Pass of Monsanto Act poses giant risks for citizen health

By Heidi Harrell – Asst. Opinion Editor – [email protected]
As most of America fixated on the oral arguments regarding gay marriage before the Supreme Court, President Obama signed a bill into law on Tuesday most likely posing grave risks for individual health.
The “Monsanto Protection Act,” more precisely known as Section 735 of HR 933, prevents federal courts from halting the sale and planting of genetically modified seeds, also known as GMOs, regardless of the health risks that may arise from their consumption.
The information in the bill, as well as the way the bill snuck through Congress, should not only frighten Americans, but should also infuriate the entire population.
The anonymous provision was attached in the last few minutes as part of HR 933, a short-term funding bill approved to avoid a federal government shutdown.
The Center for Food Safety reported many Congressional members were completely unaware of the biotech rider’s presence.
Obama’s presidential short-comings continue to pile up.  We can now add this gigantic act of deceit to his list.
During his first presidential campaign in 2008, Obama pledged to mandate genetically modified food labels.
It seems Obama no longer stands behind that pledge.  Rather, Obama now stands behind corporate GMO developers.
America needs a leader who will not only maintain their morals, but will also pledge a resounding no to corporations attempting to override the governmental process, regardless of the funding these corporations provide.
The PAC’s associated with companies like Monsanto have donated more than $7.5 million to members of Congress since 2009 and $372,000 to members of the Senate Appropriations committee.
No wonder the potentially hazardous bill passed without a second glance.
Since the protection act was part of a larger bill that included a substantial amount of government funding, the bill passed without a word from Obama or most of the government watchdogs, known as the mass media.
Americans must question why the Monsanto Protection Act needed approval in the first place.
Perhaps GMO creators know something the public does not.
A Purdue University study discovered pathogens in Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soybeans suspected of causing infertility and spontaneous abortion in livestock.
A growing number of organic farmers find their fields inexplicably contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds.
Monsanto won judgments against 144 organic farmers when the corporation found traces of Monsanto GMO seeds inadvertently growing in organic fields between 1997 and 2010.
The U.S. government also does not require a testing process before distributing GMOs to the public, according to the FDA.  The FDA actually considers lab-created foods safe unless evidence proves otherwise.
When it comes to integrating newly created, genetically engineered foods into the international food supply, companies use the public as unsuspecting guinea pigs.
This simple fact should infuriate, or at the very least confuse, the public.
The U.S. government cares more about potential health risks from toys, which must survive strict testing procedures before being offered to the public, than they are concerned with lab-created food.
The public should not stand for such blatantly irresponsible treatment of the environment and food supply, particularly when environmental hazards continue to emerge from the use of GMOs.
The developing environmental issues shows the problems begin solely with the use of GMO products.
The proposed solutions to GMO issues illuminate a complete lack of concern.
Herbicide use in America increased more than 7 percent, or about 527 million pounds, since Monsanto’s introduction of GMO seeds to the American food supply, according to a study published in September by “Environmental Sciences Europe.”
Roundup Ready crops were engineered by the Agent Orange developer Monsanto to increase a crop’s tolerance to herbicide, or to allow the crop to create its own herbicide.
Monsanto engineers intended the added gene to allow farmers to use herbicide without harming the crops.
Instead, genetically modified seeds require additional herbicide and pesticide use, compared to the amount used on natural seeds, according to a recent report from Monsanto.
Overall pesticide use in 2011 for genetically modified crops was more than 20 percent higher than the amount of pesticide used on natural seeds.
Increased chemical use on crops also created chemically-resistant weeds, which require even more chemical sprays.
The numerous chemicals used on GMO crops freely float through the air, and the government sees no cause for concern.
This fact should be incredibly disheartening since the majority of these sprays are minimally tested for safety.
Americans must not continue to sit back and allow these dangers to continue to impact the environment, or potentially, our health.
More than 60 countries mandate GMO labels or ban GMO products all together.  America must make the same decision and forbid the proclamation of a product’s safety before producing the evidence proving that fact.
Humans are not lab rats, and Americans should be leery of any entity that treats the population as such.