Urgent: Tell your Reps to Protect the Valley by Supporting HB 2427

Pretty but deadly to organic farmers

This is an urgent call for YOU to tell your representatives that they need to stand up to help protect the unique, world-class Willamette Valley organic seed industry from the insanity of subsidized canola crops, which will destroy the valley as an organic seed nursery. 

The Oregon Ag. Dept. proposes to sacrifice the livelihood of small farmers and nursery growers, just to allow Big Ag to grow genetically modified canola so that they can suck up big subsidy dollars for canola as "biofuel."  

Despite the evidence of genetic drift every time genetically altered crops are planted out, Oregon Ag is pushing this scheme.

The worst part is that this is an irrevocable blunder.  Once the gene modified crops are introduced, we will get gene drift, as canola is promiscuous, and all the brassica seed growers up and down the valley will be destroyed, as they will lose the organic certification for their seeds.  Then the big growers will benefit from destroying their neighbors' livelihoods.

If we let canola into the valley, we're trading top-dollar, high value, unique nursery crops for a cheap commodity canola that can be grown anywhere and that we don't need grown anywhere.

Call your state reps and senators and tell them to PROTECT THE VALLEY, SUPPORT HB 2427

Esp. if you live in Brian Clem's district, call!  He sits on (and is a former chair of House Ag Committee), and he's taking the position that it's up to Oregon Ag. to decide this -- but Oregon Ag Department follows the money, not the best interests of the people of the Willamette Valley.

We are in a critical juncture in our fight to protect our seed & vegetable growers in the Willamette Valley from the threats posed by canola, and we need you to weigh in with the Oregon Legislature.

The canola issue is coming up before the legislature in the form of HB 2427 and we have a chance to restore the protections that were in place until very recently. While we and our allied farmers won a lawsuit against ODA’s canola rule last fall, they have gone ahead despite the opposition, with a new rule that opens up half the Willamette Valley to the dangers of canola, and the Legislature is now our best hope to win this fight.

In the coming days, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee is expected to take up a debate on HB 2427 and canola. Many legislators are still ‘on the fence’ on this issue and a call and email from you WILL help make a difference at this critical time. Many legislators are simply inclined to listen to ODA because they view them as the "experts" on agriculture, but ODA has ignored important research on the impacts of canola in the Willamette Valley, and instead has yielded to pressure from the biofuel industry and a handful of growers who would benefit from introducing this controversial crop.


At a February 14 Senate hearing, ODA Director Katy Coba told the committee that "it's fair to say in other parts of the world specialty seed industries have been destroyed by large amounts of canola. And that there is a level of canola where you do jeopardize specialty seeds but we just don't know what that acreage is." Our question is, if this is the case, why is the ODA gambling with the future of the Willamette Valley and our food supply? Canola poses major threats to specialty vegetable seed, fresh market vegetable, and clover producers by incubating several devastating pest and diseases and physically contaminating seed lots. These industries together are worth over $100 million annually in agricultural production, and sustain many farm families.

Further, the vast majority of canola is genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant, which adds an additional threat to our organic vegetable and seed industries, as cross-pollination with canola contaminates organic crops, eliminating their value, and cross-pollination between canola and certain weeds can lead to ‘super-weeds’ that will require more aggressive herbicides to control.


Your State Representative needs to hear from you as a constituent to give them the push they need to do the right thing as HB 2427 is debated and comes up for a vote.


Not sure who your legislator is? Use this link: http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/


To send your legislator an email use this link: http://www.leg.state.or.us/writelegsltr/

Here is a sample script. Please add any personal perspectives on this issue and what it means to you as a farmer or eater:

Dear Rep. _____

My name is ___.  As your constituent, I strongly urge you to support HB 2427. The Willamette Valley is the heart of Oregonʼs lucrative specialty seed, fresh market vegetable, clover, and organic industries.  It is recognized for having unique a climate and the perfect conditions which have allowed these industries to thrive.

The Willamette Valley should be preserved and protected for these special purposes from the pest, weed and cross-contamination risks from canola. Allowing canola production in the Willamette Valley protected district would undermine this world-renowned resource, and the Valley’s economically important vegetable seed production industry, and large network of vegetable growers as well as our local food supply.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture made a major mistake by abruptly changing the rules to open up significant portions of the Willamette Valley to canola earlier this year, abandoning its long-standing and science-backed protections that prevented canola from contaminating the Willamette Valley.

Canola can be, and is, grown in most of the rest of Oregon.  Let’s keep it that way. 
Please support HB 2427 and restore protections from canola to our one-of-a-kind Willamette Valley.

Sincerely,

Thank you for your continued efforts in this fight!

Protect the Priceless Jewel, fertile, uncontaminated Willamette Valley Farmland

Genetically Tampered Canola threatens to destroy the
Willamette Valley specialty seed growers livelihood -
Thanks Oregon Department of Ag!

It is truly, staggeringly, astoundingly, chart-toppingly stupid-to-the-point-of-insane to imperil a singular world resource of the exact conditions needed to grow precious specialty food crops that command top dollar and provide food security insurance in a threatened world, simply in order to grow a near-worthless commodity product (canola oil) that is only hot because of outrageous and unjustified subsidies as fuel for cars.

If this wasn't so deadly serious you would be justified in thinking this was like a "Candid Camera" skit, where the idea was to propose something so outrageous that people would be justified in tarring and feathering anyone who proposed it.

Below is an email from Kendra Wolf, a MoveOn member in Beaverton, who created a petition on SignOn.org, the nonprofit site that allows anyone to start their own online petition. If you have concerns or feedback about this petition, click here.

Dear Salem MoveOn member,

Oregon is a major producer of the world's seeds for European cabbage, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga and turnips. Recently, our Department of Agriculture decided to allow 2500 acres for the growing of GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

The introduction of genetically modified canola would not only threaten the livelihood of seed farmers but would also pose serious dangers (such as increased pesticide use and herbicide-resistant superweeds) to the environment.

That's why I created a petition on SignOn.org to the Oregon Legislature, which says:

Stop the Oregon Department of Agriculture's decision to open 2500 acres to genetically modified canola.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Genetically modified canola has been genetically altered to withstand the herbicide Roundup, allowing farmers to spray more herbicide without destroying their crops. The cross-pollination of genetically modified crops with weeds creates superweeds that are also herbicide resistant.

The Huffington Post reported that more than two dozen weed species have become "resistant to Roundup's chief ingredient glyphosate, causing farmers to use increasing amounts both of glyphosate and other weed killing chemicals to try to control the so-called 'superweeds.'" This dilemma facing farmers is now driving up the "volume of herbicide needed each year by about 25 percent," and farmers are forced to use older, more dangerous herbicides as a result.1

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Kendra Wolf

Source:

1. "Genetically Modified Crops Have Led to Pesticide Increase, Study Finds," The Huffington Post, October 1, 2012.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=285870&id=60259-19567772-L3ffAYx&t=4

This petition was created on SignOn.org, the progressive, nonprofit petition site. SignOn.org is sponsored by MoveOn Civic Action, which is not responsible for the contents of this or other petitions posted on the site. Kendra Wolf didn't pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

For Oregon farmers, oil-rich canola is either promise or peril | OregonLive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/02/for_oregon_farmers_oil-rich_ca.html

Take action against this disastrously horrible idea. More effort to place the needs of rich auto drivers over humanity's need for real food. Growing rapeseed to make motor fuel in the Willamette Valley is like putting an oil refinery in the Vatican or the Louvre, only much more serious. Art can be recreated ... Getting those genes back out of the fields would be like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube while on fire.

Is there no level too low for the biofuel-mad subsidy seekers? Apparently not.

Tell Oregon Dept of Ag to do their job, and protect the future of food in the Willamette Valley.

US policy makes biofools of us all

UPDATE: No surprise, Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack wins it going away.

As food prices rise in America and around the world, Secretary Vilsack does not seem to think it matters that almost 40 percent of U.S. corn production goes to manufacture ethanol for guzzling cars.¹ U.S. and EU biofuels policies contribute to food price volatility. By supporting these policies, Secretary Vilsack is helping industrial farmers make a few extra bucks per bushel.

Secretary Vilsack says his support for ethanol subsidies is justified by his concern that farmers are under-appreciated.³ However, ethanol subsidies go to refiners, not farmers, and less than 20 percent of America’s ethanol is produced in farmer-owned refineries.³ The other 80 percent is produced by conglomerates like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Big Oil companies. Secretary Vilsack could advocate for changes to our agricultural policies that help small, sustainable family farms grow healthy and nutritious food, but instead he supports Band-Aid policies that ultimately serve the interests of corporations.

Tell Secretary Vilsack just how much the industrial biofuels manufacturers appreciate his support… and just how much his shilling hurts our climate and the push for truly clean energy.

And we won’t even get into the fact that biofuels do nothing to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Converting all American corn acreage to ethanol production would only produce enough fuel to displace 12 percent of gasoline consumption -- and by even less if production costs are included.⁴ We may never know why Secretary Vilsack loves the ethanol industry so much, but we do know that he is a Biofool!

1. Kripke, Gawain. Defiant ethanol support weakens US case on food. Financial Times. 3/25/2011. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c7637d0-566d-11e0-84e9-00144feab49a.html#axzz1ICiDB9YL

2. Klein, Ezra. Vilsack: “I took it as a slam on rural America.” 3/8/2011. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/03/vilsack_i_took_it_as_a_slam_on.html

3. “ACE Commends Farmer-Owned Ethanol Plants for Contributions to U.S. Ethanol Industry.” 3/18/2010. http://www.ethanol.org/pdf/contentmgmt/ACE_commends_farmer_plants_Natl_Ag_Week_31810.pdf

4. Meyer, Patrick E. Biofuel Review Part 3: Land Availablity, Conversion and Deforestation. 1/2010. http://www.todaysengineer.org/2010/Jan/Biofuels-pt3.asp

Finally! A dawning recognition that the biofuels subsidy system is simply driving up hunger in America and around the world, while making climate destabilization worse.

The only thing we do by making hungry people compete with gas tanks for the energy content is to prop up the liquid-fueled vehicle paradigm a tiny bit longer, at an extraordinary cost.

Dear Friend,

Who wil be the 2011 Biofool of the Year? Cast your vote now!

It’s almost that time of year again: Biofools Day!

For the last two years, we have asked you to vote for the biggest Biofool to be announced on Biofools Day, April 1. A Biofool is a person who has bought the biofuel industry’s corny story, ignoring the growing evidence that biofuels are not-so-awesome after all.

Last year, thousands of you selected Representative Colin Peterson (D-Minn.) as 2010 Biofool of the Year. Rep. Peterson won for holding the Waxman-Markey climate bill hostage until he could get a provision inserted to repeal a law that directed the EPA to account for all greenhouse gas emissions related to the production of biofuels. In the contest's inaugural year, activists voted for Chairman Hugh Grant of Monsanto. He won because by supporting the biofuel boon, Monsanto stood to rake in billions from its genetically engineered products.

This year, we're calling out five major biofuel proponents, including government representatives and industry spokespeople, as this year's top Biofools.

Take a look and see who made the grade. Then vote to select this year’s biggest Biofool.

Contrary to what the industry says, the production of industrial biofuels releases significant amounts of carbon and greenhouse gases into the air. The majority of biofuel used in the United States today is corn ethanol, which produces more global warming pollution than gasoline. Like other industrial agricultural products, biofuel production is harmful to the land, water, and wildlife. To make matters worse, biofuel subsidies and handouts hinder food security and cost taxpayers billions.

Who will be this year's biofool? Vote now and have your say.

Despite huge environmental, social and economic concerns, biofuels still enjoy the fierce backing of industries -- like agribusiness, biotech, and oil -- that make billions by selling the myth that biofuels are clean, efficient, and reduce American dependence on foreign oil. Somehow, these powerful corporations are able hoodwink influential people to support their dirty industry – and these Biofools then use their different soap boxes to promote policies that in turn support dirty biofuels.

By voting today, you are sending the message that you are not fooled by the industry's propaganda.

Once the votes are in, we'll send you the results and announce this year’s winning Biofool to the public on April 1, Biofools Day.

But we won't stop there. We'll continue to put pressure on the biggest Biofools and we'll need your help to do this. We want you to be part of our work to end subsidies for Biofools -- ahem, biofuels --and ensure these subsidies expire like they should have done last year.

Click here to see the nominees and vote. Then get your friends to vote too.

Sincerely,
Kate McMahon
Biofuels Campaign Coordinator, Friends of the Earth

Note: Our neighbor blog to the south, "Goal One Coalition," has a great post on this subject.

Slowly but surely, reality wins out: Berkeley dumps biofuels

Note that corn ethanol -- the primary US biofuel -- is among the worst fuels for carbon emissions, not to mention land diversion from growing food, etc. Image via Wikipedia

Many people know that Seattle, WA has stopped buying biofuels made from crops because the science has finally overcome the very aggressive, very well-funded biofuels lobby.

The reality is that crop-based biofuels are MUCH WORSE for the climate than petroleum, and they aggravate world hunger and species extinction, in addition to helping lead to destruction of temperate rain forests all over the world.

But few know that Berkeley, CA, that green Valhalla to the South, has also made the same decision -- no more psuedo-green biofuels! Thanks to an alert activist in Seattle, the word made it up here.

This is good news. Oregon has lost its way on this issue, but seeing the most progressive areas wake up and start rejecting biofuels has got to help get us back on course -- which means eliminating the subsidies and blending mandates and actually implementing a meaningful low-carbon fuel standard (which kills all cropped biofuels).

Greenwashing Bus to hit Salem July 13

A corporate greenwashing bus is coming to Salem, fueled by biodiesel. In all probability, the bus is fueled from oilseed crops (soy or palm) rather than from reused vegetable oils.

In which case it means that not only does the bus cause more carbon emissions than petroleum diesel, it also contributes to world hunger, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity.

Worth celebrating, eh? NOT.

The City of Seattle recently realized that being environmentally responsible meant NOT buying any "biofuels" made from crops. It's time for Salem to follow in Seattle's footsteps and to do the same.

Feed a car, starve a person

Given this reality:

Sharon Astyk: The only way we are likely to avoid massive world hunger in the coming decades is to cease having human beings, their pets and their cars compete with the world’s poor for human food - more than half the world’s population mostly eats grains in their most basic form. The same half of the world’s population spends 50-90% of their income on food - so while increased demand for meat or biofuels may merely inconvenience, as the price of food goes up, for other people it is the difference between life and death. And human life is not something you play games with. As much as we like meat, eating meat that has eaten 8 lbs of human-edible grain and helped increase the price is not ok. Milk and eggs raise the same difficulties.

Salem's efforts to help force biofuels into gas tanks -- to help turn land away from growing food for people and toward growing food for cars -- are immoral.