Coming soon after France bans GMO maize, WikiLeaks cables expose details of 'military-style trade wars' against countries who reject Monsanto GMOs. France banned the Monsanto MON 810 "Yieldgard" maize due to environmental and health concerns. And now the European Union is stepping in to re-secure Monsanto's presence in that country, against the will of the nation itself.
Back in 2007, the U.S. ambassador to France, Craig Stapleton, who is a business partner of George W. Bush, stated that nationals who do not accept Monsanto's GMO crops will be "penalized". He stated that the nations should be threatened with "military-styled trade wars". So it is no surprise that the move to maintain Monsanto's grip on France is all about the fact that the U.S. and other nations are continually pushing Monsanto's agenda. Monsanto has major (and most likely financial) connections with political heads that have actually threatened to use these trade wars. In January, WikiLeaks cables came to light revealing the information concerning the deep involvement of Monsanto in political circles.
In this cable, is a statement made by Craig Stapleton:
“Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices.”
On top of this the WikiLeaks cables state that U.S. diplomats work directly for Monsanto, which furthers the agenda of the agro-giant right across the world. WikiLeaks cables from the U.S. Embassy in the Vatican show that after sustained lobbying of senior Holy See Advisers, the Pope is supportive of Monsanto crops. However they regret that the Pope has not yet stated his support. One cable from 2008 contains,
"… met with [US monsignor] Fr Michael Osborn of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, offering a chance to push the Vatican on biotech issues, and an opportunity for post to analyse the current state of play on biotech in the Vatican generally."
Another cable states, "Opportunities exist to press the issue with the Vatican, and in turn to influence a wide segment of the population in Europe and the developing world."
Back to the subject of France attempting to block GMO maize, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) apparently rejected the ban on the grounds that "there is no scientific evidence" showing "risk to human and animal health of the environment." However, an overwhelming amount of research shows that Monsanto's GMOs do in fact not only threaten human health but the eco-system of the world as a whole. Even the Environmental Protection Society (EPA) has warned that Monsanto's GMO crops are spawning "mutant" resistant insects and subsequently require yet more pesticides to be applied.
With all Monsanto's power, however, consumers are waking up to their agenda and the dangers associated with their genetically modified crops. Back in January, over 45,000 comments were submitted on the USDA website in opposition to Monsanto's new GM strain, and only 23 were in favor. While the corruption of the company is now well out in the open, the fact that the crop was approved shows how deeply rooted Monsanto is within the U.S. government, especially with a major head of the FDA being a leading Monsanto employee. - Anne Sewell, Digital Journal
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