GMO Free PA Philadelphia

Sign and share! Our times require a Secretary of Agriculture who is fully committed to transitioning our farming system to one that mitigates climate change and restores biodiversity while producing healthy soils and nutrient-dense, flavorful food for everyone. Vilsack facilitated to explosive expansion of pesticide-dependent GMO agriculture, and was most recently a million-dollar-a-year lobbyist for the dairy industry while the dairy economy has collapsed.

STOP THE MADNESS. The WHO and 3 separate juries found that the world's most commonly used herbicide (plant-killer) is carcinogenic. The company that manufactures it has literally tens of thousands of lawsuits against it and, rather than go to court, has settled to payout billions of dollars. Commercial name of glyphosate is ROUNDUP -- the same product sold for home use. Nearly all GMO crops are engineered to tolerate it's killing effects, and common food crops (wheat, oats, peas, lentils, other beans, teas, spices, and more) are sprayed with it a few days before harvest to uniformly kill the crop to make harvest easier on machinery, resulting in high pesticide residues in food. Please sign the petition and share widely.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!!! GMO Free PA began as the organization fighting for simply labeling GMO ingredients of food. Now, citing the pandemic as an excuse, Trump's US Dept of Agriculture authorized actually taking GMO labels OFF of food packaging! It’s outrageous, so this week, Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a new lawsuit to force USDA to require labeling of GMO foods on the package. Please support this important effort -- and share this. https://secure.everyaction.com/kJQNZYAUnkGLThQtkUoY0g2

Read, sign, share. NOW.

The producers are ready for your pre-orders. Welcome back to Beechwood Orchards and Podere di Melo Farm. Read the entire newsletter for seasonal highlights, cus...tomer pickup times, the entire lineup of vendors, and an important message about next week's hours. The newsletter is here: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rittenhouse-Farmers--Ma See more

Urban Agriculture Grants and Engagement Opportunities Urban farmers and gardeners work among diverse populations to expand access to nutritious foods, foster community engagement, provide jobs, educate communities about farming, and expand green spaces. https://www.farmers.gov/manage/urban/opportunities

TAKE 2 ACTIONs NOW for PASTURE-RAISED MEAT! 1. Contact your Representative in Congress to support H.R. 6682, to redirect emergency funds to hundreds of new sma...ller-scale USDA-inspected abattoires to serve local communities and the grass-fed and pasture-based producers that consumers want, especially now. 2. Senator Casey is on the Senator Agriculture Committee, and needs helpful suggestions about how to reform the meat processing industry. Please call and write him to tell him we need SMALL, LOCAL processors who can/will do CUSTOM ORDERS for pasture-raised meats. Right now, the megacorporate processors are a disincentive for sustainably produced meat, because farmers are not guaranteed to get back the same livestock they brought to he processing plant. Email: https://www.casey.senate.gov/contact Phone: (866) 802-2833 (toll free) Fax: (202) 228-0604 Big Meat justifies its existence by perpetuating the MYTH that horrific factory "farms" are necessary to feed the world. Yet when a global crisis on the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic strikes, industrial meat producers are the first to whine that the supply chain is breaking. https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/18832/action/1 It is important that food system relief funds allocated due to the pandemic emergency, support DECENTRALIZED food systems that are EFFECTIVE at providing nutrient-dense foods to regions and local communities. The present meat processing collapse is "exhibit A" demonstrating the urgent need to support LOCAL/REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS for production, processing, and distribution. Not only will this produce better quality food and employ more people, but it will also create a more SECURE FOOD SYSTEM. Tyson, the world's second-largest meat processor and marketer, is warning consumers to expect meat shortages (and likely higher prices)even while Tyson and other corporate processors do not protect their slaughterhouse workers during the pandemic. This lapse of corporate responsibility coupled with lack of responsible government oversight triggered some of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the U.S.

ACTION -- PLEASE DO THIS NOW. And please share widely! The GMO commodity growers (corn + soy) got their federal bailouts in 2019 ($23 Billion) and 2018 ($17 Bi...llion). Now it's time to support local farmers who actually produce REAL FOOD. https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/18021/action/1 See more

GMO Free USA asks us all to TAKE ACTION by clicking on the link below: "There is an urgent need to reach out to the President and your members of Congress today. We are hearing from sources on Capitol Hill that farmers who sell at farmers markets are being left out of the small business relief package!!" PLEASE NOTE that Gov. Wolf has declared farmers markets as essential businesses that may stay open in Pennsylvania. Farmers and market managers are rapidly developing preorder/prepay and prepackaged pickup, where you don't get out of your car or touch anything. So check in with your local farmers market to see how you can still buy from local family farms! https://gmofreeusa.salsalabs.org/financialsuppo/index.html Photo: a farmers market in San Francisco 2 days ago.

The Rittenhouse market is closed this Saturday, March 21st, but is planning for a market next Saturday, March 28th. The market would include farms selling produce, meat, seafood, eggs, and other grocery staples. Protocols involving pre-ordering, pre-payments, and lots of social distancing techniques. We are hoping to confirm all those protocols, and the market itself, early next week. But there is no need to wait until March 28th to reach your favorite local food producers. Vendors are now accepting online orders and are planning to make deliveries this weekend and during the week.

Let's support this FABULOUS request from Rep. Pingee (an organic farmer from Maine!) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pingree points out that family farmers who produce FOOD for their communities and sell at local farmers markets received NONE of the $23 BILLION in last year's bailouts for GMO corn and soy farmers who sell on the international market. With the coronavirus disrupting farmers markets, it's time to help keep these important local farms and markets in business! ACTION I...NFO: Read the letter: https://pingree.house.gov//pingree_covid-19_impact_on_farm 1. Urge Speaker Pelosi to support farmers market producers: https://www.speaker.gov/contact 2. Urge your own Congress Rep to support Rep Pingree: https://www.house.gov/representati/find-your-representative 3. Thank Rep. Pingree: https://pingree.house.gov/contact/contactform.htm See more

Small family farms that grow food for their community and sell at farmers markets are in danger if farmers markets close for the unforeseen future, due to mitigating spread of the coronavirus. Last year, the $23 BILLION in aid for farms went ENTIRELY to commodity producers who sell on the international market. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) has asked Speaker Pelosi to include relief for family farmers and farmer markets in House relief packages. PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW to URGE THAT FAMILY FARMS AND LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS ARE SUPPORTED.

A jury awarded $265 million to farmers in a dicamba trial against Bayer-Monsanto and BASF. The award went to a family whose peach farm was destroyed by the weed...killer created by Bayer-Monsanto / BASF due to pesticide drift. After a three-week trial, the jury awarded a peach farmer plaintiff $15 million in damages and $250 million in punitive damages against the chemical companies. The jury ruled that both Monsanto and BASF acted negligently. The jury also found Bayer-Monsanto and BASF engaged in a conspiracy to create an ecological disaster to increase profits. Bayer spokeswoman Susan Luke wrote in an email: Despite the verdict, Bayer stands behind Xtend seed and XtendiMax herbicide products, which enjoy a 95 percent weed-control satisfaction rate from the farmers who use them. We want our customers to know that, as this legal matter continues, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering them the effective and sustainable tools they need in the field. Matthews & Associates, the law firm representing Bill and Denise Bader of Bader Farms, had this to say: "Sustainable? SUSTAINABLE? The only thing sustainable about chemical farming is chemical company profits, at least until these companies have destroyed all the arable land on earth, so that nothing smart people want to eat grows on it anymore." Matthews & Associates has that completely right. Bayer-Monsanto should shut up, pay up, and go away. READ: https://dmlawfirm.com/jury-awards-265m-monsanto-basf-dicamb #DicambaLawsuits #DicambaDamage #DicambaDrift #BaderFarms #dicamba #herbicide #GMO #CropDamage #BanDicamba #BoycottGMOs #gmofreecanada #gmofreeusa #toxinfreeusa

This is it: today is the final day to submit your FoodCorps AmeriCorps service member application. Submit your application by midnight PST tonight: https://foodcorps.org/apply/

Please contact Senator Bob Casey about supporting this law suit, since he is on the US Senate's Agriculture Committee which has jurisdiction over the USDA, including the Certified Organic program. Buy REAL food at your local Farmers Market.

For general information coupled with actions, Like and follow our statewide page frequently: GMO Free PA. Thank you!