Genetically Modified

by Dick Mac

The fear and criticism of Monsanto crosses all political, social, economic, religious and regional lines.

The genetic altering of our food supply is disturbing.

We have been altering crops for over a century.  Historically, crop alteration was done with cross-breeding, nurturing hybrids, which is an organic process.  There is no genetic mutation involved.

Monsanto has not embarked on genetic modification of crops for noble reasons, it is done only for profit and market control.  There is nothing wrong with profits, but there is something wrong with market control.  And there is something eerie about genetically mutating the food supply.

No food products are marketed by Monsanto.  Monsanto sells the seeds that the "farmers" use to create crops.  Those crops are then harvested and processed for sale to food manufacturers and animal breeders.

There is debate about the health risks associated with genetically altered food, and I believe there is probably little danger to us individually.  Genetically modified crops are bad for the food supply, because they interfere with the natural course of growth and harvesting.

We've had the experiment, Monsanto has succeeded at perfecting the genetic modification process, and we know that huge profits can be generated.

There have been reports over the years, of farms using genetically modified seeds contaminating neighboring farms when simple pollination takes place, when the wind blows, and when animals pass through one field to another.

There is no way to prevent genetically modified crops from becoming mixed with non-genetically modified crops.


At one point, Monsanto sued a farmer whose farm neighbored a corporate farm using Monsanto modified seeds.  The modification created a genetic marker that could prove if someone was using Monsanto seeds without paying the associated royalties.  Well, the farmer had not used any Monsanto seeds, and was indignant about the case and the accusation because the modified crops blew onto his land and contaminated his crops.  Monsanto quietly slinked away and has never addressed the concerns that their modified crops easily contaminate neighboring farms.

If Monsanto makes a bad choice about which modifications to test in the market, and those modifications have detrimental effects on our ability to grow crops, then the entire food chain could be affected.

Nobody wants to deny Monsanto their right to make money.  People just want Monsanto to act responsibly.

Now that our government no longer regulates industry in any meaningful way, there is nobody paying close attention to Monsanto's actions.

Since our government is unable and unwilling to monitor and regulate genetic modification of crops, there is only way to stop it:  refuse to purchase the products.

Because Monsanto's name appears on no retail food products, and no food manufacturer want to advertise they are using genetically modified ingredients, none of them print the source of their grains on their packaging.

There is now a list of Monsanto's clients.  It is not known if the following companies are using genetically-modified ingredients, but they are purchasing Monsanto seeds or crops to create their products.  If you want to help stop Monsanto, then you must contact those with whom you are doing business: the food manufacturers that sell the food products you purchase.

This is the list:

Aunt Jemima	Aurora Foods	Banquet
Best foods	Betty Crocker	Bisquick
Cadbury/Schweppes	Campbells	Capri-sun
Chef Boyardee	Coca Cola	ConAgra
Cool-aid	Delicious brand cookies	Duncan Hines
Famous Amos	Frito-lay/Pepsi	General Mills
Green Giant	Healthy Choice	Heinz
Hellmans	Hershey's	Holsum
Hormel	Hungry Jack	Hunts
Interstate bakeries	Jiffy	KC Masterpiece
Keebler/Flowers Industries	Kelloggs	Kid Cuisine
Knorr	Kraft/Phillip Morris	Lean Cuisine
Lipton	Loma Linda	Marie Callenders
Minute Made	Morningstar	Ms. Butterworths
Nabisco	Nature Valley	Nestle Carnation
Ocean Spray	Ore-Ida	Orville Redenbacher
Pepperidge Farms	Pepsi	Pillsbury
Pop Secret	Post cereals	Power Bar Brand
Prego Pasta Sauce	Pringles	Procter and Gamble
Quaker	Ragu Sauce	Rice-a-roni/Pasta-roni
Smart Ones	Stoufters	Tombstone Pizza
Totinos	Uncle Ben's	Unilever
V-8

It is no surprise that some of those companies are on the list; we have always known that their products are crap.  There are others that surprise me.

If you care about Monsanto's control of the food chain, then take action.  Choose one of the companies on the list that you patronize, stop purchasing their products, and let them know you will no longer purchase their products until they break their connection to Monsanto, specifically, and genetically-modified crops, in general.

Follow-up reads worth your time:

California Files Legal Brief Opposing Monsanto in US Supreme Court
‘Monsanto Protection Act’ to grant biotech industry total immunity over GM crops?
Monsanto Launches Massive Campaign to Stop GMO Labeling
Indian Government Files Biopiracy Lawsuit Against Monsanto
Monsanto is the Devil