Occupy Monsanto to Visit a Genetically Modified Congress

By Adam Eidinger

WASHINGTON DC - On Friday, March 16, 2012, Occupy Monsanto's agents of change with the Genetic Crimes Unit (GCU), a group designed to protect America from genetically modified foods, will wear bio-hazmat suits when they visit Congress. The group will gather at Capitol South Metro station at noon on March 16 to highlight how chemical company Monsanto is contaminating our political process. The GCU opposes Monsanto's bid to increase spraying of food with toxic weed killers like 2,4 D (the main ingredient in Agent Orange), genetic contamination of the organic food supply, and other risks associated with genetically modified food (GMOs).

The GCU will arrive at the metro station wearing bio-hazmat suits to assess whether Members of Congress and their staff have been victims of genetic crimes. The GCU will hold a banner that reads, "Congress is Genetically Modified," as they circulate on Capitol Hill sidewalks. This day of action is part of a larger international call to 'Occupy Monsanto' taking place all over the globe including Spain, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and at least 28 cities throughout the US.

"In the name of Wall Street profits, chemical corporations such as Monsanto genetically engineer crops to withstand high doses of their toxic weed killers that contaminate our food and water, and have not been proven safe. We deserve to know what we are eating. Virtually every major country requires labeling of GMOs in foods so their citizens can make informed choices, including all of Europe, Japan and even China," said GCU's Ariel Vegosen. "Monsanto's lobbying dollars are pouring into politicians so its clear we have a GMO contaminated US Congress that threatens our health and the health of the planet," says Vegosen.

WHO: Occupy Monsanto's Genetic Crimes Unit (GCU)
WHAT: ID'ing Victims of Monsanto's Genetic Crimes by GCU Agents in Bio-Hazmat Suits
WHEN: Friday, March 16, Noon
WHERE: Cannon Building: Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC, 20540, corner NJ Ave

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced three bills addressing concerns with GMOs. In addition, more than 900,000 people have signed onto the JustLabelit.org citizens' petition to the Food and Drug Administration for GMO labeling (the most to sign an FDA petition ever). Last fall about 100 people marched in the Right2Know March from New York to the White House to demand President Obama keep his campaign promise to label GMO foods. Video of the promise can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

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Monsanto Wins Lawsuit against Indiana Soybean Farmer

By Carey Gillam
Monsanto Co., the world's largest seed company, has prevailed in another lawsuit against a U.S. farmer, earning a ruling from a federal appeals court that protects Monsanto's interests even when its patented seeds are sold in a mix of undifferentiated "commodity" seeds.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington issued its ruling Wednesday, affirming the lower court decision that favored Monsanto.

The St. Louis, Mo.-based company sued Indiana soybean farmer Vernon Bowman in 2007, accusing Bowman of patent infringement for planting and saving seeds that contained Monsanto's genetically altered Roundup Ready technology even though Bowman said he bought those seeds as part of a mix of commodity seeds.

Commodity seeds come from farms that use Roundup Ready technology as well as those that do not without differentiation. No licensing agreements are required with the sale of such seeds. 

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Upcoming Northern California Millions Against Monsanto Events

As part of OCA's Millions Against MonsantoTruth-in-Labeling Campaign we are encouraging activists in our network to plantheir own campaign events with others in their area. This email is to informyou that there is an upcoming event near you, organized by grassroots organizerswho care about the GE-labeling issue as much as you do.

Food Activist Pamm Larry, who is spearheading the effort to get GMO Labeling onthe California Ballot in 2012 (labelGMOs.org), is speaking at a series ofinformational events in your area. The goal is to pass a voterinitiative on the November 2012 ballot that would require all foods containingGMOs to be labeled.

These meetings are for activists to come together to learn about theinitiative, how we suggest being activists in your community and organizinginto a new cohesive group. We will be asking for folks to think aboutcommittees they want to be on and assign a point person.

 

Please come ready to "roll up your sleeves" and get to work onwhat we're
sure will be a historic ballot measure.

 

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The Worlds Largest Human Experiment: GMOs, Roundup, and the Monsanto Monstrosity

By Madison Ruppert
Informed consent is one of the most basic aspects of patient-physician relations, as well as subject-researcher relations in the case of research studies. This involves making the patient aware of and verifying that they understand the risks, benefits, facts, and the future implications of the procedure or test they are going to be subjected to.

In the case of genetically modified organisms we have not been made aware of the risks. In fact, the GMO industry has deliberately hidden the real dangers behind the seeds and herbicides they peddle.

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America has defined informed consent in the following bureaucratic jargon:

Except as provided in 50.23 and 50.24, no investigator may involve a human being as a subject in research covered by these regulations unless the investigator has obtained the legally effective informed consent of the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative. An investigator shall seek such consent only under circumstances that provide the prospective subject or the representative sufficient opportunity to consider whether or not to participate and that minimize the possibility of coercion or undue influence. The information that is given to the subject or the representative shall be in language understandable to the subject or the representative. No informed consent, whether oral or written, may include any exculpatory language through which the subject or the representative is made to waive or appear to waive any of the subject's legal rights, or releases or appears to release the investigator, the sponsor, the institution, or its agents from liability for negligence.

Under all of these definitions, including the exceptions which you can peruse at the above linked official website, what Monsanto is doing with GM crops and their Roundup products are ethically wrong and illegal.

Some might say, "So what? It doesn't matter since genetically modified products are perfectly safe! Why would I care, if it helps farmers, and it is safe, then what is wrong with doing it without informed consent?"


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Upcoming SoCal Millions Against Monsanto Events

As part of OCA's Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-LabelingCampaign we are encouraging activists in our network to plan their own campaignevent with others in their area. This email is to inform you that there is anupcoming event near you, organized by grassroots organizers who care about theGE-labeling issue as much as you do.

 

Food Activist Pamm Larry, who is spearheading the effort toget GMO Labeling on the California Ballot in 2012 (labelGMOs.org), is speakingat a series of informational events in your area.

These meetings are for activists to come together to learn about theinitiative, how we suggest being activists in your community and organizinginto a new cohesive group. We will be asking for folks to think aboutcommittees they want to be on and assign a point person.

 

Pasadena

Thursday,July 14 - 7:30pm - 9:00pm

BeantownCoffee Bar, 45 North Baldwin Ave, SierraMadre

 

SantaBarbara

Monday, July 25 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Holistic Health Center of SB, 411 E. Canon Perdido, Suite 17, Santa Barbara

 

W. LosAngeles

Saturday, July 30 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Planet Raw, 609Broadway St, Santa Monica

 

ThousandOaks

Sunday, July 31 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Pizza Salad, 1655 E.Thousand Oaks Blvd #104, Thousand Oaks

 

Otherevents:

 

Pasadena - Free Movie - The Future of Food

Wednesday,July 13 - 7:30pm - 9:30pm

MemorialPark, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd,Sierra Madre (Pasadena)

 

ThousandOaks - Rally to Label GMOs

Saturday,July 16 - 11:00am - 1:00pm

Corner of TO Blvd and Moorpark, ThousandOaks

Bringa sign, a hat and some water. 

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Monsanto Responds to Glyphosate/Birth Defects Report

1. Earth Open Source response to Monsanto 2. June 2011 Earth Open Source Report on Roundup - Monsanto response

NOTE: Below (item 2) is Monsanto's initial response to the Earth Open Source report, "Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark?". The EOS report showed industry has known that glyphosate causes birth defects since the 1980s and EU regulators have known since the 1990s. But instead of informing the public, industry and regulators have repeatedly claimed that glyphosate and Roundup do not cause birth defects: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57277946/RoundupandBirthDefectsv5

Earth Open Source's response to Monsanto is also below (item 1). --- --- 1. Earth Open Source response to Monsanto June 14, 2011 http://on.fb.me/machCY

Monsanto responded to our report, "Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark?" in a statement on its website.

Monsanto said, "Regulatory authorities and independent experts around the world agree that glyphosate does not cause adverse reproductive effects in adult animals or birth defects in offspring of these adults exposed to glyphosate, even at doses far higher than relevant environmental or occupational exposures."

However, one of the main points of our report is that regulatory authorities have indeed agreed that glyphosate does not cause birth defects - but that conclusion is directly contradicted by the evidence in industry's own studies. These industry studies, submitted by companies including Monsanto in support of glyphosate's approval in the EU, showed that glyphosate causes birth defects in experimental animals. These effects were found not only at high doses, but also at mid and lower doses.

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Organic Farmers vs Monsanto

While a cow or goat may respect a property fence, pollen knows no such boundaries. Even if a farmer plants a field of non-GMO (not genetically modified) corn, she may still end up with some genetically engineered material on her farm if GMO pollen "drifts" over from a neighbor's field. Monsanto has a history of taking farmers to court if they're found to be in possession of patented plant material without permission, even if the plant material came to their fields inadvertently.

But now, tired of living in fear of lawsuits that they claim are unjust, a group of farmers, seed savers, and farm advocates is challenging the agribusiness giant's right to continue the practice.

We're inspired by this landmark case and today we're happy to have more background and perspective to share with you from one of the plaintiffs, Tom Willey. Tom is an organic farmer in Madera, California and a Slow Food USA regional governor.  Here are some highlights from our conversation about why this case matters to him, to his fellow farmers, and to consumers in general.

What is your role in the lawsuit? Why did you decide to get involved?

There are too many people in the agricultural community being picked off one by one over this issue of their crops being contaminated by genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Everyone on the suit is potentially liable to be sued by Monsanto. The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) initiated this suit to deny Monsanto the right to sue farmers for being inadvertently contaminated with GMO genes.

If you stand by and watch your neighbors being abused and don't do anything to back them up, there may not be anyone there to help you.  It's very difficult for individual farmers to defend themselves from legal onslaughts from Monsanto so we thought we best go after defending the whole farming community as a group.  Luckily PUPBAT has the resources to help us make that happen and hopefully we'll prevail. 

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Protesters in Salem, Oregon Denounce Influence of Monsanto Corporation

By Christopher Parker
Opponents of genetically modified organisms rallied Saturday before the Oregon State Capitol in Salem to discuss Monsanto's control over national agricultural business, its influence on politics through lobbying and the proliferation of GMOs in farming practices.

The "Rally for the Right to Know" was held in conjunction with rallies in other state capitols and Washington, D.C., as part of the Organic Consumers Association's "Millions Against Monsanto" campaign.

Event organizer Sabrina Siegel, a Eugene resident, became involved with "Millions Against Monsanto" after learning about the possible health effects of GMOs.

"As a mother I became very nervous and disturbed about the whole thing," Siegel said. "I just became worried as a parent to help all children, not just my children. It motivated me to teach people about the issue."

Rally participants spoke of the importance of supporting legislation to require food producers to list what ingredients are genetically modified.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved GMOs for consumption, but controversy remains because of Monsanto's close political ties with government regulating agencies. One current issue is the Obama administration's appointment of Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto lawyer who served as the corporation's vice president of public policy.

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Honey Made Near Monsanto GM Maize May Face EU Limits

By Stephanie Bodoni

For related articlesand more information, please visit OCA's Genetic Engineering page, andour Millions Against Monsanto page.

Beekeepers with hives close to fields of Monsanto Co. genetically modified maize can't sell their honey in the European Union without regulatory approval, an adviser to the EU's highest court said.

The unintentional presence in honey "even of a minute quantity of pollen" from the maize is sufficient reason to restrict its sale, Advocate General Yves Bot of the European Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion today.

"Food containing material from a genetically modified plant, whether that material is included intentionally or not, must always be regarded as food produced" from modified plants, said Bot. The Luxembourg-based EU tribunal follows such advice most of the time. Rulings normally follow within six months of an opinion.

EU rules require prior authorization before genetically modified goods can be put on the market. The bloc's 27 nations are split over the safety of food produced from genetically modified crops. This is slowing EU permission to grow them and has prompted complaints by the U.S. and other trade partners.

Beekeepers "have a real problem," said Achim Willand, the lawyer for the group of producers that brought the case. 

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Monsanto Voted Most Evil Corporation of the Year by NaturalNews Readers

By MIke Adams

After taking nominations for the Most Evil Corporation of the Year survey from our readers, we hosted an online survey that allowed readers to vote on this question. Over 16,000 readers voted in our online survey from January 5 through 9, 2011.

Astonishingly, fifty-one percent of all votes went to Monsanto as the Most Evil Corporation of the year. This means Monsanto wins the top prize by a huge margin.

Taking second place was the Federal Reserve, with twenty percent of the votes. This is especially intriguing because it means that NaturalNews are well informed about the fact that the Federal Reserve is not a government entity but rather a corporate entity that serves the profit interests of the global banking cartel.

The other corporations included in the survey (along with their vote results) are:

British Petroleum 9%
Halliburton 5%
McDonalds 3%
Pfizer 2%
Merck 2%
Wal-Mart 2%
Nestle 1%
Other 7%

(Note: The total slightly exceeds 100% due to rounding on the part of the survey host.)

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Monsanto Pushing to Legalize Commercial Planting of GE Corn in Mexico

MEXICO CITY-Mexico, the birthplace of corn, is edging toward the use of genetically modified varieties to lower its dependence on imports, but strong opposition among some growers and environmentalists, who see altered corn as a threat to native strains, has kept the wheels turning slowly.

Monsanto Co., DuPont Co.'s Pioneer Hi-Bred unit and Dow Chemical Co,'s Dow AgroSciences recently completed small, controlled experiments in northern Mexico with genetically modified corn, and are seeking government authorization to enter a "pre-commercial" phase, expanding the growing area to nearly 500 acres from 35 acres.

The trials began in October 2009, four years after Mexico lifted an 11-year moratorium on genetically modified corn-or maize-to which scientists have added desirable traits like pest resistance.

Many farmers and environmentalists, however, fear that altered corn will cross-breed with the nearly 60 documented native maize varieties, transforming the biology of the grain, a dietary staple with deep cultural significance here. By contrast, genetically modified cotton, alfalfa and soybeans are widely accepted and cultivated on nearly 250,000 acres across the country.

"We are the children of corn. It's our life, and we need to protect it," said José Bernardo Magdaleno Velasco, a corn producer in Venustiano Carranza in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, where he grows two native varieties. According to Mayan legend, the gods created humans from corn. The plant is still used in some indigenous religious rituals.

Two types of genetically modified corn are produced commercially in 16 countries, led by the U.S., but almost nowhere has their introduction met the resistance it has in Mexico.

Protests have been staged across the country, and a coalition of 300 groups has led a campaign called "Sin maiz no hay pais," or "Without corn there is no country."

Opening the doors to genetically modified corn, its opponents fear, would contaminate native varieties, such as the red Xocoyol or the black Yautsi, increase dependence on foreign companies and possibly harm the nation's environment and health. 


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Saying No to Monsanto in Manitoba

Monsanto has invited Manitoba Agricultural Minister Stan Struthers along with other government and industry representatives to a free lunch to celebrate the opening of the Monsanto Canada's new $12 million Canola Breeding Centre at One Research Road at the University of Manitoba. Not everyone was invited to the table. A group of citizens gathered outside the facility Tuesday morning to raise concerns about the risks of genetically engineered (GE) crops to farmers, human health, and the environment.

"The University of Manitoba has become home to one of the worst corporate citizens on the planet. Monsanto's operations poison the environment with chemicals, steal from farmers their age-old right to save seeds and threaten biodiversity by proliferating genetically engineered crops. There is nothing to celebrate with the opening of this new facility," said Alon Weinberg, a University of Manitoba graduate student.

Monsanto is the largest producer of GE crops worldwide. Canola is one of Canada's most valuable crops. GE canola has been grown in Manitoba since 1996. Almost all GE canola is herbicide resistant, allowing farmers to spray pesticides on the crops, killing weeds but not the plants. Since the 1990s, accidental crossbreeding between GE and non-GE varieties has become ubiquitous. Because contamination is so widespread, Manitoba farmers are unable to grow organic or conventional non-GE canola. Several markets including Japan, the European Union and much of the Middle East now have restrictions against Manitoba's canola exports.

In 2008, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, a United Nations sponsored multi-year expert study on the future of agriculture found that GE crops will not have a significant role in feeding the world, reducing poverty or protecting the environment. Investments in sustainable agriculture and organic farming will yield much greater rewards. 60 countries, representing two thirds of the world's population signed on to the report's conclusions.

"In light of what scientists and the international community have discovered, Monsanto's GE breeding facility in Manitoba will do nothing to advance the interests of farmers or increase food security. The province and the University should be putting investments into ecological agriculture and making food that Canadians and our export markets actually want to eat," said Weinberg.

GE labeling and tighter environmental and health assessments prevent Canada from exporting GE canola and other GE crops to many important markets around the world. On December 7th, MPs will vote on Bill C-474, a private member's bill to provide assessments of how new GE crops could affect export markets.  

Via Canadian Biotechnology Action Network

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Square Lohkoh - French Hip Hop Against Monsanto

Square Lohkoh
Straight to the Source

For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Resource Center on Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology or our Millions Against Monsanto Campaign page.

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DOJ Urged to Complete Monsanto Case

By Stephanie Kirchgaessner
The Financial Times, Aug 9, 2010
Straight to the Source

Top Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged the Department of Justice to "expeditiously complete" its antitrust investigation into Monsanto, injecting a dose of politics into what could become the Obama administration's most significant competition case.

Monsanto has been under scrutiny by antitrust officials at the DoJ since October last year. At the centre of the investigation are questions about whether the St Louis-based maker of genetically modified seeds has legally used its cutting-edge technology to become a dominant force in the agricultural industry, or whether it has illegally used patent protections to engage in anti-competitive behaviour.

If the DoJ decides to bring a case against the company, it could rival the Clinton administration's landmark case against Microsoft, legal experts say. Lobbyists for farming interests and Monsanto's corporate rivals have encouraged the DoJ to examine the company's patent for a biotech trait known as Roundup Ready, a blockbuster soyabean product that is set to expire in 2014.

At the heart of the DoJ probe are questions about whether Monsanto is prepared to make Roundup available to farmers and competitors once the product's patent expires. The company on Monday said the DoJ was in the process of reviewing information provided by Monsanto. The comment indicated that the DoJ has not yet formally indicated whether it is likely to pursue a case.

Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged the DoJ to speed up their probe. Four senators led by Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, said in a letter to Christine Varney, the head of the DoJ's antitrust division, that the swift conclusion of the department's investigation would be "vital" to the emergence of generic versions of Roundup.


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