Why Did Tom Vilsack Ignore This Warning?

Last week we released a video interview with Dr. Don Huber, a senior plant pathologist who wrote to Secretary Vilsack on January 17th of his grave concerns about the discovery of a new organism and a potential link between the number one selling agricultural product, the weed killer Roundup and an alarming rise in crop diseases and infertility problems in animal livestock consuming Monsanto’s genetically engineered Roundup Ready corn and soybeans. Watch the video

Dr. Huber's Warning to Secretary Vilsack

Dr. Huber warned Secretary Vilsack that approving more Roundup Ready GMO crops could be disastrous and have serious economic and health consequences. As a retired scientist, he was willing to step forward on behalf of the team of scientists who are working behind the scenes to identify an organism that has been linked to rising crop failures and massive stillbirths in livestock. And not only do GMO corn and soybean form the foundation of livestock feed in the U.S., but they also can be found in more than 75% of the processed food that Americans are eating!

Last week at the “Future of Food” conference in Washington DC, filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia asked Secretary Vilsack about his decision to approve GMO alfalfa and the need for labeling of foods containing GMOs in the U.S. In his answer, Secretary Vilsack, called to have a conversation about this important issue, one that takes into account “sound science” and respects the opinions of all sides.

Now is the time for us to start that conversation with our friends and spread it to a wider audience. As many of you know, there is a growing body of evidence pointing to the real and potential harm caused by the rapid approval of agricultural biotech products without adequate safety and toxicological testing.

Help us get to our new goal of more than 50,000 citizens calling for a halt to the sale and planting of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready until proper testing can be completed to ensure their safety – and help spread the word about Dr. Huber’s warning to Secretary Vilsack.

Already the extended 20-minute interview has been viewed more than 7,000 times by people concerned about this issue in more than 50 countries. It’s important that we get Dr. Huber’s vital warning out to a broader public audience.

Tell
President Obama and Secretary Vilsack it’s time to put farmers and
public health over corporate profits.  Sign the letter at Food Democracy Now.  If you’ve already signed the letter, please forward this message to 3 friends that you know who care about protecting the integrity of our food supply.

Sign the letter
 
When we reach 50,000 co-signers, we’ll fly out to DC ourselves and deliver the letter. We’ll show Secretary Vilsack photos of affected plants and livestock, and ask him directly how he can justify letting planting go ahead while these serious questions are unanswered.  

 We have reached our goal of $2,000 to fly a farmer to DC with us – Thank you! Our new goal is to raise $2,000 to fly a scientist out as well to explain these stark concerns to Secretary Vilsack. Can you help us get there? We will send you a free Food Democracy Now! t-shirt to those individuals donating $50 or more as a Thank you.

Pitch in $25 here to help fly an affected farmer out to Washington DC:   

Thank you for participating in food democracy

Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! Team

Sources:

1.“Senior Plant Pathologist Warns Secretary Vilsack of Discovery of New Organism, Threat to U.S. Agriculture”, Food Democracy Now! February 27, 2011.  LINK

2.“Scientist Warns of Safety of Monsanto's Roundup”, Reuters, February 24, 2011. LINK

3. “Mystery Science: More Details on the Strange Organism That Could Destroy Monsanto”, BNET, May 5, 2011. LINK

4. “USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Answers Questions at the Future of Food Conference” The Washington Post, May 10, 2011.  LINK

5. “Why is Damning New Evidence About Monsanto's Most Widely Used Herbicide Being Brushed Aside”, Alternet, April 27, 2011.  LINK

6. “U.S. Approves Genetically Modified Alfalfa”, New York Times, January 27, 2011. LINK