Consumer Alert
Consumer Alert was founded in 1977 and described itself as a 'national, non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization for people concerned about the excessive growth of government regulation at the national and state levels.' It said it 'is dedicated to informing the public of the consumer benefits of competitive enterprise and to promoting sound economic, scientific, and risk data in public policy decisions. Consumer Alert did work in the areas of biotech, trade, pesticides, agriculture subsidies, and labeling .' (emphasis added)
Its Executive Director was Fran Smith, the wife of Fred Smith, the former President and Founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where she now works.
Consumer Alert consistently lobbied against the labelling of GM foods. Fran Smith also attacked the Biosafety Protocol.
On its advisory board it had Elizabeth Whelan, director of the American Council on Science and Health, and Henry Miller, who was a Senior Research Fellow of the Hoover Institution at the time.
Consumer Alert was also a leading member of the National Consumer Coalition and its Food Group, which was constituted by Consumer Alert, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Center for Global Food Issues - a project of the Hudson Institute, and the American Council on Science and Health .
Consumer Alert may have ceased operations. Its former website, www.consumeralert.org, is no longer online but it formerly included articles by Henry Miller, Michael Fumento and Fran Smith. It also published an early version of CS Prakash's 'declaration of support' for 'agricultural biotechnology', which it helped to launch and in which its sister organisation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, played a key role. Amongst the signatories is an employee of Monsanto's Internet PR company Bivings who registered the website of the fake agricultural institute, the Center for Food and Agricultural Research.
Consumer Alert
