sees the importance of the President's endorsement of the ballot measure.
"Prop 37 would give California consumers the right to know what we're eating and decide for ourselves what is best for our families," said Kaldveer. "We appreciate President Obama's support for the labeling of genetically engineered foods, and we urge he endorse the nation's one opportunity to make that a reality."
Figures from Maplight, a nonpartisan guide to ballot measures, show that the group fighting to keep genetically modified food unlabeled has dramatically outspent the Yes on 37 campaign, with $34.5 million raised compared to $4.1 million raised, according to data up to Sept. 30.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.