*Call for Solidarity from GE FREE VERMONT CAMPAIGN!*
GE FREE VT | 22.02.2004 18:28 | Bio-technology | Ecology | Globalisation
We write from the little green mountain state of Vermont (pop. 600,000) in the northeastern USA, and we greet you in the spirit of our state motto: "Freedom and Unity."
We write to you to share our story, and to ask you to join us at 10 AM EST on Thursday, February 26th 2004, with seeds of solidarity for a GE Free future.
Here in Vermont, we are very strong. On Thursday, there is a likelihood that our STATE SENATE WILL PASS THE FIRST BILL in the USA TO PROHIBIT THE PLANTING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SEEDS, INCLUDING THOSE ALREADY ON THE MARKET. We are gearing up for a big moment, and this moment will be only the beginning of our struggle.
We write to you to share our story, and to ask you to join us at 10 AM EST on Thursday, February 26th 2004, with seeds of solidarity for a GE Free future.
Here in Vermont, we are very strong. On Thursday, there is a likelihood that our STATE SENATE WILL PASS THE FIRST BILL in the USA TO PROHIBIT THE PLANTING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SEEDS, INCLUDING THOSE ALREADY ON THE MARKET. We are gearing up for a big moment, and this moment will be only the beginning of our struggle.
***Call for Solidarity from GE FREE VERMONT CAMPAIGN!***
70 Vermont Towns
Hundreds of Vermont Farmers
Thousands of Concerned Neighbors
Join The Global Movement
Against Genetically Engineered Crops!
***Call For Solidarity from GE FREE VERMONT CAMPAIGN!***
Dear Friends and Allies around planet Earth,
We write from the little green mountain state of Vermont (pop. 600,000) in the northeastern USA, and we greet you in the spirit of our state motto: "Freedom and Unity."
We write to you to share our story, and to ask you to join us at 10 AM EST on Thursday, February 26th 2004, with seeds of solidarity for a GE Free future.
Here in Vermont, we are very strong. On Thursday, there is a likelihood that our STATE SENATE WILL PASS THE FIRST BILL in the USA TO PROHIBIT THE PLANTING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SEEDS, INCLUDING THOSE ALREADY ON THE MARKET. We are gearing up for a big moment, and this moment will be only the beginning of our struggle.
OUR STORY:
‡ In the Belly of the Biotech Beast:
As you are aware, the US government--beholden to the interests of corporate agribusiness--has force fed genetically engineered crops into the mouths of millions of people in America, and onto countries across the globe. The Bush administration has even gone so far as to take Europe to the World Trade Organization to challenge the EU moratorium on GMO crops. Monsanto and their industry buddies, armed with their greedy ambitions for contamination and domination with GMO crops, have silenced regulatory agencies inside the US, and the biotech industry's multi-million dollar public relations machine have churned out myth after myth that genetically engineered crops are good for us.
‡ The Town-to-Town Campaign:
That’s why thousands of people across the state of Vermont have been educating, organizing, and mobilizing at the grassroots level for more than a decade, to stop the gene giants from taking over our small family farms, and asserting our power as communities to decide to be GE Free.
The Town-to-Town Campaign on genetic engineering has been a groundswell of grassroots community organizing, and 70 Vermont towns (that's one third of Vermont) have passed resolutions at annual town meetings calling for a moratorium on GMO crops, and declaring moratoria in local municipalities.
Town meeting happens the first Tuesday in March, every year. It is a bastion of the US revolutionary era, and is a model of local, face-to-face community decision-making. Residents of every town gather to debate and decide on issues like the town roads, library, schools, and increasingly, issues of local and global significance: from the occupation of Iraq, to global warming, to a moratorium on genetically engineered crops.
‡ Farmers say "Time Out on GMOs!":
Alongside Town-to-town campaign organizing, hundreds of farmers--organic and conventional, dairy and vegetable--have signed on to the pledge not to plant GE crops and to support the Time Out on GMOs. Vermont's dairy farms are the hallmark of our landscape, economy, and heritage. Our farms are increasingly threatened, with commodity prices falling, Milk Protein Concentrates (MPCs) from overseas flooding the market, and corporate factory farming pushing small producers out of business.
Vermont is #1 in the U.S. in percentage of organic food acres in our state -- at 24%. Vermont also boasts 70% of the organic acreage in all of New England. For Vermont's organic farmers, coexistence of GMO and non-GMO crops can only mean contamination and loss of livelihood. For the consumers in the northeast USA, this contamination could lead to the complete loss of GE Free local food.
In November of last year, the GE Free Vermont campaign learned that an organic corn farm in our state tested positive for GMO contamination. We built a movement to say "coexistence=contamination," and a rallying cry for a "Time Out on GMOs!"
‡ Monsanto Out of Montpelier:
With the surge of grassroots organizing for a Time Out on GMOs by farmers, environmentalists, organic consumers, global justice activists, and others over the past three years, the state legislature in Montpelier (the smallest state capitol in the US, AND THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A MCDONALD’S) has taken up the issue. And Monsanto and the industry lobby group ‘Crop Life America’ have flocked to our state.
Three bills are currently in play in our state legislature:
‡ The Right to Know Act: A definition of GMOs, mandatory GE seed labeling, and mandatory reporting of seed sales by manufacturers.
‡ The Farmer Protection Act: Shifts strict liability away from the farmer and places it squarely on the shoulders of the corporate manufacturers.
‡ The TIME OUT ON GMOs: A TWO YEAR MORATORIUM on planting genetically engineered crops in the state of Vermont!!!!
***THE MOMENT IS NOW--THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2004:***
ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, THERE WILL BE VOTES IN OUR STATEHOUSE ON THESE BILLS.
On Thursday morning, Monsanto has been allotted three hours to speak to our lawmakers.
On Thursday, February 26th, 2004, at 10 AM EST, we will march through the streets of Montpelier calling for a TIME OUT ON GMOs, carrying heirloom seeds-- saved by our state's first certified organic dairy farmer--in our hands, and hope in our hearts.
We invite you, wherever you are, to join us in solidarity. We invite you to take action as part of the global struggle for our food, our farms, and our future.
We join you in the fight for a GE Free Future: in India; in the Philippines; in Brazil; in Mexico; in the UK; in New Zealand; in Mendocino, California; in Italy; in Thailand; in El Salvador; in Georgia; in Peru; in Paraguay; in Zambia; in Syria; across the prairies of North America; across the EU; everywhere...WE JOIN YOU IN THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE SEEDS!
Light a candle. Plant a seed. Say a prayer. Host a GMO free food stall. Gather in front of your local biotech corporation and tell them a precedent is about to be set inside the US that could start to really turn the tide. The grassroots democracy campaign for a GE Free Vermont is part of the global grassroots struggle for democracy and the future of agriculture. The senate vote for a moratorium in Vermont could be a domino inside the belly of the biotech beast, setting of a chain reaction of courage to say no to GMOs.
The Bush Administration took the EU to the WTO saying that the people of the US are glad to have genetically engineered agriculture. They lied.
Tell your neighbors, friends, and networks that the Vermont state Senate is voting on a moratorium on genetically engineered crops, and this little state is standing up to Monsanto and the corporate power brokers. We are taking a big step toward a GE free future. But this will only be the beginning. If the Senate votes a Time Out on GMOs, Monsanto, Crop Life, and company will inevitably dump millions into stopping the bill from becoming law.
The Time Out campaign is people power in action. This is happening because people from all walks of life--from the countryside and the towns--farmers, parents, students, and communities---have organized and mobilized, called their senators, taken direct action, hosted meetings, showed films, said prayers, visited their neighbors, and marched on Montpelier. We have testified, we have called, we have written, and we have spoken. AND WE WILL WIN.
And we invite you to join us in this moment: February 26th, 2004, at 10 AM EST, with seeds of solidarity, change, and hope.
###For campaign updates and more information:
http://www.gefreevt.org
http://www.nerage.org
###Tell us about your solidarity actions:
Email:
info@nerage.org
Phone: 802.223.7222 / 802.279.0985
Post to the web: www.biotechimc.org
***To make a donation to the Campaign!!***
**By pay pal: http://www.gefreevt.org
**By Mail:
GE FREE VERMONT
c/o 15 BARRE ST STE 2
MONTPELIER VT 05602-3582 USA
In Solidarity, Freedom, and Unity!
THE GE FREE VERMONT CAMPAIGN
70 Vermont Towns
Hundreds of Vermont Farmers
Thousands of Concerned Neighbors
Join The Global Movement
Against Genetically Engineered Crops!
***Call For Solidarity from GE FREE VERMONT CAMPAIGN!***
Dear Friends and Allies around planet Earth,
We write from the little green mountain state of Vermont (pop. 600,000) in the northeastern USA, and we greet you in the spirit of our state motto: "Freedom and Unity."
We write to you to share our story, and to ask you to join us at 10 AM EST on Thursday, February 26th 2004, with seeds of solidarity for a GE Free future.
Here in Vermont, we are very strong. On Thursday, there is a likelihood that our STATE SENATE WILL PASS THE FIRST BILL in the USA TO PROHIBIT THE PLANTING OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SEEDS, INCLUDING THOSE ALREADY ON THE MARKET. We are gearing up for a big moment, and this moment will be only the beginning of our struggle.
OUR STORY:
‡ In the Belly of the Biotech Beast:
As you are aware, the US government--beholden to the interests of corporate agribusiness--has force fed genetically engineered crops into the mouths of millions of people in America, and onto countries across the globe. The Bush administration has even gone so far as to take Europe to the World Trade Organization to challenge the EU moratorium on GMO crops. Monsanto and their industry buddies, armed with their greedy ambitions for contamination and domination with GMO crops, have silenced regulatory agencies inside the US, and the biotech industry's multi-million dollar public relations machine have churned out myth after myth that genetically engineered crops are good for us.
‡ The Town-to-Town Campaign:
That’s why thousands of people across the state of Vermont have been educating, organizing, and mobilizing at the grassroots level for more than a decade, to stop the gene giants from taking over our small family farms, and asserting our power as communities to decide to be GE Free.
The Town-to-Town Campaign on genetic engineering has been a groundswell of grassroots community organizing, and 70 Vermont towns (that's one third of Vermont) have passed resolutions at annual town meetings calling for a moratorium on GMO crops, and declaring moratoria in local municipalities.
Town meeting happens the first Tuesday in March, every year. It is a bastion of the US revolutionary era, and is a model of local, face-to-face community decision-making. Residents of every town gather to debate and decide on issues like the town roads, library, schools, and increasingly, issues of local and global significance: from the occupation of Iraq, to global warming, to a moratorium on genetically engineered crops.
‡ Farmers say "Time Out on GMOs!":
Alongside Town-to-town campaign organizing, hundreds of farmers--organic and conventional, dairy and vegetable--have signed on to the pledge not to plant GE crops and to support the Time Out on GMOs. Vermont's dairy farms are the hallmark of our landscape, economy, and heritage. Our farms are increasingly threatened, with commodity prices falling, Milk Protein Concentrates (MPCs) from overseas flooding the market, and corporate factory farming pushing small producers out of business.
Vermont is #1 in the U.S. in percentage of organic food acres in our state -- at 24%. Vermont also boasts 70% of the organic acreage in all of New England. For Vermont's organic farmers, coexistence of GMO and non-GMO crops can only mean contamination and loss of livelihood. For the consumers in the northeast USA, this contamination could lead to the complete loss of GE Free local food.
In November of last year, the GE Free Vermont campaign learned that an organic corn farm in our state tested positive for GMO contamination. We built a movement to say "coexistence=contamination," and a rallying cry for a "Time Out on GMOs!"
‡ Monsanto Out of Montpelier:
With the surge of grassroots organizing for a Time Out on GMOs by farmers, environmentalists, organic consumers, global justice activists, and others over the past three years, the state legislature in Montpelier (the smallest state capitol in the US, AND THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A MCDONALD’S) has taken up the issue. And Monsanto and the industry lobby group ‘Crop Life America’ have flocked to our state.
Three bills are currently in play in our state legislature:
‡ The Right to Know Act: A definition of GMOs, mandatory GE seed labeling, and mandatory reporting of seed sales by manufacturers.
‡ The Farmer Protection Act: Shifts strict liability away from the farmer and places it squarely on the shoulders of the corporate manufacturers.
‡ The TIME OUT ON GMOs: A TWO YEAR MORATORIUM on planting genetically engineered crops in the state of Vermont!!!!
***THE MOMENT IS NOW--THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2004:***
ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, THERE WILL BE VOTES IN OUR STATEHOUSE ON THESE BILLS.
On Thursday morning, Monsanto has been allotted three hours to speak to our lawmakers.
On Thursday, February 26th, 2004, at 10 AM EST, we will march through the streets of Montpelier calling for a TIME OUT ON GMOs, carrying heirloom seeds-- saved by our state's first certified organic dairy farmer--in our hands, and hope in our hearts.
We invite you, wherever you are, to join us in solidarity. We invite you to take action as part of the global struggle for our food, our farms, and our future.
We join you in the fight for a GE Free Future: in India; in the Philippines; in Brazil; in Mexico; in the UK; in New Zealand; in Mendocino, California; in Italy; in Thailand; in El Salvador; in Georgia; in Peru; in Paraguay; in Zambia; in Syria; across the prairies of North America; across the EU; everywhere...WE JOIN YOU IN THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE SEEDS!
Light a candle. Plant a seed. Say a prayer. Host a GMO free food stall. Gather in front of your local biotech corporation and tell them a precedent is about to be set inside the US that could start to really turn the tide. The grassroots democracy campaign for a GE Free Vermont is part of the global grassroots struggle for democracy and the future of agriculture. The senate vote for a moratorium in Vermont could be a domino inside the belly of the biotech beast, setting of a chain reaction of courage to say no to GMOs.
The Bush Administration took the EU to the WTO saying that the people of the US are glad to have genetically engineered agriculture. They lied.
Tell your neighbors, friends, and networks that the Vermont state Senate is voting on a moratorium on genetically engineered crops, and this little state is standing up to Monsanto and the corporate power brokers. We are taking a big step toward a GE free future. But this will only be the beginning. If the Senate votes a Time Out on GMOs, Monsanto, Crop Life, and company will inevitably dump millions into stopping the bill from becoming law.
The Time Out campaign is people power in action. This is happening because people from all walks of life--from the countryside and the towns--farmers, parents, students, and communities---have organized and mobilized, called their senators, taken direct action, hosted meetings, showed films, said prayers, visited their neighbors, and marched on Montpelier. We have testified, we have called, we have written, and we have spoken. AND WE WILL WIN.
And we invite you to join us in this moment: February 26th, 2004, at 10 AM EST, with seeds of solidarity, change, and hope.
###For campaign updates and more information:
http://www.gefreevt.org http://www.nerage.org ###Tell us about your solidarity actions:
Email:
info@nerage.org Phone: 802.223.7222 / 802.279.0985
Post to the web: www.biotechimc.org
***To make a donation to the Campaign!!***
**By pay pal:
http://www.gefreevt.org **By Mail:
GE FREE VERMONT
c/o 15 BARRE ST STE 2
MONTPELIER VT 05602-3582 USA
In Solidarity, Freedom, and Unity!
THE GE FREE VERMONT CAMPAIGN
GE FREE VT
e-mail:
info@nerage.org
Homepage:
http://www.nerage.org