Food policy advocates have begun a campaign around repeal of the Monsanto Protection Act. The act was actually part of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013, which was passed to prevent (another) government shutdown. Buried in the fine print—Section 933—was the Farmer Assurance Provision, dubbed the Monsanto Protection Act by its critics. The act effectively barred US courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of genetically modified seed. The provision was actually drafted by Monsanto before being introduced to the provision through the House Appropriations Committee.
Not surprisingly, the provision has come under fire from critics, who see the act as a major concession to the biotech giant. In response, the NGO Food Democracy Now organized a petition calling on President Obama to issue an executive order requiring the mandatory labeling of GMOs. That petition has already garnered more than 300,000 signatures.
In…
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Dr. Bukar Ali USMAN, mni 