1.Roundup in Texas: Spray Drift Showdown in the GM Cotton Fields
2.Can This Farmer Finally Defeat Monsanto?
FURTHER READING: GM and non-GM crops cannot coexist
http://www.bangmfood.org/quotes/24-quotes/31
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1.Roundup in Texas: Spray Drift Showdown in the GM Cotton Fields
Eric Herm
http://www.gmeducation.org/farming/p192611-roundup-in-texas:-spray-drift-showdown-in-the-gm-cotton-fields.html
Eric Herm and his father farm over 6000 organic acres in Texas. He is the fourth generation of his family to run his farm. And now he is in conflict with the neighbours he has known all his life because they are all GM farmers and their spraying is killing his crops. This is his story:
"I can't tackle Monsanto in court. But I will not hesitate to sue my neighbours if roundup spraying continues to damage our farming."
As an organic and non-GMO cotton farmer, I wake up each and every morning to an uneasy notion: We are surrounded and heavily outnumbered.
Over 100,000 acres of cotton is planted in my home county (Howard) here in West Texas. More than 90 percent of that is genetically modified cotton these days.
Every field on our farm either borders or is within one mile of fields where Roundup Ready cotton is planted year after year. On a 20-mile stretch of road between my house and our farthest field, we're the only family farm remaining that is not planting GMO crops.
Still, it's not about the odds. It's about what is right. It's about creating more life, not vanquishing it.
Poisoned and invaded
Each spring, neighbours begin firing up their 100-foot, $200,000 spray rigs, pumping out gallon after gallon of Roundup, filling our environment with hundreds of millions of gallons of the nation's highest-selling herbicide.
Some spray in 20 mph+ winds, which happen almost daily here from February to July. It's as if climbing on board one of these menacing spray rigs convinces some people the laws of physics do not apply. Not only can technology make us apathetic and arrogant, it can also make us ignorant.
Some neighbours assure me, "I'd never intentionally drift on you." Or my personal favourite, "I'm only putting out ten pounds of pressure. It won't drift." Really? Ever heard of parts per million?
One neighbour sprayed in 30mph winds blowing straight toward my 250 acres of organic cotton. My plants had just reached the surface, knowing sunlight for almost 48 hours before he blasted away like a machine-gun sniper, picking off millions of baby plants in a matter of minutes. The front 50 acres looks like a bomb went off on the surface.
Often, Roundup will not kill the plants. They merely suffocate, struggling to survive until they process the poison out of their system. This often takes up to three weeks, stunting the crops. They're unable to grow or mature during this time-frame. All of their energy goes into surviving. This impacts the yield and overall vitality of the crop.
The real "tattle-tales" in nature are the Roundup Ready cotton plants I find sporadically in my field. They represent one to two percent of the total population, but when a completely healthy plant stands six inches taller than the rest, you know what it is and how real the seed contamination risks are in our business.
To date this season, we've had more than 300 acres damaged by Roundup drift. I've turned in four cases to the TDA (Texas Department of Agriculture). The crops won't recover this season. Neither will my blood pressure.
Taking a stand and fighting back
We're not the only farmers experiencing this. Every organic cotton farmer I know goes through this every spring. And it's getting worse. Each season, some GMO farmers get more and more careless in the conditions in which they spray, affecting all those around them.
Some non-GMO farmers are giving up and planting GM seeds rather than cause problems with neighbours or standing up in this fight. This worries me. Why are not more farmers willing to make a stand? What are we afraid of? If we don't make the stand, who will?
Of the 12 million plus acres of cotton planted each year in the U.S., more than 90 percent are GMOs. Less than 14,000 acres are organic. Farmers as a whole are an endangered species since we represent about one percent of the U.S. population, but organic and non-GMO farmers are becoming as scarce as a Mexican spotted owl in the wild.
If we stay silent in these times; then shame on us. If we continue to take the beatings of chemical drift, and GMO contamination from cross-pollination, without fighting back, then how do expect to ever survive this invasion of our rights to farm in a healthier manner?
How do we expect organic and non-GMO agriculture to survive for future generations? We need more education and awareness spread in our farming communities on herbicide drift problems, but that won't happen if we remain silent. It won't happen unless we are willing to stand up and fight.
Neighbours becoming enemies
Out of 25 potential neighbours, we only have one who calls us to let us know he is spraying. Just one. Being a "neighbourly" farmer has taken on a new look in the 21st century for most.
Speaking with one neighbour (who farms close to 10,000 acres of GM cotton) I've known my entire life on the phone, he stated, "I just hate to see you make enemies." My response was, "Making enemies is not my intention. Getting their attention is."
And with Monsanto's future line of 2-4,D resistant GM seeds. I've made a decision. No more neighbourly discounts. I don't care if it is my cousin, best friend, or anyone else, but any and every time I suspect Roundup drift, I'm dealing with the TDA.
At least they provide free testing on tissue analysis for glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup.) Plus, my neighbours have to provide spraying data sheet information, as well as uncomfortable interviews and investigations from the TDA. Fines and fees may be assessed. This summer alone, more than a dozen different neighbours have had to submit spray logs and conduct interviews with a TDA agent. They can count on more of the same in the future.
Fighting for our future and for agriculture and healthy food
I stay vigilant, monitoring every section of our fields. I'm constantly reminding our neighbors to please not spray in high winds. There is very little education and awareness when it comes to herbicide drift. Most farmers don't believe these chemicals will drift more than 100 yards. I've seen them drift up to one mile. Most farmers think simply because winds are below 10mph, these chemicals won't drift. Many biological factors come into play such as humidity, inversion, soil, and moisture conditions.
Most likely, I can't tackle Monsanto in the court of law. But I will not hesitate to sue my own neighbours if this recklessness continues to damage our farming operation and abilities to grow non-GMO plants each and every season. That's a fair fight. It is an unfortunate one. But at least it is fair. I don't know any billionaire farmers.
Am I popular right now in my farming community? Not at all. But at least my neighbours now know what I'm willing to do to protect our crops. Is this the end-all of my predicament? Hardly. But I am able and willing to fire back.
As organic and non-GMO farmers, we're expected to always be defensive because we're in the minority these days. Playing offense is the only way we can expect to protect the health of our own crops and land, as well as agriculture's future. We must be determined to stand up against the invasion of destructive chemicals even if that means standing up against our own neighbours.
Visit Eric Herm's website at www.sonofafarmer.com for more information.
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2.Can This Farmer Finally Defeat Monsanto?
Care2, November 11 2012
http://www.care2.com/causes/can-this-farmer-finally-defeat-monsanto.html
NOTE: This is a guest post from The Safe Food Foundation, an Australian based not-for-profit campaign and advocacy organization. Our mission is to make the World's food supply clean, safe, nutritious, full of taste, and produced in a way that enhances our environment, as well as our social and economic systems. We are working in partnership with Slater & Gordon Law Firm to raise the funds required for farmer Steve Marsh's landmark case.
While big business and corporate power may have defeated California's proposition 37 to get GMOs labeled, the battle for good, safe food rages on. With all the recent media attention surrounding genetically modified (GM) foods, real change is slowly but surely brewing! People the world over are taking notice, coming together and demanding information about GMOs and their presence in our food system.
There are many reasons to question GMOs in our food supply. One such issue being our freedom of choice. When GM crops are grown next to non-GM crops we often see issues of contamination. This contamination may be due to many factors including human error, wind, birds, bees and floods. Contamination has continually posed a problem in the agricultural sector and in many cases has resulted in lawsuits where farmers suffer under the hand of corporations hiding behind the guise of 'patent infringement.' You may remember the case of Canadian farmer, Percy Schmeiser who was charged with patent infringement by Monsanto. Schmeiser stood up to Monsanto and obtained a settlement out of court for Monsanto to clean up his land. The result was seemingly in his favor, however, Schmeiser was left with weighty legal bills and the legal framework was left unchanged with the Federal Court of Canada upholding the validity of Monsanto’s patent.
How has this happened? How is it that a farmer’s property can be invaded by uninvited, unwanted genetically modified seeds and or pollen, and then the farmer has to pay? What about the farmer’s right to grow GM-free crops? And consequently, what about our rights as consumers to buy GM-free foods? Do we all just have to bow down to the corporate world and pay them for contaminating our food? It’s time we stand up and demand protection for our food system.
This is exactly what one Aussie farmer is doing. In a farming community 160 miles outside of Perth, Australia, organic farmer Steve Marsh is taking a stand against GM contamination. In 2010, the state government of Western Australia lifted the moratorium on GM canola, opening up the state’s agricultural sector to the cultivation of this GM crop for the first time. As a result of this change in policy many farmers, including Marsh’s next door neighbor, began growing GM canola. With a pre-established and agreed GM industry buffer zone of less than 5.5 yards (a distance seed and pollen with the help of an even mild wind could easily traverse) it seems as though contamination was inevitable. After a high wind, one day Steve found GM canola dried plants spread over much of his farm, loaded with dry seed falling off onto his land. Consequently, Steve lost his organic certification when the certifying body, NASAA (The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia) found 70 percent of his property had been contaminated with GM canola.
As a result of the contamination, Steve and his family are no longer able to sell their product on the organic market and have lost a great deal of their income. It’s shocking to think we live in a world where corporations are often free from responsibility in relation to their products infringing the rights of others. However, due to the liability agreement Monsanto has farmers sign, the corporate giant is ‘off the hook’ when it comes to cases of contamination. Thus, Australia is set to see the first case of an organic farmer proactively seeking compensation from a GM farmer when his rights have been violated by a biotech invasion. This is something that Steve does not want to do but he has no other option if he wants to stand up for his rights as well as ours. Due to lack of labeling (now upheld by the failure of California Proposition 37) and/or inadequate labeling, often the only way to eat foods free from GMOs is to eat organic. This makes Steve’s case and the contamination of the organic industry an issue beyond labeling. Once our organic food supply is contaminated, reading a label won’t make a difference because ALL food will contain GMOs!
So instead of accepting this adulteration of his farmland, Steve has taken a stand against the invasion of genetically modified crops. In an unprecedented case, Steve is taking his neighbor to court for compensation of loss and damages. The international law firm of Slater & Gordon has taken on the case under their public interest policy (we applaud them!) but that does not entirely relieve the financial stress of this case as there will be a great deal of disbursements in fighting such a legal battle. Money is needed for barristers, court costs and expert witnesses and this is expected to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For more information about Steve Marsh and this precedent-setting case against genetic modification and food contamination, please visit The Safe Food Foundation.
http://safefoodfoundation.org/wordpress/?page_id=25