STOP Genetically Engineered ALFALFA! ACTION ALERT

COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 3, 2010!

National Organic Coalition

www.NationalOrganicCoalition.org

STOP GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ALFALFA!

Response to this alert has been considerable but we need more!

Tell the USDA

Not to Approve Monsanto's GE Alfalfa

COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL MARCH 3, 2010!

Go to one of the three organizational links provided

below or send directly to USDA (instructions below). Tell USDA in your own words or in the template provided,

how this effects you, your farm or your business.

Organizations and Farms: ALSO Sign on to
NOC comments letter:

http://www.nationalorganiccoalition.org/OrganicSignOnGEAlfalfainfo.pdf

USDA just released its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on GE alfalfa and NOW is your chance to demand that
USDA protect organic food from GE contamination.

Forward this information to all your networks, friends and family members.
Explain to them how important it is to take

action on this important Issue.

Comments are due MARCH 3, 2010

In the EIS, USDA claims that there is no evidence that consumers care about GE contamination of organic alfalfa. But it's not just
alfalfa that is at risk - since alfalfa is fed to dairy cows and other
livestock, organic dairy and meat products that you eat could be affected
too!

** Tell USDA That You Care About GE Contamination

of Organic Crops and Food **

Below are some excerpts from the EIS and additional recommended talking points - Go
to one of the websites below to post your comment our send your own
letter to the address below

COMMENTS ARE DUE MARCH 3, 2010

FoodandWaterWatch.org

CenterforFoodSafety.org

OrganicConsumers.org

PASS THIS ALERT ON TO ALL YOUR NETWORKS

-- For more information, a detailed Fact Sheet from the Center for Food Safety, as well as an electronic version of this alert,
go to: www.NationalOrganicCoalition.org

*Tell USDA You Won't Buy GE Contaminated Alfalfa and Alfalfa-Derived Meat &
Dairy Products:

USDA claims that consumers will not reject GE contamination of organic alfalfa if the contamination is unintentional
or if the GE material is not transmitted to the end milk or meat product.

*Tell USDA to Protect All Farmers, Organic Included, Who Wish to Choose to Grow Non-GE Crops:

Although USDA says it supports "coexistence" of all types of
agriculture, USDA refuses to even consider any future for alfalfa that
would include protections from contamination for organic and conventional
farmers and exporters.

*Tell USDA That Protecting Organic Farmers is Its Job and That Relying Solely on Monsanto's Business as Usual "Best Practices"
Ensures Widespread GE Contamination:

USDA claims that Monsanto's seed contracts require measures sufficient to prevent GE
contamination, and that there is no evidence to the contrary. USDA is
ignoring evidence from widespread GE contamination of Canola, Soy, and
Corn.

*Tell USDA That GE Alfalfa Would Significantly Increase Pesticide Use and Increase Harm to Human Health and the
Environment:

USDA admits (correctly) that introduction of Roundup Ready alfalfa will
increase Roundup use. However, USDA's claims that the increase is
not significant and that Roundup will replace other, more toxic
herbicides are flat-out wrong.

*Tell USDA That Harm to Small and Organic Farmers from GE Contamination Would be Significant:

USDA concludes that GE alfalfa will cause production to shift to larger farms
(that can afford built-in isolation distances) and conventional growers
who are not threatened by GE contamination, but that these economic
shifts are not significant.

HOW TO COMMENT:

1. Send your comments through Center For Food Safety, Food and Water Watch, or Organic Consumers Association, links above.

2. Comments can be filed directly online to USDA at: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a6b7a1

3. For written, mailed comments please send two copies to: Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket
No. APHIS-2007-0044.

For more information, go to: www.NationalOrganicCoalition.org

STOP GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ALFALFA!

Tags: Action, Alert, Engineering, GMOs, Genetic

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Permalink Reply by Elmer LeSuer on March 26, 2010 at 3:37pm

I have been listening to all the condemnation of Genetically Engineered Produce...

I don't understand... What is the beef?

If you want to have beautiful children you marry a beautiful person...

If you want to have beautiful tomatoes you find the best two tomato plants and get them together...

What is so bad about this? Is there something I am missing?

-Elmer

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Permalink Reply by Liana Hoodes on March 26, 2010 at 6:10pm

Elmer --
Genetically Engineering is not traditional breeding or hybrid breeding -- it is most definitely not "finding the best 2 tomato plants and getting them together."
There are lots of resources out there -- here are a few:
from Center for Food Safety: "Unlike crops from traditional breeding, genetically engineered crops contain antibiotic-resistant marker genes, viral promoters and foreign proteins never before consumed by humans."
from Non-GMO Project: "What are GMOs? "GMOs (or “genetically modified organisms”) are organisms that have been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This relatively new science allows DNA from one species to be injected into another species in a laboratory, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
"Are GMOs safe? In 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs, because they are not considered proven safe. In the U.S. on the other hand, the FDA approved commercial production of GMOs based on studies conducted by the companies who created them and profit from their sale. Many health-conscious shoppers find the lack of rigorous, independent, scientific examination on the impact of consuming GM foods to be cause for concern.
"Do Americans want non-GMO foods and supplements? Polls consistently show that a significant majority of North Americans would like to be able to tell if the food they’re purchasing contains GMOs (a 2008 CBS News Poll found that 87% of consumers wanted GMOs labeled). And, according to a recent CBS/New York Times poll, 53% of consumers said they would not buy food that has been genetically modified.
"How common are GMOs? According to the USDA, in 2007, 91% of soy, 87% of cotton, and 73% of corn grown in the U.S. were GMO. It is estimated that over 75% of canola grown is GMO, and there are also commercially produced GM varieties of sugar beets, squash and Hawaiian Papaya. As a result, it is estimated that GMOs are now present in more than 80% of packaged products in the average U.S. or Canadian grocery store."
from Greenpeace: "These genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non 'GE' environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. Their release is 'genetic pollution' and is a major threat because GMOs cannot be recalled once released into the environment. "

We also know that GE crops are killing off soil biological life, that they do not have a yield advantage, have actually increased the use of chemicals, not reduced them, as they claim (see "No Sure Fix" from Union of Concerned Scientists)

Please feel free to research this further at any of these or many other resources --
AND continue your great looking work on local food production -- the truly best way to eat!
Thanks for your interest.

Liana

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Permalink Reply by Joyce Henion on March 27, 2010 at 5:05pm

Many things are very wrong with GMO, for instance the monarch butterfly that enchants us as we look at our flower garden is at risk - http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/99/5.20.99/toxic_pollen.html
Also, farmers who plant gmo seed or grow a crop that is likely to cross with nearby gmo plants WILL be sued by monsanto because Monsant OWNS the genetically modified organism that is that crop and often this means that small farmily farms are bankrupt as they try to make a modest living or they practice a very traditional farm method in saving seed. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goliath_and_David:_Monsanto's_Legal_Battles_against_Farmers
Please don't believe that the prettiest fruit is the best and think of the day to day reality of your local farmer and the local fauna when making food choices.

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Permalink Reply by Elmer LeSuer on March 29, 2010 at 12:19am

Wow...

http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/99/5.20.99/toxic_pollen.html !!!

I had no idea...

The fact that this technology exists is amazing... The trouble that this could cause is disconcerting to say least... The fact that Monsanto is behind it is not surprising considering their track record.

Phamaceutical companies have to go through such a battery of tests to get a medicine approved for use... It seems to me that at the very least, Monsanto (and others doing this) should have to go through extensive tests in a controlled environment before these are approved for use outside of the lab...

I think in light of the Monarch's reaction, it seems to be a fair request...

BUT I think I saw in Food, Inc that Monsanto pretty much owns the FDA... and that they share common and former Executives right?

-Elmer

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Permalink Reply by Elmer LeSuer on March 29, 2010 at 12:34am

It really is so tiresome... So many people making so many decisions and taking actions that erode the rights and the standard of living of others based on selfishness and greed... And it seems like an endless fight...

When will we find a powerful champion for righteousness...???

Maybe the Mayans were right and we're doomed!!!

Maybe M Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" has more realistic potential than we first thought???

Maybe I should go to bed and try to sleep it off!

Calgon Take Me Away!!!

STOP Genetically Engineered ALFALFA! ACTION ALERT

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