Organic Bytes #54 - Special ACTION Issue
4/4/2005
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BREAKING THE CHAINS: BUYING LOCAL, ORGANIC & FAIR MADE
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is proud to announce the launch of a new and ambitious global campaign called Breaking the Chains: Buy Local, Organic, and Fair Made. Beginning Earth Day Week (April 22- 29), OCA network volunteers will host hundreds of Earth Day Week dinner potlucks across North America, where we will gather with family and friends to share an organic meal, watch the new stimulating and entertaining 15 minute DVD called The True Cost of Food, and talk about how we can help “break the chains” of mindless and self-destructive consumerism.
The quality and range of America’s daily essentials is being dictated and degraded by a powerful network of Brand Name Bullies and Big Box chains. By “outsourcing” from sweatshops in the factories and fields, by cutting corners on public health and the environment, and by sucking up billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, business behemoths such as Wal-Mart have constructed a vast global shopping mall of cheap goods and conveniences, reinforced by a non-stop, 24/7 glut of multi-media distractions. LEARN MORE: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm
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HOW CONSUMERS ARE CHANGING THE MARKETPLACE
Fortunately, health-minded and ethically responsible consumers are rattling the chains of global corporate commerce. By patronizing local, independently owned stores, coops, restaurants, and coffee shops, and by shunning chain stores and socially irresponsible companies and brands, more and more consumers are rewarding producers and businesses that “do the right thing.” A good example of this international marketplace insurgency is the $30 billion global organic food market. At current rates of growth, most grocery store items in the industrialized world will be organic within 20 years, providing a solid livelihood for millions of small farmers around the world. Certified Fair Trade products are another important growth sector, with $500 million in annual sales. LEARN MORE: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm
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WORKING TOGETHER TO BREAK THE CHAINS
The OCA believes that the next step in this greening and re-localization of the global economy is to take a more visible public stand. By working together, across communities and national borders, we can leverage the enormous collective economic clout of the world’s organic and ethically conscious consumers. To move us along this road, OCA invites you to participate in the launch of our Breaking the Chains (BTC) campaign during Earth Day Week.
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HOST A "BREAKING THE CHAINS" HOUSE PARTY
During Earth Day Week, OCA invites you to join organic consumers across North America April 22-29 in Breaking the Chains by hosting an Earth Day organic dinner. At hundreds of potlucks and dinners, OCA network members, friends, and family will dine on organic food and drink, watch a powerful and humorous 15 minute DVD called the "True Cost of Food" (suitable for viewing for both children and adults), and share ideas on how we can spread the movement to "Buy Local, Organic, and Fair Made." For a donation of $25 (to cover expenses), OCA will send you the "True Cost of Food" DVD, a free set of conversation-stimulating Earth Dinner creativity cards by Douglas Love, sample invitations to get people to attend your Earth Day Dinner, and the OCA's Breaking the Chains Action Guide, with articles, ideas, and resources. Please click here to order your Breaking the Chains House Party packet: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm
In September, Organic Harvest Month, OCA will organize another round of House Parties and community events. Finally, starting November 25 (the day after Thanksgiving), OCA and our allies will organize a series of Global Days of Action to kick-off Buy Local Month, which will extend until New Year's Day 2006. During this period OCA will attempt to get over one million consumers to sign our petition and take the "Buy Local, Organic, and Fair Made" pledge, to boycott the chains, and to align our values with our consumer dollars. Visit OCA's Breaking the Chains action center for more ideas and resources: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm
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TAKE THE PLEDGE TO BUY LOCAL,ORGANIC & FAIR MADE
Sign the OCA's Breaking the Chains petition/pledge. Our goal is for one million people to join us in Breaking the Chains by December. Urge your local businesses, community organizations, coffee houses, environmental groups, and churches to do the same! Click here to sign the BTC Pledge: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm
We need your help to spread this campaign far and wide. Please forward this email to every ethically concerned consumer in your address book. Consumers of the world unite. We have nothing to lose but our chains!
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ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION 6101 Cliff Estate Road Little Marais, MN 55614 Phone: (218) 226-4164 Fax: (218) 353-7652
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