MOFGA's Genetic Engineering Information Page

MOFGA supports the goal of a GMO-free Maine and nation. Our primary strategy with respect to GMOs is to work cooperatively with farmers, the Department of Agriculture, the legislature, the research institutions and others of Maine to promote ecological, sustainable and economic alternatives to GMOs and synthetic pesticides.

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Some Recent News Articles on GE Food

• Brooklin, Maine, Votes to be GMO-Free Zone -- Kennebunk, Kennebunkport Also Consider Petitions
• Update on Vermont's GE Seed Labeling Law
• New Study Reveals Thousands of Field Tests of Genetically Engineered Crops Across U.S.
• Britain Approves GM Crops Despite Public Opposition
• Alternatives to Genetic Engineering
• GE Crops Won't End Hunger According to AcionAid
• CWB Asks Monsanto to Put the Brakes on Roundup Ready Wheat
• Maine Attorney General Not Cowed by Monsanto’s Claims about Maine Dairy Quality Seal
• Maine Ag Department to Host Biotechnology Forum
• GE News in the Sept/Nov 2002 MOF&G
• Support Legislation on Genetically Engineered Food/Crops
• The Problem with Genetically Engineered Corn
• Genetically Engineered Salmon Debate
• Not So Stellar StarLink-- Genetic Engineering Update
• Link to Summary of Important Bills in the Maine Legislature
• **MOFGA Sponsored Cross Contamination Legislation Signed Into Law!**
  Link Directly to Final Text of Law
• MOFGA Comments RE: Proposed Rule on Premarket Notice Concerning Bioengineered Foods and Draft Guidance on Labeling
• Public Policy committee chair Sharon Tisher has published an editorial in the Portland Press Herald commenting on the FDA's proposals regarding biotech foods.
• Visit Greenpeace's True Food Network to find out if your favorite brands of food contain GMO's.
• Proposed FDA Rules on GE Foods: "Transparency" Uncovered
• Comprehensive Review of Genetic Engineering in our Food Supply
• National Family Farm Coalition Summit on Genetic Engineering

Do You Know That Gentically Engineered (GE) Foods Are Permanently Altering the US Food Supply? Do You Know Why You Probably Don't Know?

40% of Corn * 69% of Cotton * 68% of Soybeans * 60% of Canola * 15% of Potatoes

These are the latest figures on the percentage of genetically engineered crop varieties that have been commercially planted in the world, primarily in the US; corn and the soybeans go directly into our most common processed foods either directly (corn syrup, soy oil) or indirectly through animal feeds.

Genetic engineering (GE) in crops refers to the scientific method of isolating genetic material (DNA) from any source (other plants, bacteria, even mice and fish) and inserting it into crop plants with the hope of transferring desired inherited traits.

MOFGA opposes the use of genetically engineered plants because of the unknown effect of spreading man-made genomes throughout the environment. However, most disturbing is that the corporations developing these new genetically altered foods have spent millions in lobbying efforts to keep states from mandating that genetically altered foods be labeled as such. These companies don't want the public to know what they're eating, despite little or no testing on the safety of these foods, and recent studies that have shown genetically altered crops to be deadly to migrating Monarch butterflies.

For more information see: