By Rady Ananda
Global Research
Amid mass US protests against Monsanto yesterday, France imposed a temporary moratorium on the planting of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn, MON810.
“Due to the proximity of the planting season,” said Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire along with Francois Fillon, Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development, in a press release on Friday, authorities “decided to take a precautionary measure to temporarily prohibit the cultivation of maize MON810 on the national territory to protect the environment.”
All prior plantings of MON810, trade name YieldGard, become illegal on March 20.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Monsanto announced in January that it would not sell genetically modified corn in France due to public opposition.
A growing list of human health and environmental hazards from GM crops has raised concern over bioengineered food and feed, including a literally explosive growth of a “new” microbe on pig manure:
Likely linked to GM feed served to most livestock in the US, methane-filled “foam” growing on pig manure has resulted in several pig farm explosions since 2001, killing thousands of animals.
“And there’s no stopping it,” reports the Daily Mail, “the foam has now started growing on one in four farms across the Midwest.” Scientists believe a new type of bacteria may have developed.
This comports with plant pathologist Don Huber’s discovery last year of a new pathogen associated with spontaneous abortions in livestock, which has been linked to the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.
Modified with a Bt protein to kill insects, MON810 is losing its efficacy in the US. The Western rootworm beetle – one of the most serious threats to corn – has developed resistance to the bacterial toxin in eleven states.
In early March, a group of pro-biotech corn entomologists sent a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency warning that insect resistance to genetically modified corn can be halted by planting non-GMO seed. The warning will likely go unheeded as the US Dept. of Agriculture announced plans to speed up the process of GM approval by 18 months.
Over the past eight months, the European Commission has approved 11 new transgenic crops. However, EU nations can independently restrict or prohibit the sales of products under certain conditions.
Also on Friday in the US, GM opponents held a nationwide protest against Monsanto. Dressed in hazmat suits, they targeted Congress for its complicity in allowing the dangerous adulterant in the food and feed supply:
Protests continue today across the US, and include an action against WalMart for planning to sell Monsanto’s GM corn this year.
The move to label GMO foods in the US grew stronger last week when 55 Members of Congress sent a letter to the US Food and Drug Admin demanding the label.
In California, a statewide petition drive is underway to put the labeling initiative on the ballot this November. With six weeks remaining to collect one million registered voter signatures, the Label GMOs group got a welcome boost when Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds designed a special seed packet to be used for the campaign.
Maeve, me too. Also, for the record, personal experimentation has firmly concluded that GMO foods cause anxiety, heart palpitations and my makes my brain/body unable to properly regulate its temperature – thus creating insomnia when evening meal contains say, GMO corn. (Such as sitting with friends at dinner time at a restaurant and ‘innocently’ munching chips and salsa while chatting.)<<No No on that etc ever again.
Experiment on Self = Over/Done/Fini. I'm glad I finally "got" that the only common element in the pattern (of night heart palpitations and insomnia) is GMO "food".
I have no interest in trying to get my body to accept grains again. I am much happier and healthier without them – and yes, looking forward to when we have reclaimed our life/health from Monsanto et al.
xo
Aword – I can tolerate organic/non-gmo corn better than not, but only still in small amounts. I can’t do most grains anymore, just rice and potatoes. I’ve been trying to reintroduce oatmeal, but that one’s still a bit dicey. I find more important for me, is how I combine my foods. I’ve known for a long time that I can’t just have a bowl of cereal, or a bowl of oatmeal, or a big plate full of (rice) pasta. But if I combine it with other stuff, I’m much better off.
Tangent to wheat – interestingly, my acupuncturist (hi!) says she can eat wheat just fine when she’s overseas (I may be making a broad generalization here). She’s less sensitive to it than I am, but we theorize it’s because it’s a different breed of wheat… older, less tampered with. I have hopes of finally making it across the pond (somewhere) and having some tasty bread again. 🙂 There’s really nothing in the GF pantheon that compares. I’ve mostly gotten past it, but it’s the texture and the smell and sensation I miss. 🙂
Patty, God Bless. Thank you, thank Seedsavers and all organic farmers and those working to save our health in this way.
(oh yes, and as Jann has pointed out – wheat is a whole other ball game.)
Maeve,
Yes, try non-GMO corn and your body will may a tolerate it quite well. I’ve found my “sensitivities” are generally to GMO, chemicals and improperly prepared grains) not to properly prepared whole foods.
Linda
Be, that is interesting. Many other events of the past months that seem to synchronize on the symbols. An old lady at my mom’s farmer’s market (also 85 years old), is one of the people who provides seed to Seedsavers. I think I willl make it one of my goals for this summer – to protect at least one variety for Seedsavers. They provide a valuable service. Mom wants to protect her old corn seed too. It will be a job, but we can do it.
You might be right about that Patty. I wondered the same thing back when the awful Gulf oil drill explosion happened. Ceres was about to conjunct Pluto then. However, I think pure greed is not to be underestimated, and these bastards don’t care who dies from their carelessness it seems.
Various “clues” makes me think that the Mars symbol is tied to the Moon symbol of “the people” these days and he is going up against the co-creators of genetically modified foods, which would include government influences. In the eclipse chart I referred to below, Mars rules the 11th house (when set for Washington DC), with 10th house Uranus in Aries only 2 degrees from the cusp to the 11th. I get the feeling that Mars is a defender “of the people”, but right now while he is retrograde in Virgo and trine Jupiter (widespread) and Pluto (corruption) he will ferret out more internal information along these lines. With Uranus at his beck and call (well, sort of) there will be more shocking evidence of the evils of big business in agriculture as well as other industries.
Mars in the eclipse chart has the Sabian Symbol of “Aroused Strikers Surround A Factory”, and Dane Rudhyar says this indicates “industrial unrest and violence. He also says “As man manages to rape the earth in order to demonstrate his power and intensify his pleasures and his sense of proud mastery, conflicts and disruptive processes are inevitably initiated.”
be
I seriously have wondered for awhile if this is big brother’s plan to depopulate the world. Monsanto scientists have known for years that round-up ready grains cause spontaneous abortions. I don’t think there is any way possible to keep it out of our good horticultural seed. A few years ago there was an old lady near us who fertilized her corn by hand (it isn’t that hard but it is hot sweaty work). She would cover the tassels with bags and tie them shut to protect them from invading neighboring corn, whose pollen might carry in on the wind. She would then sell the seed from her good corn. What a blessed soul. I don’t raise corn because we have too many raccoons, but i may need to reconsider. My mother is growing corn this summer (she’s 85), but her garden is in the middle of a monsanto field. I usually buy corn from a neighbor, but now I will have to ask him what seed he uses. This is beyond sickening.
Food for thought. . . . Eclipse Sun at 9+ Cancer on July 1 is opposite where Pluto is now. Ceres at 28+ Pisces is where the Sun is today. She was square Venus at 26+ Gemini, conjunct Persephone (stolen child) and Askalaphus (whistle blower and/or doctor) in the Eclipse chart. Neptune and Chiron then are where they basically are now, as is/was Uranus. Vesta (investments) in Aries is now square the Eclipse Sun/Moon of July 1, 2011.
Mars in the Eclipse chart was at 7+ Gemini and conjunct the U.S. Sibly natal Uranus (8+ Gemini) and the progressed U.S. Uranus (7+ Gemini), then and now. Transiting retrograde Mars in Virgo (details – health issues) is now square those Gemini points. 7+ Gemini is where the transiting south node is now. Transiting Juno (partnership) in Sagittarius (foreign countries) is at 7+ degrees. By next Friday, Chiron will be at 7+ Pisces.
In the 1/25/08 Pluto Ingress into Capricorn Saturn was at 7+ Virgo retrograde, and opposite Borasisi (feel good lies) at 7+ Pisces. When Pluto ingressed Cap the 2nd time (11/26/08) Mars was at 7+ Sagittarius, square Ceres at 7+ Virgo. Mars was also conjunct Hylonome and Industria both at 6+ Sagittarius.
If someone had only told us; but then didn’t we already know?
be
Maeve, I’m with you on the corn, soy and wheat. I “can’t” eat them either, though is it so difficult to avoid them. It’s not just the GM issue. I previously posted a link to a review of “Wheat Belly” by William Davis, MD (http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/magazine/2012-january-february/wheat-belly.html). His theory is that wheat has been hybridized so much that it is indigestible by humans.
I also believe that the pandemic presence of corn, soy and wheat products and byproducts as ingredients in virtually every bit of food that is available is a significant cause of increased health issues – diabetes (corn), asthma (wheat), cancer (soy), hypertension, heart attacks, and on and on and on. Even if not present as an ingredient, those “crops” can be found in the animal feed. All the more reason to be friends with farmers, join a CSA and buy local/organic.
Prompted by Eric’s ECO post about frankencorn in the subscriber issue, my CSA farmer and I were talking about Monsanto yesterday. His sentiment is that Monsanto should be run out of business. Not easy in this country, but at least there is movement to protest. Of course, there is no media coverage of any such objections.
Too much corporate control of everything. I hear people object to government running anything. Yeah, there’s problems with government but at least (in theory) was still have an electoral process for it. I don’t know which will be the more difficult and painful revolution: against the government or against the corporations. Oh, wait – pretty much one and the same these days.
I find some solace in this frankstein-like way too early spring here in many parts of the US that the warm weather will mean an earlier emergence of #Occupy. And, happy six month anniversary to #Occupy.
JannKinz
I’ve shared this article to my FB page. I’m glad other countries are waking up and banning Monsanto. Considering that they and other huge corporations essentially own the US food market I don’t think they’ll give up so easily here in the US. But we can all protest by choosing to buy local and organic, preparing our own food rather than eating processed foods, etc. I hear people say “it costs too much” but in the long run, we save on medical costs, and eat less to get the same amount of nutrients.
I don’t have sources handy, but I recall reading about pink slime a year or two back, and tests showed that the ammonia treatment didn’t really reduce bacterial levels to any great amount. Or not to safe enough levels, or something. Basically that it really didn’t do what everyone thought it did.
I’ll see if I can find some articles tomorrow.
I can’t tolerate corn anymore, just like wheat. I suspect it’s more due to the GMO natures of the grains, rather than true food sensitivity. Same with soy.
Add the plan to purchase 7 million pounds of “pink slime” — beef(??) trimmings finely ground and treated with ammonia to kill e coli — for school lunches and certify us ALL “USDA Insane.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/pink-slime-school-lunch-opt-out_n_1347784.html
Methane filled foam spontaneously exploding? SHEEE-ITE! Just another out-of-control industry, inflicting new life forms upon us and the world at large.
Nothing to see here, move along…
gee fucking whiz!
or as Carol said — “pass the ammunition.”