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Billy[_10_] 30-01-2011 07:39 AM

Sell-out?
 
OK, I'm not sure about this, but I'm giving you a heads up.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...icle_22449.cfm


headline:

The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?
By Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011
Straight to the Source


"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for
other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods
Market, Jan. 21, 2011

In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically
Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic
farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are
facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite,
spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield
Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives
from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose
the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's
controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and
cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech
cheerleader Tom Vilsack.

In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its
customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their
support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA
bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's
genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the
regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that
WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive
planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop,
alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the
nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals;
guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and
destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide,
Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that
will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed
on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.

In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the
alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new
assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale
Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and
rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech
USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In
payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability
to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous
greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates
essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and
sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the
Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush
money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his
crop." .... (cont)
--
- Billy
³When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist.²
-Archbishop Helder Camara
http://peace.mennolink.org/articles/...acegroups.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth...130964689.html


Nad R 30-01-2011 09:48 AM

Sell-out?
 
Billy wrote:
OK, I'm not sure about this, but I'm giving you a heads up.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...icle_22449.cfm


headline:

The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?
By Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011
Straight to the Source


"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for
other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods
Market, Jan. 21, 2011

In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically
Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic
farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are
facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite,
spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield
Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives
from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose
the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's
controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and
cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech
cheerleader Tom Vilsack.

In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its
customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their
support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA
bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's
genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the
regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that
WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive
planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop,
alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the
nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals;
guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and
destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide,
Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that
will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed
on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.

In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the
alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new
assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale
Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and
rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech
USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In
payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability
to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous
greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates
essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and
sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the
Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush
money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his
crop." .... (cont)


A sell out?
More than likely, blackmailed. Threatened with financial destruction by the
mega Corp.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

Gary Woods[_2_] 30-01-2011 01:54 PM

Sell-out?
 
Nad R wrote:

A sell out?
More than likely, blackmailed.


The Seed Saver's Exchange is sounding more and more like Fahrenheit 451.
(I am garlic, rutabaga, a few beans, a little kale...)

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

songbird[_2_] 31-01-2011 03:56 AM

Sell-out?
 
Billy wrote:

OK, I'm not sure about this, but I'm giving you a heads up.


what aren't you sure of?


http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...icle_22449.cfm


headline:

The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?
By Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011
Straight to the Source

....

they are no longer the organic elite.
i'd say this sort of message means they've
stepped down (he should resign immediately
IMO).

and "sell out" is mild, i'd put it in
much stronger terms.

if i shopped there i would boycott.
and they wonder why citizens don't trust
corporations or the goverment to do the
right thing? or why they don't vote...

as a gardener who would like to grow
non-GMO items, i think it will mean i'll
have to continually source seeds from
a different planet for: corn, soybeans,
sugar beets and now alfalfa. those
bunnies better not start glowing in
the dark and getting bigger... got enough
of them as it is.

the trouble is. i can't easily replant
an alfalfa field to remove GMO contamination.
it takes several years to get a good
perennial established and those roots go
down deep!

this is utterly horrible.


songbird

Bill who putters 31-01-2011 06:16 PM

Sell-out?
 
In article ,
Gary Woods wrote:

Nad R wrote:

A sell out?
More than likely, blackmailed.


The Seed Saver's Exchange is sounding more and more like Fahrenheit 451.
(I am garlic, rutabaga, a few beans, a little kale...)

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G


Does seem a relationship exists to 451. Scary. Got me thinking about
changing my "real name" to "Marglobe".
Weather here the last month lucky to get above 35 F. for the high. 30
right now.

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/




Billy[_10_] 31-01-2011 07:15 PM

Sell-out?
 
In article ,
songbird wrote:

Billy wrote:

OK, I'm not sure about this, but I'm giving you a heads up.


what aren't you sure of?


The Organic Consumers Association. When I've looked at their problem
with non-organic sausage casings, or non-organic hops in beer, my
impression was that they were being hysterical about small things. I
wrote to both businesses, who freely admitted to the charges.
Apparently, organic replacements weren't available, and they made no
effort to hid this fact.

My feeling was that they were simply grabbing stories from the news,
pasting them in their web site, and then asking for money to support
their work.

Simply put, I have little faith in the Organic Consumers Association.


http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...icle_22449.cfm

--
- Billy
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist."
-Archbishop Helder Camara
http://peace.mennolink.org/articles/...acegroups.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth...130964689.html


Billy[_10_] 31-01-2011 10:01 PM

Sell-out?
 
In article ,
Bill who putters wrote:

In article ,
Gary Woods wrote:

Nad R wrote:

A sell out?
More than likely, blackmailed.


The Seed Saver's Exchange is sounding more and more like Fahrenheit 451.
(I am garlic, rutabaga, a few beans, a little kale...)

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at
home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G


Does seem a relationship exists to 451. Scary. Got me thinking about
changing my "real name" to "Marglobe".
Weather here the last month lucky to get above 35 F. for the high. 30
right now.


Sounds like sledding must be good ;O)

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
or
go to Al Jazeera English
http://english.aljazeera.net/

and click on live video.

Land of the free and censorship for all.
--
- Billy
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist."
-Archbishop Helder Camara
http://peace.mennolink.org/articles/...acegroups.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth...130964689.html



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