Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont if Legislators Pass a Bill Requiring GMO Food to Be Labeled
Source: AlterNet
The worlds most hated corporation is at it again, this time in Vermont.
Despite overwhelming public support and support from a clear majority of Vermonts Agriculture Committee, Vermont legislators are dragging their feet on a proposed GMO labeling bill. Why? Because Monsanto has threatened to sue the state if the bill passes.
The popular legislative bill requiring mandatory labels on genetically engineered food (H-722) is languishing in the Vermont House Agriculture Committee, with only four weeks left until the legislature adjourns for the year. Despite thousands of emails and calls from constituents who overwhelmingly support mandatory labeling, despite the fact that a majority (6 to 5) of Agriculture Committee members support passage of the measure, Vermont legislators are holding up the labeling bill and refusing to take a vote.
Instead, theyre calling for more public hearings on April 12, in the apparent hope that they can run out the clock until the legislative session ends in early May.
Read more: http://www.alternet.org/story/154855/monsanto_threatens_to_sue_vermont_if_legislators_pass_a_bill_requiring_gmo_food_to_be_labeled?akid=8530.226594.9A43ZT&rd=1&t=21
KansDem
(28,498 posts)They have a "right to remain silent" regarding what they're putting in the food we eat?
Reminds me of this story from 2003:
Monsanto v. Oakhurst Dairy
Does Monsanto Corporation Have the Right to Keep You from Knowing the Contents of Your Food?
excerpt
Some farmers say that Posilac, also known as recombinant bovine somatotropin, only adds to an already glutted milk supply, which drives down the price paid to farmers. But Monsanto says the drug can get farmers out of a slump by helping them produce more milk.
"Producing more milk efficiently allows dairy farmers to make more money," said Jennifer Garrett, technical services director for Monsanto's dairy business. "The farms with the highest-producing cows are those that are making the most money. Posilac is a product that allows them to do that."
Many dairy farmers say, however, that not using the hormone is one way they can get a competitive edge. Some milk distributors pay a premium for milk from cows not treated with rBST. Plus, even though studies show rBST is safe for humans, increasing numbers of consumers are drawn to "all-natural" products.
Farmers who don't use rBST want to advertise that fact on their product labels. But Monsanto officials say labels like "No rBSTv" or "rBST-free" are misleading, unfair and deceptive. The company has recently sued one dairy for its labels.
Oakhurst Dairy in Maine labels its milk: "Our farmer's pledge: no artificial hormones." Monsanto's lawsuit says the label implies Oakhurst's milk is somehow better than milk from cows treated with rBST, and that unfairly harms Monsanto's business.
http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_speech/monsanto_oakhurst_wired.html
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)I spend the same, we just use less of it. I've convinced a half dozen other families to do the same over the last year.
People need to SEE what they are eating and they need to regain the skill of cooking and preserving foods. This is the best way to be able to afford to buy more of your food locally, even on a tight budget.
One thing that is really lacking is local cooking classes (non gourmet, not costing a fortune type). We have a generation that has largely lost these skills.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)It appears to me that the oligarch corporations are getting more and more bold in oppressing our rights.
Some day soon we will have to draw the line.
Spring is Coming.
cyberpj
(10,794 posts)Freedom of speech anyone?
BTW - Didn't there used to be a Truth In Advertising something-or-other?
Mopar151
(9,983 posts)And there are reasons besides rBST.
From http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/oig17.98.htm
May 11, 1998--U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General
Roger C. Viadero announced today that a federal grand jury in Burlington, Vt.
returned a 27-count indictment against eight dairy farmers from New York, one
from Vermont, and tree truck drivers who transported their milk from farm to
dairy. The 12 individuals were charged with violating federal laws relating
to conspiracy, food adulteration, stolen property, using false documents, and
witness tampering.
According to the indictment, all of the defendant dairy farmers were alleged
to have shipped the milk they produced to Fairdale Farms, a dairy processing plant
located in Bennington, Vt. The indictment alleges that between 1993 and August 1996,
the dairy farmers, acting in collusion with the truck drivers, conspired to defraud
Fairdale Farms by inflating the amount of milk that the farmers produced and shipped
to Fairdale. Fairdale's payments to its dairy producers depended on the weight of
milk each farmer shipped to the plant. Some farmers added a mixture of water and
salt to their milk to increase its weight. They then kicked back a portion of the
extra money they received from Fairdale to the truck drivers. Other farmers simply
paid the drivers to falsely increase the milk poundage reported to Fairdale, without
adding water to the milk.
crunch60
(1,412 posts)President Obama, I oppose your appointment of Michael Taylor, a former VP and Lobbyist for Monsanto, the widely criticized Genetically Modified (GM) food multinational, as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner at the FDA. Taylor is the same person who was Food Safety Czar at the FDA when Genetically Modified Organisms were allowed into the US food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks. This is a travesty. Taylor was in charge of policy for Monsanto's now-discredited GM Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) which is directly linked to cancer and opposed by many medical and hospital organizations.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2840334/posts
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)At some point someone has to stand up to them.
Pachamama
(16,887 posts)...."products" Montsanto is putting out there. I think that would only emphasize why the labeling is truly needed.
glinda
(14,807 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)To argue in public that they have the 'right' not to tell you what's in your food? Bring it on!
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)of representative government has only been exacerbated by the Hacks in Black Citizens United ruling.
Moostache
(9,895 posts)Monanto is evil incarnate.
Their practices and policies are a total bastardization of science and business and lost ethics. This is a company with the resources and knowledge to KNOW what harm they are doing and instead of using those resources to find solutions, they use lawyers and political force to drive their profit-above-EVERYTHING mantra.
I have skills and experience in biochemistry and in recombinant technologies (gene insertions, working with vectors, assaying enzyme and protein outputs, etc.) but I would rather take a job at McDonald's and lose my house and cars and possessions than allow one dollar of their blood money EVER enter my bank accounts intentionally!
enough
(13,259 posts)setting it in a way that maybe a larger number of people would see what's actually going on.
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)even if some GM ingredients are in the foods.
In Europe they are?
marmar
(77,080 posts)I hate that company more than mere words can express.
Mopar151
(9,983 posts)As part of their "Made in Vermont" labeling. And unless Monsanto sues in Federal court, Vermont judges will hand them their asses.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)and how DARE Monsanto threaten... VERMONT...
of all places?? People in Vermont are not dumb and passive.
seeds of Monsanto's undoing
by the grace of dog, god, and mother earth.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)No not the tort reform republicans and corporations desire that attempts to screw over individuals harmed by corporations......tort reform so corporations can't sue because they don't like having to be honest with consumers or having to comply with regulations put in place to protect the environment or sue each other because they don't like competition. Talk about a waste of resources and time for our courts....
saras
(6,670 posts)It's perfectly okay if a corporation goes under while attempting to pay its debts. It's also okay if a corporation is run by public trustees for a decade or so with the explicit goal of pouring all profits into victim compensation funds.
anti-alec
(420 posts)Boy, would I love to live in Vermont at times like these.
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)stockholmer
(3,751 posts)wcollar
(176 posts)There's going to be a lot of lawyers working overtime:
"Poland to ban Monsantos genetically modified maize"
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/04/poland-to-ban-monsantos-genetically-modified-maize/
lovuian
(19,362 posts)they did too
IDemo
(16,926 posts)Anthony Gucciardi
Infowars.com
January 3, 2012
The United States is threatening nations who oppose Monsantos genetically modified (GM) crops with military-style trade wars, according to information obtained and released by the organization WikiLeaks.
Nations like France, which have moved to ban one of Monsantos GM corn varieties, were requested to be penalized by the United States for opposing Monsanto and genetically modified foods.
The information reveals just how deep Monsantos roots have penetrated key positions within the United States government, with the cables reporting that many U.S. diplomats work directly for Monsanto.
http://www.infowars.com/leaked-us-to-start-%E2%80%98trade-wars%E2%80%99-with-nations-opposed-to-monsanto-gmo-crops/
a2liberal
(1,524 posts)cyberpj
(10,794 posts)If so, how is this any different?
Smilo
(1,944 posts)lovuian
(19,362 posts)Label it so everyone knows how proud of it
don't try to hide when you know people will pay extra for organic
you have lost BOZO
Mz Pip
(27,442 posts)if their product is so great? Monsanto acts like it has something to hide when it makes such a big fuss about labeling its products.
Oh, wait... Maybe they do.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)C'mon legislators, stand up for your constituents and not for Monsanto, one of the worst corpos on the planet.
Trillo
(9,154 posts)and thus eliminate any corporation's power to legally issue "threats" to government and the people.
Movetoamend.org
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)That amendment is one of our only hopes.
Both of our major political parties are entwined with Monsanto, the Democrats are as linked in as the Republicans.
countryjake
(8,554 posts)gtar100
(4,192 posts)They seem to engender the worst characteristics of humanity. Probably because they are the brain-child of sellers and marketers who somehow ended up believing that profit was their most important concern, as opposed to the humanities or culture or community.
If they are going to be characterized as people, then they should be treated like people in every justifiable way.
Poor Monsanto. Can't stand the light of day.
midnight
(26,624 posts)Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)CanonRay
(14,101 posts)raise you hands...
harun
(11,348 posts)Also if life should even be patentable.
All people are asking for here is a damn label, and we can't even get that.
The real boss folks, is behind the curtain.
cali
(114,904 posts)though I sure wish this guy was still Ag Chairman- and still in the VT House for that matter.
Zuckerman ran for the Vermont House in 1994 while enrolled at the University of Vermont. He lost by only 59 votes, but came back two years later to become the fourth Progressive Party member to serve in the State House. From 2005-2009 he served as the Chair of the House Agriculture Committee. He is also a member the Vermont Farm Bureau and The Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter in Vermont. He has also served on the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and the Burlington Electric Commission.