September, 25 2013, 11:51am EDT
Activists Score Major Victory in Senate Against Monsanto Protection Act
Senate Removes Law Protecting GMO Crops From Court Authority From Spending Bill
WASHINGTON
Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 650,000 farmers and citizens, is praising Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, after she announced last night her intention to strip the controversial Monsanto Protection Act provision from the Senate's version of the stop-gap spending bill, which extends the current budget deadline from September 30th to December 15th.
READ MORE HERE: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/24/monsanto-protection-act-expire...
"This is a major victory for the food movement and all those who care about openness and transparency in their government," said Dave Murphy, founder an executive director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 650,000 farmers and citizens that led the charge against the secret rider for the past year. "And a sign that our voices can make the difference when we are effectively organized."
The Monsanto Protection Act (section 735), a provision that circumvents court authority to stop the planting and cultivation of GMO crops, was set to expire at the end of September, but its inclusion in Continuing Resolution (HJ.Res.59) by House Republicans, which passed by a vote of 230-189, would have kept the provision as law through the end of the year. But last night, Senator Mikulski, responding to the tens of thousands of phone calls from outraged citizens around the country, announced she would remove the Monsanto Protection Act from the Senate's version of the continuing resolution.
"This is what happens when people become engaged in the democratic process," Murphy said. "Millions of people around the world were outraged when the bill passed originally and removing the Monsanto Protection Act from the current bill is a sign that the food movement has arrived politically. The American people are tired of Monsanto's lies and the manipulation of our political process and we're not backing down."
Since the passage of the Monsanto Protection Act, Food Democracy Now! has generated more than half a million signatures to Congress and the White House asking for the removal of the secret rider, including more than 40,000 phone calls to Congress in the past two weeks.
"Corporations shouldn't be allowed to win special interest handouts in closed door meetings with a handful of members of Congress. It's time that our elected officials stop cozzying up to rogue corporations like Monsanto and get down to the business of representing the interests of the American people," said Murphy.
VIEW THE ACTION HERE: https://action.fooddemocracynow.org/call/tell_Congress_to_stop_the_monsa...
For interviews with Food Democracy Now!, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email atbrett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots community dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families.
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