Do we criticize Monsanto’s business practices or act on Congress’ weaknesses? Or Both?
The Monsanto Protection Act bars federal courts from being able to halt the sale or the planting of genetically modified (GMO) or genetically engineered (GE) seeds. When The Monsanto Protection Act passed in Congress, many members of Congress claimed that they were unaware that the “Monsanto Protection Act” even existed within the bill that they were voting on. HR 933 was a spending bill aimed at averting a government shutdown and ensuring that the federal government would continue to be solvent.
Our elected leaders are obviously not doing their job, and big corp representatives are obviously taking advantage of that fact.
Hidden Back-Room Deals
There are many things the American public needs to “fix” concerning our political system, but the passing of The Monsanto Protection Act brings into the light a very poignant issue. Our Senate and Congress should vote on only one item for one bill at one time, and no hidden back-room deals and codicils should ever be allowed to attach to another bill. HR 933 was a spending bill aimed at averting a government shutdown – it had nothing to do with The Monsanto Protection Act.
This sets a terrible precedent, and the message that it sends is that corporations can get around consumer safety protections if they keep Congress confused. Lawmakers and companies working together to craft legislation are by no means rare occurrences today, but if we are to survive as a healthy nation, well-informed consumers must continue to expose, adjudicate, and stop these practices from continuing. Find out who “blindly” voted for The Monsanto Protection Act, and campaign against them in the next Congressional election. Stop those who are harming the health and safety of our future.
Dire Risks
There is no doubt that the dire risks from GMOs on public health is undetermined. Good science, and basic common sense, prove that there are not enough long-term/non-corporate studies on the health risks of GE/GMO crops and foods. Even if scientific studies prove the severe adverse health effects caused by genetically modified foods, mankind has gone too far down the wrong road to reverse the damage done because the seeds have spread and Nature’s wildlife is already exposed to foreign genes and DNA.
We are messing in our own nest, and if we keep allowing our leaders to guide us down the wrong path, this will never change. And, time is running out.
Monsanto’s Rights
Monsanto has the right to plant anything they choose on their private or corporate properties, and, hence, this bill secured those rights. Nevertheless, Monsanto does not have the right to trespass on to your property and plant their seeds in your garden without your permission. They don’t have the right to put GMO fish into your stream or pond, and they do not have the right to enter your kitchen and serve you unlabeled, mutated foods without your permission. So, The Monsanto Protection Act might protect their right to do whatever they choose if they keep their products to themselves. If they “sell” them to you for a “profit”, they MUST clearly label these foods so that you are unmistakenly informed. Your rights are still protected if they harm your life, your children, and enter your space without your permission.
It’s not over, yet, Monsanto.
