-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Dave Hartley http://www.asheville-computer.com/dave -----Original Message----- From: The Campaign <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: News Update <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 2:01 AM Subject: Biotech television ads begin >Broadcast News From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Dear Health Freedom Fighters, > >The first television ads promoting genetically engineered foods began to be >shown on Monday. It is reported that Monsanto and other biotech companies >plan to spend $50 million this year and up to $250 million over the next >five years on their advertising campaign. Below are two articles. The first >is a front page article from the St. Louis Post Dispatch titled "Biotech >rivals team up in effort to sell altered food." The second article is from >the San Francisco Chronicle titled "Biotech Products to Get an Image >Booster." > >The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods is preparing to spend >over $50,000 in April to print up 250,000 of our full color "Take Action >Packets." So the biotech industry is spending nearly 1,000 times more than >we are. However, The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods has a >powerful secret weapon that the biotech industry lacks: the active >participation of thousands of grassroots activists. > >This is a classic David and Goliath story. Just as David beat the powerful >Goliath, we intend to get genetically engineered foods labeled over the >continued objections of the biotech industry. The Campaign's goal is to >generate at least ONE MILLION LETTERS TO CONGRESS over the next seven months >in support of the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act. > >Although we can't afford television ads, traffic continues to increase at >The Campaign's popular web site. As a matter of fact, our internet service >provider just increased our monthly fee because we are generating so much >traffic. But our most powerful tool in generating letters to Congress will >be the "Take Action Packet." This full color 24-page magazine will contain >an informative educational tutorial and five form letters addressed to the >House of Representatives, the Senate, Vice-President Gore and Governor Bush. > >We intend to raise the issue of genetically engineered foods to one of >presidential politics in the coming elections. The television and newspaper >ads of the biotech industry are likely to help us accomplish this goal. When >the biotech industry tried an advertising campaign in Europe a couple years >ago, it backfired and increased public opposition to genetically engineered >foods. We anticipate the same situation will develop in the United States. > >The Campaign's Take Action Packets are scheduled to begin shipping the first >of May. They will only cost 25 cents each and sell in lots of 100 for $25 >(price includes shipping). A copy of the Take Action Packet will be >available for viewing on our web site after April 20th. You will be able to >order the Take Action Packets directly from our web site by credit card on >our secured server. Naturally you may also send your order by U.S. mail. > >Here we go folks: Grassroots activism by thousands of concerned citizens on >a shoestring budget vs. a multi-million dollar advertising campaign by the >world's leading biotech companies. We will win this battle if we all do our >part in generating the letters to our elected officials during the next >seven months. > >Craig Winters >Executive Director >The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods > >The Campaign >PO Box 55699 >Seattle, WA 98155 >Tel: 425-771-4049 >Fax: 603-825-5841 >E-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org > >Mission Statement: "To create a national grassroots consumer campaign for >the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass legislation that >will require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United >States." > >*************************************************************** > >Posted: Tuesday, April 4, 2000. >St. Louis Post Dispatch >Front Page - A section > >Biotech rivals team up in effort to sell altered food > >By Bill Lambrecht >Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau > >WASHINGTON - Monsanto Co. and its biotechnology rivals began a $50 million >campaign Monday to sell Americans on the benefits of genetically modified >food. > >With television and print ads along with a Web site and toll-free number, >the newly formed Council for Biotechnology Information is seeking to raise >awareness and reduce worry at a critical juncture for a powerful new >technology. > >The council says it may spend as much as $250 million on the campaign over >the next five years toward shaping opinion in the United States and Canada. > >Monsanto spokesman Jeff Bergau said the campaign is designed to tell >consumers something they don't know a lot about. > >"From the conversations that we've had with people, the more access they've >had to information and the more exposure they've had to biotech form a >variety of sources, the more likely they are to embrace the technology," he >said. > >A television ad that started airing nationally on Monday likens the >potential of genetically modified crops with the more widely accepted use of >biotechnology in medicine. > >Interspersing views of farms and labs, the 60-second ad proclaims: "A >patient has a medicine she needs. A boy can survive a childhood disease. A >cotton crop helps protect itself from certain pests because discoveries in >biotechnology, from medicine to agriculture, are helping doctors and farmers >to treat our sick and to protect our crops." > >The campaign opened on Monsanto's first day of business as a subsidiary of >Pharmacia Corp. > >The companies announced in December that Monsanto would combine with >Pharmacia & Upjohn in what was described by both sides as a merger of >equals. > >In its new campaign, the industry is bringing in global muscle to combat >perception problems that have threatened to derail the burgeoning business >of genetically engineered food. > >In addition to Monsanto, companies in the Council on Biotechnology >Information include DuPont; Dow Chemical; Swiss-based Novartis Corp.; BASF >of Germany; and Aventis CropScience and Zeneca Ag Products, both of Britain. >Also taking part is the Washington-based Biotechnology Industry >Organization, a trade association > >The companies are committed to spending $50 million a year during an effort >that is planned for three to five years. The new entity has been >incorporated and will open an office in Washington. > >Companies work together in trade associations, but seldom do competitors >like Monsanto and DuPont become allied in such an aggressive campaign. In >fact, DuPont recently sued Monsanto in U.S. District Court in Delaware >alleging that that Monsanto had stolen genetic technologies. > >Their willingness not only to work together but also to spend as much as >$250 million over five years shows a fierce commitment to preserving a >technology that has been buffeted by controversy. > >Most of that controversy has swirled in Europe, where a consumer backlash >against modified food has stalled acceptance of gene-altered crops in the >15-country European Union. American corn growers have been unable to export >to Europe since the fall of 1998 because of the furor. > >In recent months, the debate has begun to sprout in the United States in the >form of protests and legislation in Congress and in states calling for more >stringent regulation of modified foods. > >Last week, the Agriculture Department announced that American farmers intend >to plant slightly fewer acres this spring in seeds that are modified for >production ease or to help plants ward off pests. > >Despite consumers' safety worries in Europe, and to a lesser extent in Japan >and Brazil, polls show that the public in North America remains generally >unworried and unknowledgeable about modified food. The industry campaign >aims to increase that knowledge and to halt any concerns that may be >developing. > >The council's Web site is at www.whybiotech.com. On the Internet and in the >ads, the companies assert that: > >* Modified foods have been thoroughly tested by U.S. government agencies and >found to be safe. > >* Crops from biotechnology can one day enhance the nutritional content of >foods and help to produce more food for a growing population. > >* Food biotechnology can conserve natural resources by conserving soil and >limiting the use of harmful chemicals. > >The effort could be risky, judging by the experience in Europe. In 1998, >Monsanto canceled a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in the United Kingdom >and France after a public outcry. While there was polling evidence that a >revised campaign might have worked, at least in France, Monsanto bailed out >amid the clamor. Other companies had declined to join with Monsanto in that >effort. > >Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists said she was "taken >aback" by the potential commitment of $250 million. > >"You have to ask why they are doing it. And one reason has to be that most >people in America can't see benefits on the horizon to them or to their >families," she said. > >Bergau, the Monsanto spokesman, replied that, "It is a lot of money, but >it's an important commitment. The scope of the program demonstrates the >level of commitment the companies have to giving people easy access to >information about biotechnology." > >************************************************************** > >Biotech Products to Get an Image Booster > >David Barboza, New York Times >Tuesday, April 4, 2000 San Francisco Chronicle > >Chicago -- Responding to a backlash against genetically engineered crops, >some of the world's biggest biotechnology companies said yesterday that they >will spend up to $250 million during the next five years to convince >consumers that the products are safe. > >The North American campaign, which began yesterday with television >commercials on the major broadcast networks and cable, comes after months of >criticism, controversy and lawsuits over the widespread introduction of >genetically engineered crops into agriculture, particularly in the United >States. > >With billions of dollars at stake, and a huge portion of American farmers' >crops devoted to genetically modified corn and soybeans, the major >biotechnology companies say they feel compelled to counter what they say is >a rising wave of anti-biotech hysteria. > >``There's a need to turn up the volume with accurate information in the face >of misinformation,'' said Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology >Industry Association, which is also a founding member of a new group. > >The companies, led by Monsanto, a division of the Pharmacia Corp., say they >have joined forces to create the Council for Biotechnology Information, a >Washington group that is coordinating the effort to win public approval. > >But Jeremy Rifkin, a longtime opponent of biotechnology, said he believes >the campaign will backfire. > >``This is going to open a Pandora's box for them,'' Rifkin said. ``When >people watch these ads they're going to say, `What? What are genetic foods? >Why are they in our stores?' In Europe, when people heard about genetically >modified foods, they became more skeptical.'' > >In December, Rifkin retained some of the nation's most prominent antitrust >lawyers to file a lawsuit against Monsanto for engaging in anticompetitive >practices and rushing genetically altered seeds to market without properly >testing them. > >Though a recent government survey suggests that American farmers have begun >cutting back on biotech plantings -- something the big companies strongly >dispute -- the industry says more than 60 million acres of corn and soybean >were planted with genetically altered seeds a year ago, and farmers >generally approve of the products because they cut down on chemical >spraying. > >©2000 San Francisco Chronicle Page C8 > > >------------------------------------------------------------------ >Please visit The Campaign's web site at http://www.thecampaign.org > >To unsubscribe send an email to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >with >UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSUPDATE >in the BODY of the message. > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
