Monsanto's Roundup disaster

[mriko]

I said it before, and will say it again, but when it comes to these evil mother fuckers, one must focus on three very simple words : DEATH TO MONSANTO !
Same goes with DynCorp and others of course.

THe course of action to be taken is very simple; blow up all installations& labs and napalm-ize all crops, seize all personnel and dose them with 500mics LSD doses, until they are properly reset or their brain is fried.

DEATH TO MONSANTO !

Irie !

 

[mexcurandero420]

Keep on growing your own food

 

[OGEvilgenius]

http://gmoseralini.org/citizens-were-lied-to-over-gm-study/

Keep on growing your own food

I just want to say, this study WAS severely flawed. I still have no faith in GMO's at all for many reasons, but I wonder if this wasn't a red herring. The design was awful for a lot of reasons.

1) Breed of rodent used
2) Sample size
3) Data analysis
4) Even cages and the like came into question

Most of the criticisms were quite legitimate in my estimation.

 

[mexcurandero420]

For what reason was the study of Seralin flawed???

Keep on growing your own food

 

[bluntmassa]

so if people do not use roundup, they will starve?

they sure did a good job on you.

for real what happened to good old fashion weed pulling? that's the only way I've ever gotten rid of weeds I was taught that at about 5 years old.

 

[exploziv]

for real what happened to good old fashion weed pulling? that's the only way I've ever gotten rid of weeds I was taught that at about 5 years old.

can't do that when a farmer tends to tens or hundrends of acres. we would need more people involved with growing food, then we'll maybe have a chance of eating better food.

 

[StRa]

new paper....

Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases

Abstract: Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise. Residues are found in the main foods of the Western diet, comprised primarily of sugar, corn, soy and wheat. Glyphosate's inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes is an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals. CYP enzymes play crucial roles in biology, one of which is to detoxify xenobiotics. Thus, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. Here, we show how interference with CYP enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport. Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins.

http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

 

[maxibiogreen]

.

.

can't do that when a farmer tends to tens or hundrends of acres. we would need more people involved with growing food, then we'll maybe have a chance of eating better food.

No no explosiv you're out of the way. That was true few decades ago but nowadays there has been huge technical and mechanical improvment and you can mechanically and also with other ways get rid of weed.
The only difference is that it is more work than just driving a tractor around the field.
Around where I live a farmer who has 200 hectares and uses pesticides (or pollutes like an A hole) really works 3 month a year. The people doing it organicly have to have organic fertilizer wich means than most people you ll find doing this will have cows for milk and fertilizers from the cow manure. These people will work 12/12 month per year.
They also will be able to employ people since all isn't resumed to driving big tractors.
Still 200 hectares but full of diversity and knowledges.


It 's true not polluting earth has a cost. The only problem is not that many people is willing to take that responsability.
It is said that only 2% of people on earth have realised that we really needed to stop polluting our own planet and are then really doing their part.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Monsanto vs. Mother Earth (petition against the new EU seed directive)

Keep on growing your own food

 

[mexcurandero420]

Heavy use of herbicide Roundup linked to health dangers-U.S. study

Study says chemical residues linked to disease

* Roundup developer Monsanto says glyphosate is safe

* Researchers say more study is needed

By Carey Gillam

April 25 (Reuters) - Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.

The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.

Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from Arthur D. Little, Inc. Samsel is a former private environmental government contractor as well as a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body," the study says.

We "have hit upon something very important that needs to be taken seriously and further investigated," Seneff said.

Environmentalists, consumer groups and plant scientists from several countries have warned that heavy use of glyphosate is causing problems for plants, people and animals.

The EPA is conducting a standard registration review of glyphosate and has set a deadline of 2015 for determining if glyphosate use should be limited. The study is among many comments submitted to the agency.

Monsanto is the developer of both Roundup herbicide and a suite of crops that are genetically altered to withstand being sprayed with the Roundup weed killer.

These biotech crops, including corn, soybeans, canola and sugarbeets, are planted on millions of acres in the United States annually. Farmers like them because they can spray Roundup weed killer directly on the crops to kill weeds in the fields without harming the crops.

Roundup is also popularly used on lawns, gardens and golf courses.

Monsanto and other leading industry experts have said for years that glyphosate is proven safe, and has a less damaging impact on the environment than other commonly used chemicals.

Jerry Steiner, Monsanto's executive vice president of sustainability, reiterated that in a recent interview when questioned about the study.

"We are very confident in the long track record that glyphosate has. It has been very, very extensively studied," he said.

Of the more than two dozen top herbicides on the market, glyphosate is the most popular. In 2007, as much as 185 million pounds of glyphosate was used by U.S. farmers, double the amount used six years ago, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/roundup-health-study-idUSL2N0DC22F20130425

Keep on growing your own food

 

[mexcurandero420]

http://occupy-monsanto.com/

Keep growing your own food

 

[OGEvilgenius]

No no explosiv you're out of the way. That was true few decades ago but nowadays there has been huge technical and mechanical improvment and you can mechanically and also with other ways get rid of weed.
The only difference is that it is more work than just driving a tractor around the field.
Around where I live a farmer who has 200 hectares and uses pesticides (or pollutes like an A hole) really works 3 month a year. The people doing it organicly have to have organic fertilizer wich means than most people you ll find doing this will have cows for milk and fertilizers from the cow manure. These people will work 12/12 month per year.
They also will be able to employ people since all isn't resumed to driving big tractors.
Still 200 hectares but full of diversity and knowledges.


It 's true not polluting earth has a cost. The only problem is not that many people is willing to take that responsability.
It is said that only 2% of people on earth have realised that we really needed to stop polluting our own planet and are then really doing their part.

Alternately - have more hemp farmers. It grows so fast and large weeds aren't a problem.

 

[StRa]

Why we march?

 

[StRa]

Inadequate data prevent EFSA from concluding on safety of GM maize 98140

Inadequate data prevent EFSA from concluding on safety of GM maize 98140



http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/130416.htm

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) could not conclude on the safety of genetically modified (GM) maize 98140 after the applicant failed to supply essential data to allow a full risk assessment to take place. EFSA was prevented from reaching a conclusion overall on the potential risks posed by herbicide tolerant GM maize 98140 to human and animal health as the application did not meet all the minimum standards set out by the Authority’s guidance document.

Experts from the Authority’s Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) found it was not possible to carry out the comparative assessment of the GM maize because studies submitted as part of the application contained insufficient data on the plant’s characteristics, such as its composition and appearance.

Comparative assessment is the fundamental requirement for the risk evaluation of GMOs. It compares GM plants, and the food and feed derived from them, with their respective conventional counterparts – known as comparators. The basic assumption of this method, which is required under current European Union legislation for all GMO applications, is that food and feed from conventionally-bred plants have a history of safe use. They can therefore serve as a baseline for the risk assessment of food and feed derived from GM plants.

Following an initial assessment of the field trials by the applicant, EFSA concluded that the plant variety chosen by the applicant as a comparator was not valid. As with nearly all GMO applications submitted to EFSA (98% to date), scientists from the Authority requested additional data from the applicant so GM maize 98140 could be properly assessed. However, the information supplied by the company relating to field trials performed for the comparative assessment again failed to meet the criteria in EFSA guidance documents.

There were, however, aspects of the application where the GMO Panel was able to complete a safety assessment. EFSA concluded there was no indication of allergenicity relating to the newly expressed proteins GAT4621 and ZM-HRA in the GM plant. EFSA also confirmed that the elevated levels of certain constituents of GM maize 98140 (amino acids also found in conventional plants) did not raise safety concerns for humans and animals. The Panel also concluded that the GM maize was unlikely to have any adverse effect on the environment in the context of its intended uses in food and feed and import and processing.

But overall, the Authority could not complete the risk assessment of GM maize 98140 due to inadequacies in the comparative assessment performed by the applicant and was therefore unable to draw conclusions on its safety with respect to potential effects on human and animal health.

EFSA’s risk assessment of GM maize 98140 was delivered in line with its remit to provide independent scientific advice to decision-makers in the European Union. Risk managers in the European Commission and Member States take EFSA’s evaluations into account, along with other factors, when deciding on the authorisation of GMOs.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Diplomatic cables reveal aggressive GM lobbying by US officials

Review of more than 900 cables reveals campaign to break down resistance to GM products in Europe and other countries

American diplomats lobbied aggressively overseas to promote genetically modified (GM) food crops such as soy beans, an analysis of official cable traffic revealed on Tuesday.

The review of more than 900 diplomatic cables by the campaign group Food and Water Watch showed a carefully crafted campaign to break down resistance to GM products in Europe and other countries, and so help promote the bottom line of big American agricultural businesses.

The cables, which first surfaced with the Wikileaks disclosures two years ago, described a series of separate public relations strategies, unrolled at dozens of press junkets and biotech conferences, aimed at convincing scientists, media, industry, farmers, elected officials and others of the safety and benefits of GM products.

The report offers a further glimpse of the power of the agricultural and biotech industries in America, after the supreme court came down on the side of Monsanto in its effort to enforce its patented GM soybeans.

The court ruled on Monday that an Indiana farmer had to buy new seeds directly from Monsanto every time he planted the GM Roundup Ready soybeans.

The public relations effort unrolled by the State Department also ventured into legal terrain, according to the report. US officials stationed overseas opposed GM food labelling laws as well as rules blocking the import of GM foods.

The report notes that some of the lobbying effort had direct benefits. About 7% of the cables mentioned specific companies, and 6% mentioned Monsanto. "This corporate diplomacy was nearly twice as common as diplomatic efforts on food aid," the report said.

Wenonah Hauter, the executive director of Food and Water Watch, said it was unsettling to see the State Department investing so much effort into promoting industry. "I'm especially concerned to see how much of the cables have to do with changing laws and regulations of many of those countries," she said. "Instead of focusing on security and promoting democracy, they are focusing on pressuring foreign governments."

In some instances, there was little pretence at hiding that resort to pressure – at least within US government circles. In a 2007 cable, released during the earlier Wikileaks disclosures, Craig Stapleton, a friend and former business partner of George Bush, advised Washington to draw up a target list in Europe in response to a move by France to ban a variety of GM Monsanto corn.

"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits," Stapleton wrote at the time.

"The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices," he wrote.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/15/diplomatic-cables-gm-lobbying-us

Keep on growing your own food

 

[mexcurandero420]

GMO lose Europe – victory for environmental organisations

Monsanto will halt production of genetically modified corn in all of Europe, except Spain, Portugal and Czech republic. The agribusiness multinational states not to spend any more money on trials, development, marketing, court cases or anything else to get GM corn accepted in Europe.

”In Europe Monsanto only sells GM corn in three countries. GM corn represents less than 1% of the EU’s corn cultivation by land area. Field trials are only in progress in three countries. We will not spend any more money to convince people to plant them,” states Brandon Mitchener, Public Affairs Lead for Monsanto in Europe and Middle East, in an interview with Investigative Reporting Denmark.

The decision was taken quietly. The company found no reason to communicate it. This means that every agribusiness company has now given up on genetically modified crops in Europe – apart from selling them in Spain and Portugal.

Effect on worldwide GMO-battle
“This is not surprising, knowing that BASF stopped its biotech research in Europe in 2012 and Syngenta moved its research years before. It will influence the international expansion of GMOs on a global scale,” comments Klaus Sall MSc.

Sall has been studying the politics of the GMO industry for several years, and is now working as a strategic business adviser. He has just written a status report on the development of GMOs in the EU for The Danish Ecological Association (Økologisk Landsforening).

BASF, Bayer and Syngenta halted their development of GMO potatoes in Europe in 2012, for the very same reasons as Monsanto – the battle was lost.

However green organisations are still fighting the agribusiness company – in Europe and the rest of the world.

”We are not a biotech company and NGOs campaigning against GM cultivation in Europe are beating a dead horse,” Brandon Mitchener points out.

Only Spain and Portugal face GMO-growth
In Czech Repulic the sale of GM corn declining, the only countries where it is on the rise being Spain and Portugal. Currently GM corn field trials are going on in just three countries: Romania, Slovakia and Czech Republic. They are done by academic partners of Monsanto or for EU variety registration. Totals here.

“We stopped most of the trials, including the trial in Denmark, following a strategic decision in 2011 to focus our commercial activity in Europe on high-performance, conventional hybrid seeds. Monsanto has a thriving business in Europe with conventional seeds and crop protection products. As a matter of principle, Monsanto will only seek to sell biotech seeds in countries where there is broad customer and political support for them as well as a functioning, science-based regulatory system – conditions which only apply in a few countries in Europe today,” says Brandon Mitchener.

Touch the GMO Maize

Former Danish minister of Agriculture and Food, Eva Kjer Hansen from The Liberal Party, Venstre, announced on September 16th 2009 the start of Monsantos three trials with GMO maize resistent to herbicide Round-Up (NK 603) in Denmark.

She told the press that in three years time Denmark could face acceptance of GMO crops and that a lot of farmers would be growing it. She invited journalists on a road trip and let them touch the GMO maize in the trial field in Tystofte near the Danish city Skælskør.

Even more trials

Two years later, in January 2011, Monsanto expanded these two years of examination with an additional year of testing, which was accepted by the Danish Environmental authority, Miljøstyrelsen.

The procedure is that crop companies’ new crops will be tested by the authority for two years before possibly being allowed for selling and growing in Denmark. At the time, Monsanto wanted to test a total of five different varieties with the transformation NK603.

Trial results are normally open to the public. In this case Monsanto explicitly asked to keep the test silent, and they withdrew the varities before the testing finished, so no results were published.

No information has then been released on these trials.

Fighting for access to trial results
Investigative Reporting Denmark has, together with an organisation for openness, Åbenhedstinget, asked for access to the results. It turns out the trials failed in the second year. On the 1st of February 2011 the authority stated that the GMO crops could not be allowed on the basis of the trial results of the first two years. The authority recommended one more year of trials.

The new maize crop resistant to Round-Up only performed 97 pct. compared to traditional maize for the two test years in total, the authority (Plantedirektoratet, Afdeling for Sortsafprøvning, Fagudvalget) writes. It also warns for the harmful effect of the herbicide Round-Up and concludes that the most realistic outcome is that the crop will not be allowed for growing in Denmark.

Monsanto cancelled the different crops from growing trials on different times. The last was cancelled on the 1st of February 2012. By doing that Monsanto could keep the failure out of the public domain.

Authorities support Monsanto on silence
The authorities have – after more than two months consideration – decided to follow Monsanto’s wish to keep the trial results silent.

Key documents in the FOI-case.
The main argument is that publication of the trial results would have an economically harmful effect on the company, despite the fact that the crops did not pass the trial.

Investigative Reporting and Åbenhedstinget together raise the case for The Danish Ministry of Agriculture. From a scientific viewpoint and for the use in other countries it is necessary to also get results of failed trials published, argue the two organisations.

“It is corrupting to the scientific method itself, when companies can decide that only positive results can be published. Therefore it is important to have this research published,” stresses Klaus Sall.

“This a good example of the need to require companies to accept free access to their GMO seeds, for scientific research, when the crop has been released for import to the EU as NK 603 has.”

Danish trial to be reported later

Brandon Mitchener from Monsanto points to a webpage where trials are reported. The Danish trials will be reported there later this year. The actual data from the trials are not included in the reports.

“I cannot believe that any company would ever voluntarily disclose information that might be useful to its competitors. It’s unrealistic, even surreal, that anyone would expect us to. Laws already strike the proper balance between confidentiality and transparency,” says Brandon Mitchener.

The horse is dead.

Experts getting moved away from GMO
In September 2009 The Danish Ministry for Agriculture and Food published a 235 page report on in an attempt to revitalise the debate and have GMOs allowed in Denmark. This took place on the same day as the roadtrip for the press to trial fields.

The report was met with a heavy criticism in the public debate. Today the topic is closed.

http://www.ir-d.dk/gmo-lose-europe-victory-for-environmental-organisations/

Keep on growing the good food

 

[mexcurandero420]

Genetically Engineered Wheat is Destroying US Agriculture: Oregon Wheat Found Contaminated with GE Wheat

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that unapproved genetically engineered (GE) wheat was found growing in an Oregon wheat field. The discovery has implications for U.S. trade as Japan has already indicated it would stop purchasing U.S. wheat exports.

According to USDA officials, a Oregon farmer sprayed his wheat field, intending it to lay fallow for the next year. Despite multiple sprays of RoundUp, the farmer found so-called “volunteer” crops unexpectedly persisted, just as GE crops are engineered to do. The discovery prompted him to send samples to Carol Mallery Smith, scientist at Oregon State University, who determined that the crops were infused with the RoundUp Ready gene. USDA confirmed the results but officials have declined to comment on how the seeds ended up in this farmer’s field to begin with considering Monsanto has not conducted field trials in Oregon since 2001 when it reportedly withdrew from the state.

Since 1994, Monsanto has conducted 279 field trials of RoundUp Ready wheat over more than 4,000 acres of land in 16 states. Tests have been conducted in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. After facing intense opposition from farmers and activists, Monsanto reportedly stopped its efforts to introduce GE wheat, but restarted extensive field trials again in 2011.

Contamination of non-GE crops, particularly for USDA certified organic crops, is a serious concern. Worries about harm to human health and the environment have prompted several state legislatures to consider bills that would require labeling of products with GE ingredients so consumers know what they are eating. Additional legislation proposed by Senator Bill Bowman (R-ND) in 2002 would have allowed farmers in North Dakota the right to sue Monsanto if wheat was found to be contaminated with genetically modified crops. The discovery is likely to prompt similar legislation if not litigation.

USDA regulates GE herbicide-tolerant plants under the Plant Protection Act, however its scrutiny of the full range of potential human health and environmental effects has been challenged by environmental groups as inadequate. GE wheat is not approved to be grown in the U.S. or anywhere world-wide.

While the world’s biggest wheat importer, Egypt, has made no move to stop importing U.S. wheat, Japan has cancelled its offer to buy U.S.\ western white wheat. Meanwhile the European Union has prepared to begin testing shipments for the RoundUp Ready gene. These discoveries may have major implications for the U.S. economy, In 2012, exported wheat represented a gross sum of $18.1 billion, with 90% of Oregon’s wheat exported abroad.

“Nobody’s going to want to buy wheat from the PNW (Pacific Northwest) for a while,” said Roy Huckabay, analyst with the Linn Group in Chicago.

For more information on the environmental hazards associated with GE technology, visit Beyond Pesticides’ Genetic Engineering webpage. The best way to avoid genetically engineered foods in the marketplace is to purchase foods that have the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Organic Seal. Under organic certification standards, genetically modified organisms and their byproducts are prohibited. For many other reasons, organic products are the right choice for consumers.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/genetically-engineered-wheat-is-destroying-us-agriculture-oregon-wheat-found-contaminated-with-ge-wheat/5337277

Keep on growing your own food

 

[NorC@liGrower]

Kind of almost can't believe this thread I started almost 3 years ago still going! Glyphosate is nasty stuff.

 

[mexcurandero420]

Kind of almost can't believe this thread I started almost 3 years ago still going! Glyphosate is nasty stuff.

Good to have you back

Keep on growing

 

[mexcurandero420]

Determination of Glyphosate residues in human urine samples from 18 European countries

Keep on growing your own food