MARCH AGAINST MONSANTO

Among the other organic and “natural” companies that seem to have succumbed to the pressures of Monsanto and had, in fact, generously contributed last year to the defeat of California’s Prop 37 initiative calling for GMO labeling are: Kellogg’s (Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms); General Mills (Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar); Dean Foods (Horizon, Silk, White Wave); Smucker’s (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic); Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla); Safeway (“O” Organics); Kraft (Boca Burgers and Back to Nature); Con-Agra (Orville Redenbacher’s Organic, Hunt’s Organic, Lightlife); and PepsiCo (Naked Juice, Tostito’s Organic, Tropicana Organic).

I think it’s high time that we boycott the whole lot of them. If, as we have seen this week, the Brazilians can reject soccer and their soccer heroes, isn’t it possible for Americans to reject Coke, Pepsi, Kellogg’s and General Mills?

Fortunately, we have many farmer’s markets in New York City offering us plenty of healthy alternatives–and the largest of these markets gathers at this same spot, Union Square, on Mon., Wed., Fri. and Sat.

But Monsanto is doing its best to make sure that we can’t prove any such connection, and to insure this,  in 2011 Monsanto acquired Beelogics, a major company dedicated to restoring the health of the bee population. We can be sure that today’s Beelogics will find no fault in Monsanto for the plight of the world’s honeybees.

First, we should realize that the food industry now spends $2 billion every year marketing junk food to children and teenagers. Although this does not specifically spotlight Monsanto, it is Monsanto which sweetens these food products.

Secondly, a study of pigs and GMO feed came out last year that showed the pigs suffering similar stomach damage that has been increasing among American children. The same pigs also showed “signs which mimick autism: distraction, irritability and inability to follow directions.” The fourth study to which I will refer shows how glyphosate causes the symptoms of autism.

Thirdly, GM products in baby food and in milk and dairy products (rBGH, bovine growth hormone) can be particularly harmful to infants and young children, as children are more susceptible to allergies, nutritional problems, milk problems, and antibiotic-resistant diseases.

Fourthly, and by far most importantly, Anthony Samsel and Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT have shown how glyphosate destroys human health by creating nutritional deficiencies and systemic toxicity.  They have demonstrated how glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, is “the most important factor in the development of [the following] chronic diseases and conditions:”   Autism;   Allergies;   Cancer;   Parkinson’s disease; Gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis and Crohn’s disease;   Cardiovascular disease;   Infertility;   Multiple sclerosis;   Obesity;   Depression; Alzheimer’s disease;   ALS, and more.

This last reference contains a video interview (1:05:41) with Dr. Seneff conducted by Jeffrey Smith, the author of Seeds of Deception.  I strongly recommend that you take the time to watch and listen to this video interview in the process of making up your own mind about the potential hazards associated with ingesting any GMO product. 

In an April 26, 2013 issue of Food Science, a certain James Cooper called the Samsel and Seneff study a “bogus paper,” questioned their research credentials, and accused them of making “naive references to discredited research.” These are serious accusations, until one digs a bit deeper. The bio on James Cooper is brief and simply states that he is the Fairfield County Food Examiner and “has been cooking and eating fine food for over 30 years.” The bios of Seneff and Samsel are clearly those of serious scientific  researchers.  Moreover, research articles from scientifically reputable journals—Current Microbiology (April, 2013), Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society (April, 2009), Chemical Research in Toxicology (2009), and Toxicology in Vitro (2009) corroborate the findings cited above in the Samsel and Seneff article.

I suspect that James Cooper is one of the many people hired or induced and encouraged by Monsanto to shill for the corporation and pretend to be writing legitimate “science.”  Monsanto has placed former employees on the editorial boards of scientific journals in order to protect its interests, as in “The Goodman Affair.”   It has paid millions of dollars to fund research at public universities and take over professorships in order to promote favorable research.   And it has mounted smear attacks on even the most respected persons who dare speak against its interests.

Monsanto has made it almost impossible to discover the truth behind any issue that relates to its products and interests, and it threatens the professional status of anybody who has the temerity to seek out those truths.

But when the FDA turns around and says in its policy statement, “Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety,” we begin to realize that we have been had.

It may soon be time for all of us to don our gas masks!

For example, Michael R. Taylor wrote the FDA’s rBGH labeling guidelines when he was an FDA deputy commissioner; prior to that, he had been a former Monsanto lawyer and lobbyist for seven years. As of July, 2009, Obama appointed him an advisor to the FDA commissioner. This is truly the fox in the henhouse.

In another instance, Margaret Miller, one of Monsanto’s researchers,  put together a report on the safety of Monsanto’s growth hormones.  Even before the report was submitted, she was hired by the FDA, and her first task was to approve the report that she had written for Monsanto.   At least seven Monsanto officials have served in FDA government positions, thus insuring that the U.S. government protects the welfare of Monsanto.  Even the Supreme Court is not immune to this insidious “revolving door,” since Justice Clarence Thomas was once a Monsanto lawyer.