Unfortunately, GMO’s (genetically modified organisms or bio-engineered foods) foods are becoming widely spread in our food system. And new GMO crops are being created as we speak. One such crop is Round Up ready GMO alfalfa, which the US Department of Agriculture says we as the American people won’t care if the plant and use for organic foods. That’s just plain crazy! Thankfully we can put a stop to this if we act quickly.
Here’s the low down from the Center of Food Safety
In 2006, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa. The federal courts sided with CFS and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in a rigorous analysis known as an environmental impact statement (or EIS). USDA released its draft EIS on December 14, 2009. A 60-day comment period is now open until March 3, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GE crop. Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops.
CFS has begun analyzing the EIS and it is clear that the USDA has not taken the concerns of non-GE alfalfa farmers, organic dairies, or consumers seriously. USDA’s preliminary determination is to once again deregulate GE alfalfa without any limitations or protections for farmers or the environment. Instead USDA has completely dismissed the fact that contamination will threaten export and domestic markets and organic meat and dairy products. And, incredibly, USDA is claiming that there is no evidence that consumers care about such GE contamination of organic!
USDA also claims that consumers will not reject GE contamination of organic alfalfa if the contamination is unintentional or if the transgenic material is not transmitted to the end milk or meat product, despite the fact that more than 75% of consumers believe that they are purchasing products without GE ingredients when they buy organic.
USDA claims that Monsanto’s seed contracts require measures sufficient to prevent genetic contamination, and that there is no evidence to the contrary. But in the lawsuit requiring this document, the Court found that contamination had already occurred in the fields of several Western states with these same business-as-usual practices in place!
USDA predicts that the approval of GE alfalfa would damage family farms and organic markets, yet doesn’t even consider any limitations or protections against this scenario. Small, family farmers are the backbone and future of American agriculture and must be protected. Organic agriculture provides many benefits to society: healthy foods for consumers, economic opportunities for family farmers and urban and rural communities, and a farming system that improves the quality of the environment. However, the continued vitality of this sector is imperiled by the complete absence of measures to protect organic production systems from GE contamination and subsequent environmental, consumer, and economic losses.
Tell USDA That You DO Care About GE Contamination of Organic Crops and Food!
It will only take a minute or two to say that you, as a consumer, do care about this issue! Please do as time is running out. Click here to do so.
This post is part of Fight Back Fridays.
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I heard about this on another site-it only takes a couple seconds to sign the petition…so easy. Thanks for spreading the word.
Ugh, this is so crappy! I hate GMOs. I wish they were illegal!
I don’t want my horses eating that stuff! I sent the petition to horse owners as well as people who care about our food sources. Send that petition to everyone.
Sprouts really aren’t good for us anyways though. They contain natural toxins that can harm the immune system. (according to Dr. Weil, M.D. an integrative doctor)
Kelly,
This isn’t really about sprouts, this about the food we feed our animals.
signed and sent
I have made my voice heard. I hope everyone else that reads this does the same! We need to put a stop to this now. Its bad enough having weird chemicals in our food. Now they are altering its very DNA!
Hi Kimi,
I can’t find a way to contact you other than this but I wanted to thank you for taking the time to post Travis’s maple syrup information. I’ve contacted him and got a LARGE group together, so far ordering about 20 gallons from him. Everyone is very excited to be getting such high grade maple syrup here in Seattle at a good price while having the chance to meet the food artisan who helped produce it. That is a rare thing on the west coast!
Thanks again – big old virtual hug for you for all you do!
Thanks so much Kimi for the informative post! I just signed the petition, it only took a minute. I can’t even begin to imagine to widespread ramifications of using GMO alfalfa. Alfalfa is like corn – it grows everywhere! The meat and milk of animals, the soil organisms, the people consuming animal products – would all be affected. Arrggg, it is so frustrating to hear of another Monsanto pursuit to genetically dominate the planet.
It is so easy to play off Monsanto as this evil corporation (I do all the time) but these are real and amazing people working there. My brother’s best friend recently got a job there. We met his parents at a park last summer and they were so excited because he had just received his PhD and landed a job with Monsanto. Tom and I rolled our eyes a little because we were in disbelief meeting someone who excitedly talked about Monsanto (that never happens in our circle of friends). It seems like there has to be a disconnect for someone to work there but who knows. There are just so many sides to everything.
-Ali 🙂
Without a doubt, there is only one side to Monsanto, and it stinks. If an ounce of integrity were mixed in with the the zillions of dollars and the immeasurable greed the misguided corporation would not lie and lie and lie. The big M would not falsify studies, instruct media moguls to fire all reporters reporting the truth, blacklist all dissenters they can, control universities, sue farmers whose fields were GMO contaminated, animate all relevant government agencies and resist with all the guns and money a basic label law. Actually, M has worked it out so that the law of the land says we can not know which foods are GMO poison and which are not. For fear of retribution, I’ll save the worst examples.
Indeed, hundreds of thousand of Indian farmers have committed suicide thanks to M. Check it out. If you are a person of reasonable intelligence, your acceptance of and complacency with the GMO nonsense, even if conditional, illustrates the pervasive, invasive stronghold that M has on the very minds of the people. Your well degreed friend will help steal the future from or children with every effort made on behalf of M. He may be a perfectly wonderful person of high standards, but is, by association ‘part of the problem’. It is distressing indeed to contemplate your friend feeding and housing his family on such ill-gotten-gains.
With all due respect,
All the best,
Billy
I’ve just read an article about this in the local paper. Alfalfa is pretty big in central Oregon and one of the farmers (who lives near me and I grew up with his daughters) was featured in the article saying that genetically modified food will help to solve world hunger or something to that effect. I was shocked that someone could think that. Some people have bought this hook, line and sinker, though and I’m so grateful that you are helping to spread the TRUTH. Thanks for providing the petition!
I don’t think they should be illegal, but I think they should stop having the backing of our government. I think we should get rid of all farm subsidies and then see how willing people are to plant and raise junk, if they know they won’t be able to raise it for less than cost and try to sell it without government favor. The only legal thing I wish for is labeling for GMO products. They are right, most people probably wouldn’t care, but those of us who do could avoid them.
For those who haven’t seen it yet, “Food, Inc.” is a documentary regarding the factorization of our foods, and a real eye-opener. Monsanto is villainized for what they’ve done to soybeans in American farming–impacting (as in, shutting down entire operations) farmers, harvesters, etc. While I believe there is a time and place for most things, GMO or GE is something that hasn’t been properly documented as to the now well-known effects. I agree with all the posts above: it should be illegal to have GMO’s at all.
My voice has been heard. Thank you so much, Kimi, for posting this valuable and timely information.
I think we should have the right to say what we eat .Its my right and yours. STOP GMOs now.
Our Amber Waves of Grain are getting so gross. What to eat!