Monsanto and GM Food. How do you feel about it?

[RosieB]

   Hi forum members,
I'm not sure if I am allowed to get up on my soapbox on here. I couldn't find anything in the rules that said no.

This is a topic I feel strongly about.,  Walmart are not in Australia.  Well,  not yet that I know about.  But it will happen..

    Monsanto is launching its latest war against good, healthy food. Its first-ever consumer product has been grown to contain Bt toxin – a pescicide that ruptures the stomachs of insects that eat it. It has never been tested on humans, yet it will be will be nearly impossible to distinguish from natural corn because its unlabelled and unmarked.

    I signed the petition below to let WalMart know that I won’t let them sell toxic corn.  Please join me by signing the petition below.

    http://sumofus.org/campaigns/monsanto-walmart/?sub=taf

As one of my teachers said..  Many years ago   .
If salmon and tomatoes were meant to get it together, either fish would live on land or tomatoes grow under the water.  They don't.  So why is man trying to cross them?

    Thank you.

[faffa_70]

OHHHHH this has been my DH"s soap box on Facebook lately ... if it is ok with MM I can pull all the links from his Facebook page. Monsanto are a nasty piece of work 

Will wait to hear from MM before I post so I don't create work for you mods 

[cookie1]

Monsanto are indeed rats. I feel sorry for a farmer over here that had GM seed blow into his farm that had been certified as organic. He has now lost his organic certification.

[achookwoman]

Don't get me started.

[keiramax]

Don't get me started on this one.  My soap box as many steps to  reach the top.  I read about the farm in WA losing his organic certification because of GM modified grain.  I think the labeling laws need to be changed so consumers know what they are eating and can make informed choices.

I recently read "Bitter Harvest : A Chef's Perspective on the Hidden Danger in the Foods We Eat and What You Can Do About It" thought provoking regarding our food supply, not just GM food.

[goldfish]

Whoaaa . . . . me neither. ACW!!  Absolute bottomfeeders with no worthwhile contribution to mankind or the planet!  Total manifestation of greed itself!  Cookie - if the situation for that poor farmer was reversed, ie., if his practices had even caused Monsanto to change their socks, they'd have been all over him like flesheating bacteria, and taken his last penny and his land!

[Halex]

First time I have heard of them.
ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING

The poor WA farmer, that is terrible for them

What can we do to stop this?

H 

[Cuilidh]

I'm with you all on this one - they employ evil and insidious practices. 

One farmer's crops (I think this was in Canada), was contaminated by Monsanto's GM canola and Monsanto sued the farmer because he hadn't purchased the seed from them - HE DIDN'T WANT THE B....Y STUFF IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! 

Then there are, of course, suicide seeds (seeds that will not reproduce so you can't save the seed for the next year's crop - that really keeps the farmers under Monsanto's thumb, as you can imagine).  And so it goes on.  If we have any members of Diggers (garden) club here you will all have been reading about Monsanto and GM seeds recently. 

How can we stop them ... well that is a huge question and I'm not capable of giving a realistic answer on that one.  For us city dwellers, boycott the end product as much as possible, keep up petition pressure as much as we can and support responsible seedsmen.

[Halex]

Well it would be good on this thread to alert us all to what food pruducts & any other products they supply to shops.

H

[keiramax]

You can get info on products to avoid and help petition at Truefood Network,

http://truefood.org.au/

[dede]

This kind of thing really worries me. And it happens more than we realize. I'm so glad I have a TM so I can cook and make most of the things we eat. Best to have our own veggie gardens and grow our own meat as much as possible.

[obbie]

I wish we knew all ingredients that are not listed.

Another reason why I use a Thermomix.

Robyn

[chicksta44]

A book I have been reading lately called "label it now" is all about GM foods, mainly happening in America but I'm sure it's happening here too. Very scary reading.

[meganjane]

Monsanto is like The Mob. Really, really powerful, they use stand-over tactics to squash the little guys. They have their finger in many pies and control many other organisations.

The farmer who lost his organic status is very near where we are. I wrote to Terry Redman, our Agricultural Minister and criticised him and his office for not supporting this farmer. The reply was standard verbiage.

It's positively frightening that such an organisation has the power they have over food supplies. Fortunately, Australians don't rely on corn as much as the US consumer does.

[RosieB]

It scares me that they have been modifying Soy for some time now,
I now avoid soy as much as possible.  Or at least only buy if it states "NON GM" on the lable.
If the words are not there I assume it is GM.
Like 'no added MSG' does not mean there is none in the product.
'No added MSG' simply means there was none added in the final process as actual MSG.  But it may be hiding somewhere in the ingredient list in the added spice or salt and then they do not have to declare it.
(I appreciate that ALDI actually list the ingredients used, and the breakdown of each ingredient.  eg They say chocolate chips in their biscuits, and then give a list of what is in the chocolate chips)
I can usually taste MSG if it is used and if I don't taste it I know it was there when I feel really ill a couple hours later.