Religious Investors Call for Boycott of GM Sugar

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) has launched an on-line campaign protesting the planting of genetically modified sugar beets in the upcoming spring planting season, arguing genetically engineered crops suffer from “‘weak governmental review and oversight, and the lack of long-term independent and peer-reviewed safety studies.’”

According to a March 5, 2008 news article on NutraIngredients-USA.com, ICCR’s campaign encourages consumers to print off and mail a letter to major food companies and manufacturers including, McDonald’s, Campbell’s Soup, and Kellogg’s, urging them to publicly oppose the planting of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beets.

Leslie Lowe, Director of ICCR’s Energy and Environment Program, is optimistic the campaign will be successful because the companies targeted “face major potential backlashes if they do not act now to stop the use of genetically modified sugar from sugar beets.” She also went on to say that similar campaigns have successfully persuaded companies not to use genetically modified organisms in its food products.

Link to ICCR’s Press Release regarding the launch of its “Don’t Plant GMO Beets” campaign.

Thank you to William Mitchell College of Law student Sene Binsfeld for preparing this post.