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gail combs
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gail commented on the article |It is going to get MUCH MUCH worse. (bear with me while I explain.)
Our food safety system was trashed in 1995 by Sec of Ag Ann Venman (Board member of Monsanto) She appointed Dan Amstutz (VP of Cargill) who wrote the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture.(WTO AoA)
"Aims to ensure that governments do not use quarantine and food safety requirements as Unjustified trade barriers.. It provides Member countries with a right to implement traceability {NAIS} as an SPS measure."
In other words the WTO did away with "quarantine and food safety requirements" that gave us "the safest food in the world" and is graciously going to allow Farmers to track AND COUNT the world's livestock for them instead. Now HR 875 and a FDA release indicate All food will be tracked and all food producers will have "written safety plans" Food Czar inspections and the threat of fines up to $1,000,000 a day will eliminate all the independent farms that have acted as a check on Corporate AG.
These Ag corporations are interested in one thing, PROFIT. American Farmers and farmers around the world have been feeling the squeeze caused by big Ag eliminating competing middle men who would buy their product. In the USA there are only five big slaughter houses left. After WTO AoA was ratified, the USDA (under Sec of Ag Venman) immediately changed the regs and eliminated over 100 independent slaughter houses in one state alone. Now the Ag corporations are going to complete the elimination of all their competition.
In reading the bill HR 875 I notice a very frighting thing. The Animal Welfare Act specifically excludes livestock and pets. This bill does not list ANY EXCLUSIONS! On the contrary it specifically states
"..facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients."
Notice it does not say a person SELLING food, it says a person holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.
This is very scary given Ag Sec. Venman's " September, 1995, USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service presented a 600-page document Farm-To-Table - control of every step in the food chain from production to home preparation. "
HR 875 also includes this.
"in any action to enforce the requirements of the food safety law, the connection with interstate commerce required for jurisdiction SHALL BE PRESUMED TO EXIST."
The fact you are growing veggies for you and friends does not exclude you!
This means Americans will be forced to buy food from Ag business without any other option!
Everyone knows about Monsanto, so here is info on Cargill.
This is Cargill in action in the USA
Check out http://www.opednews.com/articles/Inside-Cargill--knee-deep-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090301-239.html
Cargill enslaving kids and killing strikers http://www.opednews.com/articles/Inside-Cargill--knee-deep-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090301-239.html
I am nuts right? Here is one Lady's recent brush with the USDA
"Today a state Ag inspector and two county officials show up and scare the bee-jesus out of me. First they accuse me of selling products and milk, then explain that even "giving milk products away" is illegal in California... They explained it was even ILLEGAL to give it to my own children if they did not live under my roof! I can't even take a lasagna dish to my grown sons home without risk of being fined, arrested and or jailed! This is OUTRAGIOUS!!!!" Donna Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:37 pm http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Americans_Against_NAIS/message/26452
This is why attempts to build a border fence (authorized but never done) or control illegal immigration have always fallen on deaf ears. Ag business wants those illegals as slave labor.
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gail commented on the article |Veganism is on the block too complete with "traceability"
See HR 785: the bill requires tracing of ALL food, not just meat.
The FDA has already stated it will: "Work with stakeholders to implement a more effective trace-back process, using technologies to rapidly and precisely track the origin and destination of contaminated foods, feed and ingredients." http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/advance/food/questions.html
And here is the technology:
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=32231 -
gail commented on the article |Its not Cow farts or Cow burps its GET RID OF FARMERS.
It is DIVIDE and CONQUER. While we sit around debating Monsanto, Cargill and friends are buzy WITH A DIRECT ATTACK ON ORGANIC FARMING!
We have a March 11 deadline to wake people up and get them to call their Congress
When the Food safety bills become law, Monsanto and Cargill will be positioned to complete the grab for control of the food supply. This means famines will worsen in the USA and world wide as family farms are wiped out by red tape and heavy fines. The World Trade Organization directed USDA and FDA to change food safety procedures to HACCP and to open borders to foreign food.
Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems rule, on July 25, 1996 Under the HACCP rule, industry is responsible for assessing potential food safety hazards and systematically preventing and controlling those hazards. FSIS is responsible for verifying that establishments' HACCP systems are working... www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Evolution_of_RBI_022007.pdf
Of course incidents of tainted food sky rocketed as planned and the public outcry is being used to put in place regs to get rid of independent farms. Regs could include fines up to &1,000,000 and ten years in jail.
Even private Gardens will be illegal!
Under CAFTA........it is illegal for south American people to grow gardens even for personal use.
American Vegetable Grower Magazine. Under Federal Marketing order as per the Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007. All produce growers will be subject to inspection under guidelines set forth by Wal-Mat, McDonalds and Walt Disney Co. They include "cameras, employee identification,fences with locked gates, security guards, area patrol, unathorized entry signs, etc. All for a lack of management caused by the faliure of gov agencies to control wildlife. This will do for the small produce grower what NAIS will do for small livestock producers.
The equivalent regs for livestock:
Guide to Good Farming Practices . http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/rt/2502/review25-2BR/25-berlingueri823-836.pdf
This is the International implications
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/nais-and-the-international-criminal-court/
Print this or something similar up and pass it around. We do not have much time left.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Clintons--promoting-t-by-Cheryl-Neilson-and-090228-126.html
The above article has directions for action
"..Although famines are associated with widespread crop failure, most are the result of social or political processes that disrupt traditional agricultural production strategies" http://wwwoa.ees.hokudai.ac.jp/~rocksea/upload/ncert/ncert_XII_fundamentals_human_geography.pdf
The grain traders show their greed and humanitarianism.
"In summary, we have record low grain inventories globally as we move into a new crop year. We have demand growing strongly. Which means that going forward even small crop failures are going to drive grain prices to record levels. As an investor, we continue to find these long term trends very attractive." Food shortfalls predicted: 2008 http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/dancy/2008/0104.html
"Recently there have been increased calls for the development of a U.S. or international grain reserve to provide priority access to food supplies for Humanitarian needs. The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) strongly advise against this concept..Stock reserves have a documented depressing effect on prices... and resulted in less aggressive market bidding for the grains." July 22, 2008 letter to President Bush http://www.naega.org/images/pdf/grain_reserves_for_food_aid.pdf
Is it any wonder when you start digging into the mess you find:
Dan Amstutz, 25 years as grain trader and VP at Cargill drafted the original text of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture in 1995, the "Freedom to Farm" bill in 1996 and then became president & CEO of the North American Export grain Association, NAEGA in 1998. And then we have Michael Taylor, former lawyer representing Monsanto and Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto. He was an FDA staff lawyer 1976-1981, Deputy Commissioner for Public Policy at FDA 1991-1994, and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Administrator 1994-1996. While at the FDA, Taylor wrote the guidelines on milk labeling and rBGH, which was the basis of Monsanto's lawsuit against Oakhurst dairy.
In 1991 Cargill used videos, radio commentaries and newspaper columns to defeat a campaign to resist the construction of a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Saskatchewan in Canada. Cargill also provided employees at 600 hundred locations in the USA with cards to post to congressman to lobby for NAFTA. Employees were told,'NAFTA is important to Cargill because it clears the way for what we do' http://www.topix.com/forum/source/redwood-city-daily-news/T86SP4VTN0RNSFPPI
The loss of jobs, the collapse of banking and the grab at control of the food supply worldwide all go back to the same set of people and GREED for money and power.
Checkout David Rockerfeller, Chase Bank, World Bank and IMF and SAP The globalization of poverty http://www.doublestandards.org/sap1.html
See Who Are the big winners this past year.
Rothschild, Morgan, Rockefeller and Chase bank are the big winners after the bank collapse
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message606637/pg1
Monsanto had record earnings in 2008 http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=650
Cargill and the rest of the grain traders are privately owned so there are no reports on earnings available.
We have a March 11 deadline to wake people up and get them to call their Congress critters.
This is the International implications
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/nais-and-the-international-criminal-court/
Print this or something similar up and pass it around. We do not have much time left.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Clintons--promoting-t-by-Cheryl-Neilson-and-090228-126.html
Even Gardening will be illegal!
Under CAFTA........it is illegal for south American people to grow gardens even for personal use.
That is planned for the US too:
American Vegetable Grower Magazine. Under Federal Marketing order as per the Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007. All produce growers will be subject to inspection under guidelines set forth by Wal-Mat, McDonalds and Walt Disney Co. They include "cameras, employee identification,fences with locked gates, security guards, area patrol, unathorized entry signs, etc. All for a lack of management caused by the faliure of gov agencies to control wildlife. This will do for the small produce grower what NAIS will do for small livestock producers.
Sorry this is off topic but I do not want to have to eat FRANKENFOOD yuck!
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gail signed the petition | -
gail commented on the article |I and some farmers at a local city farmers market are working with "Dr Mike" from the local community college to set up a community "victory garden". Actual farmers will help the newbies instead of just professor types. We can also donate things like compost. You might want to consider a similar idea if ours works.
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gail commented on the article |You can say good bye to those organic farms. The USDA has the World Trade Organizations agenda in the Federal Registar. Once Animal ID is passed (NAIS) veggies and fruits are targeted, followed by the Guide to Good Farming Practices.(I have pages of references) Once Big AG has complete control of the world food supply how do you think animals will be treated or what choice you will have in what you eat???
Control of food is THE biggest method of controling human behavior. In the Ukraine parents were eating their children when the Soviets starved them.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/24/europe/EU_GEN_Ukraine_Great_Famine.php
Whether you are Animal rights or a carnovoire, I suggest you wake up and help protect our food supply before we find ourselves in the same situation as the Ukrainians did.
Despite Obama's requested moritorium, the second phase of the WTO AoA is poised to go into effect March 2009. We have the opportunity to stop these changes by commenting on the proposed rule change.
Your comments can be made at
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007-0096
The World Bank and IMF force third world farmers from their land.
SAP The globalization of poverty http://www.doublestandards.org/sap1.html
Structural Adjustment Policies http://www.whirledbank.org/development/sap.html
Mr. Budhoo's Bombshell: Former employee Breaks Code of Silence on IMF of crimes: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/IMF_WB/Budhoo_IMF.html
Seed Sharing or Biopiracy . http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/bio0712.php
Global Diversity Treaty Big Ag's plan to steal seed from farmers. http://www.bioversityinternational.org/publications/pdf/1144.pdf
EU: A list of 'official' vegetable varieties, no otherrs may be sold. http://www.realseeds.co.uk/terms.html
98 per cent of our vegetable varieties have disappeared. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/agricultural-red-tape-driving-vegetable-varieties-to-extinction-763821.html
“...since Portugal joined the European Union, 60 percent of small farmers had already left the land.... in the UK over the past two decades,..around fifteen thousand farmers [are] driven off the land every year, accompanied by a rapid decline in the quality of food..” http://www.i-sis.org.uk/savePolishCountryside.php
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gail commented on the article |
Felipe from Chicago said
"... I've been doing research for the last 4 months on food supply and what companies control it....."
The locavores and farmers who are anti-NAIS have done a great deal of study on this subject over the past few years. It is ALL connected and all part of the Mega Corps grap for the control of the world food supply.
Here are a bunch of interesting sites.
Please take the time to help out the small farmers in the USA by commenting on the World trade Organization's agenda called NAIS.
Despite Obama's request the second phase of the WTO AoA is poised to go into effect March 2009. We have the opportunity to stop these changes by commenting on the proposed rule change. Your comments can be made at http://www.regulations.govfdmspubliccomponentmain?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007-0096
Now to some of those sites that explain why this is such BAD NEWS
The goal within the WTO, dating from 2000, is to extend patent laws over all plants and animals (Article 27.3b)..” http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/bio0712.php
Patenting of life:
Seed Sharing or Biopiracy . http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/bio0712.php
Global Diversity Treaty. http://www.bioversityinternational.org/publications/pdf/1144.pdf
“In the EU, there is now a list of 'official' vegetable varieties. Seed that is not on the list cannot be 'sold' to the 'public' .” http://www.realseeds.co.uk/terms.html"
www.euroseeds.org/pdf/ESA_03.0050.1.pdf
98 per cent of our vegetable varieties have disappeared. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/agricultural-red-tape-driving-vegetable-varieties-to-extinction-763821.html
Monsanto Pig Patent http://www.saynotogmos.org/ud2005/uaug05b.html Monsanto's Seeds of Worry: http://www.mcgilldaily.com/article/2998-seeds-of-worry
ICAR Animal Patenting Service http://www.icar.org/%5Cpages%5Cpsas.htm
Cloned Animals: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2007/2007-12-20-091.asp
“StarLink maize was found for the first time in food aid distributed directly by the WFP. StarLink is banned for human consumption due to possible allergic reactions to the genetically altered protein it contains... GMOs were found in more than 80 percent of all samples sent to the laboratory”...http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2005/2005-02-16-09.asp
Structural Adjustment Policies used to force third world farmers off land:
SAP The globalization of poverty http://www.doublestandards.org/sap1.html
Structural Adjustment Policies http://www.whirledbank.org/development/sap.html
Mr. Budhoo's Bombshell: Former employee Breaks Code of Silence on IMF of crimes: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/IMF_WB/Budhoo_IMF.html
World Trade Organization's plans to control farming and food production
Aims to ensure that governments do not use quarantine and food safety requirements as Unjustified trade barriers: http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/rt/2002/WILSON.PDF
Report Finds Fundamental Flaws in WTO's Agreement on Agriculture http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/891.html
Guide to Good Farming Practices . http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/rt/2502/review25-2BR/25-berlingueri823-836.pdf
Safe and Secure Food Act of 2005 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-1534
Polish entry into the European Union: The EU plans to remove 1 million farmers from their land http://www.i-sis.org.uk/savePolishCountryside.php
The problems with ISO according to the USA Quality Society ISO and Similar Certification Schemes: http://www.systemsthinking.co.uk/3-1-article.asp http://www.qualitymag.com/Articles/Letters_From_the_Editor/e4100ee7f4c38010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____
Probing the Limits: ISO 9001 Proves Ineffective http://www.qualitymag.com/Articles/Column/17062620c7c38010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____ http://www.qualitymag.com/Articles/Letters_From_the_Editor/65730ee7f4c38010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0__
USDA & WTO allows disease into USA
Texas AG plan www.tahc.state.tx.us/news/pr/2002/302TBMx.pdf
Santa Teresa, NM, Chihuahuan cattle producers operate both sides of the cattle port-of-entry. www.ers.usda.gov/publications/Agoutlook/june2001/AO282d.pdf
Bovine Tuberculosis: Infected Dairy Herd Identified in California 2002: The discovery of this infected herd is a result of enhanced surveillance. (chart shows 90% DECREASE in testing) http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-BE_cca/INF-BE_cca02/INF-BE_cca0207-08.html
USDA is moving toward supporting fewer labs nationwide, with the remaining labs serving as regional labs and supporting larger geographic areas..” http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/agency/TAHC_Strategic_Plan_2009-2013.pdf
WTO directive to NOT allow inspections http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/rt/2002/WILSON.PDF
The USDA has decrease the inspection of imported food from 8.0% to 0.6% WHILE IMPORTS HAVE DOUBLED SINCE THE MID NINETIES.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55892
“It is urgent that scientists come forward with alternative methods of disease control that will not only avoid wastage of valuable animal proteins but that will also promote the international trade of animals and animal products by removing technically unjustified trade barriers caused by animal diseases”, http://www.oie.int/eng/press/en_040422.htm
Furthermore, it can help to eliminate unjustified trade barriers, since a sound traceability system provides trading partners with assurances on the safety of the products they import. Traceability techniques can provide additional guarantees as to the origin, type or organoleptic quality of food products. http://www.oie.int/eng/edito/en_edito_apr08.htm
Transfer of liability http://nonais.org/2008/07/08/transferring-liability/ The Animal Health Protection Act of May 22 2008 has fines and penalties of $500-$1,000,000 and up to 10 years in prison agriculture.senate.gov/Legislation/Compilations/AgMisc/AHPA.pdf
College Slide Show on Cargill http://www.morris.umn.edu/academic/anthropology/chollett/anth%203204/Class%20Presentations.08/Harvest%20of%20Profits-%20The%20World%20Empire%20of%20Cargill,%20Inc.ppt At a time when parts of the world are facing food riots, Big Agriculture is reaping huge profits. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/breakingnews/83971.php
Agriculture and Monopoly capital: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1132/is_n3_v50?pnum=10&opg=21031832&tag=artBody;col1 Manufacturing Food Crisis: http://agrariancrisis.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/manufacturing-food-crisis/
JBS Swift’s buyout: http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/jbs-beef-buy-is-bad-for-everyone/
Food Supremacy: http://www.fpif.org/outside/commentary/2002/0202food.html
How to manufacture a global food crisis: http://www.japanfocus.org/_Walden_Bello-How_to_Manufacture_a_Global_Food_Crisis__The_destruction_of_agriculture_in_developing_countries/ Empire of Burgers: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1997/jun/20/johnvidal
Short pew report: http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=38438
Full (125 pg) Pew report: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Industrial_Agriculture/PCIFAP_FINAL.pdf
An old list of companies that control food, the list is decent but the site is questionable and so are the comments. However the list gives you the names you can start with.
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/1995/2249_cartel_companies.html
I have several more pages of references so just ask.
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gail commented on the article |I think I need to clarify my point of view.
I am not against cloning or irradiation. I live near a nuclear plant and have eaten irratiated food. HOWEVER I do believe we need to preserve biodiversity and a person's clear cut choice. If you wish to drink raw milk that is your choice. If you wish to eat irradiated food that is your choice. Rigorous testing and truthful clarification of any risks should be the FDA and USDA's business, telling someone what they can and can not eat is not their business.
What I am against is large corporations using government clout to bankrupt the little guy and put people's health at risk all in the name of "Free Trade" or "science".
As a chemist working in industry since the seventies I have seen falsified data many times and managment firing anyone who is not a "team player". When large corporations provide the personel in government to write the regulations and enforce them, there is a clear cut conflict of interest and the consumer and small business owners both come up losers. The FDA and the USDA are both guilty of this type of conflict of interest and the US consumer is paying the price. -
gail commented on the article |The real cause of the increase in food contamination is corruption in the USDA and FDA who now serve the interests of international corporations and the World Trade Organization. This is never mentioned in the news because food contamination is being used to manipulate public opinion into backing the WTO agenda of new regulations that will prevent individuals from raising food. Ag business wants to vertically integrate and they want no independent competition such as the locavore movement.
The new regs will come with teeth such as "... fines and penalties of $500-$1,000,000 and up to 10 years in prison" http://www.agriculture.senate.gov/Legislation/Compilations/AgMisc/AHPA.pdf
The first try was the Safe and Secure Food Act of 2005 (defeated) http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-1534
This is the WTO version of the Safe and Secure Food Act of 2005. Imagine granny with her chickens or Sissy with her pony or even you with your garden complying with this type of regulation! (veggies and fruit are earmarked for similar regs once livestockis regulated.)
Guide to good farming practices: www.oie.int/eng/publicat/rt/2502/review25-2BR/25-berlingueri823-836.pdf
I and several others have spent years tracing where the sudden increase in food contamination comes from. It all traces back to a man named Dan Amstrutz. Who is Dan Amstrutz? Dan Amstutz, worked for 25 years as a grain trader and VP at Cargill before he became Under Secretary of Agriculture during the first Bush administration. He was responsible for the much hated Freedom to Farm Act.
“..As a result, thousands of American farmers lost their farms and monopolists like Cargill reaped the benefits....” http://www.theava.com/03/05-21-rat.html
The Grain Traders say this about Amstutz: “Throughout his very successful career Dan Amstutz represented and championed the ideas and goals of NAEGA membership “ (North American Export Grain Association)
Dan Amstutz certainly did not represent the interests of farmers or consumers. Do the Grain traders care about farmers or consumers? I will let them speak for themselves. Keep in mind that four privately owned grain traders control 90% of the grain. They are Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Andre, and Bunge. The family members earn about ½ billion a year each.
“In summary, we have record low grain inventories globally as we move into a new crop year. We have demand growing strongly. Which means that going forward even small crop failures are going to drive grain prices to record levels. As an investor, we continue to find these long term trends...very attractive.” Food shortfalls predicted: 2008 http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/dancy/2008/0104.html
“Recently there have been increased calls for the development of a U.S. or international grain reserve to provide priority access to food supplies for Humanitarian needs. The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) strongly advise against this concept..Stock reserves have a documented depressing effect on prices... and resulted in less aggressive market bidding for the grains.” July 22, 2008 letter to President Bush http://www.naega.org/images/pdf/grain_reserves_for_food_aid.pdf
So what does Dan Amstrutz and the grain traders have to do with the present food contamination crisis? Amstrutz wrote the draft for the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture. (WTO AoA). The critical paragraph is:
"Measures to trace animals...to provide assurances on...safety ...have been incorporated into international standards... The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures...Aims to ensure THAT GOVERNMENTS DO NOT USE QUARANTINE AND FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS as UNJUSTIFIED TRADE BARRIERS... It provides Member countries with a right to implement traceability {NAIS} as an SPS measure." http://www.cspinet.org/reports/codex/spsnassp.html
In simple terms The WTO “free trade agreement” allows cheap imports to cross borders without quarantine or other food safety testing. Only Traceability, Risk Assessment, and the SPS measure “Guide to Good Farming Practices” are allowed. The “new food safety policy” is about opening borders to "free trade" without bothering with little things like food poisoning.
The public will become the major “testing ground” for disease as lab testing is minimized in favor of “Traceability” “Risk Assessment” and “Good Farming Practices” as mandated by WTO, ISO and OIE. Instead of catching food safety problems BEFORE they get to the consumer, the new focus is to track back the problem AFTER it has sickened and killed consumers.
Transnational corporations will also try to transfer liability to the farmer so they do not lose their reputations or have to pay for lawsuits. There is even a conference scheduled in 2009 addressing how to pass the blame to farmers.
Conference to address food-borne illness litigation http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=10369 “The conference will cover topics such as aligning damage assessments/expectations with the outcomes from recent resolved litigation; managing an outbreak effectively to minimize shareholder and reputational risk afterwards as quickly as possible; and how to measure and prove actual control of various players in the movement of contaminated food to accurately assess apportionment of liability.” Translation: Blame it in the farmer”
Risk Assessment “There is a small chance that mad cow disease.. (BSE), is already in this country, according to a risk assessment released today by Harvard University. The risk assessment concluded that even if BSE had entered this country, it wouldn’t become a major public health problem, although human illnesses could occur”.Harvard Risk Assessment 12/3/2001 This is the “scientific basis” behind the USDA ban on 100% BSE testing at Creekstone Farms and mandating
“less than 1 percent [40000 per year] of slaughtered cattle to be tested for BSE. The agency contends that more comprehensive testing doesn't guarantee food safety and may produce a false positive that alarms consumers.” ....Of course, if you do not test you will not find the disease.
With tainted food in foreign imports, why is the USDA and FDA spending so much time and resources fixing a problem that does not exist while ignoring the flood of imports coming across our borders?
From International Organization OIE (Office International des Épizooties) we have: “It is urgent that scientists come forward with alternative methods of disease control that will not only avoid wastage of valuable animal proteins but that will also promote the international trade of animals and animal products by removing technically unjustified trade barriers caused by animal diseases”, http://www.oie.int/eng/press/en_040422.htm
“Furthermore, it can help to eliminate unjustified trade barriers, since a sound traceability system provides trading partners with assurances on the safety of the products they import. Traceability techniques can provide additional guarantees as to the origin, type or organoleptic quality of food products.” http://www.oie.int/eng/edito/en_edito_apr08.htm
Yet it is obvious that traceability does nothing to prevent disease, it only allows blame to be placed after the fact. So why is the idea being promoted and who is promoting it here in the USA?
In the USA “..early 2002, when the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) organized a national identification task force to provide leadership for the preparation of the initial report, the National Identification Work Plan....The US Animal Identification Plan (USAIP) is needed to maintain the economic viability of American animal agriculture... This is essential to preserve the domestic and international marketability of our nation's animals and animal products.” www.usaip.info. (NOTE: Traceability is about TRADE but Sec of Ag Schafer alleges the idea came in 2003, AFTER BSE was found. This is typical USDA media spin for gullible consumers)
For other examples of the levels of corruption in the USDA checkout Meatpacking Maverick: John Munsell's against-the-odds struggle for improved food safety Mother Jones Magazine, December 2003 Issue By Michael Scherer Dec 29, 2003,
“..Despite Munsell's continued whistleblowing -- to Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), national cattle associations, and his fellow meat processors -- the USDA failed to address the alleged contamination at ConAgra's Greely Plant. Then, in July 2002, Munsell's worst fears came true. E. coli-tainted burger from Greeley killed an Ohio woman and sickened at least 35 others. ConAgra then recalled 19 million pounds of beef, one of the largest recalls in history.”
Unfortunately this is just one of many “incidents” handle in such a way that transnational corporations are not “inconvenienced”. Stanley Painter, Chairman of the National Food Inspection Unions, stated in his testimony at the congressional hearing on the Hallmark Dower Cows:
“..when we see violations of FSIS regulations and we are instructed not to write non-compliance reports... Sometimes even if we write non-compliance reports, some of the larger companies use their political muscle to get those overturned... .. I began to receive reports that the new SRM regulations were not being uniformly enforced. I wrote a letter to the Assistant FSIS Administrator for Field Operations at the time conveying to him what I had heard... the agency summoned me to come here to Washington, DC where agency officials subjected me to several hours of interrogation including wanting me to identify which of my members were blowing the whistle on the SRM removal violations. I refused to do so....I was then placed on disciplinary investigation status. The agency even contacted the USDA Office of Inspector General to explore criminal charges being filed against me... "
I have many references supporting what I have written. This is just a tiny example.
Your best bet for stopping this is through the federal resister and your writing to your Congressman, Tell him we want the OLD FDA and USDA regs put back in place and the corrupt at the USDA and FDA tossed out.
Right now despite Obama's express wishes, the USDA is pushing through changes to further the implementation of the WTO agenda of traceability (NAIS). We have the opportunity to stop these changes by commenting on the proposed rule change. Your comments can be made at
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/ main?main= DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007- 0096
The procedure is simple and painless. You can read the comments of everyone who has participated. All you need to do to comment is to click on the yellow comment tag at the right of the side under the add comments column then follow the directions.
PLEASE, in the interest of all of us who eat, shout this information to everyone you know and ask them to comment. -
gail commented on the article |My husband and I are native born Americans. We both have science degrees and two other sets of qualifications (ie I am a chemist, certified Quality Engineer and hold a CDL for driving semis). Both of us have been unable to find permanant employment for several years. It use to be fifteen years ago foreigners were hire only if there were no qualified Americans for the job. Now the banks and other industries are laying off Americans so they can hire foreign workers. Don't you find something WRONG with this picture? It is bad enough that customer service phones are now handled by people who can barely speak English, I wonder if these new employees will be just as badly qualified for their jobs?
I think Americans have every right to be angry when they are fired and a n immigrant is hire in their place. The actual impact of this policy is hidden by a change in how unemployment is reported.
".... Williams has followed the changes that government has made to the official indices over the years in order to spin a more politically palatable picture. Williams uses the original methodology prior to the decades of spin. The original way of measuring unemployment indicates the current rate of unemployment in the US to be 13%, much higher than the 5.1% official number...."
original way of measuring unemployment: Http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data
As far as I am concerned American government is only interested in serving its corporate masters, the individual is forgotten as soon as he casts his vote on election day.
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