More than 150,000 people already have formally petitioned Starbucks to stop serving milk from genetically modified cows, and that’s just a drop in the milk bucket thanks to an international “social media day of action” planned for this weekend.
Tens of thousands of additional consumers are expected to join the one-day protest on Sunday, October 5th, letting Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz know – via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – to drop the GMO milk in favor of organic, or at least milk from cows certified to be GMO-free.
In contrast, Pret A Manger, another quick service chain, already serves only organic dairy and soy at comparable prices. Their stated mission is to serve natural foods and avoid preservatives and chemicals.
The social media day of action is sponsored by GMO Inside, Organic Consumers Association, Friends of the Earth, Food Democracy Now!, Food Revolution Network, Institute for Responsible Technology, Cornucopia, and the mommy blogs Mamavation and FoodBabe.
The groups are arming their members with coordinated content and postings for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and will jointly use the hashtag: #OrganicMilkNext.
Green America’s GMO Inside Campaign Director Nicole McCann said: “When 150,000 Starbucks consumers send a message to the CEO’s office, you would expect a company of Starbucks’ caliber and reputation to sit up and pay attention. We are hoping that the combination of the overwhelming message from our petition and upcoming social media day will get Starbucks off the dime in dumping milk from cows fed GMOs.”
GMOs in the dairy industry are generally growth hormones, to get cows fatter faster, and produce more milk. To many activists and nutritionists, GMOs present long-term environmental and health concerns. But GMOs also are used in the production of the feed that cows eat. GMO Inside and its partners report that genetically modified corn and other grains are more resistant to pesticides and herbicides, which requires greater use of these toxic chemicals.
What’s your opinion of GMOs?
What’s your opinion of Starbucks serving milk from cows fed GMOs?
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