Thread: Monsanto Protection Act' slips silently through US Congress

Monsanto Protection Act' slips silently through US Congress

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Published time: March 26, 2013 01:34
Edited time: March 26, 2013 11:45
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The US House of Representatives quietly passed a last-minute addition to the Agricultural Appropriations Bill for 2013 last week - including a provision protecting genetically modified seeds from litigation in the face of health risks.
The rider, which is officially known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, has been derided by opponents of biotech lobbying as the “Monsanto Protection Act,” as it would strip federal courts of the authority to immediately halt the planting and sale of genetically modified (GMO) seed crop regardless of any consumer health concerns.

The provision, also decried as a “biotech rider,” should have gone through the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees for review. Instead, no hearings were held, and the piece was evidently unknown to most Democrats (who hold the majority in the Senate) prior to its approval as part of HR 993, the short-term funding bill that was approved to avoid a federal government shutdown.

Senator John Tester (D-MT) proved to be the lone dissenter to the so-called Monsanto Protection Act, though his proposed amendment to strip the rider from the bill was never put to a vote.

As the US legal system functions today, and largely as a result of prior lawsuits, the USDA is required to complete environmental impact statements (EIS) prior to both the planting and sale of GMO crops. The extent and effectiveness to which the USDA exercises this rule is in itself a source of serious dispute.

The reviews have been the focus of heated debate between food safety advocacy groups and the biotech industry in the past. In December of 2009, for example, Food Democracy Now collected signatures during the EIS commenting period in a bid to prevent the approval of Monsanto’s GMO alfalfa, which many feared would contaminate organic feed used by dairy farmers; it was approved regardless.

Previously discovered pathogens in Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soy are suspected of causing infertility in livestock and to impact the health of plants.

So, just how much of a victory is this for biotech companies like Monsanto? Critics are thus far alarmed by the very way in which the provision made it through Congress -- the rider was introduced anonymously as the larger bill progressed through the Senate Appropriations Committee. Now, groups like the Center for Food Safety are holding Senator Mikulski (D-MD), chairman of that committee, to task and lobbing accusations of a “backroom deal” with the biotech industry.

As the Washington Times points out, the provision’s success is viewed by many as a victory by companies like Syngenta Corp, Cargill, Monsanto and affiliated PACs that have donated $7.5 million to members of Congress since 2009, and $372,000 to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
It remains unclear whether the bill’s six-month expiration means that the provision will be short-lived. Regardless, Food Democracy Now has begun a campaign calling on US President Barack Obama to veto the Continuing Resolution spending bill, which seems unlikely as HR 933 includes a sweeping amount of government funding.

'Monsanto Protection Act' slips silently through US Congress — RT USA

Food activists: ‘We worked our ass off to put this president in the White House. Monsanto bought and paid for him’ [VIDEO]

03/27/2013

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• Nearly a dozen protesters gathered today in front of the White House to protest what they say is President Barack Obama’s lax stance on genetically modified food, which they believe poses serious health risks to consumers.
  

The protesters held banners, unfurled security tape reading “Monsanto Genetic Biohazard” and symbolically threw packets of Doritos on the ground.



The protest was organized by Food Democracy Now! and assisted by Green America Now, a national grassroots organization that says it is “dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families.”

Speaking to tourists and members of the press, Food Democracy Now! co-founders Lisa Stokke and Dave Murphy said they feel bitterly betrayed by President Obama. Both worked as precinct captains for Obama in 2007 and 2008.

“We worked our ass off to put this president in the White House,” Murphy said. “Monsanto didn’t do anything to put him in the White House, but they bought and paid for him the minute that he won the election.”


The organization was protesting President Obama’s signature of what it derisively calls the “Monsanto Protection Act,” a rider attached to HR933 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013, the continuing resolution to keep funding the federal government.

Food Democracy Now! claims that the rider will provide “a blank check” to biotech seed companies such as Monsanto, DuPont and Dow Chemical by limiting consumers’ ability to take them to court.



“We deserve to know,” Stokke said. “Sixty-two other countries in the world have a right to know if they are eating genetically modified foods. Why don’t Americans?”

Read more: Food activists: 'We worked our ass off to put this president in the White House. Monsanto bought and paid for him' [VIDEO] | The Daily Caller

Obama sells out U.S. citizens by signing Monsanto Protection Act into law

monsanto foods
March 27, 2013
By: Raine Devries
Food Democracy Now - Food Democracy Now



Related topics

• GMO Genetically Modified Organisms
• Raine Devries
• Healthy Eating
• Legal Issues
• Food Democracy Now

Food, shelter, and clothing are often considered the three basic needs by humans and the actions by President Obama on Tuesday have now left millions of Americans across the land in shock as the very first tenet has been horrifically jeopardized by his signing the Monsanto Protection Act into law (H.R. 933) as mentioned on the Facebook page for Food Democracy Now.

For those that are new to this situation, the Monsanto Protection Act is the name given to what's known as a legislative rider that was inserted into the Senate Continuing Resolution spending bill.

Using the deceptive title of Farmer Assurance Provision, Section 735 of this bill actually grants Monsanto immunity from federal courts pending the review of any GM crop that is thought to be dangerous.

Under the section, courts would be helpless to stop Monsanto from continuing to plant GMO crops that are thought -- even by the US government -- to be a danger to human health or our cherised environment.

There is certain to be almost immediate legal action from multiple fronts which will hit the mainstream media headlines. For the first time in decades, Americans will have to give serious consideration to the food supply they are consuming from and hopefully begin a brave new moment in grassroots activism.

Watch the video here of President Obama campaigning that he would demand that foods be labeled with their country of origin and if they had been genetically modified.

The drastic results of Monsanto's legislation-based actions is that the biotech giant is now essentially guaranteed the ability to wantonly plant experimental GMO crops without any concern of the United States government or subsequent courts; the Monsanto Protection Act was buried within the recent budget resolution.

Monsanto is a publicly traded company (NYSE: MON) and often concerned citizens will invest in a single share of stock as a way of ensuring they are on the front lines of finding out information which is privy to stockholders or to allow them into the annual stockholders meetings.

Organizations such as Food Democracy Now and Natural News are striving to ensure concerned citizens are kept up to date on this fresh, new battle to protect the most basic of our human rights for authentic and natural wholesome foods without any type of genetic modifications.

Suggested by the author:

• Genetically modified salmon rejected by certain food retailers
• U.S. government is stockpiling weapons during time of sequester
• Dairy industry petitions FDA to allow aspartame to be a hidden additive in milk

https://www.examiner.com/article/oba...n-act-into-law

Monsanto Protection Act explained:'Monsanto Protection Act': 5 Terrifying Things To Know About The HR 933 Provision

Obama Gives Monsanto Get a Out of Jail Free Card, Signs GMO Protection Legislation (VIDEO)

By The Anti-Media / March 28, 2013 / Corporate America, Health, Politics / 2 Comments



Obama Gives Monsanto Get Out of Jail Free Card - YouTube

Obama Gives Monsanto Get a Out of Jail Free Card, Signs GMO Protection Legislation (VIDEO) | The Anti-Media.org