Current Actions

  • Take Action For A Fair Food and Farm Bill

    The Senate has begun debate this week on amendments to the Farm Bill. Tell Congress to Repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act” and Support Pro-Farmer, Pro-Environment, and Pro-Consumer Amendments!

    As you know, the Farm Bill has historically given large bailouts to agribusiness companies and the country’s largest industrial farms at the expense of consumers, family farms, and the environment. However, a number of amendments to the 2013 Farm Bill have been offered that would support labeling of genetically engineered food, support organic farmers, repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act,” protect honey bees and other pollinators, and so much more.

    There are five amendments in the Senate Farm Bill supporting labeling and oversight of genetically engineered food and crops:

    1.    Senator Boxer (D-California) introduced an amendment in support of mandatory GMO labeling (#1025) as well as her amendment requesting that FDA and USDA study the 64 countries around the world that already require GMO labeling (#1026).

    2.    Senator Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced an amendment supporting the existing rights of states to enact their own laws requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Already this year 26 states have introduced labeling laws with the possibility of passage in a number of states.

    3.    Senator Begich (D-Alaska) introduced an amendment (# 934) to ban the sale of genetically engineered salmon until Federal wildlife agencies are properly consulted and find that GE salmon pose no environmental risk.

    4.    Senator Tester (D-Montana) introduced an amendment to reinvigorate public plant and animal breeding, which has hit an all-time low because of private sector assaults from companies like Monsanto.

    5.    Senator Merkley (D-Oregon) introduced an amendment (#978) to repeal the "Monsanto Protection Act" provision in the 2013 government spending bill that attacked judicial oversight of genetically engineered crops.

    Senator Boxer (D-California) has also introduced an amendment to protect honey bees and native pollinators (#1027), which declined by over 45% last winter as a result of pesticides and industrial agriculture, and Senators Leahy (D-Vermont) and Cowan’s (D-Massachusetts) EQIP Organic Initiative amendment would eliminate the separate payment limit in EQIP for farmers participating in the Organic Initiative so that all farmers are subject to the same payment limitations in EQIP.

    The Farm Bill is a 5-year bill that affects all of us. It is crucial that we pass a Farm bill that is protective of the environment, consumers, and organic and family farmers—not just protective of big agribusiness. The Senate is voting on amendments this week, so please take action today!

    Tell your Senators to Support GE Food Labeling, Pollinator Protection and Organic Farming in the Farm Bill!

  • Tell the Senate to REPEAL the "Monsanto Protection Act" in the Farm Bill

    The Senate will begin debate of the Farm Bill this week. Tell Congress to Repeal the “Monsanto Protection Act!”

    Last week both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees passed their draft versions of the 2013 Farm Bill. This week, the full Senate will begin debate about amendments to its version.

    Despite receiving calls and emails from hundreds of thousands of you opposing the “Monsanto Protection Act,” the industry-driven policy rider was included in the 6-month government spending bill. Since its passage, even Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski released a statement asserting her opposition to the “biotech rider.”

    In response, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) announced that he will offer an amendment to the Senate Farm Bill to repeal the rider.

    Tell your Senators to support the Merkley amendment in the Farm Bill!

  • New York Bill to Label GE Foods Needs Your Support!

    New York’s bill to label genetically engineered food, S3835, is stuck in the Consumer Protection Committee and must be passed through soon or it will die before making it to a floor vote. Urge the Consumer Protection Committee members to pass S3835 to label GE food!

    In the U.S., we pride ourselves on having choices and making informed decisions.  Under current FDA policy, we don't have that choice when it comes to genetically engineered (GE) foods we purchase and feed our families.

    New York could be the first state in the country to pass a bill to label genetically engineered (GE) foods.  But the bill—S3835—is stuck in the Consumer Protection Committee. If they don’t pass the bill through soon it could die before even reaching the Senate floor for a full vote. Tell the members of the Consumer Protection Committee to move the bill!

    A poll released by ABC News found that 93 percent of the American public wants the federal government to require mandatory labeling of GE foods.  Yet, the U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t require labeling!  GE foods are required to be labeled in 64 countries around the world.

    New York can be a leader in making sure genetically engineered foods are labeled, but the Senate must act on the bill.

    Without mandatory labeling of GE foods, New York consumers are being left in the dark about the foods we are purchasing and feeding our families.  That’s why 26 states have introduced GE food labeling bills this year.

    Tell the Consumer Protection Committee to support the bill to label genetically engineered food in New York!

  • Tell Congress to Protect Public Health, Not Factory Farms

    Antibiotic resistance is a real, growing problem. Infections that were easily treated with antibiotics 50 years ago can now result in serious illness and even death. The routine feeding of antibiotics to food animals creates drug-resistant superbugs, which can spread to humans by eating meat, poultry, and eggs, and through environmental exposure.

    To sustain itself, the factory farm system demands an extraordinary use of pharmaceuticals.  Factory farms rely on antibiotics, antimicrobials, and other drugs to accelerate animal growth rates and prevent them from getting sick while housed by the thousands in cramped conditions ripe for breeding disease.
     
    Tell Congress to Protect Public Health, Not Factory Farms

    The overuse of these pharmaceuticals greatly compromises public health, as their consistent use in livestock selects for antibiotic-resistant superbugs that are infecting humans at an alarming rate. In human medicine, antibiotic use is generally confined to treatment of illness. Yet, an estimated 70 percent of antibiotics produced in the United States—nearly 13 million pounds per year, more than four times the amount used to treat illness in people—are used in factory farms for animals that aren’t even sick, without any requirement for veterinary consultation or prescription. Instead, the feed farmers buy often has antibiotics blended right in, or they simply add antibiotics to the water.

    The use of pharmaceuticals artificially props up the factory farm system, facilitating the production of cheap meat and dairy that not only fails to deliver nutritional quality, but in fact puts public health at serious risk.

    There are several bills in Congress right now that could help address this public health crisis. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) would require FDA to re review certain antibiotic approvals and withdraw approval for those found to cause antibacterial resistance.  The Antimicrobial Data Collection Act would require increased data collection and enhance transparency to increase public awareness of antimicrobial drug use in agriculture.  Finally, the Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals Act (DATA) would require drug manufacturers and large scale meat producers to collect and provide better information to FDA on the use of antimicrobial drugs in animal feed.

    Tell Congress to keep antibiotics working! Urge your Senators and Representative to support these important bills.

  • Tell Congress to Stop GE Salmon

    The end of April marked the close of the comment period on FDA review of GE salmon, and nearly 2 million people wrote to FDA opposing approval of the fish. Rather than just wait for FDA to make a decision, we’re taking action by urging Congress to pass the PEGASUS Act, which would ban the approval of GE salmon unless it is reviewed and found safe by expert fisheries agencies.

    FDA limited its already minimal environmental review to the local impact of these GE salmon at two isolated locations in Canada and Panama, and based it’s finding of “no significant impact” on the U.S. environment largely on the fact that the fish would not be produced or raised in the U.S.

    But internal documents we uncovered reveal that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has already received applications to import AquAdvantage salmon eggs into the U.S. for commercial production.

    Agency documents further revealed that scientists within the FWS questioned the FDA’s ability and authority to review the impacts of GE salmon, and that they believed a full Environmental Impact Statement should be conducted before making any decision on approval.

    We couldn’t agree more.

    That’s why we’re supporting the PEGASUS Act (the Prevention of Escapement of Genetically Altered Salmon in the United States), which would prohibit “the shipment, sale, transportation, purchase, possession, or release in the wild of GE salmon unless the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service complete a full environmental impact statement and find that it will result in no significant impact to the environment.”

    The failure to study the impact of U.S. production has grave consequences for our fisheries and the environment. Each year, an estimated two million salmon escape from open-water net pens into the North Atlantic, outcompeting wild populations for resources and straining ecosystems. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found that even a small release of GE fish could lead to the extinction of wild populations, wreaking havoc on the fishing industry and the natural ecosystem.

    Tell Congress to hold the FDA accountable and protect our health, our environment, and our fisheries from the dangers of genetically engineered salmon by passing PEGASUS!


    More information:

    For more information on the documents uncovered, click here
    More information on PEGASUS, see the text of the Senate bill (S. 246) here, and the announcement of the House bill (H.B. 1667) here

  • NC Bill Threatens Local Authority Over Agriculture

    House Bill 379, an “Act to Clarify the Authority of the Board of Agriculture Over Plants,” is a preemption bill that would strip the rights of North Carolina counties to control their local agriculture. The bill passed through the state House Agriculture Committee last week and is now being considered by the House Committee for the Environment. Stop this bill NOW by contacting your state House representative to oppose HB 379.

    If HB 379 becomes law, all local control of agricultural seed and seed products would be removed – replaced by a “one size fits all” policy dictated by the state. This bill, like similar bills introduced in several other states, is a thinly veiled attempt by the chemical companies to silence concerns over genetically engineered (GE) foods and gut all county efforts at addressing the growing of GE crops. A number of the preemption bills have been introduced since the passage of county restriction on GE crops passed in California; a similar bill was even introduced, and rejected, in North Carolina in 2005.

    We beat a similar bill before, and we can beat it again, but your state House representative needs to hear from you!

    Local policies such as county measures have been instrumental in restricting GE crops in other states.  Several counties and cities in California, Hawaii, Washington, and Maine have already adopted policies to ban the growing of GE crops in their counties. But HB 379 would give exclusive regulatory power over seeds and plants to the state, preempting local authority. This would make it impossible to establish local restrictions or prohibitions on genetically engineered crops grown in North Carolina.

    Tell the state House to reject this undemocratic bill!


    More information:

    1.     HB 379, an “Act to Clarify the Authority of the Board of Agriculture Over Plants"
    2. Porter, J. (2013, April 17).     Locals lose control over GMOs in new ag bill.  
    3. General Assembly of North Carolina, Session     2005, Senate Bill 631 / House Bill 671

  • Take the Pledge to Protect Pollinators!

    Bees and other beneficial pollinators are disappearing at alarming rates. While we may not know the exact cause of the disappearance, we do know that some pesticides are contributing to their decline. We also know there are simple things we can each do to help combat pollinator loss. That’s why we’ve launched the Bee Protective Campaign. By making simple choices—such as avoiding pesticide products that contain neonicotinoids and choosing to plant pollinator-friendly plants to provide bees forage—we can help address this crisis.
     
    Help to protect our honey bees and other pollinators by taking the pledge to protect bees and other beneficial insects.

  • Tell USDA to Reject GE Eucalyptus
  • Tell Congress to Label GE Food!

    In the U.S., we pride ourselves on having choices and making informed decisions. Under current FDA policy, we don't have that choice when it comes to genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in the foods we purchase and feed our families. That’s why Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) have sponsored new federal legislation, The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act, that would require the labeling of all GE foods; the first labeling bill to be introduced in the Senate in over a decade! 

    To date, ten Senators and thirty Representatives have signed on to the bill as original co-sponsors. Now it’s time to push all Senators and Representatives to support the bill!

    Without mandatory labeling of GE foods, consumers are being left in the dark about the foods we are purchasing and feeding our families. There is overwhelming public demand—consistently near 95%—for the labeling of GE foods.  Yet the U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t require labeling; sixty-four countries have mandatory labeling policies for GE foods including Korea South, Japan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, South Africa, Australia, the entire European Union, and many others. Already in 2013, 37 GE labeling bills have been introduced in 21 states, including Hawaii, Washington, Indiana, Missouri, and Vermont, with many more expected by year’s end.

    Tell Congress it’s time to finally pass a GE food labeling bill in 2013—Support the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act!

    More Information

    Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Jon Tester (D-MT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) are cosponsors of the Senate bill.

    Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), James Moran (D-VA), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Don Young (R-AK), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), George Miller (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) are cosponsors of the House bill.

    Click here for more information on the bills

  • Tell Oregon Legislators to Oppose SB 633!

    SB 633, the preemption bill that would strip the rights of Oregon counties to control their local agriculture, is scheduled for a vote on the floor of the Senate. Stop this bill NOW by contacting your state legislators to voice your opposition to SB 633.

    If SB 633 becomes law, all local control of agricultural seed and seed products would be removed – replaced by a “one size fits all” policy dictated by the state. This bill is a thinly veiled attempt by the chemical companies to silence concerns over genetically engineered foods and gut all county efforts at addressing the growing of genetically engineered (GE) crops.

    Jackson county voters succeeded in putting a measure to ban the growth of GE crops on the May 2014 ballot. SB 633 is a direct attack on that citizen initiative. Passage of the bill would nullify the measure. Oregon citizens deserve to have their voices respected. SB 633 does nothing to protect local sustainable agriculture. Instead it takes away the rights of citizens to protect their food sovereignty.

    Local policies such as the Jackson County measure have been instrumental in eliminating GE crops in other states.  Several counties and cities in California, Hawaii, Washington, and Maine have already adopted policies to ban the growing of GE crops in their counties. Oregon counties should be allowed the same level of local control as these other states. But Senate Bill 633, would strip counties in Oregon of their abilities to craft appropriate county-wide seed policies. SB 633 would give exclusive regulatory power over seeds, and products of agricultural seed, to the state, preempting local authority. This would make it impossible to establish local policies which put restrictions or prohibitions on genetically engineered crops.

    Your state legislators need to hear your strong opposition to SB 633 now!

    You can read the bill here

  • Help Us Kill the "Monsanto Protection Act" For Good

    As you likely know, the biotech rider (which has been dubbed “The Monsanto Protection Act”) passed as part of the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government for the next six months, and was signed into law. Though wrapped in a “farmer-friendly” package, this Monsanto-driven rider is simply a biotech industry ploy to continue to plant GE crops even when a court of law has found they were approved illegally.

    Thanks to your pressure, Senators Tester, Boxer, Gillibrand, Leahy, Begich and Blumenthal have all spoken out against the rider, as well as other corporate “pork” earmarks, and offered an amendment to strike the rider from the Senate CR.  Despite receiving calls and emails from hundreds of thousands of citizens opposing the industry-driven rider and supporting the amendment to strike it, the amendment was ultimately never voted on. The rider will be alive for the six month duration of the temporary spending bill and we are now working to ensure that this agribusiness handout is not included in any future Appropriations bills.

    While there are no definite fingerprints for whoever is responsible for including the rider, the earmark was allowed under the direction of Senator Barbara Mikulski, the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee (D-MD).  Congress held no hearings on this controversial rider and many Democrats in the Committee were unaware of its presence in the CR.  However, Senator Mikulski later released a statement asserting her opposition to the “biotech rider.” 

    As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Mikulski will ultimately be responsible for the next Senate Appropriations bill, so her opposition is crucial. We urge Senator Mikulski to continue speaking out against this rider and to ensure that it is excluded from any future appropriations bills. Congress is expected to take up FY2014 appropriations bills in the next few months, and we need to make sure this dangerous rider doesn’t get included in them. Let’s keep the pressure on Congress to dump the Monsanto rider!

    Write your Senators and Representative and urge them to keep the biotech rider out of upcoming spending bills.

  • Take the Pledge Not to Serve GE Fish

    Genetically engineered (GE) salmon, the first GE animal meant for human consumption, may soon be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.The experimental fish is in its last stage of review by the agency.

    • Scientific evidence shows that GE fish pose serious consequences to the environment and native fish, including the potential extinction of fish species.
    • There are inadequate scientific studies evaluating the human health risks of eating GE fish.
    • Consumers who wish to support environmentally sustainable fisheries oppose the commercialization of GE fish.

    Since the FDA has stated that it will likely not require GE fish to be labeled, we are reaching out to chefs and restaurants to pledge not to intentionally purchase, serve, or sell genetically engineered fish. CFS will be publishing the list of signers on our website and a downloadable Guide so that consumers can make informed choices and support businesses that reject GE fish.

    Take the Pledge to Avoid GE Fish!

    Please only sign this pledge if you are a chef or restaurant owner. If you are not a chef or restaurant owner, you can sign the petition against GE fish here.

  • Tell the Oregon Legislature to Protect the Willamette Valley from GE Canola



    Until last year, the Willamette Valley was protected from GE canola because no canola was allowed to be grown in the Valley. But last August, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) proposed a rule to allow canola growing in the region, threatening the production of all canola-related seeds and crops, but Center for Food Safety and our allies went to court and successfully stopped it. Now ODA is trying to permit canola planting in the Valley again!

    In response, Oregon House Representatives Gelser, Hoyle, Holvey and Tomei, and Senator Edwards, introduced a bill, H.B. 2427, in the Oregon Legislative Assembly that would restore protections to the Willamette Valley and keep canola out of this unique growing region for good. But time is running out and your voice is needed to get HB 2427 in front of the full Oregon legislature for a vote.

    Last week the House Agriculture Committee heard hours of testimony on HB 2427 and they are currently deliberating on whether to send it to the full Oregon House for a vote. If they don't move the bill forward soon, it will be dead. It is critical they hear from you today.
     
    Tell your Representative that this issue matters, and it deserves a vote!

  • Keep GE Salmon Off Our Tables

    Tell Supermarkets, Food Companies, and Seafood Restaurants to Reject GE Salmon!

    As you know, genetically engineered (GE) salmon, the first GE animal meant for human consumption, may soon be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Center for Food Safety, along with Friends of the Earth and a coalition of thirty consumer, food safety, fishing, environmental, sustainable agriculture, parent, public health and animal welfare organizations, has launched a national campaign to keep GE salmon out of our supermarkets and off our plates.

    Since the FDA has stated that it will likely not require GE fish to be labeled, consumers will have no way of avoiding GE salmon unless companies make clear to consumers where they stand on the issue.  Over the last month, we’ve sent letters to the nation’s top grocery stores, seafood companies, and seafood restaurants asking them to commit not to sell genetically engineered fish should it come to market. Some of the biggest grocery stores in the U.S. have already replied, stating that they will not sell genetically engineered salmon in their stores, including: Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Marsh Supermarkets, Aldi, H-E-B, Hy-Vee, and PCC Natural Markets.[1] Seafood companies like Crown Prince and EcoFish have also told CFS they will not buy GE salmon. Additionally, over 400 chefs and restaurants have pledged not to intentionally purchase, sell, or serve genetically engineered salmon in their restaurants.[2] But there are a lot more companies yet to sign!

    Sign the Petition Telling Supermarkets, Food Companies, and Seafood Restaurants to Reject GE Salmon:

  • Biotech industry-backed bill in Oregon would strip local authority over GE crops

    Tell your state Senator to oppose SB 633!

    Although Washington is getting a lot of buzz on its labeling bill, Oregon is also a hotbed of activity in the fight against genetically engineered (GE) crops. Citizens in Jackson County (in Southern Oregon) have successfully achieved getting a GE crop ban on the May 2014 ballot. Citizens in four other Oregon counties are also hard at work on similar county GE crop bans.

    These local policies have been instrumental in eliminating GE crops in other states.  Several counties and cities in California, Hawaii, Washington, and Maine have already adopted policies to ban the growing of GE crops in their counties. Oregon counties should be allowed the same level of local control as these other states. But local policies such as these are now in jeopardy in Oregon due to a biotech industry-backed bill in the Oregon Senate.

    The bill, Senate Bill 633, would strip counties in Oregon of their abilities to craft appropriate county-wide seed policies. SB 633 would give exclusive regulatory power over seeds, and products of agricultural seed, to the state, preempting local authority. This would make it impossible to establish local policies which put restrictions or prohibitions on genetically engineered crops.

    The bill is being heard in the Senate Committee for Rural Policy and Economic Development on March 12th, so please take action today!

    You can read the bill here

  • Clark Petition Test

     Clark testing

  • Tell Top Ten U.S. Pork Producers to Drop Risky Drug Ractopamine

    Ractopamine is a controversial drug used widely as an animal feed additive in industrial factory farms that raises significant food safety and animal welfare concerns for U.S. and international consumers.  Unlike the U.S., more than 160 countries –including Russia, China, Taiwan, and the 27 members of the European Union--ban or strictly limit the use of ractopamine, a controversial drug used widely in animal feed that promotes growth in pigs, cattle, and turkeys.  Ractopamine is linked with serious health and behavioral problems in animals, and while human health studies are limited, those that exist raise serious concerns. 

    While the U.S. has so far refused to join the international community in banning this risky drug in animal feed, the U.S. already has a certified ractopamine-free program for pork exports to the E.U., and some corporate producers are already operating production plants that are 100% ractopamine-free to meet international demand. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect the same for U.S. market as well.  In fact, some U.S. food companies already avoid meat produced with the feed additive, including Chipotle restaurants, producer Niman Ranch, and Whole Foods Markets. But in order for food companies to offer meat free of ractopamine, pork producers need to provide it.

    Sign our petition to the Top Ten pork producers in the U.S. urging them to stop using ractopamine in pork production!

    Read more about ractopamine

  • Support the GE Labeling Bill in Washington!

    In the U.S., we pride ourselves on having choices and making informed decisions. Under current FDA regulations, we don't have that choice when it comes to genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in the foods we purchase and feed our families.

    GE foods are required to be labeled in more than 60 countries around the world. A poll released by ABC News found that 93 percent of the American public wants the federal government to require mandatory labeling of GE foods. Yet the U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t require labeling.

    Washington can be a leader in making sure genetically engineered foods are labeled.
     
    Voters last fall enthusiastically supported Initiative 522 to label GMOs in Washington. The legislature now has three options: they can pass the initiative now, amend it, or take no action. If they amend it, both versions (the amended version and the original version) will be on November’s ballot and we’ll face months of dirty campaigns ads and propaganda funded by Monsanto and other corporate food and chemical companies to combat between now and then.

    Tomorrow, February 14th, the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Water & Rural Economic Development will be holding a public hearing at 10am to discuss I-522.

    Tell the state legislature to enact I-522 now to label genetically engineered food!

  • Tell FDA: Do Not Approve Genetically Engineered Salmon!

  • Keep GE Canola Out of the Willamette Valley

    In August, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) filed a temporary rule without public comment that would dramatically expand the area in the Willamette Valley where canola can be grown.  Center for Food Safety, Friends of Family Farmers and three specialty seed growers filed for an emergency lawsuit challenging the rule, and the Oregon Court of Appeals granted our motion to stay the rule, meaning that no canola production can be allowed in 2012.

    We won that battle, but the war continues.

    ODA proposed a permanent rule at the same time as the temporary rule, which is exactly like the temporary rule    , and would dramatically cut away the protection of the Valley.  However unlike the temporary rule, the permanent rule allows for a public comment period from now through October 5th.

    Please Sign the petition below to dump this dangerous rule.  The petition will be delivered to ODA Director Katy Coba and Governor Kitzhaber during the public hearing on September 28th at the Salem Fairgrounds.

  • Tell EPA to Protect Pollinators!

    Despite over one million people urging the agency to act swiftly, the EPA has refused to take emergency action on a critical petition calling for suspending the use of clothianidin, a toxic pesticide shown to adversely impact the survival and health of honey bees, along with harmful effects to numerous other invertebrate species. While refusing to issue an immediate suspension, EPA opened a public comment docket, which ends September 25th, to allow any member of the public to comment on to comment on the petition.

    Honey bees are an indicator species, and also essential for our food system: one-third of our agricultural supply is pollinated by honey bees - without pollinators, these crops cannot be grown.

    It is imperative that EPA acts quickly to suspend these pollinator-toxic pesticides. Please take action by sending a comment to EPA below. Comments are due no later than September 25th, 2012.

    For more information on the petition, please visit the CFS website here    .

  • Stop Monsanto's Dicamba Tolerant Soybeans!

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently considering approval of Monsanto’s new genetically engineered (GE), dicamba-tolerant soybeans. If approved, millions more pounds of this hazardous chemical will be sprayed, polluting our food, water, and air. This is just the latest effort in the corporate chemical arms race, and it will cause serious harm to human health and the environment.

    Sign the Petition below to the USDA urging the agency to reject this risky crop!

  • Tell the USDA: No GE Apples!

    A Canadian company is asking the USDA to approve a genetically engineered (GE) apple that will not brown when sliced.
     
    We know that sliced apples turn brown when they’re exposed to oxygen, but they don't lose any flavor or nutritional value, and not even the apple industry wants this genetically engineered product.

    Apples are supposed to be a natural, healthy snack. Genetically engineered apples are niether.

    Sign the Petition Telling the USDA to reject the GE Apple!

  • Tell USDA to Reject “Agent Orange” Soy

    Dow Chemical is currently requesting yet another unprecedented USDA approval: a genetically engineered (GE) version of soy that is resistant to 2,4-D, a major component of the highly toxic Agent Orange. Agent Orange was the chemical defoliant used by the U.S. in Vietnam, and it caused lasting ecological damage as well as many serious medical conditions in both Vietnam veterans and the Vietnamese. USDA approval of Dow’s GE soybeans will trigger a huge increase in 2,4-D use – and our exposure to this toxic herbicide.  This will come on top of a large spike in 2,4-D use from Dow’s 2,4-D resistant GE corn. 

    Sign the petition to USDA telling them to reject Dow's genetically engineered, 2,4-D resistant soy!

  • Willamette Valley Canola Ban in Jeopardy!

    Late last Friday, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) sent out a news release announcing its plan to file a temporary administrative rule that would dramatically expand the area in the Willamette Valley where canola can be grown: from a few hundred acres to 300,000 acres. This short-sighted ruling, which would invite canola, including GE canola, into the protected zone of the Willamette Valley, could mean the ruination of the specialty seed industry.

    Tell ODA and the Governor to keep Canola, especially GE canola, out of the Willamette Valley!

  • Tell FDA to Regulate Nanotechnology in Food

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a public comment period open through July 24th on the oversight of nanotechnology in food. Amazingly, the FDA currently does not regulate the use of nanotechnology in food, despite its widespread use, and serious public health concerns.
     
    Already a wide variety of nanoscale applications in food packaging and processing are being developed. Yet, we know very little about the health effects of exposure to engineered nanomaterials, and what we do know, is cause for alarm.

    Make your voice heard and urge FDA to regulate nanotechnology to protect consumer health.

    For more information on nanotechnology, click here

  • Take the Cool Foods Pledge!

    Help stop climate change! Take the Cool Foods pledge and do your part to stabilize the earth’s climate by being more thoughtful about the way you eat.

    Center for Food Safety’s Cool Foods Campaign provides information about the connection between agriculture, food and a stable climate.

    Everyone eats, so everyone can join our campaign!

    Help us raise public awareness about how your everyday food choices impact the climate by following our five Cool Foods guidelines.

  • Urge Trader Joe’s to sell only meat raised without antibiotics

    A shocking 80% of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used not by humans, but by the meat and poultry industries, making factory farm animals grow fatter faster and enabling them to survive crowded and unsanitary conditions. The facilities and feedlots where these cows, chickens, and pigs live are teeming with antibiotic-resistant bacteria that make their way into the air, the water, soil, your food, and you.

    Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration has done little to protect us, so now it’s time for consumers to act. That’s why the Center for Food Safety is supporting the Meat Without Drugs campaign, and we’re starting where we can have the most impact – our neighborhood supermarkets.
     
    Join us in urging Trader Joe’s to lead the way in getting antibiotics out of our food chain by selling only meat raised without antibiotics!

  • Tell FDA to Ban Unnecessary Antibiotic Use in Food-Producing Animals

    In human medicine, antibiotic use is generally confined to treatment of illness. Yet, on many industrial livestock farms in the U.S., antibiotics and other antimicrobials (drugs that kill microorganisms like bacteria) are routinely administered to healthy animals. In fact, 80 percent of all antibiotics produced in the U.S. are given to animals, not humans. One result of this unregulated overuse has been a significant increase in antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” which can dangerously jeopardize the use and effectiveness of medically important antibiotics for humans.

    Antibiotics are essential tools in both human and animal medicine, but mounting evidence has linked persistent use of these drugs in animal production to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms. To preserve medically important antibiotics for treatment of disease in people, current practices must be radically changed.

    Urge FDA to immediately ban all use of medically important human antibiotics in food-producing animals for growth promotion or disease prevention.

  • Tell EPA to Protect our Honey Bees from Pesticides

    Honey bees and other insect pollinators are dying off at unprecedented rates and pesticides are a clear causal factor. This week and next, EPA is deciding just how “real” they think the pesticide threat to our pollinators is. 

    In March, the Center for Food Safety joined partners and beekeepers from around the country in filing a legal petition with EPA, calling on the agency to make use of its emergency powers to protect bees from a pesticide called clothianidin that is particularly harmful to bees. In the next two weeks, we expect EPA will decide whether this threat constitutes the “imminent hazard” necessary for the agency to take emergency action to suspend registration of this toxic pesticide.

    Bees and other pollinators are indicator species – as they go, so goes the environment, and with it, us. If bees dying off en masse aren’t an “imminent hazard”, then we don’t know what is.

    Sign the petition below to tell EPA that the threat to bees is very real, and they need to take emergency action!

  • Urge the White House to hold “the Big Six” accountable

    Since the death of her newborn from exposure to pesticides 13 years ago, Sofía Gatica has been working tirelessly with other moms to hold Monsanto and Co. accountable for the harms they impose.

    In April, Sofía — winner of the 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize — hand delivered a letter to a top White House official, Ms. Nancy Sutley of the Council on Environmental Quality, urging the administration to investigate Monsanto’s “pesticide poisonings and livelihood harms” in her Argentine community, the U.S. and beyond.

    Ms. Sutley promised Sofía a response by June 1, but that deadline has come and gone.

    Sign the petition urging the White House to respond to Sophia and hold the “Big Six” accountable!

  • Tell EPA to Rein in Climate Polluters

    Uncontrolled climate change threatens our food supply. That’s why several years ago the Center for Food Safety took legal action to stop reckless corporations from dumping unlimited amounts of industrial carbon pollution into the air that causes global warming.
     
    As a result of CFS’s legal efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency is acting for the first-time ever to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants – the largest source of such pollution. But polluter-funded attack groups are seeking to stop it. The future of the food system we want depends on a sustainable climate.

    Sign the petition to EPA urging strong limits on all carbon pollution

  • Poultry Inspection Rule Puts Corporate Profits Before Public Health

    In the name of budget-cuts, more defective and unsanitary poultry could make its way to the supermarket if a new USDA rule goes into effect. Despite rising incidents of foodborne illness and increasing public concern over the safety of our food, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing  to both increase line speeds and reduce the number of trained government inspectors at poultry slaughter houses—a serious threat to food safety, animal welfare, and poultry workers.

    Sign the petition to tell USDA to reject this proposed rule, because food safety is more important than corporate profits

  • Tell Missouri Senate to Vote No on “Ag Gag” Bills

    The Missouri House recently passed an “ag gag” bill that would criminalize employees taking photos or digital recordings of animal or crop facilities. The Missouri Senate will be considering a similar bill this week. The effect of these laws is that environmental and health violations go unreported, covered up, and the state does not discover them until it is too late. Citizen involvement in this process is necessary to ensure healthy agricultural practices exist. Iowa and Utah have passed similar bills this year; don’t let Missouri fall to Big Ag interests!

    Your state Senator needs to hear from you that you oppose laws that favor industrial agriculture at the expense of public health, the environment, and animal welfare!

  • Tell Michigan DNR to Leave Heritage Pigs Alone!

    The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is set to enact an Invasive Species Order (ISO) that would make it a felony for anyone – including family farmers - to possess certain kinds of pigs. Scheduled to go into effect only a few days from now, on April 1st, 2012, the ISO will criminalize owning heritage pigs, and protect pigs raised by industrial feeding operations.  While the ISO may have good intentions—targeting feral pigs that can damage Michigan’s environment—the Order is so poorly worded that it puts family farmers raising heritage breeds at risk of losing their pastured pigs, or even imprisonment.

    The State of Michigan needs to hear from you that you support preserving genetic diversity in agriculture, farmers’ rights to raise heritage pigs, and that the ISO must either be rescinded or revised to make clear that the Order applies only to feral pigs.

  • Tell Walmart to Reject GE Sweet Corn!

    Surveys over the past decade have consistently shown that Americans don’t want to eat genetically engineered (GE) food. Despite the overwhelming opposition to this risky new food technology, the biotech giant Monsanto continues to impose its unlabeled GE foods onto our dinner plates.

    The latest: Monsanto’s new GE sweet corn. This experimental corn will not be labeled, so consumers cannot know when they may be eating sweet corn that contains a toxic pesticide in every bite. Monsanto’s corn is a new GE variety that has been genetically modified for three different traits, to resist two different insects and to withstand heavy spraying with Monsanto's toxic Roundup herbicide. Because there are already varieties of other insect-resistant and Roundup-Ready varieties on the market, federal regulators are not requiring ANY approval process—which means NO public comment on its introduction into our food supply.

    CFS has teamed up with the Center for Environmental Health and Food and Water Watch to urge major food companies and grocers to reject Monsanto’s GE sweet corn, and we need your help to tell leading retailer Walmart to reject this new GMO corn. General Mills (Green Giant, Cascadian Farms), Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have already indicated that they will not use Monsanto’s new GMO sweet corn in their products—so can Walmart!

    We’ll be delivering the petition to Walmart by April 1st, so please sign the petition today!

  • Tell Congress to Support Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food

    In the U.S., we pride ourselves on having choices and making informed decisions. Under current FDA regulations, we don't have that choice when it comes to GE ingredients in the foods we purchase and feed our families.  This led the Center for Food Safety to submit a legal petition to the FDA demanding that the agency require the labeling of GE foods.  In response, Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR) have authored a bicameral Congressional letter in support of our legal petition and will be urging their fellow Members on Capitol Hill to sign onto their letter.

    Unsuspecting consumers by the tens of millions are being allowed to purchase and consume unlabeled genetically engineered foods, despite the fact that FDA undertakes no testing of its own, instead relying only on a voluntary consultation with industry and confidential industry data to assure safety.  Internal FDA documents discovered in prior CFS litigation actually indicated the foods could pose serious risks, but those views were overruled.

    Genetically engineered foods are required to be labeled in nearly 50 countries around the world including the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, China, New Zealand and many others.  A recent poll released by ABC News found that 93 percent of the American public wants the federal government to require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. As ABC News stated, “Such near-unanimity in public opinion is rare.” Yet the United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t require labeling of GE food!

    Please email your U.S. Senators and Representative and urge them to join the Boxer-DeFazio letter in support of labeling!

  • Tell USDA To Reject "Agent Orange" Corn


    Dow Chemical is currently requesting an unprecedented USDA approval:     a genetically engineered (GE) version of corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a major component of the highly toxic Agent Orange. Agent Orange was the chemical defoliant used by the U.S. in Vietnam, and it caused lasting ecological damage as well as many serious medical conditions in both Vietnam veterans and the Vietnamese. 

    Exposure to 2,4-D has been linked to major health problems that include cancer (especially non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), lowered sperm counts, liver disease and Parkinson’s disease.  A growing body of evidence from laboratory studies show that 2,4-D causes endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, neurotoxicity and immunosuppression.  Further, industry’s own tests show that 2,4-D is contaminated with dioxins, a group of highly toxic chemical compounds that bioaccumulate, so even a minute amount can accumulate as it goes up the food chain, causing dangerous levels of exposure.  Dioxins in Agent Orange have been linked to many diseases, including birth defects in children of exposed parents; according to EPA, 2,4-D is the seventh largest source of dioxins in the U.S.

    USDA approval of Dow’s GE corn will trigger a big increase in 2,4-D use – and our exposure to this toxic herbicide.  Yet USDA has not assessed how much, nor analyzed the resulting impacts on public health, the environment or neighboring farmers (2,4-D is prone to drift and cause damage to nearby crops).  Instead, USDA has once again bowed to the pesticide industry, by giving preliminary approval to still another pesticide-promoting crop that will likely harm people and their children, including farmers, and the environment. USDA claims to be adhering to a scientific process, yet the Agency is blatantly ignoring the science on 2,4-D.

    Tell USDA To Do Its Job And Reject 2,4-D Resistant GE Corn    !

  • Tell FDA to Label Genetically Engineered Food

    In the U.S., we pride ourselves on having choices and making informed decisions. Under current FDA regulations, we don't have that choice when it comes to genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in the foods we purchase and feed our families.

    GE foods are required to be labeled in the 15 European Union nations, Russia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries around the world. A poll released by ABC News found that 93 percent of the American public wants the federal government to require mandatory labeling of GE foods.  Yet the U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t require labeling.

    The Center for Food Safety has filed a formal legal petition with FDA demanding that the agency require the labeling of GE foods and is spearheading a drive with the Just Label It Campaign to direct one million comments to the FDA in support of our petition. We have surpassed the one million mark--and counting!

    Please send your comment below to FDA and President Obama in support of mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

    If you have already sent your comment please share this with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or email!

  • Keep Pesticide-Ridden Corn Off Your Dinner Plate

    Surveys over the past decade have consistently shown that Americans don’t want to eat genetically engineered (GE or GMO) food. Despite the overwhelming opposition to this risky new food technology, the biotech giant Monsanto continues to impose its unlabeled GMO’s onto our dinner plates.

    The latest: Monsanto’s new GMO corn, intended for the frozen and/or canned corn market. This experimental corn will not be labeled, so consumers cannot know when they may be eating a GMO food that contains a toxic pesticide in every bite. Monsanto’s corn is a new GMO variety that has been genetically modified for three different traits, to resist two different insects and to withstand heavy spraying with Monsanto's toxic Roundup herbicide. Because there are already varieties of other insect-resistant and Roundup-Ready varieties on the market, federal regulators are not requiring ANY approval process—which means NO public comment on its introduction into our food supply.

    CFS has teamed up with the Center for Environmental Health to urge major companies that make frozen and/or canned corn to take action to avoid Monsanto’s new crop. We need tell Del Monte, Bird’s Eye and other major food makers to reject this new GMO corn. General Mills (Green Giant, Cascadian Farms), Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have already indicated that they will not use Monsanto’s new GMO sweet corn in their products—so can the other top companies!

    Take action today! Send food makers a message that we don’t want Monsanto’s food experiments!

    Targets:

    • Neil Harrison, Del Monte (Del Monte, S&W)
    • Robert J. Gamgort, Pinnacle Foods/Bird's Eye
    • Roderick L. Allen, Allen's Inc. (Veg-all, Allen's, SteamSupreme, Freshlike, Freshlike Selects)
    • Kraig H. Kayser, President & CEO, Seneca Foods (Libby's, Aunt Nelly's, Read, Stokely's, Festal, private label brands)
    • Steven A. Burd, President & CEO, Safeway
    • David B. Dillon, Kroger
    • Michael T. Duke, Walmart
    • Craig R. Herkert- President, CEO, & Director, Supervalu
    • Gregg Steinhafel, Chairman, President and CEO, Target (Archer Farms, Market Pantry)

  • Tell Congress to create a tracking system for cloned animals!

    In poll after poll, the American public has said that it does not want to eat food that comes from cloned animals. A 2008 Food Marketing Institute poll indicated that 77% of Americans are not comfortable with eating foods from cloned animals.

    But we won’t have much choice about eating cloned foods unless USDA creates a robust system to track clones and their offspring.

    Dozens of food companies have pledged to avoid cloned animals in their supply chains, and the National Organic Program has determined that cloned animals and their offspring cannot be certified organic. But these efforts may not be successful unless clones and their offspring can be reliably identified through a national tracking system.

    Tracking is also necessary for any kind of labeling about cloned foods. The radio frequency tagging system proposed by the cloning companies stops at the slaughterhouse door and only covers clones, not their offspring; that’s not good enough.

    Take Action Now! Tell Congress they must allow for real consumer choice by establishing a national DNA-based tracking system for cloned animals and their offspring.

  • Tell Mars and Hershey's to say no to GM Beet Sugar


    Tell Mars and Hershey's to sign the Non-GM Beet Sugar Registry

  • Urge Congress To Take A Stand Against GE Fish!

    Support the bipartisan legislation to ban GE fish, require labeling

    Despite nearly 400,000 comments in opposition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to announce its approval of genetically engineered (GE) salmon any day now. To make matters worse, FDA argues that these GE salmon don’t even need to be labeled!

    In response to FDA’s imminent approval, Congress is taking action. Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) recently introduced bipartisan legislation in Congress that would ban GE fish (Bill# S. 230/H.R. 521) and require mandatory labeling for consumers if approved (Bill# S. 229/H.R. 520). 

    The legislation has been endorsed by 64 consumer, worker, religious and environmental groups, along with commercial, recreational and subsistence fisheries associations, food businesses and retailers—including the Center for Food Safety, Ocean Conservancy, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development, the Alaska Trollers Association, Food and Water Watch, the National Cooperative Grocers Association and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations among others—who know that the approval of GE salmon would represent a serious threat to the survival of native salmon populations, many of which have already suffered severe declines related to salmon farms and other man-made impacts. Wild Atlantic salmon are already on the Endangered Species List in the U.S.; approving these GE Atlantic salmon could be the final blow to these wild stocks. Additionally, the human health impacts of eating GE fish are entirely unknown. If GE salmon are approved, these fish must be labeled so people can make informed choices.

    Please write your U.S. Senators and Representative and urge them to protect fishers, consumers and the environment by co-sponsoring S. 230/H.R. 521 and S. 229/H.R. 520!

  • Tell U.S. Dairies You Don't Want GE Alfalfa

    Despite public opposition, the USDA recently approved Monsanto's Roundup Ready, genetically engineered alfalfa for commercial planting in the absence of sound science to prove that contamination can be prevented or that it is safe for human health or the environment.

    Alfalfa is primarily used as animal feed in dairies. Now that GE alfalfa has been cleared for commercial production, dairies need to hear from you that you will not purchase dairy products from companies that allow GE alfalfa!

    Sign the petition to dairies below!