SAFeAGE Campaigns

Initially SAFeAGE was established as an umbrella organisation for NGO's working on the GMO issue. In 2005 we started our first campaign. We called it : Say No to GMO!

In 2006-08 we ran two consumer campaigns. These were aimed to educate consumers about the problems of GMOs and also to create a list of foods that tested positive and negative for GM content.

Our current campaign is called FoodWise. FoodWise is a combination of all the work that SAFeAGE does. This includes awareness-raising, labelling issues, lobby and advocacy and education.

We encourage volunteers to take action in collaboration with us. These are some of the actions one can take: 

• Organise a trolley run. Take some friends along to your local supermarket and fill your trolleys full of food that may contain GMOs. Put all the food through the checkout, and when asked to pay, ask the cashier whether any of the foods contain GMOs. They will of course not know, if they have not already called the manager, ask to speak to him or her. When the manager arrives, ask whether the food you have purchased contains GMOs. They too will not know. Apologise and say that you unfortunately cannot take the risk of buying the food. Download the trolley run information sheet (260K) for more information, and download the trolley run flyers (94K) to hand out to other customers, and even the manager!
• Raise your concerns in letters to editors of newspapers, community, church and club publications, magazines and on talkback radio shows. For model letters see :
  Letter to SA Government telling them we don't want GMOs due to contamination
  Letter calling for more thorough investigation
  Letter to SA Government re labelling
  Letter to your CODEX representative re labelling
• Ask your local food retailers, cafes, restaurants for GE-Free choices.
• Buy organic food (no chemicals or GE allowed) or grow your own.
• Let your friends, family, neighbours, club members know about this.
• Contact SAFeAGE for a VIDEO/DVD showing and talk and Q/A session for your group.