By Steven Milloy
Copyright 2002 JunkScience.com
February 26, 2002

Start with one large, well-known company which prides and markets itself on a record of corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship. Add a dose of false and misleading health claims, a dash of fear and a healthy serving of threats. Shake (down) vigorously. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat...

That's the basic recipe the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and the Genetically Engineered Food Alert coalition (GEFA) are serving to Starbucks Coffee Company and unsuspecting latte consumers this month. So while you wait in line for your double-mocha half-caff latte, you may wonder what horrible crimes your corner coffee store committed to incur the wrath of the tofu ovo-lacto-free picket line you crossed to get your morning fix. Rest assured, Starbucks' only crime was in taking the bait and attempting to negotiate with protest groups seeking to take your morning ritual hostage.

The OCE and GEFA are the work of several organic-industry funded Washington, D.C.-based activists groups including the Center for Food Safety and Greenpeace. Conveniently GEFA is represented by Greenpeace's PR firm Fenton Communications. Fenton, which is responsible for a long list of misleading food and health scares, also happens to represent many of the organic and natural products industry clients footing the bills for many of these campaigns. You see, this industry's polling and market research shows that food scares, particularly those involving biotechnology, increase sales of their highly-priced and highly-profitable organic and natural products.

Here is a simple warning for companies which seek a mantle of social responsibly and environmental stewardship - you will become a target for extortion campaigns by special interest groups who perceive your intentions as weakness. It's good for business, well your competitors anyway. And, it keeps the protest groups in the money while the rest of us work for a living. How do we know you'll be a target? They publicly tell us.

"We believe that Starbucks is the weakest link in the chain because their customer base cares about the environment and cares about social justice and cares about their health... They're being punished partly for their overzealous public relations stand," Ronnie Cummins, leader of the Organic Consumers Association told the Associated Press. In letters to Starbucks, Cummins issued ultimatums that Starbucks meet 100 percent of his demands or "you will face a significant public relations problem..." Specifically Cummins threatens, "Imagine a press conference where we stand outside a Starbucks location and test your Cappuchinos for the presence of rBGH... Of course we would be delighted if you would move to an all organic milk line."

Aside from Cummins' inability to spell "cappuccino" and that according to the American Medical Association and U.S. Food and Drug Administration there is no such test - milk from cows supplemented with bGH is exactly the same as all other milk, including organic - Cummins campaign against Starbucks has created quite a stir at corporate headquarters in Seattle.

To placate Cummins, Starbucks has changed their menus to stock costly organic soy and dairy alternatives as a choice for consumers who have fallen prey to the false and misleading claims that these organic products are healthier, safer or more nutritious than their more affordable (and often more environmentally and farmer friendly) counterparts. Still, that is not enough for the protesters' organic protection racket campaign.

Cummins added in an e-mail to his followers, "Starbucks is clearly rattled by the OCA market pressure campaign... Now all we've got to do is to keep up the pressure on Starbucks until they meet all of our demands. After Starbucks surrenders then we can turn our market pressure campaigns on the other, even larger, food and beverage companies: the national and regional supermarket chains, industry giants..."

Well, we get the point, if OCA gets Starbucks to cave, no one is safe.

What is the OCA? Who supports their efforts? In past years, OCA's web site and leaflets proclaimed financial support from various organic and natural product companies. Yet, until recently this group claimed to have insufficient revenues to even report federal tax returns for non-profit organizations. However, in the year (2000) they joined up with the Genetically Engineered Food Alert coalition, OCA's coffers will filled with over $800,000 from un-named donors. Prior to 1998 OCA was reported to be a project of the Center for Food Safety, one of GEFA's coordinating organizations. OCA president Ronnie Cummins is a self-described director of a for-profit consulting firm, media consultant, social change activist and writer of children's books on Cuba. While that certainly does not quality him as an expert on food issues, that hasn't stopped him.

In addition to his recent crusade demanding Starbucks serve 100 percent organic coffee and milk, Cummins has also led campaigns to ban beef from McDonalds, demanded tax-payer subsidies for humanely raised organic foods, and coordinated "global days of action" to shut down supermarkets, companies and government offices which don't agree to his views on such issues as animal testing, use of fertilizer and other offenses to his political and social values.

Cummins is also listed as an organizer of Greenpeople, a group which services the "eco-friendly" products industry and provides vegetarian dating services. Similar to his current efforts, Greenpeople employees the same tactic of targeting the competitors of their organic and "socially-responsible" member companies by threatening their reputations and using the Internet for misleading and false disinformation campaigns. Greenpeople, in addition to hosting OCA's web campaigns efforts against Starbucks (a.k.a. Frankenbucks in OCA lingo), is also host to dozens of rogue and heretofore anonymous "YourCompany-Sucks" web sites targeting everyone from Kmart to Pepsi.

Apparently neither Martha Stewart nor Brittany Spears are safe from the extortion-like reach of these eco-entrepreneurs who profiteer from fear. Unlike Starbucks, though, more established companies - comfortable with public perceptions of their reputation based on good products and deeds rather than the proclamation of protest groups - know enough to not take their bait.

So while you're fighting your way past grizzled protestors demanding you purchase organic-soy milk cappuccinos and lacto-free scones, don't give them the time of day and they'll find someone else to shakedown.