The following is a cover letter sent on behalf of Dr. Don Huber, Professor Emeritus, Purdue University, to the EU and UK commissions at their request to provide a more detailed explanation of his January 17th letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. His letter was sent in advance of the approval of Roundup Ready alfalfa requesting a delay of USDA approval and also for support for further research due to the discovery of a new pathogen that is prolific in Roundup Ready soybean and corn feed.

On January 17, 2011, Dr. Don Huber, an internationally-recognized plant pathologist and Professor Emeritus at Purdue University, sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack attempting to warn him of a serious problem facing U.S. agriculture. This letter, marked “CONFIDENTIAL and URGENT”, warned Secretary Vilsack of a previously unknown pathogen, “new to science” that “should be treated as an emergency”.