Voice of the Environment | Campaigns | Banning GMOs

Voice of the Environment | Campaigns | Banning GMOs

Banning GMOs

	Voice of the Environment's mission is to educate the public regarding the transfer of public trust assets into private, mostly corporate, hands.
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	For two decades, Voice of the Environment has stood up for the people and our communities against the avarice of corporations and the misguided policies of the corporate-dominated state.

Protecting the pristine agriculture of Mendocino County by prohibiting the growing of genetically engineered (GMO) plants and animals.

A genetically modified organism is a man-made, patented, organism created in a laboratory through genetic engineering. It is created when a gene from a totally unrelated species is shot into the genetic material of another species. Scientists worldwide now admit that the rush to sell genetically engineered product has put people's health, property and the environment at risk.

A genetically modified organism is a man-made, patented, organism created in a laboratory through genetic engineering. It is created when a gene from a totally unrelated species is shot into the genetic material of another species. Scientists worldwide now admit that the rush to sell genetically engineered product has put people's health, property and the environment at risk.

That's why 30 countries have banned, or propose to ban GMOs, including many European countries. In the U.S., Gerber and Heinz baby foods, Frito-Lay, IAMS Pet Foods, Trader Joe's and even McDonald's and Burger King are now refusing GMO corn, potatoes, and other ingredients. Contrary to industry contention, GMOs have increased pesticide use and produced significantly lower yields than natural varieties.

The citizens of Mendocino County placed Measure H on their March, 2004 ballot to ban the growing of GMO plants and animals. Despite being outspent 10-1, the initiative passed with a resounding 58% of the vote. Two other California counties—Marin and Trinity—quickly followed suit. Several others, including Humboldt and Sonoma, have anti-GMO initiatives coming up.

Meanwhile, the biotech industry—led by its trade association CropLife America and supported by the American Farm Bureau—is trying to “preempt” counties and cities from taking this matter into their own hands. They want state, and ultimately, federal laws that will force genetic engineering literally down our throats.

Voice of the Environment will work hard to support local initiatives banning GMOs. We will also do everything in our power to stop preemption of local laws like Measure H by the biotech industry, corporate agribusiness, and their allies in the California legislature.

June 21, 2010
Justices Back Monsanto on Biotech Seed Planting
In its first-ever ruling on genetically modified crops, the Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower courtâ€™s ban on the planting of alfalfa seeds engineered to resist Monsantoâ€™s Roundup herbicide.
... more

May 17, 2010
Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto Hybrid Seeds
The Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) has committed to burning Monsanto's seeds, and has called for a march to protest the corporation's presence in Haiti on June 4, for World Environment Day.
... more

February 27, 2010
Stop GMO Contamination of Organic!
Don't believe Monsanto's greenwashing. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), aren't meant to feed the world or be resilient when there are droughts and floods - they're designed to sell pesticides.
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February 24, 2010
The Happy Story of GM Crops
Since the first commercial cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in 1996, Monsanto and the rest of the big six Biotech seed companies, (Pioneer/DuPont, Syngenta, Dow, BASF and Bayer) have become masters at the art of story telling.
... more

January 29, 2010
Genetically Modified Forest Planned for U.S. Southeast
While the practice of splicing foreign DNA into food crops has become common in corn and soy, few companies or researchers have dared to apply genetic engineering to plants that provide an essential strut of the U.S. economy, trees.
... more

January 3, 2010
Three Approved GMOs Linked to Organ Damage
In what is being described as the first ever and most comprehensive study of the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers have linked organ damage with consumption of Monsantoâ€™s GM maize.
... more

December 26, 2009
Beyond the Darkest Hours, Grassroots Rising
Winter in America 2009. Passing through the darkest period of the winter solstice, shrouded by the gloom and doom of climate destruction, war, and economic depression, making our way around the broken promises of "change we can believe in," we nonetheless find ourselves celebrating life and the redemptive power of a global grassroots revolution.
... more

June 8, 2009
DANGEROUS CORN: German Government Bans Variety of Corn Modified by Monsanto
The head of the German agriculture department has issued new guidelines that effectively ban a type of genetically modified corn, which has been made in a laboratory by scientists at biotech giant Monsanto.
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June 5, 2009
Vatican: Genetically Modified Food "Praiseworthy"
In what seemed largely a foregone conclusion, a May 15-19 study week on genetically modified organisms sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Sciences ended with a strong endorsement of GMOs as “praiseworthy for improving the lives of the poor,” and promising “improved food safety and health benefits, better food security, and enhanced environmental performance in a sustainable manner.”
... more

May 20, 2009
Doctors Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food
On May 19th, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on "Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks."
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April 19, 2009
"Superweed" explosion threatens Monsanto heartlands
The gospel of high-tech genetically modified (GM) crops is not sounding quite so sweet in the land of the converted.
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April 14, 2009
Corn, Soy Yields Gain Little From Genetic Engineering: Study
The use of genetically engineered corn and soybeans in the United States for more than a decade has had little impact on crop yields despite claims that they could ease looming food shortages, a study released on Tuesday concluded.
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April 5, 2009
There's a New Blogger in Town: Monsanto
Monsanto's got a blog! They have decided to set the record straight on all of the bad Monsanto stories that everyone's heard.
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February 16, 2009
EU Foiled in Bid to Force France, Greece to Allow GM Crop
The European Commission was foiled Monday in its bid to force France and Greece to allow genetically modified maize from US biotech giant Monsanto to be grown in their fields.
... more

January 22, 2009
Genetically modified (GM) foods - renewed threat to Europe
* Part I: The threat * Part II: The science
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January 19, 2009
Scientist issues genetic food warning
The only way consumers can protect their families and avoid potentially harmful so-called Frankenfoods is to buy directly from the grower, says a leading plant scientist.
... more

January 15, 2009
Agriculture Nominee Vilsack Splits the Organic Community
Agriculture Secretary nominee Tom Vilsack had no problem winning over both Democrat and Republican members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee during his confirmation hearing today, but he has not done as well with the growers and consumers of organic foods.
... more

January 14, 2009
USDA Proposes First-Ever Industrial GE Crop
USDA is poised to deregulate the world’s first genetically engineered (GE) industrial crop.
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December 8, 2008
Bush's Environmental Legacy on GMOs
In a few hundred thousand years, after all weather effects of 21st century climate change have disappeared from the earth's surface, after our quietly smoldering nuclear waste has been extinguished, two destructive impacts traceable to George Bush's policies will yet remain.
... more

October 5, 2008
Prince Charles targets GM crop giants in fiercest attack yet
In a provocative address to an Indian audience, the Prince echoes Gandhi with a stinging attack on 'commerce without morality'.
... more

Article Archive

June 22nd, 2010

High Court Delivers Ruling that Leaves Ban on Planting of Roundup Ready Alfalfa in Place in First-Ever Case on a Genetically-Engineered Crop

Center for Food Safety

The United States Supreme Court announced its decision today in Monsanto v. Geerston Farms, the first genetically modified crop case ever brought before the Supreme Court. Although the High Court decision reverses parts of the lower courtsâ€™ rulings, the judgment holds that the ban on planting Roundup Ready Alfalfa still stands until and unless future deregulation by the Agency occurs. This is a major victory for the Center for Food Safety and the Farmers and Consumers it represents!

In the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court held: â€œIn sumâ€¦the vacatur of APHISâ€™s deregulation decision means that virtually no RRA (Roundup Ready Alfalfa) can be grown or sold until such time as a new deregulation decision is in place, and we also know that any party aggrieved by a hypothetical future deregulation decision will have ample opportunity to challenge it, and to seek appropriate preliminary relief, if and when such a decision is made.â€ (Opinion at p. 22).

The Court also held that:

Any further attempt to commercialize RRA even in part may require an EIS subject to legal challenge.

The Court further recognized that the threat of transgenic contamination is harmful and onerous to organic and conventional farmers and that the injury allows them to challenge future biotech crop commercializations in court.
USDA indicated at the Supreme Court argument that full deregulation is about a year away and that they will not pursue a partial deregulation in the interim. Any new attempt at deregulation in full or part will still be subject to legal challenge.

Many of you may have read press this morning reporting that the 7-1 decision announced by the Supreme Court today went entirely in Monsanto's favor. Not to our surprise, Monsantoâ€™s PR machine is working hard to overpower the truth in today's decision in the first-ever Supreme Court case on genetically engineered crops (Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms). While the decision is complicated, this Court opinion is in many ways a victory for CFS and a defeat against Monsantoâ€”especially given that it is still illegal to sell or plant GMO alfalfa.

CFSâ€™s Executive Director, Andrew Kimbrell authored an article in today's Huffington Post to help clarify the legal ramifications of the decision. Grist also has a good piece outlining the decision, as does Eco Centric.

Despite what Monsanto is claimingâ€”and what many mainstream media outlets reported earlier this morningâ€”todayâ€™s ruling isnâ€™t even close to the victory they were hoping for. Generally speaking, Monsanto asked the Supreme Court to rule on three main issues: (1) to lift the injunction on GMO alfalfa; (2) to allow the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa; (3) to rule that contamination from GMO crops not be considered irreparable harm.

In fact, the court only ruled on the first request which it did affirm by stating that the injunction was overly broad and should be overturned. However, the Court ruled in CFS's favor on the other two issues, which in many ways are more important as the fact remains that the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa remains illegal. The Supreme Court ruled that an injunction against planting was simply unnecessary since, under lower courtsâ€™ rulings, Roundup Ready Alfalfa became a regulated item and illegal to plant. In other words, the injunction was â€œoverkillâ€™ because our victory in lower federal court determined that USDA violated the National Environmental Protection Act and other environmental laws when it approved Roundup Ready alfalfa. The court felt that voiding the USDAâ€™s decision to make the crop legally available for sale was enough.

The Center is victorious in this case in several other ways: most importantly, the High Court did not rule on several arguments presented by Monsanto about the application of federal environmental law. As a result, the Court did not make any ruling that could have been hurtful to National Environmental Policy Act or any other environmental laws. In addition, the Court opinion supported the Centerâ€™s argument that gene flow is a serious environmental and economic threat. This means that genetic contamination from GMOs can still be considered harm under the law, both from an environmental and economic perspective, another huge victory for CFS.

We could not have gone all the way to the Supreme Court without your supportâ€”thank you! Your letters, phone calls and donations have been invaluable in the efforts to ban GE alfalfa. We will keep you updated on any Agency attempts to deregulate GE alfalfa and on the ongoing EIS process. In the meantime, if you have not already done so, please take a moment to contact your Congressional representatives and ask them to sign the â€œDear Colleagueâ€ letter circulating in the U.S. House and Senate urging USDA to ban GE alfalfa.

Further background information on the history of this case and scientific studies are available at http://truefoodnow.org/publications/supreme-court-briefs/. Todayâ€™s press release can be found here: http://truefoodnow.org/2010/06/21/supreme-court-ruling-in-monsanto-case-is-victory-for-center-for-food-safety-farmers/#more-1217, and The Supreme Court decision can be viewed here: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/09-475.pdf

Voice of the Environment is a 501 (c-3) not-for-profit Montana-based corporation formed in 1991.