Monsanto, GMOs and the Food Fight Challenge — Watch
Do you know which foods you eat contain genetically modified substances? No, you don’t, because unlike in Europe – where GMO foods are banned — the Monsanto-friendly FDA in America says “no labeling required”. Should you be concerned?
WHAT DO you think of a large, rich, strong, politically connected company that seems to be hell bent on controlling the world’s food supply?
Wonder how such a company could do this?
How ‘bout by creating their own patented seeds that appeal to large corporate farmers because they are disease and pest resistant. This angle takes care of market demand because the farmers produce greater yield and save on pesticides. (A short-sighted benefit given that under this model, farmers can not save their own seeds, but must buy from Monsanto each year.)
At the same time, a company bent on controlling food production needs to ensure it’s got the legal and political cover to protect its rights to the seed, so that when such seeds pollinate the land of farmers who have not purchased it, the company can demand payment and threaten legal action. Which Monsanto has done. Goliath against David, although this time Goliath usually wins.
Diabolical strategy. Unfortunately, this is not fiction.
This is the story by the reviled Monsanto and its GMO venture. “GMO” – genetically modified organism, which in this case are the seeds that have genetically altered, but which, nonetheless, have been declared by America’s FDA (“Food and Drug Administration”) to not be materially different from non-GMO seeds. The FDA says GMO is safe.
How did the FDA come to that conclusion?
Well, apparently they didn’t. Recently, thousands of memos have been uncovered that show ample evidence for a contrary conclusion, but this information was hidden.
Why?
Could be that the then head of the FDA’s policy was a former Monsanto attorney, who – after his stint with the FDA – jumped on the revolving door back to Monsanto as a Vice President. A job well rewarded.
What makes the FDA’s position stranger is that Europe has banned GMO foods, and that many animals won’t eat it, including rats. But Americas do, usually without knowing it, because in this country food labels need not specify that GMO ingredients are used.
There are many people and organizations devoted to bringing this matter to the public’s attention. If just a small percentage of consumers refused to buy GMO foods, the food manufactures would not use them, and the farmers would not grow them, and – most sweet of all – Monsanto’s plan for world-wide food domination would be terminally pissed upon.
Monsanto would no longer have reason to sue farmers that did not buy their GMO seeds, but whose farms were so pollinated. Monsanto could go back to producing and selling seeds as Nature made them.
The Institute for Responsible Technology and the Organic Consumers Association are two of many organizations fighting against the Goliath Monsanto and GMOs in the US.
The Institute for Responsible Technology’s web site will get you up to speed on this issue and suggest how you can do your part to ensure that no one company dominates our food chain with a product that not only may be inferior and harmful to Nature’s seeds, but could eventually overtake them.
Organic Consumers Association has a very informative newsletter that you can subscribe to. The recent article is entitled: Monsanto Nation: Taking Down Goliath.
If you have a creative bent, how about participating in the No GMO T-shirt Design Challenge? Design an inspirational t-shirt around the theme of “food fight”. There are eight more days left to submit your design and/or vote on one you like. You can learn about this, and check out the design submissions at the Food Fight Challenge.
Finally, if you need an extra push to get concerned, at minimum, or – better yet – get into gear and take action, then watch this short video that lays out the problem and the solution:
IT’S TIME FOR A FOOD FIGHT from NO GMO on Vimeo.
Last Updated on March 8, 2020 by Joe Garma
