Monsanto etc toxic GM crops attack fragile genetics

[outsider]

Brazilian farmers fight back:
http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/videos/farming-1/brazilian-farmers-f ight-back.html

5 million farmers vs Monsanto

The agriculture giant Monsanto says their mission is improving agriculture and improving lives.

Monsanto, the world's largest producer of genetically modified seeds, has waged war on small farmers by suing hundreds of them over alleged patent infringement. But in Brazil, farmers are suing the company because they say that Monsanto claims unfair annual royalties for renewal harvest of their seeds. Shelly Roche of ByteStyle.TV joins us with her take on the case.

[outsider]

Monsanto & Co. are really pulling out the stops, after two State Governors have signed GMO labelling into law, and are trying to get Federal Government to curb State rights to demand labelling.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/stop_Monsantos_secret_plan_to_ kill_GMO_labeling/?akid=1143.863753.O1YfST&rd=1&t=2

'While both Connecticut and Maine's bills require 4 other states to pass bills before they go into effect, now that the movement to label GMOs has spread to more than 25 others states, Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) have introduced a secret plan to try to sneak in a piece of legislation that would eliminate federal mandatory GMO labeling, usurp states' rights to pass similar bills and replace mandatory labeling with a “voluntary” labeling standard.

With votes on GMO labeling bills coming up soon in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York, biotech and Big Food lobbyists are trying to kill these efforts behind the scenes in DC.

This plan is so devious that it radically speeds up the approval process for new GMO crops, limits the FDA and USDA’s ability to extend premarket safety reviews, declares GMO foods “safe” and redefines genetically engineered foods as “bioengineered” in order to sanitize this deeply flawed technology to the American public. Make no mistake about it, this is an outrageous powergrab to deny Americans their basic right to GMO labeling and protect flawed GMO products - and we can’t allow them to get away with it...'

[outsider]

I'm fairly sure there are not too many millionaires among our subscribers (it would not be in their interests to support the people; they almost always make their millions through screwing over the people - albeit there are a few notable exceptions). But I don't think there is a man-jack among y'all, who can't afford a dollar (and I suggest you don't just go for the minimum they ask for, 'cos a lot of folks, whilst being totally against GMO's, will think 'why should I contribute?', and/or 'someone else will do it'.
For the price of a pint, or a game of Bingo, not to mention a new hairdo or a soccer game, you can chip in to help those on the ground who will do their best to save us all from this Frankenstein firm, Monsanto & Co.

https://action.sumofus.org/a/monsanto-shareholder-donate/5/3/?akid=361 2.1189620.dO09mP&rd=1&t=1

[outsider]

Another e-petition; SumofUs have raised enough to buy some shares and are sending some 'shareholders' to the Monsanto AGM:

http://action.sumofus.org/a/monsanto-shareholder-resolution/?sub=taf

'It’s business as usual for Monsanto: insist it’s doing nothing wrong, while opposing any request to be open about the risks of GMOs.

But this time, it’s Monsanto’s own shareholders who are asking questions. Their simple request is that Monsanto stops keeping them in the dark on genetically-modified food -- and they need our support.

After over 5,000 of us chipped in, SumOfUs organizers are headed to St Louis for the crucial shareholder vote -- working tirelessly to win the support of the big investment funds. But unless Monsanto and its shareholders feel the massive community opposition to their agenda, they’ll conclude they can ignore us and vote against GMO transparency. That’s why we need to act now.

Sign the petition to tell Monsanto: don’t hide the costs of GMOs from your shareholders and the public. We’ll deliver our voices at Monsanto’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.

The brave group of shareholders who will present this resolution at Monsanto’s annual meeting want the company to be straight with its shareholders. They’re asking Monsanto to report on the costs and business risks of GMOs -- from the contamination of non-GMO crops, to the effect on bees and other “non-target” organisms, and more. These are real risks and costs, and it’s a sensible proposal -- for anyone other than a corporation that thinks that suing family farmers and fighting truth-in-labelling laws is business as usual.

Monsanto is trying to defeat this shareholder vote -- using the same tactics it uses to defeat all opposition to its agenda. Its business model is based on keeping us all in the dark. It has fought against every effort to label genetically modified ingredients, spending $15 million to defeat laws in California and Washington alone. Monsanto can feel the tide turning against it -- already, numerous US states and countless countries have restrictions on GMOs and their labelling. But instead of recognizing the community sentiment and business risk, Monsanto is still fighting. And now, its shareholders are starting to wake up to the risks.

That’s why it’s crucial that we support these shareholders who are taking a stand at Monsanto’s annual meeting, and demand that Monsanto study the risks and costs of GMOs and come clean to their shareholders and the public. Unless they know we’re watching, many of Monsanto’s biggest shareholders will feel free to support Monsanto’s management and vote against the shareholder resolution.

Sign the petition now to demand that Monsanto come clean on the costs of GMOs, and support the brave shareholders behind this proposal.'

[outsider]

This testimony should be required reading:

'Laboratory Lunch: Moms Say No to GMOs':
http://fundanything.com/en/campaigns/laboratorylunch/

'Karen’s story

In March of 2013 our 7 year old son (6 at the time) started a coughing fit that was unreal. I remember sitting in the movie theater with the family and my son just couldn’t stop coughing. I ended up leaving the movie theater and crossing the street to WalMart to get cough medicine. I gave it to him right there in the movie theater. Another half hour passed, and he was still coughing. On the way home, I bought a cool mist vaporizer hoping it was the dry winter air in the desert causing this cough. A few hours of that didn’t even touch his cough. It was non stop. My mother and I ended up taking him to the emergency room that night after watching him dry heave into the toilet and seeing blood spatters in the water. He slept through the entire exam- while coughing-CONSTANTLY. They gave him a breathing treatment and gave him cough medicine with codeine and sent him home. That night and the next morning, he seemed to have some relief. By that afternoon it flared up again. Of course it was on a Sunday. We waited until Monday morning and immediately took him to his regular Dr. She IMMEDIATELY diagnosed him with asthma.

She gave him a breathing treatment in her office right away. I will never forget the look in my sons eyes, as he took deep breaths and looked into my eyes with such relief. He just let his little arms fall to his side, as he bent over and breathed that medicine. He looked so relaxed. My heart broke at that moment. As a mother who would walk the ends of the earth for him, because I had ZERO control over the most basic right he has as a human being, the right to breath. We went home with a prescription for a nebulizer and medicine for it. I felt a little better, but the ‘mama bear’ in me wanted to know- ‘why all of a sudden?’ ‘Why not my other boys?’ ‘Could he have died?’

Just a week before this episode, we took Alex to the eye doctor because he was really struggling in school and his reading was a real problem. The eye doctor said he had astigmatism and that every sentence looked like one long word to him. The doctor also said that it was a most unusual pronounced astigmatism, about four times the normal severity. We got him his eye glasses and moved on. Now after the ER visit and the Dr. visit where he was diagnosed with asthma, I had to wonder, why was all this happening to him all at once? I started reading on the internet. I was glued to Google. I learned about GMO. Now, I am MAD. I didn’t know this! I didn’t know I was feeding my babies TERRIBLE food! Immediately, I started telling everyone. Nobody else knew either. As a matter of fact, they think I went off the deep end. I joined groups on Facebook about GMO. I learned even more. I started watching documentaries. I changed our diets. That is when EVEYTHING changed. I went shopping. I bought new everything- organic of course. Within two days, Alex no longer needed the nebulizer 3x’s a day! He didn’t even need it once. We also found that he could read without his glasses within a couple weeks. His grades in school shot up. Way up. He went from failing 1st grade to the teacher telling me ‘I would normally recommend retention, but the last couple months, he really pulled it together. If he were my son, I would let him advance as long as he keeps up the pace’. Needless to say, we let him pass. His diet changed EVERYTHING! I lost 14 pounds my husband lost 10 pounds eating the same foods, except we only ate the organic versions. We cut out dyes and all fast foods. I have even noticed that my taste buds have changed and so have my kids. They aren’t into the ‘junk’ foods they used to eat. At school Alex does not crave the junk his friends are eating and no longer trades his lunch away. He gets a 100% organic lunch every day. He respects the fact that GMO foods cause him to get sick and affect his breathing. There are times when what we eat is out of our control. An example would be eating at someone’s house who does not ‘get it’ yet. I can always notice the changes immediately in my kids. Especially Alex. A little cough will start to come on. But after a day or so, it disappears with good clean food. I never again want to have to poison his lungs with medication in a nebulizer just to breathe.

Alex’s nebulizer is safely put up where I hope to never see it again. He has not used it since early May 2013. As for his glasses, I don’t even know what happened to them. I am so happy I don’t have to chase those down every morning anymore!
I am fortunate to have the internet to do the research and keep my family safe. Childhood cancer is at all-time highs and climbing. There are fundraisers everywhere to help ‘cure cancer’ when what we really need is prevention. We need clean food. Not chemical laced additives that addict people and make them sick and in need of medications. I will never forget looking into my sons eyes that day. These are our children. Let’s step up and make a change. Give them what we had. Clean air, clean water, and clean food. The only thing that should be dirty is the - See more at: http://fundanything.com/en/campaigns/laboratorylunch/#sthash.h3jwDPad. dpuf

[outsider]

Are We Eating Fishy Food? We Have The Right To Know If It’s Genetically Engineered!:
http://areweeatingfishyfood.com/

Pics of the 'Fishy Fleet' which will be at the Demo outside Monsanto's Shareholder Meeting in link above.

[outsider]

Genetic Fallacy: How Pesticide Companies Silence Scientific Dissent:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/15/silencin g-scientific-dissents.aspx?e_cid=20140223Z2_SNL_MV_1&utm_source=snl&ut m_medium=email&utm_content=mv1&utm_campaign=20140223Z2&et_cid=DM39999& et_rid=435693903

'There are plenty of indications suggesting that the evidence-based paradigm across sciences is built on quicksand, having been largely bought and paid for by many major multinational corporations.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the chemical industry, where pesticide companies posing as "biotechnology" firms specializing in genetics have peddled their wares based on seriously flawed science from the very beginning.

Increasing numbers of scientists are now speaking out in objection to the rampant scientific misconduct muddling the field. Public mistrust in scientists and the corporations that pay them is also on the rise—and rightfully so. Conflicts of interest have become the norm within virtually all fields of science, which creates a completely unworkable situation in the long run...'

There is also an excellent 'Boiling Frogs' video on the site.

[outsider]

EPA Approves Exemption for Bt Residues in Soy Foods from GM Crops:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/26/bt-toxin -residues.aspx?e_cid=20140226Z2_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=em ail&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20140226Z2&et_cid=DM39938&et_rid=438 543321

'...In what could easily be classified as one of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) worst decisions yet, a final rule released by the EPA earlier this month creates an exemption for residue tolerance levels of genetically modified (GM) Bt toxin in GM soy foods and feed.1

Essentially, the Agency has approved unlimited residues of GM Bt toxin in your food! Generally, one of the EPA's regular responsibilities is to set a tolerance, or maximum residue limit, for pesticide residues on food, which are designed to protect you from harmful levels of pesticides.

By exempting Bt toxin residues from this, it "eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues" of this pesticide when it's incorporated into the plant. In other words, pesticide companies like Monsanto can incorporate as much as they want into your food… and that's all right with the EPA...'

And 'the air is safe to breathe'! What will it take for Americans to realise en masse just how taken over the Government and its Agencies are by Sociopathic Psychopathic Luciferians?

[outsider]

Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide May Be Most Important Factor in Development of Autism and Other Chronic Disease:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/09/monsanto -roundup-herbicide.aspx

'..By Dr. Mercola


In recent weeks, we’ve learned some very disturbing truths about glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, which is generously doused on genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready crops.

GE crops are typically far more contaminated with glyphosate than conventional crops, courtesy of the fact that they’re engineered to withstand extremely high levels of Roundup without perishing along with the weed.

A new peer-reviewed report authored by Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant, and a long time contributor to the Mercola.com Vital Votes Forum, and Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), reveals how glyphosate wrecks human health.

In the interview above, Dr. Seneff summarizes the two key problems caused by glyphosate in the diet:
•Nutritional deficiencies
•Systemic toxicity

Their findings make the need for labelling all the more urgent, and the advice to buy certified organic all the more valid.

The Horrific Truth about Roundup


In 2009, a French court found Monsanto guilty of lying; falsely advertising its Roundup herbicide as "biodegradable," "environmentally friendly" and claiming it "left the soil clean."

Mounting evidence now tells us just how false such statements are. I don’t believe that Monsanto is one of the most evil companies on the planet for nothing. The company has done absolutely nothing to improve their worldwide influence on human and environmental health.

In the video above, Jeffrey Smith, author of the bestseller Seeds of Deception, says Monsanto, during some reflective moment, must have asked “What would Darth Vader do?” Because what they’ve come up with is a way of pretending that they’re beneficial and then insinuating themselves into the food and agriculture industry, and now it turns out that what they have is very, very dangerous.

Indeed, according to Dr. Seneff, glyphosate is possibly "the most important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and conditions that have become prevalent in Westernized societies,” including but not limited to:



Autism

Gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis and Crohn's disease

Obesity

Allergies

Cardiovascular disease

Depression

Cancer

Infertility

Alzheimer’s disease

Parkinson’s disease

Multiple sclerosis

ALS, and more

[ian neal]

International Call of La Vía Campesina

April 17th : International Day of Farmers' Struggles in defence of Peasants' and Farmers' Seeds

(Harare, March 4, 2014) We, the women and men farmers and peasants belonging to the Via Campesina, are calling for this April 17th to be a global day of action and mobilisation in defence of the struggles of farmers and peasants, and, in particular, in defence of peasants' and farmers' seeds.

Seeds have a fundamental place in the struggle for food sovereignty. With every growing cycle, the crops that feed the world's peoples - how they are grown and by whom they are grown - depend on seeds. Seeds also transmit the vision, the knowledge, the practices and the culture of farming and peasant communities.

For a hundred years, our seeds have been attacked by capitalist interests that have sought to privatize and standardize them to the benefit of industrial agriculture. In recent years, this dispossession process has been intensified, both through the new "Monsanto Laws", which, by criminalising farmers for using their own farm-produced seeds, work to the benefit of industrially-produced registered or patented seeds, and through the genetic modification of seeds.

However, in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, year by year there is growing strength in the organized peoples' capacity for mobilisation and struggle against an agro-industrial system that gives rise to exploitation and death, grabbing land, poisoning food, and expelling peasants and indigenous peoples from their territories. In Colombia, there was a national standstill when the government passed a law that permitted the destruction of unregistered farm seeds; and, in Mexico, there was a hunger strike in reaction to the attempt to authorize the planting of genetically-modified corn. Throughout the African continent, peasant communities are struggling against a new "Green Revolution" that wants to impose industrial and genetically-modified seeds. In every continent, we are struggling to protect our seeds that enable us to have a healthy agriculture, rich in diversity, and that truly allow us to face up to climate change.

We are struggling in defence of peasants' and farmers' seeds, because they are essential for a comprehensive agrarian reform, as well as in defence of our agricultural model that is based on agro-ecological production. Peasants' and farmers' seeds are a heritage of the world's peoples in the affirmation of Food Sovereignty. Like land, water, and mineral resources, they are part of the common goods that must remain in the hands of the peoples.

On our International Day, we will also denounce the transnationals, agri-business, and the use of agro-toxics and genetic modification. In the same way, we reject all attempts at repression, criminalisation of protest, punishment, or assassination. We will continue to struggle to change all that is oppressing us, controlling us, subordinating us. Our struggle is growing and becoming stronger, and in response to each outcry from the people we will put into practice our indignation, solidarity, internationalism, and Struggle.

Since 1996, in memory of the massacre of 19 Brazilian landless peasants who were brutally assassinated by the military police and - indirectly - by the agri-business model, the Via Campesina has declared April 17th to be the International Day of Farmer and Peasant Struggles, organizing actions to highlight the struggles that are taking place in different parts of the world. At the same time, the Via Campesina is seeking to create a dialogue with society in the construction of a large international alliance for the sovereignty of our peoples, in building an agricultural and social model that puts back into place justice and human dignity.

The Via Campesina International calls upon all of its member organizations, friends, and allies to reinforce this global struggle by carrying out actions in their respective countries and territories. Such actions could be mobilisations, land occupations, seed exchanges, food sovereignty fairs, forums on seeds and food sovereignty, cultural events, etc. We ask you to inform us of these actions and to send us information about them, so that we can create awareness of this great world-wide day of struggle. We will publish the map of actions around the world on www.viacampesina.org

Globalize the Struggle! Globalize Hope!

[outsider]

Starbucks is one of the pro-Monsanto non-labelling of GMO's brigade; time for a boycott.

Tell Starbucks to Support Organics and Stop Fighting GMO Labeling!
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/tell_Starbucks_to_dump_GMOs_an d_stop_fighting_GMO_labeling/?akid=1184.863753.hMp8MI&rd=1&t=4

Let's change the 'With nearly 20,000 retail stores in over 60 countries, Starbucks is the most popular and widespread coffeehouse chain on the planet' to 'was'
Make Starbucks aware that being friends of Monsanto could mean the 'kiss of death' to their bottom line.

[ian neal]

Part of the corporatists' agenda for GM in Africa relies on forcing Intellectual Property Law on African countries.


Title : TWN IP /Agricultural Info: AFSA condemns sleight of hand moves by ARIPO to join UPOV 1991, bypass national laws
Date : 04 April 2014

Contents: PRESS RELEASE FROM ALLIANCE FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN AFRICA

AFSA STRONGLY CONDEMNS SLEIGHT OF HAND MOVES BY ARIPO TO JOIN UPOV 1991, BYPASS NATIONAL LAWS AND OUTLAW FARMERS RIGHTS

Addis Ababa, Accra 3 April 2014
The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) [1] stronglycondemns the move by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) to join UPOV 1991, which will effectively outlaw the centuries-old African farmers’ practice of freely using, exchanging and selling seeds/propagating material. These practices underpin 90% of the agricultural system within the ARIPO region.[2]

AFSA has learnt that the Secretary General of ARIPO, on 6 March 2014, requested the UPOV Council to consider the Draft ARIPO Protocol for the Protection of Plant Varieties (‘Draft Protocol’) for its conformity with the UPOV 1991 Convention[3]. If at the UPOV meeting to be held in Geneva on 11 April 2014, the UPOV Council decides that the Draft Protocol is indeed in conformity with UPOV 1991, and that ARIPO member states that ratify the Draft Protocol can join UPOV 1991, the implications will be far reaching.

According to Duke Tagoe from Food Sovereignty Ghana, a grassroots movement aggressively and successfully opposing Ghana’s Plant Variety Protection Bill, “this will mean that our government in Ghana, who has been struggling to pass our Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill because of local resistance that it is based on UPOV 1991, can simply dump our national processes and disregard farmer’ rights, ratify the ARIPO Protocol and become a UPOV 1991 member, all in one foul swoop. This is wholly unconstitutional, violates the rule of law and is totally outrageous.”

According to Mariam Mayet of the African Centre for Biosafety, an AFSA member, “ARIPO is acting way beyond its legal mandate. Furthermore, we are of the firm view that this move by ARIPO is inviolation of several African regional instruments, including and especially the fundamental rights and freedoms protected by the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. We will seek the necessary redress in this regard.”
AFSA has made several submissions to ARIPO detailing its many concerns with the content of the Draft Protocol, which is based onUPOV 1991, and the bias and lack of transparency in the accompanying processes[4]. These concerns have fallen on deaf ears. In this regard, AFSA has warned ARIPO and its member states that UPOV 1991 is a wholly inappropriate, inflexible and restrictive regime designed for developed countries (particularly European nations) and the development of large-scale commercial farming and breeding focused on producing uniform plant varieties. Such a “one-size-fits-all” regime is unsuitable for African conditions, particularly for the “Least Developed Countries”, which make up the majority of ARIPO members.

According to Dr Million Belay, AFSA Coordinator, “We are appalled by the provisions of ARIPO’s draft protocol based on UPOV 1991, that forbid farmers from freely exchanging or selling farm-saved seed/propagating material even in circumstances wherebreeders’ interests are not affected (e.g. small amounts or local rural trade). Use of farm-saved seeds on a farmer’s own holdings is allowed only for certain crops and this too may be subject to the payment of royalties to the breeder. Further, farmers will be required to provide information to breeders on the use of farm-saved seed. This is totally unacceptable.”
The informal seed system prevailing in ARIPO member states is the primary source of subsistence, employment and income for the majority of the population in the ARIPO region, which consists mainly of the rural poor. About 80-90% of all seed used in the ARIPO region originates from the informal seed system (i.e. from farm-savedseed, exchanges, barter and local markets) independent of whether farmers cultivate local or modern varieties. According to Dr Belay, “The proposed draft protocol dismisses the millions of smallholders in ARIPO member states who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, with the vast majority using farm-saved seed to ensure their food security. ARIPO appears to be intent on handing over our food and seedsovereignty to foreign corporations, reducing the availability of local plant varieties, weakening our rich biodiversity, and denying millions of farmers the right to breed, share and sell farm saved seed needed to feed their families and sustain livelihoods.”
AFSA demands that UPOV member states not allow ARIPO to join UPOV 1991 and that the Draft Protocol be sent back to the drawing board; that ARIPO consult with smallholders; and, especially, that it discuss appropriate seed laws for Africa, with the obligation of protecting biodiversity, farmers’ rights and overall ecological productivity entrenched as a primary objective.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
• A positive ruling by the UPOV Council in favour of the Draft Protocol being in compliance with UPOV 1991 will most likely result in the Draft Protocol being adopted as a final Protocol at an ARIPO Diplomatic Conference to be held later this year.
• The ARIPO PVP Protocol will come into force when only four member states of ARIPO ratify the Protocol, and any of these members will be able to join UPOV 1991, even if that member does not have a national PVP law in place, in the eventthat the UPOV Council deciding that member states of ARIPO who ratify the Protocol can join UPOV 1991.
Contact:
Dr Millon Belay, Coordinator AFSA Email: millionbelay@gmail.com
Mr Duke Tagoe, Food Sovereignty Ghana Email: dukezulu@yandex.com Tel: +233 277776686/ +233 265743484
Ms Mariam Mayet, Email Mariam@acbio.org.za
________________________________________
[1] The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa is a pan-African platform that represents small-scale farmers, pastoralists, hunter/gatherers, indigenous peoples, citizens and environmentalists from Africa. It comprises networks and farmer organisations working in Africa including the African Biodiversity network (ABN), Coalition for the Protection of African GeneticHeritage (COPAGEN), Comparing and Supporting Endogenous Development (COMPAS) Africa, Friends of the Earth-Africa, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association, Eastern and Southern African Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF), La Via Campesina Africa, FAHAMU, World Neighbours, Network of Farmers' and Agricultural Producers' Organizations of West Africa (ROPPA), Community Knowledge Systems (CKS) and Plate forme Sous R้gionale des Organisations Paysannes d'Afrique Centrale (PROPAC).

[2] The African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, ARIPO was mainly established to pool the resources of its member countries in industrial property matters. The following countries are members of ARIPO: Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Total: 18 Member States).

[3] International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of December 2, 1961, as revised at Geneva on November 10, 1972, on October 23, 1978, and March 19, 1991.

[4] Submission by African CSOs to ARIPO on its Draft PVP Law and Policies, November 2012 http://www.acbio.org.za/images/stories/dmdocuments/CSOconcernsonARIPO- PVPframework.pdf.
AFSA’s Comments on ARIPO’s Response to Civil Society: Draft Legal Framework for Plant Variety Protection, March 2014. http://www.acbio.org.za/images/stories/dmdocuments/AFSA-letter-ARIPO-M arch2014%20.pdf.

[outsider]

Ramping up the pressure on Starbucks. They apparently have 36 million 'likes' on their Facebook page, so it seems like their soft underbelly:

With your help, we can continue to ramp up the pressure on Starbucks. Now, we’re taking to the company’s Facebook page.

At Starbucks’ annual shareholder meeting last month, Schultz expressed his company's utmost dedication to consumer demand. Considering Starbucks’ marketing emphasis on “ethical sourcing” and “sustainability” practices, Schultz should expect his customers to demand the best. And that’s exactly what we’re here to do.

With over 36 million likes on its Facebook page, it’s easy to say Starbucks has a strong social media following. Take a stand by posting your concerns to Starbucks’ Facebook wall, asking the company to provide the most sustainable dairy option out there — organic milk.

At Food Democracy Now!, we believe Starbucks can demonstrate its true commitment to sustainability by transitioning away from industrialized factory farming and supporting local and regional organic dairy farmers instead. By making a long-term commitment to go organic with its milk, Starbucks could create huge waves in the supply chain, allowing organic supply to catch up with organic demand. That means more organic milk for conscious latte-drinkers, like yourself!

If you can, share these images on Starbucks Facebook page

Starbucks Hearts Monsanto's GMOs! http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/1236?t=3&akid=1185.863753.BdR8bs

Are Dead Bees worth a Cup of Joe? http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/1237?t=4&akid=1185.863753.BdR8bs

You’ve already signed the petition – now take your concerns to Starbucks’ Facebook page. Click here to start posting! "

Thanks for participating in food democracy,

Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! team

[outsider]

Divest Monsanto Now!:
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/take_the_Monsanto_stock_plunge  /

Every little helps. Divestment campaiigns hurt - witness the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement's causing howls of protest from Israel.

[outsider]

Connecticut Senate Preemptively Bans GE Grass Seed:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/11/connecticut-bans-ge-grass-seed/

'..“Resistant weeds have become a major problem for many farmers reliant on GE crops, and are now driving up the volume of herbicide needed each year by about 25 percent,” said Dr. Benbrook.

“Blanketing lawns, parks and athletic fields in these dangerous chemicals will endanger the children and pets that play on them, while eventually risking the development of weeds that are resistant to current herbicides and pesticides, requiring even more toxic substances be used,” said Sen. Meyer, quoted by the Connecticut Mirror.

Aside from the likely increase in residential herbicide applications as a result of home plantings, allowance of the GE bluegrass presents the potential for increased difficulties for organic farmers and ranchers. Because of the popularity of the grass in yards, pastures,and prairies, its use is expected to be quite widespread. This will make conversion of new land to organic food production more difficult as, according to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) fact sheet on the decision, “Once established, GE Kentucky bluegrass may prevent transition to organic status unless eradicated from the acreage to be transitioned....”

[outsider]

World’s #1 Herbicide Discovered in U.S. Mothers’ Breast Milk:
http://foodrevolution.org/blog/worlds-1-herbicide-discovered-u-s-mothe rs-breast-milk/

'..Pilot study shows build-up of glyphosate herbicide in Mothers’ bodies
Urine testing shows glyphosate levels over 10 times higher than in Europe
Initial testing shows Monsanto and Global regulatory bodies are wrong regarding bio-accumulation of glyphosate, leading to serious public health concerns
Testing commissioners urge USDA and EPA to place temporary ban on all use of Glyphosate-based herbicides to protect public health, until further more comprehensive testing of glyphosate in breast milk is completed.

In the first ever testing on glyphosate herbicide in the breast milk of American women, Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse have found ‘high’ levels in 3 out of the 10 samples tested. The shocking results point to glyphosate levels building up in women’s bodies over a period of time, which has until now been refuted by both global regulatory authorities and the biotech industry.

The levels found in the breast milk testing of 76 ug/l to 166 ug/l are 760 to 1600 times higher than the European Drinking Water Directive allows for individual pesticides. They are however less than the 700 ug/l maximum contaminant level (MCL) for glyphosate in the U.S., which was decided upon by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based on the now seemingly false premise that glyphosate was not bio-accumulative.

Glyphosate-containing herbicides are the top-selling herbicides in the world and are sold under trademarks such as Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’. Monsanto’s sales of Roundup jumped 73 percent to $371 million in 2013 because of its increasing use on genetically engineered crops (GE Crops).

The glyphosate testing (1) commissioned by Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse also analyzed 35 urine samples and 21 drinking water samples from across the US and found levels in urine that were over 10 times higher than those found in a similar survey done in the EU by Friends of the Earth Europe in 2013.

The initial testing that has been completed at Microbe Inotech Labs, St. Louis, Missouri, is not meant to be a full scientific study. Instead it was set up to inspire and initiate full peer-reviewed scientific studies on glyphosate, by regulatory bodies and independent scientists worldwide...'

'..The glyphosate testing (1) commissioned by Moms Across America and Sustainable Pulse also analyzed 35 urine samples and 21 drinking water samples from across the US and found levels in urine that were over 10 times higher than those found in a similar survey done in the EU by Friends of the Earth Europe in 2013.

The initial testing that has been completed at Microbe Inotech Labs, St. Louis, Missouri, is not meant to be a full scientific study. Instead it was set up to inspire and initiate full peer-reviewed scientific studies on glyphosate, by regulatory bodies and independent scientists worldwide.

Other language versions of press release: Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese

The initial testing was done using ELISA tests and due to a high minimum detection level in breast milk and urine, it is possible that even those samples which tested negative contained ‘worrying’ levels of glyphosate.

Moms Across America Founder and Director, Zen Honeycutt, stated Monday, “When I was told by several doctors and labs that I could not test my own or my children’s urine for the most widely used herbicide in the world over a year ago, I became determined to find a way. Parents and citizens deserve the ability to be able to take care of themselves and their families by finding out if herbicides could be impacting their health. The purpose of this glyphosate testing project is to shed light upon the presence of glyphosate in our water, children’s bodies and mother’s breast milk, hopefully inspiring further scientific studies to support the world in being a healthy, safe place to live.

“The mothers tested are mostly familiar with GMOs and glyphosate. Most of them have been trying to avoid GMOs and glyphosate for several months to two years, so the levels of mothers who are not aware of GMOs and glyphosate may be much higher,” Honeycutt concluded.

High Glyphosate Levels – Danger for Infants?

There is currently no regulatory limit for the amount of glyphosate in breast milk anywhere in the world. However, the EPA has set a legally enforceable maximum contaminant level (MCL) for glyphosate of 700 ug/l in drinking water, which is 7,000 times higher than the MCL in Europe.

Monsanto and regulatory bodies worldwide have based all of their regulations on the assumption that glyphosate is not bio-accumulative. Senior Monsanto scientist, Dan Goldstein, even recently stated (2), “If ingested, glyphosate is excreted rapidly, does not accumulate in body fat or tissues, and does not undergo metabolism in humans. Rather, it is excreted unchanged in the urine.”

The discovery of levels of glyphosate in breast milk that are much higher than any reported results for urine samples is a source of concern to both the general public and government regulators worldwide, as the data suggests that glyphosate is bio-accumulative; building up in people’s bodies over a period of time.

Earth Open Source Research Director Claire Robinson said, “Regulators and industry always say it is the dose that makes the poison, and even the increasing levels of glyphosate currently found in food and feed and the environment are not a problem. However, that argument only holds true if glyphosate doesn’t build up in the human body and is excreted as fast as we take it in. These breast milk results suggest glyphosate may bio-accumulate. That means that our body tissues might be exposed to higher levels than the so-called safe levels set by regulators. So the regulations are not protecting us...”

Yeh, cute trick, eh? There was no government or doctor testing available, so the mothers had to get together to organize a testing program for themselves.
Just as they stopped testing rats for ill-effects at 90 days, as it just happens to be after that that the ill-effects start to kick in, including HUGE tumours down the line.

[outsider]

USDA trying to emasculate Organic food regulations:

Stop the USDA Corporate Coup of Organics!:
http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/

'Stop the Great USDA Organic Sellout!

Right now one of the biggest assaults on the integrity of organic foods is taking place at the USDA that has ever been conceived, with high-level Obama political appointees working behind the scenes with giant corporate organic to gut 20 years of precedent in the congressionally-mandated National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

Even worse, USDA representative Miles McEvoy has illegally taken over the meeting by appointing himself as meeting “co-chair” in an effort to erode the authority of, and control the decisions made by allegedly independent, NOSB members as spelled out in the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990.

At stake here is the neutering of an independent NOSB decision making process and the deliberate destruction of organic integrity by allowing synthetic ingredients to be permanently allowed in organic foods due to pressure from giant corporate organic interests.

This is an outrageous power grab to destroy organics must be stopped! We need your help today. Every voice counts!'

Visit the website and sign the email petition.

[outsider]

Robot bees:

Robotic Bees to Pollinate Monsanto Crops:
http://disinfo.com/2013/04/robotic-bees-to-pollinate-monsanto-crops/

NewBees GreenpeaceVideo:
http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/robots/newbees.html

These Little Robot Bees Could Pollinate the Fields of the Future:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-little-robot-bees-could -pollinate-the-fields-of-the-future-1824486/?no-ist


But what the MSM don't tell you is that microwave communications also kill off the bees.
'Are Microwaves Killing The Insects, Frogs, And Birds? And Are We Next?':
http://www.rense.com/general81/emfs.htm

This article is very comprehensive, and should be read in it's entirety for people interested in microwave dangers to insect, animal and human life.

[outsider]

Safety Group Blows Lid on ‘Secret Virus’ Hidden in GMO Crops:
http://naturalsociety.com/safety-group-blows-lid-on-secret-virus-hidde n-in-gmo-crops/

'..Another Dirty Secret of Monsanto

In the EFSA report, which can be read online, you can find (within the scientific wording) that researchers discovered a previously unknown viral gene that is known as ‘Gene VI’. What’s concerning is that not only is the rogue gene found in the most prominent GMO crops and about 63% of GMO traits approved for use (54 out of 86 to be precise), but it can actually disrupt the very biological functions within living organisms. Popular GMO crops such as Roundup-Ready soybeans, NK603, and MON810 corn were found to contain the gene that induces physical mutations. NK603 maize, of course, was also recently linked to the development of mass tumors in rats.




According to Independent Science News, Gene VI also inhibits RNA silencing. As you may know, RNA silencing has been pinpointed as vital for the proper functioning of gene expression when it comes to RNA. Perhaps more topically, it is a defense mechanism against viruses in plants and animals alike. On the contrary, many viruses have developed genes that disable this protective process. Independent Science News reports that the Gene VI is one such gene.

Overall, there is a degree of knowledge on Gene VI. What we do know going by information within the report is that the gene:
•Helps to assemble virus particles
•Inhibits the natural defense of the cellular system
•Produces proteins that are potentially problematic
•Makes plants susceptible to bacterial pathogens

All of which are very significant effects that should be studied in depth by an independent team of scientists after GMO products are taken off the market pending further research on the entire array of associated diseases. And that does not even include the effects we are unaware of.

This is yet another incident in which Monsanto and other biotech companies are getting away with an offense against the citizens of the world with (most likely) no action taken by the United States government. What we have seen, however, is nations like Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Peru taking a stand against Monsanto in direct opposition to their disregard for public safety. Russia, in fact, banned Monsanto’s GMO corn variety after it was linked to mass tumors in rats.

As more and more dirty secrets come out from the GMO industry at large, it gives further reason and more support to remove GMOs as a whole from the food supply.'

[outsider]

GMO Update—Vermont Passes GMO Labeling Bill and Stands Up to Industry Bullying as New Research Confirms Safety Concerns:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/06/vermont- gmo-labeling-bill.aspx?

Make no mistake, it needs to get stopped in the States; our 'Politicians' are just drooling to get some 'inducements' from Monsanto & Co. to lobby to poison us too; already, we get GMO's in our meat and dairy, as they can and are used legally for cattle feed. I didn't know this, till a farmer told me.

[outsider]

When You Learn What They’re Up to Now, You Too Will Want to Boycott Monsanto and GMA:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/27/gma-mons anto-gmo-labeling.aspx?e_cid=20140527Z2_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_m edium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140527Z2&et_cid=DM45574&et _rid=532461335

'On April 16, the Vermont Senate passed the first no-strings-attached GMO labeling bill (H.112) by an overwhelming margin.1 On May 8, Governor Peter Shumlin signed the historic bill into law.

The law will require food manufacturers to label genetically engineered (GE) foods sold in Vermont, and prohibits them from labeling foods with GE ingredients as "natural" or "all natural."

The Burlington Free Press2 recently ran an excellent article on how the Vermont GMO labeling bill was won. I would highly encourage you to read it, to get a real-world view of just how effective a grassroots campaign can be.

Ultimately, it boils down to letting your representatives know what you want. Long before the bill passed through the legislative branches, Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) had openly threatened to sue, should Vermont pass such a law.

Still, despite these threats, Vermont legislators realized that their constituents were serious about wanting GE foods labeled, and they voted accordingly. As expected, on May 9 the GMA confirmed it will indeed sue Vermont in federal court, in an effort to overturn H.112. According to a recent update by Ronnie Cummins,3 National Director for the Organic Consumers Association (OCA):


"Vermont is prepared to fight back. The state has already established a 'food fight' legal defense fund. Legal analysts say Vermont will likely win.

Vermont isn't the only state up against the multi-billion dollar lobbying group. The GMA, whose 300-plus members include Monsanto and Dow, Coca-Cola and General Mills, is pushing a bill in Congress that would preempt all states from passing GMO labeling laws.4 [Editor's note: The "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014,"5 dubbed "DARK" (Denying Americans the right to know) Act.]

It's time for consumers in every state to band together to defeat the GMA's full-on assault, not only on Vermont, not only on consumers' right to know what's in our food, but on states' rights and on our basic freedoms to protect our health and our communities..."

'The Great Boycott Is Here


The insanity has gone far enough. It’s time to unite and fight back, which is why I join Ronnie Cummins in his encouragement to boycott every single product owned by members of the GMA, including natural and organic brands. The victories in Vermont and Oregon clearly shows that you have the power to incite great change. In this case, you can help change the food system by taking decisive action with your food dollars.


"We flood their Facebook pages, tarnish their brand names. We pressure financial institutions, pension funds and mutual funds to divest from Monsanto and the other GMA companies. Our motto for Monsanto and GMA products must become: Don't buy them. Don't sell them. Don't grow them. And don't let your financial institution, university, church, labor union or pension fund invest in them," Cummins writes.13

"As soon as the GMA files a lawsuit against Vermont, the Organic Consumers Association, joined by a growing coalition of public interest groups, will launch a boycott and divestment campaign directed against all of the 300 GMA companies and their thousands of brand name products—including foods, beverages, seeds, home and garden supplies, pet food, herbicides and pesticides."

[outsider]

Help save monarch butterflies
http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15767

The monarch butterfly is in serious trouble. The spread of GMO crops and accompanying pesticides have been wiping out the young monarch's key food source, milkweed. But you can help!

Add your name to our petition calling on the EPA and USDA to stop approving pesticide-resistant genetically engineered crops and to instead promote non-toxic pest and weed management to the benefit of farmers, our health, our ecosystems and the precious monarch butterfly.

[outsider]

Tell Congress and USDA to Stop GE Crop Field Trials!:
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KE Y=1285135

'One year ago today, the USDA announced that unapproved GE wheat was found to have contaminated an Oregon farmer’s field. And a year later, we’re still waiting for action. Tell Congress and USDA to stop GE crop field trials!



One year ago today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that unapproved, genetically engineered (GE) wheat was found to have contaminated an Oregon farmer’s field, halting wheat exports around the country. The experimental GE wheat, known as Roundup Ready, was developed by the Monsanto Company to withstand direct application of the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate).

Yet one year later, we’re still waiting for the government to take action.

Thousands of people contacted their Senators and Representatives urging Congress to take action, yet Congress has done nothing. More than 150 farm organizations, food processors, mil-lers, retail companies, bakeries, and seed businesses sent USDA a letter last year calling for improvements in the agency’s oversight of trials of experimental GE crops, yet USDA has done nothing.

In fact, USDA has actually continued to allow Monsanto to conduct GE wheat field trials, despite unanswered questions as to how the company’s product contaminated Oregon wheat last year.

Tell Congress and the USDA to stop stalling and take action to protect farmers, the environment, and our food supply from GE contamination!

As we’ve warned for over a decade, contamination is inevitable when irresponsible companies like Monsanto are allowed to experiment with our food supply while USDA is asleep at the wheel.

Sadly, this was not the first case of experimental GE crops escaping from field trials. Past transgenic contamination episodes involving GE corn and GE rice triggered over $1 billion in losses and economic hardship to farmers. China recently rejected huge shipments of contaminated U.S. corn and turned to Brazil instead.

How many times does this have to happen before we finally put a stop to these risky GE field trials?

USDA has a terrible track record overseeing these field trials. Even the USDA’s own Inspector General issued a scathing report detailing numerous violations of agency rules in regulating genetically engineered crop field trials. USDA officials did not know the locations of many field trials it was charged with regulating, and did not conduct required inspections of others.

Tell Congress and the USDA to stop open-air field trials of GE crops!

Thanks for everything you do,
Center for Food Safety'

[outsider]

URGENT: Say NO to Dow's "Agent Orange" GMOs!:
http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15874

Petition:

'Dow Chemical is seeking approval for its “Agent Orange” crops -- corn and soy seeds genetically engineered to withstand massive doses of 2,4-D. This pesticide was one of the main ingredients in Agent Orange, the toxic chemical mix that caused devastating health problems in the Vietnam War.

2,4-D is a highly toxic pesticide -- more harmful to plant life than RoundUp -- and has been linked to serious health problems such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption and reproductive problems. EPA approval of 2,4-D resistant crops will bring a massive increase in even more toxic pesticide applications, threatening our environment, the safety of our food, and the health of people who live in agricultural communities across the U.S..

We need to stop the destructive cycle of using more and more of the most toxic pesticides on our crops. Don’t let Dow Chemical reap the profit from this dangerous pesticide at the expense of our environment, our farmers, and our health.

Speak up now for safe food and safe farms. Tell the EPA to oppose Dow’s “Agent Orange” corn and soy!'

[outsider]

Monsanto is suing the state of Vermont to block labeling of GMO foods:
https://action.sumofus.org/a/vermont_monsanto/4/3/?akid=5757.1189620.t aZQOo&ask=5&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=1

'Just hours ago, the world's most hated corporation got even more evil.

Monsanto and its allies have just announced they're suing the tiny, rural U.S. state of Vermont to stop a new law that simply requires genetically engineered foods to be labeled. In fact, the mere threat of a multi-million dollar lawsuit nearly caused the state to back off the labeling law altogether.

But Vermont is refusing to back down -- and they’re asking for our help. They're getting ready to fight back against Monsanto, and have even created a legal defense fund so people around the world can make donations to help them beat back Monsanto’s lawsuit.

The SumOfUs community is already fighting Monsanto on every front, but we need to show Monsanto now that we won't be intimidated. We won't let Monsanto bully our elected officials into submission. Will you chip in to stand with Vermont and fight back against Monsanto?


Note: If you'd prefer to mail a check, click here for instructions to make sure it makes it to us.

Questions? Shoot us an email at donations@sumofus.org.'

[scienceplease 2]

[outsider]

Brazil Farmers Say GMO Corn No Longer Resistant to Bugs:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/30/brazil-gmo-corn-fail-bugs/?utm_source=E coWatch+List&utm_campaign=9e05533cbc-

'The Association of Soybean and Corn Producers of the Mato Grosso region said farmers first noticed in March that their genetically modified (GMO) corn crops were less resistant to the destructive caterpillars that “Bt corn”—which has been genetically modified to produce a toxin that repels certain pests—is supposed to protect against. In turn, farmers have been forced to apply extra coats of insecticides, racking up additional environmental and financial costs.

The association, which goes by the name Aprosoja-MT, is calling on Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and Dow companies to offer solutions as well as compensate the farmers for their losses. In a release posted to the Aprosoja-MT website, spokesman Ricardo Tomcyzk said farmers spent the equivalent of $54 per hectare to spray extra pesticides, and that the biotech companies promised something they didn’t deliver, “i.e. deceptive advertising.” (via Google Translate)

But Monsanto, et al are unlikely to accommodate the farmers. According to Reuters, “seed companies say they warned Brazilian farmers to plant part of their corn fields with conventional seeds to prevent bugs from mutating and developing resistance to GMO seeds.”

Earlier this year, a similar problem arose in the U.S., when scientists confirmed that corn-destroying rootworms had evolved to be resistant to the GMO corn engineered to kill them.

The industry response to such loss of efficacy is not to encourage biodiversity, but to further modify the organisms, according to the nonprofit GM Watch.

The case of Brazil is an example for an overall trend showing that nearly twenty years after the start of commercialization of Bt crops, there are problems in several countries growing this kind of genetically engineered crop. Industry tries to tackle this issue by commercialization of so called “stacked events” that produce several different Bt toxins. The best known example is Monsanto’s SmartStax maize that produces six different Bt toxins.

Another unintended outcome is almost certainly an increased use of pesticides, as has already happened in Mato Grosso.'

[outsider]

New Wave of GMO Crops Poised for Approval Despite Public Outcry:
http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/08/new-gmo-crops-approval-outcry-24d-glyph osate/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=93d6466a91-

'.Despite its own admission that it will cause an up to seven-fold increase in chemical pesticide use, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is poised to approve a new type of genetically engineered seed built to resist one of the most toxic weedkillers on the market.


Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

USDA suggests approval of new GMO corn and soy seeds. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Now, total approval hinges on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If that federal body approves the new genetically modified organism (GMO), farmers will be free to plant corn and soy seeds genetically manipulated to live through sprayings of Dow’s Enlist Duo herbicide, a chemical cocktail containing both glyphosate and the antiquated, toxic chemical 2,4-D. Ironically, in the ’90s, chemical companies said the development of GMOs would eliminate the need to use older, more dangerous chemicals like 2,4-D. But as GMO use ramped up over the last few decades, chemical use increased, and many weeds are no longer responding to glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, and the current chemical of choice for GMO farmers. This has created a “superweed” crisis, creating millions of acres of U.S. fields infested with hard-to-kill weeds.

With this week’s USDA final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) suggesting approval of the new GMO, many public food and safety experts say the American public faces unprecedented risks. After all, current chemical use is so high that foods now actually contain “extreme” levels of glyphosate. Because it’s systemic, it actually winds up inside of food. Adding 2,4-D to the mix is even more concerning, given its ties to cancer.

“USDA’s announcement is an outrageous abdication of USDA’s responsibility to protect our health and our food supply. The Obama Administration has ignored the interests and demands of millions of Americans, Members of Congress, and scientists, farmers and health professionals,” says Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of Center for Food Safety.

Farmers are upset about the decision, too. “Weed resistance is a major problem for farmers and we need a solution. This decision shows that the only options USDA is willing to consider are ones that lead to increased profits for chemical companies. We need to get off the pesticide treadmill, not increase the speed,” says George Naylor, Center for Food Safety board member and Iowa corn and soybean farmer.

Suggested approval comes despite USDA’s acknowledgment that Dow’s crops will trigger a three- to seven-fold increase in agricultural use of 2,4-D, foster 2,4-D resistance in weeds and inhibit farmers’ use of non-chemical weed control methods. “USDA’s decision represents a huge setback for farmers and sustainable agriculture. Independent scientists have linked 2,4-D to cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other maladies,” says Bill Freese, science policy analyst at Center for Food Safety. “Introduction of 2,4-D- resistant corn and soybeans will dramatically increase use of this toxic herbicide, leading to more disease, environmental harm and increasingly intractable weeds for farmers.”

The adoption of this new generation of GMOs also threatens farmer’s market favorites like tomatoes, peppers, grapes (and wine!) and potaotes. Any 2,4-D drift could cause these crops to become mangled and deformed, or even outright kill them.

For more reasons to reject GMOs, check out the biggest GMO myths, busted.'

[outsider]

Monsanto's going all in, Will You?:
https://fdn.actionkit.com/donate/stop_Monsantos_GMO_lie_machine_todayA O/?t=3&akid=1289.863753.0g4PYu

'..Last month, Monsanto’s favorite front group sued the state of Vermont to try to block the first GMO labeling bill in the nation and now the USDA is considering approving new Agent Orange GMO crops! But we’re not backing down. Already activists in Oregon and Colorado are fighting back with ballot initiatives for this fall’s election. Your donation today will help win the fight Monsanto and the GMA in Vermont and for GMO labeling in Oregon and Colorado this November. Every dollar counts!


If you donate today, your donation will be matched 3 to 1 by the incredible teams at Mercola.com and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. Thanks for taking a stand!..'

Unfortunately, I am broke, so can't donate, but for anyone who can, their donation gets matched three to one.

[outsider]

Federal Judge Overturns Kaua'i Pesticide and GMO Law:
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/08/12579/federal-judge-overturns-kaua i-pesticide-and-gmo-law

'U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren overturned Kaua'i County's law regulating the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) this week. He ruled that it was preempted by Hawai'i state law, although not by federal law.

The four chemical companies operating on Kaua'i -- DuPont Pioneer, Syngenta, Dow Chemical subsidiary Agrigenetics, and BASF Plant Science -- challenged the law in court, arguing that it is invalid and unfairly targets their industry.

The county law, Ordinance 960, was passed in November 2013 and would have gone into effect this month. It requires buffer zones between fields spraying pesticides on GMO crops and sensitive areas like schools and hospitals. It also requires chemical companies and large farms to disclose types and quantities of pesticides they spray as well as the location of fields growing GMO crops. (Read more here.)

West Kaua'i resident Malia Chun said in a press release by Hawai'i Alliance for Progressive Action, "It's discouraging to witness the injustices and inadequacies of the American legal system, which in this case has valued and protected corporate profit and trade secrets over people's simple, basic human right to know what toxic chemicals they are being exposed to in excessive amounts almost daily...."

Yet again, the 'Law' sides with the Corporations against the people.