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  • From: <fdnokes@hotmail.com>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] sry . late. maybe helpful anyway to submit comments
  • Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:46:56 -0800




From: Comox Valley Friends of Farming
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 10:53 AM
Subject: GE Alfalfa - Action needed


Please see the following attachment for information on an action against GE
Alfalfa.

Best regards,

CVFF



PLEASE NOTE: The deadline for this action is now MARCH 3rd, 2010!

Protect Organic Food! Support Organic Farmers!

Stop GE Alfalfa! Take Action before February 16.

The U.S. will approve Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa unless
we stop them. Organic food and farming in the U.S. and Canada is under
immediate threat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its draft Environmental
Impact Statement on GE alfalfa and is accepting comments until end of day Feb
16, 2010.
They say:
- Contamination of organic food from GE alfalfa will happen but it
doesn’t really matter.

- Consumers don’t care if organic food is contaminated with GE alfalfa.

- GE alfalfa will result in fewer small farmers and fewer organic
farmers but that’s okay.

Tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) you DO care about organic food
and organic farmers!

Organic farming bans the use of genetically engineered organisms. Stop
Monsanto from destroying organic farming in the U.S. and Canada!

1. A sample letter - for Canadian organic consumers to send - is below. You
can submit your letter at (copy and paste the whole URL)
:www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a6b7a1

2. We also invite all organizations, producer associations, companies and
community groups to endorse the No to GE Alfalfa campaign by signing on the
statement opposing GE alfalfa in Canada. Go here to sign on
http://www.cban.ca/content/view/full/631

For more information, action and background: http://www.cban.ca/alfalfa



Sample Letter

Most of the organic food we eat in Canada is imported from the U.S.. I am
deeply concerned that the U.S. may allow plantings of genetically engineered
(GE) alfalfa which I know will result in the contamination of organic alfalfa
in the U.S. and Canada. I do not want to eat GE foods which is one reason why
I choose to buy certified organic food.

The national organic standards in both the U.S. and Canada prohibit the use
of genetically engineered organisms. This is a central tenet of organics. For
example, animals used for certified organic meat, milk, eggs, and other
animal products need 100 percent organic feed. Alfalfa is used widely for
livestock feed, including for dairy cows.

The USDA claims that consumers will not reject GE contamination in organic
alfalfa if the contamination is unintentional or if the transgenic material
is not transmitted to the end milk or meat product. This is simply not the
case. I am a Canadian consumer of U.S. organic foods and food ingredients and
I care deeply about the integrity of certified organic foods, and GE is
fundamentally not organic.

The GE contamination of organic alfalfa would severely impact the entire
organic system in the U.S. and Canada, especially because many different
types of organic farmers plant alfalfa to improve soil fertility. This
important technique makes it possible to farm successfully without using
chemical fertilizers. Contamination by GE alfalfa would eliminate this
valuable tool, causing severe economic and agronomic costs to organic farmers.

I care about the livelihoods of small-scale organic farmers, and the future
of organic farming in North America.

Farmers' have a fundamental right to sow the seeds of their choice but this
choice can be eliminated by GE contamination. This happened in Canada when
prairie organic grain farmers had to stop growing canola because there was no
way to prevent contamination by cross-pollination with GE canola during the
growing season, even if farmers could find uncontaminated seed for planting.

Organic farming is a good environmental choice. It provides healthy food
grown without pesticides or GE organisms, and it builds better soil. The
future of organic farming is threatened by GE alfalfa.

As a consumer, I care about the contamination of organic foods from GE
alfalfa.

The USDA should reject the deregulation of GE alfalfa to protect organic
farming and food in the U.S. and Canada, and protect the U.S. organic food
trade to Canada.

You can submit your letter (Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044) at:
www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a6b7a1

For more information, action and background: http://www.cban.ca/alfalfa or
contact Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network
(CBAN) Phone: 613 241 2267 ext.6 coordinator@cban.ca
This action alert was produced by the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network
(CBAN) and the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD)
http://www.cban.ca/alfalfa

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.6

Fax: 613 241 2506

coordinator@cban.ca

www.cban.ca



Join the Global Rejection of GE Wheat! www.cban.ca/GEwheat



Donate today to support the campaign www.cban.ca/donate




If you would like to add or remove your name from our CVFF mailing list,
please e-mail us at cvfriendsoffarming@gmail.com.



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  • [permaculture] sry . late. maybe helpful anyway to submit comments, fdnokes, 02/17/2010

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