Search Our Site
California's GMO Bill Approved by Senate Ag & Judiciary Committees
Bill Would Protect Farmers from Monsanto's Harassment
AB 541 is close to becoming California's first state law protecting farmers from the hazards of genetically engineered crops. Having already passed the Assembly, it has since cleared the Senate Agriculture and Judiciary committees and will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 4th and then the full Senate. It has the support of Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the California Farmers Union, California Certified Organic Farmers, the California Farm Bureau, and many food safety and environmental organizations.
Introduced by Assembly Member Jared Huffman (6th AD) early in 2007 as a comprehensive bill to address many aspects of the problems associated with genetic engineering (GE) contamination, the bill was held over in the Agriculture Committee in April. Since then, AB 541 has been scaled back to address two provisions related to farmer protections.
AB 541 will enact protections for California farmers against frivolous lawsuits that intimidate and harass those who have not been able to prevent the inevitable - the drift of GE pollen or seed. It will level the playing field for farmers accused by agricultural biotechnology companies and other patent holders of contract violations, and discourage the practice of biotech companies sampling crops without explicit permission from farmers and prosecuting based on unverifiable testing results.
Specifically, the newly amended bill would provide for:
- Protection from patent infringement lawsuits for farmers unknowingly contaminated by GE crops. Currently, farmers with crops that become contaminated by patented seeds or pollen have been the target of such lawsuits without clear recourse or defense.
- The establishment of a mandatory crop sampling protocol to be used by patent holders when investigating farmers they believe may have violated patents or seed contracts. This protocol would require the farmer’s written permission for sampling, and provide for a state agriculture official to accompany the patent holder during the sampling and collect duplicate samples for independent verification if requested by either party.
"I am very pleased that the stakeholders on this issue have found a way to address one of the issues related to genetic contamination of crops," stated Assembly Member Huffman. "While there is still work to do on other issues concerning genetic engineering contamination, AB 541 would be an important step in establishing basic protections for California farmers."
"While AB 541 as currently amended represents only a small piece of what our stakeholders identify as issues to be addressed, we think this represents a move in the right direction," stated Renata Brillinger, director of the Genetic Engineering Policy Project, the 13-member coalition of organic and conventional farmers, food industry, environmental, and faith organizations sponsoring AB 541.
Support AB 541
Please write or call your Senator no later than August 8th. To get contact information for your representative, visit http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html. Note that letters, faxes or phone calls are much more effective than emails.
Please also forward this email alert to everyone you know in California to help gather support for the AB 541 support letter from organizations, businesses, and individuals.
AB 541 sample support letter:
Please personalize if possible for greater impact.
[date] The Honorable [NAME] [ADDRESS] [FAX] RE: AB 541 (Huffman) - SUPPORT Dear [NAME]: I am writing in support of AB 541. [Describe your organization, company, or farm here if applicable]. Currently, California has no laws in place to address the issue of genetic engineering (GE), yet citizens across the state have expressed concerns about the risks the technology presents for farmers, consumers, the economy and the environment. AB 541 is a good first step towards addressing the many issues related to genetic contamination caused by GE crops and seeds. This bill will enact protections for California farmers against frivolous lawsuits that intimidate and harrass those who have not been able to prevent the inevitable drift of GE pollen or seeds. It will level the playing field for farmers accused by Monsanto and others of contract violations, and discourage their practice of sampling crops without explicit permission from farmers and prosecuting based on unverifiable test results. I urge you to consider this issue carefully, and vote to support AB 541. It will be a vote in favor of California farmers. Sincerely, [name, title, organization or business]
Background on AB 541
In February 2007, Assemblymember Jared Huffman introduced AB 541, the Food and Farm Protection Act. The original bill would have put in place several important protections against genetic contamination caused by GE crops. It had broad support from dozens of diverse organizations and hundreds of individuals.
The State of California has no policies regulating GE crops, and the federal government is failing in its oversight role. Given this regulatory void, eight counties attempted to pass local restrictions on GE crops, four of which now have county bans or moratoria on GE crop production in place. In the 2005/06 legislative session, biotechnology and agribusiness interests sponsored a bill that would have pre-empted local authority over GE, but failed due to a groundswell of opposition from grassroots organizations, citizens, and elected officials around the state.
The original scope of AB 541 included the following provisions:
- Establishes the right of farmers and landowners to compensation for economic losses due to genetic contamination of their crops
- Protects farmers from being sued by a GE manufacturer if their crop is contaminated by that company's GE product.
- Establishes a county-level GE crop notification process so that farmers can trace contamination to the GE manufacturer.
- Protects the food supply by prohibiting the open-field cultivation of genetically engineered food crops used to produce drugs and biologics such as hormones and antibiotics.
AB 541 passed through its first committee, the Assembly Judiciary, in February 2007 with a vote of 7 - 3. It was then tabled in the Assembly Agriculture Committee in April when it became clear that there were not enough votes to pass. In the intervening months, the bill's supporters and opponents engaged in negotiations which engaged in negotiations which yielded the current version of the bill. It now has the support of the bill’s thirteen co-sponsors (the Genetic Engineering Policy Project) as well as the California Farm Bureau Federation who were opposed to the original version.
A full copy of the bill as currently amended can be found at the
following web site:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/
The Issues
GE and non-GE plants can cross-pollinate and crops can be mixed together during harvest, handling and processing. It is widely known that it is virtually impossible in every case to prevent contamination of non-GE crops by patented GE plants or seeds. In spite of the uncontrollability of genetic contamination, farmers contaminated by GE crops can be and have been sued by GE manufacturers for patent infringement and breach of contract.
The State of California has no state laws or regulations governing GE crop production. In 2000, the legislature created a California Biotechnology Task Force. It disbanded without making any recommendations for state oversight. Four California counties have enacted local restrictions on GE crops, and a state pre-emption bill (SB 1056) to override these local laws failed in 2006. In spite of their pervasiveness in food and agriculture, the federal government has no mandatory human or environmental safety testing requirements for GE crops or food.
AB 541 Supporters
California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Council of Churches IMPACT
California Farmers Union
Center for Food Safety
Center for Environmental Health
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Earthbound Farm
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Natural Products Association West
Pesticide Action Network North America
United Natural Foods Inc.
- and many others
For more information on this issue, please go to www.gepolicyalliance.org.