by Diane Baines
1. EDUCATE YOURSELF AND OTHERS ON GENETICALLY MODIFIEDORGANISMS Refer to the provided reference sheet for free resources.2. SET GOALS Whether you start a group or decide to keep it in your family, set a goalfor what you will do to eliminate GMOs from your diet.3. BUY ORGANIC/BUY LOCAL/BUY ONLINE Shop at local farmer’s markets (makesure to ask if they use GMO seeds and/or chemical fertilizers, pesticides andherbicides), organic products are less likely to be GMO and online stores give you lots oforganic options that may not be available at your local market.www.Thrivemarket.com as an example of online organic grocery shopping.4. START A NON GMO ACTION GROUP Use technology to set up a virtual group or doit the old fashioned way … meet in person.5. TARGET MANUFACTURERS OF GM FOODS Contact manufacturers of productsyou used to buy before you realized they contain or may contain GMOs and tell themyou are switching to a non GMO brand because of the health risks associated withGMOs. Ask them to reconsider their ingredients.6. INFLUENCE A RESTAURANT AND/OR A CHEF Choose a restaurant, alreadyoriented towards organic or healthy gourmet options, and convince them to (a) go GM-free; (b) feature a section or a special on their menu that is GMO-free, (c) publicize aGM-free brunch, lunch or dinner; and (d) find a chef to create non GMO buzz.7. INFLUENCE A SUPERMARKET OR COOP Write letters – ideally several dozenletters from fellow activists – to the store owner, requesting they feature more organicand more GMO-free certified items.8. CREATE A NON-GMO PRESENCE AT FARMERS MARKETS If you shop at thelocal farmer’s markets, ask the vendors if they are selling GMO and chemical freeproducts.9. POST FLIERS ADVERTISING AN EVENT OR A LOCAL CONTACT TO START AGROUP Create an event with a Non-GMO speaker.10, INVOLVE STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS and COLLEGES (1) create a non GMO pot-luck group; (2) involve a school garden program to create a show-and-tell educationevent; (3) show a anti GMO movie and have a debate afterwards—we recommend thehalf-hour long Hidden Risks video, downloadable for free fromhttp://www.responsibletechnology.org/resources/audio-video; (4) invite a presenter orspeaker to give a talk and/or show a video to a class; (5**) join forces with other “healthyschool lunches” organizations; (6) contact a student committee concerned aboutenvironmental issues and network with them to promote GMO awareness on campusand involve professors sympathetic to the issue.11. IF YOU ARE A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL Do non-GMO education withclients, reach out to colleagues and educate them, and make a case about GMOs withyour professional association.RECOMMENDED ACTIONS FOR NON-GMO ACTIVISTS TOCREATE A TIPPING POINT212. GARDENERS Involve your local gardening community to host an event stressing theimportance of preserving uncontaminated seeds and build a party or event around it.Become a back yard gardener using organic products.13. CIRCULATE AND GET SIGNATURE for GMO LABELING PETITIONS, or DOLEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY Ask your political representative to support a national orState law to curb or label Genetically Engineered foods and animals. Attend the Rally forReal Food on Oct 2, 2011 from noon to 3:00PM on the south steps of the Texas statecapitol (www.rallyforrealfood.com).14. HOST A FILM SHOWING – COMBINED WITH A SOCIAL EVENT – AT ASTRATEGIC LOCATION Involve your church, library, community center … in hosting afilm followed by discussion with a speaker to handle questions, and/or have a non GMOpotluck.15. BECOME A MEMBER OF AN ADVOCACY GROUP Donate money or volunteerwith a consumer advocacy group like the Farm and Ranch Food Alliance, Texas OrganicFarmers and Gardeners, Food and Water Watch or one of the many other groups wholobby on behalf of the consumer, keep members posted of developments in legislationand send out action alerts.16. BUY A SHARE IN A COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA) CLUBThis is another option for buying local or organic food products.** Other Organizations active in improving school mealshttp://www.farmtoschool.org/http://www.thelunchbox.org/http://www.ecoliteracy.org/download/rethinking-school-lunch-guidehttp://www.rwjf.org/en/our-focus-areas.htmlhttps://healthyschoolscampaign.org/http://www.chefannfoundation.org/Let your dollars determine the market; become an activist today!!!
Guest author Diane Baines has spent the past 34 years in the healthcare and pharmaceutical related industries. Nine years ago she took a class at the Institute for Responsible Technology to become a non-GMO speaker. Today Diane is a self proclaimed food evangelist who speaks to groups of all sizes about Genetically Modified Organisms and their negative impact on our health, food freedom, and how to make a difference in the market with regard to food choices.
