Dear Editor:
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the dedicated volunteers who helped locally with the “Yes” on Proposition 37 campaign, the campaign to label genetically engineered food in California, spending their time attending planning meetings, tabling in front of grocery stores and canvassing community events, writing letters to the editor, participating in honk and waves, and more.
I would also like to thank the businesses that assisted locally by making campaign information available to their clients and customers and/or putting up a window sign, including Golden Carrot, Model Bakery, Fatted Calf Charcuterie, Oxbow Produce and Grocery, Whole Foods, Hair Sanctuary, Wildcat, Amelia’s Gifts, Napa Nails, Small World Cafe, BOCA Farm, Main Street Trees, Vital Health Acupuncture, Napa Natural Medicine, Community Chiropractic Center, Eade Family Chiropractic, Mills Family Chiropractic, Blossom Chiropractic, McCarthy Chiropractic, Lifestream Massage School, Thirty Two Dental, and many others. Thank you additionally to Silo’s for donating its space and the Johnny Smith Group and Juliane & Friends Band for donating their time and talent for a benefit concert to raise money for the campaign.
Finally, I would like to thank all of the local organizations that assisted in a multitude of ways—Carolyn Parr Nature Center for providing us with a place to meet, the Napa County Green Party/Napa Valley College Campus Greens for planning and holding an educational film event and the Napa-Solano Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Napa Unitarian Social Justice Committee, and Slow Food Napa Valley for helping promote it, the Napa County Democratic Party for promoting Prop. 37 to its members, Rutherford Grange for its letter to the editor, the United Methodist Church for including us in their community forum, and Napa Valley CanDo for helping publicize our meetings and events in its online newsletter. We hope that all of these businesses and organizations will continue to make information available regarding the health and environmental risks that these foods pose.
Also, to those in Napa County who voted in favor of Prop. 37, more than 27,000 individuals (49.26% of those who voted), please know that this was just one battle in a war that is far from over. We are stronger and more organized than ever before due to having gone through this process. It is quite amazing that almost 6 million Californians voted “Yes” on 37 and that the initiative just barely lost (48.6% to 51.4%) despite the fact that many people had never heard of GE food before the campaign began and despite the $45 million opposition campaign of fear and lies that scared and confused many people into voting against their fundamental right to know what is in their food.
Nevertheless, for the first time the issue of GE food was covered widely in the mainstream media, and many more people are now aware of the issue. Armed with lessons learned, leaders and volunteers who stepped up in counties across the state are now planning the next phase in our effort to label GE food in California. In addition, more than thirty other states have pledged to fight for legislation of their own, including Vermont, which will be introducing a bill into its state legislature that many people feel will pass by May, and the state of Washington, which has now gathered enough signatures to put it on their ballot in 2014, where it is currently polling strong at 72%. It is truly just a matter of time before GE foods are labeled so those wanting to can avoid them.
If you would like to get involved in our continued statewide effort to label GE food, please sign up to volunteer or donate money through the Labelgmos.org website. To get involved locally, you can also email me directly at preservenapasag@sbcglobal.net or join our local Facebook group, Label GMOs Napa County, at https://www.facebook.com/groups/labelgmosnapa/?fref=ts.
Sincerely,
Erica Amy Martenson
Label GMOs Napa County, Coordinator
For more about Prop. 37, please see:
- Napa Letter: "Vote Yes on Proposition 37"
- Napa Letter: "I am Voting YES on Proposition 37"
- Napa Letter: "Let's Vote Yes on Proposition 37"
- Napa Letter: Anti-Prop 37 TV Ads are "Outright Lies"
- Napa Letter: "Prop 37 Labeling Should be Required" to Force Research
- Prop. 37: Should Genetically Modified Food Be Labeled?
- Whole Foods Ramps Up Prop. 37 Support
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