News on the GMO Labeling Fight in Vermont
In the winter time when the farm is resting, Cat, Kate, and Will get political and work toward introducing or improving legislation in Vermont that concerns food and agriculture. For two years, Cedar Circle Farm has been a member of the VT Right To Know Coalition along with Rural Vermont, VPIRG, and NOFA-VT. Last year our bill to label GMO’s failed. This year we led the Coalition’s grassroots effort including hosting seven grassroots action forums throughout the state to engage citizens and rally support for getting labels on GMO food in Vermont. This kind of fight against giant industry requires enormous people power.
We are so pleased to say that the GMO labeling bill, H.112, has passed through the VT House of Representatives!! On Thursday, May 9 the House voted 107 to 37 to approve the GMO Food Labeling bill! We have made history in VT, as this is the farthest that any US bill to label gmo’s has gone, and there are 30 states that have been working on it for years. Now, we are headed toward joining the 64 countries around the world that already require labeling.
Legislators are reporting that they heard from their constituents on this issue more than any issue this session, thank you! There have been many effective letters to the editor like this one from Will just last week, another of his that was published on Alternet, and this one from Mike Feiner, who is a part of the Cedar Circle Farm Clean Food Action Committee. Every food Coop in the State and well over a hundred food producers and farmers submitted a letter of support for H.112 for testimony. Vermont has made the news several times because of the outright threat that Monsanto will sue the state if we pass a bill to label our food and protect our citizens.
When the session starts again in January 2014, our bill will move in to the Senate. The fight will really begin then as the biotech industry is certain to flood our little state with lobbyists, TV ads, and other glossy promotions of their failed products, all in an effort to further convince Vermonters of the industry lies that GMO’s are good for families, good for farms, and are necessary to feed the world.
We won’t be fooled by their glossy lies! We won’t wait until January to rally the people either. There will be no rest in the fight to protect Vermonters, our food, our farms, and our biodiversity. On Saturday, May 25, we’ll join the International Day of Action to March Against Monsanto in Montpelier. To prepare for the march, on May 18 from 1 - 4, we will host a banner, poster, and costume making day at the farm. Join us! Contact Cat.
We had fun creating this family-style political theater in the State House cafeteria during Spring break.
