Sown up liberty
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Eighteen months ago, after Obama came to office, I blogged that he'll "either be shot or fully bought within 12-24 months". Well, it's now pretty clear which one.
Back in April this year – "Obama Appoints Pesticide Executive to Top Trade Post" (from Democracy Now):
And food justice advocates are criticizing President Obama’s recent appointment of a top pesticide industry executive to a key trade position. The executive, Islam Siddiqui, was named the US Trade Representative’s Chief Agricultural Negotiator in a spate of recent appointments. Siddiqui is a former vice president and lobbyist at CropLife America, a group of the major industrial players in the pesticide industry, including Syngenta, Monsanto and Dow Chemical. A coalition of over eighty environmental, family farm and consumer advocacy organizations had campaigned against his nomination.Last year the following video was posted. There has been no major press coverage of this story since April 2009, and little follow up available online:
Just when you're thinking, "well, that's America", you discover Croplife Australia made up of the same group of dirty chem-lobbyists who are bullying weak politicians in Oz – No GM labelling on foods, university departments being built to champion factory farming, continuing heavy reliance on health destroying herbicides and pesticides, insane licensing policies, trialling of GM crops in several states despite dodgy shareholder-determined science.
If you want to get better informed about what all this means for you and your local environment, (and you haven't already) watch The World According to Monsanto.
5 comments:
That's near unbelievable. Do I understand this correctly? American Congress is discussing a bill that seeks to criminalize American citizens who grow their own food, for their own consumption, in their own backyard?
I don't think that's right Glen. I think it is when the food grown at home is sold through commercial places or growers markets etc. So, home grown and home consumed food is OK. But there are doubts about whether you can barter with friends with your food.
Such a crazy idea huh? We have given, and continue to give, so much of our power to large corporations. Has society ever before handed so much of our life to corporations (and their cronies in government)? Not just food, but clothing, entertainment, appliances,
..... When the power of corporations is combined with the gullibility of governments we get this type of stupid legislation.
thanks glen, thanks peter.
the good news in all this is the science monsanto and co develops is generally flawed. frankenscience or shareholder science is buoyed only by its determination to control food supply; hence the need to attack or coerce organic supply lines - scary, but very vulnerable also. extreme power always has a tipping point.
Thanks for the points of clarity Peter and Permapoesis. I agree. This really is a frightfully stupid proposition. Accepting the thesis that such a bill is the product of mega corporations wanting to manage the global trade of food down to the last earthly carrot, how on earth could such micro management be implemented? Would it be policed?
"What are you in for?"
"I invited a friend over for a home grown salad... There was a food bust... I got done for cultivation and supply of a kilo of brussel sprouts".
Given the enormous success of the War On Drugs, shall we now prepare for the War On Food?
Bring on the tipping point.
'a kilo of brussel sprouts', that's brilliant!
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