Law imposes moratorium on the growing of GM crops until scientific studies are conducted on their safety
Monsanto and Dow are suing Maui County, Hawaii to block its new law banning GMO cultivation (item 1 below).
In June this year, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, an industry association funded by Big Food, sued the State of Vermont for instituting its GMO labelling law (item 2).
And last year, Syngenta and Bayer sued the EU for placing a limited ban on their neonicotinoid pesticides, which are implicated in the decline of bees and other beneficial insects.
GMO/chemical companies suing governments is a growing trend that's likely to continue as long as company budgets far exceed the resources of government authorities – and as long as corporations continue to be given the rights of individuals with none of the responsibilities.
The trend will increase exponentially if the TTIP free trade agreement between the US and the EU goes ahead as planned.
1. Two developers sue Hawaii county to halt GMO law
2. Lawsuit challenges Vermont's GMO labeling law
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1. Two developers sue Hawaii county to halt GMO law
Associated Press via The Daily Mail, 14 Nov 2014
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-2834249/2-developers-sue-Hawaii-county-halt-GMO-law.html
Two leading developers of genetically engineered corn have sued Maui County to stop a new law banning the cultivation of genetically modified organisms.
The lawsuit filed by Monsanto Co. and a Dow Chemical Co. unit in federal court in Honolulu asks a judge to immediately prevent the law from taking effect. It also seeks to invalidate the new law, which voters narrowly adopted during last week's election after an intense campaign featuring $8 million in spending by the seed companies against the initiative.
Both companies research and develop new varieties of corn in the county. Hawaii's warm weather enables the seed companies to grow more crop cycles each year, accelerating their research. Conducting the work in a U.S. state also helps the seed companies protect their intellectual property.
The lawsuit said Monsanto would have to substantially downsize its activity in the county, where it employs over 365 people and owns or leases more than 3,000 acres of farmland on Molokai and Maui islands. Mycogen Seeds, a unit of Dow AgroSciences, would shut down critical parts of its development and production operations in the county, and downsize its work force, the complaint said. Mycogen Seeds employs over 100 people and farms about 420 acres on Molokai.
Local businesses, seed company employees and the farm bureau joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.
"This local referendum interferes with and conflicts with long-established state and federal laws that support both the safety and lawful cultivation of GMO plants," John Purcell, Monsanto Hawaii's business and technology lead, said in a statement.
The Maui law imposes a moratorium on the growing of genetically engineered crops until scientific studies are conducted on their safety and benefits. The moratorium would be lifted only after a vote by the Maui County Council.
The law, which doesn't apply to crops in mid-growth cycle, goes into effect when officials certify the election results. That's expected to happen late this month.
The case has been assigned to Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren, who earlier this year declared a Kauai County law regulating genetically modified crops was invalid because it was superseded by state law. The case is currently before a federal appeals court.
The Maui initiative's authors sued the county in state court Wednesday to ensure the county implements the law.
Michael Carroll, their attorney, said they would request the federal court to hold off from deciding this case until the state court on Maui has ruled.
"A Maui Court is best equipped to decide any issues associated with the enforceability of the new GMO law," Carroll said in a statement.
Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said the county was unable to comment because of pending litigation.
Monsanto, along with other seed companies, researches crops on Oahu. Other seed companies conduct research at farms on Kauai.
About 90 percent of all corn grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered and has been developed partially at Hawaii farms.
Thursday's lawsuit said "a significant percentage of the corn seed planted in the U.S. have originated from Monsanto's facilities in the county."
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2. Lawsuit challenges Vermont's GMO labeling law
Nancy Remsen
The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press via USA Today, 12 June 2014
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/12/lawsuit-challenges-vermonts-gmo-labeling-law/10402301/
Four national organizations whose members would be affected by Vermont's new labeling law for genetically engineered foods filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court challenging the measure's constitutionality.
"Vermont's mandatory GMO labeling law — Act 120 — is a costly and misguided measure that will set the nation on a path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies that do nothing to advance the health and safety of consumers," the Grocery Manufacturers Association said in a statement about the lawsuit.
The state Legislature passed the labeling law in April, and Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the bill in May. The labeling requirements would take effect July 1, 2016.
Attorney General William Sorrell noted Thursday he had advised lawmakers as they deliberated that the law would invite a lawsuit from those affected "and it would be a heck of a fight, but we would zealously defend the law."
"We have been gearing up," Sorrell said Thursday. His office had yet to be served with the complaint.
The statement from the Grocery Manufacturers Association summarizes the grievances of the four plaintiff organizations: GMA, the Snack Food Association, the International Dairy Foods Association and the National Association of Manufacturers.
"Act 120 imposes burdensome new speech requirements — and restrictions — that will affect, by Vermont's count, eight out of every ten foods at the grocery store," the GMA said. "Yet Vermont has effectively conceded this law has no basis in health, safety, or science. That is why a number of product categories, including milk, meat, restaurant items and alcohol, are exempt from the law. This means that many foods containing GMO ingredients will not actually disclose that fact.
The groups added that the federal government has the sole authority over regulating nationwide distribution and labeling practices that facilitate interstate commerce, and the Constitution prohibits Vermont from doing so.
The Vermont Right to Know GMOs Coalition, which lobbied for the law, argued that labeling would bring transparency to the information consumers would have about their food.
"The people of Vermont have said loud and clear they have a right to know what is in their food," said Falko Schilling, consumer protection advocate with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.
Schilling said lawmakers determined there was a lack of consensus about the safety of genetically engineered foods, "so putting labels on is a reasonable and prudent thing so people can decide for themselves."
The lawsuit, filed at U.S. District Court in Burlington, contends the Food and Drug Administration has "confirmed the safety of more than 100 genetically engineered crops for human consumption" since 1994.
The lawsuit has drawn attention from a national organization on the other side of the issue from the four plaintiffs.
Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, defended the Vermont law, saying 60 other countries either have banned GMOs or require mandatory labeling of foods that contain them.
"Every U.S. citizen should be concerned when a multibillion dollar corporate lobbying group sues in federal court to overturn a state's right to govern for the health and safety of its citizens," Cummins said.
He said the lawsuit was a way to intimidate other states considering labeling laws.