Support the Federal Labeling of GMOs

The defeat of Prop 37, the California ballot that would have required genetically engineered foods to be labeled, was certainly a disappointment, but it clearly added fuel to the fire! We are now seeing similar ballot measures pop up across the country, and now it’s on the federal level! Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) have sponsored new federal legislation, that would require the labeling of all GE foods; the first labeling bill to be introduced in the Senate in over a decade!?The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act was introduced in both the Senate and the House! Now is the time to write to your elected officials and let them know that you are in favor of GMO labeling. Thanks to emails sent over the last two weeks, nine Senators and twenty-one Representatives have signed on to the bill as original co-sponsors. Now it?s time to push all Senators and Representatives to support the bill! Without mandatory labeling of GE foods, consumers are being left in the dark about the foods we are purchasing and feeding our families. There is overwhelming public demand?near 95%?for the labeling of GE foods.? Yet the U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn?t require labeling; sixty-four countries have mandatory labeling policies for GMO’s. Tell Congress it?s time to finally pass a GE food labeling bill in 2013?Support the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act!

Nestl?: Stop Trying to Patent and Control the Curative Power of Nigella Sativa

Nigella Sativa — more commonly known as fennel flower — has been used as a cure-all remedy for over a thousand years. It treats everything from vomiting to fevers to skin diseases, and has been widely available in impoverished communities across the Middle East and Asia. But now, Nestl? is claiming to own it, and filing patent claims around the world to try and take control over the natural cure of the fennel flower. That would turn it into a costly private drug for their profit! In a paper published last year, Nestl? scientists claimed to ?discover? what much of the world has known for millennia: that Nigella Sativa extract could be used for ?nutritional interventions in humans with food allergy?. But instead of creating an artificial substitute, or fighting to make sure the remedy was widely available, Nestl? is attempting to create a Nigella Sativa monopoly, and gain the ability to sue anyone using it without Nestl??s permission. Nestl? has filed patent applications — which are currently pending — around the world. Prior to Nestl?’s outlandish patent claim, researchers in developing nations such as Egypt and Pakistan, had already published studies on the same curative powers Nestl? is claiming as its own. We know Nestl? doesn?t care about ethics, but if we act fast, we can put enough pressure on Nestl? to get it to drop its patent plans before they harm anyone. If we want any chance at affecting?Nestl?’s decision, we have to speak out now!

Stop the Approval of More GE Crops!

The USDA recently announced the availability of a petition for a new GE alfalfa, marking the 20^th GE crop currently awaiting USDA?s approval. Alfalfa is an open-pollinated crop, meaning it is much more likely than corn or soybeans to contaminate nearby non-GE fields with the help of wind or insects. This crop poses special risks for organic alfalfa and for organic dairy farms whose crops may be contaminated. Additionally, the review was performed three years ago and a lot has changed since then. Since 2010, the number of Roundup-resistant weeds has grown from 11 to 14 and the amount of land infested with these weeds has grown from a reported 2 million acres in 2010 to industry estimates of more than 60 million acres in 2012. Along with the alfalfa, there are six other GE crops up for consideration. Even though scientists around the country are clamoring for a better solution to our growing problem with these “super weeds,” the USDA seems intent on approving crops resistant to progressively deadlier herbicides. The USDA is close to approving another round of genetically engineered (GE or GMO) crops that have been fast-tracked through their approval process. The seven crops up for consideration, are the latest step in the on-going fight between industrialized agriculture and the rapidly evolving, herbicide-resistance movement. Submit a comment to the USDA today, demanding they reject these GE crops, and look for new solutions for weed management.? Sign this petition.

Help Pass a Fair Food and Farm Bill

Right now, the 2013 Food and Farm Bill needs to be our focus! Both the Senate and House Ag Committees are starting up their considerations again in May. Several “marker bills” and other preliminary measures have been proposed that can lead the way, perhaps, to a good, clean, and fair 2013 Food and Farm Bill (FFB).? They address, SNAP (aka; food stamps), young farmer and rancher credit, support for beginning farmers, and measures that support regional food systems. The sponsors of these measures are looking for the support of their colleagues, in the Senate and the House, respectively. Now would be the time for everyone to contact their Senators and Representatives, urging them to sign-on to these new “slow” measures.? The more sponsors we can get, the more likely it would be for these measures to find their way into the 2013 FFB debate. Attached are two sample letters, one to Senators and one to Representatives, that you can customize and send, via snail mail or by cutting and pasting them into the “contact” pages on their official House and Senate sites.? In the Senate, all six Senators representing the NE Region, NY, NJ, and CT, have signed on in support of SNAP, so we must thank them.? As for the marker bills, none have, and we should urge the Senators to do so. In the House, we should urge as many Representatives as possible to support the House Resolution on SNAP, and the two House marker bills on local food and beginning farmers.