'Monsanto Protection Act' slips silently through US
Congress 26 Mar 2013 The US House of Representatives quietly passed
a last-minute addition to the Agricultural Appropriations Bill for 2013 last
week - including a provision protecting genetically modified seeds from
litigation in the face of health risks. The rider, which is officially
known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, has been derided by opponents of
biotech lobbying as the "Monsanto Protection Act," as it would strip federal
courts of the authority to immediately halt the planting and sale of genetically
modified (GMO) seed crop regardless of any consumer health concerns. The
provision, also decried as a "biotech rider," should have gone through the
Agricultural or Judiciary Committees for review. Instead, no hearings were held, and the piece was
evidently unknown to most Democrats (who hold the majority in the Senate) prior
to its approval as part of HR 993, the short-term funding bill that was approved
to avoid a federal government shutdown [that Obama signed]. [Hungary got
rid of Monsanto by 'burning and booting.' First, farmers burned Monsanto's
poisonous crops to the ground. Then, the people kicked Monsanto out of the
country. 'Burn and boot.' That's how they roll in Hungary.]
Monsanto Bullies Small Farmers Over Planting Harvested GMO Seeds
Puck Lo
March 26th, 2013
Does Monsanto own all future generations of genetically modified seeds that it sells? The Missouri-based agribusiness giant wants farmers to pay a royalty to plant any seed that descended from a patented original. The legal decision has ramifications for other patented "inventions" that reproduce themselves like strands of DNA.
See http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15825
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