I don’t know why I was shocked. Both Blackwater (now re-branded “Xe Services”) and Monsanto are corporations that have, as my grandmother used to say, “grown too big for their britches.” And that’s putting it mildly. Why should I be surprised that Monsanto hired Blackwater’s intelligence agency arm, Total Intelligence Solutions, to infiltrate anti-GMO activist groups and monitor the blogs of those organizing against the company?
Supreme Court Hears Case Against Monsanto & GMOs
Today the United States Supreme Court is hearing the case of Monsanto vs. Geertson Seed Farms, which began in the lower courts back in 2006. A coalition of alfalfa farmers (conventional and organic), with the help of the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the USDA’s approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered “Roundup Ready” alfalfa. The plant, like Roundup Ready soybeans and other crops, had been engineered to withstand repeated spraying of Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Farmers and environmental advocates warned about the unintended spread of Monsanto’s patented variety of alfalfa, given that alfalfa is pollinated by bees that can fly many miles distance.
Court after court sided with CFS against the USDA. The history of this case is actually quite encouraging.
PLU Codes Don’t Indicate GMO Produce
A while back, I stumbled onto a little known fact. The PLU codes on produce at your supermarket actually mean things (besides what kind of fruit or veggie it is)! For example, organic produce has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with the number 9. Conventionally raised produce has a 4-digit PLU code, and (wonder of wonders!) genetically modified produce has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with the number 8.
When getting fresh vegetables from local farmers, PLU codes don’t seem all that important. After all, I can just ask the farmer about his growing practices and where he gets his seed from. So, I tucked away this handy bit of knowledge about supermarket produce, thinking I might use it some day.
Then this week, I read an eye-opening article by Jeffrey Smith (the founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology). He says PLU codes don’t reveal the GMO origins of produce. Why? Because they’re optional.
Are GMOs Safe?
Five years ago, I didn’t know what GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) were. I certainly didn’t know how pervasive they were in our food supply. And I would never have asked if they were safe or not.
After all, wasn’t that the government’s job? Someone at the FDA or USDA would surely have tested any new food technologies to make sure it was safe for me to consume.
Needless to say, I’ve since learned just how wrong I was.
Just Say No To GMOs — Join the No-GMO Challenge
If you had to name the largest single threat to the environment that you could think of, what would it be? Climate change? Global warming? Deforestation? Overpopulation? Wars? Pollution? A Global Pandemic?
My answer is easy: The single greatest threat to Earth as we know it is the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply. Decimate our food supply, and the rest won’t matter.
But are GMOs really that dangerous?
Bad News For Big Ag — GMO Crops Don’t Increase Yields
You’ve heard of GMO crops, haven’t you? GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are crops which have been substantially altered using genetic engineering. They’re unnaturally modified foods whose safety is dubious at best. (Many European countries have banned their use completely.)
And unfortunately, they’re quite pervasive here in America. 90% of the soybeans grown in the U.S. are GMOs, as is 63% of the corn. These expensive crops were sold to farmers around the world by a handful of mammoth biotech corporations with promises of radical yield increases.
According to a recent report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, those were empty promises.