A fight for the public good: Prologue and Appeal
Daily Kos – Berkeley,CA

Regular readers of this and other liberal websites know Bob Trivette’s enemy all too well.  He’s fighting against the Monsanto Company, dubbed by some “the world’s most evil company.”  And Monsanto is spending all that it can to destroy Bob, in order to make an example of him, and ultimately in the pursuit of ever-expanding hegemony over the world’s food supply.

About ten years ago, Robert Trivette decided to upgrade a portion of his soybean crop, about 20 acres’ worth, to the latest thing in farming:  Monsanto’s exciting new Roundup Ready® soybean technology.  Monsanto promised a revolution in farming.  Rather than fighting weeds with specific, often toxic and highly regulated herbicides, Monsanto’s genetically engineered seeds grew into plants that would resist Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide, glyphosate, which it sold under the name Roundup.

Spraying his crops with Roundup would kill the weeds and leave the healthy soybean plants behind.  Although Roundup Ready seed was more expensive than conventional seed, Monsanto promised greater yields, less chemical expense, and an easier time in the fields.  But these advances, to the extent that they came about at all, came at a heavy price.

Dressing up dangerous Codex as “food safety”
Daily Kos – Berkeley, CA

The article below is from Thailand, where herbs such as turmeric, ginger and chili are being suddenly being called “hazardous.”

The “food safety” bills here do the same thing, redefining normal as hazardous and putting it under government control or requiring licensing which, by its costs, would put it out of reach. Normal seeds are being treated in this way in the EU.  The “food safety” bills here would put seeds out of reach by suddenly redefining  such normal things as agricultural water, manure, harvesting, transporting and seed cleaning equipment, and seed storage facilities as “sources of contamination” and from there, raising the standards for their use to a level farmers couldn’t meet.

Kettle brand jalapeno chips

Kettle Brand chips has released a fiery addition to its all-natural repertoire. The new jalapeno flavor is at once salty and sweet with a spicy kick that lingers on the tongue. Along with flavor, well-balanced crunch and crispness make this an addictive snack. So addictive, The Chronicle’s Food & Wine staff went through the bag in minutes. The fact that these chips contain zero grams of trans fat and all natural, non-GMO ingredients makes this spicy treat very cool.

US Doctors’ association calls for Moratorium on GMO Foods
Voltaire Network – Saint-Denis, France

In a just-released position paper on GMO foods, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) states that ‘GM foods pose a serious health risk’ and calls for a moratorium on GMO foods. Citing several animal studies, the AAEM concludes ‘there is more than a casual association between GMO foods and adverse health effects’ and that ‘GM foods pose a serious health risk in the areas of toxicology, allergy and immune function, reproductive health, and metabolic, physiologic and genetic health.’ The report is a devastating blow to the multibillion dollar international agribusiness industry, most especially to Monsanto Corporation, the world’s leading purveyor of GMO seeds and related herbicides.

In a press release dated May 19, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, which describes itself as ‘an international association of physicians and other professionals dedicated to addressing the clinical aspects of environmental health,’ called immediately for the following emergency measures to be taken regarding human consumption of GMO foods:

* A moratorium on GMO food; implementation of immediate long term safety testing and labelling of GMO food.

* Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community and the public to avoid GMO foods.

* Physicians to consider the role of GMO foods in their patients’ disease processes.

* More independent long term scientific studies to begin gathering data to investigate the role of GMO foods on human health.

The AAEM chairperson, Dr Amy Dean notes that ‘Multiple animal studies have shown that GM foods cause damage to various organ systems in the body. With this mounting evidence, it is imperative to have a moratorium on GM foods for the safety of our patients’ and the public’s health.’ The President of the AAEM, Dr Jennifer Armstrong stressed that ‘Physicians are probably seeing the effects in their patients, but need to know how to ask the right questions. The most common foods in North America which are consumed that are GMO are corn, soy, canola, and cottonseed oil.’ The AAEM’s position paper on Genetically Modified foods can be found at http:aaemonline.org.

Monsanto (MON) Downgraded By Citigroup
Market Intelligence Center – Charlottesville, VA

Monsanto (MON) was downgraded today by analysts at Citigroup and the stock is now at $86.44, down $2.85 (-3.19%) on volume of 2,958,053 shares traded. The analysts downgraded MON to Hold from Buy. Over the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from a low of $63.47 to a high of $145.80. Monsanto stock has been showing support around $86.74 and resistance in the $92.14 range. Technical indicators for the stock are neutral and S&P gives MON a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking. If you are looking for a hedged play on MON the stock seems like it could be a candidate for a July out-of-the-money bear-call credit spread above the 100 range. [ABR-Seven Summits Strategic Investments NewsBite]

Brazil regulator OKs Monsanto GMO cotton seed
Reuters – USA

SAO PAULO, May 21 (Reuters) – Brazil’s biosafety regulator CTNBio has approved the use of Monsanto’s (MON.N) Bollgard 2 genetically modified cotton seed, the company said on Thursday.

The pest-resistant cotton variety must still be approved by Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry before it can be planted in the country.

U.S.-based Monsanto has a total of six genetically modified varieties of cotton, soybeans and corn already approved for commercial planting in Brazil.

Bollgard 2 is a second-generation of pest-resistant cotton. It contains two different insect control genes, compared with the single insect control gene in its predecessor, Bollgard, which was approved in Brazil in 2005.

Other genetically modified cotton seeds developed by Bayer (BAYG.DE) and Dow Chemical (DOW.N) already have been approved for use in the South American country, a top producer of sugar, soy, coffee and oranges.

Codex Alimentarius – A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Codex Alimentarius – Translation: “Food Code” Originally envisioned and designed by what became the most ruthless and inhumane of 20th century Western European regimes, Codex Alimentarius (Codex) was later organized and officiated mainly by members of an emerging pharmaceutical industry spawned by that very same source.

Codex aims are already being closely followed by even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who has already sent “cease and desist” letters to vitamin manufacturers for their promotion of mental and physiological benefits of vitamin supplements on their web sites. Nearly 2/3rds of existing available vitamin substances have already been banned by the European Union through the European Food Supplements Directive which was passed into law in 2002 and upheld as law by the European court of Justice in 2005.

Note: These supplements are scheduled to be removed from online sites and store shelves in 2009.

Vandana Shiva: Our Corporate Farming System Is to Blame for …

AlterNet – San Francisco, CA

Last month, the world got a glimpse of an epidemic that has hit India in the last decade when news reports alerted readers to the suicides of 1,500 farmers in the Indian state of Chattisgarh.

But this has been only a fraction of the suicides committed by farmers since 1997, says Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., a physicist, environmentalist, feminist, science policy advocate and director ofNavdanya and the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology.

While initial news reports blamed the recent suicides on falling water levels, Shiva explains that the suicide epidemic in India is a lot more complicated and far-reaching.

“Rapid increase in indebtedness is at the root of farmers’ taking their lives,” she wrote recently. “Debt is a reflection of a negative economy. Two factors have transformed agriculture from a positive economy into a negative economy for peasants: the rising of costs of production and the falling prices of farm commodities. Both these factors are rooted in the policies of trade liberalization and corporate globalization.”

At the heart of this is a circle of indebtedness that has resulted from the so-called Green Revolution, which exported industrial agricultural practices to places like India and in doing so, made seeds, a once-renewable resource for farmers, into something that had be bought from corporations.

“In 1998, the World Bank’s structural-adjustment policies forced India to open up its seed sector to global corporations like Cargill, Monsanto and Syngenta,” Shiva wrote. “The global corporations changed the input economy overnight. Farm-saved seeds were replaced by corporate seeds, which need fertilizers and pesticides and cannot be saved. … The shift from saved seed to corporate monopoly of the seed supply also represents a shift from biodiversity to monoculture in agriculture.”

In an interview with AlterNet, Shiva explained how Monsanto’s Bt cotton has exemplified what can go wrong with industrial agriculture; what happens to farming communities when traditional farming methods are replaced by corporate sponsored mono-cropping; and how to stem the tide of farmer suicides.

Genetically Modified Foods Pose Huge Health Risk
Opposing Views – Los Angeles,CA,USA

LOS ANGELES — This week, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.” They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM’s position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GMfood,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,” as defined by recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”

More and more doctors are already prescribing GM-free diets. Dr. Amy Dean, a Michigan internal medicine specialist, and board member of AAEM says, “I strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods.” Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says “I used to test for soy allergies all the time, but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it.”