Tell Your Representative To Protect Your Rights!

Last week, powerful interests in Washington defeated the “Consumers Right to Know About Genetically Engineered Food Act” in the Senate, denying you and all Americans the right to know about our food.  Now they are at it again, trying to extend their control by barring agricultural officials and judges from being able to stop, when necessary, the planting of genetically engineered crops.

This unprecedented attack on our right to know about our food is gaining steam and we need your voice to fight back.

A provision has been introduced into the FY 2013 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that would strip federal courts of their authority to halt the sale and planting of an unapproved genetically engineered (GE) crop while the USDA assesses its potential hazards.  This would allow farmers to grow potentially harmful GE crops during legal appeals of the approval process, instead of afterwards.

“This is an unprecedented move by special interests to subvert the separation of powers so carefully laid out in the U.S. Constitution to protect all of our rights,” said Gary Hirshberg, Chairman, Just Label It.  “This provision could negatively impact our environment and our health and compromises the consumers’ right to know about our food.  It must be defeated.”

Labeled the “Farmer Assurance Provision,” though special interests are the only ones it is designed to assure, this proposed policy rider would:

• Eliminate fundamental and constitutional safeguards of our judicial review system;
• Undermine the USDA’s oversight and approval process and weaken consumer protections;
• Allow powerful chemical companies to dodge reasonable restrictions on potentially hazardous GE crops.

This bill is now being debated in the House of Representatives.  It is crucial that you tell your U.S. representative to oppose the “Farmer Assurance Provision!”

Additionally, if this provision becomes law, it may compel the USDA to allow all permits for continued planting of unapproved GE crops, even if previously unrecognized health risks are found.  This has dangerous consequences, potentially exposing non-GE farmers  to substantial damages and, due to international GE crop trade restrictions, put our nation’s agricultural markets at risk.

As the people of the United States continue to voice concerns regarding the faults in our food system, influential players continue to introduce their own, profit-driven interests into national policies that negatively affect each and every American.  Without the appropriate supervision and safeguards, large corporations will continue to control our food safety, with a high cost to both our health and environment.

This is an unprecedented move by special interests to subvert the separation of powers so carefully laid out in the U.S. Constitution to protect all of our rights.

Tell your U.S. Representative to remove the “Farmer Assurance Provision”!

Thank you for taking the time to voice your concern.  We can’t do it without your help.