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by Anthony Gucciardi
June 03, 2013
from
NaturalSociety Website
The
Connecticut state Senate
has
amended and passed GMO labeling bill
HB
6527
by an
overwhelming vote of 134-3 after days of negotiation.
A major step in the right direction, the
bill signifies the growing opposition against
Monsanto and GMOs at large within
the United States that I have continued to support - but the bill
does have a major flaw.
Coming right after the successful March
Against Monsanto campaign, which was
blacked out by the media despite an impressive turnout, the GMO
labeling bill could not have picked a better time when it comes to
support for the initiative.
That said, the bill actually requires
four other states enact mandatory labeling before the Connecticut
law goes into operation. In other words, there was likely some cash
thrown around between the politicians as we've seen in the past that
led to a ‘compromise' on the bill - one that effectively shuts it
down.
We've seen similar things happen in the
past, which is one of the reasons I published
an extensive list (below insert) of politicians paid off by
Monsanto:
Politicians Paid By Monsanto
May 28, 2013
from
NaturalSociety
Website
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House of Representatives
Total paid by Monsanto to Democrats: $72,000
Total paid by Monsanto to Republicans: $190,500
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Senate
Total paid by Monsanto to Democrats: $37,500
Total paid by Monsanto to Republicans: $85,000
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Barrow, John
(D-GA) $2,500
Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) $5,000
Boehner, John (R-OH) $10,000
Braley, Bruce (D-IA) $5,000
Camp, Dave (R-MI) $5,000
Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $10,000
Clay, William L Jr (D-MO) $10,000
Cleaver, Emanuel (D-MO) $5,000
Conaway, Mike (R-TX) $2,000
Courtney, Joe (D-CT) $4,500
Crawford, Rick (R-AR) $2,500
Fincher, Steve (R-TN) $8,000
Gardner, Cory (R-CO) $7,500
Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) $4,500
Graves, Sam (R-MO) $5,000
Griffin, Tim (R-AR) $1,000
Guthrie, Brett (R-KY) $1,000
Hanabusa, Colleen (D-HI) $5,000
Hannemann, Mufi (D-HI) $1,000
Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) $3,000
Holden, Tim (D-PA) $1,000
Huelskamp, Tim (R-KS) $2,500
Hultgren, Randy (R-IL) $2,500
Jenkins, Lynn (R-KS) $2,500
Johnson, Timothy (R-IL) $3,000
King, Steven A (R-IA) $2,500
Kingston, Jack (R-GA) $7,000
Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) $3,500
Kissell, Larry (D-NC) $5,000
Labrador,
Raul (R-ID) $2,000
LaMalfa, Doug (R-CA) $1,000 |
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Landry, Jeff
(R-LA) $1,000
Latham, Tom (R-IA) $10,000
Loebsack, David (D-IA) $5,000
Long, Billy (R-MO) $2,500
Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) $10,000
Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO) $5,000
Lungren, Dan (R-CA) $1,000
McIntyre, Mike (D-NC) $1,000
Neugebauer, Randy (R-TX) $1,000
Noem, Kristi (R-SD) $1,000
Nunes, Devin (R-CA) $3,500
Owens, Bill (D-NY) $2,000
Peterson, Collin (D-MN) $10,000
Rogers, Hal (R-KY) $7,500
Rokita, Todd (R-IN) $5,000
Roskam, Peter (R-IL) $1,000
Schilling, Bobby (R-IL) $3,000
Schock, Aaron (R-IL) $5,000
Shimkus, John M (R-IL) $5,000
Simpson, Mike (R-ID) $10,000
Smith, Adrian (R-NE) $5,000
Stutzman, Marlin (R-IN) $5,000
Thompson, Bennie G (D-MS) $10,000
Thompson, Glenn (R-PA) $1,000
Upton, Fred (R-MI) $5,000
Valadao, David (R-CA) $2,500
Wagner, Ann L (R-MO) $10,000
Walden, Greg (R-OR) $1,000
Walorski, Jackie (R-IN) $2,500
Womack, Steve (R-AR) $1,000 |
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Akin, Todd (R-MO)
$3,500
Baucus, Max (D-MT) $1,000
Berg, Rick (R-ND) $10,000
Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $10,000
Boozman, John (R-AR) $5,000
Casey, Bob (D-PA) $2,500
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) $5,000
Fischer, Deb (R-NE) $5,000
Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) $1,000
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) $2,000
Hirono, Mazie K (D-HI) $1,000
Johanns, Mike (R-NE) $1,000
Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) $5,000
Landrieu, Mary L (D-LA) $1,000
McCaskill, Claire (D-MO) $5,000
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $10,000
Moran, Jerry (R-KS) $2,500
Nelson, Ben (D-NE) $13,000
Rehberg, Denny (R-MT) $2,000
Risch, James E (R-ID) $3,500
Roberts, Pat (R-KS) $9,000
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) $8,000
Thompson, Tommy G (R-WI) $5,000
Wicker, Roger (R-MS) $1,000
Wilson, Heather A (R-NM) $2,500 |
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Now that said, this is still
headline-topping news that pushes the fight for food freedom to the
next level. It also sets a powerful legislative precedent for
further bills to come forward that activate GMO labeling in
individual states as well as Connecticut.
There's no question that
what we truly need to do is ban GMOs at large and criminally
prosecute Monsanto for crimes against humanity (for more reasons
than just GMOs), but sadly the
United States government is
Monsanto's #1 fan.
We are seeing major victories, such as
in the markets of Europe, where Monsanto
has actually stopped trying to even get into due to complete
public hatred.
And we're seeing it here in the United States as well
in the form of powerful activism, we just know that the United
States government continues to openly support Monsanto.
So much so
that the State Department has actually been caught funding
Monsanto's marketing and overseas ventures. In fact, this has now
been
admitted
by Reuters following data leaks. It's absolutely outlandish, but
it's reality.
The bottom line is that this bill has
flaws, but it will be highly effective at bringing awareness over
the GMO labeling issue.
When it comes to real action, our
activism is seeping through the cracks of the mainstream media
compound and clobbering the corrupt politicians right on the noggin.
Connecticut Passes...
GMO Labeling Law
by Eric L. Zielinski
June 5, 2013
from
NaturalHealth365 Website
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Eric is a
peer-reviewed, published researcher.
His work on heart
disease and autism has been accepted internationally at
various scientific conferences through organizations
like the American Public Health Association and
Australian-based Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.
|
Just one week after the Senate
powerfully rejected the "Sanders
Amendment", Governor Dannel P. Malloy and caucus
leaders announced that Connecticut is now slated to become the
first state in the U.S. to require GMO labeling.
Specifically, it will require food that
is either entirely or partially genetically altered to be labeled
with the words "Produced with Genetic Engineering."
Although, to be
fully instated, a bizarre set of circumstances must be achieved
before the compromise House Bill 6527 is enacted.
Could House Bill 6527
be the start of something great?
Approved by the House of Representatives
on May 24 by a vote of 114-7, House Bill 6527 originally contained
two significant compromises.
At that time, it was required that
five states with an aggregate population of 25 million were
required to adopt a similar labeling provision. It was also
determined by lawmakers that two of those five states had to border
Connecticut or be New York and New Jersey.
After mounting pressure from anti-GMO
campaigns like
the March Against Monsanto, these requirements lightened
up a bit.
According to the latest June 1 agreement
between Mallory and caucus leaders, the final compromise is that
only four states must pass similar legislation and one of
those states must border Connecticut.
Moreover, legislatures are
requiring that any combination of northeastern states with a minimum
combined population of 20 million people must approve a similar
bill.
Qualifying states include,
-
Maine
-
New Hampshire
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Vermont
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Massachusetts
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Rhode Island
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New York
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Pennsylvania
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New Jersey
The voice of
Connecticut's triumph: An example for all politicians
Governor Malloy,
"We have vigorously pursued all
opportunities to improve nutrition across Connecticut.
By increasing access to school
breakfast for undernourished children, supporting local farmers,
and strengthening how we market Connecticut grown products, we
are making strides to get healthy foods on tables across the
state.
This bill strikes an important
balance by ensuring the consumers' right to know what is in
their food while shielding our small businesses from liability
that could leave them at a competitive disadvantage.
I look forward to
working with advocates and stakeholders on this important issue,
and thank legislative leaders for their work in crafting this
legislation."
House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz
(D-Berlin & Southington),
"Consumers deserve to know what they
are eating. I'm proud that Connecticut is taking a bold and
sensible step to allow families to make informed decisions when
purchasing food."
Senate Republican Leader John
McKinney (R-Fairfield),
"This law doesn't ban, or restrict,
or tax anything. It simply let's Mom's and Dad's know what's in
the food they're buying for their children. I'm pleased
Connecticut is a pioneer in passing this common sense
legislation."
"I urge Washington
follow our lead."
Senate President Donald E. Williams
(D-Brooklyn),
"This bipartisan
agreement means that Connecticut families have all the
information they need to make informed, healthy choices when
feeding their families. There is mounting scientific evidence
showing that genetically modified foods are harmful to our
health."
Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey
(D-Hamden),
"Today is a significant victory in
the fight to know what is in the food we eat and what we feed to
our families.
Connecticut will be the first state
in the nation to pass a GMO labeling law and this sets the stage
for other states to join the growing movement to give consumers
more choices. As a small state, Connecticut couldn't go it alone
– this compromise strikes the right balance."
It's only a matter of
time before the people win this battle
No doubt, Big Ag will do everything in
their power to prevent House Bill 6527 from ever coming into
fruition.
However, with the global shift against
GMO's and social media being used to raise awareness, it is really
only a matter of time before neighboring northeastern states are
pressured to follow suit, thereby permitting Connecticut to mandate
labeling.
Contact your local Senator
today and demand that they support House Bill 6527 and GMO labeling.
Sources
NOTE:
See also
How Can Kids Reach Out to Congress
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