Political lobbying in favor of private companies is, sadly, nothing new. The tobacco industry did it, the sugar trade industry still does it, so does the fast food industry, so why should Monsanto be any different?Let's face it, has America seems to have learnt nothing from the previous lessons.
It has been scientifically proven over the years that smoking causes cancer, sugar causes diabetes, obesity and heart disease, the fast food industry is contributing to the vast rise in child obesity as well as causing obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
What we do know about Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) is what Monsanto and only Monsanto has said - they are safe - or at least this is what they want us to believe. GMOs have been around for 15 years and it has rapidly grown into a $billion business on the promise of eradicating world hunger and the promise that GMO crops would be resistant to blights and therefore wouldn't need as much pesticides as regular crops.
However, neither of these promises have been kept. And now, thanks to the work of Michael Antoniou of Earth Open Source and Dr. Giles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caan in France, we have more information contrary to Monsanto's.
Seralini and Antoniou have found in their studies on GMOs that they are provoking a range of serious health problems such as; birth defects, cancer, neurological imbalances, embryonic deaths, DNA damage and fetal death. GMOs are full of pesticides such as RoundUp that contain glyphosate and 2-4-D which is the active ingrediente in Active Orange. So, if we are what we eat, and our food is full of harmful pesticides, it isn't difficult to understand how GMOs are harmful to human health.
Of course the other problem is that by law, manufacturers do not have to specify on the labels on their products if GMO ingredients are used. And, it isn't just the USA that has this problem. The only countries in the world that have said NO to GMOs and have banned Monsanto are:
Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal,
So why is everyone who values good health up in arms about what has gone on recently in Washington?
The answer is very simple. It is yet another demonstration that private sector companies with lots of money are really the ones with the power - not the government elected to serve and protect the people.
On Tuesday, 26th March 2013, President Barak Obama signed a spending bill: HR933. Within this bill is a section - Section 735 also called the Farmers Assurance Provision; publicly labelled The Monsanto Protection Act.
Section 735 effectively stops Federal courts from being able to stop the sale or planting of genetically modified (GMO) or genetically engineered (GE) seeds, even if these seeds or products made from these GMO and GE seeds and their subsequent harvests are found to be dangerous to human health.
It is believed by many that not enough studies have been carried out on GMO and GE crops to analyze the potential health risks.
Monsanto apparently helped with the wording of the provision. This type of cooperation between lawmakers and private companies to mold legislation is nothing new either. Senator Ray Blunt, Republican of Missouri, worked with Monsanto on a provision that actually allows them to keep selling their GMO and GE seeds which could then go on to be planted even if the crops are found to be harmful to consumers, and could have dire health risks for the general public in the USA and other countries where GMOs and GEs are not prohibited.
The HR933 bill was actually a spending bill to avoid government shut down and to ensure that the federal government will continue to pay its bills. However, the Center for Food Safety believes that many of the Democrats in Congress did not know that the Provision was included in the bil:
"In this hidden back room deal, Senator Barbara Mikulski turned her back on consumer, environmental and farmer protection in favor of corporate welfare for biotech companies such as Monsanto," said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for Food Safety.
It seems the deceit was intentional, using the gay marriage upheaval as a cover - all media attention was focused on the hearing of the oral argument for California's Proposition 8 in the Supreme Court, the signing of the HR933 went almost unnoticed until it was already signed, sealed and delivered.
The "good" news is that this bill will only be in effect for the next 6 months, during this time the government must find another way to fund its operations. However, the message received by the private sector is that once you have Congress on your side you can basically do what ever you want and ride roughshod over the consumer safety protections.
If you are also looking for a list of GMO free foods you can go here: GMO Free Food Brands
Also, even though many of the countries stated above to have banned GMOs still sell products by Nestlé, Kellogg's, Unilever, Procter and Gamble all of who sell products that have been found to contain GMOs by GreenPeace in the Spanish Market, and you can bet that if they are in their products in the Spanish Market they will also be in the same products in other markets.
The worst thing of all, is that we the consumers have no power of information about which products contain GMOs as stating them on the label is not mandatory. In 2007 President Obama on the campaign trail, promised Iowa farmers and the rest of the country that if elected he'd label GMO foods. This has not happened, and in the light of The Monsanto Protection Act it seems very unlikely that this will happen. President Obama even appointed an ex Monsanto executive, Michael R. Taylor to the FDA in 2009 thus assuring a close relationship between Monsanto and the Government.
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype). Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com
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