ACTION ALERT: April 9 - Stand Together on the Day of Action to Stop GM Alfalfa.
< http://www.cban.ca/Resources/Topics/GE- ... fa-April-9 >
You can join us on April 9 at any of these locations, or by contacting the Minister of Agriculture!
At noon-1:00 on Tuesday April 9, outside federal Member of Parliament constituency offices, government and corporate offices in 14 communities in Ontario, and 17 locations in other provinces!
Rallies in Ontario: Belleville, Goderich, Guelph, Hawkesbury, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Orangeville, Ottawa, Owen Sound, Port Colborne, Stratford, Toronto, Thunder Bay.
Rallies in other provinces: Wolfville NS, Moncton NB, Montreal PQ, Lévis PQ, Brandon MB, North Battleford SK, Camrose AB, Calgary AB, Edmonton AB, Grande Prairie AB, Red Deer AB, Duncan BC, Kelowna BC, Nelson BC, Vernon BC, Victoria BC, Whitehorse YT.
Plus: Film Night April 4 in Camrose and Film Night, April 9 in Winnipeg
Details are posted at
http://www.cban.ca/april9
Bring your banners. Bring your voices. Together we can stop the release of GM alfalfa.
Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) alfalfa could be registered for use this April! GM Roundup Ready alfalfa varieties have just been cleared for the last step before they hit the market – all they need now is a final rubber-stamp by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Alfalfa is used to produce many of the foods we eat! Alfalfa (commonly harvested as hay) is high-protein feed for animals like dairy cows, beef cattle, lambs, poultry and pigs. It's also used to build nutrients in the soil and is important for organic farming. Because alfalfa is a perennial plant that is pollinated by bees, genetically modified alfalfa will inevitably cross-pollinate with non-GM and organic alfalfa, contaminating farms and threatening the livelihoods of family farmers across Canada.
This call for a Day of Action to Stop GM Alfalfa was issued by the National Farmers Union-Ontario.
How Can I Take Action?
1. Come out on April 9! Bring your friends and family! Bring your home-made signs.
Check http://www.cban.ca/april9 for the latest confirmed actions.
2. Help publicize the action in your community by putting up posters, handing out flyers, and posting through email and facebook. Posters and flyers are at [ http://www.cban.ca/april9 ]
CBAN is also on facebook
[ https://www.facebook.com/cban.canadian. ... on.network ]
3. Contact media to tell them about your concerns and the Day of Action, encourage them to cover the rallies.
4. Email, call or write to your Member of Parliament (you can search for your MP using your postal code at [ http://www.parl.gc.ca ]) and the Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz on April 9 [ gerry.ritz@parl.gc.ca ] Tel: 613-995-7080 Fax 613-996-8472 By mail (no postage required) Hon. Gerry Ritz, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6
Background
New Report! "The Inevitability of Contamination from GM Alfalfa Release in Ontario: The case for preventing the introduction of Roundup Ready alfalfa" April 2, 2013 Canadian Biotechnology Action Network
[ http://www.cban.ca/alfalfaONreport ]
GM contamination is inevitable because alfalfa is a perennial crop pollinated by insects. In Ontario and Alberta, weeds are becoming resistant to glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup): another glyphosate tolerant crop like Roundup Ready alfalfa would increase these weeds. Alfalfa is almost always grown in a mix with grasses and establishes readily without the use of herbicides. Farmers don’t want or need Roundup Ready alfalfa. If genetically modified (GM, also called genetically engineered or GE) alfalfa is released it will have negative impacts on a wide range of farmers and farming systems, both conventional and organic, across Canada.
Alfalfa (commonly harvested as hay) is a high-protein feed for animals like dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs. It's also used to build nutrients and organic matter in the soil, making it particularly important for organic farming. If it's introduced, GM alfalfa will ruin export markets for alfalfa products, contaminate family farms, make it more difficult for farmers to control weeds, and threaten the future of organic food and farming in Canada. For more information see http://www.cban.ca/alfalfa
Thank you for your action and support!
Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN)
Collaborative Campaigning for Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice
Suite 206, 180 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2P 1P5
Phone: 613 241 2267 ext. 25
Fax: 613 241 2506
coordinator@cban.ca
http://www.cban.ca