THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE

16 March, 2004

Dear friends and colleagues,

RE: VERMONT USA PAVES WAY TO PROTECT FARMERS AGAINST GM LAWSUITS

The state of Vermont in the US made a historic decision on March 10.  State senators voted overwhelmingly to support the amended Farmer Protection Act, a bill to hold biotech corporations liable for unintended contamination of conventional or organic crops by genetically engineered plant materials.

This bill is the first of its kind in the world that aims to protect a farmer from being sued by the manufacturer if the farmer’s crops are contaminated with GMO material.

The Act is described as a “pre-emptive strike” to stop predatory lawsuits against Vermont’s farmers by biotech companies. Many farmers have in recent times either been hauled to courts or threaten with law suits by biotech companies such as Monsanto when unintended GMOs are found among their conventional crops for apparent patent infringement.

Another groundbreaking move is the recognition that GMOs are different from conventional seeds or plant parts, thus countering yet again the industry’s claim that GE products are the same as traditional products.

A press release on this historic development is attached below.

With best wishes,

Lim Li Lin and Chee Yoke Heong

Third World Network

121-S Jalan Utama

10450 Penang

Malaysia

Email: twnet@po.jaring.my

Website: www.twnside.org.sg

REF: Doc.TWN/Biosafety/2004/F

GE Free VT Media Release: Wednesday March 10, 2004 2:00 PM EST

Contact: Amy Shollenberger, Rural Vermont  +1-802.793.1114

Doyle Canning, GE Free VT  +1-802.279.0985

Vermont Senate on GMOs: Unanimous YES on Farmer Protection Act.  Vermont Bill is first-in-the-nation to hold biotech corporations accountable for contamination by genetically engineered crops.

Montpelier, VT- Vermont Senators voted 28-0 Wednesday to support the Farmer Protection Act (S.164), a bill to hold biotech corporations liable for unintended contamination of conventional or organic crops by genetically engineered plant materials. This historic decision was peppered by debate on the patent laws that allow biotech corporations like Monsanto to sue farmers for patent infringement who are contaminated with GMO pollen or plant materials. Senator Vincent Illuzzi (R-Essex-Orleans) dramatically illustrated cross-pollination of corn varieties with multi-colored ears of Vermont corn. Today’s vote comes after 79 Vermont towns have passed Town Meeting measures calling on lawmakers in Montpelier and Washington enact a moratorium on GMOs, and 10% of Vermont’s conventional dairy farmers have pledged not to plant the crops. Vermont joins Mendocino County, CA at the forefront of domestic resistance to genetically engineered crops.

“The Farmer Protection Act is a pre-emptive strike to stop predatory lawsuits against Vermont’s family farmers by biotech companies like Monsanto,” said Ben Davis with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. “Today the Vermont Senate took the first step to defend family farmers from these kinds of intimidation suits and the hazards of genetically engineered crops.” VPIRG is among a coalition of groups including Rural Vermont, Institute for Social Ecology, and Vermont Genetic Engineering Action Network who are spearheading the grassroots campaign for the first “GE Free” state in the union.

“Big biotech corporations are writing the rules in their own interests at the national and international level, and using their patented GMOs as a tool to contaminate and control farmers,” said Doyle Canning, a campaigner with the GE Free VT campaign. “Vermont is showing that a little state can make a big statement against corporate greed and work towards a Time Out on this technology.

We are working in concert with the folks in Hawaii, Mendocino County, and in the 30 nations around the world where GMO crops are stringently regulated, to put farmers first.”

Today’s Farmer Protection Act was amended with an 18-11 vote to include language specifically targeting genetic engineering patent lawsuits “The  Sears-Illuzzi amendment defines ‘genetically engineered seeds or plant parts’ as different from conventional seeds or plant parts. This is unprecedented and undermines the industry’s claim that GE products are the same as traditional products,” said Amy Shollenberger, Policy Director at Rural Vermont. “The amendment says that a person who is found to have ‘trace amounts’ of genetically engineered material shall be indemnified by the manufacturer if they are sued. In other words, it protects a farmer from being sued by the manufacturer if the farmer’s crops are contaminated with GMO material.” Tomorrow Shollenberger and 10 other GE Free VT supporters will testify to the House Agriculture Committee 9 AM-11:30 AM on a related bill on Genetically Engineered Crops.

The GE Free Vermont Campaign on Genetic Engineering is a statewide coalition of public interest groups, businesses, concerned citizens and farmers, who are organizing to oppose genetic engineering at the local, state and national level, and calling for a “Time Out” on GMOs. For more information: www.gefreevt.org