Thread: Food safety, GMOs and the global fight against Monsanto

There are controversies around GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) on several levels, including whether making them is ethical, whether food produced with them is safe, whether such food should be labeled, and if so how.

The company at the center of the controversy is Monsanto, formerly a chemical company.

That a chemical company like Monsanto, which invented Agent Orange and used to manufacture products such as the insecticide DDT, PCBs, and recombinant bovine somatotropin is now a major food producer should have everyone concerned.

If you have a strong stomach I would encourage you to watch this eye opening documentary:

The World According to Monsanto GMO Documentary



The fight is on all over the planet. In the US citizens are demanding a repeal of the Farmer Assurance Act, aka the "Monsanto Protection Act".

No one should have to choose between a government shutdown and food safety!

Fortunately there is a growing movement and a very large push underway to have the language repealed and it has broad bi-partisan support so chances are quite good that the act will be repealed very soon.

I would encourage any other Americans on this forum to take a few minutes to add your name to the following petition that will be sent to the Congress and President to instruct them to repeal the Farmer Assurance Act as soon as possible:

MoveOn Petitions - Repeal the "Monsanto Protection Act" (Section 735 of HR 933)

Another excellent resource: Food Democracy Now

And the March Against Monsanto facebook page, 162k likes and growing FAST: https://www.facebook.com/MarchAgainstMonstanto

Monsanto owned companies



Boycott Monsanto – A Simple List of Companies to Avoid

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

Monsanto owned companies



Boycott Monsanto – A Simple List of Companies to Avoid

Yep....the only way.
Don't participate.

It will only work if you can convince 75% not to play the game...
Good luck with this proposition, as most have been invited to the mindless consumer without scruples or principle.

Originally Posted by TonyBKK

No one should have to choose between a government shutdown and food safety!

You like a good poster, champ. How about this one.



Shame is you still think its worth while voting for him - lesser of two evils

Some ignorant fools will let their blind hate for the President of the United States blind them to the facts.

The "Monsanto Protection Act" -- referred to as the "Farmer Assurance Provision" was a rider that was buried 78 pages deep in H.R. 933, a continuing resolution spending bill that was approved by Congress.

Had President Obama not signed H.R. 933 into law it would have expired the federal budget and triggered a government-wide shutdown.

It's dirty politics, it sucks, and US Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) who “worked with Monsanto to craft the language in the bill.” and received $64,250 from Monsanto to go towards his campaign committee between 2008 and 2012 should be ashamed for selling out the American public. Now it's up to activists and the voting public to get that language repealed.

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, has announced an amendment that would remove Section 735 (the Monsanto Protection Act as its known) from the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 Senate spending bill.

The Republicans, as usual, are on the wrong side or history and seem more interested in their scandal-mongering and 37 failed attempts to repeal "Obamacare" than they do in serving the American public... Sure would be nice if they pulled their heads out of their asses and actually legislated for the people for a change...

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

Monsanto owned companies



Boycott Monsanto – A Simple List of Companies to Avoid

Shit, Pepsi AND Coke?! Really??? What the hell, gonna have to drink my Jack straight from now on I guess...

Monsanto does not own Coca-Cola. I doubt it owns those other companies either.

If people avoided all processed food they're better off anyway. Local food cultivation should be encouraged on a large scale.
The federal government isn't doing much in this regard.
If anything seems like the Monsanto/Ajinomoto owned FDA tries to make it more difficult for local food producers to function.
The FDA actually raids small farmers and dairy producers.
Raids Against America's Small Farms | Farm Food Freedom Coalition

Originally Posted by misskit

Monsanto does not own Coca-Cola. I doubt it owns those other companies either.

Hallelujah! I think it's time for a drink!

(Though the cynical side of me suspects that even if Monsanto doesn't own those companies outright, those companies source a lot of their ingredients from Monsanto crops...)

^ Right, much more likely is that is a list of Monsanto's customers.

Originally Posted by TonyBKK

Some ignorant fools will let their blind hate for the President of the United States blind them to the facts.

Oh really.


Michael Taylor
Roger Beachy
Islam Siddiqui
...and Hillary Clinton if we are being honest.

Check out them. See what job they used to do with MONSANTO and then what Obamamamammamamaammama hired them to do.

It is a very Democrat thing though - this hand in hand with Monsanto thing. Fair play to Baby killer Bush, he was not in bed with them.

Sap.

Is there a company in the world more evil than Monsanto? I don't think so.
Last year, Monsanto spent nearly $6 million on lobbying, and their payoff was the "Monsanto Protection Act," which was written anonymously, passed in secret, and allows Monsanto to keep selling genetically engineered seeds even if a federal court says they may pose a health risk.1
Now, Monsanto has sneaked an amendment into the farm bill that would block GMO labeling laws moving forward in states like Vermont and Connecticut.2
This time, Monsanto may have gone too far. A massive backlash is growing against the Monsanto Protection Act, and Senator Jeff Merkley is demanding a floor vote to repeal it.


Sources:
1. "Lobbying Spending Database—Monsanto Co, 2013," OpenSecrets.org, accessed May 21, 2013
Lobbying Spending Database - Monsanto Co, 2013 | OpenSecrets
"How the Monsanto Protection Act snuck into law," Salon, March 27, 2013
How the Monsanto Protection Act snuck into law - Salon.com
2. "'Monsanto Protection Act 2.0′ Would Ban GMO-Labeling Laws At State Level," International Business Times, May 20, 2013
'Monsanto Protection Act 2.0' Would Ban GMO-Labeling Laws At State Level

A valiant thread though my friend - so bad how these monsanto guys can pull the wool over these politicians eyes and stuff. Pretty heavy shit, guys.

Small scale farming could never produce enough food to feed the worlds ever growing population,
Mega farms utilising the supposed benefits of gm foods can.

Until the problem of overpopulation is addressed, gm foods, sadly, is the necessary pact with the devil that must be made.

Originally Posted by taxexile

Small scale farming could never produce enough food to feed the worlds ever growing population,
Mega farms utilising the supposed benefits of gm foods can.

Until the problem of overpopulation is addressed, gm foods, sadly, is the necessary pact with the devil that must be made.

I think you might be right there mate. I read something like that on the monsanto website. They are doing a public service in a way, trying to feed the world and as Mr Gore says, its not a crime to make a profit, is it. So in a way it is good that they got their people into the government; that way they can help the world even more.

Maybe they could be persuaded to use their vast financial resources to pay for mass sterilisation programmes in asian and catholic countries.

Originally Posted by taxexile

Small scale farming could never produce enough food to feed the worlds ever growing population,
Mega farms utilising the supposed benefits of gm foods can.

Until the problem of overpopulation is addressed, gm foods, sadly, is the necessary pact with the devil that must be made.

Is this supposed to be a joke? Small farms always produce more yield per hectare than mega farms, because it matters to be efficient on a smaller area. Monsanto is not about increasing the yield, but dependency of the farmers. On pesticides and herbicides produced by Monsanto that attack pests of crops produced by Monsanto. It's about making food an intellectual property by gradually replacing seeds which aren't protected by patents, by those which are.

The big ag model is also very expensive to use, raising the cost of food overall, ruins the mineral balance of the soil.
Food production could be increased by using an eight crop rotation. which would not need the heavy nitrate an herbicide use. Nor would it be dependent on these patented GMO seed.
Also and eight crop rotation you end up with more actually food for human consumption and just grain for methanol and animal feed.

Originally Posted by misskit

Monsanto does not own Coca-Cola. I doubt it owns those other companies either.

This might be correct.....but the vested influence and tightening screws are obvious.

The push to repeal the "Monsanto Protection Act" has broad bipartisan support and should be struck down in the next farm bill.

The pushback against Monsanto and GMO's is now focusing on food labels:

From Peter DeFazio (D-OR)

"Thank you for contacting me in support of labeling genetically engineered food. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns. You will be pleased to know that I have introduced legislation that would require mandatory federal labeling for all GE foods.

As Co-Chair of the Congressional Organic Caucus, and one of the original authors of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990, the landmark law that established the USDA National Organic Program, I have long been concerned about the use of genetically engineered organis ms in our food supply. In recent years I have led congressional efforts that urge the USDA and FDA to conduct full environmental reviews of GE organisms such as GE alfalfa seed and GE salmon.

There are several reasons to be concerned about the growing use of GE organisms in our farm and food supply. The increasing use of pesticides can have serious impacts on human health and the surrounding environment. There are even negative economic impacts associated with GE organisms as many GE seeds cross pollinate and contaminate neighboring organic and conventional farms.

H.R. 1699, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act would require that all food containing genetically engineered material be labeled as such. I strongly support consumer choice and the right to know what's in our food. If the biotech industry is so insistent upon the safety of GE food, then they should have no problem with a mandatory food labeling law.

You can be assured that I will continue my efforts to require federal agencies to more fully evaluate genetically engineered organisms before they are released into the environment and our food supply, and I will work to ensure proper labeling of all genetically engineered foods."

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

Monsanto owned companies



Boycott Monsanto – A Simple List of Companies to Avoid

Not owned by Monsanto, just customers that use their products.

In light of the recent public anger over the Monsanto Protection Act, here’s a simple, printable list of companies that use Monsanto products.

[QUOTE="Rainfall"] this supposed to be a joke? Small farms always produce more yield per hectare than mega farms, because it matters to be efficient on a smaller area. Monsanto is not about increasing the yield, but dependency of the farmers. On pesticides and herbicides produced by Monsanto that attack pests of crops produced by Monsanto. It's about making food an intellectual property by gradually replacing seeds which aren't protected by patents, by those which are.
[at]
very nicely put Rainfall.

Progress is being made in the fight against GMOs.


Connecticut Senate amended and voted on HB 6527, the GMO labeling bill voted on by the House last Thursday. After several days of intense negotiation between the Senate, the House, and the Governor’s office, a compromise was reached this afternoon. All four leaders of the House and Senate, Senator Williams, Senator McKinney, Representative Sharkey, and Representative Cafero, are all sponsors of the amended bill.

Connecticut's the first, many more states are set to follow.

10 Years Later - A review of GMO crops from the farmers who planted them-