I have been passionate about it here in California. It's bigger than just health I found out. Get this, if you value our U.S. Constitution like I do this will piss you off to no end. OK, Under the constitution concerning patents, anything can be patented and is protected by law once patented. This applies to everything with the exception of food. Plants and animals can not be patented. This is to protect an individual's right to grow their own food.
Now, Monsanto has found a loop hole. He has gotten his seeds from gene spliced crops patented. You can not save seeds from your crop if it is from his original seed. That is patent infringement. If your non GMO crop has been cross pollinated by his product that is patent infringement. It also disqualifies your crop from being organic. He has a whole section of employees that monitor his seed buyers and they trespass on neighboring properties and test those crops. If they have been cross pollinated Monsanto takes that farmer to court and sues for all he can get thereby pretty much putting that farmer out of business which puts up that property for sale to the bigger agribusiness farmers that use Monsanto's seed. So, Food is no longer protected by our constitution.
Now for the bee collapse, There was one bee guy in Iowa. He has been studying his bee colony for 15 years. his study was on the affects of Monsanto's GMO crops and the Roundup herbicide used on them. He found a correlation between the two and had the scientific proof and was getting ready to publish it. Monsanto got the Iowa Ag dept. to go in and confiscate all of this guy's bees, equipment and even his records. This was done while the guy was not at home, with out a warrant and the local judges won't touch it. The reason? Said his hive was sick. This is not the usual due process a bee keeper usually gets by the Ag dept. if his bees are suspected to be sick.
Monsanto is actively trying to get our politicians to pull sanctions against 64 countries that don't allow GMO's or require labeling of them for unfair trade.
Obama promised to get GMO's labeled in his first election. He never even approached congress with it at all. To ad insult to injury he turned around and appointed one of Monsanto's men as food czar in charge of the FDA which says which products may be put on the market as safe. There has been no long studies on GMO's by the FDA. Independent studies have been attacked by Monsanto, the labs bought by Monsanto and the scientists of the studies fired, sanctioned or harassed and threatened.
It's more than just about health and it's bigger than California.
Here are some good groups on FaceBook if you use it. Mother Earth News, Food Warrior Network, Yes on Prop 37 (still up and going because we aren't giving up), and Grow Food not Lawns. Grow Food Not Lawns is a really great group. If you like to garden there are people that put their really neat ideas up on it. For example: toilet paper rolls make great little seed starter pots.
