Posted on 03/30/2013 5:52:38 AM PDT by opentalk
WASHINGTON, DC - President Barack Obama signed a spending bill, HR 933, into law, the "Monsanto Protection Act," that strips 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 would strip federal courts of the authority to halt the sale and planting of an illegal, potentially hazardous GE crop while the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) assesses those potential hazards," explains a letter to the House that has been signed by dozens of food businesses and retailers, as well as interest groups and agencies representing family farmers. "Further, it would compel USDA to allow continued planting of that same crop upon request, even if in the course of its assessment the Department finds that it poses previously unrecognized risks."
Why does Monsanto and other GMO companies need this protection?
(Excerpt) Read more at c.washingtontimes.com ...
Disgusting!
This is Business Socialism on steroids.
If GMO are so good...you would not need a law to protect them
Monsanto Teams Up With Congress to Shred the Constitution
Why is this such a big deal? The court system is often our last hope,with Congress,the White House,and regulatory agencies deep inside industry's pocket. Several legal challenges have resulted in court decisions overturning USDA's approval of new GMO crops,for example,sugar beets.
So the biotech industry,unable to make its case to a judge,figured why not just rewrite the Constitution instead,with the help of a Democratic Senate led by Senator Barbara Mikulski,chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Monsanto Exec Heads FDA, and the Obama Administrations Revolving Door Politics
Seems like all the courts would have to do is declare such a provision unconstitutional. I’m not aware of any real limits the Constitution puts on the Supreme Court.
Here’s another case where Cruz, Lee, Rubio and others could practice political jujitsu and use Obama’s crony capitalism against him and the Dems.
This issue would really wake up voters beyond the GOP base.
the concept of "separation of powers," to ensure a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government: executive,legislative,and judicial. But a dangerous provision snuck into the budget bill passed last week in Congress upends that system.
Without any hearings on the matter,the Senate included language that would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to essentially ignore any court ruling that would otherwise halt the planting of new genetically-engineered crops.
The rider pertains to transgenic crops that have been deregulated by the USDA but then had that approval overturned by a judge -- a scenario that has occurred with genetically engineered alfalfa and sugar beets
Correction ...from post#4 link
“Would that not fall under the provisions that prohibit one branch of government from usurping authority over another branch?”
Well, that’s my thinking. But then again the Obammunists simply do whatever they want to until/if someone attempts to stop them.
Or as Saddam said, “We have 24 million people in Iraq, but we only need about 5 million of them.
The silver lining is that this law affirms that congress can stop agencies from regulating anything. Perhaps the gutless wonders in the House can figure this out.
“They say many Democratic members who voted for the bill were unaware.”
The ruling class, as usual, not doing their job and getting paid.
Follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Want to bet that the US Congress bought stock in
Monsanto or the equivalent?
GM is a real “Janus” idea. Two-faced.
How one GM company almost wiped out all plant life on Earth by accident.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html
Not quite as bad, but still awful, is how the courts treat GM products in nature. Since the modified DNA is patented, the courts have ruled that *any* plants that carry that particular modified DNA are the property of the GM company.
Even if those plants are the result of GM pollen upwind of a field of non-GM crops.
This means that all a GM company has to do is plant a single GM crop upwind of thousands of non-GM farms, and after the first season, all subsequent crops, by all those other farmers touched by the pollen, are no longer the farmer’s property.
A great example of this was with a GM test bed in Mexico, whose pollen, within a few years, had “infected” all Mexican crops of that species, corn, in the entire country.
Needless to say, the Mexican government quickly changed *their* patent law, to tell the GM company to go get knotted. But US judges are made of sterner stuff. They don’t care who gets hurt, or how much, as long as precedent is obeyed. Congress would likely agree with the judges.
Hair on fire, running around the room screaming, “Here come the GM’s, Here come the GM,s!!!!!....Hide the children!!!!”.
“If GMO are so good...you would not need a law to protect them.”
Not really. It is probably to protect them from the frivolous lawsuits by those prone to believe that things like this are a threat to civilization as we know it.
Monsanto wrote the dang thing.
You seemed surprised that the constitution no longer exists.
“Even if those plants are the result of GM pollen upwind of a field of non-GM crops.
This means that all a GM company has to do is plant a single GM crop upwind of thousands of non-GM farms, and after the first season, all subsequent crops, by all those other farmers touched by the pollen, are no longer the farmers property.”
Do you have a source for such a statement?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.