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31 Dec 2013

Comment Period Extended on USDA "Agricultural Coexistence"

The National Organic Coalition reports that the comment period has been extended on the issue of "Agricultural Coexistence" — the USDA's proposals for Coexistence of farmers using Geneticaly Engineered Crops and those who don't (Organic and Non-GMO farmers).  The deadline for comments on this issue is now March 4th. 

The NOC continues ... Organic and Non-GMO agriculture has shouldered the burden of GMO contamination for too long. This is our opportunity to tell USDA that it must use its authority to: 

(1) Implement mandatory contamination prevention measures to avoid the problem and protect the non-GMO sector, and 

(2) Ensure shared responsibility for the unwanted spread of GE products, including a fair compensation mechanism that does not further burden those who must avoid, and sometimes are harmed by, contamination. 

Comments can be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or by mail to:

Docket No. APHIS–2013–0047
Regulatory Analysis, and Development
PPD, APHIS, Station, 3A–03.8
4700 River Road Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737–1238

Also, for Farmers and Handlers, if you would like to send an ANONYMOUS COMMENT outlining your experiences and costs, please go to this site set up by NOC.  NOC will take your comment from this site, and include it as text in their comments submitted to the Docket.  If you have any questions about this process or its anonymity, please call Liana at 914-443-5759.