Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Ties to Monsanto?

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Ties to Monsanto?

By Linn Cohen-Cole

Dear Hillary,

By polling logic, I should be your supporter -- Democrat, woman, white, liberal. But this past summer I saw a News Hour show on farmers committing suicide in Maharastra, India, which affected me deeply. I started learning what was happening to farmers and to food and how the Clintons are connected.

...

"Genetic Engineering is often justified as a human technology, one that feeds more people with better food. Nothing could be further from the truth. With very few exceptions, the whole point of genetic engineering is to increase sales of chemicals and bio-engineered products to dependent farmers."

David Ehrenfield: Professor of Biology, Rutgers University.


Monsanto has a $10 million budget and 75 person staff to prosecute farmers.

Since the late 1990s (as industrial agriculture took hold in India),166,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide and 8 million have left the land (P. Sainath, The Hindu). Farmers in Europe, Asia, Africa, Indonesia, South America, Central America and here, have all protested Monsanto and genetic engineering.

What does this have to do with you?

Your Orwellian-named "Rural Americans for Hillary" were Monsanto's lobbyists. My greater concern, though, is you former-employer, Rose Law Firm, representing Monsanto, world's largest GE (GE - genetic engineering) corporation; Tyson, world's largest meat producer; Walmart, the world's largest retailer. Rose is home to Industrial FOOD.

...

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19320.htm

[libertee]

1. Wow..I hope you can sleep in spite of all of this!

[MichiganVote]

2. I knew it. An attorney doing her job legally representing clients. Disgusting.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

4. Do you

remember how many Monsanto, ex-Monsanto higher ups found their way into the Clinton Administration.

Should we do a list?

Of course this is standard practice in the Beltway Revolving Door and it's corrupt beyond redemption.

Remember Michael Taylor?

[MichiganVote]

6. I know there were a slew of southern brothers in the Carter admin. and

of course * has had his fair share of Texans. Come to think of it, FDR had his fair share of easterners and JFK never could have found another attorney general other than his brother.

Its part of the American political scene. Until its deemed illegal, Clinton is merely following a time honored tradition. Not my preference to be sure, but its hardly anything new to use one's cronies.

[NashVegas]

3. While I Consider Anything From Info Clearing House to Be Dubious

I have no problem with the idea of a letter-writing campaign to encourage HRC to throw Monsanto under the bus if she's friendly towards them. I wouldn't expect her to do this publicly, but would hope she would at least do so in such a way someone else could take credit for it.

[madrchsod]

5. try this

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2007/10/yee-haw.html
Political Punch

[Orsino]

10. There's not enough paper to write a letter about each corporation to which she's beholden.

And I doubt that Monsanto is her worst offense.

Were she (or Obama) to write off the corporations, they'd have to address the actual concerns of working Americans. Neither one has trained for that.

[MadHound]

7. Monsanto's not only driving Indian farmers to desperation, but also small American farmers as well

Let's say some of their GM corn pollinates the regular corn of the farmer next door. Not only does Monsanto swoop in and seize that farmer's entire crop, claiming patent violations, but they do so without any sort of compensation. For many small farmers, losing an entire crop can mean losing their farm.

Sounds like Hillary is not the small farmer's friend.

[hedgehog]

9. You're kidding! Can you provide more details about crop seizures?

I would think the farmers involved would have at least as much a claim against Monsanto for contaminating their non-GMO corn!

[MadHound]

12. Here ya go

<http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_org_research.php?id=55>
<http://www.nelsonfarm.net/issue.htm>
<http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=printpage&artid=378>
<http://www.non-gm-farmers.com/news_details.asp?ID=1929>

Hope that helps.

[hedgehog]

13. You woud think that Monsanto would be trying to cover up the fact that

its GMO crops are going feral, wouldn't you?

By the way:

Barack Obama's Plan
Encourage Organic and Local Agriculture: Obama will help organic farmers afford to certify their crops and reform crop insurance to not penalize organic farmers. He also will promote regional food systems.


http://www.barackobama.com/issues/rural/

[MadHound]

18. You would think, but the arrogance of large corporations.

Interesting plan by Obama, however they really need to completely redo organic standards. Once again, those were written with Big Ag in mind, and frankly a lot of what they allow under the rubric of "organic" I wouldn't use on a dead dill weed. Too many chemicals allowed, tailored too much for large farmers.

That's why I generally look for not only heirloom crops, but also Certified Naturally Grown <http://www.naturallygrown.org/> I also get to know where my food comes from, one of the attractions of a farmer's market. I also live out in the country myself, so I grow much of my own produce, freeze and can it. I also get to know my meat, my neighbors raise organic free range cattle, hogs and chickens. Hell, I just put in an order for a quarter cow that was walking my back pasture a couple of months ago. Get to know some farmers, folks out in the country, get to know where your food comes from. It's cheaper, tastier and better for you.

[DrFunkenstein]

8. Given Her Most Trusted Non-Husband Advisor, I Doubt It

Mark Penn is up to dollar signs in evil clients.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Hillary, Will You Renounce Satan?

Sorry, I couldn't resist quoting that line from The Godfather. :-)

[HCE SuiGeneris]

14. Monsanto is pure evil.

K & R

[mod mom]

15. but they held a fundraiser for her: "Rural Americans for Hillary"

Yee-haw

October 18, 2007 10:06 AM

So later this month, according to THIS INVITATION, the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, is holding a "Rural Americans for Hillary" lunch and campaign briefing at the end of this month….

..but she's holding it in Washington, DC….

…at a lobbying firm…

… and specifically, though it's not mentioned in the invitation, at the lobbying firm Troutman Sanders Public Affairs…

…which just so happens to lobby for the controversial multinational agri-biotech Monsanto.

You read that right: Monsanto, about which there are serious questions about its culpability regarding 56 Superfund Sites,wanton and "outrageous" pollution, and the decidedly unkosher (and quite metaphoric) genetically-bred "Superpig."

-snip

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2007/10/yee-haw.html

[JTFrog]

19. That should be a post in itself. Thanks for the link. n/t

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. Obama will you renouse your major campaign advisor a Monsanto lobbyist?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

17. just what I thought....no answer ....crickets

[JTFrog]

21. He certainly should if that's true. n/t

[JTFrog]

20. One of the reasons that I didn't understand some Edwards supporters switching to Hillary.

While John Edwards was in rural Iowa yesterday talking about his plans to help family farmers, the Clinton campaign was in Washington, DC planning an event with the lobbyists from the biggest corporate agriculture company in the world. The difference between John Edwards and Hillary Clinton could not be more clear. Here’s some news for the Clinton campaign, when folks in rural Iowa talk about the problems with hog lots, they don't mean parking lots on K Street.

“John Edwards believes family-owned farms are critical to America’s future and that the corporate greed that’s killing the family farm is hurting America. Apparently, Hillary Clinton doesn’t feel the same way. While John Edwards has introduced policies to ensure family farmers can compete against big agribusiness, protect the food we eat and preserve farming communities, Hillary Clinton, beholden to Washington lobbyists, is tailoring her rural policy to reflect the needs of big agribusiness. While corporate America and lobbyists may want someone like Clinton in the White House, regular Americans are ready for someone who will stand up for them and fight for real change.”

Monsanto. A company that the website http://www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/">"Ethical Investing" labels "the world's most unethical and harmful investment."