July 29, 2010
Take Action / Resources / Topics / GE Crops and Foods (Not on the Market) / Alfalfa
Alfalfa
Victory against Monsanto's GM alfalfa at the US Supreme Court!
June 2010: Its still illegal to plant GM alfalfa in the US! Monsanto challenged the injunction on planting at the Supreme Court and lost! Now its up to the US Department of Agriculture to decide the fate of GE alfalfa. The Department is finishing its Environmental Impact Statement on Monsanto's GE alfalfa. 50 U.S. politicians have now called for a permanent ban.
Monsanto's PR machine is working hard to spin the truth in the first-ever US Supreme Court case on genetically engineered crops. Despite what the biotech seed giant is claiming, this week's ruling on GM alfalfa isn't close to the victory they were hoping for - and GM alfalfa is still illegal to plant in the US.
On June 21, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a district court judge in San Francisco had abused his discretion in barring the USDA from pursuing a partial deregulation and in prohibiting the planting of the biotech alfalfa seeds, pending the completion of an environmental review. The ruling, however, did not alter the lower court decision that banned the biotech alfalfa until completion of a full environmental review.
A similar case involving Monsanto's biotech sugarbeets, was slated for a court hearing July 9, but the judge in that case has postponed the hearing until mid-August to give all parties a chance to study the Supreme Court ruling. The court has already ruled the sugarbeets were approved by USDA without proper environmental review and is considering a permanent injunction. Read information and analysis from the Center for Food Safety here.
Take Action to Stop Monsanto's GE Alfalfa!
Send a few alfalfa seeds to your MP...
Send a few alfalfa seeds to your Member of Parliament! Tell the government to stop the introduction of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa.
Take this action to Monsanto! Send a letter to your MP and the Minister of Agriculture with a tiny alfalfa seed or our seed graphic!
- Print up or use our sample letter to the Minister - you can edit it - remember postage is free!
- You can also send a letter to your MP - search using your postal code!
- Buy some organic alfalfa seeds at your local health food store.
- Tape one or a few alfalfa seeds to your letter and include some free-floating seeds! (If you cannot find any alfalfa seeds, you can print our alfalfa seed letter with a little drawing of the seed!)
Print up Happy's Bee's Little Guide to Protecting Alfalfa - action flyer.
Take action to support Bill C-474 - the Biill would stop GE alfalfa! Send an instant letter to your MP by clicking here!
Bill C-474 would support Canadian farmers by requiring that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.” If the Bill is passed it would stop GE wheat and GE alfalfa. Add your voice now!
For more information on Bill C-474 click here.
Read the Submissions to the USDA on GE Alfalfa:
Groups in Canada sent their comments to the USDA in response to their Draft Environmental Impact Statement on alfalfa - the USDA could allow plantings of GE alfalfa this summer.
- National Farmers Union
- Beyond Factory Farming
- Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, Organic Agriculture Protection Fund
- National Organic Coalition (U.S. with Canadian signatories).
See the list of 107 farmer and consumers groups that say no to GE alfalfa.
Organic food and farming in the U.S. and Canada is under immediate threat from GE alfalfa.
More Actions
- Groups - Endorse the No to GE Alfalfa campaign by signing on the statement opposing GE alfalfa in Canada. We invite all organizations, producer associations, companies and community groups to sign.
- Click here to join the News Listserve for the No to GMO Alfalfa Campaign.
- Donate today! to support the campaign.
- Write to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to register your opposition to GM alfalfa in Canada:
Glyn Chancey Executive Director
Plant Health and Biosecurity Directorate
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
59 Camelot Drive, Floor 3, Room 347
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9 (postage required)
Glyn.Chancey@inspection.gc.ca
The Honourable Gerry Ritz
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6 (no postage required)
Email: RitzG@parl.gc.ca
Thank you for you action and support!
More Information:
Monsanto will keep trying to commercialize GM alfalfa in Canada and it is imperative that we close the door on this GM crop now.
A ruling in the US that prohibits the planting of GM alfalfa in that country may soon be overturned. In 2007 a judge ruled that the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) approval of GM alfalfa was illegal and ordered the Department to conduct an environmental risk assessment to look into farmer concerns about contamination. In December 2009, the USDA released its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for comment (this is the first time it has conducted this type of analysis for any GM crop). Analysis of what the USDA needs to know about alfalfa and the impacts of GM contamination.
- The list of groups that have endorsed the campaign.
- Position paper on alfalfa from the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate.
The Canadian Government has approved Monsanto’s GM herbicide resistant (Roundup Ready) Alfalfa for human consumption and environmental release but Monsanto has not yet applied for variety registration. This step is needed before the crop can be commercially grown in Canada.
The commercialization of genetically modified alfalfa -- GM Alfalfa -- planned by Monsanto and Forage Genetics International, would have a severe, negative impact on Canadian agriculture, markets, and our environment. A united effort by agriculture producer groups, consumer and environmental organizations, as well as concerned individuals, will prevent this from happening. A similar campaign stopped GM wheat in 2004.
This is your invitation to join together to put the brakes on GM Alfalfa.
We invite all organizations, producer associations, companies and community groups to endorse the "No to GM Alfalfa" campaign by signing on to the following statement (Your group’s name will be used in a list of groups that state opposition to GM Alfalfa):
- We oppose the sale, trade and production of GMO Alfalfa in Canada.
- We ask the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to reassess its approval for environmental release of GMO Alfalfa.
- We want the public to understand the hazards, costs and market losses that would result if GMO Alfalfa were released into our environment.
Sign the statement here! or email coordinator@cban.ca for more info.
The Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD) is a Member of CBAN. SOD is the umbrella group for the organic sector in Saskatchewan. In 2001 the Organic Agriculture Protection Fund Committee was established by SOD in order to protect organic farms and food from contamination by GMOs. The OAPF Committee provided support to the legal action against Monsanto and Bayer to bring about an injunction to stop the commercialization of GMO wheat, and to make the biotech companies liable for losses to organic farmers due to contamination of certified organic crops and fields by GMO canola. In 2004 Monsanto withdrew its application to have GMO wheat approved in Canada.
More Alfalfa News:
January 2010: In 2009 a U.S. appeals court rejected an appeal by Monsanto to overturn a ruling that prohibits plantings of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa in the country until the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) completes an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Monsanto is now taking this case to the Supreme Court even though a draft EIS is out for comment and the final will be published in February.
For more information contact:
OAPF Chairperson, Arnold Taylor at (306) 252-2075, or Lucy Sharratt at the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) (613) 241-2267 ext.6, or coordinator@cban.ca
