Government Knowledge, GMOs, and the Law

Staff Writer, R. Patrick Chapman

Laws / GMOs 

______________________________

The Federal Government's Agency that is supposed to safeguard the food and health of Americans is playing a game of chicken with the Center for Food Safety by not handing over documents in a Freedom of Information Act request:

On August 25th, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for failure to adequately respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to genetically engineered (GE) crops. This marks the fourth time the CFS has sued APHIS to force the release of records.

GMOs are not being regulated, properly tested for health safety for humans or animals. 

Why are corporations allowed to write and enforce their own laws when We the People are in charge not the corporations? 

Source: Activist Post

Two Ingredient Gel for Everything

Staff Writer, DL Mullan
Medicine / Natural 
__________________________________

Do you want to stop buying lotions and creams full of GMO's, chemicals, and god knows what? because the cosmetic industry is not regulated? 

Here is a homemade gel that helps with sunburns, scars, stretch marks, age spots, acne, dry skin and more: 

To make this magical gel you need:

• 1/3 cup pure aloe vera gel, not juice
• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil (solid)
• essential oil of your choice (vanilla, lavender, rose)

Source: Daily Lives

Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 fed in long term reproduction studies in mice

Staff Writer, J.J. West

GMOs / Scientific Study
___________________________________

Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 

fed in long term reproduction studies in mice

The aim of the study was to examine effects of the stacked GM crop NK603 x MON810 in different models of long term feeding studies. So far no negative effects of GM corn varieties have been reported in peer-reviewed publications. But the hypothesis, that effects after long term exposure might become evident in multi-generation studies has rarely been investigated. In this study three designs were used, including a multi-generation study (MGS), a reproductive assessment by continuous breeding (RACB) and a life-term feeding study (LTS), all performed with laboratory mice (strain OF1). The test diets differed only as to the inclusion of 33% NK603 x MON810 corn (GM) versus non-GM corn of a near isogenic line (ISO), both grown under identical conditions in Canada. The MGS also included one group with a non GM corn cultivated in Austria (A REF). All corn varieties used in the MGS and LTS were harvested in 2005, the transgenic and isogenic corn for the RACB were harvested in Canada in 2007. No Austrian corn was used in this case. In the MGS microscopic and ultrastructural investigations were performed to detect changes at the organ and cell level. Gene expression patterns were compared by micro array expression profiles of the intestine as feed-animal interface and by real time PCR. The results of the MGS showed no statistically significant differences concerning parental body mass. The number of females without litters decreased with time in the GM and ISO group, especially in the 4th generation. In the group fed with A REF corn fewer females were without litters, and accordingly more pups were weaned. The production parameters average litter size and weight as well as number of weaned pups were in favour of the ISO group. These differences were also seen in the RACB design and were statistically significant in the 3rd and 4th litters. In addition, the inter-individual variability was higher in the GM group as compared to the other groups. The LTS showed no statistically significant differences in the survival of 3 groups of mice fed the different maize varieties. In the MGS the continuative investigations revealed differences between the GM and ISO groups. The comparison of organ weights did not indicate directed dietary effects, except for kidneys. The electron histological investigation of the cell nuclei revealed differences as to fibrillar centres, dense fibrillar components and the pore density in hepatocytes. This could point to an effect of the GM crop on metabolic parameters. Immunohistochemistry revealed no systematic differences in CD3, CD20 positive cells and macrophages in gut tissue. The microarrays showed differences between the feeding groups. When the data of both non-GM feeding groups from MGS were combined and compared to the GM feeding group, the discrimination became more evident. Analyses of metabolic pathways indicated, that the groups differed regarding some important pathways, including interleukin signalling pathway, cholesterol biosynthesis and protein metabolism. Summarizing the findings of this study it can be concluded, that multi-generation studies, especially based on the RACB design are well suited to reveal differences between feeds. The RACB trial showed time related negative reproductive effects of the GM maize under the given experimental conditions. The RACB trial with its specific design with the repeated use of the parental generation is a demanding biological factor for the maternal organism. Compared to the findings in the RACB trials it can be assumed that the physiological stress was considerably lower in the MGS trial. The trial design of using “new” parental generations instead of continuous breeding with the same generation has to be considered as being obviously less demanding. This might have masked the impact of dietary Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 fed in long term reproduction studies in mice factors on reproductive performance. However, this part of the experiment is valuable as such because it underlines the need for different experimental designs for the assessment of dietary effects that have an unknown impact on animals. The outcome of this study suggests that future studies on the safety of GM feed and food should include reproduction studies. Physiological and genomic traits and depending on the nature of the genetic modification proteomic and metabolomic methods might be taken into consideration as additional tools to the tests performed in this study.

Source: .Biosicherheit

Addressing the issue of horizontal gene transfer from a diet containing genetically modified components into rat tissues

Staff Writer, J.J. West
GMOs / Scientific Study
___________________________________

Addressing the issue of horizontal gene transfer from 

a diet containing genetically modified components into rat tissues

Genetically modified (GM) food crops are considered to have the potential of providing food security especially in developing countries. Scientists have raised concern over the hazards associated with the consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). One of these hazards, which have great controversy reports, is the possible horizontal gene transfer from GM-food or feed to human or animal tissues. Many researches were conducted to investigate the presence of some transgenic sequences in animal tissues fed on GM- crops. Many of the inserted genes in the GM-crops are under the control of the promoter of the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMVP35S) and produce insecticidal proteins. Health hazards are suggested to accompany the ingestion of this promoter. CaMVP35S can function in a wide range of organisms (plants and animals). It has also been demonstrated that the CaMV-P35S promoter sequence can convert an adjacent tissue- and organ-specific gene promoter into a globally active promoter. The present work was conducted to evaluate the possibility of horizontal gene transfer from a diet containing DNA segments from Cauliflower mosaic virus -35S promoter (CaMVP-35S) to the cells of different organs of rats fed for three months on diets containing genetically modified components. Analysis of the results revealed that: 1) ingested fragments from the CaMV-35S promoter incorporated into blood, liver, and brain tissues of experimental rats, 2) The total mean of transfer of GM target sequences increased significantly by increasing the feeding durations, and 3) The affinity of different transgenic fragments from the ingested GM-diet, to be incorporated into the different tissues of rats varied from one target sequence to the other.

To read the study, click here: Article Number - BE5331948800.

Source: academicJournals

How to Avoid GMO's for Your Holiday Meal

Staff Writer, Nicole Meyer-Greene

GMO / Non GMO Project 
____________________________________

How can you enjoy your holiday dinners if you do not know what it is exactly your are eating? Problem solved: 

Browse Products by Brand

Note: You can download this pdf file created by the Center for Food Safety that provides guidelines for buying non-GMO foods in your local stores. This tells you what you can eat that is not GMO contaminated.

In addition, you can take a look at this GMO manufacturer list put together by Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper on Facebook.

 

Here if you would like a spreadsheet file.

Source: Non GMO Project, Shift Frequency

Congress Admits It's Too Stupid to Label GMO's

Staff Writer, Nicole Meyer-Greene

GMO's / Food Industry

__________________________________

GMO's, or genetically modified organisms, in the past few decades have been pushed on the American public in secret. Education from large biotech and chemical companies has been nonexistent as well as independent, third party safety studies. All these trade protections have led to a major push back from consumers who see an increase in illness and diseases since GMO's have proliferated the grocery isles. Consumers want answers, labeling, and control over their bodies.

Politicians and big corporations do not see how Americans can be educated about something as clandestine as GMO's and that is the reason why Americans are too ignorant to have information such as food labeling. 

Congress held a hearing about GMO labeling and concluded with its skewed witness testimony that Americans are just too ignorant and stupid to understand GMO's or labels for them.

That is not an accurate summation but Congress and GMO advocates still believe you are stupid:

Really? It sounds like Congress is the one that is stupid. Let's talk about Congressional ignorance on the subject of GMO's: 

1. There is no consensus on GM food safety
2. There are no epidemiological studies investigating potential effects of GM food consumption on human health
3. Claims that scientific and governmental bodies endorse GMO safety are exaggerated or inaccurate
4. EU research project does not provide reliable evidence of GM food safety
5. List of several hundred studies does not show GM food safety
6. There is no consensus on the environmental risks of GM crops
7. International agreements show widespread recognition of risks posed by GM foods and crops

What are the facts about GMO crops?

Over 80% of all GMOs grown worldwide are engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs:’ which can only be killed with ever more toxic poisons like 2,4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture, and are developed and sold by the world’s biggest chemical companies. The long-term impacts of GMOs are unknown, and once released into the environment these novel organisms cannot be recalled.

 Or read, Dr. Mercola's article: Why GMOs Can Never Be Safe:

The truth is that studies of GM food have shown tumors, organ failure, gastric lesions, liver damage, kidney damage, allergic reactions and more.

What are the Myths of GM crops that Mainstream Media, Congressional witnesses, biotech companies, and Congress wants you to believe? Here's a list:

Myth #1: No one has ever proven that GMOs are harmful to people
The truth is that studies of GM food have shown tumors, premature death, organ failure, gastric lesions, liver damage, kidney damage, allergic reactions, and more.
Myth #2: GM crops are the only way to solve world hunger
The reality is that GM farming practices are not sustainable, which virtually guarantees future crop collapses and subsequent famine. Nor are farmers able to save their seeds due to patent infringement and poor fertility in the seeds. Sustainable agricultural practices are the answer to world hunger.
Myth #3: GM crops need less pesticide spraying
The truth is that after the first couple of years, the use of pesticides and herbicides on GM crops has increased dramatically.
Myth #4: GM technology is comparable to the cross-breeding that our ancestors did to create hardier versions of heritage crops
Cross pollination of different varieties of the same plant (what our ancestors did) is low-tech and can occur naturally. Genetic modification of seeds is done in a lab and often crosses different biological kingdoms, such as crossing a bacteria with a plant the unintended adverse effects of which may be incalculably large and impossible to ascertain before they are released into the biosphere.
Myth #5: If the FDA and the USDA allow them, they must be safe
Monsanto has close ties with the US government, such that, despite the obvious conflict of interest, Monsanto executives have been given policy-making positions in Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.
Myth #6: There is no nutritional difference between GM food and non-GM food
A 2012 nutritional analysis of GM versus non-GM corn showed shocking differences in nutritional content. Non-GM corn contains 437 times more calcium, 56 times more magnesium, and 7 times more manganese than GM corn. GM corn was also found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, a pesticide so toxic that it may be carcinogenic in the parts-per-trillion range, compared to zero in non-GM corn.
Myth #7: GMOs are impossible to avoid
GM ingredients are found in more than 70 percent of processed foods, but you can largely avoid them by avoiding these processed foods. By switching to whole foods like vegetables, fruits, grass-fed meats and other basic staples, you can control the GM foods in your diet.
Myth #8: Monsanto has our best interests in mind
Monsanto has spent over half a million dollars on hiring a firm to help 'protect the Monsanto brand name' from activists. There is speculation that they have placed trolls on anti-GM Web sites, hidden posts from social media, and even possibly hacked researchers computers days before they were set to release a damaging study. There's even speculation that the US government is spying on anti-Monsanto activists.
Myth #9: GMOs are not harmful to the environment
On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, where a nearly 2,000-acre test facility for Monsanto sits, air and water quality are horrendous and there are reports of deaths, infertility, uncontrolled cross-pollination, bloody skin rashes, asthma and pesticide contamination in the groundwater.
Myth #10: GMOs are here to stay
Biotech wants you to believe that GM crops are here to stay, but a war is being waged against GMOs, and the resistance is gaining significant ground. By sharing information like this, we can fight back against biotech and the poisons they're releasing into our environment.

All this information that shows that GMO's need further research before the crops are sold to the American people are astounding. Why couldn't Congress do a search online and find out this type of information?

Because Congress is stupid.

Maybe it is about time people in Washington, D.C. stop listening to bribers and do right by the American people. Calling us ignorant or stupid means you cannot defend the poison that is GM food-like products.

If you would like to live GMO free, use this handy webpage of Verified Products to assist in living a non-GMO life. 

Vote with your pocket book and your vote. Get rid of Congresspersons who believe the American public cannot make health and wellbeing decisions without the consent of biotech companies. 

For more information on GMO's, here are some VDP Gazette articles on the subject:

Movie Night: Seeds of Death

Monsanto vs the Monarch: Why Destroy These Beautiful Butterfles? 

Source: ENSSER, Huffington Post, Non-GMO Project,

​NSA Nudies, Hillary Helping Monsanto, Kids Too Fat for the Military and More

Staff Writer, DB Holmes

Government / Comedy
_________________________________

​NSA Nudies, Hillary Helping Monsanto, 

Kids Too Fat for the Military and More

The Redacted Team discovers nude pics at the NSA, advice from Hillary to the GMO industry, that most youth don't qualify for the military, the real force stopping marijuana's legalization, walls that stop tornadoes, riot control drones, and that someone does read the episode description.

Source: Redacted Tonight

Movie Night: Seeds Of Death

Staff Writer, DB Holmes

GMOs / Food Supply
____________________________________

Seeds Of Death

In preparation of the global March Against Monsanto, you are invited to watch our award-winning documentary Seeds of Death free.

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/

The leaders of Big Agriculture--Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta--are determined that world's populations remain ignorant about the serious health and environmental risks of genetically modified crops and industrial agriculture. Deep layers of deception and corruption underlie both the science favoring GMOs and the corporations and governments supporting them.

This award-winning documentary, Seeds of Death, exposes the lies about GMOs and pulls back the curtains to witness our planet's future if Big Agriculture's new green revolution becomes our dominant food supply.

A Question and Answer fact sheet deconstructing Monsanto's GM claims and Big Agriculture's propaganda to accompany the film is available online:

http://prn.fm/2013/05/24/gary-null-an...

Source: Youtube 

Monsanto vs the Monarch: Why Destroy These Beautiful Butterfles?

Staff Writer, Nicole Meyer-Greene

GMO / Pesticides / Butterflies
________________________________

The latest campaign against the chemical and biotech company, Monsanto, is the race to save the Monarch Butterfly. Pollinators like bees, butterflies not only serve an aesthetic purpose but also a food source reproducer. Without pollinators, there are no foods.   

Monsanto vs the Monarch: The main cause of the monarch butterfly's decline is the loss of milkweed — its food — in its U.S. breeding grounds, a new study has found. That all but confirms that the spread of genetically modified crops is indirectly killing the monarch. Insect Ecologist Chip Taylor agrees. He also blames GMO crops for the collapse of the Monarch butterfly. If the Monarchs can be said to have a fatal flaw, it’s that they’re are entirely dependent upon milkweed. The long-term loss of the Monarch's milkweed habitat has been due to the adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops. "I don’t think there’s any question about it. The statistics are really quite clear." -Chip Taylor, Insect Ecologist and Founder of Monarch Watch. What price we pay for GMO technology. Plant milkweed! SAVE THE MONARCH!

MSN Canada published on article, Monarch butterfly decline linked to spread of GM crops, which linked GMOs and pesticides to the decline in the population:

The study, published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology, shows this decline in milkweed is the main cause of the monarch's recent population decline, not deforestation in Mexico. If this milkweed loss continues, the study predicts, monarch populations will fall at least another 14 per cent and there is a five per cent chance they will be driven nearly to extinction over the next century .

Study co-author Ryan Norris, a biology professor at the University of Guelph, said that "likely the biggest cause of loss of milkweed is the adoption of genetically modified crops."

Farmers have been increasingly planting corn and soybeans resistant to herbicides, and then applying those herbicides liberally on their fields. That kills off plants between the rows of crops that aren't resistant, such as milkweed.

That's been a big problem for the butterflies. Even now, 67 per cent of milkweed plants in the butterflies' breeding grounds are found in "agriculture-intensive landscapes," the study reported.

In the article, Monsanto vs. the monarchs: The fight to save the world’s most stunning butterfly migration, the conclusion is just as grim. Yet there is hope if people come together and make a difference:

We can’t just convert everything into an agricultural field or an urban environment. We have to maintain the wildlife out there. This is as fundamental as our relationship with nature, but also the reality is about 70 percent of that native vegetation out there is insect pollinated and if you don’t have the insects, you lose the plants, and if you don’t have the plants you lose the things that feed on those plants. So we’ve got to keep this system together. People don’t understand this, but everything’s connected out there and we have to maintain those connections.

So the next time you pull a milkweed or spray pesticides in your yard for a fictional manicured look, remember that you like big corporations are the problem. Be the solution: stop spraying pesticides and grow to love your weeds.

Without milkweed, there is no Monarch Butterfly.

 Source: MSN Canada, Salon 

A Violation of Life

Guest Writer, MJ Christian
Food Democracy / Opinion
_________________________________________________

As we make our way through this maze of life we must come to the realization that we are entangled in the web of creation. Everything we do or do not do has its effect on all life. It is said that our inaction is as bad as being the one who is contributing to the destruction of our planet and society.

As we make our way through the grocery store aisles the decisions we make with our purchasing power not only affect our health but also the entire ecosystem. Our choices affect the health and well-being of our families and our future. When we as parents come to the realization that our purchasing power has far reaching affects, then we can be a powerful force in changing the way our food is grown and the way it is packaged as well as the way the household products we use are created.

Now more than any time in our lives do we have the choice to purchase products that are life empowering or life destroying. It is our choice to decide whether we want to empower our children with knowledge and good health or choose to be lazy and accept the poisons created by corporations who are only interested in their bottom line.

As consumers when we band together to do the best for our families we are forcing the change we need for overall survival on this planet. The foods that are poison to our bodies are highly subsidized by our government through heavy lobbying by major corporations. It is our responsibility to hit them in their pockets the way they have done to us. These corporations that have forced their poisons on us have caused us all great harm to our health as well as to our environment. They have caused the real food that is grown by farmers who honestly care about our future to be burdened with proving their crops are clean. 

 

Organic farmers are forced to prove their products do not contain GMOs, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides while “conventional” and GMO farmers have the right to poison our food, our environment and our entire eco-system. We are now at the most critical juncture of our lives. We cannot sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to take action for us. We must act now and be proactive in every buying decision we make today.

 

 

If you would like to read more of MJ Christian's writing, please visit her blog: The Christian Weigh. 

It's Not Just Your Food: GM Mosquitoes Are on the Loose

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

GMOs / International News

_____________________________

The people in Panama are being warned that genetically modified mosquitoes are going to be released. As of February 15th, Nuevo Chorillo, in the Arraiján district of Panama, will begin to experience these new mosquitoes.

“Local people in Panama must be asked for their fully informed consent before these experiments begin” said Dr Helen Wallace, Director of GeneWatch UK, “This means the risks must not be hidden by the company. People must be able to discuss the pros and cons of these experiments and have a right to have their say”.

These mosquitoes are produced by the UK company, Oxitec. In the beginning the company tried to hide that 18% of the mosquitoes could survive passed the larve stage, when the GM mosquitoes mate with the native females, therefore creating a new species, unabated. 

There are more issues to this release: 

1. Impact on mosquito populations. Oxitec has not assessed the possibility that mosquito numbers in areas neighbouring the trials could increase as a result of the experiments, or considered the serious risk that another species of dengue-transmitting mosquito, Aedes albopictus (the Asian Tiger mosquito), increases in numbers if the numbers of Aedes aegypti decrease. Researchers at Panama University have described Aedes albopictus as more dangerous than Aedes aegypti and it is regarded as a more invasive species which may be very difficult to tackle if it moves into the area (4). In its draft risk assessment submitted to regulators in the USA Oxitec states (5): “It is not clear to what extent Ae. albopictus could or would expand its range into areas currently dominated by Ae. aegypti but it is reasonable to expect a degree of such expansion if no countervailing activities are undertaken”.

2. Impact on dengue fever. Oxitec has published no evidence that population suppression of Aedes aegypti mosquito numbers in its target area will actually reduce the incidence or severity of dengue fever or the more severe form of the disease dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). In its draft risk assessment submitted to regulators in the USA Oxitec states (6): “It has been suggested that, in countries with very high transmission rates, reduction in transmission could increase the frequency of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) even while decreasing the incidence of dengue fever”. In its draft risk assessment for the USA, Oxitec then dismisses this concern by making an unproven claim that the reduction in transmission will be well below the necessary level and pointing out that this concern is not relevant to the USA (where dengue fever is not endemic). However, this risk is highly relevant in Panama.

3. Release of biting females. Oxitec has recently published figures on the number of biting female GM mosquitoes that are inadvertently released (7). If correct, this would mean that 200 biting female GM mosquitoes are released in every million males, meaning that some people will inevitably be bitten. Current production of Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes in Brazil is 4 million a week. In the Cayman Islands, mechanical sorting was less effective, leading to about 5,000 biting female mosquitoes in every million males.

4. Survival and spread of GM mosquitoes. In the laboratory, 3% of the offspring of Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes survive to adulthood, even in the absence of the antidote tetracycline. This percentage could increase as resistance to the genetic killing mechanism evolves over time. When GM mosquitoes were fed cat food containing industrially farmed chicken, which contains the antibiotic tetracycline, the survival rate increased to 18% (8). A number of studies have found thatAedes aegypti mosquitoes can breed in septic tanks where there are high levels of contamination with antibiotics such as tetracycline. They also commonly live in areas where discarded takeaways are likely to contain meat contaminated with tetracycline. Increased survival rates would reduce the effectiveness of any population suppression effect over time, increase the number of biting GM females, and potentially allow the GM mosquitoes to establish in the wild.

5. Transfer of other traits to wild mosquitoes. When Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes breed with wild mosquitoes some of their other genetic characteristics will be passed on to the local wild mosquito population. Different strains of the same species are found in different places and some strains are more resistant to insecticides than others or better transmitters of disease. Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes are not developed from a native strain so the possible introduction of such traits needs to be considered. There are four different types of dengue virus and the harm to people’s health can be increased if some types can be transmitted more easily by the introduced strain than they were by the wild species already in the area. Other viruses, such as Yellow Fever, are also transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and the impact of the new strain on transmission of such viruses also needs to be considered.

Sources: Sustainable Pulse,

Kaua'i Can't You Just Leave Us Alone? Chemical Companies Sue for Their Right to Poison Small Island

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Environment / Government

__________________________________

"It is not Aloha to spray your neighbors with toxic pesticides."

That pretty much says it all. Everyone on the planet should adhere to this golden rule, but chemical companies could care less about the effects of poisons. Corporations are all about the bottom line.

“As a west side resident who is surrounded by the test fields of these companies, it is my basic human right to know what they are exposing me and my family to on a regular basis. Their actions prove that they do not value the health and well-being of our community, and are only interested in their corporate profit,” Malia Chun, a local educator and community activist, said in a statement.

If you listen to the video of the Council Meeting, the corporate representative believes in trade secrets as well as other counties and states making a similar ruling than the rights of local officials to protect their citizens from harmful effects of chemicals.

Good luck getting anyone to study the effects of chemicals on animals, people and the land. Chemical companies will not allow it. If a study does make a connection to ill health and chemicals, then the study is either ridiculed or not published at all. Moreover trade secrets are invoked to keep the public from knowing anything about the chemicals they are breathing in or being sprayed with daily.

 

Anecdotal evidence is summarily dismissed as if to say local doctors and residents are unable to show how pesticides create health problems. For instance, some doctors say the area of concern appears to have unusually high rates of asthma, cancer and birth defects. 

You don't say. 

With this regions ability to have all year around growing seasons, chemical companies can grow and test three and four different types of genetically modified crops in one year. The land is poisoned and tilled several times as the air becomes full of noxious fumes and toxic dust particles. 

That's what happened between 2006-08, Waimea Canyon Middle School, which is near a Syngenta field. The school had to be evacuated and children were taken to the hospital with several reports in addition complaining about the chemical farms during those two years.

Kauai and its residents wanted a level playing field, to be informed, and to create buffer zones. Waimea Canyon Middle School is one of those places the public wanted protected against further chemical onslaught. Reasonable, right?

So the law, Ordinance 960 (formerly known as Bill 2491), was passed with much political fervor.

The protection provisions of 2491 require:

1) Buffer zones between chemical fields and schools, parks, beaches and hospitals.

2) Disclosure of GMO crops (until now, they have largely remained a secret).

3) Public notification before chemical spraying so that concerned citizens can leave the area and limit their exposure.

4) A county-level environmental assessment of the potentially hazardous effects of the toxic chemicals being sprayed on agricultural crops.

5) Full disclosure of the exact pesticides and herbicides being sprayed, as well as location details of where spraying is taking place.

However the chemical industry does not see the need for compromise, they see only what benefits their profit margins. So the chemical companies did the only selfish thing they could do: file suit.

The 84-page suit claims that the Kauai law was explicitly drafted “to discriminate against GM seed farming operations on Kaua’i” and that it violates their federal and state constitutional rights to equal protection and due process.

“Bill 2491 irrationally prohibits Plaintiffs from growing any crops, whether genetically modified or not, within arbitrarily drawn buffer zones inapplicable to other growers, and restricts Plaintiffs’ pesticide use within those buffer zones,” the suit states. It says that if the companies are forced to reveal the location of their transgenic crop fields they will face the risk of “commercial espionage, vandalism and theft” and that all these “burdensome operational restrictions and civil and criminal penalties” have no legal justification and would hurt their businesses economically. It says the bill was “tailored to avoid impacting others who use pesticides on Kaua’i to grow non-GM crops and for other purposes.”

Paul Minehart, a Syngenta spokesman told Reuters that the ordinance attempts to regulate activities over which counties in Hawaii have no jurisdiction. “These activities are already regulated by governmental agencies under state and federal laws,” he said.

Listen to our reply: 

Dear Syngenta, Monsanto, Dow Chemical, Pioneer-Dupont and BASF,

If you have not figured it out yet: no one wants your toxins, poisons, chemicals or biotechnology (like geneticially modified food replication). 

Hawaii doesn't want you. Kauai doesn't want you. Other nations don't want you. 

We are tired of being bullied and lied to about your creations and how we must be enslaved to terminator seeds and forced to eat scorpion venom cabbage. 

We're done with you. Pack your bags and leave. Filing lawsuits is only going to make the people rise up against you stronger than ever. 

What's the point? You've outgrown your usefulness because you won't tell the truth. You won't have independent studies done and all you do is cry: Trade Secrets and Patent Law! 

If you cannot guarantee people's safety with truth and facts, then why shouldn't counties, states, and countries begin to protect themselves from you? Even remove you?

You're not really giving anyone any choices. 

Our rights for knowledge and safety outweigh your need for being nefarious.

Maybe you should think about how the world sees you before you really end your companies' future from the bad public relations campaign you have begun with court proceedings in Kauai.

Get a clue.

Source: GMO Secrets, EcoWatch, Natural News,

Agriculture Coexistence with GMO's, USDA Commentary Period

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Nature / Farming

_____________________________

The USDA has opened up a commentary period for people to send their thoughts and opinions to the government about food production.:

USDA Requests Public Input on ‘Agricultural Coexistence.’

USDA published a request for public comments (FR Vol.78, No. 213, Nov. 4, 2013) on how agricultural coexistence in the United States can be strengthened. Comments will be accepted through January 3, 2014. OSA and other organizations have requested a 60-day extension to this deadline. We will notify you if there is an extension. For now, we need you to comment!

How to comment
Comment online at Regulations.gov.
Send comments via postal mail to: Docket No. APHIS-2013-0047, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station, 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238

This opportunity only lasts until January 3rd, 2014 to let the USDA how you feel about GMO crops contaminating the rest of the food supply through big agriculture's farming practices

Non-GMO agriculture has shouldered the burden of contamination for too long. This is our opportunity to tell USDA that it must use its authority to (1) implement mandatory contamination prevention measures to avoid the problem and protect the organic and non-GMO sector, and (2) ensure shared responsibility for the unwanted spread of GE products, including a fair compensation mechanism that does not further burden those who avoid, and sometimes are harmed by, contamination.

Please read the source material before commenting so there is a cohesive understanding of what is being asked of the public.: Seed Broadcast Blog. Then comment away! 

This procedure is how things are changed. Let's change farming practices for the better and remove GMO's from our food supply.

 Source: Seed Broadcast Blog

People Revolt Against Mainstream Media

Staff Writer: DL Mullan

Current Event / News 

___________________________________

Criminal media, I mean, mainstream media is feeling the heat as MAMM (March Against Mainstream Media) protests were held outside news outlets across America and London.

People are tired of having filtered news that doesn't tell them anything. Mainstream media has been bought out and is now controlled by seven conglomerates that sanitize the news. It should be called: we don't want you to know anything news except what we are told to tell you...

Good luck if you hear of Citigroup or ALEC writing your laws instead of the people you pay and elect. Good luck if you get one iota of information about the radiation nightmare that has become the Fukashima plant in Japan. Good luck if you even hear about real issues like fluoride in the water, GMO's in your food, or poisons in your vaccines... it's all good, nothing to see here, keep moving.

It seems like corporations, government, and media don't want you knowing the state of the world. It's not a pretty picture. The people in charge of the world have made quite the mess and then get on the news to tell the average person it is his or her fault for being alive, instead of telling you about the people who actually committed the crimes against humanity.

Protesters have come together to fight the war on journalism. Speak the truth. Let journalists do their jobs. Stop controlling the spin.

Did you see a story of this event on your local news? Then why not? Maybe you should demand it.

It's a sad day in America when I have to go find the news about America from Russia Today. Chew on that hypocrisy...

Source: Russia Today