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January 25th, 2011
Saying Good-bye
This is the last update for Oregon PSR’s Campaign For Safe Food. As I announced last month, I’m retiring at the end of January to become a full-time volunteer fighting the corporate and special interest take-over of our elections and government. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough funding to hire a replacement.
There are about 2,500 of you on this list and I know that many of you have forwarded my messages to your friends and families, so we’ve been able to get a lot of good information out and motivated a lot of people to take action.
We’ve accomplished a lot and it’s mainly because we’ve worked together. You’ve voted with your dollars at the supermarket and sent a message to food processors to do the right thing. You’ve sent postcards to dairy processors asking them to go rBGH-free. You’ve sent e-mails to state legislators, Congress, the FDA and USDA to properly regulate genetically engineered crops. You’ve volunteered for our cause by tabling at health fairs and movies. And you’ve donated your hard-earned money to keep this whole program going. I’m usually not at a loss for words, but I don’t know how to adequately thank all of you for your interest and support.
I’ve attached a document that will be on our website next week listing our achievements over the past 7 ½ years. Have we done as much as I would have liked? No, it’s never enough, not when our health and environment are needlessly being put at risk. But it’s not bad and I’m happy with what we’ve been able to do. I can say this – we sure tried hard and did the very best we could.
What’s Next for the Campaign For Safe Food
As of next Monday, January 31, Oregon PSR’s Campaign For Safe Food will not have an employee leading it. Since it won’t be a staffed program, it won’t be displayed at the same level as the active programs on our website, but it will have a presence there.
These are the services still available:
· Obtaining literature on recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) and the industrial meat system
· Requesting presentations on genetically engineered food, rBGH and the industrial meat system (Chief Scientific Advisor Dr. Martin Donohoe has volunteered to make these presentations)
· Responding to questions from the media or public
You can access these services at the Oregon PSR office at 812 SW Washington, Suite 1050, Portland, OR 97205. Kelly Campbell, Executive Director, at 503-274-2720 or kelly@oregonpsr.org, is the main contact.
Other Organizations You Can Contact For Information on Food Safety
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some terrific colleagues representing some great organizations. Here is a partial list of some that I can highly recommend:
A leading organization providing information on the environmental causes of breast cancer and a leader in the fight against rBGH.
A leading organization that opposes genetically engineered (GE) food and industrialized agriculture. Its lawyers have been leading the way in fighting the USDA’s and FDA’s lack of proper regulation.
The publisher of Consumer Reports and one of the few organizations that refuses to take any corporate donations. They have a rich knowledge of rBGH and are often called upon by the media and government for comments.
A leading watchdog organization that fights to uphold meaningful organic standards and expose those corporations that don’t meet them.
An organization protecting the interests of small independent farmers that opposes GE foods and rBGH.
A leader in the fight against rBGH and other food and water issues, it has a state-by-state guide on rBGH-free products.
An Oregon-based organization promoting sustainable agriculture and the interests of independent farmers.
An incredibly information-rich website based in the UK that chronicles weekly happenings on GE activities all over the world.
A Portland, OR-based nonprofit opposing GE food that has a feature showcasing restaurants serving GE-free food.
An on-line magazine with a sense of humor featuring stories on the environment and food.
A large coalition of organizations that promotes safe and healthy practices in hospitals and health systems. It has taken a strong stance opposing rBGH.
Institute for Responsible Technology
An organization that has all kinds of information on GE food and lots of consumer tips and materials on how to buy non-GE food.
National Family Farm CoalitionA group of organizations that strives to protect the interests of family farmers.
An organization working to provide more GE-free food for consumers and informing the public which brands are available.
Northwest Resistance Against Genetic Engineering (RAGE)
A Portland-based nonprofit that organizes volunteer efforts opposing GE food.
A vegetarian information and activity group that helps educate the public on the problems of the industrial meat system.
The largest organization devoted to information on organic foods for consumers. It strongly opposes GE food and has an ongoing campaign targeting Monsanto.
A respected national organization that has worked on various sustainable food issues, including biopharmaceutical crops, industrial agriculture and antibiotics in animal food.
What’s Next For Me
I’m just starting to research organizations and efforts working to reverse the corporate and special interest take-over of our elections, government and democracy. In the next month or two, I’ll do my homework, talk to a lot of people, and make a decision on which ones I’d like to link up with. There are a lot of good people doing a lot of good work already.
Many of you have already e-mailed to ask that you be included on another listserv I may write dealing with this huge problem of money in politics and government. I don’t know yet if I’ll do one, but if I do, and you’d like to be on it, please let me know by e-mailing me. (For those of you who’ve already told me, it’s not necessary to e-mail again.) I’ll let everyone interested know one way or the other as I move into this next phase of my life.
I hope all of you will eat more sustainable, non-GE food and work to take back our democracy from the forces trying to take it away. Thank you again for all your support. It’s been quite a journey.
Rick
To read Rick North's Campaign for Safe Food updates from May of 2009 until January of 2011, please go here.
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