Fishy Food Cars Announce 6,000 Mile Tri-Coastal Tour
Journey from Seattle to New York for GMO Labeling Begins November 7
WASHINGTON, DC – On November 7, GMO labeling activists will set out on a cross-country 6,083-mile journey from Seattle to New York City for the “Are We Eating Fishy Food? Tri-Coastal Tour.” The tour features five mutant GMO art cars fitted with 300 pound roof-mounted sculptures that call attention to the need for labeling genetically engineered (GMO) food. The tour begins two days after the world learns if voters in Washington state approved I-522 requiring labels for food that has been genetically engineered.
The food democracy activists hope their second cross country tour will further activate Americans on the need for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to label GMO food as is done in 64 other countries. A video with highlights from the first cross-country tour can be found at www.AreWeEatingFishyFood.com along with background on each of the art cars.
“The Fishy Food art car fleet’s cross-country swim from Seattle to New York will get people talking about the importance of GMO labeling,” says David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, whose company supported the creation of the art cars.
The first tour visited thirteen states and nine state capitals in August in a 3,300-mile journey from Washington, DC, home of the fishy food cars, to Seattle to support Yes on 522 campaign. The new Tri-Coastal Tour will follow a complete schedule and can be found at www.AreWeEatingFishyFood.com/tour/
“People want healthier food than what GMO food has to offer,” says Rica Madrid, coordinator of the Are We Eating Fishy Food? Tour. “You can measure the impact these educational vehicles have by the reaction and excitement they generate and the large number of shares we see in social media,” says Madrid.
Since 2011 citizen activism has pushed for information about what’s in our food. That year, the Right to Know March for GMO labeling walked 313 miles from Brooklyn, NY to the gates of the White House in Washington, DC to demand President Obama act on his promise to label GMO food.
Genetic Engineering means more herbicide. Chemical companies genetically engineer DNA from bacteria into food crops to either produce or tolerate the chemicals they sell. No long-term independent safety studies have been performed on adverse health effects of GMO eating GMOs. Overuse of pesticide creates resistant superweeds and superbugs, which leads to increased chemical application. Now chemical companies like Monsanto and Dow are engineering resistance in food crops to much more toxic weed killers like Dicamba and 2,4 D, the main ingredient in Agent Orange.
Currently 64 countries—EU nations, China, Russia, Japan, Brazil, and South Africa included—require labeling of GMOs; US consumers can currently only rely on voluntary labeling to determine whether food products have been altered through genetic engineering.
Origins of the FishyFood Cars
The first car in the Fishy Food fleet was “Poppy,” aka the Fishy Corn Car. Created in September 2011 by César Maxit and the DC51 Artist Collective, Fishy Corn accompanied the Right2Know March, as a support vehicle carrying leaflets, organic snacks and water as it raised awareness with marchers. Fishy Corn then went to Monsanto headquarters in Creve Coeur, Missouri for the 2012 annual shareholder meeting with activist Adam Eidinger. He parked the car on the agribusiness giant’s campus and debated Monsanto’s CEO Hugh Grant on GMO labeling during the meeting. A secret video of the encounter went viral online shortly afterwards.
In January 2013, Maxit began building four more mutant cars using extensive volunteer labor from the Washington, DC artist community. Since then, Fishy Sugar Beet aka “Rooty,” Fishy Apple aka “Goldie,” Fishy Soybean aka “Soja Girl,” and, most recently, Fishy Tomato aka “K-Sup” have driven across America. Collectively, the cars have been driven over 120,000 miles.
Members of the media are encouraged to embed with the Are We Eating Fishy Food? fleet for some or all of the tour. Contact Adam Eidinger at 202-744-2671 or [email protected] to make arrangements.
The other day Fishy Corn & Fishy Apple were in Tacoma, Washington and had their photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Ted S. Warren. Here are some of the places the photograph has been used on-line:
Washington residents may notice two cars unlike any others. A wide-eyed tan and green fish/beet known as “Rooty” and a cherry red fish/tomato known as “K-Sup” smile down at spectators from the tops of two cars.
The cars were created for the Right2KnowMarch against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Washington D.C. this summer and were driven across the country to Washington state in mid-August.
Nancy Metcalf, a local anti-GMO activist, has been driving K-Sup since August.
“[My car] features what was known as the ‘flavor savor tomato,’” Metcalf said. “It was the first genetically engineered food available on the market to consumers, but it totally failed because people were not trustworthy of GMO food at that time.”
The red tomatoes were injected with flounder fish genes to help support America’s industrial food chain to keep tomatoes ripe on the vine longer during cold months, Metcalf said.
Except the GMO chemicals injected into the soil inhibit the plant from absorbing all the minerals it needs to be healthy, Metcalf said.
In return people who eat the plant are also mineral deficient, Metcalf said.
The car also captures the attention of many onlookers.
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“One day I went out to run errands and thought it would take me about an hour and a half, but it ended up taking me about four hours because I ended up chatting with so many people about the car and about GMOs,” Metcalf said.
Reactions to the cars have been almost entirely positive with people smiling and waving as it putters down the road.
“We’ve only had one person loud and proud flip us the bird,” Metcalf said.
At first, Metcalf said she was very cautious driving over 55 mph. On windy days she can feel K-Sup wiggling on top of the car.
The key is to accelerate and take corners slowly as well as give cars in front a comfortable distance, Metcalf said.
K-Sup has been driven back and forth to Washington multiple times in order to raise awareness for GMOs in support of Initiative Measure No. 522, which would require GMOs to be clearly labeled and is featured on the general election ballot in November.
The other cars feature fishy-wheat, fish-corn and fishy-apple, fishy-soybean and fishy-sugar beet. They will tour the country a second time back to their proper owners in Washington D.C. by New Year’s.
The cars were designed by César Maxit and built by fiberglass and welding specialist David Jackson from Washington D.C., with funding from Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, according to the Label GMO Food website.
The sculptures on the cars are reinforced with steel and the shape was molded with chicken wire and papier-mâché with a fiberglass glossy finish, Metcalf said.
Metcalf will continue to drive the cars until after the November election, she said.
Moms across America deserve to know what they are feeding their families. This mother spotted the Fishy Fleet while driving with her daughter last month. A big thanks goes out to mothers like her who have helped put Initiative 522 on the ballot in Washington state.
At the Seattle Justice Begins with Seeds Conference, Florence Vincent talks about the Yes On 522 campaign, shows a box of Kellogg’s cereal she purchased in the UK and driving grandmother, Label GMOs Initial Instigator and Chief Robble Rouser Pamm Larry around the state on her September Grassroots Speaking Tour.
• Nation Weighs In On State’s Genetically Engineered Food Label Law Initiative
By Cindy Teixeira, Nisqually Valley News Correspondent
Seen around the Nisqually Valley and Olympia quite a lot lately is “Poppy,” the fishy corncob which sits atop a small Ford driven by Florence Vincent.
It grabs attention wherever it goes just as it’s meant to do, she said.
“It’s so much fun to drive,” she said.
“Poppy” is one of five “fishy” cars that will soon be making their way around the state to bring awareness to Initiative 522, a law requiring genetically modified foods to be labeled.
The other cars are “K-Sup,” the fishy tomato; “Rooty,” a fishy sugar beet; “Goldie,” a fishy apple; and “Soja Girl,” fishy soy.
The cars are on tour across the country and several arrived in time to make an appearance at Seattle’s Hempfest last month.
Washington has become the battleground for GMO labeling since a similar bill in California was defeated. According to Vincent, the law was trounced by opponents of labeling because they spent a lot of money to frighten people into thinking labeling would cost consumers more at the register.
Vincent bought a box of American brand-name cereal on a recent trip to England and totes it around to prove her point. The box has no GMO label because, she said, the company decided to change the recipe in order to avoid having to label it.
“It only cost me $3,” she said.
I-522 means different things depending who you ask.
For two Yelm women, labeling provides information which helps them shop. To Rosie Sowles, labeling means freedom to decide for herself, while Kathy Peterson believes non-GMO food tastes better.
Opponents say GMO food is scientifically safe and there is no need to scare people away from it with labels.
Proponents say they want to know which food is genetically modified. Some will extol the evils of genetically modified food, but I-522 is not about food safety, per se.
I-522 separates itself as supporting a consumer’s right-to-know and leaves the crusade against GMOs out of the discussion.
In a recent email, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she supports efforts to “promote agricultural research, food safety, nutrition education and consumer awareness.”
She supports consumer awareness “without imposing extraordinary burdens on producers.”
“During Senate floor consideration of the 2013 Farm Bill, Senator Sanders offered an amendment to allow states to have a label indicating that the food, beverage, or other edible product contains a genetically engineered or genetically modified ingredient.
“I supported this amendment, but it failed by a vote of 27 to 71,” Murray said.
The biggest funder(s) of NO on 522 are coming to Seattle. We need your help welcoming them to our fine city.
It’s time to rally for transparency. It’s time to call on them to stop funding a campaign that keeps shoppers in the dark about what’s in their food. It’s time to mix it up!
Bring your own signs and other props. Creativity strongly encouraged.
