Thanks for sharing this.

By splicing genes from animals into plants, the natural barrier that separates diseases that plague the plant kingdom from the animal kingdom is most likely being whittled away. We have germs, bacteria, virus, and prions to contend with now. Imagine how life would change if molds and other plant specific diseases started to infect people and animals.

Surely we have reached the place in time where we can destroy ourselves and our planet several times over by our technology.

It appears that mold already has the ability to infect people and cause health problems! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_health_issues

Vandana Shiva - The Future of Food and Seed Scientist, feminist, ecologist, seed advocate, and author, Vandana Shiva, presenting the keynote address at the 2009 Organicology Conference in Portland, Oregon, on February 28, 2009. An excellent and informative video on what is going on with seed.

Death blow to GMOs? California ballot initiative calls for mandatory labeling of all genetically engineered foods

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) In what is perhaps the most significant breaking news we've heard on the GMO front in a long time, an effort has just been announced in California that seeks to gather enough signatures to put an historical initiative on the ballot which would require the labeling of GMOs in foods.

I interviewed Ronnie Cummins from the Organic Consumers Association (www.OrganicConsumers.org), who is a key leader in advocating mandatory GMO labeling. His organization is playing a significant role in helping to get this initiative on the ballot in California.

This is the pathway to victory against GMOs! With this initiative on the ballot, we have a very achievable strategy to deal a death blow to GMOs and restore sanity and integrity to our seeds and food crops.

Listen to the full interview with Ronnie Cummins on SoundCloud:
http://snd.sc/qPBFJk

Or click PLAY on the audio object here:

Interview with Ronnie Cummins about GMO labeling ballot initiative in California by NaturalNews


Highlights from the announcement for mandatory GMO labeling
• This labeling initiative is effectively a "ban" on GMOs, because most consumers simply won't buy genetically engineered ingredients once they know they are present in conventional foods.

• GMOs are only continuing to be grown and sold today because consumers have been prevented from knowing about the GMO ingredients in their foods.

• 75% of all non-organic processed foods in grocery stores today contain genetically engineered ingredients.

• 90% - 95% of Americans want to know which foods contain GMOs.

• The GMO industry is already gearing up to fight this ballot initiative and plans to spread lies about GMOs such as "GMOs are necessary to feed the world" or "genetically engineered crops are perfectly safe!" (The quack scientists who push GMOs are no doubt gearing up to spread their lies and disinformation as part of the effort to confuse consumers and thereby protect their GMO profits.)

• This initiative, if approved, would force health food retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to reformulate their own products and inventory to remove GMOs. "There's gonna be panic in the boardrooms of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's," says Cummins.

• 700,000 signatures are needed in California to put this initiative on the ballot. This will require an army of volunteers with clipboards to gather the signatures. See below for how you can contribute to this effort.

• Go to www.OrganicConsumers.org and click on the "Millions Against Monsanto" campaign page to see where you can sign up to be a volunteer.

• Significant funding providers for this campaign include: Dr. Bronner's - $1 million, Nature's Path - $500k, Mercola.com - $500k, Organic Consumers Association - $250k and others.


More announcements and interviews coming from NaturalNews
Tomorrow, NaturalNews is announcing our own donation and fundraising effort to support the effort to demand mandatory GMO labeling and ultimately remove GMOs from the food supply entirely. Keep reading NaturalNews.com this week and throughout the month of October, where you'll find up-to-date breaking news and announcements about the most important developments in the realm of GMOs.

Also check out our sister site www.AlternativeNews.com for breaking alternative news throughout the day. We're covering the Occupy Wall Street protests, GMO rallies, victories against fluoride, the latest news on vaccine dangers, and a whole lot more.

We are winning this info war against runaway greed and false science! Help us spread the word by sharing our stories and linking to them.

Suzanne

Five short videos from Jeffrey Smith provide sharable introduction to GMOs for your friends who need to know

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) Jeffrey Smith from the Institute for Responsible Technology has released five short videos that are perfect for sharing with friends who might be new to GMOs. These short videos tell powerful, hard-hitting stories about GMOs in just two or three minutes, and they're easy to forward to others who need to know the truth about what's happening to our food supply.

Here are the five videos, posted on NaturalNews.TV. You can also share the URL of this article if you'd like to introduce your friends to all five of these videos:

Even farm animals refuse to eat GMOs
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=C5A58...

Jeffrey Smith relates a story about how farmers test whether their farm animals will eat GMOs. Most farm animals naturally avoid genetically engineered feed if given a choice!

How GMOs turn your babies into medical experiments
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=98B87...

This short film reveals how genetically engineered foods are being widely consumed today, causing a vast assortment of side effects, including widespread infertility and damage to their sperm cells and DNA. Rats fed genetically modified soy had half their babies die. Don't let our babies become guinea pigs of the GMO biotech industry!

Jeffrey Smith - How GMOs may turn your body into a human pesticide factory
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=C3996...

Jeffrey Smith reveals how genetically engineered crops result in gene transfers into the bacteria in the human gut. It means that after eating GMOs, we may have genetically modified proteins inside our own bodies. Even worse, when BT (genetically engineered) corn is consumed, the gene that produces the BT toxin may transfer into the bacteria living in your intestines, turning you into a HUMAN PESTICIDE FACTORY.

How GMO research is rigged using fraudulent science
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=DCDDB...

Jeffrey Smith reveals some of the dirty tricks used by Monsanto and other biotech companies to twist their "science" and make GMOs look safe even when they're extremely dangerous. This is all from the same industry that said DDT was safe, PCBs were safe, Agent Orange was safe, and so on. "Corporate science" is always distorted, especially from the biotech industry.

Cap the GMO Gene Spill
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=3FFF0...

Eye-opening video about the genetic pollution of our planet caused by GMOs. Featuring Jeffrey Smith from the Institute for Responsible Technology who explains how GMOs represent a planet-wide genetic contamination of the planet that's far worse than all the oil spills in the history of the world. GM crops result in widespread environmental degradation, and it's all being done based on warped, dishonest "corporate science."


Scientists under attack - video trailer
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=37BEF...

This is the trailer for a documentary available from the IRT called Scientists Under Attack. It reveals the total distortion of science being used by the biotech industry, and the way in which honest scientists who try to question GMOs are viciously attacked and discredited.

A must-see video trailer if you want to understand what's truly going on with GMOs and the outrageous criminality of the biotech industry.

The documentary itself is available at:
http://www.responsibletechnology.or...

Help NaturalNews raise funds to support the IRT
NaturalNews has pledged $15,000 in matching fund donations for the IRT. As of today, more than $11,000 has been donated by NaturalNews readers, bringing the total donations to over $22,000.

Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the IRT to support its important work raising awareness about GMOs. Read more at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/033773_J...

Suzanne

Suzanne there seems to be a problem with the above links that you supplied!

Sorry Crater, this is an exact copy of the original article. Don't know what happened.

Suzanne

How to fight a grassroots battle against Monsanto -- and win!

by PF Louis

(NaturalNews) Writing to congressmen, the FDA and Obama, to stop Monsanto from contaminating the food chain, has proven fruitless. It's no use pretending we have a representative government when we are faced with a corporate plutocracy that owns the government.

Careerists have used the revolving doors between biotech industry and the USDA and FDA for years. Obama has chosen one of Monsanto's top revolving door careerists, Michael Taylor, as his "Food Czar." "So what now must we do?"

Boycotting GMOs
This makes good sense. But the biotech industry's successful lobbying for exemption from existing label legislation makes boycotting difficult. They are not required to label GMOs or foods containing GMOs. So how can the public know?

Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and founder of The Institute for Responsible Technology, has spearheaded the boycott movement with campaigns for educating the public of what foods to avoid.

Jeffrey's strategy is to achieve a market tipping point where food processors realize they're losing a substantial market share by using GMOs in their products. He realizes labeling is an issue that needs to be circumvented.

Cornucopia website recently published a list of cereals and other processed "natural" foods that appear in health food stores containing GMOs. That list was recently featured by Mike Adams, who also explains the "natural" food con. (source below)

Organic Consumer Association (OCA) has created a Millions Against Monsanto section on its website. OCA head Ronnie Cummins has vigorously campaigned health food retailers to bypass the government's collusion with Monsanto and label GMO appropriately.

"The GMO Free Project" is a third party non-profit committee that has taken the task of getting food processors to voluntarily submit their products for testing to earn their "GMO Free" label.

That label has two distinctions: The "Verified" designation means just that. "Enrolled" means the food processor has signed on but the product hasn't been tested yet. Not everyone is on board yet, but it's a start.

Legal system guerrilla warfare
This has recently just started for real, and should be pursued vigorously. The crux of Monsanto's monopoly is their manipulation of patent laws. PUBPAT, a group of lawyers concerned with patent malfeasance has recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of 60 organic trade associations and farmer groups challenging Monsanto's patent issues.

The current case challenges Monsanto's intimidating and suing farmers for patent right infringement when their crops are contaminated by GMO crop fields. PUBPAT is challenging other issues, such as Monsanto's illegal double patents. A direct hit on this point could strike a lethal biotech wound.

GMO contracted farmers now have to assume liability for suits from farmers whose crops have been contaminated. This is mostly motivated by successful contamination suits against Bayer Corporation for their GMO Liberty Link rice, which is experimental and not approved.

The most recent Bayer award went to Riceland Foods, the largest rice cooperative in the USA. Riceland had claimed huge revenue losses because of Europe's refusal to buy the contaminated rice.

Other rice farmer and distribution groups had been awarded earlier. Bayer's total for these awards is estimated at close to a billion dollars.
And there have been international suits pending as well. Most of these are based on planting GMO crops in EU nations where they are banned.

The biotech industry is aggressive and vicious with efforts to expand their empire. Monsanto even uses Xe Services, a privately owned security agency formerly called Blackwater, which is a mercenary group. They have been assigned the task of locating and isolating biotech seed resistors internationally and "influencing" them.

A suggestion: Exploit Monsanto's recent assigning contamination liability to GMO contracted farmers with the growing number of GMO farmers who are disappointed with their sagging yields and rising prices for seeds and pesticides through Monsanto.

This would take like minded legal foundations to link up with the disenfranchised farmers and create a blowback that would stagger the biotech industry. Someone should coordinate this effort as soon as possible.

We need a tsunami of boycotts and legal actions against the biotech industry. We must all do what we can to resist the biotech industry's efforts to control the food supply.

Educate yourself. Stay tuned with Natural News, and check out Organic Consumers Association and Institute for Responsible Technology's websites.
Our future is at stake with this clear and present biotech danger.

Sources for this article include:

Video of Dr. Don Hubert on latest crop disease threat from Monsanto's Roundup http://vimeo.com/22997532

Mike Adams on Cornucopia's list of GMO cereals http://www.naturalnews.com/033838_b...

Appeals court rules organic farmers can sue biotech firms if their crops are contaminated http://www.naturalnews.com/033216_G...

The PUBPAT suit http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/20...

Riceland/Bayer and more http://www.organicconsumers.org/art...

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/215/...


Suzanne

Public outcry is working to stop GMOs

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The fight against genetic modification (GM) seems like a never-ending, uphill battle. But Lord Melchett, former director of Greenpeace and current policy director at the Soil Association, says that, despite what the biotechnology giants would have you believe, most nations of the world are rejecting GMs and thus preventing their takeover of the planet.

"[M]any people in Europe may be unaware of the extent of the resistance to GM in places like India and China, because they swallow the GM industry line that it is supported all across the world," he was cited as saying in The Independent. "I have to say that where we are now with GM leaves me feeling very optimistic."

A quick visit to the website of GM-giant Monsanto, for instance, indicates that what Melchett says is true. Fancy, deceptive marketing and design tactics would have you believe that the world is lovingly embracing the alleged wonders of GM crops, but this is hardly the case. In fact, the only reason GMs even have any foothold at all is because, in some countries, they have been deceitfully approved beneath the radar of the general public.

But as the general public has begun to learn more about GMs -- and the fact that they are dishonestly hidden and unlabeled in the U.S. food supply -- things are beginning to change. In recent years, several new GM crops have been defeated due to public opposition.

"America is where we're told GM is a huge success...but it's simply not true," said Melchett at the recent Sustainable Planet forum in Lyon, France. "If anybody tells you this, ask them, where is GM wheat? Monsanto had it ready to go but it was stopped by American farmers. Ask them, where is the GM version of alfalfa, the fourth most commonly grown crop in the world? American farmers went to court to stop it being commercialized."

Continued efforts are needed to stop GM crops from gaining any further ground, and with enough dedication, the outspoken public may even help reverse the tide.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...

Suzanne

GM Seeds Threaten World Food Supply

by David Gutierrez, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The agribusiness strategy of aggressively promoting genetically modified (GM) and highly hybridized seeds are placing world food security at risk, according to studies conducted by researchers from the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) and presented at the World Seed Conference in Rome.

Researchers are increasingly warning that global warming and the ensuing worldwide ecological disruption may render many popular seed varieties unsuitable. A recent study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that temperature rises from global warming are likely to lead to shortages in corn and soy, two of the world's most important food crops.

"Where farming communities have been able to maintain their traditional varieties, they are already using them to cope with the impacts of climate change," said IIED project leader Krystyna Swiderska. "But more commonly, these varieties are being replaced by a smaller range of 'modern' seeds that are heavily promoted by corporations and subsidized by governments. These seeds have less genetic diversity yet need more inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers and more natural resources such as land and water."

Traditionally, farmers have saved seeds from a number of different varieties of each crop, which has made them able to adapt more readily to crises like drought or pestilence. But with farmers abandoning traditional varieties for higher yielding but genetically homogenous corporate varieties, the genetic diversity that protects the world's food supply from disaster could be lost.

According to the IIED, global agriculture needs to adopt a model similar to the Participatory Plant Breeding program in southwest China, in which small farmers and seed breeders are cooperating to develop new crop varieties and share the profits.

"Traditional seed varieties are critical to help Chinese farmers adapt to climate change," said Jingsong Li of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy. "At the same time, this biological diversity is under threat from problems such as drought, floods, pests and diseases, which climate change may promote. For these reasons, farmers are keen to improve their varieties through Participatory Plant Breeding."

Sources for this story include: www.foodnavigator-usa.com.

Suzanne