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Richard Wolfson <rwolfson@concentric.net>: GE Law Suit filed today
And yet another.
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From: Richard Wolfson <rwolfson@concentric.net>
To: infor@natural-law.ca
Subject: GE Law Suit filed today
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 04:19:52 -0400
Message-ID: <l0310280ab047e5b80e3c@[206.173.215.18]>
LAW SUIT AGAINST GE CROPS WITH BT FILED TODAY
Today a legal petition was filed in USA against the Environmental
Protection Agency for the release of genetically engineered crops that
express Bt.
The press conference went well, with speakers from the Center for
Technology Assessment, Greenpeace, and IFOAM. Also speaking were Sally
Fox, a Bt specialist who is now president of Natural Cotton Colours; Jim
Gerritsen from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine; and Roger & Sandy Sanders,
organic cotton & vegetable growers from California. Media interest was
good, with approximately 30 reporters attending; many were from science
and industry journals, but the Reuters wire service, the Nation, and ABC
News were also in attendance. We have also received several inquiries
from the media, as well as an anonymous EPA employee who congratulated
us
on our action.
The petition alleges that in approving "transgenic" plants expressing the
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin the EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency)
is seriously threatening the future of sustainable agriculture.
Petitioners also charge that EPA's actions violate numerous federal laws
and regulations and will cause significant human health and
environmental
problems.
Bt has been a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture since the 1960's.
The
EPA's approval of transgenic plants producing Bt will lead to the
development of Bt resistance in major pests within a relatively short
period of time. Therefore, widespread use of transgenic Bt plants could
permanently destroy the effectiveness of Bt against the world's primary
agricultural pests.
Jim Gerritsen, one of the many organic farmers signing on the petition,
commented, "We consider the transgenic application of Bt to be unwise
because of the high likelihood that they will rapidly accelerate
resistance
to Bt. Should we ever lose Bt, our ability as organic farmers to grow
quality produce will be in serious question."
Joseph Mendelson, Legal Affairs Director of the Center for Technology
Assessment, stated, "The EPA has put the interests of a few major
companies
ahead of its mandate to protect the environment and the public. In doing
so they have violated several federal laws and their own regulations."
The central demands of the petition are that the EPA:
1) cancel the registrations of all genetically engineered plants that
contain the Bt pesticide,
2) refrain from taking any new registration procedures, ordeterminations
of registration, and
3) complete a programmatic impact statement analyzing the agency's
registering of genetically engineered plants that express Bt.
The full text of the petition is available on the Greenpeace web site at:
www.greenpeace.org/cbio.html
===================================
CO-PETITIONERS SO FAR (supporters of the petition)
Arizona Toxics Information - Arizona
Arkansas Chapter, Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) - Arkansas
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) - California
Center for Ethics and Toxics - California
Central Valley Organic Farm - Indiana
Edmonds Institute - Washington
Farm Verified Organic - North Dakota
Florida Certified Organic Growers & Consumers - Florida
Harmony Farm Supply & Nursery - California
Hoosier Organic Marketing Education (HOME) - Indiana
Indiana Certified Organic - Indiana
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy (IATP) - Minnesota
Integrated Fertility Management - Washington
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)- -
Germany
Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA) - Maine
Mark Wilkes - Texas
National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP) - Washington
DC
National Family Farm Coalition -Washington DC
New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NYCAP) -New York
Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Interstate Office -New York
Organic Developments - Wisconsin
Organic Farmers Information and Education Foundation - Indiana
Organic Farmers Marketing Association (OFMA) - Indiana
Organic Resources - Wisconsin
Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) - - North Carolina
Sanders Farming - California
Sierra Club - Colorado
Texas Organic Growers Association - Texas
The Corn Garden - Wisconsin
Valecia Wadsworth-Carr - Indiana
Wood Prairie Farm - Maine
_________________________________________________________
Richard Wolfson, PhD
Campaign for Mandatory Labelling and Long-term
Testing of all Genetically Engineered Foods
Natural Law Party, 500 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 6N2
Tel. 613-565-8517 Fax. 613-565-6546
email: rwolfson@concentric.net
Our website is: http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html
It now contains previous biotech articles from Alive, articles
from Joe Cummins and John Fagan, other GE website links, etc.
To receive regular news from the Campaign to Ban
Genetically Engineered Food, please send an email
message to rwolfson@concentric.net, with the words
'subscribe GE' in the subject line. To remove yourself
from this list, please send the message 'unsubscribe GE'
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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