New farm bill gives Monsanto carte blanche - Massive public outcry necessary to stop the legislation from passing into law
(NaturalNews) Imagine judicial review for protecting consumer rights and
the environment going up in a puff of smoke and biotech corporations
like Monsanto having complete immunity to plant whatever they want,
whenever they want -- without testing. This is exactly what a small
amendment in the proposed new farm bill guarantees.
The fine printH.R. 5973: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013 is legislation that will form agricultural and food policy in the U.S. if passed. According to
American Farmland Trust:
"The
farm bill is a package of federal legislation enacted every five to
seven years to set the general direction for America's farm and food
policy. Congress enacted the first farm bill in the wake of the Great
Depression with the dual goals of supporting America's farmers and
ranchers and helping them to maintain their land."
H.R. 5973 (otherwise known as
The Monsanto Protection Act) carries a small rider in section 733 that grants biotech companies free reign with little oversight. The legal team at the
Center for Food Safety translates section 733 as a "dangerous assault on fundamental federal
and judicial safeguards" and "would create a precedent-setting
limitation on judicial review."
Food Democracy Now states that, if allowed to pass,
The Monsanto Protection Act "fundamentally undermines the concept of judicial review and would
strip judges of their constitutional mandate to protect consumer rights
and the environment, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of
new untested genetically engineered crops, endangering farmers,
consumers and the environment."
Vote delayed in the House of RepresentativesAs
of December 2012, H.R. 5973 has yet to be presented in the House. An
extension has been approved, pushing the vote into 2013. This is good
news for food safety advocates -- more time is available to mobilize and
make voices heard. To take action and express concern over this
proposed legislation, a directory of House members can be found
here.
Some sobering food for thought from
RT Question More:
"
... one thing is certain - if passed, this one line in a 90-page
document will mean Frankenfood for consumers, losses for farmers and
huge profits for biotech companies that don't appear to care much for
anything else."
Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/038779_farm_bill_Monsanto_public_outcry.html