One Minute Activist
September 2005

This month we ask PBS Station KVIE to be sure that their "American Heartland" program is balanced, and not merely propaganda bought and paid for by Monsanto.

One Minute Activist letters are available on the bulletin boards at both stores. Or download a printable version of this letter to print from your computer.

Text of September's One Minute Activist Letter:

Mr. David Hosley, President and General Manager
KVIE
PO Box 6
Sacramento, CA 95812
September 2005

Dear Mr. Hosley,

I am writing to express my concern over the potential for unbalanced coverage of American agriculture in the forthcoming PBS series, "America's Heartland."

PBS bears a responsibility to present viewers with a complete picture of the subject it is covering. Promotional materials for "America's Heartland" indicate that the program will feature farmers, ranchers, and others who embrace sustainable food production techniques. I welcome the attention to these individuals and commend their innovative approaches to agriculture. But I am concerned that the series will present a misleading picture of these innovators as the mainstream of American agriculture. In fact, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of U.S. agriculture consists of cropping systems dependent upon heavy applications of synthetic chemical pesticides that can be harmful to human health, fertilizers that pollute our waterways, and animal factories that squander medically important antibiotics and further taint our air and water.

I am also worried about the portrayal of genetic engineering. A series trailer shows a scientist extolling the virtues of genetic engineering amidst idealized scenes of pastoral life, a clip that could be mistaken for a Monsanto advertisement. You owe it to your viewers to present the myriad reasons why most sustainable farmers, and many consumers, shun genetically engineered crops. If program sponsors object to a balanced portrayal of the debate surrounding this controversial technology, it would be more honest to drop discussion of the topic from the series than to present a one-sided view.

There is much to celebrate about the hardworking people who grow the food that nourishes this country, and your series is a unique opportunity to celebrate these people while increasing public understanding of the serious issues facing American agriculture. I admire the role public television plays in providing valuable public education and quality programming, and so I encourage you to uphold PBS's well-earned standard of independence and balance. Please expand the scope of "America's Heartland" to include views at odds with the interests of the series' sponsors.

Sincerely,

Name__________________________Signature___________________________

Address____________________________________________________________

Phone_________________email_______________________________________
Thanks to The Union Of Concerned Scientists