Act before Wednesday February 9th! Farmers First!
Its time to push for change! Let's stop dangerous crops like genetically engineered alfalfa.
Bill C-474 would support Canadian farmers by requiring that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.” If the Bill is passed this February it would stop GE wheat and GE alfalfa.
The final vote on Bill C-474 will happen on February 9th in the House of Commons and there will be a 5-hour debate the day before!
You can take action before February 9th that will make a difference:
1. Write your Member of Parliament one last time to ask them to vote for Bill C-474 on Feb 9th, and ask them to participate in the debate on Feb 8th. Send a letter from: http://www.cban.ca/474action
2. The Liberal Party must support the Bill! Write the Liberals instantly from: http://www.cban.ca/liberalact474
3. Call your MP on Monday, Tuesday or even Wednesday! You can search for your MP’s phone number at http://www.parl.gc.ca
You can watch the Tuesday night debate and the Wednesday vote live from www.parl.gc.ca
Debate: The debate will be up to 5 hours and will start at around 6:30.
Final Vote: Bill C-474 will be one of many votes beginning at 5:30PM.
Watch and Share the new You Tube Video on 474 and GE food: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH9NwvrVh3U
For more information: http://www.cban.ca/47
Important Updates on Bill C-474:
Victory for Democracy in Canada on Genetic Engineering! Unprecedented debate on Bill C-474, February 8: Your actions are working! Despite biotech industry attempts to shut down debate, on December 1st in the House of Commons, the New Democratic Party secured a new 5-hour debate on Bill C-474 and the impacts of genetic engineering for February 8. This type of debate on genetic engineering in the House of Commons has never happened before! Now every MP will have a chance to participate in the debate on Bill C-474. Email your Member of Parliament one last time to ask them to support the Bill and speak up in the debate – you can send your letter instantly from http://www.cban.ca/474action Stay tuned to www.cban.ca/474 for updates and to follow the final debate with CBAN.
Hearings on Bill C-474 shut down by Conservatives and Liberals: On October 27, a procedural motion to extend the debate on Bill C-474 was defeated in the House of Commons. The motion would have extended Agriculture Committee hearings on Bill C-474 but was defeated 134 yea, 139 nay because too many Liberals were missing from Parliament, including Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff! The Conservatives voted to end the hearings in order to protect the biotech industry. Hearings that were scheduled for the morning after the vote were abruptly cancelled and the President of the National Farmers Union, who was scheduled to testify, was turned away from Parliament.
Liberals look for a way to vote against Bill C-474: The Liberals let the Conservatives shut down the hearings on Bill C-474 and the Liberals cooperated with the Conservatives to set up a new (and useless) study on the biotech industry. The study will gives industry a new public relations platform and distracts MPs from the problems with genetic engineering: “That the Standing Committee on Agriculture & Agri-food conduct a study on the status of the Canadian biotechnology sector, in which it travels to the universities across Canada where this technology is primarily being undertaken, and that it recommend, where necessary, legislative, policy and regulatory changes in order to foster an innovative and fertile biotechnology industry in Canada.” Write the Liberals instantly from http://www.cban.ca/liberalact474
Donate today! Your financial contribution will help the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network educate Members of Parliament about the economic harm that GE crops can cause to farmers, and the immediate threat of GE alfalfa. http://www.cban.ca/donate
If you are not already subscribed to the CBAN News and Action Listserve and would like to, just go to http://www.cban.ca/About/CBAN-e-News
Thank you for your ongoing action on this important opportunity to make change!
Sincerely, Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network
Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN)
Collaborative Campaigning for Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice
431 Gilmour Street, Second Floor
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2P 0R5
Phone: 613 241 2267 ext. 25
Fax: 613 241 2506
coordinator@cban.ca
www.cban.ca
Please Note: our new phone extension is 25!
Bill C-474 is concrete action! Your actions are working! http://www.cban.ca/474
Subscribe to the CBAN News and Action Listserve http://www.cban.ca/About/CBAN-e-News
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Showing posts with label GMO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GMO. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
OSA to Challenge USDA's Approval of Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets
February 4, 2011
CONTACT
Kristina Hubbard, Director of Advocacy, (406) 493-6965, kristina@seedalliance.org
OSA to Challenge USDA's Approval of Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets
Partial Deregulation Comes Before Court-Ordered EIS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it is allowing genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets to be planted before its court-ordered Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is complete. Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) will once again challenge the agency in court alongside other coalition members represented by the Center for Food Safety. The decision comes just one week after USDA's full deregulation GE alfalfa.
In November 2010, USDA proposed a "partial deregulation" of GE sugar beets under a permitting process. This is a means to temporarily commercialize GE sugar beets while the EIS is conducted. USDA permits have historically only been used for experimental field trials, not wide-scale, commercial releases.
"USDA's decision dismisses the adverse economic effects that contamination by GE sugar beets will have on organic and non-GE seeds and crops," says Kristina Hubbard with Organic Seed Alliance. "This is a threat the agency continues to minimize."
As evidenced also by last week's deregulation of GE alfalfa, USDA continues to put the interests of the biotechnology industry before those of farmers and consumers who choose to plant and eat organic and non-GE products. Farmers have a right to purchase seed that is uncontaminated and the freedom to operate without ongoing fear, expense, and constraints on choice caused by the commercial planting of GE sugar beets. The courts have also stated that consumers have the right to choose GE-free food.
OSA has little confidence that USDA's oversight of GE sugar beet seed production is adequate for protecting the integrity of organic seed. USDA's own Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office have both criticized the agency's oversight of GE crops.
If contamination is not prevented, the burden of protecting the integrity of seed, agricultural products, and markets is solely on the shoulders of farmers who choose organic and non-GE seed. This is an unfair burden that is exacerbated by USDA's decision to release a GE crop that the federal court deemed improperly deregulated, especially before the findings of a full EIS are released.
"OSA works hard to create economic opportunities for farmers through participation in healthy, regional seed production and marketing systems that add value to their farm," says David Lively with Oregon-based Organically Grown Company and board member of Organic Seed Alliance. "USDA's decision affects current and future opportunities for farmers. The reality is simple: When farmers lose the genetic purity of their seed, they lose their freedom to operate free of GE contamination."
Read OSA's December 2010 comments in response to USDA's proposal.
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CONTACT
Kristina Hubbard, Director of Advocacy, (406) 493-6965, kristina@seedalliance.org
OSA to Challenge USDA's Approval of Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets
Partial Deregulation Comes Before Court-Ordered EIS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it is allowing genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets to be planted before its court-ordered Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is complete. Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) will once again challenge the agency in court alongside other coalition members represented by the Center for Food Safety. The decision comes just one week after USDA's full deregulation GE alfalfa.
In November 2010, USDA proposed a "partial deregulation" of GE sugar beets under a permitting process. This is a means to temporarily commercialize GE sugar beets while the EIS is conducted. USDA permits have historically only been used for experimental field trials, not wide-scale, commercial releases.
"USDA's decision dismisses the adverse economic effects that contamination by GE sugar beets will have on organic and non-GE seeds and crops," says Kristina Hubbard with Organic Seed Alliance. "This is a threat the agency continues to minimize."
As evidenced also by last week's deregulation of GE alfalfa, USDA continues to put the interests of the biotechnology industry before those of farmers and consumers who choose to plant and eat organic and non-GE products. Farmers have a right to purchase seed that is uncontaminated and the freedom to operate without ongoing fear, expense, and constraints on choice caused by the commercial planting of GE sugar beets. The courts have also stated that consumers have the right to choose GE-free food.
OSA has little confidence that USDA's oversight of GE sugar beet seed production is adequate for protecting the integrity of organic seed. USDA's own Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office have both criticized the agency's oversight of GE crops.
If contamination is not prevented, the burden of protecting the integrity of seed, agricultural products, and markets is solely on the shoulders of farmers who choose organic and non-GE seed. This is an unfair burden that is exacerbated by USDA's decision to release a GE crop that the federal court deemed improperly deregulated, especially before the findings of a full EIS are released.
"OSA works hard to create economic opportunities for farmers through participation in healthy, regional seed production and marketing systems that add value to their farm," says David Lively with Oregon-based Organically Grown Company and board member of Organic Seed Alliance. "USDA's decision affects current and future opportunities for farmers. The reality is simple: When farmers lose the genetic purity of their seed, they lose their freedom to operate free of GE contamination."
Read OSA's December 2010 comments in response to USDA's proposal.
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