‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Sneaks Through Congress

Monsanto is quite possibly the most unabashedly evil and yet curiously invulnerable company on this planet.  Their ‘development’ work around the globe has worked only to make the company money while disenfranchising local peoples from their resources, land, and wealth, leading to what has been termed the “GM Genocide” in India.  AlJazeera reports, “300,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide since 1995 after being driven into insurmountable debt by neoliberal economics and the conquest of Indian farmland by Monsanto’s Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton.”  Convincing farmers that they needed GM seeds to increase yields and ‘fight hunger’, Monsanto has made a fortune selling seeds, pesticides, and equipment to farmers who then sell their produce back to the company.  However, the expensive investments into GM crops more often than not were huge failures, leading to crippling debt and more than 1,000 farmers committing suicide each month as a result.

Now, this frighteningly powerful and reproachable company will be protected from litigation should their GM seeds cause any ill health effects.  RT reports:

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.

This rider should have gone through the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees for review, but this never occurred. Most Democrats were unaware of the provision prior to the approval of HR 993, the short-term funding bill approved to avoid a government shutdown.  Tacked on to this larger bill, the “Farmer Assurance Provision” snuck through in what is being called a “backroom deal”.  And really, is it any surprise? Companies like Syngenta Corp, Cargill, and Monsanto have donated $7.5 million to members of Congress since 2009, and $372,000 to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Luckily the bill has a six-month expiration period, and Food Democracy Now has started a campaign to urge Obama to veto the bill.  This seems unlikely, but is certainly worth the fight.