Aaron H. Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, writer, political organizer and Internet activist. Two colleagues and friends of Aaron Swartz talk about his activism and vision of technology in the service of a more democratic and just society. “When internet activists are getting longer prison sentences than rapists, you have to wonder what kind of world we're leaving for our kids.” -Anonymous
“With enough of us, around the world, we'll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we'll make it a thing of the past.” -Aaron Swartz
“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. I think a lot of what people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.” -Aaron Swartz
Student Freaks Out In Front Of His Class And Says What We're All Thinking About Our Education System
Duncanville High School student Jeff Bliss got in trouble in class for talking out of turn. What was he talking about? Basically everything that's wrong with our education system today. It's a mic-droppingly epic speech.
This was not an indictment of his teacher; to me, this was an indictment of the entire teach-to-the-test standardization that has been forced on our teachers and has broken our country's education system. By Kasim Khan
Iskandar Malaysia - the green mega-city rising above Singapore
Planned eco-city for 3million people matches Luxembourg in size and showcases urban 21st-century smart living, say developers
Standing opposite Singapore, across the strait of Johor, is the site of a new project that its architects and developers hope will be the future of urban life in south-east Asia – a mega-city built along eco-friendly lines, with green energy and an end to the pollution that afflicts so many of Asia's cities.
Occupying an area the size of Luxembourg, the site is expected to have a population of 3 million by 2025, living as an ultra-modern "smart metropolis". Energy will be provided from renewable sources, transport will be publicly provided, waste will be diverted to other uses, and the city is planned by the Malaysian government as a showcase to be copied on a bigger scale across the region.
Iskandar Malaysia offers an alternative. The plans are for a city that not only incorporates the latest in environmentally friendly technology, but that is designed for social integration. Green spaces and areas where people can mingle and relax will improve people's mental wellbeing and encourage social cohesion, it is hoped. Skyscrapers will be mixed with low-rise buildings and small self-contained "neighbourhoods".
Najib Razak, prime minister of Malaysia, said in a speech: "Iskandar Malaysia [is] a smart city template – protecting the environment, promoting equitable development and addressing urban development challenges [through] the creation of smart, liveable urban communities that will yield an improved quality of life for thousands of citizens, with safer, cleaner, healthier, more affordable and more vibrant neighbourhoods, serviced by more efficient and accessible transportation systems – great destinations for businesses."
Ellis Rubinstein, president of the New York Academy of Sciences, which is working on the "edu-city" university campus area, said it could be "a model to countries needing to accommodate the social and economic needs of fast-rising populations and environmental challenges".
However, the project's developers will have to overcome significant obstacles. New eco-cities have been planned in the past, from China to the US, but most have floundered. China's Dongtan was heralded as the world's first planned eco-city, but plans have been mired in difficulty for years. A UK project for "eco-towns" was widely ridiculed and has been all but abandoned.
So far, the Malaysian government has managed to attract support from Pinewood Studios, which will build new facilities in Iskandar, and Legoland which will build its first Asian theme park in the city. Several UK universities – including Newcastle and Southampton – are also planning to open up remote campuses.
More than $30bn has been promised for the city, of which more than a third will come from outside Malaysia.
'Why I Hate Society, But Love Humanity || Spoken Word' - Inspired by Jefferson Bethke & Suli Breaks.
I created this spoken word video to highlight how humanity is slowly losing sense of purpose and reality, the more we go on through the ages. I wrote the poem entirely by myself and I presented the poem myself. I also directed, produced and edited the video myself. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you can connect with me on the same level. Jamie :)
***(If anybody wants to use my words for their own production, please contact me for approval first!)***
*SCRIPT BELOW*
START- In our Society today, do you class yourself as free? Or are you constantly clinging onto things, which give no guarantee? Do our materialistic items ever deliver to us real happiness? Or do they distort us from reality, and for our conscience are they poisonous? See happiness comes within, yet we always tend to forget, We spend our whole lives chasing money, and on our deathbeds seem to regret. I used to be unaware of this; I'd let others shape my desires, I'd give in to authority's logic, only to realise it came from liars. See, I would always be looking for freedom, but I never found it until I realised, That in order to truly experience it, then maybe I should dematerialise? But there are only few who live this way... those sometimes stereotyped as pathetic, However honestly to be fair, it's those who judge that are wrongly Apathetic. See this was me 3 years ago; I was ignorant & naïve with plenty of confidence, I'm only 20 now, but I realise that back then I just had no social conscience. And you may think: this might be me? Or you may just not have realised yet, But if getting wasted just doesn't fulfil you, then on that, I'd place a bet. See apparently we're doing things the right way, hunting fame for the reward of 'happiness', But does this actually full fill us? Or do we forget about just living in contentedness? It's like just because we don't break laws; it doesn't necessarily make us innocent, African children are dying and suffering from illness, and we're sat there cursing immigrants? See first world problems are always seen on the news, prioritised over third world needs... We apparently preach we're all human; yet seem to be incapable of such good deeds. And this is real immaturity, yet it mostly comes from adults, who would have 'thought'? We don't accept responsibility for our planet, and we just hope we don't get caught. In World War 1 and World War 2, those people fought for our peace, We talk with respect in history, but the Morales we've learnt have mostly deceased. For example if we know that violence only promotes more violence, then why do we still fight wars? If we really want to protect each other, then why aren't we removing the root cause? See we need to stop following public opinion, and start thinking properly for ourselves, We need to stop separating nations, and throw our pride upon the shelves. I've learnt that just because I'm not blind, it doesn't automatically make me see, Are you satisfied with the way things are? Are you searching for truth like me? You can't tell me we're fulfilling our purpose; we seem to ignore it more each day, We pretend we're on route to peace on earth, but truthfully we've lost our way. And you may think that I'm just illogical, you may think I'm just a dreamer, You may think this is all inevitable but trust me; I'm not just your average believer. See it's our society that is unworthy; we seem to be forgetting how we got here, You would have thought that we have matured by now, and realised that time is dear. Because if humanity doesn't become aware of this, and if our ignorance goes too far, Then the future for all life is ruined, because one day, our earth will scar. -END My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamiedunmore... My Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieDunmore or @JamieDunmore My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/jd0781?fe... My E-mail Address: dunmore93@hotmail.co.uk Subscribe Here: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_dv3...
Massive ice floes rose out of a lake in Canada over the weekend, destroying a dozen homes and damaging fifteen others.
Within mere moments, strong winds drove piles of ice onto the shore from Dauphin Lake on Friday, inundating homes and giving residents only minutes to flee.
55-mile-per hour winds drove masses of ice from the thawing lake in a phenomenon that is commonly witnessed but rarely seen with such intensity and size.
By Friday night, a state of emergency had been declared in the town of Ochre River, a 188 miles northwest of Winnipeg.
Authorities told the Winnipeg Free Press that seven of the destroyed homes were ‘literally crushed by the ice that rose up within minutes from Lake Dauphin.’
Twenty-seven homes were affected in total as the frozen wall to plowed through everything in its way along Ochre Beach.
Though the moving ice was as tall as a house in places, no injuries have been reported.
Nonetheless, residents were still shaken Saturday
Even some of those whose houses remained standing were allowed inside only to collect their belongings after authorities declared many of the seemingly spared dwellings to be structurally unfit to inhabit.
One family told the Free Press the ice easily topped and pushed into their two-story home, shuffled moved furniture around, and ‘pushed the bathroom tub and vanity into the hallway.’
‘They heard it before they saw it coming up their decks,’ Ochre River deputy Reeve Clayton Watts told the Free Press Saturday. ‘Then, it came right in their front windows. It was just a matter of minutes. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We were very lucky.’
The town, still reeling from a severe 2011 flood that destroyed many homes, was somber but not helpless.
Watts was one hand for Saturday’s clean-up efforts, which saw friends and neighbors come together to get the community back on its feet.
Hundreds of volunteers were on hand with shovels, wheel barrows, and even bulldozers to dig the town out.
‘Everybody was pitching in to help them make it through the day,’ Watts said. ‘It was a good community effort. It’s typical. Everybody just helps out.’
A similar phenomenon occurred around 600 miles away at a Minnesota lake resort.
And though the ice wave on the American side wasn't nearly was as destructive, it still had some residents calling it an 'ice Tsunami' and marveling at its unbelievable speed, according to WCCO.
Youtube user Darla Johnsonuploaded footage of ice rising out of Milles Lacs Lake and into the townhomes of Izatys Resort on May 11.
The same high wind weather system is thought to have caused both incidents.
New Orleans (CNN) -- One minute, a man stands at the outskirts of a packed parade route. The next, he charges toward them.
The scene is part of dramatic surveillance camera images of a shooting that turned a festive New Orleans Mother's Day parade into chaos and renewed concerns about crime in the city.
The images, released by police Monday, show the panicked crowd scrambling for cover. The man runs the other way, leaving scattered bicycles and bodies on the ground behind him.
Sunday's shooting, which injured 19 people, sparked worries that despite the number of witnesses, no one will come forward. After years of corruption, a deep-seateddistrust of police lingers among some of the city's residents.
Authorities vowed to catch the shooters.
"There were dozens of people in yesterday's second-line (parade). We know that there's still some of you who know information so please reconsider and let us know," Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said Monday.
A $10,000 reward is being offered in the case.
Serpas said that police are still working to determine if there was more than one gunman, and whether there was more than one weapon on the scene. He said they were making "significant headway."
"I can assure whoever did this, we know a lot more about you than you think we do. And my recommendation to you is to collect yourself, and turn yourself in," Serpas said.
Remi Braden, a police spokeswoman, described the shooting as "an extremely unusual occurrence."
"We're confident that we will make swift arrests," she said, adding that members of the community have provided tips to authorities.
Witnesses were hard to come by Monday across the neighborhood, dotted with houses that have barred or boarded-up windows, overgrown lawns and patchy roads in need of paving.
A ripped T-shirt filled with bullet holes hung from a nearby light post, and a pair of old sneakers dangled from a power line.
Abdul Aziz, 33, told CNN's iReport that he saw a gun's muzzle flash at Sunday's parade but couldn't see who the shooter was.
"I'm sad. I love this city," he said. "We're plagued by crime, and it's just not getting better, no matter what we do."
The shooting took place at one of the city's famed second-line parades about two miles from the heart of the French Quarter. The dancing and brass band processions happen nearly every Sunday, except during the hottest months of summer.
The Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club, which organized Sunday's parade, decried what it called a senseless attack.
"Secondlining is about community and celebration, not trauma and violence," the group said in a statement, describing crime and violence as systemic problems in the city.
"We feel embarrassed that the world is now viewing our city and our community through a lens of violence," the statement said. "We support a thorough investigation of the shooting and pray the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
Asked whether the parade shooting was gang-related, officials said they were still investigating.
"It's too preliminary to tell," Landrieu said, adding that he expected more information later.
"It's a culture of violence that has enveloped this city for a long period of time ... and it's one of the things that we as a community have got to stop," the mayor said.
The attack included shots that were fired from different guns, police said Sunday, and officers saw three possible gunmen running from the scene.
On Monday, at least three victims were in critical condition, said Louisiana State University Medical Center spokesman Marvin McGraw. One other victim was in stable condition at the hospital, he said. Seven others had been released. Conditions of other victims were unclear.
Federal investigators say they have no indication that the shooting was an act of terrorism."It's strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans," New Orleans FBI spokeswoman Mary Beth Romig said Monday.
A farm in the heart of downtown San Diego. That’s the vision of Brandon Martella. But the 24-year-old architect’s farm doesn’t stretch outward, it rises upward 500 feet -– like a skyscraper greenhouse.
"The whole concept is to challenge the a-typical means of American produce consumption and transcend that boundary of where your food comes from to where it’s sold," said Martella, a recent graduate of the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego.
Half of Martella’s so-called “vertical farm” is for residential living, the other half, for growing crops, like lettuce, corn, tomatoes, carrots, and even grains. The bottom level is a farmer’s market.
"You can actually walk into the market and look up and see 500 feet of fresh vegetables being grown," he said.
Residents have the option to grow and sell their own crops, but Martella has also designed plans for hired help.
"I kind of picture this transient worker," he explained, "that’s typically how farming is, and so at the base there are units that are right next to the farming so the farmers who live there could actually tend to their crops."
Martella said his farm is capable of producing 500,000 pounds of food every three months – all within easy reach of 30,000 downtown residents. He sees it as the answer to a food supply strained by population growth and climate change.
"A statistic that really struck me hard was that according to the FDA the average American consumes 707 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables a year," said Martella. "And if each one of us is consuming that much, the food demand with population growth –- there’s soon to be a crisis."
Martella’s crop tower is sustainable and doesn’t require any dirt, chemicals or pesticides.
"The system I would want to use is to reclaim the gray water from the residential and that would actually feed into the building, be pumped to the top through a series of aerobic reactions or charcoal filters so the water would be cleansed," Martella said. "And you can actually use extracts from worm casings and that’s what feeds the plants."
Martella's idea started in his apartment window in January of 2012 as part of his senior thesis. He grew enough lettuce to last him two weeks using a hydroponics system he rigged up himself.
"And the whole thing was 12 water bottles chained together, and then you have a fish tank at the bottom and you pump the water up to the top and it’s a drip system and so the water drips all the way through. I figured if I could do it in my apartment, why not scale it up 500 feet."
Thirty miles north in Escondido, Bill Bramer has been a farmer for 33 years. He owns the 160-acre BeWise Ranch where he grows a little bit of everything, including tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beats and baby lettuce.
Brammer agrees there is a benefit to growing crops inside where it’s environmentally controlled. Last month he lost 40 percent of one of his strawberry patches to freezing temperatures. He said Mother Nature is harsh.
"Last year we had 10 acres of tomatoes that we couldn’t pick because it got so hot for three days and everything got sunburned," he said. "All the fruit just cooked on one side so you had to throw it all away."
Brammer said he’s not a big fan of hydroponically grown crops because he said they lack nutrition and flavor:
"Here we’re in a riverbed. Minerals have come through for centuries and centuries, so all those minerals in that spectrum are in that soil for that plant to be able to absorb," Brammer said.
Brammer said he likes Martella’s vertical farm concept, but says he'll continue to weather the climate and stick with the dirt.
"I’ve never had a greenhouse tomato that’s tasted like a good vine ripe outdoor tomato," he said.
Back in downtown San Diego, Martella is hoping a developer will sprout some interest and build his vertical farm on what is now a parking lot on First Avenue and Island Street.
I picked that site because it’s a very dynamic site, there’s the trolley stop right there, you get a lot of activity from that, the convention center is right across harbor you have high-end residential with kind of middle-range residential and then even long term hotels.
“I think he’s come upon an excellent concept in the sense that he’s proposing to mix agriculture in a downtown urban fabric, so that’s novel," said Sherry Ryan, professor of city planning at San Diego State University's School of Public Affairs.
Ryan said her only critique is that she thinks his design is too big for downtown.
"And it kind of sticks out, and so what I’d like to see Martella do is to try to take that same concept and blend it into the suburban fabric that is San Diego. He could for example go to south eastern San Diego or Encanto. There’s a lot of vacant land there," Ryan explained.
But Martella said he’s set on adding some green in the San Diego city skyline.
"And the tomatoes aren’t going to taste like a swimming pool – they’re going to probably taste like the best tomato you’ve ever had," he said.
Why would they want this video banned in America??
"Cancer : The Forbidden Cures": Discover many effective and highly successful forms of cancer treatment that have been suppressed and discredited for time by the FDA. Some say that the FDA may have killed more people than Hitler.
In the last 100 years dozens of doctors, scientists and researchers have come up with the most diverse, apparently effective solutions against cancer, but none of these was ever taken into serious consideration by official medicine.
More than 20,000 people die of cancer every day, without official medicine being able to offer a true sense of hope to those affected by it. Well... at least until now. If you search our website(http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com) or view the "cancer" tab up at the top of our website you will find many of these suppressed cures. Don't sit around waiting for a solution to be televised! Get online - check out some of the reports around the world. There is hope.
Professional winguit pilot and BASE jumper Alexander Polli flies his wingsuit through “The Batman Cave” — an incredibly narrow cave on a rugged mountainside. I’m not quite sure how he managed to fit his big balls of steel through this small hole, but Polli pulled it off. The narrow cave, no wider than Alexander is tall, is located in Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain — a location that has inspired this professional Italian-Norwegian athlete’s flying dream his whole life. Alexander hopes his success will inspire others not only to ‘climb over their mountains,’ but to also fly right through them!
“The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must.” - Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011
In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation’s 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America’s organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it’s time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto’s controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for “coexistence” with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.
In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and “seed purity,” gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the “conditional deregulation” of Monsanto’s genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of “conditional deregulation,” this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.
“compensation.” In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers’ and rural residents’ risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil’s crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay “compensation” (i.e. hush money) to farmers “for any losses related to the contamination of his crop.”
In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for “public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry,” even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government “oversight” of Frankencrops such as Monsanto’s sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: “The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must.”
Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?
According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack’s previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as “Governor of the Year” in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. Perhaps even more fundamental to Organic Inc.’s abject surrender is the fact that the organic elite has become more and more isolated from the concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores.
The Organic Inc. CEOs are tired of activist pressure, boycotts, and petitions. Several of them have told me this to my face. They apparently believe that the battle against GMOs has been lost, and that it’s time to reach for the consolation prize. The consolation prize they seek is a so-called “coexistence” between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto’s unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.
WFM and most of the largest organic companies have deliberately separated themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs. The so-called Non-GMO Project, funded by Whole Foods and giant wholesaler United Natural Foods (UNFI) is basically a greenwashing effort (although the 100% organic companies involved in this project seem to be operating in good faith) to show that certified organic foods are basically free from GMOs (we already know this since GMOs are banned in organic production), while failing to focus on so-called “natural” foods, which constitute most of WFM and UNFI’s sales and are routinely contaminated with GMOs.
From their “business as usual” perspective, successful lawsuits against GMOs filed by public interest groups such as the Center for Food Safety; or noisy attacks on Monsanto by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, create bad publicity, rattle their big customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix and Safeway; and remind consumers that organic crops and foods such as corn, soybeans, and canola are slowly but surely becoming contaminated by Monsanto’s GMOs.
Whole Foods’ Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called “Natural” Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOs
The main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM’s $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called “natural” processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called “natural” products (no doubt WFM’s lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they’re all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.
Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as “natural.”
Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called “natural” food as certified organic food, coupled with the takeover of many organic companies by multinational food corporations such as Dean Foods, threatens the growth of the organic movement.
Covering Up GMO Contamination: Perpetrating “Natural” Fraud
Many well-meaning consumers are confused about the difference between conventional products marketed as “natural,” and those nutritionally/ environmentally superior and climate-friendly products that are “certified organic.”
Retail stores like WFM and wholesale distributors like UNFI have failed to educate their customers about the qualitative difference between natural and certified organic, conveniently glossing over the fact that nearly all of the processed “natural” foods and products they sell contain GMOs, or else come from a “natural” supply chain where animals are force-fed GMO grains in factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
A troubling trend in organics today is the calculated shift on the part of certain large formerly organic brands from certified organic ingredients and products to so-called “natural” ingredients. With the exception of the “grass-fed and grass-finished” meat sector, most “natural” meat, dairy, and eggs are coming from animals reared on GMO grains and drugs, and confined, entirely, or for a good portion of their lives, in CAFOs.
Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices. Organic consumers are increasingly left without certified organic choices while genuine organic farmers and ranchers continue to lose market share to “natural” imposters. It’s no wonder that less than 1% of American farmland is certified organic, while well-intentioned but misled consumers have boosted organic and “natural” purchases to $80 billion annually-approximately 12% of all grocery store sales.
The Solution: Truth-in-Labeling Will Enable Consumers to Drive So-Called “Natural” GMO and CAFO-Tainted Foods Off the Market
There can be no such thing as “coexistence” with a reckless industry that undermines public health, destroys biodiversity, damages the environment, tortures and poisons animals, destabilizes the climate, and economically devastates the world’s 1.5 billion seed-saving small farmers.
There is no such thing as coexistence between GMOs and organics in the European Union. Why? Because in the EU there are almost no GMO crops under cultivation, nor GM consumer food products on supermarket shelves. And why is this? Because under EU law, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Consumers have the freedom to choose or not to choose GMOs; while farmers, food processors, and retailers have (at least legally) the right to lace foods with GMOs, as long as they are safety-tested and labeled.
Of course the EU food industry understands that consumers, for the most part, do not want to purchase or consume GE foods. European farmers and food companies, even junk food purveyors like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart, understand quite well the concept expressed by a Monsanto executive when GMOs first came on the market: “If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it.”
The biotech industry and Organic Inc. are supremely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of GMO foods. Even without a PhD, consumers understand you don’t want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, or Dupont – the same people who brought you toxic pesticides, Agent Orange, PCBs, and now global warming.
Industry leaders are acutely aware of the fact that every single industry or government poll over the last 16 years has shown that 85-95% of American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods. Why? So that we can avoid buying them. GMO foods have absolutely no benefits for consumers or the environment, only hazards. This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from getting a public discussion in Congress.
Although Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs, don’t hold your breath for Congress to take a stand for truth-in-labeling and consumers’ right to know what’s in their food. Especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the so-called Citizens United case gave big corporations and billionaires the right to spend unlimited amounts of money (and remain anonymous, as they do so) to buy media coverage and elections, our chances of passing federal GMO labeling laws against the wishes of Monsanto and Food Inc. are all but non-existent.
Perfectly dramatizing the “Revolving Door” between Monsanto and the Federal Government, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, formerly chief counsel for Monsanto, delivered one of the decisive votes in the Citizens United case, in effect giving Monsanto and other biotech bullies the right to buy the votes it needs in the U.S. Congress.
With big money controlling Congress and the media, we have little choice but to shift our focus and go local. We’ve got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels.
The Organic Consumers Association, joined by our consumer, farmer, environmental, and labor allies, has just launched a nationwide Truth-in-Labeling campaign to stop Monsanto and the Biotech Bullies from force-feeding unlabeled GMOs to animals and humans.
Utilizing scientific data, legal precedent, and consumer power the OCA and our local coalitions will educate and mobilize at the grassroots level to pressure giant supermarket chains (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Supervalu, and Publix) and natural food retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to voluntarily implement “truth-in-labeling” practices for GMOs and CAFO products; while simultaneously organizing a critical mass to pass mandatory local and state truth-in-labeling ordinances – similar to labeling laws already in effect for country of origin, irradiated food, allergens, and carcinogens.
“We have to create culture, don't watch TV, don't read magazines, don't even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you're worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you're giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is shit-brained, this kind of thinking. That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral. 'Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.' And then you're a player, you don't want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.”
