The GMO labeling fight and Brexit

Grace Gershuny
Greetings from Edinburgh, Scotland!

It so happens that my trip to Great Britain coincided with a historic referendum that has thrown the future of this nation (or should I say, these nations) into a haze of uncertainty. Welcome to the age of Brexit, and a political tableau that appears to be a mirror image of this unpredictable electoral season back home in the good old USA. 

The organic community has also recently become caught up in another political wrangle. The blogosphere and twitterverse have been humming with tension along with celebration: July 1 marks another historic event, as my home state of Vermont's first in the nation GMO labeling law goes into effect. Meanwhile, another eleventh hour piece of legislation is being pushed forward in the US Senate that would preempt Vermont's law. This bi-partisan bill includes some provisions negotiated by the Organic Trade Association, tradeoffs that OTA believes make it worth supporting despite it being a "less than perfect" compromise that "we can live with." Many others, including those dedicated anti-GMO activists celebrating in Vermont, are not so accepting.

Vermont's GMO labeling law: DuPont, Syngenta fight disclosure of internal studies

http://www.reformer.com/latestnews/ci_30040998/vermonts-
gmo-labeling-law-dupont-syngenta-fight-disclosure

By Robert Audette

BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Attorney General's Office is asking a federal judge to force Syngenta Corporation and Dupont to turn over internal studies relating to the safety of genetically modified organisms.

The state is asking the manufacturers of genetically engineered seeds — such as DuPont, Syngenta, Dow, Monsanto and Bayer — to turn over any studies conducted into the health and environmental impacts of those products and the producers of foods containing GE ingredients — such as Frito-Lay, Kellog's and ConAgra — to release consumer surveys to see if these companies know what their consumers think when they see the word "natural."

Like Knowing What You’re Eating? Get Ready for Lawsuits

http://www.progressive.org/news/2016/02/188581/knowing-
what-you%E2%80%99re-eating-get-ready-lawsuits

Carmelo Ruiz

The states of Vermont and California have made major strides in defending consumers’ right to know about the presence of genetically modified (GM) content in their food and the toxicity of agrochemicals. But industry wants to punish them for it. 

(FULL DISCLOSURE: In 2012 Ruiz was bilingual social media director for the Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign. In this capacity, he worked for Proposition 37, a ballot measure in California that if approved by the electorate would have required all foods with GMO content to be labeled.)

WILL ALLEN & MICHAEL COLBY: VERMONT’S GMO ADDICTION – WITH OR WITHOUT A LABEL

http://vtdigger.org/2016/03/10/will-allen-michael-colby-
vermonts-gmo-addiction-with-or-without-a-label/

This commentary is by Will Allen and Michael Colby, who are co-founders, along with Kate Duesterberg, of Regeneration Vermont, a new nonprofit educational and advocacy organization that is working to halt the catastrophic consequences of Vermont’s adoption of degenerative, toxic and climate-threatening agricultural techniques.

OCA on Starbucks

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_31550.cfm

Organic Consumers Association Statement on Starbucks Participation in Grocery Manufacturers Association’s GMO Labeling Lawsuit against Vermont

Organic Consumers Association, November 25, 2014

FINLAND, Minn. –  The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has called on Starbucks to withdraw from the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), an industry lobbying group that is suing Vermont to overturn the state’s GMO labeling law, and is behind H.R. 4432, a federal bill to preempt states’ rights to pass laws requiring the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food ingredients.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob421.html

Read PDF | Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate  ESSAY OF THE WEEK Victory in Vermont! Earth Day is coming up next Tuesday. This year, Mother Earth has at least one thing to celebrate—the beginning of the end of Monsanto’s evil empire. Yesterday, Vermont passed H.112, this country’s first no-strings-attached law requiring the mandatory labeling of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and outlawing the practice of labeling GMO-contaminated foods as “natural” or “all-natural.” With the passage of the Vermont GMO labeling law, after 20 years of struggle, it’s time to celebrate our common victory. But as we all know, the battle for a new food and farming system, and a sustainable future has just begun. Monsanto will likely sue Vermont. And lose. And the Gene and Junk Food Giants will still try to pass a federal law intended to strip Vermont, and every other state, of the right to pass GMO labeling laws. But we will fight back. And we will win. Read Ronnie’s essay Read the press release

Organic Consumers Association Statement on GMO Labeling Law Victory in Vermont

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29778.cfm

• Vermont Lawmakers Pass Country’s First No-Strings-Attached GMO Labeling Law 
  Organic Consumers Association, April 16, 2014 
  

For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Millions Against Monsanto and our Genetic Engineering page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2014
    
CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090

FINLAND, Minn. – Today, by a vote of 28-2, the Vermont state Senate passed H.112, a bill to require mandatory labeling of foods sold in Vermont that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The bill also makes it illegal to call any food product containing GMOs “natural” or “all natural.” Unlike bills passed last year in Maine and Connecticut, which require four or five other states to pass GMO labeling laws before they can be enacted, Vermont’s law contains no “trigger” clauses, making it the first “clean” GMO labeling law in the country.

The bill now goes back to the House which is expected to agree to the Senate’s amendments, then to Gov. Peter Shumlin who is expected to sign it. 

Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), issued the following statement:

Today’s victory in Vermont has been 20 years in the making. Ever since genetically modified crops and foods entered the U.S. food supply in the early 1990s, without adequate independent pre-market safety testing and without labels, U.S. consumers have fought to require the labeling of foods containing GMOs.

Consumer demand for mandatory labeling of GMOs spawned a national grassroots movement that has persevered despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the biotech and food industries to lobby state lawmakers in Vermont, and to fund anti-labeling campaigns in California (2012) and Washington State (2013).

Today, consumers and a number of principled legislators in Vermont made it clear to Monsanto, Coca-Cola and other opponents of consumers’ right to know: We will not back down. This movement is here to stay.

We expect that Monsanto will sue the state of Vermont in order to prevent enactment of H.112. We also expect that Monsanto will lose, and the law will go into effect on schedule, on July 1, 2016.

We expect that the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a multi-billion lobbying group representing more than 300 food, pesticide and drug makers, will try to pass their “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014,” introduced last week by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), intended to strip Vermont, and all other states, of their right to pass GMO labeling laws. And we expect that Congress will not pass this law, dubbed the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act, which seeks to deny consumers the right to know if their food has been genetically engineered, and deny states the right to enact laws designed to protect public health.

Vermont’s landmark victory today will force food companies to either label GMOs in all states, or reformulate their products to be GMO-free in order to avoid stating “this product was produced using genetic engineering” on their packaging. When Oregon passes a citizens’ ballot initiative to label GMOs in November, as we believe it will, the biotech and food industries will have lost, beyond the shadow of a doubt, their battle to keep consumers in the dark.

The OCA has worked closely over the past several years with the pro-labeling grassroots movement in Vermont. Today we congratulate Vermont activists for their passionate pursuit of this law, Vermont lawmakers for having the courage to pass the law, and Vermont citizens for being the first in the country to have the benefit of GMO labels on their food. And we reaffirm our commitment to work with Oregon and other states to pass similar laws, and to fight any and all attempts by industry and/or Congress to overturn these laws.

For press inquiries, please contact Katherine Paul by email or phone: 207.653.3090

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.

CONSUMERS UNION HAILS HISTORIC VERMONT HOUSE VOTE AS MAJOR VICTORY FOR LABELING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD

Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, commended the Vermont House of Representatives for today’s historic vote passing H-112, requiring the labeling of all genetically engineered (GE) food sold in that state, by an overwhelming margin of 99 to 42. The bill now moves to the Vermont Senate, which will take it up when the legislature returns January 2014. If the Senate passes the bill, Vermont will be the first in the nation to mandate GE labeling.
“Vermont’s historic vote today is a major victory for consumer demand for the labeling of genetically engineered food," said Michael Hansen, PhD, a biologist and Senior Scientist at Consumers Union. “We commend the members of the Vermont House who voted for this bill, despite an onslaught of industry lobbying against it.”
The Vermont House is the first state legislative body to pass a bill to label GE food, although the state of Alaska passed legislation requiring labeling of GE fish. GE food is required to be labeled in 62 foreign countries, including all of the European Union, Japan, Korea, Australia, and India.  
The Vermont bill will go into effect when two other states have passed similar legislation, or within two years from the date of signing. Labeling bills are also pending in Maine, Connecticut, and several other states. “All these states will be hard fought,” said Hansen.  
A ballot initiative in California lost in November 2012 by a small margin, 51 to 49 percent. Industry opponents outspent supporters by roughly five to one. A similar GE labeling initiative will be on the ballot in Washington State in November 2013. A federal bill to require GE food labeling was recently introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR).  
Interest in labeling bills has increased since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed the final steps of its approval process for GE salmon this year. If approved, the salmon would be the first GE animal on the U.S. market and the FDA has said that it does not intend to require labeling of it. Nearly 2 million people recently told the FDA that they oppose approval of GE salmon. H-112 would also require the labeling of GE salmon.
Consumers Union has long supported labeling of GE food and stricter regulatory oversight of GE crops.
# # #
Contact: Naomi Starkman, nstarkman@gmail.com, 917.539.3924

Vermont surrenders to Monsanto, or does it?

From Organic Bytes, the Organic Consumers Association's online newsletter

Vermont Surrenders

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has less than two weeks to either stand with the 90% of his constituents who support a mandatory labeling bill for genetically engineered foods - or cave in to Monsanto's threat to sue the state if legislators pass H.722.

The bill that once appeared destined to pass on the merits of scientific evidence, overwhelming public support, and support of the majority of Vermont's progressive legislators, now appears doomed - unless Vermont voters succeed in changing the Governor's mind.

If the Governor's words this past week are any indication, he's already surrendered to Monsanto. But Vermonters, not known for backing down from a fight, are challenging legislators to take on the biotech industry. They're even offering to raise money for the state's defense.

Learn More

Support the Legal Defense Fund

Monsanto's Enforcers

In the U.S., Monsanto has threatened to sue states like Vermont if they pass laws that require labels on genetically engineered food and ban the routine industry practice of labeling or marketing GMO-tainted foods as "natural" or "all natural."

In the U.S. and Canada, Monsanto has sued more than 150 farmers and threatened thousands of others, for refusing to pay for "intellectual property theft" after their fields were contaminated by Monsanto's patented genetically engineered crops.

In Argentina, thugs assaulted a well-known scientist, Andres Carrasco, who had carried out experiments demonstrating the extreme toxicity of Monsanto's herbicide, Roundup.

In Argentina, industry-hired gunmen invaded the homes of activist mothers, threatening them for trying to stop their children from being poisoned by the massive aerial spraying of herbicides on Monsanto's genetically engineered soybeans.

Please take action in solidarity with Argentinian activist Sofia Gatica who was visited by an armed man who warned her not to "screw around with the soybeans" when she launched a campaign to ban Monsanto's Roundup-resistant soybeans, after her 3-day-old daughter died of kidney failure from pesticide poisoning.

Ban Monsanto's Birth-Defect Causing RoundUp!

No Agent Orange Corn! Take Action Before April 27th

Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont

From the Organic Consumers Association: "Despite overwhelming public support and support from a clear majority of Vermont's Agriculture Committee, Vermont legislators are dragging their feet on a proposed GMO labeling bill. Why? Because Monsanto has threatened to sue the state if the bill passes. The popular legislative bill requiring mandatory labels on genetically engineered food (H-722) is languishing in the Vermont House Agriculture Committee, with only four weeks left until the legislature adjourns for the year. Despite thousands of emails and calls from constituents who overwhelmingly support mandatory labeling, despite the fact that a majority (6 to 5) of Agriculture Committee members support passage of the measure, Vermont legislators are holding up the labeling bill and refusing to take a vote."

- "Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont over GMO Labeling Bill," by Will Allen and Ronnie Cummins April 4, 2012

Read the Entire Article