Why are millions of people against Monsanto?
83Why Monsanto is a threat to life on Earth
The Monsanto company many people believe, is one of the most dangerous and evil global businesses because it is responsible for poisoning people, wildlife, farm animals and the environment at large - in other words Monsanto are a deadly threat to life on Earth.
Not surprisingly, a massive protest organisation has been formed known simply as Millions against Monsanto and their website has loads of detailed information about why people are rising up against the company.
Monsanto are a global bio-engineering company that tampers with and alters the very building blocks of life. Monsanto are a main creator of genetically-engineered crops, crops that have genetic material that Mother Nature would never have combined together because it is often from totally different life forms.
This is why this madness is known as "Frankenscience," and foods containing genetically-modified ingredients (GMO), such as modified maize or soya, is known as "Frankenfood." It is becoming far too common and the consumer was not given an option. We were not asked do we want GM ingredients in our food but we got them anyway. Big companies like Heinz, for example started using genetically-modified ingredients
Imagine a world without monarch butterflies
No Amazon products foundAgent Orange and Frankenfoods
Roundup ready
There are many problems with these GE crops. There are those that are "Roundup ready," meaning they contain a gene that makes the plants resistant to the Roundup ( glyphosate) herbicide. Unfortunately many weeds are becoming resistant to the weedkiller too and are known as "superweeds," so it has failed to combat them and greater quantities of the toxic substance are being used.
Despite Monsanto's assurances that it is safe for wildlife, many studies have shown it is anything but and it is one reason many amphibians are becoming endangered or extinct. It has been shown too that in America where pollen of genetically-modified crops has blown onto nearby Milkweed that Monarch butterfly caterpillars eating this die.
The use of Roundup also kills so many plants that are the food of countless insect species that in turn are the food of birds and other animals. In the UK Roundup is often sprayed on Nettles to kill them but they are the only foodplant of the Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies.
Monsanto have also engineered crops to have a "suicide" or "terminator gene," which means that they cannot produce seed for future generations. This means that farmers are compelled to buy more new seed from Monsanto. The old traditional way of harvesting seed from your crops has been destroyed by Monsanto.
In India, not only did these new crops fail but the farmers were too poor to afford the Monsanto prices and thousands have been driven to commit suicide.These farmers were conned and lied to. This is an example of where Monsanto are directly responsible for causing the deaths of people.
Conservationists and botanists are worried about the possibility of these artifically created pollens crossing with wild species and weakening or destroying plant types. I share their worry!
Monsanto also brought us the poisonous artificial sweetener originally marketed as Nutrasweet but now more commonly known as aspartame. This stuff is responsible for all manner of serious illness and death in some cases and yet is added to an increasing number of food and drink products, despite a public outcry.
In the past, Monsanto created Agent Orange, a herbicide used in the Vietman war which had a terrible after-effect on many of the soldiers that were exposed to it because it contains dioxin, one of the most dangerous poisons known, which can cause everything from severe birth defects, to cancer, to neurological disorders, to death. Monsanto has been successful in blocking any motion towards compensating Vietnam veterans and civilians as well who were exposed to the company's Agent Orange.
They have also been responsible for making rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone), which was marketed as POSILAC and which has been shown to make cows it is given to suffer many illnesses including mastitis, foot problems and reproductive disorders.
At present, there is the very worrying HR 875 bill that is said could bring an end to organic farming in America if it is passed. Monsanto are behind it and the company want total control of the world's food production and agriculture. They want natural plants replaced with their patented genetically-engineered ones. HR 875 is also called the Food Safety Modernization Act was put forward by Democrat Rosa DeLauro in February, and not surprisingly her husband, Stanley Greenburg, works for Monsanto.
Meanwhile the same company are one of the partners in the Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway, or "Doomsday Seed Vault", as it is also known. Monsanto, Bill Gates, the Rockefeller family, Syngenta Foundation and others are safely preserving seeds of as many species as possible.
If you consider that Monsanto are at the same time doing their utmost to take over ownership of all food crop plants and replace the natural ones with their genetically-modified varieties, then alarm bells are bound to ring. Could it be that the elite of the world are planning to kill off as many of us as they can and use food shortage and poisoned foods and water as part of their weapons against humanity, whilst at the same time making sure they have healthy and natural seeds to plant out after they have succeeded in their New World Order plan?
I personally cannot think of anything "good" that the Monsanto company have done and that is why I joined the Millions Against Monsanto campaign years ago. Many years back, being more naive then, I actually bothered to write to the firm voicing my fears about aspartame but they never replied, just like other big companies that say they welcome hearing from the public they don't really - just like politicians they lie!
Copyright © 2010 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.
Monsanto Indian Farmer Suicide
Against Monsanto links
- Aspartame & Aspartame Poisoning Information Site
Aspartame - everything consumers didn't know to ask. DORway provides the WHOLE truth about aspartame and aspartame poisoning - not simply what the 'officials' want to tell you. - Roundup(reg) highly lethal to amphibians, finds University of Pittsburgh researcher
The herbicide Roundup(reg) is widely used to eradicate weeds. But a study published today by a University of Pittsburgh researcher finds that the chemical may be eradicating much more than that. - Millions Against Monsanto Campaign - Organic Consumers Association
Monsanto Corporation, a biotech company responsible for Roundup Ready Soybeans. Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds and chemicals are threatening the world's food supply and environment. Monsanto is also privatizing water. - Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies
- Millions Against Monsanto Corporation and Genetically Altered Food - The Petition Site
Petition - Millions Against Monsanto (Sustainable Food - Change.org)
Multi-Billion $$ Monsanto Sues More Small Family Farmers Percy Schmeiser is a farmer from Saskatchewan Canada, whose Canola fields were contaminated with Monsanto's genetically engineered Round-Up Ready Canola by pollen from a nearby farm. Monsanto s
Fox News Kills Monsanto Milk Story
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WOW! This is some scary stuff. In the U.S. Monsanto is commonly associated with carpet, nothing more. I wonder if this is the same company. And I wonder if this food situation impacts us here. Whether it does or not we all need to be concerned. Great hub as usual.
Yikes, scary and so unknown by the masses...Nice Hub, would have liked to link this.
I've read about this before and frankly, it doesn't surprise me one bit. These guys are maniacs. I think the best thing anyone can do is to have their own organic garden. I do, and it doesn't have to be big, just enough to get real food from for your family. It's fun too.
I also work at the farmers market and there are a lot of small organic farmers that offer a wonderful variety of fruits and veggies. I would hate to see them forced out.
Very important hub!
Thank you for your replies, Jim10, Fastfreta, Jiberish and Madame X!
Fastfreta, I think you will find you are very much affected by Monsanto seeing as a lot of the food already has genetically modified ingredients in it, and that bill I mentioned is for America! Please have a look at the Millions Against Monsanto website in the links menu.
Jiberish, please do link to this hub! Why did you say "would have liked?" I have no objection to anyone linking to my hub - it helps spread the word.
Bard, Monsanto has made it's presence felt here in NZ. Although we've lip service legislation against GE, the exceptions of trial paddocks of maize, etc. proliferate, and the safety zone to similar non GE crops is totally inadequate. My cynicism makes me wonder that if the crops are so safe, why are they tested in isolated areas such as here (4.5 million population, 1,000 mikes from the nearest land mass)
We've ostensibly restricted the unmarked sale of GE products, yet soy, which is almost universally GE modified for western world production is used in a vast array of foodstuffs (check the labels of canned and bottled products in your supermarket) without any warning.
Herbicides derived from 2,4,5,T - pretty much Agent Orange - are banned in many countries but can I hear still be used legally locally.
More generally with seed production the packet seeds one can buy are becoming more and more f1 hybrids. Seeds saved from any crop of these revert to the parent plants, which are usually greatly inferior producers. As you say, use their seeds or starve.
I use a lot of seed obtained from a heritage seed merchant, or saved from my own crops, but if GE gets out of hand around here (Gee, we didn't think the wind would be that strong, sorry, HaHa) how long before cross pollination removes this option?
To refer to another Hub of yours on a happier note, Monarch butterflies flit around my garden happily, and I'm getting the occasional visit from Red Admirals, which I hadn't seen for years, come to check my nettles. (NZ ones, which make the UK ones look wimpy. I grow them in my front border to deter kids and dogs. - works too and they're good for rheumatics.)
Keep up the good work.
TOF
This is horrible and disgusting ! I've heard about Monsanto before, but I didn't know a lot of facts you're showing in this hub. Thank you !
Thank you for your response, TOF! I am very glad to hear that you are aware of the threat from Monsanto and also to hear that you are helping the butterflies! I don't know if you have watched all the videos in The World According to Monsanto series - I haven't posted them all because it slows the page loading - but the one on Mexico shows that the traditional farming there is in grave danger because the GE maize has crossed with the traditional crops and GE "monsters" are being spotted that got there somehow. In other words traditional farming and ways of life and varieties of maize are now endangered by Monsanto!
Tantrum, this hub is intended as an alert and a taster about the dangers of Monsanto. I really recommend you watch the other videos in the series at YouTube and any others on Monsanto there. I believe Monsanto are as serious a danger to life as conventional modern war, and by life I don't just mean humans but ways of life, traditional culture, plant species, wildlife in general and the environment! All get destroyed by Monsanto!
This very worrying. Isee that the UK governement is again looking at GM crops. God help us
Yes, I saw that as well, Ethel! If it happens even more wildlife will disappear and even more of the countryside will be ruined!
hello my friend,
thanks for an illuminating hub and your continued efforts to awaken any who still slumber...
an addendum and caveat, if I might...
admiral elmo zumwalt was the head of naval operations from 68 2 70 in viet nam...
he okayed the use of monsanto's agent orange...I can only hope innocently...his son, elmo zumwalt the 3rd, was a river boat captain...he died at the age of 43 from hodgkin's
disease-his son has severe learning disabilities...the captain's son...
if everyone continues to follow orders, all will b well...
in 1982, before the govt. admitted any responsibility to veteran's exposure to agent orange, I lost a good friend and a wonderful father who left behind a wife and 5 children.
his doctor's at the va told him he was sick as a consequence of over exposure to agent orange...they couldn't officially put this down on his records because the government hadn't yet recognized this fact(they wouldn't take responsibility)..
when viet nam ended...they needed to sell more agent orange...stockpiles u know...that is another story..
peace all
if u choose to enrich yourself, please consider the consequences...u may be killing your own children unwittingly...please realize that money is the root of all evil....
Thank you for sharing that, John!
That's a very comprehensive hub - thank you!
Sadly, in spite of all those farmer suicides in India, BT brijal/aubergine seeds are to be introduced shortly - to be followed by tomato, okra and rice. That the announcement was made when Hillary Clinton was here visiting was strange to say the least!
That is terrible news, Shalini! Monsanto are destroying the world! People who don't want genetically-engineered food get it anyway and traditional farming is destroyed along with the wildlife in the environment!
Don't know but I'll find out later when I read your hub which looks very interesting.
Please do read my hub, WR, and if you have time I really recommend watching the full series of videos on YouTube about The World According to Monsanto. Monsanto's Frankenscience-contaminated food products are getting in so many things in an insidious way so that even if you do not wish to eat GM food you have no option or are not told. I don't want GM soya in a loaf of bread but it's there as I discovered the other day, I don't want GM maize flour in my canned soup but I've got it, I don't want dairy products from bovine growth hormone treated cows but I don't even get told what cows my yogurt, butter and cheese came from!
"In India, not only did these new crops fail but the farmers were too poor to afford the Monsanto prices and thousands have been driven to commit suicide.These farmers were conned and lied to. This is an example of where Monsanto are directly responsible for causing the deaths of people."
Get a grip. Monsanto is not responsible for suicide. Indian farmers faced reduced government support, drought, and bad financial decisions. Many gave up and abandoned their families by drinking pesticide rather than face their mounting debts. It's all too easy, but nonsensical, to blame a big nasty multinational corporation.
I disagree with you totally on that, Nicomp! Monsanto made the BT cotton that failed, Monsanto made the poisonous Roundup herbicide the farmers have to buy, Monsanto aggressively marketed their products, Monsanto destroyed the traditional way of farming there, Monsanto caused debts because the farmers could not afford more of the Monsanto crap!
Thank you Bard, I will link it to my current conspiracies, as fact.
@Bard of Ely:
1. Many crops failed, not just cotton.
2. Roundup is supposed to be poisonous. I use it in my yard and I've not yet killed myself. It's on sale in every Home Depot and Lowes across the United States. No suicides have been reported.
3. Every company aggressively markets their products. Turn on your TV. No company makes a product and hides it under a bushel basket.
4. The farmers bought into a new way of farming that was facilitated by Monsanto. Their choice. They wanted to do less work and make more money.
5. Assuming debt is a risk. Almost all farmers in the US have some debt; few kill themselves.
Bottom line: killing yourself to escape debt is not the responsible thing to do. Families need fathers, even fathers who owe money.
Roundup is poisoning wildlife as I pointed out and was saddened and angered to see it being used all over the place in the UK! It is widely used over here in Tenerife now causing brown shrivelled up trails of destruction and death!
Monsanto lie about it saying it is no threat to wildlife and the environment - it is a serious threat and I hate the stuff! It is being used more and more around the world which is losing species fast.
Monsanto lie in their marketing! Monsanto bully farmers! Watch the videos about the company!
It's a lot more than debt - it's seeing the way of life they knew ruined and seeing no future ahead!
I don't watch TV and haven't for years!
You have missed the point - the old way of farming included saving seed at no cost to the farmer. The Monsanto way means you must buy new seed from them - a new expense and an abandonment of nature's way!
The point Monsanto wants to make clear is that if you want to grow anything, you must buy it from them, They are trying to monopolise nature. unfortunately, they seem to be doing a very good job, however, I have total faith in Gaia, and she has many tricks up her sleeve. the thing is, such abrupt changes in the food supply, affects not only humans, but wildlife too, as you have been saying Bard, and its my belief that this is just storing up trouble for the future. My advice is this: if you grow your own food in your back yard, window box or balcony, save some seed, If every person does this and plants some out in the wild along with their own crop the following year, our own natural seeds re out there too, constantly fighting against the GM crops. Nature has a nasty little habit of fighting back, and as pest resistant as Monsanto's products are, they cannot be totally impervious to nature. Something will penetrate it, some insect/bacteria/virus will prefer the GM crop over the non GM crop which has not been factored in before. Remember that men and women are determining how these plants are produced, not nature, and nature has billions of years more experience than we do at doing this sort of thing. This problem cannot be solved by the mindset that created it.
Lou, you are right - nature is fighting back and has already produced the superweeds that resist the poison.
Most people fear and hate Monsanto because they don't understand what Monsanto does. What I found interesting is the article that stated that one of Monsanto's largest protest groups is funded by DuPont. Not exactly the best source for unbiased research, is it? If there is anything wrong, it's the reliance of the public on agencies like the FDA, which have been co-opted by the very industry they seek to regulate. Eliminate them and Monsanto would have to be ever so much more careful because they couldn't use the FDA as a defense against lawsuits. Hurt them enough monetarily and they'll change the way they do business.
Aspartame is a different kettle of fish entirely. Searle Pharmaceutical is behind that one. http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Deception-Aspartame-C Of course all it requires is the seal of approval from the FDA and viola! you too can market poisons to the masses.
I fear and hate Monsanto because I do know what the company does!
As for the FDA it is totally corrupt!
You think you do. With their rivals putting out all sorts of propaganda, how do you tell the difference between truth and lies? Especially when we've established that the FDA is totally corrupt?
It's simple - Roundup is poison and I see it killing wildlife - Monsanto make it. Aspartame is dangerous and I personally suffer from floaters after foolishly using products with it in many years ago and my son who is epileptic had 13 fits in one day after using body-building powder with the muck in it. I also lost a friend who was diabetic and drank Diet Cola - he died of a brain tumour - something aspartame causes. Again Monsanto made it and used to sell it as Nutrasweet. Agent Orange is obviously harmful as is bovine growth hormone. Are you saying that all the reports about the harm caused by these products is propaganda? I hardly think it is. Genetically modified crops and food are obviously bad too! For starters they cause monoculture and cut down drastically on wildlife in a given area. Secondly the pollen causes allergies and as pointed out is poisonous to butterfly caterpillars. What is there that is good about Monsanto? I know of nothing. I just have to look at the natural environment before and after Monsanto and that tells me all I need to know!
I'm just saying you need to be careful about what you take as Gospel and what you don't. Understanding that there is propaganda out there is only one thing to take into consideration, another important point is how slavishly the authors of different reports adhere to the scientific method. I'm not saying that everything bad said about Monsanto is propaganda, but people have a habit of making blanket statements not judging something on its merits.
One thing I don't think you consider concerning Roundup is that it boosts yields much more than any other method of farming. Higher yield, less farmland needed to grow food. Less farmland, more land for wildlife preservation. Also to stop the wholesale use of pesticides would require us to cultivate three times as much farmland, due to pest destruction and less yield per acre. That will have an environmental effect. Or would you rather condemn a certain amount of humanity to the slow death of starvation?
I don't necessarily disagree with you on particulars, but you don't seem to understand the interplay between government and big business. We're allowed them to slowly, over the years, strip us of our ability to seek redress. Not only do agencies like the FDA keep us from successfully bringing cases to court, the very nature of the court system has changed to such a degree that even in the absence of agencies like the FDA, the courts still would not give favorable verdicts.
With all this power behind them, do you really think Monsanto and other companies really care what you think. The good thing from their perspective is that they pretty much have a monopoly on whatever service they offer, so not only are alternatives not available, people can be forced to use one product over another.
In order to effect change, we first need to reign in government and second we need to retake the court system from politicians and lawyers. Until that happens you can protest and march all you want, but things won't change.
I post hubs like this to get information out. If people are aware of the dangers of Monsanto products they can watch out for them and choose to try and not support the company by buying its products like Roundup and can try and eliminate aspartame-containg foods from their diets. They can also see just how far this evil company has exerted its power over the world and the dangers it presents.
If you watch the series of The World According to Monsanto in one of the later videos there is a section on Paraguay where it shows the perils of a family trying to continue the traditional way on their land surrounded by monoculture and shows how the children have been poisoned by exposure to the Roundup being sprayed on the neighbouring land. The farmer talks about how 60 of their ducks died from the same problem - herbicide in the water from neighbouring monoculture farms. Paraguay is described as being turned into a "green desert" of Monsanto soy. Wildlife cannot live in these monoculture crop fields and wildlife, domestic animals and people can suffer from its effects if living closeby. Old style farming allowed weeds to also grow and they are food sources for insects that are food sources for birds. Monoculture crops stop this. They destroy species diversity.
Very good read Bard! I guess our only alternative is buying organically grown vegitable or growing our own vegitables (which I have little time for). Hmmm...very interesting. I'll write more later.
They are trying to remove that option if the bill is passed! Most people are compelled to buy genetically engineering contaminated food because it is what is readily available. I have this problem here - if I want to buy organically-produced stuff then I have to take a bus ride to do so. I cannot grow much on my balcony. If I buy something like a loaf of bread unless I check the ingredients I would not know that it contains soya. The soya is almost certainly Monsanto soya. In the supermarket I have a very hard time finding anything I can guarantee as healthy! It didn't used to be like this! A loaf of bread didn't have gmo-soya in it and a can of tomato soup didn't have modified maize flour, dairy produce didn't come from cows possibly treated with growth hormones and antibiotics but they do now! Fruit and veg were as God made them but that is no longer the case!
Monsanto promised remarkable new crops which would deliver huge crop yields in places where crops could not produced before. They were going to feed Africa etc.
The reality is that their only commercial products are based on herbicide resistance. In other words the crops tolerate huge quantities of herbicide so huge amounts can be used to eliminate weeds
Not only does this mean an environment increasingly loaded with toxins, it means a huge increase in the use of petrochemicals to produce the herbicides.
For fifty years we have turned cheap oil into cheap food. As soon as the price of oil rises, so does the price of food- as we saw last year just before the credit crunch. That crisis in food supply will return as soon as the economies of the world recover.
Oil will begin to run short soon- whether it is in ten years or thirty years, that is soon in the history of the human race. When it does, we will regret allowing companies like Monsanto to drive us down the road of high energy consumption agriculture.
Good points, Will! We ouight to be regretting it now, I'd say!
Why aren't the Amish affected then? There are plenty of them here in the States and they don't seem to suffer from the same problems as that single family in Uruguay. Since finding out how badly Michael Moore has twisted the truth in his documentaries to fit his political beliefs, I've pretty much written off the entire genre, or at the very least take what they say with a boulder of salt.
Again, I'm not saying that Monsanto isn't partly to blame, but there are probably other factors as concerns that Uruguayan family. Unless you are physically present there to see for yourself, you'll always be prey to the documentarians.
A good motto "better to be safe than sorry"
A bad motto "Live for today for tommarrow we die"
I would believe those who have something to lose to either tell the truth or lie.
In this case Monsanto has more to lose money wise ,and more to gain by doing what they are to the production of food.
They can control the seed ,the farmer,the food supply.
You yourself know that who ever controls the food controls the world.
Something can be seen as either a conspiracy or a blessing based on the outcome.
If you didn't notice there is a hub listed on the right of this page saying Bill Gates funds research on modifiying misquitoes.Maybe he wants to eradicate their stingers .Who knows?
The only way to know if it is a good or bad thing to do it to try it and see.But,Bard is right about the F.D.A.it's corrupt.
I don't need to be "prey to documentarians" to see the harm it does. I was watching populations of lizards going down and down in Wales and it coincided with the Roundup spraying. I mailed around to a lot of people that should have been interested but the only reply I got was from David Bellamy who agreed with me and a couple of people on the BBC wildlife forum. See I know what should be in an environment and I see if it is missing and I see what has changed - in the UK as well as monoculture crops Roundup is sprayed all over the place and even along railway lines. I found out why on that - it is to kill Ragwort listed as dangerous invasive weed that according to propaganda kills horses! Problem is it is the food plant/host of 32 species of life according to BugWorld. Kill it and you kill all them too but the government, British Rail and Monsanto that make the poison don't care about that! Angry? Yes, I am, when I watch wildlife and the countryside destroyed!!
Bard, species die all the time. 90% of all species that have never existed don't anymore. I don't understand the nature for nature's sake, all of nature is predicated on the idea that either an organism adapts or it does not survive. There has not been enough time to truly understand how humanity is affecting things.
By your lights, you would consider something like an ice age of global catastrophic event. The previous ice age brought humans to North America, which pretty much killed off the mega-fauna, but that was an entirely natural effect. Likewise humanity, and the effects we have, are the result of evolutionary pressures that have forced us to adapt to our environment. The only difference between us and a force of nature, is the fact that we can control some of these things.
One thing I don't think you consider, because we haven't really been able to influence evolution yet, is the fact that in some ways humanity is strengthening flora and fauna. If you look at the mass extinction events, whatever humanity is doing is a drop in the bucket in comparison. 98% of all life at one point died on this planet, not only did life make it come back, the diversity of life literally exploded. It could very well be that bottleneck episodes force evolution along a quicker path. I wouldn't be surprised if the bottleneck event is responsible for humanity developing its creativity. I imagine it's probably one of those things that we are going to agree to disagree about. I suppose in my hierarchy of values that place human life above the natural world, for lack of a better term.
Not that I don't think there are better ways to do things, but unless we look at these things and analyze them using reason, we can't weigh costs and if you can't do that you can't decide on the best course.
Bad species die all the time? What is a bad species?
Human beings are strengenthing the flora and fauna?
I wonder what, if any publications, you read ledefensetech.
We live in an era of mass extinctions. This is a result of pressure on habitats from the increasing human population, climate change and ever increasing levels of pollution.
Half of the world's primates are threatened with extinction right now, a third of the world's frogs, over ten per cent of all bird species, as well as thousands of insect species.
The fact is, as human beings we rely on other species for our survival. The more we damage ecosystems the more we risk our own well being.
links on the issue for anyone interested.
Wonderful reply, Will, with which I totally agree!
Ledefensetech, you sound as if you are unable to see and appreciate the wonders and the beauty of animals and plants to have such an attitude as to not caring whether they live or die! What Will says is true!
I see no evidence for humans strenthening the flora and fauna apart from rats, cockroaches, mice and pigeons, as well as various weeds that have colonised the globe that are doing a lot better because of us!
And I personally believe there were people already in America. The ice age didn't bring them there. Ask the Washitaw people and they will tell you they have always lived in America!
Of course not. Humanity has only been impacting the environment to a greater or lesser degree for less than 200 years. As a species we've only been around for about 100,000. That's less than an eyeblink in geologic time. There hasn't been enough time to witness that.
Bard, genetic markers have shown that people emigrated to the US even in prehistoric times, we certainly didn't evolve here. The human race got it's start in Africa. Quite a bit of that is believed to be due to climate change as a matter of fact.
You might want to look up mass extinction events like the K-T event. One thing you'll quickly come to realize is that diversity is a response to a catastrophic event. Take the K-T event for example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Te
When life began to recover, it diversified in order to survive the next event. Humanity and our effects on the planet are just such another event.
Will, primates are probably slated to extinction anyway. Unlike our ancestors, the ancestors of primates remained in the trees, which have been a shrinking habitat since the Miocene epoch or over 2.8 million years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution#Befor
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/mio.html
Not to mention the fact that homo sapiens is the only species from the genus homo to still survive today. So what, exactly, happened to the others? I also don't think you take into account the adaptability of humanity. Necessity is the mother of invention and if we can no longer count on something, an alternative will be found.
The destruction of so much life on earth isn't necessary ledefensetech. Having said that, your 'it's inevitable' attitude is one of the main reasons that it is likely we will lose thousands of species.
Sustainability in all areas of life and work will be forced on us in the long run. If we adopted sensible policies now on global warming, pollution and use of natural resources we would give our children a far better and more secure future.
The last fifty years has been a like a crazed teenage party as far as energy and resource use goes. The hangover is going to very painful unless sustainability becomes central to all economic policies in this decade.
Laissez-faire economics are just too destructive when resources are scarce.
As for your prescription 'something will be found'- well the profligate always believe something will turn up. Right before the disaster hits them.
Will, great response again with which I agree!
Ledefensetech, you say: "Will, primates are probably slated to extinction anyway." Do you include us in that because we are primates?
And the most dangerous and destructive primate known!
"So what, exactly, happened to the others?"
Possibly they were hunted down and murdered by the so-called "sapiens?"
Ely, whenever I read your hubs, they are always painfully revealing and I think it is because many of us, consumers and individuals, are always clouded in manufactured images, products and people to always see the truth. Thank goodness there are people like you to make sure that we are informed, and aware.
Thank you again for the enlightenment.
Thank you for your comments, Am I dead, yet? I totally agree with you that people live in a world of "manufactured images," and would add that that is exactly how the system holds it all together. Governments and politicians manufacture images, advertisers manufacture images, the media manufacture images, Hollywood and all films and TV manufacture images. How much of these images is the truth? Nowhere near as much as we are led to believe!
Nice Hub Bard. You showed great patience too with your visitors. (Not one of my virtues). These are important topics.
Thank you, Will! I have been exercising patience too all afternoon with chemtrail-believers at David Icke's board who have hijacked my David De Rothschild thread and turned it into a convert me back to being a chemtrailer! lol My patience has worn thin though and I have joked that I was feeling like a polite version of "chemtrail-debunker" JazzRoc who got banned, and that I will not be wasting any more time on chemtrails there. For daring to agree with anything De Rothschild says and reviewing his book I have now just been labelled as a "Rothschild shill."
Bard--you would be interested in reading this, perhaps?
Thanks for the link!
My wife and I planted a garden last year and everything went great. Sold a few hubdred dollars of vegetables at the local farmers market. instead of buying new seed for watermelons we just saved some from a few we cut up and ate. The next years crop failed, hardly sprouted and the ones that did sprout died halfway through. I wondered what went wrong . until now. Knowing about the genetically engineered "suicide" gene, I'm now rethinking what happened !
Thanks for posting, Mel22! I am sorry to hear of your bad experience after a promising start.
Great hub Bard. I have though of writing a hub about this but at times it seems that most people are really not into the serious issues (in) or that affect life. The commodification of life itself is a very serious issue that needs to be regulated on moral grounds. If we leave it to politicians we can only expect to be "sold down the river".
Thank you, mintinfo! I would say it has been left to politicians and we have already been "sold down the river." So please do write a hub about this!
Let it be BILLIONS AGAINST MONSANTO Soonest
Yes, I hope so!
Hi Bard - just dropped by to tell you that it looks like the introduction of Bt Brinjal has been put n the backburner in India for a while - thanks to the common man becoming aware of the potential danger through the media. Millions of messages effectively blocked the introduction of the seeds into the country. We really can do it if we try!
Thank you for this great news, Shalini! Yes, we can!
I remember that fox news story being killed. that's when I started finding out more about them. I've recently been researching the food industry also and feel very compelled to speak up against what is being done to our food and our land.
the Food, Inc documentary touches on this and will be aired in USA on April 21, on PBS or one can check out the PBS.com website for more info. great hub. I just found it recently!
Thank you for posting, RebekahELLE, and I am glad you are researching these matters too!
Farmers all over the American Midwest can attest that Monsanto forces each to sign a legally-binding document that he/she will **not save a single seed** from that year's seed purchase. Monsanto has sued, and in some cases ruined, farmers who used left over seeds for the next year's crop.
It's one thing to use modern technology to improve on Mother Nature; quite another to use it to ignore or override her laws.
Thank you for your excellent feedback, JamaGenee!
PLease people of America do something about this IMMEDIATELY... by all means burned places down if you have to... (no killing of course) before Monsanto ruined all living things on earth...
Good work Ely, but this is not enough, The enemies are working double time now and with so much money they can can implement more sinister acts quickly... they might even be illegally polluting the environment of some developing countries in the continental Eurasia with there mutations right now. and when things become irreversible and all people becomes Monsanto's zombies, the people of the world can only blame US apathy and indecisiveness...
sorry for wrong grammar. not everyone can speak english you now... im trying really hard though
Thanks for the article Ely. Let's also remember the folks in Anniston, Alabama who were subjected to 40 years of the secretive dumping of PCB's by Monsanto into there creeks and tributaries. http://livingdiseasefree.com/
You see that mark in that woman's forehead above. I know why they put that mark there but read between the lines. No man buy or sell. And don't forget this one. http://hubpages.com/hub/Losing-the-Right-to-Eat
Thank you or feedback!
You Sir, are an interesting character. It's very strange to me to be a Rothschild fan, and at the same time seeming to be against corporations like Monsanto. I'll have to pay more attention, I think.
David de Rothschild is opposed to GM and is opposed to what his cousin Nat is currently doing with his coal mining venture! The Rothschilds do not all agree on things just like any family. The representation of them by conspiracy theorists such as David Icke and Alex Jones is very biased and omits anything good family members have done eg Miriam Rothschild whom David admired greatly. I have personally asked some self-confessed Icke and Jones fans what can they tell me about Miriam and they say nothing because they have heard nothing about her! Now why would that be I wonder?
. . . .Jones and Icke are both nuts. Now, they both have some good info, but yeah, I agree with you about the obvious bias.
Thank you! I don't disagree with a lot of their info but I can also find a lot I don't agree with and will follow my own judgement!
I can think of no other company that is more Evil than Monsanto. Monsanto and their teams of lawyers have intentionally destroyed the lives of thousands of small farmers worldwide. And all in the name of profit. And they are "thick" in the US Government so they can quickly get their poisons approved by Government Agencies.
Voting up!!!
Thank you, Mike! I totally agree with your description of them!
Hello:
My name is Caroline Lopez from Puerto Rico and I discovered a natural herbicide and sweetener that can take the place of monsantos products. What can I do?
Promote and publicise it and find a sponsor!
Thank you for your advice I will keep in touch.
You have a very difficult job so good luck with it!
Is all over you tube Monsanto is a big son of B
But, the sad thing is that the media is trying to silence the whole thing.
Spread the world every where people.
Many are avoiding seeing the truth.
There is a campaign to distract the public and mayor cover up.
Try to make comets on you tube is impossible the comments that go against That S of a B are removed.
Same in yahoo.
Same in FB.
See FB the world against M n s n t
Free speech is a myth.
Great article! Thanks for posting this one! Hope you don't mind; I linked to it in my hub on Aspartame!
Thank you, I Am Rosa! Of course, you are welcome to link this to your hub!
Shared on Facebook :-)
Thank you!
Wow my husband was telling me about hearing what they were doing to the seed and doing a search I found you and so glad I did, this is horrible. Surely everyone won't sit back and allow them to continue. Why is it people like this are left alone until it is too late? These are monsters.
@ Jackie - Money talks :-( That's how they keep getting aspartame approved for consumption.
They have a history of suing farmers who've had Monsanto seeds blown onto their property from plants on other farms grown from Monsanto seeds. The company claims it as theft. Nice, huh?
Plus, they discharge 37 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land and water.
Just a bonus on top of all the other wonderful presents they've given us mentioned in this hub.
Thanks for posting, Jackie and I Am Rosa!
Just finished watching that last video. That is really something else. My son won't drink milk,claiming it was dangerous and I thought it was stupid, sure wish he had explained why!
I am glad you found this hub of interest! Thanks for posting!
As bad as Monsanto is the FDA is also as bad. They are not making GMOs but they are letting Monsanto get away with it. It's all pay offs and revolving doors at the FDA just as it is in Congress. One can't help to feel that the world out of control with corruption. I even heard that soon it will could be illegal to grow your own food. This may seem like it could not happen but who knows how far things will go. So sad!
I am well aware of how corrupt the FDA is too! Perhaps there should be a new group as well - Millions against the FDA?
This is a great hub. I think Americans are just waking up from forty years of lies. Support the requirement to label all foods containing bio-engineered food. Support the right to independent research and approval of products. The FDA only allows the maker to test their own product and prove the results. Currently there are no guidelines or regulations on bio-engineered food at all. This is very scary stuff and the possibility of bio-engineered animals, plants and who knows what may destroy our environment someday. Current arguments and unknowns are already out their. Land poisonings, specie loss, bee die-offs, the destruction of bio-diversity and it was the failure of the bio-engineered crops in India its self that caused so many farmers to commit suicide in the first place. There is a prediction that super weeds will eventually over come this idea any way and we will be left with normal species that will take years to recover and be diversified. Perhaps the greatest argument is this patenting of life its self. Imagine that everything you eat is owned by someone who has a patent on it.
Thank you for your comments!
Monsato is very involved in our wall street government... Its to bad this great country is suffering at the hands of the greedy corporate companies that run our government.... Wish we could make a change, but the masses are asses!
I know what you mean! Thanks for posting!
Do sign the petitions and share on Facebook. They do make a difference.
I already have several times!
The downfall of American society is greed at all costs. No different than Henry 8th and Louis the 14th, just disguised. The people who control our wealth and power has put our great country at risk and they don't either care or are not smart enough to understand the ramifications. Monsanto is yet another example. Our entire government has been hijacked by indecent moraless animals that worship money as a god. There can be no end to this because it is impossible to fight as it is too deeply rooted. I may be possible for social networking technology evolution to save our society by being the vehicle of true democracy. Those in power are absolutely against true democracy and will deceive the people to no end on this issue. How do we evolve the human race out of this??? Are there wealthy and powerful men out there that understand the true meaning of life and can influence their peers to change this destructive course.
Good questions! I wish I knew the answers!
Genetic experiments are quite scary, especially when its being pushed on us through food and agriculture.
I totally agree! Thank you for posting!
jim10 2 years ago
Monsanto scares the hell out of me. I can't believe they even tried to patent the pig in 2005 to further control our food supply. I haven't looked into it so I'm not sure if they actually accomplished it or not. Nothing good ever comes from people messing with mother nature. They have no right to control our food.