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| See slideshow of the local Miami protest. |
Millions march against Monsanto in over 400 cities
Two million protesters 'March Against Monsanto' across US, around globe in anti-GMO rally
May 25, 2013
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two million people marched in protest against seed giant Monsanto in hundreds of rallies across the U.S. and in over 50 other countries on Saturday. "March Against Monsanto" protesters say they wanted to call attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the food giants that produce it. Founder and organizer Tami Canal said protests were held in 436 cities in 52 countries.
Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.
The 'March Against Monsanto' movement began just a few months ago, when Canal created a Facebook page on Feb. 28 calling for a rally against the company's practices.
"If I had gotten 3,000 people to join me, I would have considered that a success," she said Saturday. Instead, two million responded to her message.
Together with Seattle blogger and activist Emilie Rensink and Nick Bernabe of Anti-Media.org, Canal worked with A Revolt.org digital anarchy to promote international awareness of the event. She called the turnout "incredible," and credited social media for being a vehicle for furthering opportunities for activism. Despite the size of the gatherings, Canal said she was grateful that the marches were uniformly peaceful and no arrests have been reported.
"It was empowering and inspiring to see so many people, from different walks of life, put aside their differences and come together today," she said. The group plans to harness the success of the event to continue its anti-GMO cause. "We will continue until Monsanto complies with consumer demand. They are poisoning our children, poisoning our planet," she said. "If we don't act, who's going to?"
Monsanto Co., based in St. Louis, said Saturday that it respects people's rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.
The Food and Drug Administration does not require genetically modified foods to carry a label, but organic food companies and some consumer groups have intensified their push for labels, arguing that the modified seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating traditional crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods.
The Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a lobbying group that represents Monsanto, DuPont & Co. and other makers of genetically modified seeds, has said that it supports voluntary labeling for people who seek out such products. But it says that mandatory labeling would only mislead or confuse consumers into thinking the products aren't safe, even though the FDA has said there's no difference between GMO and organic, non-GMO foods.
However, state legislatures in Vermont and Connecticut moved ahead this month with votes to make food companies declare genetically modified ingredients on their packages. And supermarket retailer Whole Foods Markets Inc. has said that all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018.
Whole Foods says there is growing demand for products that don't use GMOs, with sales of products with a "Non-GMO" verification label spiking between 15 percent and 30 percent.
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Online:
http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/p/blog-page.html
http://www.facebook.com/MarchAgainstMonsanto
http://www.monsanto.com
6 comments:
The GOP should take note the Tea Party should be outraged about the loss of liberty!
We live in a socialist country, wherein large corporations socialize losses and privatize gains based upon government influence.
It is unDemocratic, unAmerican and socialist...
....oh wait....it is the GOP that coddles this corporate welfare system.
What a turnout! It was very encouraging to see so many people of all ages who care about our food choices. And where was The Miami Herald? Digging up murder stories from the past and looking for trouble in Miami Beach! We must educate the public and motivate everyone to take action- I was surprised when some spectators didn't know the meaning of G.M.O.
New study reveals how glyphosate in Monsanto's Roundup inhibits natural
detoxification in human cells
Friday, May 24, 2013 by: Lance Devon
Tags: Glyphosate , Human
, Detoxification
(NaturalNews) The modern age of industrial agriculture and manufacturing has
dumped heavy metals, carninogens, plastics, and pesticides into the
environment at alarming rates. These toxins are showing up in most human
tissue cells today. One distinct chemical may be trapping these toxins in
human cells, limiting the human body's ability to detoxify its own cells. In
a new peer reviewed study, this sinister chemical, glyphosate, has been
proven to inhibit the human cell's ability to detoxify altogether.
Glyphosate, found in Monsanto's Roundup, is being deemed by publishers of
the new study "one of the most dangerous chemicals" being unleashed into the
environment today.
Download the PDF of the study here: http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416
How glyphosate destroys human cells
Glyphosate, most commonly found in conventional sugar, corn, soy and wheat
products, throws off the cytochrome P450 gene pathway, inhibiting enzyme
production in the body. CYP enzymes play a crucial role in detoxifying
xenobiotics, which include drugs, carcinogens, and pesticides. By inhibiting
this natural detoxification process, glyphosate systematically enhances the
damaging effects of other environmental toxins that get in the body. This,
in turn, disrupts homeostasis, increases inflammation, and leads to a slow
deconstruction of the cellular system. Toxins build up in the gut over time
and break down through the intestinal walls, infiltrating blood, and
ultimately passing through the brain/blood barrier, damaging neurological
function.
Important CYP enzymes that are affected include aromatase, the enzyme that
converts androgen into estrogen, 21-Hydroxylase, which creates stress
hormone cortisol, and aldosterone, which regulates blood pressure.
Getting to the gut
Even as evidence mounts, Monsanto asserts that glyphosate is not harmful to
humans, citing that its mechanism of action in plants (the disruption of the
shikimate pathway), is not present in humans. This is not true.
It's called science. Amazing how you fear it. Those who fear food technology are flat earth types. They are also racists who want poor people in the third world to starve.
Wendy...wake up and stop drinking the kool-aide!
Read this article in New York Times, Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food
By JO ROBINSON
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opinion/sunday/breeding-the-nutrition-out-of-our-food.html?emc=eta1&_r=0&pagewanted=all
I drove from Redland Farm Area to join the march in Miami. It was phenomenal. I'll be marching again Oct 12. I will also be avoiding GMO products. Not easy to detect. But I'm researching "the list", eliminating some processed foods, replacing some product brands with others. I wrote on the EPA facebook site. I was inspired to all this by a documentary film "Vanishing of the Bees."
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