Anti-GMO Campaigners Claim Victory as ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Stripped From Senate Bill
Organizers cheer, saying the voices raised against genetically modified foods and giveaways to biotech giants were heard
Published on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 by Common Dreams
The Monsanto Protection Act, otherwise known as the Farmer Assurance Provision rider, was wedged into a stop-gap budget bill that passed earlier this year and signed into law by President Obama in March.
The rider was the source of outrage by many and quickly dubbed a form of “corporate welfare” that benefited large biotechnology corporations firms such as Monsanto and Syngenta as it barred US federal courts from being able to prevent the sale or planting of GMO crops even if they failed to meet federal safety standards or were discovered to be harmful to humans or the environment.
In opposition to the law’s passage, several online campaigns as well as street protests followed.
The rider was set to expire this year, but an extension of the bill was included in the House’s version of the budget bill passed last week.
However, according to a statements released by the offices of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the provision will not be extended and has now been removed from the Senate’s version of the bill.
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