Nearly 500,000 consumers signed on so far to boycott brands, including organic brands, owned by companies that refuse to label

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 1, 2016

CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul, Katherine@organicconsumers.org 207.653.3090

FINLAND, Minn. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today called on US consumers to join the nearly 500,000 people who have already signed up to boycott brands that refuse to label products that contain genetically engineered ingredients. 

OCA also called on its members to withdraw their political support from every member of Congress who voted against consumers’ right to know if their food has been genetically engineered, and to support the Monsanto Tribunal, a citizens’ tribunal which will be held October 15-16 in The Hague, Netherlands.

“Despite hundreds of thousands of signatures, phone calls and emails to the White House, President Obama on Friday, July 29, signed into law S.764, a bill that preempts Vermont’s GMO labeling law, said Ronnie Cummins, international director of OCA. “The bill allows corporations to hide information about GMOs behind confusing QR barcodes that more than a third of Americans can’t even read because they don’t have smart phones or reliable internet service.

“This bill was paid for and written by corporations who clearly have something to hide. It’s incomprehensible that Obama, who on the campaign trail promised to label GMOs, and who issued an executive order directing Congress not to preempt state laws, succumbed to industry pressure to betrayed the 90 percent of Americans who want GMOs labeled.

“It is clear that our political system is too beholden to corporate money to place the rights of consumers above special interests. Passage of this bill leaves consumers with no other recourse but to boycott any brand or product that is not labeled either USDA organic, 100-percent grass-fed or non-GMO. Consumers who want to boycott those brands that have fought to keep labels off of their products, or any brands that refuse to label, can join the nearly half a million consumers who have already downloaded our boycott app.”

“We urge consumers to find out how their members of Congress voted, whether or not their lawmakers are up for re-election, and to vigorously campaign to defeat them. We also invite consumers to support the International Monsanto Tribunal, a citizens’ tribunal being organized to hold Monsanto accountable for its role in denying this basic right to American consumers.”

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.