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Anti-GMO movement records several major victories
You might not be aware, because the mainstream news has been relatively quiet, however, Genetically Modified Food and the companies that produce them had a few major setbacks in their quest to control global food production.
In 2015, Monsanto initially pushed a law through the Guatemalan Congress, that would have granted exclusive control of all seeds to just a few multinational companies, threatening the rich tradition of Mayan farming and potentially destroying what remains of their indigenous culture.
The Guatemalan government:
“…repealed the legislation dubbed the ‘Monsanto Law’, which [gave] the biotech giant special expansion rights into ecologically-sensitive territory, after widespread public protest. The demonstrations included groups of indigenous Mayan people, joined by social movements, trade unions and farmers’ and womens’ organizations. (Natural Awakenings & UpsideDownWorld.org)”
Effective July 1st, 2016 Vermont will become the first state requiring any GMO ingredients to be labeled as such on all products sold or manufactured in the state. This will trigger similar laws in Maine and Connecticut as their respective bills required neighboring states to pass GMO labeling laws first.
Early in March 2016, General Mills announced “that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be throwing in the towel, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution. (Yahoo Finance)”
A bill known as the “DARK Act” (Denying Americans the Right to Know Act) was introduced by US Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), that would have prevented states from labeling food as GMO. Thankfully this bill was defeated 48-49, however, what is alarming is how many Senators agreed that companies should not be required to label GMO ingredients. Or as others have stated, almost half of the Senators thought that Americans do not have the right to know what is in their food, however, at least it was defeated. If GMO food is as safe as Monsanto and other companies say it is, then why lobby and pressure Congress to make sure that it never appears on the labels as GMO?
As the world continues to take action towards protecting natural, heirloom and organic seeds, we continue to move closer to ensuring that the food we consume is as close as possible to what Nature and God intended.
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Monsanto found guilty of poisoning French farmer
Your National Taoism Examiner has written several articles regarding the dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms/Food and the companies that produce them, in particular Monsanto (see recommended articles below). There have been a few articles concerning the rising tide of change that is occurring in many countries as mass protests are causing countries to change laws and companies that produce food for the mass market to change their policies and ingredients.
One major item that has been missing from these announcements is a major legal defeat that would specifically list the dangers of GM food and/or the dangers of Monsanto and other companies that produce them.
That is until now. The following verdict was announced in which it specifically states that:
“A French court upheld on Thursday [10 September, 2015] a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company’s Lasso weedkiller. The decision by an appeal court in Lyon, southeast France, confirmed the initial judgment, the first such case heard in court in France, that ruled Monsanto was “responsible” for the intoxication and ordered the company to “fully compensate” grain grower Paul Francois. (Reuters.com)”
This is great news for those wanting an eventual ban on GM food, including toxic pesticides, as it lays the legal framework for future action. Monsanto, is now legally guilty of poisoning a person with the dangerous poisons they created. Interesting, that the court decisions led to settlements and not prison sentences. Unfortunately, for Mr. Francois, he cannot be awarded further monetary damages from this decision as he had already accepted a settlement from the 2012 case.
“According to Francois, he became ill shortly after applying the product [in 2004]. As stated in the lawsuit, the symptoms included difficulty breathing, headaches, and memory loss. (Inquisitr)”
Lasso weedkiller is banned in Belgium, Britain, Canada and France. It was never officially banned in the United States, however, they did “phase out” the product for so called commercial reasons.
As is usual for Monsanto they are denying all charges and promising to seek another appeal, this time with France’s highest court. Hopefully, the French high court’s judgment will not be compromised or bullied by Monsanto’s corporate influence. It is unlikely that court decisions of this nature and magnitude will occur in the United States any time soon, as many politicians receive tremendous donations from Monsanto and their executives. As stated before, the current FDA senior adviser Michael Taylor was a Monsanto lobbyist. So Monsanto is literally in charge of the United States food safety laws and regulations.
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Humanity is beginning to push back against GMO
For many years it seemed like mankind was doomed to eat “franken-food” made from genetically modified organisms. The United States government and mega international agricultural companies (DuPont and Monsanto to name a few), have been long time supporters of this experimental food.
The risks of food containing GMO have been thoroughly discussed in prior articles and you are encouraged to read those prior to this article.
- The unnatural state of natural food in the US
- World unites against Monsanto and GM food
- NutraSweet: introduces a new poison to the world
- Will Mexico join the movement against GMO food?
- Peru takes a major step in the GMO battle
These prior articles will show the battles that have already taken place in this ongoing struggle for the preservation of “real food”.
Until recently, much of the progress in resisting and standing up to the GMO onslaught, has been waged in other countries, with a continued apathy by most American consumers; who for the most part appeared more than willing to give little or no thought to what they were actually eating. With only a minor pause for reflecting on … “if fries come with that”.
It was with great surprise to discover over the last few weeks that two major “Fast Food” chains have decided to take a stand against unhealthy and dangerous food additives, namely GMO ingredients and chemical additives.
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced in April 2015 that they were now 100% GMO free. They even published a nice list on their website to help educate the public on the dangers of GMO and why they chose to remove them:
- Scientists are still studying the long term implications of GMOs.
- The cultivation of GMOs can damage the environment.
- Chipotle should be a place where people can eat food made with non-GMO ingredients.
Panera Bread also recently announced that by 2016 they will remove all “artificial preservatives, colorings, sweeteners or flavors” and that all of their food will be free of any artificial or synthetic ingredients.
Now one could reasonably ask, why is it going to take them 1-2 years to switch when Chipotle, Trader Joes and others have already made the switch, that is for the consumer to decide, however, at least they have committed to the transition.
These recent decisions are evidence of what is possible when an educated populace begins to make informed decisions that affect the bottom lines of companies. It is highly unlikely, that many of these companies would have, or plan to, made the switch to healthier ingredients, if not for the fear of losing money. McDonalds, a long time advocate of GMO food, with their famous franken-chicken and mystery meat compounds, has lost a lot of business to the likes of Chipotle and Panera Bread.
Two concluding thoughts:
- We all need to make sure we keep up the pressure and insist on natural or organic ingredients and absolutely no GMOs.
- Also, what method is their to ensure that these companies are actually making the changes they are claiming? What guarantee do we have that your next burrito at Chipotle actually is GMO free and not just an elaborate marketing ploy?
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The unnatural state of natural food in the US
When you browse the shelves at your local grocery store, you may have noticed that more and more products contain the dubious label “Natural” or “Natural food”, or contains “Natural ingredients”.
Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images
Morning and evening news programs are loaded with stories about the latest natural food craze, best natural foods for weight loss, making sure you consume those natural vitamins etc… This raises a good question, that seems to never be sufficiently answered:
What is Natural Food?
According to the Oxford dictionary, Natural is: “existing in or caused by nature, not artificial, uncultivated; wild (existing in its natural state), in the course of nature; not exceptional or miraculous…”
The same dictionary defines Food as: “a nutritious substance, esp. solid in form, that can be taken into an animal or a plant to maintain life and growth…”
It is safe to assume then that combining these together would create a plausible definition that most people could agree on, therefore, Natural Food would be: ‘a nutritious substance that exists in its natural state, as found in nature (wild), created by natural processes which can be consumed for the purpose of maintaining life and growth’.
Here lies our problem: the USDA and FDA do not have a clear definition, or any definition for that matter, of what the term Natural or Natural food is, nor do they have any laws that pertain to food labeled as Natural or Natural food, or any other Natural label…
Thus, the system in the United States relies on companies to be “honest” with their labels, which in effect means if they lie or are caught lying, there is nothing the Government can do about it, and we the consumers must trust that the companies are being honest!
Recently, Consumer Reports completed a study that involved more than 80 different processed foods containing corn and soy, and found that: “Almost all products with corn or soy and labeled as natural actually contained GMO ingredients. These processed foods included: cereals, chips and infant formula. (rt.com)”
This may come as a surprise to many, as most people believe that “Natural” means non-Genetically Modified Organisms/ingredients.
Consumer Reports also stated that:
“In more than 60 countries, manufacturers must label foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. But GMO labeling isn’t required in the U.S. Yet our survey found that 92 percent of Americans want genetically modified foods to be labeled. And concerns about the potential health and environmental risks of GMOs coupled with an unwillingness on the part of the federal government to mandate labeling are leading many states to take action on their own.”
If you are asking why is the US not one of these 60 countries, the answer is Monsanto, Dupont and Dow to name a few! These mega corporations have spent billions of dollars fighting labeling laws in all 50 states, with television, radio and print advertisements with the same message “Say No to GMO labeling laws”. Look at the funding for your states politicians and you may find sizable donations to their election/re-election fund from these same companies!
For now, the only way to be sure that you are not consuming these dangerous and UNNATURAL GMO ingredients is to buy, as much as possible, food labeled USDA Organic. Another option is to purchase from a local farmer that uses organic farming practices but may not be able to afford the outrageously expensive Organic certifications. You can also, purchase Trader Joe’s private label products which they guarantee/claim does not contain any GMO ingredients. Unfortunately, some of the ingredients in Whole Foods 365 label have been found to contain GMO, however, they have set a goal to be GMO free by 2018.
As always, your first line of defense begins with what you buy and eat, second, support your local farmers markets, befriend local farmers, grow some of your own food, and keep the pressure on your representatives to require GMO labeling laws along with adopting a proper definition of “Natural”.
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Kingdom of Bhutan aiming to become 100 percent organic
The small landlocked nation, famed as the happiest country in the world, wedged between China (to the north) and India (to the south), with a population of over 700,000; is on the verge of becoming the first nation in the world to have its agriculture be 100% organic.
The government has set a goal to phase out all artificial chemicals from farming within 10 years.
“Jurmi Dorji, a member of the 103-strong Daga Shingdrey Pshogpa farmers’ association in southern Bhutan, says his fellow members are in favour of the policy. More than a decade ago, people realized that the chemicals were not good for farming,” […] “I cannot say everyone has stopped using chemicals but almost 90 percent have. (Yahoo News Singapore)”
This is great news not only for the people of Bhutan but also the world over as a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science demonstrated that after analyzing “74 studies on soils under organic…farming practices, has found that over time, the carbon content in the organic fields significantly increased. For farmers everywhere, that means organic agriculture results in a richer, more productive soil… (Natural Awakenings Magazine)”
Bhutan exports several agricultural commodities to various nations: rare mushrooms to Japan, vegetables to upscale hotels in Thailand, red rice to the United States and apples to several countries including India.
If Bhutan is able to achieve a 100% organic standard for all food they produce, then they will set a very high standard for the world to follow and will let the world know that their country is taking the quality of their food and the preservation of agricultural biodiversity very seriously, not to mention the ability to gain market advantages and price premiums for their exports.
The world should applaud Bhutan for this effort and encourage their own governments to pursue similar goals.
Don’t miss another National Taoism Examiner article. Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the “Subscribe” button below; also make sure you click all of those social network buttons and share the article with your friends and family as well. You can also follow the Qi Institutes Taoism blog.
Do you have a story, photo or video from your area that would be of interest to Taoists? Feel free to email (TJ@theQiInstitute.com) and they may be included or featured in a National Taoism Examiner article.
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