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.

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.

Specifically, the bill would provide for:

1. Protection 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.

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.

Please email and call or fax your Assembly Member no later than January 25th!
Click on "send this message" to the right to send your email, or go to http://ga3.org/campaign/AB541 to send your email online.

Your Assembly member's contact information is:
Assembly Member Mark Leno
State Capitol, Room 2114
PO Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
(916) 319-2013
Check the website for Fax listing: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a13/

Subject: AB 541 - SUPPORT

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

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.

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.

AB 541 as currently amended would do the following:

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.

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.

These provisions will protect California farmers and create more fair conditions if they are faced with intimidation by biotechnology companies.

Please vote Yes on AB 541. Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]