Message from Akre & Wilson Upon Receiving
Goldman Environmental Award

April 23, 2001

Friends,

It has been some time since we have contacted you or posted news on
our website (at http://www.foxBGHsuit.com) and Jane and I wanted you
to be among the first to know some really big and incredibly good news.

We are writing today from San Francisco where this evening (Monday,
April 23, 2001) we will be named recipients of the 2001 Goldman
Environmental Prize. (This news is embargoed for release until the
morning of the prize ceremony when you may see it on CNN, in the New
York Times, and elsewhere.)

The prize is frequently referred to as the Nobel Prize for grassroots
work that aids the environment or calls attention to a significant
environmental issue. We are the first journalists to ever win it.

We are both incredibly humbled by this honor, especially after
spending the last few days meeting the other winners selected from
each of the other five inhabited continents on Earth. The man who has
saved the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, an indigenous woman who has
fought an incredible battle and endured unspeakable personal hardships
in her fight against an American gold mining company that is raping
her Indonesian homeland, the Greek biologist who brought feuding
nations together to save a fragile ecosystem.these are some of the
incredible people in whose company we are so proud to be.

(The Prize ceremony, including 3-minute speeches by the winners and
5-minute videos about their work, will be broadcast live on the
Internet at http://www.goldmanprize.org on April 23, 5:00 p.m.
Pacific Time/8:00 p.m. Eastern. Full details of the Goldman Prize and
this year's winner are at the bottom of this note.)

We promise we will update the website soon.but there has been very
little news since our court victory last summer. Just as we expected,
we are both "radioactive" as far as getting new jobs in the mainstream
media and we remain essentially unemployed. And just as they
promised, Fox lawyers have filed their appeal that is slowing grinding
through the Florida court system. Steve has also filed an appeal of
the jury verdict with regard to his individual claim. The process at
this first appeals level could take up to two years while Jane's
$425,000 award is untouchable to us pending the outcome.

The Goldman Prize carries a generous cash award, a grant we will use
to develop an organization we can use to continue to produce
documentaries and other projects to bring attention to GE foods, the
state of the American media, and other important issues that the
mainstream press is just not covering any more. We will have more
details on our plans soon.

In the meantime, we wanted you to share our joy in this recognition,
the brightest spot in a four-year-long struggle. We also wanted to
say to all of you around the world, again, thank you! Thank you for
your support, your kind words, and your prayers. We could not have
survived and had the courage to go on without you. It has meant more
than you will ever know.

Text of Goldman Prize news release follows.

STRICTLY EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 6:00 AM (PST), APRIL 23, 2001

CONTACTS: Goldman Environmental Prize: Beverly Becker: 415/788?9090

CRUSADING JOURNALISTS AMONG THIS YEAR'S GOLDMAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE
WINNERS

World's Largest Award for Grassroots Environmentalists

Two American journalists who risked their careers to expose the
dangers of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), a Rwandan who
fought to save mountain gorillas amidst his country's genocidal wars,
and a Bolivian worker who won the world's first major victory in the
struggle over privatizing public water, are winners of the 12th annual
Goldman Environmental Prize, to be awarded on April 23, 2001.

They are among eight environmental heroes from around the globe who
will receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. The award,
given in six geographical categories, includes a prize of $125,000
from the Goldman Environmental Foundation. (Two of this year's
categories have two winners each.)

The total of $750,000 is given annually to grassroots heroes from
North America, Africa, South/Central America, Asia, Europe, and Island
Nations. Seventy-one previous Goldman Prize winners have successfully
defended the safety and health of their homelands from destructive
government projects and practices, multinational corporations, corrupt
leaders, international financial institutions, and even the
destruction of wars. The Goldman Prize allows many to continue their
work and expand public awareness of what are often life-and-death
environmental crises.

This year's winners are:

· North America - Jane Akre and Steve Wilson: Two TV
journalists who researched the potential health risks of rBGH
(recombinant bovine growth hormone)-the genetically modified hormone
injected into U.S. dairy cows to stimulate milk production. The
hormone is among of the first genetically modified products approved
by the FDA. It is banned in Europe, Japan and most other
industrialized nations. Their resulting story proved too hot for the
local TV network affiliate for which it was produced and ultimately
led to their firing.

· Africa - Eugene Rutagarama: A conservationist who risked his
life to save Rwanda's last 355 mountain gorillas. He was forced to
flee Rwanda during the massacres of the 1990s, during which most of
his family was killed. As soon as possible, he returned to rebuild the
national park system and protect the gorilla habitat from human
encroachment as the government resettled millions of refugees. While
his country was overrun with brutality and murder, he risked his life
to save the silent victims of this genocidal war.

· South America - Oscar Olivera: A Bolivian labor leader who
became an advocate for universal rights to affordable, clean water.
In 1999, the Bolivian government reacted to pressure from
international financial institutions by selling the public water
system of one of its largest cities to a U.S. corporation. The
corporation immediately raised water rates to the point where many
families were paying up to a third of their income for water. Finding
this intolerable, he led a coalition that took to the streets in the
tens of thousands to bring the city to a halt for days. After a
brutal government crackdown forced him into hiding, he emerged and
continued protests and negotiations that forced the government to
cancel the sale.

· Asia - Yosepha Alomang: An indigenous woman of West Papua
(Irian Jaya, Indonesia) who has organized resistance to the
destruction of the world's largest gold mining operation, set amidst
at-risk virgin tropic rainforests. She has been detained, placed in
inhumane confinement, and tortured for her efforts. Her ethnic group
has declared independence to gain control over their resources, and
their actions have been met with repressive and violent government
action. Regardless of these dangers, she continues to shepherd
projects promoting traditional cultures, collective action and the
well being of indigenous people in West Papua.

· Europe -Myrsini Malakou and Giorgos Catsadorakis: Two Greek
biologists who led the charge to create a crucial wetlands
conservation area located in remote northwestern Greece, adjacent to
the borders of Albania and Macedonia (former Yugoslavia). No other
area in Europe of comparable size is as biologically rich and diverse.
Post-World War II government policies nearly destroyed the wetlands
and the traditions of the people in the region. The Prize recipients
worked for years researching, organizing, and advocating sustainable
farming and economic activities to restore this precious area. Their
hard work paid off last year when Albania, Macedonia, and Greece
jointly created the first trans-boundary protected area in the
Balkans, an area better known for conflict than cooperation.

· Island Nations - Bruno Van Peteghem: A New Caledonia (in the
South Pacific east of Australia) resident working against time and
mining interests to protect one of the world's coral reefs from
destruction. International companies are ready to dig up huge portions
of the living reefs to provide neutralizing agents for acidic nickel
mine tailings. Van Peteghem is leading a campaign to place the reef on
the World's Heritage List-the reef's best hope for permanent
protection. A successful island environmental activist since the
early 1990s, he has confronted severe intimidation and abuse including
the suspicious burning of his family's home.

"The world is getting smaller, and the need is growing for everyone to
take responsibility for keeping our planet healthy," said Richard N.
Goldman, founder of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

"The winners this year illustrate how the environment is affected by
wars, international business, economic policies, and the tendency to
put short-term gains ahead of long term solutions. They also
illustrate how the courage and commitment of a single visionary
individual can make a difference for generations to come."

The first Goldman Environmental Prizes were awarded in 1990 by civic
leaders Mr. Goldman and his late wife Rhoda H. Goldman. Mr. Goldman
is Chairman of Goldman Insurance Services in San Francisco. Rhoda
Goldman was a descendant of Levi Strauss, the founder of the worldwide
clothing company that bears his name.

Goldman Prize winners are selected by an international jury from
confidential nominations submitted by a network of over 20
environmental organizations and individuals representing nearly 50
nations. The Goldman Prize is the world's largest award for
environmental activists. In addition to the cash award, recipients
travel to San Francisco and Washington, D.C. for an awards ceremony
and presentation, press conferences, media briefings, and meetings
with political, public policy, financial and environmental leaders.


# # #


The Prize ceremony, including 3-minute speeches by the winners and
5-minutes videos about their work will be webcast live on the Internet
at http://www.goldmanprize.org on April 23, 5:00 p.m. Pacific/8:00
p.m. Eastern time.

ATTENTION EDITORS: Detailed biographical information and photos of all
winners is available. Broadcast-quality video of the Goldman Prize
winners has been shot in their home countries and will be available on
an embargoed basis. Advance interviews and tapings prior to the April
23rd announcement can be arranged with some recipients. Prize winners
will be in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. in middle to late April.
Use contacts above for more information.

FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PRIZE AND PREVIOUS WINNERS
www.goldmanprize.org