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History of AB 541
In February 2007, Assemblymember Jared Huffman introduced AB 541, the Food and Farm Protection Act. The original bill would have put in place several important protections against genetic contamination caused by GE crops. It had broad support from dozens of diverse organizations and hundreds of individuals, but it was opposed by the California Farm Bureau and other conventional agriculture groups typically supportive of genetic engineering.
The State of California has no policies regulating GE crops, and the federal government is failing in its oversight role. Given this regulatory void, eight counties attempted to pass local restrictions on GE crops, four of which now have county bans or moratoria on GE crop production in place. In the 2005/06 legislative session, biotechnology and agribusiness interests sponsored a bill that would have pre-empted local authority over GE, but failed due to a groundswell of opposition from grassroots organizations, citizens, and elected officials around the state.
The original scope of AB 541 included the following provisions:
- Establishes the right of farmers and landowners to compensation for economic losses due to genetic contamination of their crops.
- Protects farmers from being sued by a GE manufacturer if their crop is contaminated by that company's GE product.
- Establishes a county-level GE crop notification process so that farmers can trace contamination to the GE manufacturer.
- Protects the food supply by prohibiting the open-field cultivation of genetically engineered food crops used to produce drugs and biologics such as hormones and antibiotics.
AB 541 passed through its first committee, the Assembly Judiciary, in February 2007 with a vote of 7 - 3. It was then tabled in the Assembly Agriculture Committee in April. In the intervening months, the bill's supporters and opponents engaged in negotiations which engaged in negotiations which yielded the version of the bill that passed through the Agriculture Committee in January 2008.
For more information on this issue, a copy of the full text of the bill, and a sample letter of support for AB 541, please go to www.gepolicyalliance.org.
Support AB 541, California's first state GE bill
AB 541 will enact protections for California farmers against frivolous lawsuits that intimidate and harass those who have not been able to prevent the inevitable drift of GE pollen or seed. It will level the playing field for farmers accused by Monsanto and others of contract violations, and discourage their practice of sampling crops without explicit permission from farmers and prosecuting based on unverifiable testing results.
Specifically, the newly amended bill would provide for:
- Protection from patent infringement lawsuits for farmers unknowingly contaminated by GE crops. Currently, farmers with crops that become contaminated by patented seeds or pollen have been the target of such lawsuits without clear recourse or defense.
- The establishment of a mandatory crop sampling protocol to be used by patent holders when investigating farmers they believe may have violated patents or seed contracts. This protocol would require the farmer's written permission for sampling, and provide for a state agriculture official to accompany the patent holder during the sampling and collect duplicate samples for independent verification if requested by either party.
This bill has the support of many sustainable agricultural, environmental, faith and consumer organizations. It has also won the support of the California Farm Bureau, the first time that organization has taken a positive position on any GE legislation in the state.
“We received your news halfway across the globe here in South Africa and wish to send you our congratulations for all your hard work. We are also fighting legislative battles here with the GMO Act having been written by pro-biotech people. So a victory for you is also a victory for us.”
-South African Freeze Alliance on Genetic Engineering, from an email January 20, 2008
What you can do:
- Please write or call your Assembly Member no later than January 25th. To get contact information for your representative, visit http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html. Faxes or phone calls are much more effective than emails .
- Forward this email alert to everyone you know in California.
- Gather 'endorsements' for the AB 541 support letter from organizations, businesses, and individuals.
AB 541 sample support letter
Please customize, and email a copy to info@gepolicyproject.org.
[date] The Honorable [NAME] [ADDRESS] [FAX] RE: AB 541 (Huffman) - SUPPORT Dear [NAME]: I am writing in support of AB 541, The Food and Farm Protection Act. [Describe your organization, company, or farm here if applicable]. Currently, California has no laws in place to address the issue of genetic engineering, yet citizens across the state have expressed concerns about the risks the technology presents for farmers, consumers, the economy and the environment. This bill represents a reasonable, responsible and moderate way forward, without banning the technology or restricting choice. AB 541 importantly establishes the right of farmers and other landowners to recover damages if their property is contaminated by GE crops, and it places the responsibility for the economic harms that arise where it belongs - with the manufacturer, the owner of the GE seed or plant. The bill also protects farmers from liability if they unknowingly become contaminated and use the contaminated crop. Farmers who are victimized by genetic contamination should not have to fear legal reprisals. AB 541 also establishes a GE crop notification process where farmers and researchers growing GE crops report the growing of their crops to their county Agriculture Commissioners. As with other useful agricultural statistics and notification requirements, this would provide Agriculture Commissioners with the knowledge of the presence of GE crops within their jurisdiction and enable the state to keep track of how many acres of which GE crops are produced in each county. Finally, AB 541 protects the food supply by implementing a ban on the open-air production of food crops genetically engineered to produce drugs. No one wants experimental hormones, vaccines or antibiotics in the food they serve their family. The drugs being researched are all currently produced using safe, controlled laboratory methods, and there is no need to risk the contamination of our food. I urge you and the Assembly Agriculture Committee to consider this issue carefully, and vote to support AB 541. It will be a vote in favor of farmers, Californians and the environment. Sincerely, [name, title, organization or business]