News: Some Good, Some Not So

Let's start with the not-so-good.  Last Friday, July 29th, President Obama signed into law a Federal GMO labeling bill. We at the library watch GMO legislation and development closely because pollen spreads and we are adamant that we do not want to grow or eat GMO food until it's been honestly and appropriately tested.  

The bill that Obama signed is a travesty - it is the worst possible outcome of all legislation that could have been enacted.  The law, in the first place, destroys state laws for labeling - like the perfect reasonable Vermont bill.  Vermont's law held food manufacturers to place a simple line, "This item contains GMOs" on the outside of the container.  Nothing ambiguous there - and manufacturers were complying.  

A QR code.  You need a smartphone and
an internet connection. And know how to use it.
I do, but do your grandparents? 

The Federal law makes everything massively more complex and renders a foolish and idiotic result. First off, there is no labeling for two years because the Dept of Agriculture needs that time to "study" the problem.  Secondly, many GMOs already in our food supply, will not have to be labeled according to this law - things like high-fructose corn syrup. And the label will be in the form of a QR code or an 800 number to further obfuscation.  

I have heard a lawsuit against this bill is pending.  I hope we get some sanity with some legal reprieve.  If not, prepare for wholesale boycotts and other actions to show our dissatisfaction with this horribly flawed law.

On the other hand!  

The American Association of Seed Control Officials and the American Seed Trade Association are recommending that seed libraries be exempt from the laws of seed businesses as regulated by state agricultural departments.

The RUSSL (Recommended Uniform State Seed Law) amendment is a groundbreaking document that allows seed libraries to continue operating in the commons without penalty. This means no fees, no germination testing, and no expiration dates. As the name implies, the RUSSL amendment is a recommendation and must be approved legislatively state by state.

Neil Thapar at Sustainable Economies Law Center, the lone male head
in the back on the left, and Betsy Goodman, down in front,
founder of the Omaha, NB seed libraries played a very large
part in getting this through the AASCO!  

This IS good news, but keep the corks in the champagne for a minute or two more.  This is not a law - it is a RECOMMENDATION for future laws. If the law in your state excludes seed libraries from doing what seed libraries do, this changes nothing.  BUT, it does mean, when seed saving laws come up for discussion in your state legislatures, this language from the AASCO, will be the language that will be suggested as a place to start.  That is big news, but don't roll down to your county ag office with an invitation to swap seeds just yet.

There are so many awesome people to thank for their hard work opposing the distressing Federal law and they deserve to know we value the work they did for us. In CA, Boxer stood with us, while Feinstein defected. And, of course, Obama, who had campaigned FOR labeling, was the biggest let down of all. But we will work to make sure it doesn't stand. GMOs do not play well with other crops - we have seen this contamination cause financial hardship and devastation to organic farms who are held liable for the spread of the patented genes.  

We thank Neil Thapar and Betsy Goodman and others for going to the annual meeting of AASCO and asking them to consider our seed libraries.  

I did not go because I felt it would be futile.  Shows you what I know and shows you what can happen when you do show up!  I have a great deal of respect for all these folks that made this happen - it does not change California law, which is still pending, but it's due to come up sometime in August and we'll keep you posted!

david

A Sad Day

Only minutes ago we learned that the US House of  Representatives voted to pass the ironically (or cynically) titled Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.  This measure has been called by people who really support accurate food labels called the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act.   (The actually vote tally can be found at this site, which also tells which representatives voted for it and which did not.)

The discrepancies lie in whether or not you believe that people have a right to know what is in their food.  This act repeals all local laws on labeling in favor of a non-existent Federal law that will never be implemented by at least 275 representatives are bought and paid for by the bio-tech industry.  There is no other reason to deny Americans the rights enjoyed in most of the first world as regards the ingredients in our food. This is an outrage against the American process and a travesty against the American people.  In the past, pre-internet, perhaps such a vote could be swept under the rug, but hopefully today, we have enough people who understand the severity of the problem to push back - to make this vote too expensive to justify.

This was pretty discouraging news.  It was a blow to so many people who believe that genetically engineered food has already come too far, too fast, with too little oversight and find this race to stuff it down our throats without telling us about it is misguided and plain stupid.

"Well it's safe," we are told.  The only source for such assurance of safety are from the manufacturers who have a financial (big financial) stake in this stuff making back some of the millions of dollars they have invested in it.  The biggest player in this market is Monsanto.  You are aware, of course, that Monsanto made PCBs and lied about their safety.  You are aware, as well, that Monsanto created DDT and lied about it's safety.  They were complicit in Agent Orange - and you'll recall their were heinous side effects in that. So this is the company that is saying it's safe.  The US governmental agencies, when they say it's safe and only taking Monsanto (and the rest of them) at their word.  There is no independent US governmental testing here.  I'd like to point out, that even after poisoning the world with DDT and PCBs, Monsanto continued to do business and continued to make money and was not fined or aggressively prosecuted in any of those events. So "it's safe" to Monsanto doesn't mean a thing to us.  ALL those tests we hear about on genetically modified plants were done by scientists, directly or indirectly, on payrolls supplied by the biotech industry.  

And, if you'll allow a digression, in not one of the campaigns for labeling did you hear the anti-labeling forces say any good things about genetically engineered foods.  Their campaigns against labeling were frauds based on some study that said the labeling laws would raise the cost of food by $250 a year - then after the election we find out what we suspected was true - it was a phony think tank, a phony study and they paid the electoral fine for being a liar and walked away with a victory.  In campaigns through out the west, we say state's laws on campaign finance blatantly disregarded and flaunted without a flinch and the fines paid without a whimper as they walked away with another victory.  

You can easily see why one would think Congress was simply bought. Anyone who has taken an objective look at the process of genetically altered food and how it is grown does not think it's a solution to any real problem in the world - in fact, it actively contributes to the problems in the world.  Genetically altered plants, provably, use more water, more pesticides, more fertilizers (both of the latter are dependent on oil), create more groundwater pollution and are horrifically anti-environment (Iowa and other centers of farming will soon be rendered worthless for growing crops because of the abuse of industrial farming and adding in genetically engineered plants is simply "industrial farming on steroids").  

The problem is the whole world cannot be bought.  Our markets abroad will continue to shrink as America imports organic corn from abroad to sustain those of us who will not eat genetically altered food at all and other countries continue to oppose any genetically engineered product for their people.  

More Americans will read labels more closely and labels that simply say "corn, soy or sugar from beets" will not be purchased even if they don't have GMOs because those are the three crops that are mostly on the shelves of our super markets.  We already as a matter of habit avoid all food grown in Hawaii because of that states poor health record on GMOs and pesticide spraying.  

We believe that the only way to be food secure in any region is to be seed secure.  We believe that seeds should never be patented and "owned" by any one - certainly not by a rapacious corporation.  We believe that non-hybrid seeds should be saved by average citizens and these same citizens should be able to protect their seed from infection of genetically altered pollen.  We believe it is immoral to own life - and seeds are alive.  We believe we have to save the seeds that feed us and carry on the tradition of our ancestors in being keepers of the seed and allowing this diversity to persist and be passed on to our children.  

We move on now to fight the DARK act in the Senate.  There is little hope that, despite campaign pledges to the contrary, President Obama will veto this heinous crime of a bill against the American people.  Please contact your senators at once and ask them to please vote no on HR 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.  

Do it for yourself. Do it for your children.  Do it for the environment.  Do it for all of us.  

david