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A Federal Court has ruled, for the first time ever, that the US Department of Agriculture failed to abide by federal environmental laws when it approved a genetically engineered crop without conducting a full Environment Impact Statement (EIS).
Threat to farmers’ livelihoods and risk to environment
In what will likely be a precedent-setting ruling, US District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California decided in favor of farmers, consumers, and environmentalists who filed a suit calling the USDA’s approval of genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa a threat to farmers’ livelihoods and a risk to the environment.Judge Breyer ordered that a full Environmental Impact Statement must be carried out on “Roundup Ready” alfalfa, the GM variety developed by Monsanto and Forage Genetics. The decision may prevent this season’s sales and planting of Monsanto’s GM alfalfa and future submissions of other GE crops for commercial deregulation.
Judge Breyer concluded that the lawsuit, brought last year by a coalition of groups led by the Center for Food Safety, raised valid concerns about environmental impacts that the USDA failed to address before approving the commercialization and release of Roundup Ready alfalfa.
USDA’s arguments without scientific basis, contrary to law
In his ruling, the judge consistently found USDA’s arguments unconvincing, without scientific basis, and/or contrary to the law. For example:
• The judge found that plaintiffs’ concerns that Roundup Ready alfalfa will contaminate natural and organic alfalfa are valid, stating that USDA’s opposing arguments were “not convincing” and do not demonstrate the “hard look” required by federal environmental laws. The ruling went on to note that “…For those farmers who choose to grow nongenetically engineered alfalfa, the possibility that their crops will be infected with the engineered gene is tantamount to the elimination of all alfalfa; they cannot grow their chosen crop.”
• USDA argued that, based on a legal technicality, the agency did not have to address the economic risks to organic and conventional growers whose alfalfa crop could be contaminated by Monsanto’s GE variety. But the judge found that USDA “overstates the law…Economic effects are relevant “when they are ‘interrelated’ with ‘natural or physical environmental effects.’…Here, the economic effects on the organic and conventional farmers of the government’s deregulation decision are interrelated with, and, indeed, a direct result of, the effect on the physical environment.”
• Judge Breyer found that USDA failed to address the problem of Roundupresistant “superweeds” that could follow commercial planting of GE alfalfa. Commenting on the agency’s refusal to assess this risk, the judge noted “Nothing in NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), the relevant regulations, or the caselaw supports such a cavalier response.”
“USDA failed to consider environmental and economic threats”
“This is a major victory for farmers and the environment,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety. “Not only has a Federal Court recognized that USDA failed to consider the environmental and economic threats posed by GE alfalfa, but it has also questioned whether any agency in the federal government is looking at the cumulative impacts of GE crop approvals.”
“This is another nail in the coffin for USDA’s hands-off approach to regulations on these risky engineered crops,” said Will Rostov, Senior Attorney of The Center for Food Safety, which just last week won another judgment calling for USDA to provide more environmental documentation for any new GE field trials.
“This ruling will help protect my rights as a consumer to choose, and I choose organic foods whenever and wherever I can,” said Dean Hulse, Fargo, ND-based spokesperson for Dakota Resource Council and the Western Organization of Resource Councils. “The decision rejects Monsanto’s claims that transgenic crops are safe for the environment. Many people have been skeptical of those claims, and now we have a judge who’s skeptical as well – a judge who has actually studied the facts.”
GE alfalfa threatens export markets
The suit also cited the urgent concerns of farmers who sell to export markets. Japan and South Korea, America’s most important alfalfa customers, have warned that they will discontinue imports of US alfalfa if a GE variety is grown in this country. US alfalfa exports total nearly $480 million per year, with about 75% headed to Japan. The Court disagreed with USDA’s assertion that exports to Japan would not be harmed by deregulation of GE alfalfa.
Alfalfa is grown on over 21 million acres, and is worth $8 billion per year (not including the value of final products, such as dairy), making it the country’s third most valuable and fourth most widely grown crop. Alfalfa is primarily used in feed for dairy cows and beef cattle, and it also greatly contributes to pork, lamb, sheep, and honey production. Consumers also eat alfalfa as sprouts in salads and other foods.
Aim to block sales of GE alfalfa
“We applaud the decision of the Court,” said Bill Wenzel of the National Family Farm Coalition. “It’s unfortunate that we have to turn to judges to do what’s right for farmers while the USDA carries water for the biotech companies.”
Pat Trask of Trask Family Seeds, a South Dakota conventional alfalfa grower and plaintiff in the case stated: “It’s a great day for God’s own alfalfa.”
The Center for Food Safety represented itself and the following co-plaintiffs in the suit: Western Organization of Resource Councils, National Family Farm Coalition, Sierra Club, Beyond Pesticides, Cornucopia Institute, Dakota Resource Council, Trask Family Seeds, and Geertson Seed Farms.
Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety says the court ruling by itself could block commercial sales of Roundup Ready alfalfa, but the plaintiffs would ask for an injunction to ensure it.
Judge Breyer asked the plaintiffs to meet and propose remedies to him in late February.
Chapters of MyBook
Saturday, January 29, 2011
(the chemtrail song) A PLANE TRAIL OF DEADLY DECEPTION by trillion feat. Luca
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu3bKBIEypE&feature=related
Bitter Sweet 'Dirty Laundry'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnJ0xGK8dC4
Bitter Sweet 'Dirty Laundry' (lyrics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGNsumrfrl0
John Lennon And The Plastic Ono Band - Power To The People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gedqNpd_90g
Power To The People
http://www.powertothepeople.org/
Power to the People
Power to the People is a 501c3 non-profit organization working with volunteers to bring solar electricity to community buildings in rural areas of the developing world. Our mission is to create opportunities for people to improve the quality of their own lives through the installation of renewable energy technologies. By working together towards a common goal, volunteers learn about renewable energy technologies, community development, and gain a new perspective about life in another culture.It is difficult to imagine living without electricity when so much of our daily lives depend on it. How many times a day do we use lights, computers, televisions, iPods, computers, microwaves, air conditioners, DVD players, and so much more? Electricity allows us to access information, be more efficient and productive in our jobs, experience the comforts of a heated or air-conditioned building, and enjoy the latest innovations in entertainment and communication. Electricity brings with it exposure to another world of possibilities and allows us to advance together through our participation in innovation, discovery, and comfort.
Volunteering with Power to the People is a great way to learn more about solar energy while making a lasting impact in others' lives. We are always looking for volunteers to go to Nicaragua with us and to help out in our chapters in Northern and Southern California. Click here for more info.
Check out our Power to the People documentary by Brad Allgood.
Power to the People: Empowering Communities Through Renewable Energy Technologies from Brad Allgood on Vimeo.
http://www.powertothepeople.org/voluntourism.html
Excerpt:
"VOLUNTOURISM"
International Volunteering with Power to the People
Are you looking for a meaningful way to your vacation this year? Looking for a creative and memorable corporate team-building experience? Or simply hoping to give back while on sabbatical or summer break? Consider joining Power to the People as an international volunteer, and get hands-on experience as you help bring solar electricity to the developing world. From the sun’s perspective there is no corner too remote to be illuminated by light; we tend to agree.
That’s why Power to the People is hard at work in rural Nicaragua on life-changing projects that bring light and power to schools, health care centers, libraries and community buildings. Our volunteers do more than simply visit an amazing country; they become immersed in the Nicaraguan culture as they work alongside community members and stay with host families while in the field. Power to the People offers a unique international experience where volunteers learn about renewable energy technologies, make a fundamental difference at a grass-roots level and gain a new perspective about life in another culture. Join us - experience, explore, empower and illuminate your world!
UPCOMING TRIPS:
FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2011 AGUA FRIA, NICARAGUAJULY 16 - 24, 2011 - SANTA MARIA, NICARAGUA
NOV 5 - 13, 2011 - EL CARIBE, NICARAGUAIf you would like to sign up for a trip, please email info@powertothepeople.org
Making a Difference in Nicaragua
The Fluoride Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYnEer0KbNY&NR=1
Power to the People lyrics
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Say you want a revolution
We better get on right away
Well you get on your feet
And out on the street
Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
A million workers working for nothing
You better give 'em what they really own
We got to put you down
When we come into town
Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
I gotta ask you comrades and brothers
How do you treat you own woman back home
She got to be herself
So she can free herself
Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Now, now, now, now
Oh well, power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Yeah, power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
The Communist Manifesto illustrated by Cartoons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KUl4yfABE4
John Lennon IMAGINE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xB4dbdNSXY
John Lennon Stand By Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers I Won't Back Down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA
Elvis and Lisa Marie Presley Don't Cry Daddy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2agB2S9x2Q
Dirty Laundry Lisa Marie Presley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjQ4SmptIyQ
I didn't mean to lie in my email but I found another email with info that I thought could go here. (SOOOOOOO sowy if it seemed like I lied... When I sent this blog out originally it only had 2 articles in it. The stuffs I just added are at the bottom.)
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4492.cfm
Excerpt:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/27/gmo-alfalfa-usda-idUSWALRCE7YI20110127
Excerpt:
MONSANTO COMPANY
From their "business as usual" perspective, successful lawsuits against GMOs filed by public interest groups such as the Center for Food Safety; or noisy attacks on Monsanto by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, create bad publicity, rattle their big customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix and Safeway; and remind consumers that organic crops and foods such as corn, soybeans, and canola are slowly but surely becoming contaminated by Monsanto's GMOs.
Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?
According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack's previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as "Governor of the Year" in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. Perhaps even more fundamental to Organic Inc.'s abject surrender is the fact that the organic elite has become more and more isolated from the concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores. The Organic Inc. CEOs are tired of activist pressure, boycotts, and petitions. Several of them have told me this to my face. They apparently believe that the battle against GMOs has been lost, and that it's time to reach for the consolation prize. The consolation prize they seek is a so-called "coexistence" between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto's unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.WFM and most of the largest organic companies have deliberately separated themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs. The
Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOsThe main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.
Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as "natural."Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called "natural" food as certified organic food, coupled with thetakeover of many organic companies by multinational food corporations such as Dean Foods, threatens the growth of the organic movement.Revolving Door" between Monsanto and the Federal Government, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, formerly chief counsel for Monsanto, delivered one of the decisive votes in the Citizens United case, in effect giving Monsanto and other biotech bullies the right to buy the votes it needs in the U.S. Congress.
With big money controlling Congress and the media, we have little choice but to shift our focus and go local. We've got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels.The Organic Consumers Association, joined by our consumer, farmer, environmental, and labor allies, has just launched a nationwide Truth-in-Labeling campaign to stop Monsanto and the Biotech Bullies from force-feeding unlabeled GMOs to animals and humans.
Utilizing scientific data, legal precedent, and consumer power the OCA and our local coalitions will educate and mobilize at the grassroots level to pressure giant supermarket chains (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Supervalu, and Publix) and natural food retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to voluntarily implement "truth-in-labeling" practices for GMOs and CAFO products; while simultaneously organizing a critical mass to pass mandatory local and state truth-in-labeling ordinances - similar to labeling laws already in effect for country of origin, irradiated food, allergens, and carcinogens. If local and state government bodies refuse to take action, wherever possible we must attempt to gather sufficient petition signatures and place these truth-in-labeling initiatives directly on the ballot in 2011 or 2012. If you're interesting in helping organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here: http://organicconsumers.org/oca-volunteer/
To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation's largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices sign here, and circulate this petition widely: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22309.cfm
And please stay tuned to Organic Bytes for the latest developments in our campaigns.
Power to the People! Not the Corporations!
Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association
Covering Up GMO Contamination: Perpetrating "Natural" Fraud
Many well-meaning consumers are confused about the difference between conventional products marketed as "natural," and those nutritionally/environmentally superior and climate-friendly products that are "certified organic."
Retail stores like WFM and wholesale distributors like UNFI have failed to educate their customers about the qualitative difference between natural and certified organic, conveniently glossing over the fact that nearly all of the processed "natural" foods and products they sell contain GMOs, or else come from a "natural" supply chain where animals are force-fed GMO grains in factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
A troubling trend in organics today is the calculated shift on the part of certain large formerly organic brands from certified organic ingredients and products to so-called "natural" ingredients. With the exception of the "grass-fed and grass-finished" meat sector, most "natural" meat, dairy, and eggs are coming from animals reared on GMO grains and drugs, and confined, entirely, or for a good portion of their lives, in CAFOs. Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices. Organic consumers are increasingly left without certified organic choices while genuine organic farmers and ranchers continue to lose market share to "natural" imposters. It's no wonder that less than 1% of American farmland is certified organic, while well-intentioned but misled consumers have boosted organic and "natural" purchases to $80 billion annually-approximately 12% of all grocery store sales.
The Solution: Truth-in-Labeling Will Enable Consumers to Drive So-Called "Natural" GMO and CAFO-Tainted Foods Off the MarketThere can be no such thing as "coexistence" with a reckless industry that undermines public health, destroys biodiversity, damages the environment, tortures and poisons animals, destabilizes the climate, and economically devastates the world's 1.5 billion seed-saving small farmers. There is no such thing as coexistence between GMOs and organics in the European Union. Why? Because in the EU there are almost no GMO crops under cultivation, nor GM consumer food products on supermarket shelves. And why is this? Because under EU law, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Consumers have the freedom to choose or not to choose GMOs; while farmers, food processors, and retailers have (at least legally) the right to lace foods with GMOs, as long as they are safety-tested and labeled. Of course the EU food industry understands that consumers, for the most part, do not want to purchase or consume GE foods. European farmers and food companies, even junk food purveyors like McDonald's and Wal-Mart, understand quite well the concept expressed by a Monsanto executive when GMOs first came on the market: "If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it."
The biotech industry and Organic Inc. are supremely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of GMO foods. Even without a PhD, consumers understand you don't want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, or Dupont - the same people who brought you toxic pesticides, Agent Orange, PCBs, and now global warming. Industry leaders are acutely aware of the fact that every single industry or government poll over the last 16 years has shown that 85-95% of American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods. Why? So that we can avoid buying them. GMO foods have absolutely no benefits for consumers or the environment, only hazards. This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from getting a public discussion in Congress.
Although Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs, don't hold your breath for Congress to take a stand for truth-in-labeling and consumers' right to know what's in their food. Especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the so-called "Citizens United" case gave big corporations and billionaires the right to spend unlimited amounts of money (and remain anonymous, as they do so) to buy media coverage and elections, our chances of passing federal GMO labeling laws against the wishes of Monsanto and Food Inc. are all but non-existent. Perfectly dramatizing the "
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4492.cfm
Excerpt:
Court Says USDA Violated Law in Approving GE Alfalfa
- Precedent-setting decision may block planting, sales of Monsanto's Roundup Ready Alfalfa
By Ken Roseboro, ed
The Organic and Non-GMO Report, March 2007
Straight to the Source
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/27/gmo-alfalfa-usda-idUSWALRCE7YI20110127
Excerpt:
USDA says GMO alfalfa OK for unrestricted planting
MONSANTO COMPANY
KANSAS CITY/WASHINGTON Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. agriculture officials on Thursday said U.S. farmers could proceed with planting genetically altered alfalfa without the restrictions opponents say are needed to protect conventional and organic farm fields from contamination.The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the decision was made after analysis of various economic and environmental factors, and allows GMO farmers to get their crop in the ground this spring.
Vilsack said the decision applies only to the biotech alfalfa, known as Roundup Ready, because it was engineered by Monsanto (MON.N) to withstand treatments of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.
The department is facing similar questions about biotech sugar beets, and an announcement regarding that crop is expected next week, Vilsack said. (Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City and Chuck Abbott in Washington; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
Vilsack said the decision applies only to the biotech alfalfa, known as Roundup Ready, because it was engineered by Monsanto (MON.N) to withstand treatments of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.
The department is facing similar questions about biotech sugar beets, and an announcement regarding that crop is expected next week, Vilsack said. (Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City and Chuck Abbott in Washington; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?
- By Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011 Straight to the Source
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm
"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011
In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.
In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."
In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for "public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry," even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government "oversight" of Frankencrops such as Monsanto's sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must."
so-called Non-GMO Project, funded by Whole Foods and giant wholesaler United Natural Foods (UNFI) is basically a greenwashing effort (although the 100% organic companies involved in this project seem to be operating in good faith) to show that certified organic foods are basically free from GMOs (we already know this since GMOs are banned in organic production), while failing to focus on so-called "natural" foods, which constitute most of WFM and UNFI's sales and are routinely contaminated with GMOs. In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.
In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."
In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for "public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry," even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government "oversight" of Frankencrops such as Monsanto's sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must."
From their "business as usual" perspective, successful lawsuits against GMOs filed by public interest groups such as the Center for Food Safety; or noisy attacks on Monsanto by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, create bad publicity, rattle their big customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix and Safeway; and remind consumers that organic crops and foods such as corn, soybeans, and canola are slowly but surely becoming contaminated by Monsanto's GMOs.
Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?
According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack's previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as "Governor of the Year" in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. Perhaps even more fundamental to Organic Inc.'s abject surrender is the fact that the organic elite has become more and more isolated from the concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores. The Organic Inc. CEOs are tired of activist pressure, boycotts, and petitions. Several of them have told me this to my face. They apparently believe that the battle against GMOs has been lost, and that it's time to reach for the consolation prize. The consolation prize they seek is a so-called "coexistence" between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto's unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.WFM and most of the largest organic companies have deliberately separated themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs. The
Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOsThe main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.
Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as "natural."Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called "natural" food as certified organic food, coupled with the
With big money controlling Congress and the media, we have little choice but to shift our focus and go local. We've got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels.The Organic Consumers Association, joined by our consumer, farmer, environmental, and labor allies, has just launched a nationwide Truth-in-Labeling campaign to stop Monsanto and the Biotech Bullies from force-feeding unlabeled GMOs to animals and humans.
Utilizing scientific data, legal precedent, and consumer power the OCA and our local coalitions will educate and mobilize at the grassroots level to pressure giant supermarket chains (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Supervalu, and Publix) and natural food retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to voluntarily implement "truth-in-labeling" practices for GMOs and CAFO products; while simultaneously organizing a critical mass to pass mandatory local and state truth-in-labeling ordinances - similar to labeling laws already in effect for country of origin, irradiated food, allergens, and carcinogens. If local and state government bodies refuse to take action, wherever possible we must attempt to gather sufficient petition signatures and place these truth-in-labeling initiatives directly on the ballot in 2011 or 2012. If you're interesting in helping organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here: http://organicconsumers.org/oca-volunteer/
To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation's largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices sign here, and circulate this petition widely: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22309.cfm
And please stay tuned to Organic Bytes for the latest developments in our campaigns.
Power to the People! Not the Corporations!
Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association
Covering Up GMO Contamination: Perpetrating "Natural" Fraud
Many well-meaning consumers are confused about the difference between conventional products marketed as "natural," and those nutritionally/environmentally superior and climate-friendly products that are "certified organic."
Retail stores like WFM and wholesale distributors like UNFI have failed to educate their customers about the qualitative difference between natural and certified organic, conveniently glossing over the fact that nearly all of the processed "natural" foods and products they sell contain GMOs, or else come from a "natural" supply chain where animals are force-fed GMO grains in factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
A troubling trend in organics today is the calculated shift on the part of certain large formerly organic brands from certified organic ingredients and products to so-called "natural" ingredients. With the exception of the "grass-fed and grass-finished" meat sector, most "natural" meat, dairy, and eggs are coming from animals reared on GMO grains and drugs, and confined, entirely, or for a good portion of their lives, in CAFOs. Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices. Organic consumers are increasingly left without certified organic choices while genuine organic farmers and ranchers continue to lose market share to "natural" imposters. It's no wonder that less than 1% of American farmland is certified organic, while well-intentioned but misled consumers have boosted organic and "natural" purchases to $80 billion annually-approximately 12% of all grocery store sales.
The Solution: Truth-in-Labeling Will Enable Consumers to Drive So-Called "Natural" GMO and CAFO-Tainted Foods Off the MarketThere can be no such thing as "coexistence" with a reckless industry that undermines public health, destroys biodiversity, damages the environment, tortures and poisons animals, destabilizes the climate, and economically devastates the world's 1.5 billion seed-saving small farmers. There is no such thing as coexistence between GMOs and organics in the European Union. Why? Because in the EU there are almost no GMO crops under cultivation, nor GM consumer food products on supermarket shelves. And why is this? Because under EU law, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Consumers have the freedom to choose or not to choose GMOs; while farmers, food processors, and retailers have (at least legally) the right to lace foods with GMOs, as long as they are safety-tested and labeled. Of course the EU food industry understands that consumers, for the most part, do not want to purchase or consume GE foods. European farmers and food companies, even junk food purveyors like McDonald's and Wal-Mart, understand quite well the concept expressed by a Monsanto executive when GMOs first came on the market: "If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it."
The biotech industry and Organic Inc. are supremely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of GMO foods. Even without a PhD, consumers understand you don't want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, or Dupont - the same people who brought you toxic pesticides, Agent Orange, PCBs, and now global warming. Industry leaders are acutely aware of the fact that every single industry or government poll over the last 16 years has shown that 85-95% of American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods. Why? So that we can avoid buying them. GMO foods have absolutely no benefits for consumers or the environment, only hazards. This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from getting a public discussion in Congress.
Although Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs, don't hold your breath for Congress to take a stand for truth-in-labeling and consumers' right to know what's in their food. Especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the so-called "Citizens United" case gave big corporations and billionaires the right to spend unlimited amounts of money (and remain anonymous, as they do so) to buy media coverage and elections, our chances of passing federal GMO labeling laws against the wishes of Monsanto and Food Inc. are all but non-existent. Perfectly dramatizing the "
United We Fall(Full)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzkDUzZgUA
http://www.infowars.com/united-we-fall/
See the entire film on the Press for Truth website.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzkDUzZgUA
http://www.infowars.com/united-we-fall/
United We Fall
Press for Truth
July 4, 2010
A film by Bryan Law and Dan Dicks “United We Fall” is a documentary about the North American Union that is being developed right now between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. For years this topic has been debated in the news and in political circles as being a possible future for North America. In recent years, the mood has shifted and a rift is developing between those who want a Deeply Integrated North American Community, and those who wish to retain their national sovereignty. This film takes a look at both sides by interviewing both insiders and activists who have been at the heart of this heated debate. The film also looks to the broader agenda of building a world government and its implications. Featured Interviews: Robert Pastor (Council on Foreign Relations), Allan Gotlieb (Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg) Herbert Grubel (Creator of the “Amero”) Luke Rudkowski (We Are Change) Dan Dicks (Press For Truth) Vijay Sarma (Political Activist, Independent Journalist) Dr. Andrew Moulden (Canadian Action Party) Richard Syrett (Talk Radio Host)July 4, 2010
See the entire film on the Press for Truth website.
Friday, January 28, 2011
http://thy-weapon-of-war.blogspot.com/2009/12/hebrew-israelite-canaanite-origins-of.html
Excerpt:
Amazing insights in this article by Eli James of "Anglo-Saxon Israel".
And to be clear on the title of this post, of course the Old Testament religion of the Israelites was not "pagan." Rather, the pagan Teutonic and Celtic religions are a mixture of Canaanite paganism and Old Testament Hebrewism. How? Because the Celts, Saxons, and other Northern European tribes are the descendants of the Israelites...who were banished from the ancient land of Israel in Palestine because they adopted Canaanite paganism, which they then carried with them when they migrated into Europe.
Excerpt:
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Hebrew-Israelite-Canaanite Origins of Druidism & Norse, Teutonic, and Celtic paganism
Amazing insights in this article by Eli James of "Anglo-Saxon Israel".
And to be clear on the title of this post, of course the Old Testament religion of the Israelites was not "pagan." Rather, the pagan Teutonic and Celtic religions are a mixture of Canaanite paganism and Old Testament Hebrewism. How? Because the Celts, Saxons, and other Northern European tribes are the descendants of the Israelites...who were banished from the ancient land of Israel in Palestine because they adopted Canaanite paganism, which they then carried with them when they migrated into Europe.
Myth: European Paganism Is of Non-Hebrew Origin
Many White pagans assume that Teutonic and Celtic paganism are of non-Hebrew origin. This is not true. The fact is that the main reason that Yahweh banished the Israelites into the wilderness was because of their acquired taste for paganism. The Israelites of the Ten Northern Tribes, especially under Jezebel (a Sidonian Canaanite woman) and Ahab, were practicing all sorts of pagan rituals, including human sacrifice and frolicking (sex orgies) in the groves. Ah! The good old days!!! These practices were borrowed from the neighboring Canaanites; and the false gods they worshipped were actually Canaanite gods and goddesses. We will here proceed to document the Canaanite origin of Celtic and Teutonic paganism among the Aryan nations.
Hosea 4:15-17 trells us, “…come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go you up to Bethaven…For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer…Ephraim is joined to idols.”
Bethaven means “house of Aven.” The Phoenician Israelites, who travelled back and forth to Britain, mining tin and other metals and bringing them back to Palestine, named numerous places after the place of the god, Aven, such as Avebury, the Avon River(s) and the town of Avening.
“The worship of Beth-Aven, in Canaan, and that of Avening in Gloucestershire, and that of Aven, Heliopolis or Baal Bec, were all identical. The stone altars, the high place, the calves’ bones discovered there, mark the similarity.” - Samuel Lysons, Our British Ancestors, p. 123.
“But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves, therefore will I cause you to go into captivity..” - Amos 5:26.
Moloch and Chiun were pagan gods adopted by the rebellious Israelites. Yahweh was getting very angry with His children. He was getting ready to cast them out into the wilderness of Europe.
“The Druids worshipped the sun under the title of Moloch, so we are certain that worship was derived from their Eastern ancestors.” – Dr. Thomas Maurice, Indian Antiquities, 1796.
Who were the Druids? The Druids were Levitical priests who abandoned Yahweh and officiated at the pagan rites of the rebellious Israelites! Their costumes matched the uniforms of the Israelite priests, down to the tiniest detail!
“The Irish Druids worshipped under sacred oaks, as the Israelites did. The Druids had a great veneration for the oak. The last act of Joshua was to place a great stone under an oak in the sanctuary…The Druids were considered to be a holy people, a nation of priests, common to all the tribes of Britain. Their duties, characteristics and dress were strikingly in consonance with those of the Levitical priesthood.” – Hugh B. Colquhoun, Our Descent From Israel Proved by Cumulative Evidence, p, 20.
‘Druid’ is the Celtic word for “oak.” The Druids were the high priests of the oak fraternity.
Chiun was a goddess of the Canaanites, and the Israelites began to worship her as well.
“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods…” – Hosea 1:18.
It is quite likely that the name Chiun is the Hebrew source for the surname Quinn and the English word Queen.
The Teutonic god, Odin, or Wotan, is actually the Scythian German King Odin, the warrior chief who organized the Teutons into a fighting force that defeated the Romans. He was a real descendant of the Israelites, not a god. Odin is also a word very similar to a Hebrew word for lord, Adon (Greek Adonis).
According to Sharon Turner in his monumental work The History of the Anglo-Saxons, citing the ancient Saxon Chronicles, the famous Odin actually lived in the 3rd century AD, and many of the kings of England, Germany and Scandinavia traced their descent from him. We have a tendency to make “stars” out of our heroes. The word Teut is an anglicized version of the German Deutsch, which is derived from the Latin (Roman) Deus, meaning “god.” The word Deutschevolk, therefore, means “God’s people.” This is exactly how the Israelites referred to themselves. No other people in history referred to themselves as God’s people, except the Israelites. All of the Celts and Saxons retained some form of this expression. The word British, in Hebrew, means “Covenant Man.” Brit is Hebrew for Covenant and Ish is Hebrew for “man.” The Saxon Goth and the German Gott both mean “God.” Gottish, therefore, means “God’s People.”
The Celtic Bel is identical to the Hebrew Baal; and the Beltrane feast is still celebrated in parts of Britain today. None of these people have any idea that they are practicing traditions brought to Europe by their pagan Israelite ancestors!
The Hebrew word, Al, meaning the sun, became the Phoenician Hal. In Celtic, it becomes Heaul; and in Greek it was Helios.
“All Celtic nations have been accustomed to the worship of the sun…It was a custom that everywhere prevailed in ancient times to celebrate a feast at the winter solstice…They called it, in many places, Yole or Yuul, from the word Hiaul.” - Professor Paul-Henri Mallett, Northern Antiquities, Vol. 2, p 68.
Now you know the origin of the word ‘Yule,” for Christmas, and why Christmas is celebrated right near the solstice, when all evidence suggests that Yahshua was born in late September.
The Catholic Church has been most guilty of blending paganism with Christianity, as Easter is really a hybrid pagan rite, derived from the worship of the Babylonian goddess, Ishtar. Ishtar was the goddess of fertility. Have you ever wondered what the Easter bunny has to do with the Crucifixion? The short answer is: “Nothing!”
Mary-worship can be traced back to Semiramis of Babylon. Statues of Semiramis show her as the prototypical “Madonna and child.” So, Christmas, Easter and the Madonna motif all contain pagan elements directly traceable to ancient Babylon.
Neo-pagans believe that the word, Saxon, derives from the word Axe. How the letter S was added to the word axe is obscure. What we know for sure is that Yahweh told Abraham that his offspring would be named after his son, Isaac. “In Isaac shall they seed be called.” – Gen. 21:12. Note that the Jewish people are NOT named after Isaac. Saxons = Isaac’s sons. Even if the word Saxon is derivable from the word, axe, it is still an Israelite connection, for in Jeremiah 51:20, Yahweh tells His people, Israel, “Thou art my BATTLE-AXE.” The Israelites were famous for their use of the battle-axe in war. Their descendants, the Scythians and Anglo-Saxons, were also famous for the use of this weapon. Yet it is evident, that the Scythian tribes who migrated into Europe were called Khumri by the Assyrians, hence the Greek Kimmeroi; and they were called Saka by the Persians, hence the Greek Sakae or Sakans, later Saxons. These names are well documented in the Greek classics and in the multilingual inscriptions of Mesopotamia.
In addition to telling us that we would be exiled for our pagan rebellion, Yahweh also told us that we would be known by another name. (Isaiah 62:2; 65:15.) “Caucasian” is the best bet, but Anglo-Saxon and Christian would also qualify as new names for His Israelite people. Many other similarities exist in the Germanic and Hebrew belief systems, such as an existence in an afterlife, heaven and hell (Valhalla and Niflheim) etc. {Niflheim bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hebrew word Nephilim, meaning the offspring of the fallen angels and the daughters of Adamite women, in Genesis 6.}
We are only scratching the surface of this subject. The Canaanite origin of the Celtic/Teutonic pantheon can be demonstrated in volumes of historical and linguistic connections. There is so much evidence of this fact that it is quite irrefutable. But, of course, few Whites or Christians are aware of the Israelites’ descent into paganism. It’s a forgotten chapter of the Bible. Neo-Pagans of today have no idea that they are actually worshipping the gods of the Canaanites, who were the true ancestors of today’s Jews.
So, who’s REALLY practicing a form of Judaism – Christian Identity or Neo-Pagans?
How’s them apples? – Or should we say, Acorns?
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