IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!
*** CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY ***
Thursday, March 14, 2013 -
A dangerous rider has been added to the Continuing Resolution ("CR") that is about to be voted on by the U.S. Senate. Named the "farmer assurance provision," it actually protects companies like Monsanto at the expense of the farmers and really should be named "The Monsanto Protection Act."
There is good news though -- Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) is introducing an amendment to strip the biotech rider out of the CR. Please contact your Senator ASAP and urge him/her to vote for the Tester Amendment.
If the CR is allowed to pass without the safeguard of the Tester Amendment it would:
• Violate the constitutional precedent of separation of powers by interfering with the process of judicial review.
• Eliminate federal agency oversight to protect farmers, consumers and the environment from potential harms caused by unapproved biotech crops.
• Allow Monsanto and biotech seed and chemical companies to profit by overriding the rule of law and plant their untested GMO crops despite no proof of their safety for the public and environment.
• Will not just allow, but require the secretary of agriculture to grant permits for planting or cultivating GM crops – even if a federal court has given an injunction against it.
• Would open up the floodgates for the planting of new untested genetically engineered crops, endangering farmers, consumers and the environment."
Don’t let this happen. CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY!
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Action Alert: Tell your Senator to support the Tester Amendment!
Weston A. Price Foundation, March 14, 2013 -
As we alerted you yesterday, the biotech industry has inserted a dangerous provision into the Continuing Resolution ("CR") that is about to be voted on by the U.S. Senate. The provision, called a "rider," would destroy the few protections we currently have against the introduction of new genetically engineered crops. It is misleadingly called a "farmer assurance provision," but it really protects companies like Monsanto at the expense of the farmers.
There is good news though -- Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) is introducing an amendment to strip the biotech rider out of the CR.
ACTION
The vote is expected to occur today, so we need your help right now. Please call both of your U.S. Senators,
and urge them to vote YES on the Tester Amendment to remove the biotech rider.
If you don’t know who represents you, you can find out online at www.senate.gov or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Message: My name is ___, and I am a constituent. I am calling to urge Senator ____ to vote for the Tester Amendment to strike the biotech rider, section 735, that is currently included in the Senate Continuing Resolution. Congress needs to protect the few safeguards we have in place for genetically engineered crops, not eliminate them to appease a handful of large companies. The Tester Amendment protects family farmers, and I urge Senator ___ to vote yes on the Tester Amendment (#74)."
MORE INFORMATION
Though wrapped in a "farmer-friendly" package, the biotech rider (section 735) is simply an industry ploy to continue to plant GMO crops even when a court of law has found they were approved illegally.
The provision is intended to force USDA to grant temporary permits and deregulations of GMO crops even if a Federal court rules that USDA hadn’t adequately considered the environmental or economic risks to farmers. This would negate any meaningful judicial review of USDA’s decisions to allow commercialization of GMO crops.
If a GMO crop approval was shown to violate the law and require further analysis of its harmful impacts (as several courts have concluded in recent years, for example with GMO alfalfa and GMO sugar beets) this provision would override any court-mandated caution and allow continued planting and commercialization while further review takes place.
The provision is completely unnecessary. No farmer has ever had his or her crops destroyed following such a court ruling. Every court to decide these issues has carefully weighed the interests of farmers, as is already required by law.
Please help us stop this dangerous rider! Call both of your Senators today to urge them to vote yes on the Tester Amendment. It only takes a few minutes, and your activism does make a difference!
