A Collaborative Initiative Working to Ensure the Sustained Availability of Non-GMO Options

A new press release from Monsanto on Friday revealed that their popular Bt cotton variety, Bollgard I, has proven unsuccessful in countering pest attacks in the state of Gujarat, India. The crop’s target, the pink bollworm, has developed a resistance to the Cry1Ac protein found in Bt cotton, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the crop’s claim to ward off pests. These Bt resistant pests were discovered in 2009 during a field monitoring in four regions in Gujarat and reported to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) by Monsanto. Not only have there been problems with the bollworm, but new, unreported pests have emerged that are unaffected by Bt cotton, causing significant economic loss and damage.

Though Monsanto argues that “resistance is natural and expected,” Bt cotton has failed to improve conditions, driving up the amount of pesticides used and reducing yields for Indian cotton farmers in 2009. The company also argues that the seeds themselves were not necessarily the cause of resistance, but rather “early use of unapproved Bt cotton seeds” and “limited refuge planting”.

Despite the apparent pest problems with this type of Bt cotton, Monsanto is still pushing their newest variety, Bollgard II, which contains the gene Cry2Ab in addition to the Cry1Ac found in Bollgard I.  K.R. Kranthi of the Central Institute for Cotton Research, however, has little faith in the success of Bt cotton, reporting that with 90% of the cotton  grown in India being Bollgard II and few preventative measures being taken by farmers, the pink bollworm will soon develop resistance even to this newest crop.

Monsanto also says they are currently working on a Bt cotton variety featuring three proteins instead of two.

To read the full article by India Today, please click here.

To read Monsanto’s release, please click here.

Closing panelists from the 2010 Canadian Organic Growers Conference in Toronto; from L to R: Michael Schmidt, Biodynamic Farmer and raw milk champion; Megan Westgate, Executive Director of the Non-GMO Project; Barbel Hohn, Germany's first Green Party Agriculture Minister; Wayne Roberts, PhD, author and Acting Manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council.

Following participation in the Guelph Organic Conference outside Toronto several weeks ago, Project Executive Director Megan Westgate returned to Toronto this past weekend to speak on two panels at the Canadian Organic Growers Conference. The event, titled “Your Food, Your Choice: Grounds for Change” drew 350 attendees from a dynamic backgrounds, including lots of consumers eager to make a positive impact on their food supply.

Toronto-based retailer The Big Carrot co-sponsored the conference and is also a founding member of the Non-GMO Project. As the Project has evolved over the last few years, The Big Carrot, a worker-owned cooperative, has helped the Project maintain a North America-wide focus, and the retailer was instrumental in bringing Westgate to Toronto for this conference.

Although the “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal will be slower to launch in Canada due to different labeling regulations, the Project is working with The Big Carrot and other retailers to promote verified products in-store, using tools like the Non-GMO Project Shopping Guide, which was distributed widely at last weekend’s event, and received enthusiastically by attendees.

India’s Environmental Minister Jairam Ramesh recently placed a moratorium on the domestic cultivation of genetically-modified eggplant, known as brinjal in India, a move which puts an indefinite hold on the production of all GM food crops on Indian soil. His decision comes in response to public dissent and a lack of scientific evidence establishing the safety of GM crops.

The new policy halts Monsanto’s plans to expand its operations abroad through its Indian partner, Mahyco. Mahyco researchers developed a Bt brinjal that is resistant to natural pests, but data suggests that the new variety may pose a serious health risk to consumers. In one of the first insider critiques of Monsanto’s business practices, former managing director of Monsanto India, Tiruvadi Jagadisan, accused the company of using “fake scientific data” to push their GM aubergine through government regulatory agencies (see full story in India Today). According to his testimony, India’s Central Insecticide Board accepted data from Monsanto without assuring its accuracy or double-checking the company’s assertions.

Mr. Ramesh said that, although the decision was difficult, he wanted to be both “responsible to science and responsive to society” (see full story in BBC News). The moratorium will stand until further testing proves GM technology safe to both customers and the environment.

In 2006, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) Roundup Ready alfalfa.  The federal courts sided with CFS and banned GM alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in a rigorous analysis known as an environmental impact statement (or EIS). USDA released its draft EIS on December 14, 2009.  A 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GM crop.  Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GM crops.

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE USDA RECEIVES AS MANY COMMENTS AS POSSIBLE. Submitting one of the letters below will probably take 10 minutes or less, and is critical to preserving the integrity of organic dairy in the United States. Please take action, and spread the word!

Click here to download a PDF letter template drafted from the perspective of an ORGANIC PRODUCER.

Click here to download PDF letter template drafted from the perspective of an ORGANIC PRODUCER enrolled in the NON-GMO PROJECT.

Click here to download PDF letter template drafted from the perspective of a NATURAL PRODUCER enrolled in the NON-GMO PROJECT.

If you would like a Word version of either letter, for easier personalization, please just contact us and we will send you one right away. It is a good idea to edit this letter to include any personal details about your company’s challenges with GMO contamination. Please also be sure to sign the letter with your name, title, and affiliation.

Comments are due February 16, 2010. For written, mailed comments please send two copies of your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044.

Comments can also be filed online at: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a6b7a1

* If you would like to submit comment as a consumer, please go to http://ga3.org/campaign/alfalfaEIS

The Non-GMO Project is excited to announce its newest addition to the team, Sara Young. Sara was selected from over 100 applicants and 8 interviewees to replace Camille Frazier as Outreach Coordinator. Camille has done an outstanding job in the role, but is leaving to travel in Italy and attend graduate school. Sara will take over the responsibilities of reaching out to retailers and manufacturers in the natural and organic products industry, supporting the Project’s Executive Director, Megan Westgate, on an array of projects, and overseeing the Project’s Administrative Interns and Upland, CA office, among other things.

“We think she’s going to be perfect for the position,” says Westgate. “She’s outgoing, approachable, detail-oriented, and tenacious.”

Though it was a difficult decision process, Sara’s educational and professional experience, along with her passion for non-profit work, make her ideal for the position. Before moving to Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Sara worked as a community organizer with the Idaho non-profit ICAN, giving her relevant skills including delegation, public speaking, PR experience, and grant writing, and a general knowledge of the inner workings of a small non-profit. She has completed graduate level coursework in Health Science and has a strong background in nutrition and health policy.

Sara will begin working with the project part-time on February 8^th and will start full-time on the 19^th.

Featured below is a brief Q&A to help you get to know Sara.

Q&A

1. What interests you about working with the Non-GMO Project – what about this opportunity caught your attention?

I am a person who needs to be in a position that requires critical thinking, allows for creativity, and evokes passion; I would be bored with anything less!  When reading through the job description for the Outreach Coordinator, I felt that the position encapsulated those attributes that are most important to me.

Nutrition, and more broadly health, is something I have a keen interest in learning about and working in. This position allows for me to continue exploring nutrition while also prompting the use of creativity and critical thinking when brainstorming prospects for the Project.

In addition, I am a people person.  I look forward to meeting and working with the vast spectrum of people who are involved with the Non-GMO Project.

2. How do you think your prior experience will help you in working with the Non-GMO Project? What do you hope to accomplish as Outreach Coordinator?

My educational background in nutrition and health policy, in combination with my past work experience as a community organizer, serve as a fitting prerequisite for the Outreach Coordinator position.

Through my undergraduate and graduate coursework I have become familiar with the issues that surround human nutrition, particularly in the United States, and also I have become familiar with policy approaches to combat these issues.   The issue of GMOs in the U.S. food supply is one that is snowballing in popularity; I look forward to increasing the momentum of the GMO issue and being a part of the large effort to bring awareness to where our food is coming from.

Working as community organizer I have gained the technical skills required to perform the duties as Outreach Coordinator.  Community organizing is largely about relationship building and understanding how to communicate with a wide array of people, a skill that is important in many professions and certainly will be applicable for this one.  In addition, I have become familiar with the intricacies of the nonprofit culture.

While working as the Outreach Coordinator I hope to increase direct enrollment into the Project while also increasing awareness of the GMO problem to a broader audience.

3.  What challenges to you expect to face coming into this position? What are you most excited about?

Where uncertainty is present, fear is not far behind.  The largest challenge I expect to face in this position is encountering individuals who have been fed misinformation on the issue of GMOs, or who have little information at all, making them reluctant to adopt change.  I look forward to increasing knowledge not only about the issue, but also about what the Non-GMO Project is trying to accomplish.  Hopefully through doing so we will gain the support we need to bring more awareness to the mainstream.

Lastly, I look forward to being a part of this larger effort and pushing my skills and capabilities to the max.  I foresee much growth with the Project and also in myself while in this position.  I feel fortunate to be a member of the team and look forward to jumping in headfirst!

This is an action alert from The Center for Food Safety’s True Food Network. To read more, and to submit comment, please click here.

Tell the USDA that you care about GMO contamination of organic food!

In 2006, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa.  The federal courts sided with CFS and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in a rigorous analysis known as an environmental impact statement (or EIS). USDA released its draft EIS on December 14, 2009.  A 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GE crop.  Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops.

Click here to visit the True Food Network’s site, where you can learn more and submit comment to the USDA.

For your convenient reference, we have just added a Shopping Guide that you can print out on your home computer on a regular 8.5 x 11 piece of paper (double-sided). The guide features tips for avoiding GMOs and a list participating companies. Take it with you when you shop! Also ask for the Shopping Guide at any Supporting Retailer in your area.

Click here to download! (Current copy last updated 1/15/10.)

On January 24th, Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn, NY will hold a panel discussion on GMOs featuring Dr. Michael Hanson of the Consumers’ Union and Eden Foods founder and CEO, Michael Potter. The panel, which follows an introductory event held in November, will address such questions as whether GMOs are safe, if consumers have a right to know whether their food contains GMOs, and why are there no laws requiring the identification of GMOS on food product labels.

RICHVALE, Calif.–Sixty-six of Lundberg Family Farms’ products are among the first to be officially “Non-GMO Verified” by the Non-GMO Project. The “Non-GMO Verified” seal means that verified Lundberg products have been produced according to rigorous best practices for GMO avoidance, which includes testing of risk ingredients.

“It is very important for the consumer to have an educated choice between food containing GMO’s and those that are non-GMO,” says Grant Lundberg, CEO of Lundberg Family Farms. “It has been my pleasure to work with the Non-GMO Project and like-minded members of the natural foods community to draft the first comprehensive non-GMO standards in the United States.”

Grant Lundberg serves as one of 11 governing members of the Non-GMO Project’s board of directors that has been involved in initiating, funding, and writing standards for the Non-GMO Project since its inception. The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the United States and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent non-GMO choice for organic and natural products that are produced without genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technologies. As the Project evolved, it became clear that in order for the initial vision of standardized labeling to be possible, a third-party verification program was needed that would identify products compliant with a uniform, consensus-based definition of non-GMO. With the help of technical consultants FoodChain Global Advisors, the Non-GMO Project created a collaborative non-GMO verification program that began enrolling products in fall 2008.

While many products make claims regarding their GMO status (e.g. “GMO free”), these are not legally or scientifically defensible, and are not verified by a third party. The Non-GMO Project is the only organization offering independent verification of testing and GMO controls for products in the United States and Canada. Enrollment in the program is close to 3,000 products from more than 50 brands.

R.W. Garcia Special Recipe tortilla chips have been verified as meeting the standard for GMO avoidance by the Non-GMO Project. The Special Recipe line includes Flaxseed/Soy, USDA Organic Veggie, Blue corn/Flaxseed, and MixtBag® tortilla chips.

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) January 5, 2010 — R.W. Garcia today announced that R.W. Garcia Special Recipe tortilla chips have been verified as meeting the standard for GMO avoidance by the Non-GMO Project. The Special Recipe line includes Flaxseed/Soy, USDA Organic Veggie, Blue corn/Flaxseed, and MixtBag® tortilla chips.

R.W. Garcia special recipe line are now non-gmo project verified.

“Non-GMO Project verified products meet rigorous GMO avoidance practices, including testing of GMO risk ingredients.” Said Megan Thompson Westgate, Executive Director, Non-GMO Project, “R.W. Garcia Special Recipe tortilla chips meet or exceed our GMO avoidance standards.”

For R.W. Garcia, Non-GMO avoidance practices have been a part of our manufacturing process for the past 2 years. “In 2007, we instituted a strict GMO avoidance protocol with policies and procedures that adhere to both U.S. and European Union standards of allowable limits for GMOs. All ingredients for our products are sourced from suppliers who follow stringent GMO avoidance practices. Our Special Recipe line is no exception.” said Robert Garcia, President/CEO for R.W. Garcia. “We are pleased to support the Non-GMO Project initiative and are continuing to work on Non-GMO Project verification for all of our product lines.”

The R.W. Garcia Special Recipe line will feature the Non-GMO project seal in March 2010. The Non-GMO Project’s seal helps consumers make informed choices by identifying products that have met rigorous standards for GMO avoidance.

R.W. Garcia is a recognized industry leader in the manufacture of organic, premium and all natural tortilla chips since 1982. With corporate offices in San Jose, CA and manufacturing facilities in California and North Carolina, the company delivers great tasting, organic, all-natural and imaginative flavor combinations in branded and private label offerings from coast to coast and world-wide. For more information visit www.rwgarcia.com or call (408) 287-4616.