It's Official. Big Food Sues Vermont

Dear Organic Consumer,

Today, Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) filed a lawsuit in federal the U.S. District Court, State of Vermont, to overturn Vermont’s recently passed GMO labeling law.

Today, the Organic Consumers Association, through our allied lobbying arm, the Organic Consumers Fund, has committed to contributing as much as we can to defend Vermont’s labeling law, while we also fulfill our $500,000 pledge to help Oregon pass a GMO labeling initiative in November.

These battles that pit consumer health and rights against multi-billion corporations belong to all of us. Can you help us raise $250,000 by [insert date], so we can defend Vermont and push forward in Oregon and other states? You can donate online, by mail or by phone—details here.

After years of good old-fashioned work, and playing by the rules, the grassroots labeling movement achieved its first real victory this year, when Vermont passed the first no-strings-attached law requiring mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms.

But the rules mean nothing to the rich and powerful companies like Monsanto and Coca-Cola, who belong to one of the country’s most powerful lobbying groups—the GMA.

This is the moment of truth for the grassroots GMO labeling movement. If Monsanto and the GMA succeed in overturning Vermont’s GMO labeling law, lawmakers in the other 29 states that are currently considering GMO labeling bills will drop them like hot potatoes.

We can’t let that happen. Your donation today will help us defend Vermont, and pass GMO labeling in Oregon.

Legal experts assure us that Vermont’s labeling law will hold up in court. 

But we can’t win in federal court unless we show up. And that means paying a legal team to defend what’s rightfully ours.

This battle is about your health, and the health of your environment.  This battle is about the rights of states to pass laws to protect their citizens.

This is our battle. And it’s going to take all of us pulling together to win it.

Please consider a donation today to defend Vermont’s historical GMO labeling law, and win in Oregon in November. You can donate online, or by mail or phone.

 Thank you!

Ronnie Cummins

National Director, Organic Consumers Association and Organic Consumers Fund

P.S. Funds donated directly to campaigns must be raised through the Organic Consumers Fund, our allied 501(c)4 lobbying arm. If you need to make a tax-deductible donation, please donate to our 501(c)3 nonprofit. Your donation will indirectly support our GMO bans and labeling law campaigns by funding our ongoing education and media work.