Successful U.K. strategies for getting GE foods off supermarket shelves

by Beverly Thorpe

These are all things that can be undertaken by real people, in the places where they live and shop for dinner. Remember, safe food issues cut across all the usual political dividing lines. We're all human, we all eat, we all want to live long and healthy lives. You will most likely find that your neighbors are somewhat informed and at least moderately concerned about genetically engineered foods already. By organizing, you give them the opportunity to take a stand about the substances they put into their bodies.

Target popular products you know contain GEs
Beanfeast is a vegetarian version of Sloppy Joe and is made by Unilever, the largest food distributor in Europe. Beanfeast was one of the first foods to be labelled in the U.K. with the information that it "contains genetically modified soya." Although Unilever's name was not on the packaging, it was our intention that Unilever feel the impact of the Beanfeast campaign. What did appear on the packet was a well-known brand name, Batchelor's. This company also makes other well-loved English food products.
The campaign was conducted by Greenpeace U.K., Friends of the Earth, and Genetic Concern. Using the following tactics, U.K. consumers caused a 50 percent decline in Beanfeast's sales in one year's time. This stunning impact led Unilever to adopt a policy to source non-genetically engineered products in Europe. Here's how we did it:
We handed out postcards addressed to Batchelor's, which consumers then mailed to the company. These cards made it easy for shoppers to address their concerns to the company responsible.
We distributed store "disloyalty" cards. These resembled the discount or shopper reward cards supermarkets give to customers. Ours said, "Batchelor's Beanfeast contains genetically altered ingredients -- what's next?!" Here we displayed pictures of other Batchelor products, ones known NOT to have GE ingredients -- yet. We distributed postcards and fact sheets with the Unilever 1-800 number and other company contact information and urged consumers to contact the company to make their opinions known. We asked consumers not to buy Beanfeast.

Conduct supermarket tours
These tours were an extremely effective element of Greenpeace's efforts in the U.K. They are something you can do wherever you live, to raise the consciousness of markets and consumers alike. Your group will be most effective if you dress nicely and are courteous, but firm.
For your target market, choose one that's part of a big chain, opposes product labeling and has so far refused to phase out genetically engineered ingredients. Contact the supermarket manager roughly four days before you plan to conduct the tours. Explain what you intend to do, and why. Ask for their cooperation. If they refuse, proceed anyway.
Advertise the supermarket tour widely and well in advance. Extend personal invitations to local church and civic leaders, politicians, chefs and restaurant owners, educators, bankers. Also invite organic food producers and food coop organizers.
Plan your route through the store and prepare your script. On tour day set up a command post outside the market. Have a portable table stocked with printed handouts and a tablet for collecting names and addresses of participants. Have friendly, courteous volunteers ready to talk about GE foods to anyone who happens by.
At tour time, assemble your participants. Introduce yourself. Thank them for coming and brief them on what to expect inside the store. Make sure everyone has a copy of your print information. Tour leaders should carry additional leaflets to give people who join the tour inside the store.
Inside the supermarket, you need two people to conduct each tour--a guide and a traffic manager. The guide leads the tour and speaks at each station. The traffic manager follows the group, keeping it together, and invites other shoppers to join the tour.
At each station of the tour route, be ready to talk specifically about the foods in that market section. Talk equally about the dangers of genetically engineered products and the virtues of organic food.
At each stop, encourage tour members to take action. You want them to ask lots and lots of questions of the supermarket manager at the checkout stand. How can I be sure these foods contain no genetically engineered ingredients? Do you stock organic products? How about organic butter? Organic pizza? Are all your products clearly labeled? Let them know it's perfectly okay, in fact, intended, that their questions should slow up the flow of commerce.
Point out the 1-800 numbers on product packaging. Urge tour members to call these numbers frequently, asking questions and expressing opinions about genetically engineered ingredients.
Don't fall into the trap of praising or blaming specific products. Send tough questions to the supermarket manager or to that 1-800 number at the food company.

Where to go, what to say
By the fresh fruits and vegetables, talk about organic farming. Raise the following points: At the end of the World War II, chemical weapons companies like Monsanto transformed themselves into pesticide companies. The average daily diet now includes a cocktail of different pesticides. GE food continues this massive use of pesticides in two main ways:
Weed resistant plants -- Monsanto's soya bean plants do not die when sprayed with Monsanto's own weed killer, but all the wildlife in the field does. Up to 50 percent of the U.S. soya crop is this GE soya.
Insect-resistant plants -- a GE corn plant produces its own pesticide. In the U.S. this corn is regulated as a pesticide, not a food. All insects, whether harmful or beneficial, die when they feed on the crop. This also means no food for the birds.
By the organic food, present organic farming as the solution. Points to raise: Organic farming promotes health of the entire farming system -- soil, crops, animals, people. It involves systems designed without regular use of antibiotics, growth promoters, genetic engineering or artificial pesticides. Organic farming is guaranteed by a certification label (show one). The organic market in Europe is growing at 25 percent per year - faster than computers and telecommunications.
Someone will no doubt complain about the higher cost of organic food. Raise these points: Organic farmers don't receive the subsidy intensive farmers get. We pay the true cost of industrial food through our taxes. To change this, buy organic, bug your store manager and the public relations folks at those 1-800 numbers for organic foods, and lobby your congressional representatives to support organic agriculture and reject subsidies to genetically engineered crops.
By the sandwiches, readymeals and pizzas, address labeling. In the U.K., tour guides carry a magnifying glass to show how small the print is and how little it says. In the U.S., where labeling is not required, up to 60 percent of food products contain GE ingredients.
By the chocolate, talk about GE ingredients. Urge tour members to call the 1-800 number on the package and ask the company to use non-GE soy lecithin. Have them ask both the candy company and the store manager for organic chocolate.
By the baby food, make it clear we don't know the long-term health effects of GE foods. Raise these points: There has been no long-term testing on humans. Health concerns include both unexpected allergies and unexpected toxins. Many responsible scientists recommend that GE foods should be tested as rigorously as GE medicines, that is, with 20-year human trials. Right now, we are the guinea pigs.
Consumer pressure has led Gerber and some other manufacturers to declare they will not use GE ingredients in baby food.
By the meats, talk about problems of antibiotic resistance. Raise these points: Soya and corn are used in animal feed. Novartis GE corn is of particular concern because it contains a gene that confers resistance to antibiotics. Rising antibiotic resistance is already a problem for veterinary and human medicine because of antibiotics mixed with animal feed. Antibiotic resistance means bacterial diseases become unresponsive to treatment by known drugs. Organic meat is free of antibiotics and organic animals are well cared for.
By the Tampons, diapers and cotton balls, point out that GE ingredients affect more than our food. Cotton -- 50 percent of the U.S. cotton crop is Monsanto GE cotton. Corn is used for toothpaste, make-up, cigarette butts, tablets and glues. Non-food uses of GE crops affect the environment and are likely to increase if more food manufacturers stop using GE soya and corn.
At tour's end, tell people what to do next:
Use your wallet -- boycott GE food and buy organic -- and use your voice -- phone up 1-800 numbers; ask the supermarket owners and store managers to stop stocking GE brands and to increase the organic food available; contact Clinton and Gore and your Congressional representatives.

Copyright (c) Beverly Thorpe, 2000 All Rights Reserved. Beverly Thorpe, of Clean Production Action, was at the heart of the grassroots campaign that made clear to British food retailers their customers would not tolerate products containing genetically engineered or modified ingredients on their shelves or in their food supply, <bthorpe@web.net>; <www.most.org.pl/cpa>.
A third tactic Thorpe recommends is "guerilla check-out actions." A campaign in the U.K. focused on Marks and Spencers, a prestigious, high-end food retailer that was initially a strong defender of the benefits of GE food. In July 1999, after about 10 check-out actions in different locations, Marks and Spencers told Greenpeace that "all the food products sold in our stores are now being made without GM ingredients or derivatives. This has been a major achievement by our food technology team, who have been travelling the world to source 'identity preserved' non GM ingredients." All food retailers in the U.K. now have the same policy.
Contact Greenpeace USA for a True Food Action Kit or to join the True Food network,<Charles.Margulis@dialb.greenpeace.org>.