Update: A Citizen's Assembly of Support for Family Farmers vs. Monsanto

Community members assembled early this morning.

At 9:00 am this morning community members and stakeholders assembled outside of the Southern District Court in New York City to announce a public message that they stand behind family farmers as they go to court with Monsanto.  The lead plaintiffs in the case stated, " In the past two decades, Monsanto’s seed monopoly has grown so powerful that they control the genetics of nearly 90% of five major commodity crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and sugar beets. This has resulted in onerous costs to farmers through high technology patent fees for seeds as well as burdensome litigation costs in defending themselves against lawsuits asserted by Monsanto.  In many cases organic and conventional farmers are forced to stop growing certain crops in order to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits."  In response to the injustice leveraged on farmers by Monsanto, the Organic Seed Growers and Traders Association has filed suit against Monsanto.

Activists rallied after the court hearing.

The lawsuit OSGATA (Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association) et al vs. Monsanto was filed on behalf of 300,000 organic and non-GMO farmers and citizens to seek judicial relief in "protect[ing] themselves from ever being accused of infringing patents on transgenic (GMO) seed". The judge has requested and agreed to hear oral argument in orders to make a decision of whether or not to allow the farmers’ case to move forward in the courts after Monsanto filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Supporters of farmers’ rights to grow food without fear and intimidation assembled outside the courtroom today to support the farmers in their claims, recognizing that these injustices affect us all and that this case is deserving of the court’s time and attention.

We won't know the results of the hearing for a few weeks, but are taking a stand and are committed to seeing this through. 

Have a great afternoon!

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

Growing Fruit in a Healthy Orchard Ecosystem

Join NOFA Organic Land Care on March 9, 2012 for a workshop lead by "The Apple Grower" himself, Michael Phillips. The workshop is intended for land care professionals interested in edible landscapes, community gardeners, and aspiring or current fruit growers!

The program will start at 9:00am at the Connecticut Forest and Park Headquarters in Rockfall, CT.  During this time in the Classroom Michael will discuss the primary role of orchardists; which is to build system healt hcreating the most favorable conditions for the production of delicious, healthy fruits.  He will discuss holistic method which are about deep nutrition and competitive colonization along with organically-approved approaches to achieving pest balance.  

After a hearty lunch the class will move out of the CFPA Headquarters to High Hill Orchard in Meriden (about a ten minute drive away).  At High Hill Orchard, the class will learn in the field about forest edge ecology, embracing the right biology in your yard or orchard, and roots cycles which suggest a particular timing of tasks. The workshop will wrap up around 4:00pm.

Michael Phillips has written a number of books on the topic of holistic orchard management including The Holistic Orchard, The Herbalist's Way and The Apple Grower.  For more information about Michael Phillips, visit his websites at www.HerbsAndApples.com and www.GrowOrganicApples.com

Course Cost:

Regular: $155
AOLCP/ NOFA Member: $140
Early Registration: $140
Early AOLCP/NOFA Member Registration: $125

To register call the office at 203-888-5146 or visit the Organic Land Care website: http://www.organiclandcare.net/education/advanced-workshops

GMO's unfavorability in Europe

According to the Euractiv.com article "Disgruntled GMO firms start pulling out of EU market" Monsanto has announced that it will cancel plans to sell an insect-resistant maize in France, the second move in a weekly by biotech company to retreat from the genetically modified foods market in Europe.  
German's chemical company BASF also has suspended the development of GM crops in Europe and move its plant science arm to the United States.  

"No one wants to eat them and few farmers want to grow them," explained Adrian Bebb, food campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe.  


This is encouraging for anti-GMO activists in the United States, because it is evident that government regulations of GMO crop development and distribution discourages biotech companies.  This means that the labeling the 93% of Americans demand   along with some closer regulation of the distribution of GMOs (currently genetically modified blue grass seed and alfalfa have the same regulations as non-GMO strains) can seriously impede Monsanto and other GMO companies.  


Many Americans don't want to eat GMOs and many farmers would prefer that GMOs were heavily regulated or banned because of the continued risk of contamination.  

Check out Friends of the Earth Europe's page about GMOs for more information. 


Best,
Kristiane

Why Local Farming is Important

Rebecca Kline of New Haven Farms stands at the site
of a proposed community garden in New Haven. 

An excerpt from a recent Huffinton Post Article about our local (and impressive) Common Ground Farm and High School reads, "In a 1787 letter to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson wrote, 'Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will, in the end, contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.' In short, farming produces not only food, but also the foundation for a good life." Growing the number of farms in our state addresses more than just food access and nutrition; it also fills a cultural void that has been present in our country ever since industrial agriculture stole the spotlight from traditional community-based means of food production. Without local farms available in and around the places where we live and work, we suffer emotionally and culturally as well as physically. In communities where there aren't many remaining farms, losing another one can be especially unsettling, as is the case with Purdy's Farm in Greenwich, one of only two farms left in the town.

But there is light on the horizon. Of late there has been a new resurgence in the number of new people, many of whom have never farmed before, developing an interest in local sustainable agriculture. In New Haven, the same city in Connecticut that Common Ground calls home, a nonprofit called New Haven Farms has set its sights on creating a new urban community farm that aims to feed 250 people in the surrounding area. Additionally, other nonprofits and farming organizations like the NOFA state chapters have implemented programs to help teach and train a new generation of farmers.

If you are interested in starting a sustainable farm and want to learn more about taking the first steps, join CT NOFA and a group of other established and prospective farmers this Saturday at the Getting Started in Organic Farming Conference in Rockfall, CT. Come and learn about the topics that are most integral to starting your farm - land access, leasing, marketing, and more. To learn more about the conference and to register, check out our website. Working together, we can change the culture of farming in our state and in our country.

Have a great day!
-Melissa

Climate Negotiators Start Talking about Agriculture

Climate scientists, climate activists, farmers, agricultural scientists, and sustainable food advocates around the world have tried to highlight the close, and alarming, relationship between climate change and agriculture.  Current industrial agricultural methods contribute heavily to green house gas emissions (more than the entire transportation sector) while floods in Vermont, droughts in the south, wildfires in Texas, tornadoes in Mississippi and northern California, have shown that agriculture is threatened by more frequent extreme weather.  

This post, Agriculture and Climate Change, Revisted in the New York Times Green Blog by Justin Gillis, is a nice overview of the complexities related to how climate change is interrelated with global agricultural production.  Especially this quotation from Dr. Molly Jahn, a plant breeder at the University of Wisconsin: “Agriculture needs to be front and center, as an activity on which our lives very literally depend.”

This led me to a report from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change titled "Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change" which is definitely worth a read oiver, it's only 20 pages.  Here are two images that struck me the most (the first is on page 5 of the publication and the other is on page 6).

This map shows the areas that will gain in agricultural production by 2080 (in green) and those that will lose agricultural production (in red), notice what countries are in red (almost all developing countries).

 Now check out this image considering the green house gases emitted to produce food in different countries and how that food is used.

There are lots of solutions proposed to address these issues, mainly that we need more farms and more farmers in more places using sustainable methods.
Also it looks like America's beloved corn crops are going to be heavily affected by climate change, should we try planting something else? Maybe something that's a little bit more edible and healthy?

Just some more food for thought!
Best,
Kristiane

The 30th National Pesticide Forum Healthy Communities: Green solutions for safe environments

Yale University, New Haven, CT
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
March 30-31, 2012

The 30th National Pesticide Forum, Healthy Communities: Green solutions for safe environments, will be held March 30-31, 2012 (Friday evening and all day Saturday) at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The conference will focus on organic landcare, urban/ suburban pesticide use, organic food, and protective national, state, and local policies.

Registration: Register online.
Student: $15
Grassroots activist/member: $35
Non-member: $75
Business: $175 

Just added speaker:
David Hackenberg is the beekeeper who first discovered the disappearance of honeybees known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Mr. Hackenberg believes that pesticides contribute to CCD and that honeybees are a barometer of the environment. He is featured in the film Vanishing of the Bees and various media reports, including this 60 Minutes segment. David is a past president of the American Beekeeping Federation, and currently serves as co-chair of the National Honey Bee Advisory Board.

Other speakers include, Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health, Inc, Gary Hirshburg, co-founder of Stoneyfield Farm and a number of other environmental leaders in the pesticide action field.  See the speaker list here!

Convenors and co-sponsors
The conference is convened by Beyond Pesticides, Environment and Human Health, Inc., and the Watershed Partnership, Inc., and co-sponsored by Audubon Connecticut, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), Grassroots Environmental Education, Green Decade/Newton, GreenCape, NOFA Massachusetts Chapter, Northern New Jersey Safe Yards Alliance, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Safelawns.org, Sierra Club-Connecticut Chapter, and Toxics Action Center.

Sessions will be held in the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies' Kroon Hall. It is a truly sustainable building: a showcase of the latest developments in green building technology, a healthy and supportive environment for work and study, and a beautiful building that actively connects students, faculty, staff, and visitors with the natural world.