Act Now to foil the Sneak Attack on Organic Standards!

[Guest guest]

SOS-SAVE ORGANIC STANDARDS-Action Alert Update October

6, 2005

 

Sneak Attack on Organic Standards in Congress

Continues--OCA Needs Your Help

 

Over the past two weeks Organic Consumers Association

(OCA) network members have bombarded the U.S. Congress

with over 100,000 emails and 15,000 telephone calls.

Our calls and letters have urged elected public

officials to reject the now discredited Organic Trade

Association's " Sneak Attack " rider to the 2006

Agriculture Appropriations Bill that would seriously

undermine organic standards by removing traditional

organic community control over organic standards and

centralizing power in the hands of the White

House-appointed US Department of Agriculture.

 

OCA's allies such as the Consumers Union, the Center

for Food Safety, the National Campaign for Sustainable

Agriculture, the National Coop Grocers Association,

the National Organic Coalition, the Health Freedom

network, and several hundred organic businesses have

also generated thousands of emails and phone calls.

Thank you for taking action. This massive grassroots

outpouring prompted the U.S. Senate ten days ago to

reject the industry Sneak Attack rider and propose a

90-day study to determine proper organic standards on

synthetic substances, animal feed, and commercial

availability of organic ingredients.

 

Unfortunately members of the joint House/Senate

Conference Committee on Agricultural Appropriations

still seem to be listening more closely to powerful

industry lobbyists representing Kraft/Phillip Morris,

Dean Foods/Horizon Organic/Whitewave, Dole,

Smucker/Knudson's, General Mills/Small Planet,

Danone/Stonyfield, Aurora Organic, Whole Foods, Wild

Oats, and the Grocery Manufacturers of America

(Wal-Mart and the supermarket chains), than they are

to us. And because this is a last minute, back door

Sneak Attack, most of the media, and even most organic

consumers, are not yet aware of what's happening.

 

We have no choice but to move quickly and raise the

volume of our protest, double the number of letters

and phone calls pouring into Congress, and

aggressively take our message to the media. In 1998,

2003, and 2004 OCA and the organic community

successfully mobilized and beat back similar attempts

to degrade organic standards. Unfortunately this Sneak

Attack is an " inside job, " organized and funded by

powerful pseudo-organic food processors and

supermarket chains who have seized control of the

Organic Trade Association, hired powerful lobbyists

who usually represent big Pharma, tobacco, supermarket

chains, and liquor interests, and are moving in for

the " big fix. "

 

We need more letters, and we need money now, to lobby

Congress and to take our message to the media. Please

forward this Action Alert to everyone you know who is

concerned about preserving strict organic standards

and organic community control over these standards. If

you haven't already, please click here to send a

letter to your members of Congress

http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm And please

click here to send OCA a tax-deductible donation so we

can continue to defend the integrity of organic

standards. http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

 

 

 

 

 

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