"Obama signs 'Monsanto Protection Act' written by Monsanto-sponsored senator"
Get the full story here. The article states, in part:
With the president’s signature, agriculture giants that deal with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered (GE) seeds are given the go-ahead to continue to plant and sell man-made crops, even as questions remain largely unanswered about the health risks these types of products pose to consumers.In light of approval from the House and Senate, more than 250,000 people signed a petition asking the president to veto the spending bill over the biotech rider tacked on, an item that has since been widely referred to as the “Monsanto Protection Act.”“But Obama ignored [the petition],” IB Times’ Connor Sheets writes, “instead choosing to sign a bill that effectively bars federal courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of GMO or GE crops and seeds, no matter what health consequences from the consumption of these products may come to light in the future.”James Brumley, a reporter for Investor Place, explains a little more thoroughly just how dangerous the rider is now that biotech companies are allowed to bypass judicial scrutiny. Up until it was signed, he writes, “the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] oversaw and approved (or denied) the testing of genetically modified seeds, while the federal courts retained the authority to halt the testing or sale of these plants if it felt that public health was being jeopardized. With HR 933 now a law, however, the court system no longer has the right to step in and protect the consumer.”
This is horrible news for American farmers--and in fact, for any people who eat food grown in the United States! So that means YOU!
I can't say, "Let's do something to stop this bill," because it's just been signed into law. There's not much we can do about it now except make sure who we vote for next time and where they stand on issues that are important to farmers--and to people who eat food.
At first glance this looks like the Democratic president was siding with a giant corporation, but further review and more digging you see who is truly behind this legislation. This Rider was tucked into bill 933. 933 is a bill that is a short term resolution to avoid a government shutdown. A Republican Missouri Senator Roy Blunt is the one who came up with this bill and he worked with Monsanto to carefully word the bill. There is no line item veto, the president would have to reject the whole bill if he didn't sign it. Any rate this is only a bill that is good for six months.
ReplyDeleteThis is good example how the corporate media influences minds and how they get the common man to vote for the very rich of this country.
Yes, I know Roy Blunt was instrumental in lobbying for this bill, but Obama is the President and "The buck stops here." Sadly, he did not take the opportunity to make a statement about the health of our nation's food supply by vetoing this bill. Once something like this gets passed once, even for six months or a year, it's too easy to get it prolonged. It was worth Monsanto's and Blunt's time to get it passed because it's a foot in the door. It's kind of ironic when you consider Michelle Obama's emphasis on gardening for healthy eating. I guess only time will tell the true effect of this bill.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot more to the 933 spending spending bill then that. If the government doesn't act on this bill the federal government runs out of money at end of this month and if not passed the government will shut down. If Obama vetoes the bill just because that one rider is in there, then the whole bill is scraped and they have to come up with a whole new bill. There is no time for that, the government would shut down and then you and the corporate media would be criticizing Obama for that. The Republicans know this,he is damned if does damned if he doesn't. What I think is ironic is he is being blamed for something that is clearly put in there by the Republicans.
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