Monsanto's Take on GMO Testing

A recent post in the Natural News highlights a claim made by Monsanto Corporation that "there is no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM foods in humans".  Despite many studies pointing to the dangers of GMO foods, Monsanto has taken the stance that GMOs are not substantially different from natural crops.  Here is a selection of text from the article that details a bit of Monsanto's argument:

In the "Why aren't you running human clinical trials on GM crops?" section of Monsanto's Food Safety page, the biotechnology giant explains its opinion that GMOs are "substantially equivalent" to natural organisms. According to Monsanto, since concentrations of proteins, carbohydrates, and other nutrient factors vary among natural crops, as well as among natural and GM crops, then these differences are unimportant in light of GMO safety.

Furthermore, Monsanto claims that its injection of foreign DNA into its GM crops is also safe because DNA is present in natural crops as well. Never mind that the injected DNA is foreign and unnatural, and is used to alter the entire genetic structure of GM crops -- according to Monsanto, its unnatural DNA is non-toxic because every other plant also has DNA.

It's time that we learn the truth about what's in our food, so that we can make more informed decisions as consumers about what goes into (and potentially harms) our bodies.  We are building a list of members interested in anti-GMO activism who can help send letters to the FDA or locally organize to advocate for state labeling regulation in which Rep. Roy and the Ledgelight Health District have led the way. Please e-mail Kristiane if you'd like to be added to the list as we coordinate more GMO activism activities.

Additionally, if you want to learn more about the Dangers of GMOs, register today for our Winter Conference!  With over 40 workshops, potluck lunch, vendors, live music, cooking demos, exhibits, expert panels, and a keynote by Jeffrey M. Smith, the leading spokesperson on the dangers of GMOs, this is an event you don't want to miss!

Have a great week!
-Melissa

One Great Reason to go Organic: GMOs

Right now the only way to know for sure if the food you're eating is GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) free is to buy organic.  Organic produce is prohibited from containing any genetically modified material, and organic livestock may not be given any genetically modified feed.  Maria Rodale, CEO and Chairman of Rodale, Inc., posted an article yesterday on the Huffington Post that describes the dangers of GMOs and the resulting need for product labeling.  Maria sites three studies listed in her article and summarizes them concisely: "One reports that GMOs survive in our bodies -- they aren't killed in the stomach, as some have suggested, but travel to the intestine where they remain active in the body. Another study reports that we are exposed to these GMOs, not only from the GMO foods themselves, but also from eating animals that eat GMO foods. And finally, animal studies reveal that these GMOs may be linked to disease.

So I say, Just Label It!"

The Just Label It campaign calls for mandatory labeling of GMO ingredients. The NOFA Interstate Council, NOFA RI, NOFA-VT, NOFA-NY and CT NOFA have joined the Campaign and are also plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Monsanto to protect organic producers from the ramifications of GMO contamination.  As part of our GMO Activist Program, we are building a list of members interested in anti-GMO activism who can help send letters to the FDA or locally organize to advocate for state labeling regulation in which Rep. Roy and the Ledgelight Health District have led the way. Please e-mail Kristiane if you'd like to be added to the list as we coordinate more GMO activism activities.

Check out our webpage to learn more about what you can do to ensure that you know what's in your food.

Have a great week!
-Melissa

Are you passionate about GMO labeling legislation?

 







A message from Bill Duesing:

Dear Friends,

I hope you are well and enjoying the holidays with family.

You may have heard that Rep. Roy is planning to introduce legislation to require the labeling of foods containing Genetically Modified Organisms in the next session.  He has bipartisan support.

This seems like something that you would be interested in and support. 

CT NOFA is supporting this effort, as is so far, The Ledgelight  Health district and the United Church of Christ. The CT League of Conservation Voters will support it as soon as we have a bill to show them.

Most polls (for over a decade or more) have shown that the vast majority of people in this country also support labeling of foods containing GMOs.

This could be very helpful to the local food movement in Connecticut, since almost all local food (except meat and dairy products) doesn't involve GMOs.  The coming of GMO sweet corn next year opens up a big can of worms.

It might also have a beneficial health outcome since many junk foods contain GMOs, while fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes don't.  

If successful this will be another in a long line of Connecticut's significant environmental firsts.  There is an Initiative in California to do this too.

We are having a meeting in Hartford this Friday, at 10 in the LOB.  Bob Burns, who is a leader in this effort, says that Rep. Roy is arranging a room.  Senator Maynard has committed to coming. Tom Reynolds will be there.  Diana Urban supports this and may be there.  Edith Prague is 100% behind this effort but is recovering from surgery.

It would be great if you could be at this meeting. Check with Rep. Roy's office rm.3201for exact location of the meeting.

If you can't attend, let us know if you are interested in supporting, or if you have any questions.

I'll paste the language for the California initiative below, as well as some questions about how it treats GMO feed, although I need to spend some more time with the complicated language there to really understand what it means.

It would be wonderful to work with you on this.  

Best wishes for 2012.

Bill

Here's a link to the California Initiative language. 

CT NOFA's work to protect farmers and consumers from the threats of GMOs

Hey all, here's a press release about CT NOFA's work to educate the public and farmers about the potential threats to consumer rights, the environment and organic farming posed by genetically modified foods.   If you want to take action and demand labeling of GMO Foods please visit our GMO Page!  

Best,

Kristiane

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        Contact: Kristiane Huber

November 10, 2011                                                                             kristiane@ctnofa.org

CT NOFA’S GMO PROGRAM SEEKS PROTECTION FOR FARMERS AND MANDATORY LABELING ON GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS

Dan Ravicher prepares to discuss "Suing Monsanto" at Yale Law School

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA) has launched a campaign to educate consumers about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the environment and food supply. GMO crops pose a great threat to small-scale agriculture, biodiversity, food security and consumer rights.  GMO crops have failed to make agriculture more sustainable or feed the world as the biotechnology industry promised, according to The Global Citizens Report on the State of GMOs, released by Navdanya International and the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture.

In June of 2011, CT NOFA joined the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) and over 80 other plaintiffs in suing Monsanto to protect independent or organic farmers from patent infringement charges should their non-GMO crops be contaminated with Monsanto’s patented genes.  “Hopefully this suit will raise awareness here and all over the country about the dangers of GMOs and slow the pollution they are spreading into the seeds which sustain us” explained CT NOFA’s Executive Director, Bill Duesing.  In October, CT NOFA and Yale Law School co-hosted “Suing Monsanto: Intellectual Property, Genetic Contamination and Farmers’ Rights”, a talk by Dan Ravicher, the lawyer representing organic producers in OSGATA et al. v. Monsanto and the Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation.

Representative Roy at CT NOFA's Annual Meeting

CT NOFA has partnered with the Just Label It! Campaign and advocates for the right of consumers to know about genetically engineered ingredients in their food and their right to choose whether to eat it or not. According to the Center for Food Safety, over 85% of soy, cotton and corn are genetically modified and 70% of packaged foods contain a genetically modified material. There is an overwhelming consensus that GMO labeling is an ethical issue related to consumer rights according to polls conducted by MSNBC Health Poll, ABC News and the New York Times.

One of Connecticut’s leading GMO labeling advocates, Representative Richard Roy (D-Milford), Chair of the Connecticut Environmental Committee, was invited to speak at the CT NOFA annual meeting about his efforts to establish Connecticut GMO labeling legislation.  Representative Roy believes that Connecticut can be a leader in GMO labeling in the same way the state led the way in establishing a BPA ban in containers for children.  The first bill that contained a GMO labeling amendment failed to be passed in the House of Representatives, but he plans to introduce another GMO labeling amendment in a House Bill this year. 

Jeffrey Smith, CT NOFA's
Winter Conference Keynote
Speaker

CT NOFA has also added a GMO workshop track at the CT NOFA Winter Conference on March 3, 2011.  The Winter Conference keynote speaker is Jeffrey Smith, lead spokesperson on the dangers of genetically modified foods, and author of internationally bestselling “Seeds of Deception.” He is also the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology. 

For now, the only foods that are guaranteed to be GMO-free are those labeled as organic.  To avoid GMO foods, consumers are encouraged to buy local, know their farmer and support organic producers.  For more information about our past programs, the Winter Conference or to take action and support GMO labeling laws, please visit CT NOFA’s website: www.ctnofa.org or our GMO information page: http://ctnofa.org/GMO%20resource%20page.html

CT NOFA's Annual Meeting

Despite snow and ice, some of our (very devoted) members, board members and staff came together at the CT NOFA Annual Meeting at Common Ground High School in New Haven on Saturday.    Our farm tour was cut a bit short by inclement weather:

 Hoods, hats, gloves and jackets were required for the tour in this unseasonal snow.

 

We watched snow accumulate on the hardy crops still planted in the Common Ground Farm. 

Shannon Raider and Melissa Spear showed us their new out door space (it was especially handy for this situation). 

 Back inside, the Common Ground Cafeteria was warm and full of food that each attendee brought.

 We all ate quite well.

 Our president James Roby (picture coming soon . . .) explained the organization's growth in the past several years and outlined some of CT NOFA's plans for the future.  Our Executive Director Bill Duesing explained the history of Common Ground High School (he helped found the environmental magnet school in the 1990s),  and also discussed CT NOFA's many programs for beginning farmers, experienced farmers, landscapers, home owners, organic consumers, gardeners, students, teachers . . . the list goes on.

 Bill, James and Robert Burns, a member farmer and Connecticut anti-GMO activist introduced the GMO issue, explaining the thrat GMOS pose to farmers, to consumers and to an individual's right to choose what they put in their bodies. Representative Richard Roy braved the storm to talk to the group about his work to get GMOs labelled in Connecticut.  A bill demanding GMO labeling was passed by the Connecticut Environmental Committee of which Rep. Roy is chair, however the bill died in the state senate.

Unfortunately our Member of the Year, Sal Gilbertie of Gilbertie's Herbs in Westport, CT was unable to come because of the weather.  We hope to honor him at another event.  A big thanks to Representative Roy for venturing out in the terrible weather!  If you couldn't make it because of the weather keep an eye out for our other events coming up, we have a workshop coming up in November and hope to have another Annual Meeting type of event during our Winter Conference, scheduled for March 3, 2012.