Stop GMO alfalfa

[steffanie3]

Alfalfa is the newest Round-up ready crop to be pushed by Monsanto. We may not eat alfalfa, but organic dairy cattle and other animals do. Read more here http://www.seedalliance.org/Advocacy/alfalfa-alert/

[iowaorganic]

No, not the newest- that would be gmo wheat that they are going to be trialing this/next year around the world.

Organic livestock are of course prohibited from eating gmo anything but the nature of alalfa is that it can pollinate other alfalfa 2 miles away. Unless gmo alfalfa is quarantined all alfalfa will test gmo. Thankfully it has been pulled from the market- but this is what gets me. Roundup Ready is not necessary in alfalfa. All it takes to stop weeds is a cover crop of oats/wheat/etc. It isn't rocket science, but it does take a bit more work than fueling up the old sprayer and filling it up with glyphosate.

[steffanie3]

What I meant by the newest pushed by Monsanto is that it is up for public comment for non-regulated status, which is open now.

From what I understand it was pulled for now, the environmental impacts statement has been produced and it is up for comment until mid February. Just like with corn (even though alfalfa is not wind pollinated), even the organic producers will have a harder and harder time finding seed without GMO contamination.

[JenBuckyfan]

Yes, the USDA has stated that there is no evidence that "organic consumers care about GE contamination" and are planning to approve Round-Up Ready GE alfalfa. They admit this will hurt the organic industry and small farmers but they don't offer any suggestions for possible protections for organic. We can comment here until Feb. 16th and let them know we do care.

[aztraea]

bump because this is such a huge thing! One week left for comments.

[alivia]

Sorry to be obtuse, but I can't figure out how to submit a comment via the link posted. Anyone know?

[aztraea]

lol, yeah, it's not the easiest site to navigate! Try this:
COMMENTS ARE DUE FEBRUARY 16, 2010

HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS

1) Submit comments online through the government website: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Re...900006480a6b7\
a1
Click on "submit comment" (look at the upper right-hand corner of the box)

2) You can also submit comments through the Center for Food Safety's website,
http://ga3.org/campaign/alfalfaEIS

3) For written, mailed comments, send two copies to: Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044,
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River
Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers
to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044.

TALKING POINTS
--As a consumer, you do not want to buy GE-alfalfa-derived meat and dairy
products. USDA claims that consumers will not be harmed by the approval of GE
alfalfa, but has not conducted studies of the effects of feeding GE alfalfa to
livestock.

--It is wrong to leave farmers, whether organic or conventional, vulnerable to
contamination of their crops. Alfalfa is open-pollinated by bees. With bees
traveling 4 to 6 miles, they can potentially spread the patented, foreign DNA to
distant conventional and organic crops. The potential for biological
contamination from a neighbor's field, even miles away, threatens the livelihood
of organic farmers, dairies, and other livestock producers. The farmers may also
be subject to harassment by Monsanto if Monsanto's investigators find DNA from
GE alfalfa mixed in with the farmer's crops.

--GE alfalfa would be the first perennial crop to be approved for genetic
modification and release. GE-contaminated plants could be scattered along the
roadsides and in fields, living and producing more GE-contaminated pollen for
years.

--Monsanto's business practices do NOT protect farmers from contamination. USDA
claims that Monsanto's seed contracts require measures sufficient to prevent GE
contamination. But USDA is ignoring the evidence of widespread GE contamination
of canola, soy, and corn.

--GE alfalfa would significantly increase pesticide use, harming both human
health and the environment. USDA admits (correctly) that introduction of Roundup
Ready alfalfa will increase Roundup use. However, USDA's claims that the
increase is not significant and that Roundup will replace other, more toxic
herbicides are wrong and unsupported by any evidence.

--USDA should NOT approve genetically engineered crops that benefit one large
company at the expense of family farms. USDA concludes that GE alfalfa will
cause production to shift to larger farms (that can afford built-in isolation
distances) and conventional growers who are not threatened by GE contamination,
but that these economic shifts are not significant. This is a continuation of
the "get big or get out" policy that has caused myriad problems over the last
several decades, and it needs to stop!

MORE INFORMATION
Check out the Center for Food Safety's fact sheet on GE alfalfa here:
http://www.nationalorganiccoalition....ingptfinal.pdf

[aztraea]

ok, the link I posted is broken in my post, but, even when fixed, no longer works!
The docket number is APHIS-2007-0044 and that should bring you to the comment area on the regulations.gov site. I'll keep looking to see if I can find a better route!

[greenmansions]

This is the last day for comments from what I have read... please go and comment.

Our local food coop newsletter says that usda does not believe that consumers care about gm crops/foods. So it's important to get our voices heard.

I went to the site: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#home

and searched for alfalfa

(If I enter with the search result, the link will not work for some reason.)

Thanks everyone!

[allnaturalmom]

I don't normally post here, but wanted to bump this because it is so terribly important! Someone sent me this today and I wanted to share:

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/c...cqw&source=taf

[greenmansions]

Originally Posted by allnaturalmom

I don't normally post here, but wanted to bump this because it is so terribly important! Someone sent me this today and I wanted to share:

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/c...cqw&source=taf

Thanks for posting. I am going to sign this, but jeez I hate giving my address on these forms.