On March 7th, 2015 about 25 people gathered in front of the Seattle Costco to deliver over 50,000 petitions from around the country asking Costco to commit to not selling Genetically Engineered (GE) salmon even if approved by the FDA. Read here for more info about this issue and campaign, coordinated by CAGJ’s Food Justice Project with the support of Friends of the Earth.
We were excited to get excellent TV coverage with a spot on KiroTV a few days before the action!
When Saturday rolled around, it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day, the perfect day to hand out leaflets to Costco customers and ask them to sign the petition. We were accompanied by a beat to get our message across by the amazing marching band, Movitas. We had street theater with paper mache fish and a giant banner that read “Tell Costco: Say NO to GE Salmon. #no gmosalmon cagj.org”. See pictures from this bright, colorful and fun action here.
One of the highlights of the action was the mini-rally where we heard from local speakers affected by this issue. Pete Knutson, a local salmon fisherman who runs Loki Fish Co. with his family, spoke passionately about the issue of GE Salmon and how it would affect our ecosystem, our culture and our economics (watch the video).
Unfortunately, Costco would not let us on their property and refused to accept the petitions. (Really, Costco?) So, we need to set another date to deliver the petitions directly to their headquarters in Issaquah. If you are interested in being involved in this campaign, please contact the Food Justice Project.
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