“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.” via [x]
What can you do about it?
1. You can write to your representatives about it at the very least.
Disclaimer: this is not an official United States Pirate Party position. this is my personal opinion, and does not represent the views of USPP, NYPP or any other organization.
Here’s a quickie letter to send your elected representatives. Feel more than free to add or detract from it, all I ask is that you pass it around.
Dear [YOUR REP HERE],
The recent passage of the Monsanto Protection Act by Congress and signage by President Obama disturbs me greatly. As someone concerned with her health, I believe that Genetically Modified Organisms (also known as GMOs) are unsuitable for consumption.
Of course, these foods seem safe; they look and taste as a near-perfect facsimile of the non-GMO crops. Monsanto, a major producer of such GMOs, has claimed these crops were just as good if not better than regular crops, but even their own studies show that these crops are more inefficient than a normal crop, even needing more water and harmful pesticides, which damage our health and the environment.
Further, I do not believe that GMOs are safe; as they are relatively new, there has not been a lot of testing done on the long-term effects of GMO consumption. I do not want to be a lab rat for these companies by being forced to purchase their products while shopping for healthy food choices for me and my family. Please consider a bill that would require explicit labelling of GMO foods.
This provision was passed with barely a whisper in the news due to the public and media’s attention on the Supreme Court. I believe that this was an underhanded tactic benefiting a corporation that pushed something through that may and most likely will damage the health of the people of our State and Nation. If there wasn’t the media frenzy, public outcry over this Act would have been stronger.
I hope you make the right decision in this matter, taking into account those you have sworn to represent.
Signed,
[Your Name Here]
2. Watch what you eat. I'd recommend staying away from Walmart, Tyson (KFC), Kraft, you know what? Just google GMO and [product brand name] and there you have it..! Knowledge is power!
Who is also to blame?
Corporate Puppets: Senators Barbara Mikulski and Roy Blunt, among others...
"The chair of the committee that secretly slipped this provision into the bill was Sen. Barbara Mikulski, an absolute traitor to America for allowing the Monsanto Protection Act to become law. She could have stopped it, yet she did nothing to oppose it. She actually helped sneak it into law." Read More...And now a word from our government's
"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job." - Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications, quoted in the New York Times, October 25, 1998
"If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it." - Norman Braksick, President of Asgrow Seed Co., a subsidiary of Monsanto, quoted in the Kansas City Star, March 7, 1994
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