Tag Archives: Action Alert

Weston A Price Foundation ACTION ALERT for Polish Farmers

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I received this Action Alert from the Weston A Price Foundation. They are requesting all Weston A Price Foundation members and people interested in food freedom to commence a letter writing campaign to mobilize against government interference with private property rights and food freedom. This is an act of solidarity with Polish farmers that are facing increased government regulation from the European Union which will put them out of business.

International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC) wants to raise “public awareness of the importance of the small family farm in creating an ecologically sensitive, long-term solution to the countryside, which avoids the destructive consequences of CAP policies. ICPPC is non-governmental organization and co-operates with all who want to promote and protect the Polish countryside’s natural and cultural biodiversity.”

Friends!

In Poland the battle to?save Polish farmland from corporate buy-outs’ continues. But that’s not all the Polish farmers are up against… See link to film. Tractors have been blockading government institutions from 14 January…

Regulations that the?Warsaw?government?has imposed over the years have?made?it?virtually impossible?to sell farm?processed foods to local shops, schools or private individuals. The only way farmers can conform with the hygiene and sanitary regulations imposed from above, is by carrying out their simple processing tasks in specially designed and equipped buildings that none can afford to build or to adapt… except the very large producers supplying the food industry and supermarkets. Yes, that’s right — it’s all about destroying the competition — which in this case is the small and medium sized independent family farms that produce the best foods!

There are still one and a half million such farms in Poland!

ICPPC is supporting the protesting farmers to highlight this grossly unfair treatment of all who wish to provide fine quality, flavorful and ‘real’ farmhouse-foods in their own localities.

You too can be part of this vital protest…

Join in by sending a brief letter in support of the farmers to Prime Minister Tusk urging him to change the regulations so that family farmers can sell their products locally! And send a copy of your letter to us here at ICPPC: biuro@icppc.pl. You can donate to ICPPC here.

Contact to Prime Minister:
Premier Rz?du RP Donald Tusk, Secretariat of the Prime Minister
Aleje Ujazdowskie 1/3, 00-583 Warszawa, Poland
F: +48 (22) 694 70 53
E: sprm@kprm.gov.pl

With greetings,
Jadwiga and Julian

Action Alert: Kamloops Picnic Rally To Stop GM Alfalfa

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GUEST POST by Sarah Harder

Where: 979 Victoria Street, Kamloops, BC
Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Bring Your Lunch: 12:00noon-1:00pm

Genetically Modified (GM) Alfalfa may be grown in Canada as early as this spring. Commonly harvested as hay, alfalfa is a high-protein feed for animals like dairy cows, beef cattle, lambs, poultry and pigs. It is also used to build nutrients in the soil and naturally suppress weeds and is thus very important for organic farming. It is a perennial plant that is pollinated by many kinds of bees so GM Alfalfa will inevitably cross-pollinate with non-GM and organic alfalfa, contaminating farms and threatening organic certification and the livelihoods of family farmers across Canada.

Monsanto’s genetically modified 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.

A rally here in Kamloops will be held this Tuesday, April 9th, 12:00noon to 1:00pm, in front of MP Cathy McLeod’s office, 979 Victoria Street. Concerned citizens stand with farmers across Canada; there will be simultaneous rallies in cities across Canada. Show our support to stop the release of GM Alfalfa in eastern Canada. This rally is supported by the Shuswap Thompson Organic Producers Association (STOPA). Also bring a picnic lunch with food items that are related to alfalfa such as: meat, dairy, honey, sprouts, etc. Bring your children. There will be hay bales to sit on!

For more information, please see Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) or email Sarah Harder at c.sharder@gmail.com.

Updated April 8, 2013: I have just received a?Canadian Action Alert from the Weston A Price Foundation calling all members to support the National Farmers Union rally to stop the release of GM Alfalfa. Please come to a rally in your area. If there is no rally in your area, you can still help:

Why is GM Alfalfa Such a Huge Threat?
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 in Canada it will have negative impacts on a wide range of farmers and farming systems, both conventional and organic.

Why is Alfalfa Important??
Alfalfa (commonly harvested as hay) is a high-protein forage fed to animals like dairy cows, beef cattle, lambs, poultry and pigs. It’s also used to build nutrients 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.

What Can I Do to Help?

  1. Come out on April 9! ?Bring your friends and family! Bring your home-made sign.
  2. Help spread the word about the action to groups in your community and ask them to get involved.
  3. Help publicize the action in your community by putting up posters, handing out flyers, and posting through email and facebook.
  4. Contact media to tell them about the Day of Action and encourage them to cover the rallies.
  5. Collect signatures on the petition to stop GM alfalfa.
  6. Write to your Member of Parliament and the Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz: Hon. Gerry Ritz, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6. Email, call or fax: E: gerry.ritz@parl.gc.ca; T: 613.995.7080; F: 613.996.8472 M.