Flip of the Coyne

Save Bill C-474 on April 14! Your new action can stop the biotech industry from defeating this Bill!

Dear Spencer,

Your actions are making a huge difference. The biotech industry has launched a heavy lobbying campaign to stop Bill C-474. Despite this industry pressure, the Liberals spoke in favour of Bill C-474 tonight – but their voice was not strong enough to drown out Conservative opposition, yet. The Conservatives voted against the Bill, but Bill C-474 is not dead yet. The official vote on Bill C-474 will happen on April 14!

Bill C-474 would require that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.” The Bill could stop GE alfalfa and GE wheat.

The industry association CropLife is so worried about the influence of your letters that they have copied CBAN’s campaign, asking their own public to write to MPs as well. (You can have a peek at the copy-cat campaign here: http://www.croplife.ca/web/english/biotechnology/Bill_C-474). We also know that key Liberal MPs have been under a lot of pressure from the biotech industry, including a steady stream of calls to their offices. But your voices are still being heard!

Here are some ways you can make a difference, today:

1. We have set up a new action. You can write an instant letter to Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party leader from CBAN’s website http://cban.ca/liberalact474 Ask him to make sure all Liberal MPs are present on April 14 to vote in favour of Bill C-474. Tonight, the Liberal Party spoke in favour of a transparent debate on the Bill in the Agriculture Committee but will they vote for the Bill on April 14? (The NDP and Bloc support the Bill.)

2. You can also send your MP another letter from http://cban.ca/474action – Your continued pressure is important.

3. Below is an action alert that you can send around to your family, friends, and around your community. For more information and other action see http://cban.ca/474

4. Please consider supporting CBAN’s work with a financial contribution so we can continue this strong campaigning. CBAN is a small organization that is entirely funded by charitable donations and small project grants. CBAN has limited resources but is up against well-financed corporate giants like Monsanto. Donate online to keep this work going and to help us start our new campaign to stop the GE “Enviropig™” at http://cban.ca/donate

Please join us to stop GE crops from causing untold harm to Canadian farmers.

Thank you for your continued action and support, Best regards

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network

P.S. Contact me any time at 613 241 2267 ext.6 or coordinator@cban.ca

Tonight I watched part one of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution USA.  Jamie has a big task ahead of him by the looks of things the people of Huntington W. Va do not seem to receptive to the British Chef and Food Activist.

Both my wife and I watched in horror as Jamie walked into the schools lunch room where they were serving the children pizza for breakfast then for lunch they had chicken nuggets and flavoured milk.  I was personally outraged when Jamie makes his first fresh lunch and the principal tells him he needs 2 breads with the meal even though he has brown rice.  It really is scary that grains has been turned into breads.  White bread should not count as a grain it should count as a sugar!

The show premiered on ABC tonight at 10 pacific time but you can watch it on A Channel and Access in Canada if you do not want to watch it on the American network.  Check out http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution for more information about the show or to see clips from the show.  You may be surprised.

Published Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Vol. 61 Issue 4 Page A4

It’s hard these days not to discuss President Barack Obama.  When I was thinking about what to write about, I was going to avoid talking about the topic because of the 24-hour coverage since the inauguration, but really, how can you not talk about what could be one of the most significant moments in history since the fall of Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square and the end of the Soviet Union?  Obama has inspired a generation of Americans, not to mention all peoples around the world.  I personally have big hopes for Obama.

My hopes for Obama aren’t for him to bring an end to the war in Iraq, or to save the economy, although it would be nice to see both.  My hope is that Obama recognizes that urgent action needs to be taken to reign in green house gases.  Without real leadership, alternative energy will not grow out of its infancy and into the mainstream.

Obama needs to break America of its oil addiction.  If America does it, the world will follow.  Obama needs to look at the massive trade deficit with the rest of the world and get the American people back to work.  Again, if America does it, the world will follow.

Why do I want America to break the chains of oil and head back down the road to self-sufficiency, ultimately hurting the Canadian economy?  The answer is simple: if America changes its economy to a self-sufficient green economy, Canadian governments will follow suit, new markets will open up and new companies will rise to fill demand.

The green economy or eco-economy is the future and it will take some real leadership to make the change.  Nations, or more specifically, regions, will need to become more sufficient to make the new economy work.  With the current economic collapse, it is time to take advantage and begin the switch in earnest.

Our national government is slow to make any major changes in the way we do business.  Our government decided not to follow the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to which our nation had agreed.  This is where we need strong leadership from our southern neighbours.  Obama and his Democratic Congress and Senate can show the world that it needs to change, and with the stroke of a pen, they can make this happen.  Ottawa would have a hard time not signing onto a new economic plan when our largest trading partner no longer does business as usual.

It’s time for change.  Obama might just be the person who can make that change happen.  Now we need to have hope that he will do the right thing and make the change that he promised.

Today is one of the greatest days in history and it is one of the proudest moments in my life. See my birth mother’s family is from America and today I can honestly say that today I am proud to be an American.

My family’s history in America goes back to before the Civil War, part of the battle of Antietam took place on my family’s land and today no tonight I honestly felt that I am proud of my heritage and proud to be able to call myself an American.

I watched as Barack Obama spoke after his win and then after he had left the stage and the pundits began to talk again it hit me, today, today America is a truly free and democratic nation. Today the power of segregation and racism were defeated in the name of peace and prosperity. Today above any other day in my life I had reason to believe in America.

Don’t get me wrong I am a Canadian, I will never give up my citizenship nor would I ever be ashamed of it but today is unlike any other day and today I found faith in a nation that had fallen to its knees. Today I believe that America has relit the beacon that called my forefathers to its shores. Today I am proud to say I am an American.