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<title>Support the California Farmer Protection Bill - AB541!</title>
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<p><span
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Support the California Farmer Protection Bill - AB541!</span> </p>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;">
<p> <img
src="cid:part3.09000304.08050607@aim.com" align="left"> </p>
<p><u>AB 541, the Farmer Protection
Bill, which could become
California’s first state law protecting farmers from the
hazards of genetically engineered crops, passed through the
Assembly Agriculture Committee on January 16th by a vote of 5
– 0! It will be heard by the full Assembly the week of
January 28th.</u></p>
<p>AB 541 will enact protections
for California farmers against
frivolous lawsuits that intimidate and harass those who have not
been able to prevent the inevitable drift of GE pollen or seed.
It will level the playing field for farmers accused by Monsanto
and others of contract violations, and discourage their practice
of sampling crops without explicit permission from farmers and
prosecuting based on unverifiable testing results.</p>
<p><strong>Specifically, the bill
would provide
for:</strong></p>
<p><strong>1. Protection from
patent infringement lawsuits for
farmers unknowingly contaminated by GE crops.</strong>
Currently, farmers with crops that become contaminated by
patented seeds or pollen have been the target of such lawsuits
without clear recourse or defense.</p>
<p><strong>2. The establishment of
a mandatory crop sampling
protocol to be used by patent holders when investigating farmers
they believe may have violated patents or seed
contracts.</strong> This protocol would require the
farmer’s written permission for sampling, and provide for
a state agriculture official to accompany the patent holder
during the sampling and collect duplicate samples for
independent verification if requested by either party. </p>
<p><strong>Please email and call or
fax your Assembly
Member no later than January 25th! <br>
</strong>Click on "send
this message" to the right to send your email, or go to <a
href="http://ga3.org/campaign/AB541">http://ga3.org/campaign/AB541</a>
to send your email online. <br>
<br>
<strong>Your Assembly
member's contact
information is:<br>
</strong>Assembly Member
Mark
Leno<br>
State Capitol, Room 2114<br>
PO Box 942849<br>
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001<br>
(916) 319-2013<br>
Check
the website for Fax listing:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a13/">http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a13/</a></p>
</span> <br clear="left">
<br>
<a
href="http://ga3.org/campaign/AB541/8un56k84075ebx6b?"><img
src="cid:part4.02060404.06040802@aim.com" border="0" height="25"
width="100"></a>
<p><span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px;">Send
a letter to the following decision maker(s):</span> <br>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;">Your
Assemblyperson (if you live in California)<br>
</span> </p>
<p><span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px;">Below
is the sample letter:</span></p>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;">
<p>Subject: AB 541 - SUPPORT</p>
<p>Dear [decision maker name
automatically inserted here],</p>
<p> I am writing to urge your
support for AB 541, which establishes some basic and fundamental rights
for farmers whose crops may be contaminated by genetically engineered
varieties.<br>
<br>
It is current practice for Monsanto and other biotechnology
corporations to sue farmers if they find that their crops contain any
patented genetically engineered material, regardless of how it got onto
the farm. This has affected farmers who have been unknowingly
contaminated. Monsanto also investigates farmers that it thinks may
have their patented material using intimidating and harassing
techniques, including gathering crop samples without the express
permission of the farmer.<br>
<br>
AB 541 as currently amended would do the following:<br>
<br>
1. Protect from patent infringement lawsuits for farmers unknowingly
contaminated by GE crops. Currently, farmers with crops that become
contaminated by patented seeds or pollen have been the target of such
lawsuits without clear recourse or defense.<br>
<br>
2. The establishment of a mandatory crop sampling protocol to be used
by patent holders when investigating farmers they believe may have
violated patents or seed contracts. This protocol would require the
farmer's written permission for sampling, and provide for a state
agriculture official to accompany the patent holder during the sampling
and collect duplicate samples for independent verification if requested
by either party. <br>
<br>
These provisions will protect California farmers and create more fair
conditions if they are faced with intimidation by biotechnology
companies.<br>
<br>
Please vote Yes on AB 541. Thank you for your consideration of this
important issue. </p>
<p> Sincerely,<br>
<br>
[Your Name Here]<br>
<br>
</p>
</span> <a
href="http://ga3.org/campaign/AB541/8un56k84075ebx6b?"><img
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<td align="center" bgcolor="#000000"><span
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Action!</span></td>
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<p><span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px;">Instructions:</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;"> <a
target="_blank" href="http://ga3.org/campaign/AB541/8un56k84075ebx6b?">Click
here to take action</a> on this issue </span> </p>
<br>
<p><span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px;">Tell-A-Friend:</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;"> Visit the web
address below to tell your friends about this. <br>
<a target="_blank"
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</span> </p>
<br>
<p><span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px;">What's
At Stake:</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;">
<p> </p>
</span> </p>
<br>
<p><span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: bold; font-size: 13px;">Campaign
Expiration Date:</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-size: 12px;"> January 30, 2008
</span> </p>
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