Vote YES on Prop 37 and Join Us In the Fight For GMO Labeling

Update – October 28, 2012: Voting day is getting close and it’s more important than ever that we support Prop 37. We’ve donated an additional $25,000 to the fight and are working hard to get the word out. Read on, then Join us and share with friends!

Dear Stonyfield fans and California voters:

This November, you have the power to help everyone know more about what’s in our food. If you live in California, you have the chance to VOTE YES on PROP 37 and we urge you do so. We ask you to make your voice heard in support of labeling foods made with genetically engineered ingredients.

We think voting yes is incredibly important. We’ve been leading on the issue of GE labeling nationally for years and we see Prop 37 as a great step along the way to getting national legislation. A win in California would be the beginning of a larger win for labeling all across the country.

What Prop 37 is advocating at the state level, and what Just Label It is promoting at the federal level, is that Americans deserve the same rights already held by citizens in nearly 50 other nations, including all of the European Union, Russia, China and all of our major trading partners. It is certainly ironic that our country, which so proudly champions the cause of individual freedom and civil liberty around the world, does not grant our citizenry a basic right granted by all of these other countries.

This is an important time to make a stand and every vote counts. Every voice counts.

Every dollar counts too. We are up against huge foes: the two largest contributors to the opposition—Monsanto and Dupont—have together donated over 34 million dollars to defeat Prop 37. Compare this to the $4 million that’s been raised by supporters of Prop 37, and you can see why some people are comparing this to the battle between David and Goliath. As we near Election Day, it’s critical that we don’t give up. We must keep fighting and here at Stonyfield, we will.

In fact, to help get the word out further, we’ve decided to lend more of a hand. We decided to contribute to Prop 37 directly to fight harder for our right to know on a state level. We gave $25,000 to the Yes on 37 campaign early this month and have given another $25,000 donation this past week. Plus, our Chairman Gary Hirshberg has made an additional personal donation of $10,000.

We’re not stopping there either. We started this fight over a year ago by helping to create Just Label It – a campaign focused on forcing the federal government to require labeling of foods produced with GMOs. We have contributed over $700,000 to the effort and fought alongside over 500 partner organizations. More than 1.2 million people have signed the petition to demand the FDA to take action so far. We will continue fighting for labeling until the day we know what’s in our food in every state, in every store.

We sincerely hope that you will join us. Everyone can make their voices heard. Tell friends and family in California to Vote Yes, donate to the campaign, or sign the Just Label It petition.

And if you live in California, we urge you to get out and vote yes on Prop 37 on November 6th.