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February 16th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
Detroit – A bill waiting
in Lansing could spell trouble for local farmers. It would squash any
community challenge against the expansion of genetically modified
organisms (GMO). ~ Related article – 40 States Prohibited From Banning GMOs!
Sen. Bill 777, which has been in the Senate
Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism Committee since Sept of 2005, seeks to
remove…
“any authority local governments may have to adopt and enforce
ordinances that prohibit or regulate the labeling, sale, storage,
transportation, distribution, use, or planting of agricultural,
vegetable, flower or forest tree seeds.”
The bill, if passed,
would make Michigan the 15th state to pass sweeping legislation that
would clear the way for the expansion of the use of GMO seeds in
Michigan farms.
“The bill seeks to prevent anti-GMO laws,” said
Claire O’Leary a food activist and member of the Sierra Club National
Genetically Engineering Committee. “This is a response on the part of
biotech companies to push back against successful voter initiative and
prevent any attempt to ban technology used in fields.”
One such company is the biotech giant Monsanto, the major producer of genetically modified seeds in America.
Last
year Monsanto headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri postponed the sale
of genetically modified wheat after a successful opposition led to a 25
percent drop in demand for wheat from consumers.
The company has spent millions developing GM wheat and said it would continue research to introduce other forms of seeds.
Jeff
Cobb legislative aid to GOP Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom sponsor of the
legislation said even though Monsanto would be happy with the Michigan
bill, the company is not behind it.
“I’m sure Monsanto supports
the bill but we did not do it on behalf of Monsanto,” Cobb said. “We
want to maintain the status quo so farmers can use GM seeds.”
Cobb said his boss feels local governments do not have the scientific capacity to determine the safety of GM seeds.
“There is already a process in place to regulate these types of seeds. That is [done by] the federal government,” Cobb said.
The
Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture are the three government entities that have
regulatory powers over the use of GMO seeds, Cobb said. “We don’t think
local government is the best place to do this.”
O’Leary, who testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee, disagrees.
“I do not see how SB 777 furthers a public interest agenda,” O’Leary said. “Can you explain this to me?”
She
said the bill originates from the American Legislative Exchange
Council, ALEC which passed a resolution called “Biotechnology State
Uniformity.”
On its website, the national group said it
membership is open to state lawmakers and that it seeks to promote the
principles of federalism, free market enterprise amongst other things.
“These
seed preemption bills should remind us all of the notorious tobacco
preemption laws that have been passed that prevent local control of
fertilizers, including sewage sludge,” O’Leary said in her testimony.
“These laws seem to favor industry. Once they passed into law, it can
take citizens several years to restore their rights to protect their
health from environmental contaminants.”
Genetic engineering is a
process where genes from one organism are moved into another. In the
case of genetically engineered foods, genes from bacteria or other plans
or organisms placed in crops. Soybeans, cotton, corn, rice, sugar
beets, canola, and potatoes are the predominant crop plants being
engineered.
O’Leary said about 90 percent of soy in Michigan is
genetically engineered. This year alone about 32 percent of corn was
reportedly genetically engineered.
With 125 diverse food crops, Michigan is the second largest agricultural state.
“A lot of people are choosing not to eat GMOs.”
Nationally, critics are worried that genetically modified foods are still not required to pass pre-market safety testing.
EnvironmentalCommons.org,
a website campaigning against GMO, posted a letter from FDA scientist,
Dr. Gerald Guest in response to a question on how the agency should
regulate genetically modified plants.
“I and other scientists at
the Center for Veterinary Medicine have concluded that there is ample
scientific justification to support a pre-market review of these
products. As you state in the notice, the new methods of genetic
modification permit the introduction of genes from a wider range of
sources than possible by traditional breeding. The FDA will be
confronted with new plant constituents that could be of toxicological or
environmental concern.”
Peter Jenkins, attorney and policy
analyst at the Center for Food Safety (CFS) in Washington DC said
organic and local farmers have had a bad experience with GM seeds. “They
have been planted all over the country without concern for
contamination of other crops,” Jenkins said. “As a result there has been
some loss of market.” With the Michigan bill, Jenkins said he foresees a
loss of market for organic farmers here.
“We have a very broad
network of people who are concerned about maintaining governmental
powers at the lowest levels instead of the highest levels,” Jenkins
said. “What is happening is that some conservative groups are working
with biotech companies to get a uniform bill across the country.”
Jenkins cited California, where groups such as the Native Plant Society are fighting against similar legislation.
Marty
Heller, a research specialist at the C.S. Mott Center for Sustainable
Food Systems at Michigan State University, said SB 777 “Is not
necessarily looking out for the well-being of Michigan citizens.”
Heller
said the bill is largely supporting particular interest groups. Even
farmers that are using GM seeds are taking the hit from biotech
companies.
Stephen Leahy with IPS news service reported about
Kem Ralph of Convington, Tennessee who is believed to be the first
farmer to go to jail for saving and replanting Monsanto’s Roundup Ready
soy seed in 1998.
Monsanto prohibits farmers from saving seed from varieties that have been genetically engineered to kill bugs, Leahy reported.
Ralph spent four months behind bars and asked to pay a fine of $1.8 million.
“Monsanto’s business plan for GE crops depends on suing farmers,” CFS legal director Joe Mendelson told IPS.
CFS concluded a study, “Monsanto v.s. U.S. Farmers,” stating that the courts have awarded Monsanto more than $15 million.
Ann Arbor Democratic Senator Liz Brater who is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee is opposed to the bill.
However
Cobb said other committee members, Sen. Judson Gilbert (R-Algonac),
Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks) and Samuel “Buzz” Thomas (D-Detroit)
will support the bill because they have worked together to pass other
legislations before.
“Senator Brater would be the only one to vote against it. She’s told me she is not a big fan of GMO’s seeds,” Cobb said.
Thomas, who is a member of the Detroit delegation, did not return a call placed to his cell phone.
Bankole Thompson – February 15, 2012 – posted at MichiganCitizen
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40 States Prohibited From Banning GMOs! – PDF
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