While the eyes of the nation have been on the Supreme Court's gay marriage hearings, the H.R. 933 bill (known as the 'Monsanto Protection Act') quietly got passed along by President Obama.
This bill which had been approved in Congress just days earlier, is touted by many as a blatant protection of the multinational agriculture giant Monsanto. Hidden 78 pages deep into the bill is a provision that protects companies such as Monsanto from litigation.
Agriculture giants such as Mansanto are now given the right to continue to plant and sell crops are GE (genetically engineered) and GMO (genetically modified organisms, despite the fact that there are still many questions regarding the safety of such plants for the public. Monsanto occupies roughly 90% of the seed production market in America.
The function of the H.R. 933 was actually to help the government avoid an imminent shutdown, with the 'Monsanto Protection Act' being just one section of the bill, Section 735. The act will serve to strip federal courts of the ability to stop the sale of genetically modified crops, even if safety tests reveal legitimate health concerns.
Of course, proponents of the bill don't quite see it the same way. They refer to Section 735 as the 'Farmer's Assurance Provision,' clearly alluding to its more beneficial qualities.
"As we understand it, the point of the Farmer Assurance Provision is to strike a careful balance allowing farmers to continue to plant and cultivate their crops subject to appropriate environmental safeguards, while USDA conducts any necessary further environmental reviews," Monsanto spokeswoman Kelly J. Clauss explained.
After both the house and the senate approved the bill, more than 250,000 people signed a position requesting that President Obama veto the bill. Despite his hard stance against GMO's during his first presidential campaign in 2008, Obama signed the bill into law without deliberation.
To make matters worse, news is now coming to light that suggests U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) actively worked with Monsanto in crafting the language of the bill. Dave Murphy, executive director and co-founder of Food Democracy Now , coined the term 'Monsanto Protection Act,' and says this is nothing new to the biotech giant.
"This is Monsanto's dirty little secret. This is how they work behind the scenes in closed-door meetings to basically write regulations that benefit their company and the rapid approval of their GMO, biotech products," Murphy said. "They've basically avoided any serious scientific scrutiny of their crops, which has been why they've been adopted by farmers here in the U.S. ... It's the illusion of oversight here in Washington, D.C."
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