Help us make British Columbia GE Free

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Become a member of ge free bc

Signing up gives you our newsletter and bulletins by email. However, joining through paid membership means we are able to continue our hard work at keeping BC GE Free! Please help us out any way you can. Memberships start at $5! Scroll down and you can donate and join GE Free BC through the button to the right of this text.

VOLUNTEER

GE Free BC is a 100 per cent volunteer run NPO. 100% of your membership fee goes to campaigns. And we need your help. If you have time, want to work with an energetic group of great humans, and are interested in helping to create a better and healthier world (especially here in BC)  then…     WE NEED YOU!

Email gefreebc07@yahoo.ca and let’s talk!

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See two documentaries on the Vancouver March against Monsanto

Made by Visualize Productions, these two great videos will show you the passion of Vancouverites who marched recently against Monsanto.

http://youtu.be/i51exKBVtPk

http://youtu.be/fl_sCALqmxI

Target and other big retailers say they won’t stock GE salmon

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/2249/target-giant-eagle-h-e-b-meijer-say-no-to-genetically-engineered-salmon

Nestle agrees to remove GE corn from its infant food in South Africa

Nestle has gone on record in South Africa as saying that “it took consumer preferences into consideration and therefore all its infant cereals in South Africa used non-GM maize”, the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) announced Friday.

“This can only be a result of the action that so many…took last year after we released the results showing that Nestle’s Cerelac Honey contained 77.65% GM Maize. This is a victory indeed!” ACB continued.

ACB recently released results of tests conducted on 7 baby formulas and cereals, by an independent and accredited GM testing laboratory. The results reveal that Purity baby cereals contain extremely high levels of GM content whereas Nestlé’s infant formulas and cereal indicate that Nestle appears to be going GM free. Aspen’s infant formulas also indicate GM avoidance. Shockingly, comparisons also reveal that Purity’s GM baby cereals cost 250% more than non-GM cereals, exploding the myth that GM free food is an expensive and impractical luxury.

New podcasts: Aruna Rodrigues and Thierry Vrain

Hear two inspiring podcasts:

Aruna Rodrigues is an activist in India who has spend 10 years fighting GE, and is now attempting to get the Supreme Court in India to ban GE crops.

Thierry Vrain is an organic farmer and Comox and former geneticist who is seriously concerned about the health and environmental effects of GE crops – hear a podcast of his recent talk in Surrey.

Many thanks to Tony Mitra for these and other podcasts.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/tonu-tony-mitra-podcast/id639600778?mt=2

GE alfalfa registered for use in Canada

GM Alfalfa Registered: Email your MP instantly from http://www.cban.ca/alfalfaMPletter

Our government is siding with multinational companies against the best interests of farmers and our food system. I do not accept this. Do you?

Action Update on GM Alfalfa, June 11 2013:

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) has uncovered that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has recently approved one variety of genetically engineered alfalfa: a herbicide tolerant (Roundup Ready) alfalfa from Monsanto/Forage Genetics International. This means that one variety of GM alfalfa is now legal to sell in Canada. There could be more varieties approved over the summer (the process is completely secret).

 

However, GM alfalfa seeds are not yet on the market in Canada. Email your MP today: “Will you stand up to stop GM alfalfa from being released and contaminating our fields and food?” http://www.cban.ca/alfalfaMPletter

 

new study – pigs fed GE grain have severe stomach inflammation

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/pigs-fed-gm-grain-have-more-stomach-inflammation-study-finds/article12479860/

Pigs fed a diet of only genetically modified grain showed markedly higher stomach inflammation than pigs who dined on conventional feed, according to a study by a team of Australian scientists and U.S. researchers.

The study adds to an intensifying public debate over the impact of genetically modified (GM) crops, which are widely used by U.S. and Latin American farmers and in many other countries around the world.

Where are the 61 GE Free Zones in BC?

GE Free Zones in British Columbia

15^th June 2013

Our definition of a GE Free Zone is a municipality or group of municipalities which has passed a resolution against GE crops and animals within its jurisdiction.

Currently there are in 61 GE Free Zones in BC, which are the following (in rough order in which the resolution was passed):

Powell River (2004)

Salt Spring Island (2004)

Denman Island (2004)

Nelson (2008)

Kaslo (2009)

Rossland (2009)

New Denver (2009)

Richmond (2012)

Saanich (2012)

Metchosin (2012)

Telkwa (2013)

51 municipalities within the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC, resolution passed April 2013 – for AVICC members go here http://avicc.ca/about-the-avicc/avicc-members-2/)

City of North Vancouver (2013)

Metchosin and Saanich are in the AVICC area, but are not counted twice here.

In addition in September 2012 the Union of BC Municipalities endorsed a motion brought by the Okanagan-Similkameen against the genetically engineered apple being developed in the Okanagan.

Also two communities in the Okanagan, Cherryville and Lumby, have undertaken public voting where over 90 per cent of the population have voted for a GE Free Zone.

A large number of other municipalities across the Province, including Vancouver, Grand Forks, Duncan, Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam, Campbell River and many others, are working towards becoming GE Free Zones. If you would like to get involved in a campaign in your community, email gefreebc07@yahoo.ca

For resources and background on GE Free Zones, go to the resources tab.