Don't Plant GMO Beets

A total of 63 leading U.S. restaurant, food, beverage and candy companies - including such household names as McDonald's, Campbell Soup, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, PepsiCo, Wendy's and Hershey's - are the focus of a major Web-based campaign at www.dontplantgmobeets.org seeking to block the April 2008 planting of genetically modified sugar beets. The genetically modified sugar beet crop would be used to make the sugar contained in thousands of the most widely consumed food products in the U.S., according to the Web site created by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) - a broad-based coalition of nearly 300 faith-based investors with over $100 billion in invested capital.

Don't Plant GMO Beets

Leslie Lowe, director, Energy & Environment Program, Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, said: "This is a front-burner brand, reputation and consumer confidence issue for the biggest U.S. companies that sell food, drink, candy and other products containing sugar. These companies face major potential backlashes if they do not act now to stop the use of genetically modified sugar from sugar beets. Not only can these companies send a clear signal that they will not buy, but they have done this sort of thing before.

McDonald's does not use genetically engineered potatoes. General Mills will not use genetically engineered wheat. Anheuser Busch does not use genetically engineered rice. Heinz has a policy of 'seeking to avoid' genetically modified organisms. Campbell's Soup Co. does not use genetically engineered tomatoes even though the company helped to develop such a tomato. Now, it is time for these companies and others to make it clear again that they are not going to try to sneak genetically modified sugar into the diets of Americans."

ABOUT ICCR

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is a coalition of nearly 300
faith-based institutional investors, representing over $100 billion in
invested capital. ICCR members bridge the divide between morality and markets
by envisioning a civic economy that integrates ethical, environmental and
social values. Inspired by faith, committed to action, ICCR members work to
build a just and sustainable global community. For more information on ICCR,
visit Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility : Home.