FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 31, 2013

CONTACT:Organic Consumers Association,
Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090; or Zack Kaldveer, 510-938-2664

FINLAND, Minn. – The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today called on its million-plus network of consumers to ask the executives of Safeway, Starbucks and Target to support Washington State’s I-522, a citizens’ initiative to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products.

The OCA also is asking these three large retailers to demand that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) stop bankrolling the NO on I-522 campaign, and if it won’t, to cancel their memberships in the group.

“Consumers spend billions of dollars on products purchased at Safeway, Starbucks and Target,” said Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the OCA. “It’s time for consumers to exercise their spending power by refusing to support those businesses that support the GMA.”

The GMA donated over $2 million last year to kill California’s Proposition 37, a citizens’ initiative that would have required mandatory labeling of GMOs on food products in California. The group recently contributed $472,500 (twice the amount given by the next largest donor) to defeat I-522 in Washington State.

“Safeway, Starbucks and Target are large, nationally recognizable brand names with a strong presence in Washington State,” Cummins said. “It’s time they stand up for consumers by denouncing the GMA’s efforts to defeat I-522, by withdrawing from the GMA and by financially supporting the YES on I-522 campaign to label GMOs.”

The OCA has launched a petition to the top executives of Safeway, Starbucks and Target.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization advocating on behalf of more than one million consumers for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.