Dr. Vandana Shiva to Speak in VT

We are thrilled to be welcoming Dr. Vandana Shiva to Vermont for two speaking engagements next week in support of VT’s GMO labeling law.

Her presentation is titled: Food System Transformation and Reversing the Climate Crisis: How Vermont’s GMO labeling law is part of the solution.

Dr. Shiva will speak on Sunday, November 2, 2014, 4:00-6:00PM at the Contois Auditorium in Burlington’s City Hall, 149 Church Street.  This event will be livestreamed at this link beginning at 3:55.

Dr. Shiva will also speak at the Vermont Law School on Monday Nov. 3 at 5:00PM in the Chase Center. This event is sponsored by the VLS Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.

Both events are open to the public, and donations will be welcomed to support the ongoing work of the Vermont Right to Know GMOs Coalition to implement and defend Vermont’s GMO food labeling law. Dr. Shiva’s visit to Vermont is being facilitated and co-sponsored by the Vermont Right to Know GMOs Coalition which is a partnership of Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center, NOFA-VT, Rural Vermont and VPIRG.

Gov. Shumlin will sign the GMO bill next week!

We’ve just got word that Governor Shumlin plans to sign H.112, Vermont’s GMO labeling bill, next Thursday, May 8 at 2:30 PM. We’re planning a statehouse lawn celebration – please join us! More details coming soon – follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest.

Vermont Senate Approves GMO Labeling Bill by a vote of 28-2 !!!

On April 16^th the Vermont Senate voted 28-2 in favor of H.112, which would require the labeling of foods made with genetic engineering. This brings Vermont very close to final passage and enactment of the nation’s first GMO labeling law that does not include a multi-state “trigger, which would require indefinite postponement of its implementation.  

To visibly demonstrate to Governor Shumlin how important it is for him to sign the bill into law, the Coalition is calling for “honk and wave” events next Tuesday, April 22 (Earth Day) during morning “drive time” — not just in Vermont but all across the country. Our national partners and supporters are helping to organize this.

Use this online tool to set up and share your local honk and wave!

GMO Bill Moves Forward!

Special update from NOFA’s policy advisor, Dave Rogers!

At 11am today, the VT Senate Judiciary Committee, after several weeks of work, voted 5-0 in favor of our GMO labeling bill. The bill contains no triggers and establishes a special $1.5M fund to cover implementation and legal costs, if necessary. Funds would come from Attorney General office proceeds from other cases and unrestricted donations from individuals, organizations, etc, both instate and out of state.

After a quick trip to the Senate Appropriation Committee to set up the fund, it will move to the Senate floor where it is expected to pass. Timing is uncertain but could be quite soon. Then it will go to the House for either approval of the Senate bill, or to a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions.

Then it will go on to the Governor’s desk.  Just before the Judiciary committee voted, one member, a Republican  whose vote was uncertain until the end, said, “Vermont is about to go where no state has gone before.”

So, we are all  quite pleased, but as we know, it ain’t over ’til it’s over! This is a great time to get in touch with your senators and let them know that you expect them to help pass this historic legislation.

Visit the Vermont Right to Know GMOs website to learn more and get involved.

Join the Right to Know Roadshow!

We are at a critical stage in the two-year effort to pass legislation requiring foods made with genetic engineering to be labeled in Vermont.

After passing the Vermont House last year and the Senate Agriculture Committee last month, our GMO labeling bill, H.112, will now be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee in mid-March.  If approved there, it will move to the full Senate for a vote and, hopefully, straight to the Governor’s desk for his signature later this spring.

This steady success has been due to the continuing engagement of tens of thousands of Vermonters, who have let their legislators know that they care about where our food comes from, how it is made, and what it contains.

Want to learn more & get engaged?

Over the next few weeks members of the VT Right to Know GMOs Coalition, including NOFA Vermont, will be be hosting a series of  consumer education workshops around Vermont. These are sponsored by community co-ops in different regions of the state so that you will have the facts you need to help H.112 become law.

 We will also be showing the highly-regarded film GMO OMG in six locations across Vermont.

Please plan to join your neighbors at one or more of these events – we need everyone to get this job done!

GMO Labeling Hearing: February 6

The Vermont Senate Agricultural Committee has been hearing testimony on the GMO Labeling bill for weeks – ever since the legislative session opened in early January.

Now, it’s time for citizens to make their voices heard! Join the hearing at the Statehouse in Montpelier on February 6, starting at 6:00 – and tell your legislators why YOU have the right to know what’s in your food!

We strongly recommend arriving early if you’d like to testify; the sign-up sheet should be available at 5:30. Based on our experience from a similar public hearing in 2012, the line will likely be long!

You can let us know you’re coming by registering with the Vermont Right to Know Coalition, which is a joint effort of NOFA Vermont, VPIRG, Rural Vermont, and Cedar Circle Farm.

For more information about NOFA Vermont’s role in the Vermont Right to Know Coalition, or to get involved with the campaign, contact Dave Rogers, NOFA Vermont Policy Advisor.

Show your support for GMO labeling on January 16!

Vermont GMO labeling bill (H.112), which passed the VT House last May by a wide margin, is now being debated in the Vermont Senate. H.112  would require that foods made with  genetically engineered (GMO)  substances be labeled as such.

Success in the House — in the face of  well-financed  opposition by a number of global chemical and food corporations — was due to thousands of Vermonters who contacted their representatives and told them — loudly and clearly — to  support H.112.

As in the House, passage of H.112 in the Senate and final enactment  into law, will require thousands of Vermonters to let their voices be  heard by their Senators and in their communities.  The opposition’s  lobbyists and PR people are already at work in the Statehouse.  They  are is determined to kill this legislation — no matter the cost.

Join us for a Vermont Right to Know GMOs rally at the Statehouse on 1/16!

Now is the time for Vermonters, once again, to let their voices be heard in their Statehouse and by their elected Senators. On January 16, the Vermont Right To Know GMOs coalition, of which NOFA  is a member, will be holding A GMO Rally, Teach-in and Lobby Day at  the Vermont Statehouse.  At this event you will learn more about the  issues and how to make sure your voice is heard in the Statehouse by your Senators.  Full information about Lobby Day agenda can be found on the Vermont Right To Know GMOs webpage.

Scores of Vermonters have already registered to attend. We hope that you and your neighbors and friends will be able to join us. Let’s show ’em how democracy ‘gets done’ in this little state.

What is Food? GMO Labeling Remarks from Will Stevens

During the debate leading up to the historic vote that passed Vermont’s GMO labeling bill out of the House, we heard statements from many representatives. At NOFA, we felt that one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking came from Will Stevens.

Will is co-owner of Golden Russet Farm, a certified organic vegetable & greenhouse operation in Shoreham, VT, and is now in his 32nd year of commercial production. He has been a NOFA-VT member for about that long, and is a past President of VOF. He is currently in his fourth term serving as an Independent member of the VT House of Representatives, and is on the Agriculture  & Forest Products Committee.

Will’s remarks addressed well-debated scientific questions of GMO crops as well as a topic much less discussed: the spiritual and religious implications of genetic engineering. He asks,

“What is food? Is it something we stuff in our mouths to fuel our machine, or is it nourishment for our body and our mind?”

Is this not the “People’s House?” Whose interests are we serving when we oppose the public’s right to know?

For those of you who did not have a chance to hear Will’s testimony at the statehouse, he has graciously given us permission to reprint it here in full. It’s long, for a blog post, but well worth the time. Please take a moment to read it, then let us know what you think! Do your spiritual or religious views affect your opinion on GMO labeling?

House approves GMO labeling bill!

We’re proud to announce that the VT House of Representatives has passed H.112, the GMO labeling bill. Stay tuned for an in-depth post on the bills history and next steps soon.

NOFA Advocacy Update

There are a number of topics in local, state, and national legislature that we’re involved in right now, including the GMO labeling bill (which needs your support right now!), the Addison County Natural Gas Pipeline project, the national Food Safety Modernization Act, and working to add compost to the list of agricultural products that are exempt from the state sales tax. Keep reading to learn more!