OWS Journal, July 2012: Monsanto's Rider Ready For 2013 Bill.

[sabrina 1]

If you've been reading about the Monsanto Rider attached to the 2013 Agricultural Bill you have been told that they sneaked it into the Bill and that you should just stfu about it because nothing could be done without shutting down the government, or something to that effect.

But in fact, there has been almost a full year when Democrats COULD have done something about it since it was no secret to them what Monsanto was up to.

Remember that this article was written in July of 2012! So the rider was hardly a 'surprise' to our elected officials as we are being led to believe:

Is Monsanto About to Gain Immunity From Federal Law?

A so-called “Monsanto rider,” quietly slipped into the multi-billion dollar FY 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill, would require – not just allow, but require - the Secretary of Agriculture to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed. All the farmer or the biotech producer has to do is ask, and the questionable crops could be released into the environment where they could potentially contaminate conventional or organic crops and, ultimately, the nation’s food supply.

Unless the Senate or a citizen’s army of farmers and consumers can stop them, the House of Representatives is likely to ram this dangerous rider through any day now.

Hope springs eternal, but unfortunately the people's Representatives are powerless, or so we are told. The bill has already passed with the rider attached, as we all know now.

You have to admire them, however grudgingly, because they fight for what they want and they generally get it. We the people are obviously doing something wrong.

There were a few Democrats who tried to stop it and we owe them a thank you for their efforts, but without much support from their own party, they failed:

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has sponsored an amendment to kill the rider, whose official name is “the farmers assurance” provision. But even if DeFazio’s amendment makes it through the House vote, it still has to survive the Senate. Meanwhile, organizations like the Organic Consumers Association, Center for Food Safety, FoodDemocracyNow!, the Alliance for Natural Health USA and many others are gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures in protest of the rider, and in support of DeFazio’s amendment.

Thank you Rep. DeFazio. It must be frustrating to do the right thing but not have the support you need to defend the people against Corporate Power. Nevertheless, we thank you for your efforts.

Sen. Tester tried also, but his efforts too were in vain.


So it was not a surprise that our poor, powerless Reps just found out about when it was too late to do anything about after all. They had a year to join Tester and DeFazio to fight the inclusion of this rider in the bill.

And who do we have to thank for doing the actual dirty work of putting it there in the first place? Well, of course it was Republicans, we can't have Democrats working for Monsanto, at least not so blatantly.

The article reveals the actual culprits, so relax, you CAN 'blame the Republicans' and excuse our own party, or at least that is what you are expected to do.

It was 'legislator of the year, the agricultural sub-committee chair Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) who got the job done.

And then we see the revolving door between elected office and the rewards they receive as they enter the Corporate world, after leaving office, at work. if they work hard to pass legislation beneficial to Corporate America.

Kingston was aided and abetted, according to the article, by 'former' Pennsylvania Congressman, John C. Greenwood, currently president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.


Who loses now that the Corporations won again?

There are many losers, we've already seen what happens when bad legislation like this ends up causing food contamination that has to be recalled, causing huge losses to farmers, not to mention the harm done to consumers.

Among the biggest losers if Congress ignores the DeFazio amendment and passes the “farmers assurance provision” are thousands of farmers of conventional and organic crops, including those who rely on the export market for their livelihoods. An increasing number of global markets are requiring GMO-free agricultural products or, at the very least, enforcing strict GMO labeling laws. If this provision passes, it will allow unrestricted planting of potentially dangerous crops, exposing other safe and non-GMO crops to risk of contamination.

Why should you be outraged about this provision? For all these reasons:

·

The Monsanto Rider is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers. Judicial review is an essential element of U.S. law, providing a critical and impartial check on government decisions that may negatively impact human health, the environment or livelihoods. Maintaining the clear-cut boundary of a Constitutionally-guaranteed separation of powers is essential to our government. This provision will blur that line.

· Judicial review is a gateway, not a roadblock. Congress should be fully supportive of our nation’s independent judiciary. The ability of courts to review, evaluate and judge an issue that impacts public and environmental health is a strength, not a weakness, of our system. The loss of this fundamental safeguard could leave public health, the environment and livelihoods at risk.

The Democratic Controlled Senate passed the bill and a bi-partisan effort in Congress got it moved forward.

There is a lot more in this excellent article which is well worth reading, unless of course you are with those who think this is all a 'waste of everyone's time'.

I wonder how much it helps get something like this horrible legislation passed to have former Monsanto CEOs appointed to positions of power in our Government?



Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice President, is now the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods.

I can't find anything to prove that someone like a former VP of Monsanto might not be working in the best interests of consumers, but applying logic to the situation, I have a feeling he at least was not trying to prevent that rider from being attached to the bill.

But please do not blame our elected officials for this. They were 'taken by surprise'! Except for the few who weren't. More importantly they would have been 'wasting everyone's time' if they had even tried to stop it we are told.

And we would never want to do that, would we?

[KoKo]

1. Thanks Sabrina for your link to come over here to read this.

It's a powerful read. Wish I'd seen this to read before.

I'm glad I posted my post out on GD, though, because many were not aware of that this Monsanto Amendment had been in the bill for a YEAR. And, pointing out the the Amendments to try to strike the Monsanto Rider weren't even brought to a vote points out that so much of this ends up being just a sham with these votes, particularly those "cliff hanger" all night votes where you wake up and it's done...BOOM! and it takes weeks to find out what the details are and how they will affect the people.

Its definitely discouraging that the Environmental/Food Safety Groups's efforts weren't powerful enough to get this Rider out of the Bill.

Hopefully more attention to how much influence these groups have over Obama and Democrats will begin to wake more people up to how dangerous this is for the health of our people and our planet.

[sabrina 1]

2. You're welcome, Koko. I am told that what is in the bill is not in the bill.

To see anyone supporting this rider is simply astonishing, let alone our elected officials. It is essentially deregulation of our food protections and it ties the hands of the Federal Courts should there be any problems with Monsanto's products. Iow, no one can sue them. They have free reign to do whatever they want without fear of consequences.

How anyone, let alone any Democrat could have voted for this is beyond words.

If anyone doubted that our country has been taken over by Big Corporations, this should prove it beyond a doubt. They are writing our laws!! NOT our Representatives. Congress is merely a rubber stamp for Corporate America now.

[sabrina 1]

3. Here is some more information on the bill, posted by me in response to

a claim that I had not read the language of the bill and that this OP was incorrect in its assessment. I thought you might be interested in the facts also with some more analysis, along with the language of the bill itself:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/03/what-do-we-need-to-know-about-the-monsanto-protection-rider/

What Do We Need to Know about the “Monsanto Protection” Rider?

The language of the rider:

“Sec. 735. In the event that a determination of non-regulated status made pursuant to section 411 of the Plant Protection Act is or has been invalidated or vacated, the Secretary of Agriculture shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon request by a farmer, grower, farm operator, or producer, immediately grant temporary permit(s) or temporary deregulation in part, subject to necessary and appropriate conditions consistent with section 411(a) or 412(c) of the Plant Protection Act, which interim conditions shall authorize the movement, introduction, continued cultivation, commercialization and other specifically enumerated activities and requirements, including measures designed to mitigate or minimize potential adverse environmental effects, if any, relevant to the Secretary’s evaluation of the petition for non-regulated status, while ensuring that growers or other users are able to move, plant, cultivate, introduce into commerce and carry out other authorized activities in a timely manner: Provided, That all such conditions shall be applicable only for the interim period necessary for the Secretary to complete any required analyses or consultations related to the petition for non-regulated status: Provided further, That nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the Secretary’s authority under section 411, 412 and 414 of the Plant Protection Act.”

And what does it mean?

In effect, the government is now barred from preventing the sale or planting of any genetically modified or genetically engineered seeds. The deregulation is temporary and lasts through September 2013. Though it is named as something as a protection for farmers, it has very little impact on individual farmers, as current regulations do not allow for farmers’ crops of GE plants to be destroyed, even when found to be in violation of USDA standards. This rider protects the creators and distributors of genetically engineered seeds, far more than the farmers themselves.

To reiterate, even if tomorrow we were to discover that the genetically engineered products had harmful effects, nothing can be done to stop the distribution or planting, or hold the companies in question responsible for those effects.

3. Not only does the six-month deregulation benefit Monsanto in the short run, but it prevents them from being prosecuted by federal courts, even if health risks from GMOs are discovered in the future.

To put this another way, imagine that a product that the rest of the civilized world has already deemed a potential health risk was deregulated and allowed for a six-month period of time. We have chosen to deliberately limit our government’s ability to hold the makers and distributors of these products accountable should health or environmental risks arise. This, to me, is the biggest concern with this rider. Neither the Secretary of Agriculture nor the USDA, nor the federal courts system has any recourse should problems arise due to the deregulation of these genetically engineered seeds and plants.

I hope that something can be done to stop it in six months, but I won't hold my breath. Monsanto rules the world's food supply. And the US Congress just let them off the hook from any consequences to their actions.

Our food supply is now in their hands, unregulated by any responsible entity. Go Congress!

[limpyhobbler]

4. Like Willie says

[sabrina 1]

5. He is right, except he might say now that 'our food system SHOULD

belong in the hands of family farmers'. If he has been watching all of this he must be very sad. Because our food supply is now completely in the hands of ONE Corporation.

Thanks for the Willie quote. He is a good man!

[antiquie]

6. Why Labels on Genetically Engineered Foods Won’t Cost Consumers a Dime

By Zack Kaldveer and Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association, April 9, 2013

One of the biotech industry’s favorite arguments against GMO labeling is that it will be costly for small retailers and consumers. As if Monsanto actually cares about your economic well-being?

Playing to consumers’ fears of higher food costs makes good strategic sense, especially in tough economic times. But the argument doesn’t hold water. Trader Joe’s, a multi-billion dollar retailer of organic and natural foods, second in size only to Whole Foods Market, verifies that its private-label products are GMO-free. How? By using a system that involves chain-of-custody, legally binding affidavits. It’s the same system other manufacturers and retailers use for rBGH-free, trans fat-free, fair trade and country-of-origin. It works. And it doesn’t cost consumers a dime.

Read the Essay: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27317.cfm