FARMER PROTECTION ACT STALLED
In a fit of inaction, the Senate Judiciary Committee has done nothing on the Farmer Protection Act this week. It is unclear why the bill has been held up, but what is clear is that PHONE CALLS ARE NEEDED! Please read the actions below carefully, and TAKE ACTION BASED ON WHERE YOU LIVE. Your call could make the difference for our bill!!!

It is really important to realize the the industry is pulling out all of the stops this year. Misinformation is being fed to farmers across Vermont like honey to bears. Some of the most important work you can do is to TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS about the Farmer Protection Act and tell them the truth about our bill. One easy way to do this is to get a Sugar Shak Action Pak! It has everything you need to help your friends and neighbors understand the bill and to take action to help move the bill along. See below for details.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE (please take action based on WHERE YOU LIVE!)

IF YOU LIVE IN CHITTENDEN COUNTY:
Please call Senator Jim Leddy (863-6613) this weekend and ask him to PASS THE FARMER PROTECTION ACT (S.18) OUT OF COMMITTEE. If you leave a message, please leave your name, town, and telephone number, and the simple sentence "Please pass s.18 out of committee as soon as possible!" Additional talking points are at the very bottom of this email. You can also find a copy of the bill, and more information at www.ruralvermont.org . Click on ISSUES then on GMO CAMPAIGN.

IF YOU LIVE IN WINDSOR COUNTY:
Please call Senator John Campbell (295-6238) this weekend and ask him to PASS THE FARMER PROTECTION ACT (S.18) OUT OF COMMITTEE. If you leave a message, please leave your name, town, and telephone number, and the simple sentence "Please pass s.18 out of committee as soon as possible!" Additional talking points are at the very bottom of this email. You can also find a copy of the bill,  at www.ruralvermont.org . . If Senator Campbell says he does not have the votes to get the bill out of committee, ask him to do whatever he needs to in order to get those votes!

IF YOU LIVE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY:
Please call Senator Ann Cummings (223-6043) this weekend and ask her to PASS THE FARMER PROTECTION ACT (S.18) OUT OF COMMITTEE. If you leave a message, please leave your name, town, and telephone number, and the simple sentence "Please pass s.18 out of committee as soon as possible!" Additional talking points are at the very bottom of this email.

IF YOU LIVE ANYWHERE ELSE:
Please DO NOT call your Senators.

If you have not already done so, PLEASE CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES. We are still working on our "vote count." THANK YOU to those of you who have emailed or called Rural Vermont with reports from your Representatives. This information is CRITICAL to getting the bill passed.

Here's what to do: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE(S) and ask them if they are planning to support the Farmer Protection Act. You can find your House Reps and their contact info here: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/districts.cfm?Body=H .
Please email amybeth@together.net with any responses your Reps give you - yes, no, maybe - and let us know if they ask for more information. We'll follow up!

NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE:
Please WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR. We are getting beaten in the editorial pages by industry sponsored letters. We need to see your letters on those pages throughout the state.Please go to "Letters to the editor" for sample letters and write one today.


MORE TALKING POINTS ON S.18 THE FARMER PROTECTION ACT
·This bill protects all Vermont farmers, and does not discriminate between types of farms or between those who use the technology and those who don't.
·Some have tried to relate this bill to some kind of a push to force organic farming on everyone. This is just wrong. This bill actually does more to protect the GE grower than the organic farmer because it provides a way to put clear responsibility for any contamination on the manufacturer instead of on the farmer, and it protects the GE grower in the case of a contract dispute, by mandating that the case is heard here in Vermont, under Vermont law.
·If the products are as good as the biotechnology companies say they are, then the companies should be proud to stand behind the seeds. If they're not, why should farmers have to pay the price?
·Please choose farmers over corporations when you are considering this bill.
·I have read this bill, and I can't understand why any farmer would be opposed to it if they read the language.
·We already know that contamination is happening -- here, and everywhere else. Shouldn't farmers have a way to recoup any economic losses they might have without having to suee their neighbors? Also, how would you even know who to sue, if more than one neighbor is growing GE, or if your seed was contaminated? This way, there is a clear line back to the manufacturer, and you'll know who that is, because  you can identify the GE trait.
·This bill is about corporate responsibility. Why should corporations be allowed to a make a product that they know causes economic harm, and then walk away and force farmers to bear all of the burden?
·It may seem like genetically engineered crops are not a big deal right now, with only corn and soy, but we are looking at alfalfa and grass potentially being introduced in a few years, and once these crops are out on the ground, do we want our farmers taking all the responsibility for anything that happens as a result of the contamination that will surely occur with these crops?