Monsanto genetically engineered corn approved for sale in U.S.

By Lynn Herrmann

Washington – Monsanto has been given the go-ahead to sell its genetically engineered, drought-resistant corn after the Obama administration quietly approved the variety, with the announcement being made during December’s Christmas break.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved the controversial product after Monsanto submitted a petition for its approval in 2009. Monsanto maintains 40 percent of North American crop losses occur as a result of sub-optimal moisture.
In a news release, Monsanto states the GE corn, MON 87460, carries the drought-tolerant trait to help maintain yield potential during drought stress.

“Our drought system is designed to help farmers mitigate the risk of yield loss when experiencing drought stress, primarily in areas of annual drought stress,” said Hobart Beeghly, Monsanto’s U.S. product management lead, in the company statement. “This spring farmers in the Western Great Plains will have an opportunity to see how the system performs on their farm through on-farm trials.”

corn and progeny derived from it are unlikely to pose plant pest risks and is no longer to be considered regulated article under APHIS’ Biotechnology Regulations.

would have no significant impacts, individually or collectively, on the quality of the human environment and will have no effect on federally listed threatened or endangered species, species proposed for listing, or their designated or proposed critical habitats.

 The Cornucopia Institute notes the USDA received almost 45,000 public comments opposed to MON 87460, with only 23 comments in favor.

 Also in the pipeline for genetically modified food is a corn by Dow which is being engineered to be more resistant to 2,4-D, a poisonous herbicide most famous for its being a primary ingredient in Agent Orange, prolifically used during the Vietnam War for defoliating forests and croplands.

USDA Out-of-Control!

USDA Madness #1: Government Poised to Approve Agent Orange Corn

Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready genetically engineered crops (soy, corn, cotton, sugarbeets and canola) are a failure, responsible for new breeds of super-weeds, millions of gallons of toxic pesticides sprayed on farm crops, and the propagation of a deadly new micro-monster that attacks plants, animals, and humans alike. Monsanto’s Roundup, even in the wake of this trail of destruction, is still the most widely used herbicide on the planet.

Now, rather than moving away from chemical and energy-intensive GMO crops and deadly pesticides, the USDA is preparing to escalate, letting chemical/biotech companies force a new wave of genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant crops, mutants that can survive being sprayed with the infamous herbicide 2,4-D, an Agent Orange ingredient with documented, uncontested major health problems that include cancer, reproductive problems, neurotoxicity, and immunosuppression..

We have until February 27, 2012 to try to convince the USDA not to approve Dow Chemical’s new 2,4-D-tolerant corn.

Take Action!

USDA Madness #2: USDA Approves Monsanto’s Bogus “Drought-Tolerant” GMO Corn

Genetic diversity and organic soil management – not genetic engineering – is the key to growing crops in the current era of global warming. Only traditional cross-breeding methods, coupled with ecological or organic farm practices that promote soil health, have proven capable of producing normal crop yields under drought or near-drought conditions.

The USDA’s review of Monsanto’s own data shows that years of investment into so-called “drought-resistant” biotech crops have been nothing more than a risky and very expensive failure.

Monsanto and the USDA have both admitted that MON 87460, the so-called “drought-tolerant” GMO corn, will fare only modestly better than current conventional varieties under low-and moderate-level drought conditions. Of course, corn grown organically not only retains significant more moisture in the soil than GMO or chemically-raised crops, but eliminates completely the use of toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Data from U.S. researchers indicates that conventional breeding is producing drought tolerance two to three times faster than genetic engineering.

The danger is, now that MON 87460 has been fully deregulated, it will inevitably contaminate truly drought-tolerant varieties of organic and conventional corn, destroying the rich genetic diversity that the world’s farmers have cultivated in the planet’s infinitely varied micro-climates.

The USDA decision is final. All we can do now is complain to Congress and President Obama – who promised during the 2008 campaign that he would respect consumers’ right to know and label GMOs! Of course, just like the other new GMOs approved by Obama’s USDA (alfalfa, sugar beets, etc.), MON 87460 was approved without a labeling requirement.

Take Action!

USDA Madness #3: Genetically Engineered Nutraceuticals in Organic Baby Food

Beginning when Bush was president, and continuing now in the Obama Administration, the USDA National Organic Program has allowed biotech giant DSM, owner of Martek Biosciences, to market genetically engineered nutraceuticals DHA and ARA to organic food companies, including infant formula and baby cereal manufacturers.

So far, organic food companies using GMO DHA and ARA have received complaints from 6,710 OCA members.

Thanks to everyone who took action! If you did, you probably received a letter back from Happy Baby, which makes Happy Bellies cereal with DHA, disputing our GMO claim.

We’ve updated our action alert with their letter and our reply.

Learn More and Take Action!

Support the OCA and the OCF

Thank you for supporting our work in 2011!

You’ve made it possible to continue the transition to an organic future by safeguarding organic standards and fighting back against the biotech bullies and their indentured politicians, supporting progressive legislation, educating the public, and organizing nationwide protests.    In 2012, we plan to fight even harder. With the 2012 California ballot initiative, and GMO labeling legislation gaining momentum in Vermont, Washington, Connecticut and other states, we have a real chance to hit Monsanto with the skull and crossbones they fear so much – mandatory labels on genetically engineered food. We also plan to step up our efforts to strengthen organic standards and significantly expand the market for organic food and products, especially those produced locally and regionally.

Please be as generous as you can this post-holiday season.

Donate to the Organic Consumers Association (tax-deductible)

Donate to the Organic Consumers Fund (non-tax-deductible, but necessary for our efforts in California)

Monsanto’s Micro-Monster Could Kill Us All
Tell Sec. Vilsack to Heed Dr. Huber’s Warning!

Monsanto has unleashed a micro-monster that could kill us all.

 

That’s according to Dr. Don Huber, an agricultural scientist and expert in microbial ecology, who’s convinced that Monsanto’s genetically engineered “RoundUp Ready” crops are responsible for a new micro-monster that’s causing an outbreak of new plant, animal and human diseases.

Rural farmers unite to feed Wall Street protesters

Dinner at Occupy Wall Street and the Farmers Who Grow It

Every night at Zuccotti Park, dinner is served around 7 P.M. What protesters may not realize is that their meals are made from fresh, organic produce donated by a dozen or so small farms located throughout the Northeast.

Since the early weeks of the protest, regional farmers have been coming down independently to Occupy Wall Street to donate fruits and vegetables. In those days, meals were prepared in volunteers’ homes. Yet, as the protest quickly gained momentum, food preparation needed to get more organized, and Occupy Wall Street set up a daily dinner operation out of a soup kitchen in East New York, Brooklyn.

Once they got use of this professional cooking space, groups of farmers from different regional areas—from upstate New York, Vermont and western Massachusetts—started making regular trips down with produce.

“They all had this related thing: They’re small organic farmers competing against big commercial and industrial farmers,” says Heather Squire, the full-time Occupy Wall Street volunteer who manages the space. “The kitchen became a place for farmers to come together. It represented that place to take their issues to.”

Now, participating farmers from Massachusetts and Vermont make deliveries twice a week, and they’ve created an organization to represent their efforts and raise awareness of issues affecting the rural small-farm community.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/solutions/rural-farmers-unite-to-feed-wall-street-protestors-.html