going to Monsanto Were going to Monsantos Shareholder Meeting Tomorrow and Wed like YOU to Join Us! - Historic First Shareholder Vote on GMO Labeling! Dear , This weekend, Monsanto shareholder Adam Eidinger called to ask if I would be his proxy for presenting the groundbreaking GMO Labeling resolution at the annual Monsanto Shareholder Meeting on Tuesday, January 28. The proposed resolution will for the first time offer shareholders the opportunity to vote for support of GMO Labeling. We know it might seem like an unlikely venue to present our case, but we believe in speaking truth to power in all its forms and we need your help today to make sure Monsanto hears us loud and clear: the American people have a right to label GMOs! Join us to tell Monsanto it’s time to stop fighting GMO labeling and Pledge to support strong mandatory labeling as they do in 64 other countries around the world! Every voice counts! For the past 22 years, Monsanto has worked hand in glove with our federal government to deny Americans the basic right to know if their food has been genetically engineered in a laboratory. In the past two years, Monsanto has spent more than $13.4 million to defeat GMO labeling efforts in California and Washington state. Lack of tranparency is not good for free markets or democracy. At the same time, two GMO labeling bills have passed in Connecticut and Maine, while more than 25 states have introduced bills to require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. “Tomorrow, we’re asking that Monsanto stop fighting the will of the American people, 90 percent of whom want to know if their food has been genetically engineered in a laboratory,” said Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!. “If Monsanto can profit off a patent in their products and label their foods in India, China, Russia and South Africa, they can certainly agree that Americans should have this basic right as well.” Sign the letter to join us in speaking truth to power and tell Monsanto: A vote for transparency is a vote for democracy and a vote for freedom! Every voice counts! We need your voice to make sure that Monsanto understands that we will no longer tolerate their blatant disregard of our basic rights and a corruption of our democratic process. It’s the height of hypocrisy that Monsanto, an American company based in the Heartland, would deny Americans something as simple as a label on their food that contains GMOs, a right this company already honors in 64 other countries around the world. Protesters will come from all over the world to Creve Coeur, Missouri, just outside central St Louis, in order to call for labeling of genetically modified organisms. Please join us today in support! Monsanto Shareholder Meeting Open to Public for First Time Ever! For the first time, Monsanto is allowing the public to hear what’s going on in their shareholder meetings. Following pressure by activists, Monsanto has agreed to provide a live audio feed of the meeting. (They have said that this feed will be available on their Investors page on their website.) In previous years, this annual shareholder meeting was conducted completely behind closed doors. Instead members of the media and public will be able to listen online. Activists have repeatedly asked for the meeting to be broadcast via video, but Monsanto has only met activists halfway and will stream only the audio of the meeting. Colorful, lively protests will occur outside the meeting from 12 PM to 3 PM. Five art cars with giant sculptures mounted on top of them representing a half-fish, half-plant GMO will be joining local activists and concerned citizens at the protests. This “Fishy Fleet” has toured the United States to call for labeling of GMOs. You can view photos and video of the cars at areweeatingfishyfood. Another shareholder resolution to be voted on at the company’s annual meeting is sponsored by activist investor John Harrington and deals with Monsanto’s potential liability to organic farmers. The protests at Monsanto will be the first since last October when more than 500 activists descended on the company’s headquarters for the March Against Monsanto. We need you today to support Food Democracy Now! and our allies at the Monsanto Shareholder meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, January 28th as we stand up at the meeting and ask for transparency in labeling. Sign the letter to join us in speaking truth to power and tell Monsanto: A vote for transparency is a vote for democracy and a vote for freedom! Every voice counts! Thanks for participating in food democracy, Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! Team
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 10:58:10 +0000