Take Action:
Call your Senators today to educate them about the threat that genetically engineered crops pose to organic agriculture, especially if they are on this committee. If any of these Senators represent you, please urge them to REJECT Senate Bill 631 before it reaches the floor of the Senate – An Act to Amend the Plant Pest Law to Preempt Local Regulation of Plants and Plant Pests.


Chairman
Sen. Charles W. Albertson
Vice Chairman
Sen. Austin M. Allran
Vice Chairman
Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird
Vice Chairman
Sen. A. B Swindell
Vice Chairman
Sen. David F. Weinstein
Vice Chairman
Sen. Daniel G. Clodfelter
Vice Chairman
Sen. Bob Atwater
Ranking Minority Member
Sen. Hamilton C. Horton, Jr.

Members
Sen. Stan Bingham, Sen. Andrew C. Brock, Sen. Harry Brown, Sen. Janet Cowell, Sen. Don East, Sen. John A. Garwood, Sen. Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., Sen. Robert Lee Holloman, Sen. Clark Jenkins, Sen. Jeanne H. Lucas, Sen. Fred Smith, Sen. John Snow, Sen. Scott Thomas, Sen. Jerry W. Tillman, Sen. Hugh Webster

Your legislators are on a 10 day break starting May 27, 2005, and they may be at home. Requesting a meeting or calling them while they are on break is appropriate. When they return to Raleigh, I would suggest you try to contact them between 4 and 7 on Monday evenings as that is one of the rare times that many of them are in their offices. If you reach their support staff, inform them why you are calling and request a call back.

Find your representative at: http://www.ncleg.net/GIS/Representation/Who_Represents_Me/Who_Represents_Me.html

Go here to read the text of preemption bills:
HB 671: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2005/Bills/House/HTML/H671v2.html

Talking Points
 REJECT Senate Bill 631– “An Act to Amend the Plant Pest Law to Preempt Local Regulation of Plants and Plant Pests.”
 Don’t take away the right of local jurisdictions to restrict plants and plant pests as necessary to protect the local economy, public health, and organic agriculture.
 Let them know that genetically engineered crops can contaminate organic crops. Consumers want organic crops and don’t want genetically engineered crops.
 Does this bill affect you or your land directly? Are you concerned about genetic drift harming organic or non-GEO crops, or your timberland? Be sure to mention your personal concerns.
 Talk about genetically engineered crops, not genetically modified crops. Traditional breeding falls under genetic modification. Genetic engineering uses techniques that create plants and animals that would never have occurred in nature.

For Further Information:
Tony Kleese, Executive Director
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Tel: (919) 542-2402 Email: ed@carolinafarmstewards.org