For full photo gallery of the July 9 hearing on NAIS and GMOs:

http://pressroom.nofamass.org/image/tid/93

Dozens of farmers and consumers from around the state gathered in Amherst Monday to deliver testimony to the Massachusetts Senate and House joint agriculture committee on a range of bills related to farming. One bill would cut off further participation of Massachusetts in a controversial federal animal tracking program program that critics call costly and unnecessary. Another bill would enact a moratorium on growing genetically engineered (GE) crops until ecological and health dangers were overcome. People came from as far as Essex and Plymouth counties and even Washington DC to testify in a hot room at the UMASS campus. Many testified on both bills, and the testimony was overwhelmingly in support.

This is a reminder that on on Monday July 9th, there will a very important legislative hearing on agriculture issues in Massachusetts. You can make a difference by giving testimony in person and/or calling your representatives to ask them to actively support these bills. It is not too late to submit testimony and call your representatives!

What: Legislators are responding to grassroots mobilization by hearing different bills that would 1) enact a moratorium on growing genetically engineered (GE) crops and 2) cut off funding for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in Massachusetts. 

When: Monday, July 9, 1:00 PM

Where: Cape Cod Lounge in the Student Union, UMASS Amherst

AMHERST - Nine towns passed resolutions at spring town meeting this year calling for major changes in policy on genetic engineering (GE) in food. Most towns called for mandatory labeling of GE foods and seeds and a moratorium on growing the controversial crops. The latest resolutions bring the number of Massachusetts municipalities that have approved such measures to thirty.

The single sheet word documents on this page contain maps of Massachusetts Senate and House Districts where towns have passed resolutions against genetic engineering, as well as links to the exact text of each town resolution. 

Members of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter and other concerned citizens around Massachusetts will be testifying at a hearing on Monday July 9, 1:00pm, Room 1009, Campus Center, UMASS Amherst to voice their support for the following bills that have been filed in the Massachusetts Legislature. The following are the titles and co-sponsors of each bill, along with links to the full text of these bills.

GREAT BARRINGTON - Last week, Great Barrington, Becket, and Savoy passed resolutions at their annual Town Meetings opposing genetic engineering of food and agricultural crops. The resolutions are among the latest in an ongoing region-wide effort that has been underway since 2002.

HUNTINGTON - Last week, both Huntington and Pelham, Massachusetts passed resolutions at their annual Town Meetings opposing genetic engineering of food and agricultural crops. The resolutions are among the latest in an ongoing region-wide effort that has been underway since 2002. The two most recent votes bring the number of towns in Hampshire County calling for a turnaround on genetic engineering to eight.

MONTAGUE -- This June, Alice Armen and Suzette Snow-Cobb of Montague are bringing resolutions to their town meeting that would put their town on record calling for major changes in the laws governing genetically engineered (GE) foods and seeds. As of 2006, 21 Massachusetts towns including Gill, Wedell, and Leverett, as well as Boston, have passed such resolutions.