On May 25, 2013, there will be a worldwide "March Against Monsanto." For those of you who haven't paid attention, Monsanto is a huge megalithic chemical and agriculture products company that owns patents on some of the most widely used (and in my opinion, dangerous) chemicals that are sprayed on your food. They're also one of the largest proponents of genetically modifying food so that it produces its own pesticide, right in the plant, as it grows. You get to eat it in every bite. Yum.
Our government (which of course is always competent and correct, and totally free of graft, payoff, favor-doing, one-hand-washing-the-other, etc.) says that it's perfectly ok to eat these pesticides every day, day in, day out, in 90 percent of the food we eat, for many decades. Monsanto and it's counterparts say it's not only safe, but also very profitable.
Some other people, mostly scientists who work for research universities, who get their research funding in a very political, highly subjective way, also say that it's ok to eat these pesticides. Often, either before or after these scientists say this, Monsanto or another huge megalithic chemical or agriculture company who puts pesticides in and on our food, gives large "donations" to said research universities. I'm sure there's no connection.
Yet other people, some of whom are also scientists, say that eating pesticides isn't good for you and might cause all kinds of nasty diseases, like cancer and maybe MS and other neurological problems. Some of them have done studies that show evidence of that, which have been roundly criticized by the scientists who work for those research universities who have auditoriums and scholarships and stuff named after chemical and ag companies.
I'm not a scientist. But I do distinctly remember that people have always told me it's a bad idea to eat pesticide, so I side with the people who say we really shouldn't. It just makes sense to me.
Recently, Monsanto and some of its friends and lobbyists prevailed upon Congress to pass something that's been dubbed "the Monsanto Protection Act." It was stuffed into a bigger ag bill called H.R. 933, and it basically says that the courts (yes, all of them) have no power (none at all) to stop Monsanto or others from planting genetically modified crops, EVEN IF THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT IT HURTS PEOPLE. They basically over-rode the whole legal system that is supposed to govern in the U.S., and gave the exclusive authority to decide whether it's a good idea to eat pesticides to the United States Government--the one that is always competent and correct and totally free of graft, payoff, favor-doing, one-hand-washing-the-other, etc.
I'm not happy about this, because there are lots of countries that have totally banned these GM crops because their scientists (who probably don't have auditoriums and stuff named after these chemical companies) say that either the GM crops are dangerous, or at least that they might be and they haven't yet been sufficiently tested to prove they're not.
Well, as a thank you to Congress for bastardizing the entire United States legal system on behalf of the chemical and big-ag companies, some people are doing the March on Monsanto, where people intend to think and talk about whether it's a good idea to eat pesticides, and also to think and talk about whether it's a good idea to make laws specifically designed to make sure that courts can't stop companies from doing things if they are shown to be killing people. Groups will be gathering at places all over the world. I'll be going to one in my city.
See if you can find one near you. Here's where you can do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment