Ever wonder why former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is now Secretary of Agriculture?
BY TOM LASKAWY
Speaking of Monsanto, it turns out they are playing a role in Iowa's proposed anti-whistleblower bill -- a bill focused primarily on agriculture. Should the bill pass, it will become illegal to produce undercover videos at various types of agricultural facilities (as well as to get a job at a facility with the express intent of producing a video). Sarah Damian of the Government Accountability Project, a "whistleblower advocacy organization," observes over at the Food Integrity Campaign's blog that Monsanto has been throwing lobbying dollars behind Iowa's effort to draw a steel curtain around food production. And not without reason:... Monsanto has more facilities in Iowa than in any other state in the country, with more than 25 offices. The company is heavily invested in the bill's outcome because "crop operations" are also covered, which would apply to Monsanto's seed houses, pesticide manufacturing plants and research facilities throughout Iowa. The biotech and crop chemical giant wouldn't want any undercover videos produced on its clock, apparently.That's a bit ironic, however, given the fact that Monsanto investigators are notorious for trespassing on farmers' property and going to extreme measures to produce evidence of seed patent infringement, including posing as land mappers or even joining a local Alcohol Anonymous group to gain the farmers' trust and gain video access to their fields. Talk about undercover.And don't think that Monsanto hasn't planned ahead. According to Damian, there are provisions in the bill that would allow Monsanto to continue snooping around farmers' fields in its ongoing search for so-called "seed thieves" aka "patent infringers."Despite occasional setbacks and even uncertainty in the marketplace, let it not be said that Monsanto has lost its taste for playing the heavy.
Most read posts of more than 30 about Monsanto - from Natural Health News
Feb 07, 2011
There is now hope in the was against Monsanto and damaging RoundUp ! Non-food wheat used as natural herbicide. Japanese researchers announce that they have developed a kind of wheat which can inhibit the growth of weeds ...
Aug 28, 2010
The Gates Foundation just bought a whopping 500000 shares of Monsanto stock.Now, there's nothing wrong with buying stock. My parents hold lots of BP stock, and they are hardly guilty of dumping the 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ...
Apr 10, 2011
The commercial ag giant Monsanto inserted genes for two enzymes – one derived from a flower (Primula juliae), the other from a red bread mold (Neurospora crassa) – into a line of soybeans." Fishy fat from soy is headed for U.S. dinner ...
Aug 13, 2010
In September 2009, the Court had found that the USDA had violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by approving the Monsanto-engineered biotech crop without first preparing an Environmental Impact Statement. ...
No comments:
Post a Comment