This letter from Congress directs USDA Secretary Vilsack to maintain the Regulated Status of GE Alfalfa and to not allow its further commercialization.
Monsanto wants to sell its genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa and wants the USDA to approve its permit application, but consumers, farmers, dairies, and food companies don't want GE alfalfa plants and seeds released into the environment.
USDA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) admits that if GE alfalfa is approved:
* GE Contamination of non-GE and organic alfalfa crops will occur
* GE contamination will economically impact small and family farmers
* Foreign export markets will be at risk due to rejection of GE contaminated products
* Farmers will be forced to use more toxic herbicides to remove old stands of alfalfa
Yet, unbelievably, USDA has decided that these impacts are insignificant! And, intends to approve Monsanto's Roundup Ready™ GE alfalfa anyway
Tell Your Congress Member that you DO NOT support the deregulation of GE alfalfa, because:
► GE contamination of non-GE and organic crops would be inevitable
► You won't buy products that are GE-contaminated
► Alfalfa is a major food source for livestock -- GE alfalfa would destroy the integrity of organic dairy
►You support rights of farmers to grow crops of their choice -- GE contamination makes that impossible
► GE crops increase pesticide use, harming human health and the environment
