GE Free VT -- update and reminder for upcoming events!

17jan04

***Please forward widely****

Genetically Engineered Seeds and Crops were a hot topic in the statehouse this week! Agriculture Secretary Steve Kerr reported to the House Agriculture Committee that 3 out of the 8 seed companies he contacted to ask them to report voluntarily on the seed sales HAVE NOT REPORTED and one of the five who did report (Monsanto) has already twice changed their numbers. The committee was not too happy about this lack of compliance, and Steve Kerr himself reported that he was disappointed with the companies' lack of cooperation, although he still believes that voluntary reporting can work. One of the committee members, Floyd Nease (D-Johnson/Eden), released to the press a map downloaded from the Monsanto web site in November showing "penetration" of Roundup Ready corn in the U.S., state by state, and thus raised the question of why the companies cannot give the state the numbers in January, when they clearly had them in November.

Secretary Kerr also presented the committee with his recommendation for "farmer to farmer communication" on coexistence, as well as his brief outlining why he thinks that the moratorium legislation won't work. The GE Free Vermont coalition provided committee members with a brief outlining possible holes in the Secretary's arguments, and key areas for further exploration. The committee seemed unconvinced that the "farmer to farmer" communication plan would work, and asked several good questions. Despite this committee's keen interest in the issue, however, the Committee Chair, Ruth Towne (R-Berlin/Barre) has still not agreed to put any specific legislation on the table, although she has said that they will continue committee discussion on the issue.

The Senate Agriculture Committee had two members dealing with illness this week (one being the chair), so there was not much activity in that committee on this topic. However, the Chair, Sara Kittell (D-Franklin), has agreed to allow a few conventional dairy farmers to testify on Wednesday morning on the moratorium legislation (see schedule below).

Please mark your calendar for upcoming events: January 20th (this Tuesday!) -- Switchboard call in show with Dave Zuckerman (P-Burlington) and Agriculture Secretary Steve Kerr on GMOs and Vermont. 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Call in at 1-800-639-2211. January 27th -- House Appropriations Committee public hearing on the budget -- 4:00 to 6:30 pm at all VT Interactive TV sites February 18th -- Citizen Action Day on environmental platform issues, including GE issues!

Moving into next week, we are getting ready for our CITIZEN LOBBY DAY. Please plan to attend and bring a few friends! This day will be for you to meet with your legislators and tell them how you feel about genetically engineered crops and foods, and ask them for what you want! You can also sit in on the committee meetings if you like--just please remember that you should not speak unless directly asked a question by a legislator in a committee meeting. You can always contact a legislator via phone or email after the meeting is over. Here are the details:

GE Free Vermont Citizen Lobby Day Wednesday, January 21, 2004 Vermont Statehouse -- all activities will be indoors (see schedule below)

Schedule:

9:15(?) to 10:00 am -- Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing, featuring testimony from conventional dairy farmers, via telephone

10:00 am -- GE Free VT press conference, room 11

11:00 - 11:30 am -- optional training on "how to lobby your legislator"; also, materials available for those meeting with legislators

11:00 am - 1:00 pm -- meetings with legislators -- REMEMBER TO SCHEDULE YOUR MEETING AHEAD OF TIME. There is still time to call this weekend. Get your legislators' home telephone numbers here: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/legdir2.htm. Remember to meet with both your House Representative(s) and Senator(s).

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm -- Lunch/Break...possible House Agriculture Committee meeting - schedule not yet posted.

3:00 pm -- VT GEAN spokescouncil meeting and debriefing from the day. Rural Vermont/GEAN office, 15 Barre Street, 2nd floor (above Angeleno's pizza).

7:30 pm -- For those interested, there is a free Farmer's Night Concert at the statehouse. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra will be playing.

If you have any questions about this email or the activities listed here, please email amybeth@together.net, Jim at jmoulton@sover.net or call Bayard at 802-272-9536