Tell Your Representatives to NOT Extend the
Monsanto Protection Act, Here's How
I received an e-mail from Katherine Paul from the Organic Consumers Association regarding the Monsanto Protection Act. It gives you very east access to send an e-mail to your Senators and also contact your Congressman about this act.
Congress could vote this week to extend the Monsanto Protection Act for another three months. Unless we stop them.
Please write your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives today. Ask them to vote NO on the Monsanto Protection Act.
The Monsanto Protection Act is a rider that prevents the federal courts
from enforcing injunctions on genetically modified seeds even if those
seeds have been deemed unsafe. Earlier this year, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
slipped the Monsanto Protection Act into the Continuing Resolution, a
bill to fund the U.S. government through
September 30.
Now, Congress is about to vote on a new Continuing Resolution
(H.J.RES.59) in order to fund the government for another three months.
And despite public outrage and hundreds of thousands of signatures on
petitions, House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Harold Rogers
(R-Ky.) has slipped the Monsanto Protection Act into the new bill.
The Monsanto Protection Act is nothing but a gift to the biotech
industry. It’s an affront to farmers and consumers. It gives the biotech
industry a free pass to grow crops that have not been adequately safety
tested. It also threatens farmers who potentially could be shut off
from markets abroad when their non-GMO crops are contaminated.
To call your representative We need every representative to hear from us today. You can find your representative’s phone number
here and call the number provided, or call the general number:
(202) 224-3121. You can say:
"I
am very opposed to extending the Monsanto Protection Act for another 3
months and I want my representative to vote 'No!' I understand Congress
needs to pass a bill to fund the government, but this shouldn't involve
special favors for big business. The Monsanto Protection Act is wrong.
Genetically engineered food should be safety tested before they are on
the market. Even the American Medical Association supports mandatory
pre-market safety testing. "But, right now, U.S. law
only requires a review of whether new GMOs might pose a 'plant pest
risk.' This doesn't address human health. But it's still important,
especially because genetic contamination can seriously harm organic and
non-GMO farmers, especially farmers with markets abroad. We've seen this
recently in Oregon, and now Washington, with the contamination of wheat
and alfalfa by unapproved GMO seeds.
"The Monsanto
Protect Act takes away the small amount of regulation we do have for
GMOs. The Monsanto Protection Act prevents the federal courts from
reviewing U.S. Department of Agriculture approvals of new GMOs. Even if
the USDA fails to follow the law and approves a new GMO illegally, the
Monsanto Protection Act says that the potentially dangerous new GMO must
be released into the environment anyway.Please vote NO on the Continuing Resolution unless the Monsanto Protection Act is removed."To write your representative, click
here. Thank you for taking this important action today!
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Photo by Nation of Change |
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Here is a link to a Nation of Change article on The Monsanto Protection Act
http://www.nationofchange.org/monsanto-protection-act-extended-part-house-representatives-spending-bill-1379081603