CBAN News

ACTION NEWS: 

NEW GE FREE ZONE IN BC: On March 8, Cherryville became the 13th BC municipality to pass a resolution to ban GMO crops! Three weeks ago local volunteer group Bee SAFE, held a public meeting at the Cherryville hall to discuss how GMO crops affect other crops. “There is no co-existence possible between GMO crops and other crops – by not deciding to ban them, we're deciding to ban every other type of agriculture and to put the future of our food and our farms in the hands of corporations like Monsanto, who own patents on GMO seeds” said Huguette Allen. Congratulations Cherryville!

PETITION AGAINST GM APPLE PRESENTED IN BC LEGISLATURE: The petition against the GM apple was presented in the BC Legislature on March 12 by BC NDP Agriculture Critic Lana Popham! 5536 signatures were collected on a hardcopy petition from at least 19 communities across BC! Congratulations to BC grassroots activists and community groups on a great action! http://www.bcagcritic.blogspot.ca/ This action was part of an ongoing campaign in BC - to get updates on how you can take action in BC subscribe at https://groups.google.com/d/topic/gm-apple-action-bc/B0QIQkN7Nz4/discussion 

PEI FIGHTS TO STOP THE GM FISH: PEI action group ask Premier to ban GM fish. “A coalition of PEI organizations has lobbied both Liberal and Tory governments over the years for a GM-free province,” said Leo Broderick, Islanders Say No to GM Salmon representative. “Now because of the urgency of the situation we’ve come together to focus on a GM salmon ban." http://www.cban.ca/Press/Press-Releases/Islanders-Say-No-to-GM-Salmon You can also follow Islanders Say No to Frankenfish on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IslandersSayNoToFrankenfish

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NEW ACTION TOOLS: GM ALFALFA DAY OF ACTION APRIL 9

Companies want to introduce GM alfalfa into Eastern Canada this Spring!  "With a growing season approaching, the agricultural industry fears final approval of this unwanted technology could be requested any day now," said the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick and the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) in a March 14 press release "GM Alfalfa Threatens Livelihoods" http://www.nfu.ca/story/gm-alfalfa-threatens-farmers%E2%80%99-livelihoods

New tools posted to support the Day of Action to Stop GM Alfalfa April 9:

1. You can include our one-page Call to Action in your online or printed newsletters: http://www.cban.ca/content/view/full/1454
2. Send out the original email about the call to action: http://www.cban.ca/content/view/full/1446
3. Find CBAN on facebook and spread the word to your friends: https://www.facebook.com/cban.canadian.biotechnology.action.network
4. Put up posters in your community. We have posters for communities with actions and posters you can use even if there is no action in your area: http://www.cban.ca/content/view/full/1464
5. Put out flyers at local events or in local shops: http://www.cban.ca/content/view/full/1457
6. Materials in French: www.cban.ca/9avril

Interested in organizing an action in your community? Check out the tips for an action to see what is involved. We have lots of support we can provide: http://www.cban.ca/content/view/full/1448

Start collecting signatures today! Print up this petition against GM alfalfa for your federal Member of Parliament! Bring it to the rally on April 9! If you are already collecting signatures, think about delivering it on April 9. Every signature is another voter! http://www.cban.ca/alfalfapetition

GM Alfalfa and "Low Level Presence" Interview with CBAN's Coordinator Lucy Sharratt on Mud and Water CKUW Radio Manitoba. 15 mins http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/66920

Watch and share the video: BC rancher Harold Steves explains the impact of GM alfalfa on livestock production. Grassfed beef cattle eat alfalfa and other grasses: "We sell grassfed beef and we couldn't look people in the eye and tell them we have healthy beef if we are feeding them GM crops." Support Grassfed Beef? Stop GM alfalfa! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zx3hzCPArY

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NEWS:

MAJOR GROCER TO LABEL GM PRODUCTS: Grocery chain Whole Foods has announced that it will label all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients by 2018. The company is the first national grocery chain to set such a deadline for labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms. Although Whole Foods is known as an organic grocer (organic farming prohibits the use of GMOs), it also sells a wide array of non-organic products that have possible GM ingredients. The decision from Whole Foods is a huge step that could pressure many food manufacturers to weed-out GM ingredients and others to label GM ingredients. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/business/grocery-chain-to-require-labels-for-genetically-modified-food.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto&_r=2&

REPORT ON CORPORATE CONCENTRATION: New report from ETC Group warns that 6 multinational Gene Giants control the future direction of agriculture research worldwide. Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dow, Monsanto and DuPont control 59.8 % of commercial seeds and 76.1 % of agrochemicals. They also account for at least 76 % of all private sector R&D in these two sectors. http://www.etcgroup.org/sites/www.etcgroup.org/files/ETCCommCharityCartel_March2013_final.pdf

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN)
Collaborative Campaigning for Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice
Suite 206, 180 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2P 1P5
Phone: 613 241 2267 ext. 25
Fax: 613 241 2506
coordinator@cban.ca
www.cban.ca

Contact us to collaborate: You can organize a rally in your community to stand with farmers on the Day of Action to Stop GM Alfalfa! April 9, 2013 www.cban.ca/april9