Sometimes David Beats Goliath

Posted by power to the peaceful on 10/02/09 • Categorized as Featured Articles, Health

This is a letter I just received that I would like to share with you. Where our food comes from is important. How our food is being manufactured is important. Our food sources and our choices are important.

Oct. 2, 2009

Thanks to the support of great activists like you, we had a huge victory this week. After delivering countless petition signatures and making hundreds of phone calls to Congress, it looks like we’ve finally convinced Congress to hold chicken processed in China to the same standards as chicken from here in the U.S. This is great news, and we couldn’t have done this without you, so we’d like to say thank you for all your great work on this issue.

So, how did we make this happen? For the last couple years, we’ve turned up the heat up on Congress with lots of help from our great supporters like you. After two years of calling your Representatives and signing petitions, it all came together last week when we delivered a petition with almost 18,000 signatures to key members of Congress. The message was clear: we don’t want Chinese chicken unless it’s held the same standard as chicken from here in the U.S.

This was a true David versus Goliath story, and we won because of all the support that you’ve given. We don’t have the money that big agribusiness can bring to the table, so our strength comes from folks like you who stand up and take action. This victory is huge not only because it makes our food supply safer, but also because it shows the power of ordinary individuals when we stand up together. It shows that all of us are more powerful than agribusiness giants like Tyson, Cargill, and Smithfield.

Because of all your great work, Chinese processors must meet the same safety standards as processors in the U.S. before any chicken processed in China is allowed into the country. For more info on this issue, you can check out the statement from our Executive Director Wenonah Hauter.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

Sincerely,

Alex Beauchamp

Organizer, Food Team

Food & Water Watch, Washington, DC