Food Democracy Now! ~ The Monsanto Protection Act is back and we need you now more than ever – Congress is scheduled to vote as early as next week!
U.S. House of Representatives has decided to put forward the same language for the Continuing Resolution spending bill that contained the Monsanto Protection Act that Congress passed and President Obama signed into law last spring.
Last March, Monsanto succeeded in sneaking a controversial rider into the must pass spending bill that undermined the basic concept of judicial review, the separation of equal branches of government forcing the USDA to allow the planting of untested GMO crops even if a federal court ruled that the USDA had not properly considered the environmental or economic risks these new crops posed to family farmers.
If allowed to pass again, this new provision would undermine agency oversight and this dangerous provision could eventually become permanent, allowing Monsanto to succeed in stripping judges of their constitutional mandate to protect consumer rights and the environment, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of new untested GMO crops.
Is Congress Trying to Kill GMO Labeling?
Even worse, right now Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) is working behind the scenes to introduce a bill that would kill state GMO labeling efforts by preempting it with a bill that would place GMO labeling under federal authority, circumventing successful citizen led efforts in Maine and Connecticut and trying to invalidate the ballot initiative in Washington state before it even passes.
We need your voice today more than ever to stop Monsanto’s shenanigans in Congress!
Click here to make a call to Congress to tell them to vote no on the continuing resolution if it contains any protections for Monsanto or undermines state’s rights to label genetically engineered foods!
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/1023?t=7&akid=969.94810.GDL3nj
Even now as we are close to winning, Monsanto, DuPont and the biotech seed and chemical giants are working desperately behind the scenes to thwart our efforts.
While the previous Continuing Resolution that was passed this March is set to expire on September 30th, Roll Call reported this week that House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, (R-KY) has introduced the short-term Continuing Resolution, with the exact same language as last time, which could be voted on as early as next week.
While members of the House are desperate to pitch this new continuing resolution as a “responsible” effort to pass a temporary budget to avoid a shutdown of the federal government, Monsanto and the biotech industry are using it as another opportunity to corrupt our basic democrat rights and protect their bottom line.
Last spring Food Democracy Now! members exposed the initial Monsanto Protection Act to the world when more than 300,000 of us stood up and demanded an end to the special interests handouts to Monsanto and the biotech seed and chemical giants.
Right now, we are once again calling on you and your friends and family to stand with us again to help expose this corruption of our basic democratic process once again!
Monsanto’s days are numbered and they know it! This year, you helped passed GMO labeling bills in Connecticut and Maine and right now we’re working hard with our allies to help win a citizen led ballot initiative in Washington state that would mandate labeling of genetically engineered foods.
Unfortunately, Monsanto, DuPont and the largest junk food companies in the world are determined to try to steal our basic democratic rights to protect their corrupt corporate profits. Just this week Monsanto dumped $4.5 million to defeat our efforts to win Yes on 522 and GMO labeling in Washington state while DuPont dropped $3.4 million.
Right now is the critical window where we need to stand together to stop Monsanto and these corrupt corporations from trying to betray our basic democratic rights once again. Please stand with us to help stop Monsanto, DuPont and the biotech seed and chemical companies from corrupting our laws and democratic process.
Also see ~
Washington GMO Labeling Bill Coming Soon, Organic Farmers Still Victims of GMO Contamination
Christina Sarich, News Report: The 522 Initiative is getting heated enough, but extra controversy surrounds the law due to its implications for Northwest hay exporters – including those who grow alfalfa, since they say overseas customers don’t want GM crops. This animal-feed crop, but also an important cover crop, has been grown legally in the US for years, and is often exported to Japan, but there are eastern parts of the state of Washington where this GMO crop wasn’t supposed to be growing.
Genetically Modified Alfalfa Denied for Export
Ashley Curtin, News Report: A Washington State farmer growing alfalfa was recently denied exportation when the crop tested positive for GMO. The farmer, who thought he had planted unmodified seeds in his Eastern Washington State farm, turned the crop over to Washington State Department of Agriculture at the end of August, which is currently undergoing lab tests to confirm if the crop is the pesticide-resistant alfalfa developed by Monsanto Co., according to KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest. While it’s legal to grow genetically modified alfalfa in the U.S., researchers are now investigating if it was growing in an area where it should not be. Therefore, Washington State’s strict protocol is in question since GMO and conventional bred crops are to remain separate.
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