Announcing the Organic Consumers 2006 Political Candidate Survey and Voter Guide

Putting Organics on the Table in the 2006 Elections

America's 50 million organic consumers are already a potent force in the marketplace. With $15 billion in annual sales, and 25% of consumers buying organic products regularly, our alternative system has become the fastest growing and most promising segment of the nation's food and farming sector. Unfortunately most politicians have not, up until now, paid that much attention to our concerns. To expand organic acreage and sales while safeguarding strict standards, and to deal with a number of interrelated and absolutely crucial issues, it is time to organize ourselves and other progressive consumers and voters into a potent force for change in the political arena.

To jump start this process, the first of its kind in the U.S., the Organic Consumers Fund is compiling a non-partisan 2006 Political Candidate Survey and Voter Guide to educate the public about the current positions of thousands of incumbents and challengers in the Nov. 2006 local, state, and federal elections, as well as the past voting records of the 535 members of Congress.

The goal is to distribute the following questionnaire to every candidate in your area and to let them know that a significant number of their constituents want them to answer the questions. Some candidates have already replied, while others, mostly incumbents and leading major-party candidates, will need a little encouragement from organic and green-minded voters in their states and districts.

Following the completion of the Organic Consumers Political Candidate Survey and Voter Guide in October, the Guide will be distributed via email, telephone, mail, and websites to millions of organic consumers across the country, starting with the 850,000-person data base of the Organic Consumers Fund.