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USDA BACKS DOWN ON GENETIC ENGINEERING UNDER THE "ORGANIC" LABEL

Overwhelmed by 150,000 outraged responses to the USDA's Proposed Rule on Organic Standards, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman has decided that the "organic" label should NOT include genetically engineered substances, irradiated foods, and crops grown using sewage sludge, according to a May 1 report in the Washington Post. His decision will be formalized and announced soon.

The outpouring of letters from concerned citizens vastly exceeded any previous public reponse to a USDA proposed rule. Last week, many members of Congress threw their weight behind the opposition.

This reversal of USDA policy represents a major victory for our health and for our environment (see Special Supplement on Genetic Engineering at http://www.natural-law.org). We send our deepest thanks to all Natural Law Party supporters who wrote to the USDA and thus helped safeguard our world's food supply.

CHRONOLOGY OF VICTORY

• Fall 1994--Molecular biologist Dr. John Fagan, a strong supporter of the Natural Law Party, shocks the research community by returning $614,000 in NIH grant money for genetic research and withdrawing grant proposals worth $1.25 million, citing serious unforeseen dangers to health and environment.
• 1995--Natural Law Parties around the world organize grassroots resistance to genetic engineering, ultimately leading to a European Union ruling requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods and to Austria and Luxembourg's ban on genetically engineered imports.
• 1996--Natural Law Party gives rise to Mothers for Natural Law, now a nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding the nation's food supply and protecting consumer rights; the Party and Mothers help organize broad national coalitions of consumer groups, scientific organizations, and industry leaders to oppose genetically engineered foods, support mandatory labeling, and protect the organic label.
• 1997--The USDA publishes its unacceptable Proposed Rule on Organic Standards, which allows genetic engineering and other types of contamination under the organic label. The Natural Law Party, Mothers for Natural Law, and the aforementioned coalition of organizations organize grassroots resistance to the USDA Rule.
• 1998--The USDA is swamped by 150,000 negative responses to the Rule during the four-month public comment period; USDA Secretary Glickman is forced to recast policy, citing "extraordinary" grassroots response.

Let’s keep this momentum building! Please sign the Consumer Right to Know Million-Signature

Petition demanding mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods (see http://www.lisco.com/mothers).