Over $30M spent last year on lobbying to keep GMOs hidden in foods
(NaturalNews) Guess who spends the most money lobbying on agricultural lobbying? If you answered, "Monsanto," you're correct. Most of their efforts, of course, are focused on lobbying for GMOs -- to keep them legal and keep them hidden in foods.
Do you know how much money Monsanto spent on lobbying in 2012?
The answer is nearly $6 million!
And in a close second, the American Farm Bureau spent $5.7 million on lobbying in 2012.
The Natural News infographic shown below reveals even more details about who's spending the most money lobbying for GMOs and other conventional agriculture "favors" from Washington.
In 2012 alone, companies spent over $30 million "influencing" Congress on agricultural issues, including making sure they didn't pass legislation that would label GMOs or outlaw them altogether. Is it any wonder that the United States of America is one of the very last nations in the world to either ban GMOs outright or require their labeling on foods?
As the second infographic below shows, 64 countries require GMO labeling.
And so far, fifty percent of U.S. states have introduced GMO labeling bills of one kind or another. So the states want it, but the federal government keeps blocking it.
Why is the USA the big holdout on honest food labeling? Could it be because the biotech industry keeps paying off all the politicians?
Share and enjoy these powerful infographics, all created by the Natural News art department:
See more amazing infographics at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Infographics.html++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EPA Ups Allowable Residue of Monsanto's Toxic Herbicide on Food
“Glyphosate has been shown in several recent studies to be an endocrine disruptor,” writes the Cornucopia Institute, in a statement about the news. “According to the National Institutes of Health, endocrine disruptors could have long-term effects on public health, especially reproductive health. And the ‘dose makes the poison’ rule does not apply to endocrine disruptors, which wreak havoc on our bodies at low doses.”
They continue:
June 2013 study concluded that glyphosate “exerted proliferative effects in human hormone-dependent breast cancer.” An April 2013 study by an MIT scientist concluded that “glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins,” and pointed out that glyphosate’s “negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body.”
The new regulations permit concentrations higher than the levels some scientists belive are carcinogenic, the Food Poisoning Bulletin adds.
Under the new regulation, fruits can have concentrations from 200 ppb to 500 ppb glyphosate, oilseed crops can contain up to 40 ppm (40,000 ppb) glyphosate, and root crops such as potatoes and beets can contain 6000 ppb glyphosate. Animal feed can contain up to 100 ppm (100,000 ppb) glyphosate.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/ ... ood/46249/https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/28-9+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FDA approves spraying meat with viruses
[imghttp://www.davidicke.com/images/stories/June201399/998186_551527721571044_804479225_n.jpg][/img]
[YouTube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1YrbVQJRumg[/YouTube]
They are trying to cull the peasants & money is no object to them as they pretty much have all the wealth of this planet Stu :x
Over $30M spent last year on lobbying to keep GMOs hidden in foods
Image
(NaturalNews) Guess who spends the most money lobbying on agricultural lobbying? If you answered, "Monsanto," you're correct. Most of their efforts, of course, are focused on lobbying for GMOs -- to keep them legal and keep them hidden in foods.
Do you know how much money Monsanto spent on lobbying in 2012?
The answer is nearly $6 million!
And in a close second, the American Farm Bureau spent $5.7 million on lobbying in 2012.
The Natural News infographic shown below reveals even more details about who's spending the most money lobbying for GMOs and other conventional agriculture "favors" from Washington.
In 2012 alone, companies spent over $30 million "influencing" Congress on agricultural issues, including making sure they didn't pass legislation that would label GMOs or outlaw them altogether. Is it any wonder that the United States of America is one of the very last nations in the world to either ban GMOs outright or require their labeling on foods?
As the second infographic below shows, 64 countries require GMO labeling.
And so far, fifty percent of U.S. states have introduced GMO labeling bills of one kind or another. So the states want it, but the federal government keeps blocking it.
Why is the USA the big holdout on honest food labeling? Could it be because the biotech industry keeps paying off all the politicians?
Share and enjoy these powerful infographics, all created by the Natural News art department:
Image
Image
Image
See more amazing infographics at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Infographics.html++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EPA Ups Allowable Residue of Monsanto's Toxic Herbicide on Food
“Glyphosate has been shown in several recent studies to be an endocrine disruptor,” writes the Cornucopia Institute, in a statement about the news. “According to the National Institutes of Health, endocrine disruptors could have long-term effects on public health, especially reproductive health. And the ‘dose makes the poison’ rule does not apply to endocrine disruptors, which wreak havoc on our bodies at low doses.”
They continue:
June 2013 study concluded that glyphosate “exerted proliferative effects in human hormone-dependent breast cancer.” An April 2013 study by an MIT scientist concluded that “glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins,” and pointed out that glyphosate’s “negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body.”
The new regulations permit concentrations higher than the levels some scientists belive are carcinogenic, the Food Poisoning Bulletin adds.
Under the new regulation, fruits can have concentrations from 200 ppb to 500 ppb glyphosate, oilseed crops can contain up to 40 ppm (40,000 ppb) glyphosate, and root crops such as potatoes and beets can contain 6000 ppb glyphosate. Animal feed can contain up to 100 ppm (100,000 ppb) glyphosate.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/ ... ood/46249/https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/28-9+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FDA approves spraying meat with viruses
[YouTube]
They are trying to cull the peasants & money is no object to them as they pretty much have all the wealth of this planet Stu :x
Over $30M spent last year on lobbying to keep GMOs hidden in foods
Image
(NaturalNews) Guess who spends the most money lobbying on agricultural lobbying? If you answered, "Monsanto," you're correct. Most of their efforts, of course, are focused on lobbying for GMOs -- to keep them legal and keep them hidden in foods.
Do you know how much money Monsanto spent on lobbying in 2012?
The answer is nearly $6 million!
And in a close second, the American Farm Bureau spent $5.7 million on lobbying in 2012.
The Natural News infographic shown below reveals even more details about who's spending the most money lobbying for GMOs and other conventional agriculture "favors" from Washington.
In 2012 alone, companies spent over $30 million "influencing" Congress on agricultural issues, including making sure they didn't pass legislation that would label GMOs or outlaw them altogether. Is it any wonder that the United States of America is one of the very last nations in the world to either ban GMOs outright or require their labeling on foods?
As the second infographic below shows, 64 countries require GMO labeling.
And so far, fifty percent of U.S. states have introduced GMO labeling bills of one kind or another. So the states want it, but the federal government keeps blocking it.
Why is the USA the big holdout on honest food labeling? Could it be because the biotech industry keeps paying off all the politicians?
Share and enjoy these powerful infographics, all created by the Natural News art department:
Image
Image
Image
See more amazing infographics at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Infographics.html++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EPA Ups Allowable Residue of Monsanto's Toxic Herbicide on Food
“Glyphosate has been shown in several recent studies to be an endocrine disruptor,” writes the Cornucopia Institute, in a statement about the news. “According to the National Institutes of Health, endocrine disruptors could have long-term effects on public health, especially reproductive health. And the ‘dose makes the poison’ rule does not apply to endocrine disruptors, which wreak havoc on our bodies at low doses.”
They continue:
June 2013 study concluded that glyphosate “exerted proliferative effects in human hormone-dependent breast cancer.” An April 2013 study by an MIT scientist concluded that “glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins,” and pointed out that glyphosate’s “negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body.”
The new regulations permit concentrations higher than the levels some scientists belive are carcinogenic, the Food Poisoning Bulletin adds.
Under the new regulation, fruits can have concentrations from 200 ppb to 500 ppb glyphosate, oilseed crops can contain up to 40 ppm (40,000 ppb) glyphosate, and root crops such as potatoes and beets can contain 6000 ppb glyphosate. Animal feed can contain up to 100 ppm (100,000 ppb) glyphosate.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/ ... ood/46249/https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/28-9+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FDA approves spraying meat with viruses
[YouTube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1YrbVQJRumg[/YouTube]
[The situation with Monsanto and GMOs in Argentina is very disturbing. Apparently the use of the herbicide RoundUp is so overdone people are seeing the consequences on their health in huge numbers. For all we know Argentina could be a test tube to find out how far they can push the use and overuse of their deadly chemicals and get away with it.
Dr. Mercola has also written a powerful article about this catastrophe here. More on the disastrous effects of glyphosate can be found here.
Keep abreast if this issue, besides all the other attacks on our health, food contamination is fundamental and should be avoided at all costs whenever possible. - Zen]
Flying over the North of Argentina you see the organic matter of soils and trees going up in pillars of smoke. No caution, no controls and with the government desperate for taxable exports, farmers are being driven by sheer economic pressure to use GM technology. This is industrialization of food production on a devastating scale. If this is the application of “sound science”, God help us.
Mark Measures has been an agriculture advisor for over 30 years. Since the mid-1980s he has worked with Las Dos Hermanas is a 4,000 hectare organically farmed estancia in the western Pampas of Argentina (
http://www.lasdoshermanas.com.ar ).
He visits Argentina regularly and following his latest visit he sent this report on the massive impact GM soya production is having there.
Farming to a flawed blueprint
The widespread adoption of genetically modified (GM) Roundup Ready Soya and more recently GM Maize during the last 10 – 15 years has fueled an unprecedented agricultural revolution in Argentina. Now 98% of soya in the country is GM and in parts of the Pampa 90% of the crop is soya i.e. no crop rotation.
The reasons why this has happened are quite straightforward, certainly in our part of the Pampa. GM soya allows direct drilling, which minimizes soil moisture loss and consequently increases yields over the non-GM soya.
Be under no illusions, GM soya is easy and it is profitable, in fact it so easy that it does not need a farm manager on site and consequently there are businesses running 100,000 hectares, spread over many sites and farmed to a blueprint. The resulting social upheaval is immense.
Herbicide use is not just a matter of a pre-drilling application of Roundup (Glyphosate) herbicide, as is practiced in the UK. It is also applied to the growing crop, normally once by tractor at the establishment stage and again by air during the later growth stage.
Due to the lack of rotation and repeated use of Roundup the inevitable has happened; there are now 5 weed species that are known to be resistant to Roundup and there are as yet unconfirmed reports of a further 5 resistant species.
The consequence of course is that farmers are increasing the application rates of glyphosate to get the weed kill, these are reported to be up to 20 times standard application rates and other, often more toxic herbicides are having to be used in addition to Glyphosate, including the infamous Agent Orange chemical, 24D.
The chemical treadmill to destruction
Farmers are keeping one step ahead of the game at the moment, but the visible weed incidence in fields observed during the 7 hour bus trip across Buenos Aires province suggests only just. The use of some brushwood killers presumably explains why there are dead trees and shrubs along field boundaries.
There is now multiple herbicide resistance in some weeds and it’s not yet clear whether the seed companies will be able to respond by continually developing new herbicide resistant characteristics in their seed.
What is clear is that the need for higher application rates and use of additional herbicides there is now higher use of herbicides than ever before. Claims that GM soya reduces herbicide use may be true for the first year or so but in the long term it is nonsense.
Adverse environmental impacts are beginning to emerge. There are widespread reports of ground water contamination and effects on wildlife throughout the food chain.
Research from Buenos Aries University by Andres Carrasco, Professor of Embryology, has reported major neurological effects of glyphosate on amphibians at below standard application rates, and further problems associated with the additives which are thought to penetrate the amphibian cells more easily than the main ingredient.
With some notable exceptions, few people connected with Argentinean agriculture voice concerns about possible health effects on humans, but in a country that has only just prohibited aerial crop spraying adjacent to towns perhaps this is not surprising.
Contamination of organic crops, destruction and corporate control
Our estancia is farmed along traditional Argentine lines with a crop rotation including soya, wheat, maize, sunflowers and Lucerne and is grazed by 4,000 Hereford cattle. It is an important wildlife site, now a Vida Silvestre reserve, with a unique 300 hectare area of indigenous pampas grassland and a 250 hectare lagoon.
Genetic contamination of organic and non-GM crops is now happening on two fronts.
Firstly, as we know to our cost, there is contamination of adjacent crops. Soya is self-pollinating but crop contamination does happen and we have to test routinely and at times reject crops from the organic market. The risk is of course much greater with GM maize. All farmed crops, organic and non-organic are also liable to contamination in store and transport.
There are also real risks for us of genetic contamination of our native species in the wildlife reserve. Needless to say we have to bear the costs of all this, not the GM farmers or the seed suppliers.
The second contamination front and one of the most pervasive consequences of the total domination of GM soya is that there is now no development or multiplication of non-GM varieties.
At Las Dos Hermanas we have been saving our own single variety of seed and supplying to a few other organic farmers for 15 years now. The conventional farmers are totally dependent on the two or three seed companies (who of course also supply the herbicides) and the organic and any surviving non-GM farmers are being forced to use outclassed and underdeveloped varieties.
Of ultimate importance is the fact that GM technology has facilitated growing soya in the virgin pastures, scrub land and forest in the north of the country, 277,000 ha were cleared in 2010, often land totally unsuited to cropping but with the potential to grow a few crops before soil structure collapses and the depleted land is returned to grass – by which time the damage is done, not just to biodiversity but through destruction of one of our most important carbon sinks.
A pall of poison and folly
Flying over the North of Argentina you see the organic matter of soils and trees going up in pillars of smoke. The consequences for climate change are dire and inevitable unless there is a major and speedy reversal of this production policy.
It could be argued that the problems experienced with GM Soya are due entirely to misuse of the technology; that with proper rotations, with precise application and use of the herbicides and avoidance of spraying near people and watercourses that all would be well.
But the fact is that the human and environmental safety of this technology is unproven and it is always accompanied by environmentally damaging cropping, corporate control and inadequate regulation.
Argentina is the classic example – no caution, no controls and with the government desperate for taxable exports, farmers are being driven by sheer economic pressure to use the technology to the detriment of all.
Farmers are losing their independence, consumers are losing control of their source of food and we are all losing a globally important biodiversity and carbon sink.
This is industrialization of food production on a devastating scale. If this is the application of “sound science”, God help us.
http://www.zengardner.com/cry-for-argen ... -gmo-soya/Unapproved Monsanto GMO Wheat Caught Tainting an Oregon
[YouTube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHbx_EuBFsg&feature=player_embedded[/YouTube]
Unapproved Monsanto GMO Wheat Caught Tainting an Oregon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Fsg#at=537USDA Was Storing Monsanto’s Unapproved GM Wheat in Seed Vault
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/06/usd ... roved.htmlEuropean Patent Office grants Monsanto patent on natural broccoli seeds, florets
http://www.naturalnews.com/041014_Monsa ... _GMOs.html