(NaturalNews) With genetically modified (GM) foods dominating the United States' corn and soybean crop today, Monsanto - the company most responsible for GM foods - has also dominated most of South Africa`s seed crops as well. As
reported by Barbara Minton here at Natural News in April, a huge crop failure there is directly attributed to this lack of seed diversity. So how do Americans, and people world wide, fight back against this takeover of food sources by GM foods? To answer that, the GMOs themselves as well as the way the company who makes them operates should be understood. That will show how real, grassroots, actions that everyone can participate in will work to stop this monopolization of the world's food.
How GM Foods and GMO WorksThe most common modification that Monsanto makes to seeds is to create HT-ready crops ("herbicide tolerant" crops). These are crops that are able to withstand Monsanto`s other product, RoundUp, to a strong degree. This increases crop yield by allowing the farmer to spray liberally with the RoundUp herbicide to kill weeds and some parasites.
The problem? Well, obviously, all that spraying can`t be good for anybody. It also is severely destroying seed diversity in the agricultural markets - over 90% of American soybean crops are now genetically modified organisms (GMO). About 70% of our corn crops are also GMOs.
1Now that Monsanto has a virtual monopoly on those seeds, they`ve announced that they`re raising seed prices by up to 42%, as reported in Bloomberg on August 13.
2Further, as
Ethan Huff pointed out in his article here at Natural News, there is plenty of reason to question the health problems associated with GM crops.
Currently, Monsanto is working to corner the market on GMO wheat crops in the U.S. If their progress there is anything like it`s been with corn and soy, they could hold 70% or more of the seed market within fifteen years.
Most of the reasons for not liking GMO crops have been outlined already, but for more information, you can check the
Natural News archives on GMOs here.
Monsanto`s gangster tactics can be seen in the documentary movie
The World According to Monsanto by Twilight Earth.
3 This is how they`ve gained their monopoly.
Fighting Back Against Monsanto and GM CropsFirst and foremost, stop financially supporting Monsanto as much as possible. This means scouting out and avoiding
GMO foods on the grocery store shelf, not buying Monsanto`s products, and more. As Shelly Roche of Bytestyle.tv says, "
Vote With Your Fork!"
Shelly has a Roundup Challenge in which we the people can fight back by not purchasing Monsanto`s number one consumer product, RoundUp. You can
find out more about that here. She also has
a short list of ways to identify GMO foods in the grocery store so you can avoid purchasing them.
The Institute for Responsible Technology has a
No GMO Challenge you can participate in right now as well as a convenient 9-page guide you can
download or order in print for helping identify GMO foods and food sources in products.
Finally, both of the current "Food Safety Act" bills in Congress are extremely GM-friendly and should be opposed for that and many other reasons. They`ve been covered well by Ethan Huff here at Natural News:
Food Safety Health -
Food Safety FreedomThese are the easiest ways you can participate in fighting back against GMOs. Spread the information about GMOs to as many people as you can and participate in local food markets and other sources of non-corporate
food production.
Working together, everyone in the world, not just Americans, can fight to keep food and nutritional choices in our own hands and not at the mercy of bureaucrats and Big Agra.
Footnotes and Resources:
1 - Huffington Post: Racings Towards a Roundup-Ready Food Future:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-scola/racing-toward-a-roundup-r_b...2 - Bloomberg:
Monsanto to Charge as Much as 42% More for New Seeds:
http://www.naturalnews.com/GMOs.html3 - Twilight Earth: The World According to Monsanto:
http://www.twilightearth.com/2009/05/the-world-according-to-monsanto-...4 - Video: Are you eating Genetically Modified foods (GMOs) Without Knowing It?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oriqB942CqcAbout the author
Aaron Turpen is a professional writer living in Wyoming in the USA. His blogs cover organic/sustainable living and environmental considerations (
AaronsEnvironMental.com) and the science debunking mainstream medical and proving alternatives (
HiddenHealthScience.com).
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