Californian politician Peter Camejo (b. 1939) initiated the Avocado Declaration in January 2004 as part of the Avocado Education Project to explain how the Green Party of the United States needed to adopt a firm and uncompromising identity to promote its values and combat opposition from the more powerful Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. The name "Avocado Declaration" references the ideal of party members being like the avocado: "Green on the inside; green on the outside." The declaration is the principal document of the group Greens for Democracy and Independence.