Groups ramp up pressure on Costco to reject GMO salmon
ISSAQUAH, WASH. — A broad coalition of progressive groups, concerned Costco customers, and fishermen will deliver more than 300,000 petitions from Costco members and the general public to the Costco Headquarters to ask the grocery chain to publicly commit to not sell GMO salmon. Earlier this year, on March 7, the coalition attempted to deliver more than 50,000 petitions to the Costco store in Downtown Seattle, but the store manager refused to accept the petitions. In response, the number of consumers asking Costco to take a position has increased six-fold, and a coalition will be delivering petition signatures directly to Costco’s front door on June 25.
Despite public outcry and scientific discrepancy, the FDA is currently considering GMO salmon’s approval. If approved, this would be the first genetically engineered animal allowed by regulators to enter the U.S. food supply, and it will likely not be labeled.
More than 60 retailers, including Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway and Kroger, representing more than 9,000 grocery stores across the country, have made commitments to not sell this genetically modified fish. As one of the largest retailers in the U.S., Costco is the most notable holdout. As the largest seller of salmon and seafood, also headquartered in the Northwest region home to Pacific wild salmon, Costco’s stance on GMO salmon will factor heavily in national retail decisions.
What: A rally and petition delivery of more than 300,000 petition signatures demanding that Costco commit to not selling GMO Salmon.
Where: Costco, 11th Ave NW and NW Sammamish Rd, Issaquah, Washington
When: 10-11 a.m., Thursday, June 25
Who: Members of the Community Alliance for Global Justice, Representatives from UFCW Local 21; fishermen; members of the Washington environmental community; and Seattle residents will speak at the rally.
Visuals will include people holding banners salmon art and boxes of petitions.
Background on GMO salmon and market rejection of the GMO salmon is available at www.gefreeseafood.org
For more information, contact Danielle Friedman, organizing director at the Community Alliance for Global Justice, and Dana Perls, food and technology campaigner for Friends of the Earth.
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Expert contacts:
Danielle Friedman, (206) 910-7877, [email protected]
Dana Perls, (925) 705-1074, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]