Monsanto's_attack_dog_lectures_National_Cattlemen

[Guest guest]

The part of this article I really like is the part

where he tells about the alternative health / organic

foods organizations are well funded front groups. They

are all as poor as church mice, mainly ran by

volunteer activists and are always asking for " spare

change " to pay for minimal things. LOL. Only in America

could the very rich accuse the poor of being " rich "

and get away with it. The Big Lie has become the norm

rather than the exception. F.

 

 

 

> Subject:

>

GMW:_Monsanto's_attack_dog_lectures_National_Cattlemen

> " GM_WATCH " <info

> Mon, 30 Aug 2004 23:13:12 +0100

 

>

> GM WATCH daily

> http://www.gmwatch.org

> ---

> What makes the following presentation to the

> National Cattlemen's Beef Association of interest is

> that it was given by Jay Byrne.

>

> Byrne is Monsanto's former Director of Public

> Affairs and its former Internet Outreach Programs

> Director. Prior to Monsanto, Byrne worked for USAID.

>

> Since leaving Monsanto, Byrne has become president

> of Internet PR company v-Fluence Interactive Public

> Relations, whose vice-president, Richard Levine, was

> formerly part of the Monsanto team for Monsanto's

> Internet PR firm Bivings. v-Fluence is based, like

> Monsanto, in St. Louis. Monsanto is one of its

> clients.

>

> Byrne is believed to have been the chief architect

> of the covert Monsanto-Bivings PR campaign which

> involved attacks on the company's critics via front

> e-mails, such as those of 'Andura Smetacek' and

> 'Mary Murphy', and material posted on the website of

> a fake agricultural institute, the Center For Food

> and Agricultural Research (CFFAR). CFFAR material,

> attacking Monsanto's critics, was also faxed to

> journalists and planted at a conference.

> http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=171

>

> Smetacek, Murphy and CFFAR targeted many of the same

> individuals and organisations mentioned by Byrne

> below, and in very similar terms. For instance,

> Michael Hansen of the Consumer Policy Institute, who

> is one of two people Byrne singles out in his

> presentation, was one of two people who had a

> poison-pen 'biography' faxed to the press from the

> non-existent CFFAR ahead of a press conference they

> attended.

>

> Much of Byrne's presentation below focuses on

> funding, and the fake agricultural institute, CFFAR,

> similarly had a section of its site dedicated to

> stopping funding to groups critical of Monsanto.

> Many of the points and associations made in Byrne's

> presentation below were made on the CFFAR site.

>

> Note also the recommendation of 'ActivistCash' and

> 'Consumer Freedom', fronts of the particularly

> obnoxious PR firm, Berman & Co., which has had money

> from Monsanto. And as Byrne keeps repeating...

> 'Follow the money'.

>

> For more on Byrne (+ links to CFFAR etc.), see

> Byrne's GM Watch profile:

> http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=27 & page=B

> ---

> Advocacy Groups And The Money

> Targeting Agriculture Growing

> By Colleen Schreiber

> Livestock Weekly

> August 26, 2004

>

http://www.livestockweekly.com/papers/04/08/26/whlncbaadvocacy.asp

>

> DENVER — The number of advocacy groups targeting

> beef, animal agriculture and agriculture in general

> are growing daily. Many of these groups are

> portrayed as having grassroots agendas, when in fact

> they are fronts for a much larger hidden agenda.

>

> That warning came from an advocacy group watchdog

> speaking here last week to the annual summer meeting

> of the National Cattlemen's Beef association.

>

> According to v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations,

> the combined annual budgets for the top

> anti-agriculture and food-related protest groups

> exceeds $500 million. This past year, BSE was front

> and center for some of these organizations. In fact,

> just 30 days after the announcement of the BSE case

> in Washington state last December, some 40 advocacy

> groups with combined annual budgets exceeding $250

> million began focusing their efforts on influencing

> consumers and regulators regarding " mad cow " issues.

> They began generating industry-critical statements

> through coordinated press releases, ad campaigns and

> lobbying campaigns.

>

> " These are not grassroots a-dollar-a-day lobbying

> organizations, " said v-Fluence president Jay Byrne.

> " We're talking about a multibillion-dollar

> demonstration team. These are professionals. These

> people sit on each other's boards, they share

> funding, they coordinate their activities, and the

> money is huge. This is all they do, and they do it

> very well, and they do it very professionally. They

> are not going away, " he warned.

>

> Byrne's company has been tracking advocacy groups

> and their allies for the beef, dairy, and crop

> protection industries for the better part of 10

> years. The company works with a number of

> agriculture stakeholder clients, providing them with

> e-monitoring, trend analysis, research, strategic

> counsel, crisis communications and outreach support.

> Byrne was one of the keynote speakers in NCBA's

> issues and activism forum.

>

> Byrne identified Carol Tucker-Foreman of the

> Consumer Federation of America and Michael Hansen of

> the Consumer Policy Institute, a division of

> Consumer Union, as two of the top five leading

> sources of negative information on the beef industry

> and BSE.

>

> Other groups, such as the organic food industry and

> other synergistic " alternative " and " natural health "

> groups, as well as class action attorneys, used

> scare tactics to fuel the flames about BSE.

> Organic Valley, for example, issued a press release

> on December 31 with this tagline: " Organic beef.

> It's what's safe for dinner. "

>

> " It implied that other beef - your beef - is perhaps

> not safe, " Byrne told the group.

>

> Similar kinds of activity and advertising were

> conducted by Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets

> and the Organic Trade Association.

>

> " Whole Foods Markets began sponsoring National

> Public Radio programming in January, immediately

> following the mad cow announcements, with the phrase

> 'a purveyor of natural beef from cattle raised

> without animal byproducts and monitored throughout

> the entire production process.' "

>

> A Christian Science Monitor article quoted Ronnie

> Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers

> Association, saying, " Certified organic beef has

> become the new gold standard for safety. "

>

> Byrne did point out that this kind of " black "

> marketing in the organic and natural products arena

> was not endorsed necessarily by those marketing

> " natural " beef.

>

> BSE, however, is not the only issue these activists

> target. Public Citizen, another anti-agriculture

> activist group, is leading the " Safe School Lunch "

> campaign promoting organic agriculture and the

> banning of irradiated beef, and Consumer Federation

> has lobbied to significantly reduce or eliminate

> beef from publicly funded school lunch programs.

>

> These activists and their organizations, he told

> listeners, are not just using the money for TV,

> radio and print advertising. They're using it for

> professional public relations and lobbying firms,

> litigation, Internet campaigns and training camps.

>

> " Every month there is at least one activist training

> camp going on in this country. They bring thousands

> of people together through these camps, and they

> sometimes spend a week training them on how to

> engage in effective public relations, effective

> direct action, and effective consumer boycott

> campaigns. "

>

> The key influences impacting what Byrne referred to

> as the " new range wars " are money, marketing and the

> Internet.

>

> " Howard Simons, managing editor of the Washington

> Post, during the Watergate scandal said it best when

> he said, 'Follow the money.' When we follow the

> money to some of the groups that are attacking you,

> I think you might be surprised by some of their

> sources, " the speaker commented.

>

> Fear is one of the marketing tools used by these

> groups because, as PT Barnum said, " Fear sells. "

> As for the Internet Byrne quoted Michael Dell,

> founder and CEO of Dell Computer: " Think of the

> Internet as a weapon on the table. Either you pick

> it up or your competitor does - but somebody is

> going to get killed. "

>

> The Internet, Byrnes noted, is what ties it all

> together. It's where it alls starts. It's where the

> opinion leaders go first, media goes first and

> consumers go first to find information.

>

> The Internet, he told listeners, is also dominated

> by people who have extreme views.

>

> " A research study done by Stanford University showed

> that people with fringe or non-mainstream views had

> a significantly disproportionate level of influence

> on the Internet. "

>

> One group that is effectively using the Internet to

> further its cause is Working Assets, a " socially

> responsible " credit card and phone company.

>

> This group is lobbying federal regulators on behalf

> of the organic consumers association for stricter

> regulations on conventionally produced beef, Byrnes

> said, and a percentage of the money generated from

> Working Assets phone service goes to advocacy groups

> via the Tides Center, which supports organizations

> like Greenpeace. (Tides is a favorite " charity " of

> Tereza Heinz Kerry. — Ed.)

>

> " Working Assets gives a free pint of Ben and Jerry's

> every month for signing up, and if you don’t uncheck

> a box when you sign up, they will automatically, on

> your behalf, send letters to Congress and federal

> regulators lobbying issues they deem important, "

> Byrne told listeners.

>

> Another activist group, GRACE, used the Internet to

> distribute " The Meatrix, " a flash video attacking

> animal agriculture by seeking to influence consumers

> to avoid buying any meat. It has been viewed by

> nearly 10 million people.

>

> There are still others, Byrne said, who are

> targeting children with video games that disparage

> agriculture.

>

> He pointed out that in almost all cases advocacy

> groups use the Internet much more effectively than

> do those in agriculture.

>

> All of these activist groups are funded by

> philanthropic foundations, large donors - individual

> and corporate - government grants, membership and

> small donors.

>

> " Our research into their tax files shows that

> between 1996 and 2003, philanthropic foundations

> gave nearly three quarters of a billion to groups

> that were attacking agriculture, " Byrne reiterated.

>

> Other significant sources of contributions included

> the organic/natural products industry and what the

> speaker categorized as " socially responsible "

> investment groups like Whole Foods Market, Eden

> Organic, Working Assets and Patagonia.

>

> " These groups are funneling millions in tax-exempt

> charitable donations to advocacy groups, who in turn

> attack their competitors and help promote their

> alternative, higher-priced products. "

>

> Some of the key traditional players targeting beef

> include the Consumers Union, Public Citizen,

> Consumer Federation, PETA, Humane Society of the

> U.S., and Earth Liberation Front, listed by the FBI

> as the number one domestic terrorist organization.

> ELF activities alone have resulted in more than $100

> million in damaged property in the U.S. over the

> last 10 years.

>

> There are many others, groups like Institute for

> Agriculture Trade Policy, Center for Food Safety,

> and the Organic Consumers Association.

>

> " The Organic Consumers Association openly states

> that they want to end all forms of animal

> agriculture, " he reminded. " Why do you think some of

> these foundations and allied activist groups are

> giving money to some of these organizations that say

> they represent grassroots farmers and ranchers? Not

> because they support them. They see it as a very

> short-term way to achieve another goal. What are the

> organizations claiming to represent farms and

> ranches, small or not, doing in bed with folks that

> want to end all of agriculture? "

>

> There are some whose very names tend to mislead

> interested parties. The Physicians Committee for

> Socially Responsible Medicine is just one example.

> Their website, Byrne said, focuses on eating a

> vegetarian diet.

>

> He encouraged everyone to look behind the scenes

> before donating to such organizations.

>

> " In almost all cases, while there may be a

> well-intentioned citizen standing up, the money is

> coming from and the strings are being pulled by a

> group of folks who are seeking an ulterior motive

> other than what is seen at face value, " he

> reiterated.

>

> Byrne told listeners, however, that they shouldn't

> be fooled by the seemingly long list of these kinds

> of organizations.

>

> " With the exception of ELF, what we know about these

> groups is that they are all the same people, " Byrne

> commented. " They get their money from the very same

> sources, and those sources sit on their boards, and

> they sit on each other's boards. They are able to

> get their message out so effectively and so quickly

> because they are the same people. "

>

> Byrne reminded his audience of the size of its

> opposition.

>

> " This is a multibillion-dollar professional protest

> machine, they’re outspending industry on many

> fronts, and they’re certainly out-organizing folks

> as well. "

>

> Some of these organizations, he noted, the Sierra

> Club, for example, are considered mainstream.

>

> " I used to give money to groups like this, " Byrne

> admitted. " They have an outstanding reputation in

> the public, but they engage in some very extreme

> activities with some very nasty people. We all need

> to be attentive to what these groups are using the

> money for. "

>

> Members of these organizations or people who donate

> money to these organizations, he stressed, need to

> hold the leaders of these groups accountable.

>

> " The Organic Association should not be releasing

> press releases saying that organic beef is the only

> way that you can ensure that you’re eating safe

> beef, because there is absolutely no truth behind

> that. That hurts all beef producers. "

>

> " The Consumer Union says they have 50 million

> members and that they are representing the voice of

> 50 million members, " he continued. " Those 50 million

> members are actually rs of Consumer

> Reports, and most who do not share their

> views or standards, what I would describe as extreme

> social and political agendas. "

>

> He reminded listeners of the power of the Internet.

>

> " Activists use it much more effectively because they

> have synergies. Industry is competitive, and they

> don’t necessarily want to link together.

>

> " Industry needs to identify ways in terms of issues

> management to share content that addresses common

> concerns. They need to link together in

> non-competitive ways so that they can take advantage

> of the Internet in the same way that advocacy groups

> do. "

>

> Follow the money, he reiterated.

>

> " Environmental Grant Maker’s Foundation is an

> umbrella for many of the largest foundations, names

> you hear on Public Radio, names that may have even

> donated to your local hospitals, " he noted, " but on

> issues of environment and agriculture, some are

> working hand in hand with very extreme activist

> organizations, funneling billions of dollars into

> programs that quite frankly target your business and

> seek to put you out of business. "

>

> He reminded listeners that many of these foundations

> and advocacy groups are getting government grants.

>

> " They’re using your tax dollars to attack you. In

> almost all of the cases, the number one source of

> funding is the philanthropic foundations. Number two

> is large single corporate donors, and number three

> is government grants. "

>

> Awareness, he said, is a key part of the education

> process.

>

> " When you make a donation, make sure you understand

> where the money is going. This is a massive money

> laundering operation. Money is flowing to and from

> groups, back and forth, and it's creating an almost

> impossible trail to follow. We need better

> disclosure so that we can better track the money, "

> Byrne added.

>

> When responding to claims made by some of these

> activist groups, the speaker told listeners that

> they must think strategically.

>

> " In some cases, groups like PETA want industry to

> react to them. Our initial reaction and response may

> be exactly what they want. Think about it like

> playing chess versus checkers. "

>

> The beef industry and its allies, the " rational

> center, " need to understand the Internet better and

> become more effective in using it to get their

> message out, he insisted.

>

> Finally, he noted that a variety of watchdog groups

> keep an eye on these activist groups. One he

> recommended is Activistcash.com, which is run by the

> Consumer Freedom Coalition.

>

-------------------------