Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Gmail Peter Burgess
Starbucks
Kaytee Riek, SumOfUs.org Sat, Nov 8, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Reply-To: us@sumofus.org
To: Peter Burgess

Starbucks has teamed up with Monsanto to sue Vermont, and stop accurate food labeling.

Tell Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee to withdraw support for the lawsuit -- we have a right to know what we put in our mouths.

Sign the Petition

Dear Peter,

Starbucks doesn't think you have the right to know what's in your coffee. So it's teamed up with Monsanto to sue the small U.S. state of Vermont to stop you from finding out.

Hiding behind the shadowy 'Grocery Manufacturers Association', Starbucks is supporting a lawsuit that's aiming to block a landmark law that requires genetically-modified ingredients be labeled. Amazingly, it claims that the law is an assault on corporations' right to free speech. Even a local Vermont company, Green Mountain Coffee, has joined in.

SumOfUs members have already chipped in to support Vermont's legal defense fund. Now, we need to undermine the Grocery Manufacturers Association's base. Monsanto might not care what we think -- but as a public-facing company, Starbucks does. If we can generate enough attention, we can push Starbucks to withdraw its support for the lawsuit, and then pressure other companies to do the same.

Sign the petition to tell Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee to withdraw their support for the lawsuit against Vermont, and stop fighting accurate food labeling.

Vermont is a small, entirely rural state with just 600,000 people. It’s a classic David and Goliath fight between Vermont and Monsanto. Considering that Starbucks has been progressive on LGBT and labor issues in the past, it's disappointing that it is working with the biggest villain of them all, Monsanto.

There’s much more at stake here than just whether GMO foods will be labeled in a single U.S. state. Vermont is the very first state in the U.S. to require labeling. Dozens of other states have said that they will follow this path -- in order to encourage this, we need to ensure that Vermont's law stands strong.

That's why Monsanto and its new allies are fighting so hard to kill GMO labeling in Vermont.

But whatever you think of GMOs, corporations should not be using massive lawsuits to overturn legitimate, democratic decisions with strong public backing.

SumOfUs is already fighting back -- we helped Vermont raise almost a quarter of a million dollars to defend themselves against Monsanto’s bullying! But the next strategic step is to pressure and call out members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the shadowy body leading the lawsuit.

Add your voice now. Tell Starbucks and Green Mountain Coffee to stop supporting the lawsuit against Vermont.

Thanks for all that you do,
Kaytee, Paul, Katherine, Angus, and the team at SumOfUs

********** More information:

How Ben and Jerry's says goodbye to GMOs, Burlington Free Press, 16 June 2014 Food Companies Seek Federal GMO Label Standard, Challenge Washington's Campaign Finance Laws, Sustainable Brands, 15 January 2014

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in $3.

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