huge opportunity! Join Your Local "Millions Against Monsanto" Chapter

[Karen]

https://www.organicconsumers.org/state/CA.cfm
Join Your Local Millions Against Monsanto Chapter to Get Involved in World Food Day Events 10/16/11!

This World Food Day, October 16, 2011, people all around the country are joining together to bring 1,000,000 people into the Millions Against Monsanto campaign for labels on genetically engineered foods. Get involved by joining your local Millions Against Monsanto chapter. https://www.organicconsumers.org/state/CA.cfm
click on 6th congressional district to go to the local page.

About

Calling all organic activists!
The Organic Consumers Association needs 435 volunteers: one for each U.S. Congressional District, to coordinate a drive to gather 2300 petition signatures on our Truth-in-Labeling petition to strengthen our national network and to mobilize 1,000,000 people against Monsanto.

This is how we're going to build the grassroots power we need to recapture our right to know what's in our food.

As each of the 435 Millions Against Monsanto District groups gain their petition target of 2300 supporters, they'll join OCA's Million Member Club and get support from OCA's national office to launch grassroots campaigns for grocery stores to label foods that contain GMOs (including food from GMO-fueled factory farms), and for local, state and federal laws that would make GMO-labels mandatory.

1. We insist that GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are labeled!

2. We insist that CAFOs (factory farmed animal products) are labeled!

3. We will organize 2300 supporters in our congressional district!

4. Visit www.millionsagainstmonsanto.org for more information.

[ubaru]

Thank you for posting this.

I just joined Millions Against Monsanto and I encourage everyone to.

https://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm

Liz

[Karen]

You are awesome! Here's some interesting news that may encourage you as u fight Goliath, er Monsanto. If you have any doubt, this should convince you that you are on the right side of this issue and what you are doing is important.
Monsanto's Corn Is Toppling Over

"As the summer growing season draws to a close, 2011 is emerging as the year of the superinsect - the year pests officially developed resistance to Monsanto's genetically engineered (ostensibly) bug-killing corn.
"In late July scientists in Iowa documented the existence of corn rootworms (a ravenous pest that attacks the roots of corn plants) that can happily devour corn plants that were genetically tweaked specifically to kill them. Monsanto's corn, engineered to express a toxic gene from a bacterial insecticide called Bt, now accounts for 65 percent of the corn planted in the US.
"The superinsect scourge has also arisen in Illinois and Minnesota.
"'Monsanto's insect-killing corn is toppling over in northwestern Illinois fields, a sign that rootworms outside of Iowa may have developed resistance to the genetically modified crop,' reports Bloomberg. In southern Minnesota, adds Minnesota Public Radio, an entomologist has found corn rootworms thriving, Bt corn plants drooping, in fields.
"[A] 2008 study, conducted by University of Missouri researchers and published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that within three generations, rootworms munching Monsanto's Bt corn survived at the same rate as rootworms munching pesticide-free corn-meaning that complete resistance had been achieved. Takeaway message: rootworms are capable of evolving resistance to Monsanto's corn in 'rapid' fashion."
- "Monsanto Denies Superinsect Science," by Tom Philpott, Mother Jones, September 8, 2011
https://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob294.htm

Thank you for posting this.

I just joined Millions Against Monsanto and I encourage everyone to.

https://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm

Liz

[Barry]

"In late July scientists in Iowa documented the existence of corn rootworms (a ravenous pest that attacks the roots of corn plants) that can happily devour corn plants that were genetically tweaked specifically to kill them. Monsanto's corn, engineered to express a toxic gene from a bacterial insecticide called Bt, now accounts for 65 percent of the corn planted in the US.
"The superinsect scourge has also arisen in Illinois and Minnesota.
"'Monsanto's insect-killing corn is toppling over in northwestern Illinois fields, a sign that rootworms outside of Iowa may have developed resistance to the genetically modified crop,' reports Bloomberg. In southern Minnesota, adds Minnesota Public Radio, an entomologist has found corn rootworms thriving, Bt corn plants drooping, in fields.
"[A] 2008 study, conducted by University of Missouri researchers and published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that within three generations, rootworms munching Monsanto's Bt corn survived at the same rate as rootworms munching pesticide-free corn-meaning that complete resistance had been achieved. Takeaway message: rootworms are capable of evolving resistance to Monsanto's corn in 'rapid' fashion."
- "Monsanto Denies Superinsect Science," by Tom Philpott, Mother Jones, September 8, 2011
https://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob294.htm

What really offends me about this is by abusing Bt (which is a very potent tool/organic pesticide used by organic farmers in limited instances of infestations) and breeding into whole crops that are widely planted, it sets up the perfect situation for the bugs to evolve to tolerate it, thus rendering it ineffective for the organic farmers.

It's one thing conventional farmers to use toxic pesticides and let organic farmers do what they will, even if small bits drift over to other field, but this is worse in my opinion. It's directly affecting the ability of organic farmers to farm responsibly.