Mickey Z. -- World News Trust
"We must occupy the food system to create food democracy." --Vandana Shiva
Mic Check: The health risks of genetically modified foods are well documented for anyone willing to learn and #occupy the awful truth.
In a corporate-dominated society, of course, profit typically trumps truth... until now. Thanks to the ever-growing Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, the realities about genetically engineered foodstuffs -- and the humans responsible for them -- are becoming more widely known and challenged.
"Occupy Wall Street is about more than, well, occupying Wall Street," writes Beth Buczynski. "Banks and politicians aren’t the only ones responsible for declining health, freedom, and equality in this country. Today, the Occupy movement has challenged us to go deeper, to acknowledge a corrupt system that can do more to destroy our way of life than any other arm of the 1%: the agricultural business."
With up to 70 percent of processed food containing at least one genetically modified ingredient, Buczynski adds: "The truly shocking fact isn’t that corporations created these mutant seeds and pesticide-resistant plants. The shocking fact is that they’ve been allowed to introduce them into our food supply without asking our permission, or even acknowledging which foods they are."
Mic Check: It's time to occupy the truth about GMOs.
GMOs have not been proven safe. The burden of such proof, in fact, should always be on those who will profit... or else we pay to become the laboratory subjects.
GMOs are bad for the environment. GMOs, explains Greenpeace, "can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non 'GE' environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. Their release is 'genetic pollution' and is a major threat because GMOs cannot be recalled once released into the environment."
GMOs are not the answer to world hunger. The 2008 Friends of the Earth report, "Who Benefits From GM Crops," sums it up well: "The majority of GM crops are not destined for hungry people in developing countries, but are used to feed animals, generate biofuels, and produce highly processed food products -- mainly for consumption in rich countries. GM crops have not increased food security for the world's poor. None of the GM crops on the market are modified for increased yield potential and research continues to focus on new pesticide-promoting varieties that tolerate application of one or more herbicides."
Companies like Monsanto seeks only profit and control. In my 2010 interview with journalist, Marie-Monique Robin, she told me: "Monsanto is the world leader in biotechnology and the first seed company. Ninety percent of the GMOs grown in the world belong to it. During the last decade, the firm bought dozens of seed companies all over the world, pushing its transgenic seeds, which are patented. A patented seed means that the farmers who grow it may not keep a part of his crops to re-sow it, the next year, as farmers used to do everywhere in the world. In the United States and Canada, farmers who grow transgenic crops must sign a 'technology agreement' the no-sowing requirement is clearly expressed. If they don't respect the agreement and violate the patent, they are harassed by the 'gene police' and sued by Monsanto. Clearly transgenic crops are just a tool to control the seeds supply -- which is the first link in the food chain -- by forcing farmers to buy seeds each year."
#DeOccupyGMOs
Of course, there's no better way to de-occupy GMOs than to #occupy.
OWS has heightened awareness to such a wide range of crucial issues that this movement is the ideal venue for food activists to educate and agitate.
"OWS Sustainability and OWS Food Justice will continue to work closely with other Eco Occupy Groups across the country to plan creative actions all through the spring as a way of heightening public awareness to the perils of GMO consumption," explains Winnie from OWS Sustainability. "We'll be working with great national organizations such as Food Democracy Now and Rainforest Action, and we have important allies in Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan, Willie Nelson, and many others committed to the fight of illuminating the masses to health dangers they are unknowingly susceptible to."
As Winnie sums up: "Sustainability will be directing our energies toward challenging and exciting adventures in the realm of Urban Food Production. Look for us in the park all spring. Our mission is simple: GROW FOOD EVERYWHERE. In your windows, on your balconies, at the community garden, and on ROOFTOPS."
>>>Your donations help OWS Sustainability sow seeds, not greed<<<
Mic Check: 2012. The Revolution GR(OWS).
We are the 99%. Expect us. Join us...
#OccupyFoodDemocracy. #DeOccupyGMOs. #OccupySeedsNotGreed.
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Mickey Z. is the author of 11 books, most recently the novel Darker Shade of Green. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on an obscure website called Facebook.
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