Changing an industry is a long game; while changes can seem to occur overnight, it’s always preceded by years of consistent work and persistent pressure. It’s easy to get discouraged and feel your efforts are for naught. So, it’s a rare treat to be able to report significant progress, as we now see with the rapid disintegration of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the largest and most powerful lobbying group for the processed food industry.

Food companies are also starting to abandon the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), the propaganda arm of the GMA, which is really like icing on the proverbial cake. 

You and other individuals did this by getting involved and voicing your concerns, again and again. Your actions have brought one of the most powerful industry lobbying groups to the breaking point, and for this you deserve ample recognition. I’ve often stated that consumers wield enormous power when organized, and this is a perfect example of that. Current events are a powerful reminder that your actions have a marked effect — it may be slow, but over time, persistence does pay.

The GMA Back Story

Four years ago, I dubbed the GMA the “Most Evil Organization on the Planet,” since it consists primarily of pesticide producers and junk food manufacturers that have repeatedly violated some of our most basic rights, just to ensure that subsidized, genetically engineered(GE) and chemical-dependent, highly processed junk food remains the status quo. The GMA itself had also proven it would stop at nothing to achieve this end, even if it meant breaking the law — which it did.

During the 2013 ballot campaign to label GMOs in Washington state, the GMA came up with an illegal scheme to hide the identity of members who donated funds to the opposing campaign, thereby shielding them from consumer backlash.¹ This was done by creating a “brand defense” account, which paid for the campaign’s propaganda without disclosing where the money actually came from.

This illegal move helped them defeat I-522 by a 1 percent margin. The scheme fell apart, however, and the GMA was sued for money laundering and intentional violation of state campaign disclosure laws. In 2016, the GMA was found guilty and ordered to pay an $18 million fine.

The GMA Boycott Has Been a Success

After it became clear that GMA members had paid tens of millions of dollars to defeat the GMO labeling campaign in California in 2012, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) called for a “Traitor Boycott” on all products owned by GMA members,² including organic and natural brands. The boycott launched in May 2012. It’s aim: To send a clear message to the industry that we will no longer tolerate their lies, deception and lack of transparency.

It was this public outcry that sparked the GMA’s illegal maneuvering during the following year’s GMO labeling campaign in Washington. GMA and its members were now well aware of the fact that paying for lobbying against GMO labeling was a risky proposition. What they didn’t count on was getting caught in the money laundering scheme, which only angered consumers even more.

It took a couple of years, but starting in 2014, the GMA exodus began in earnest. Since then, many of the GMA’s largest members have left the organization, leaving no doubt that the boycott has been a resounding success. If you’ve participated in this boycott, I extend my personal thanks. Clearly, none of it could have been done without you.

In the end, it’s a numbers game: It’s a matter of getting enough people to change how they shop. At a certain point, food companies start to scramble to rectify whatever it is that’s causing consumers to abandon their products, and in this case, GMA membership has proven to be too great a liability for many.³ So far, 50 members have left the GMA, including heavy-hitters such as:⁴

Campbell Soup Co.	Unilever
Nestlé	Hershey Co.
Dean Foods	Cargill
Mars Inc.	Kraft
Tyson Foods	DuPont

The GMA has experienced a sudden internal exodus as well. According to The Russels report,⁵ its government relations, global strategies and “health and nutrition policy” executives have all resigned and been replaced. GMA president and CEO Pamela Bailey has also announced she intends to retire later this year, after nearly a decade at the helm.^6,7 As noted by former GMA vice president Jeff Nedelman, the “GMA is the dinosaur just waiting to die.”