Petition To Bill Gates & The Gates Foundation

The Land Report released a report summarizing their research into the top farmland owners in the United States. At the top of the list sit Bill and Melinda Gates, the well-known profiteers masquerading as philanthropists.   Bill Gates and his wife have been quietly buying up large parcels of U.S. farmland, making them America’s largest private farmland owners. Covering his tracks and making ownership hard to trace, Gates hides behind shell companies with reports of purchases such as one by a “Louisiana investor,” a limited liability company associated with Angelina Agriculture of Monterey, Louisiana. According to The Land Report, the Gates own 242,000 acres of U.S. farmland, comprised of large parcels in at least 18 states around the country. You have to wonder if he’s hidden more.   “The Gates Foundation has rapidly become the most influential actor in the world of global health and agricultural policies, but there’s no oversight or accountability in how that influence is managed,” says journalist Colin Todhunter. And we agree.   A guy with no formal science, medical, public health, or agricultural education… yet his obscene wealth has given him obscene power.   As a strong supporter and funder of genetically engineered crops, Gates is no friend to public health, our environment, or economic and food justice. His “accomplishments” include:

• Tens of millions of dollars of funding to Cornell University’s “Alliance for Science,” an industry-backed pro-GMO propaganda machine.
• Ongoing efforts to force GMO crops down the throats of Africans as part of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) initiative. More than 80% of Africa’s seed supply comes from millions of small-scale farmers who save and exchange seeds from year to year. But AGRA is promoting dependence on corporate patented seed and the introduction of industrialized, chemical-dependent farming systems which would enable a few large companies to control seed research and development, production and distribution, and to enslave African farmers.
• Strongly endorsed new gene editing techniques such as CRISPR , which have been found in numerous studies to have unintended, off-target effects.
• Supports gene drives that are designed to wipe out entire species. 
• Invested tens of millions of dollars in the development and promotion of GMO Golden Rice that was supposed to save the world from Vitamin A deficiency blindness despite crop yield deficiencies, vitamin A degradation in storage, and lack of cultural acceptance. Golden rice remains an unviable technology despite decades of research.
• Supports the development of patented gene-edited animals, which he claims is vital “because a cow or a few chickens, goats, or sheep can make a big difference in the lives of the world’s poorest people, three-quarters of who get their food and income by farming small plots of land.”
• In bed with the big agrichemical corporations. 
• Calls his efforts “sustainable” and “regenerative”, attempting to co-opt the messaging of the real regenerative agricultural movement.

We’ve seen the havoc GMOs have wreaked on our health and our environment in recent years. The detrimental chronic health effects, obscene levels of pesticides sprayed on failing GMO crops, depletion of critical soil nutrients and damage to the microorganisms in our soil, corporate control of our food supply… and the financial disadvantage to organic farmers who grow real food are not a coincidence.    And as for food security, Gates should leave the food production to experienced farmers who understand the truly agroecological, chemical-free approaches to agriculture, which high-level UN reports have advocated for to ensure equitable global food security. But this would leave the small farmers that grow real food intact and independent from Big Ag, something which is counter to the underlying aims of the corporations that the Gates Foundation supports.   The moment of reckoning for Mr. Gates has come. Instead of philanthropy for profit, how about some real philanthropy for good? Tell Gates to donate his farmland to experienced organic farmers such as the Rodale Institute with over 70 years of agricultural research and experience. Leave it to the farmers who know how to grow healthy, nutrient-rich food that feeds real people, not junk food companies. Goodness knows he can afford it.

PETITION TO BILL GATES & THE GATES FOUNDATION  

Dear Mr. Gates,  

We learned that you are now the largest holder of farmland in the United States and we’d like to have a respectful, heart to heart discussion with you.   Over the years, you have expressed unwavering support for genetic engineering and chemical-dependent farming. Sadly, while you may have been misled to believe that this is a sustainable approach to feeding the world, independent science has now documented that this is far from the truth.   GMO crops are failing. The USDA is considering the withdrawal of nearly all insecticide producing GMO corn varieties. Pesticide use has skyrocketed, with the latest generation of GMO crops awaiting approval engineered to be tolerant of 5 different toxic herbicides. And a newly published study found that U.S. conventional corn growers now incur over a half-billion dollars per year in extra fertilizer costs due to the long‐term loss of soil fertility through erosion and organic matter loss caused by conventional farming practices. To top it off, synthetic fertilizer runoff is leading to major pollution of our waters.   We are all for scientific research. But the science of genetics is still in its infancy. Genetic research and experimentation on our food should be locked inside a greenhouse until each genetically engineered organism can be thoroughly and independently studied in long term feeding trials that would uncover potential chronic toxicity. Multiple studies have recently found that genetic engineering has the potential to create unintended and off-target changes to the chemistry of the plant. Science tells us that traditional 60-day animal feeding studies conducted by companies that stand to profit from the sale of a patented, novel seed just aren’t enough.   America is in a public health crisis. GMO crops are primarily used to produce junk foods that have contributed to the deterioration of our collective health. Farmers need to grow a diversity of nutrient-dense foods to restore our health.   And one more thing.   Organic regenerative no-till agricultural practices… 

• are competitive with conventional yields after a 5-year transition period
• produce yields up to 40% higher in times of drought   
• earn 3-6x greater profits for farmers
• leach no toxic chemicals into waterways
• use 45% less energy
• release 40% fewer carbon emissions

This is why we are petitioning to ask that you donate your U.S. farmland holdings to credentialed and experienced agricultural experts such as Rodale Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on organic agriculture, related research, and farmer training for over 70 years. Organizations like Rodale can oversee the equitable distribution of your land to organic smallholder farmers.   According to a 40-year agricultural study of organic and conventional commodity crops grown side by side, it takes five years for farmers to fully transition to organic from conventional agriculture that relies on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.   So in addition to donating your farmland holdings, and in the interest of philanthropy for public and environmental health instead of profit, we call upon you to create and donate to an organic transition fund to support and encourage the much-needed transition from pesticide-intensive GMO monoculture to biodiverse, smallholder farms that grow organic, nutrient-dense foods using agricultural practices laid out by the Rodale Institute.   Thank you for your consideration.   Respectfully yours,  

A Concerned Citizen

https://gmofreeusa.salsalabs.org/billgatesfoundationfarmland/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=0dc81158-78b8-40df-a9e4-2bef0c552e32

Petition: Ban Neonicotinoid Insecticides Deadline 11:59pm May 4,2020

EPA: Follow the science, not GMO and agrichemical industry profits! Ban neonicotinoid insecticides. EPA: Follow the science, not GMO and agrichemical industry profits! Ban neonicotinoid insecticides. The science is clear and the evidence overwhelming. Neonics pose a grave threat to bees and other pollinators, birds, animals and humans. In 2013, the European Union placed a moratorium on three neonics widely used in the U.S. In 2018, the EU went further and banned all outdoor use because of the high risk to pollinators and soil and water contamination. In 2020, the EU went on to ban a fourth neonic, also widely used in the U.S., due to the threat to human health and the environment. Here in the United States, the EPA is poised to renew the registration of five types of neonics. Tell the EPA that it’s high time to protect America’s health and our shared environment, rather than Bayer-Monsanto and Syngenta’s poison profits. We need the bees and other important pollinators. We don’t need poison made by Bayer-Monsanto and Syngenta. Do not renew the registration for neonicotinoid insecticides. BAN NEONICS. Pesticide Registration Review: Proposed Interim Decisions for Several Neonicotinoid Pesticides Regulations.gov Document ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0581-0357 Agency Environmental Protection Agency Comment Period Feb 3, 2020 to May 4, 2020 Comment

https://gmofreeusa.salsalabs.org/banneonics2020/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=77441f17-7573-4f79-b47d-e1a4a063bb8d

Confusing New GMO Labels Help Big Ag, Not Consumers – Chemical Free Life

chemical-free-life.org
Confusing New GMO Labels Help Big Ag, Not Consumers – Chemical Free Life
Published by Chemical-Free-Life.org
3-4 minutes

If there was ever a way to assist Big Ag in selling GMO food products, this is it…
USDA Unveils Prototypes For GMO Food Labels, And They’re … Confusing

Foods that contains genetically modified ingredients will soon have a special label.

We recently got the first glimpse of what that label might look like, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its proposed guidelines.

This is the product of a decades-long fight between anti-GMO campaigners and Big Agriculture companies, which left neither side completely satisfied…

After Congress passed a bill in 2016 requiring labels on foods containing GMO ingredients, the USDA launched a long process to figure out the specifics.

The result?

Confusion for Consumers

–

“…they look like a little smiley face. They’re very pro-biotech, cartoonishly so, and to that extent are, you know, not just imparting information but instead are essentially propaganda for the industry.”

-George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety

–

The letters B-E stand for bioengineered — a term critics say is unfamiliar to the U.S. consumer, compared to more commonly used phrases like genetically engineered or GMO.

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“It’s misleading and confusing to consumers to now switch that up and use a totally different term, bioengineered, that has not been the standard commonplace nomenclature for all of this time.”

-George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety

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Big Ag Loves the New Labels

…industry representatives such as Nathan Fields, the director of biotechnology and crop inputs at the National Corn Growers Association, say the new “Bioengineered” term provides a clean slate.

The National Corn Growers Association was supportive when Congress passed the mandatory disclosure standards, in part because states such as Vermont were creating their own rules about labeling genetically engineered foods…

More than 90 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered. Soy, like corn, is also more than 90 percent genetically engineered. That means that the majority of processed foods containing ingredients such as soy, canola oil or corn starch, also contain modified genetic material.

–

More Obstacles for Consumers to Know What is In Their Food

Polls show that a majority of Americans want to know whether their food is genetically engineered.

…but it is not certain that the USDA will require the label to actually say “bioengineered”…companies could simply use a QR code, a kind of barcode that a phone can scan, to disclose info about the product. Industry professionals say they are clear and easy to use.

But critics say scanning a code would be one more obstacle for people who want to know how their food is made.

–

“People who aren’t in a place where there’s good wi-fi won’t know if it’s a GMO, and people who don’t use smartphones won’t know if it’s a GMO and also people who are in a hurry won’t know if it’s a GMO.”

-Dr. Glenn Stone, a Washington University in St. Louis anthropology professor who focuses on genetically modified crops

https://chemical-free-life.org/2018/05/21/confusing-new-gmo-labels-help-big-ag-not-consumers/

Stop Monsanto Soy! – Rainforest Rescue

South America’s tropical forests are being cleared to make room for soy plantations. Monocultures of Monsanto GMO soybeans are taking up even more space – and are being sprayed with highly toxic herbicides. Millions of tons of the soybeans are fed to livestock in Europe. Please the man and import ban for soybeans now.

https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petitions/889/stop-monsanto-soy

New Developments in GMOs and Glyphosate from Ocean Robbins and Jeffrey Smith

Petition~EPA, don’t cave under Monsanto’s pressure | Pesticide Action Network

http://www.panna.org/take-action/glyphosate-epa?utm_source=action&utm_medium=alert&utm_content=glyphosate

Monsanto Weed Killer Wiping Out Valuable Crops, Agrochemical Giant Looks to be ‘Amazon of Agriculture’ | Global Justice Ecology Project

Monsanto in the news this week with a report by Mother Jones titled Monsanto Just Made a Massive Mistake. The report follows up on EPA data indicating 117 complaints “alleging misuse of pesticide products containing dicamba,” affecting more than 42,000 acres of crops, including peaches, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons, rice, peas, peanuts, alfalfa, cotton, and soybeans.

From the Mother Jones piece:

The trouble appears to stem from decisions made by the Missouri-based seed and pesticide giant Monsanto. Back in April, the company bet big on dicamba, announcing a $975 million expansion of its production facility in Luling, Louisiana. The chemical is the reason the company launched its new Roundup Ready Xtend soybean and cotton seeds, genetically engineered to withstand both dicamba and Monsanto’s old flagship herbicide, glyphosate (brand name: Roundup). Within a decade, the company wrote, the new GM crops will proliferate from the US Midwest all the way to Brazil and points south, covering as much as 250 million acres of farmland (a combined land mass equal to about two and a half times the acreage of California)—and moving lots of dicamba.

Meanwhile, Forbes reports that Monsanto’s Climate Corporation “is building a network of in-field sensors to expand the scope of soil, weather and other data flowing into its digital agriculture tools that help farmers increase crop yields and reduce costs.”

“We see it as the Amazon of agriculture, where we’re bringing additional apps up onto that platform and where the best apps win,” Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said.

From the Forbes piece:

Agriculture companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on technologies that capture and analyze detailed data about plants, soil and weather to help farmers increase yields and lower costs. The companies hope to capitalize on what they believe is the biggest step forward in agriculture since biotech seeds.

But many farmers, squeezed by tightening farm profits, have not fully embraced the big data offerings.

Monsanto’s new GMO soybeans are making a hot mess for farmers | Grist

Grist Logo

You can see signs of Monsanto’s latest belly flop in stricken farms: The leaves are gone from the acres of peach trees on Bill Bader’s orchard in southern Missouri, and soy fields in eastern Arkansas and western Tennessee are curling up and dying.

A lot of the blame falls on Monsanto’s new genetically engineered soybean, Xtend, which is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad roll out this year.

To explain what’s happening we have to back up. Farmers have been using crops that tolerate the herbicide glyphosate (often sold under the brand name Roundup), and for years it worked amazingly well: Farmers sprayed glyphosate and the weeds died, while the crops thrived. But then some weeds stopped dying, because nature had caught up; the weeds evolved to tolerate glyphosate.

Seed companies have now released crops that can tolerate additional weed killers, like dicamba. U.S. Monsanto’s new soybean resists both dicamba and glyphosate, which works fine for farmers with the new soybean — not so much for anyone else.

Dicamba easily turns into vapor, so it can blow onto neighbors’ crops, which is exactly what happened to Bill Bader’s peach trees.

The EPA anticipated that this would happen, so it told farmers they had to use a new mixture of dicamba on Xtend — one that wouldn’t blow on the wind. But the EPA hasn’t yet approved that safer dicamba. So when unethical farmers started seeing weeds on their Xtend fields they decided to illicitly spray the conventional dicamba and cross their fingers.

If everyone followed the rules, the new GMOs wouldn’t have caused any problems. But there have always been unethical and careless people and dicamba has been around for decades, so there is something else going on.

The new element here is Monsanto’s Xtend. If the company — or the government — had delayed the rollout until its new herbicide was ready, it would have prevented a lot of heartache.

Petition · Say No to Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Release in the Florida Keys · Change.org

https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-release-in-the-florida-keys

Petition · General Mills, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola: Support Mandatory FDA labeling of GMOs! · Change.org

 

https://www.change.org/p/general-mills-kellogg-s-pepsico-and-coca-cola-support-mandatory-fda-labeling-of-gmos?source_location=petition_footer&placement=true&creative_id=70674374006&grid_position=4

SIGN: Demand the presidential candidates tell us where they stand on GMO labeling

http://www.grassrootsforchange.com/GMO-labeling?utm_source=or2k&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gmo

Sign the Petition: Stop Genetically Engineered Wheat!

Nourishing World Blog

Take Action Today: Join Green America in fighting against the introduction of genetically engineered wheat.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking comments regarding proposed changes to regulations of GE wheat field trials. Peaceful Planet is urging friends, followers, and customers to speak up to protect wheat crops. Why should this concern you?

• Genetically modified foods have not been proven to be safe for consumption. There have been no long-term studies proving their safety in humans.
• Wheat is one of the few major crops thus far unaffected by genetic engineering. Soy and corn are already genetically modified. Wheat is a primary food source for more than 1/3 of the world population, so genetic modification of wheat will affect billions of people.
• Genetic modification will increase the use of chemical pesticides which are toxic to health and to the environment. Because wheat is grown on so much land throughout the…

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Friends of the Earth: The Biggest Jobs on Earth

http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18443

GMO – We Have the Right to Know What’s in Our Food

Rational Opinions Blog

Americans are being force-fed GMO’s without their knowledge or consent. On average, Americans consume more than their weight in GMOs each year – 193 pounds of GMOs per person.

According to the Grocery Manufacturing Association, an estimated 75-80% of processed food in the U.S. contains genetically engineered foods.

Do you want to know if the food you are buying, eating and feeding to your children has been genetically engineered? If so, you are not alone. According to a poll by Thompson Reuters, 93% of Americans believe genetically engineered foods should be labeled.

The right to know and the freedom to choose are at the core of our consumer rights as Americans. These GMO’s may contain toxic chemicals, allergens and other potential health risks that are not present in foods that are not genetically engineered.

The biotech food industry is making tremendous profits, but their business models are based on keeping…

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The secret GMO war: double agents, betrayal, greed?

Nwo Report

We need to understand the distinction between two kinds of labeling

Source: Jon Rappoport | Infowars.com  

I’ll start at an odd place, a seemingly innocuous place. Bear with me:

We need to understand the distinction between two kinds of labeling.

Voluntary labeling=“I own this health-food store, and I’m doing my best to sell you non-GMO products. All such products will carry a seal that says ‘Non-GMO’.”

Mandatory labeling=“Vermont has decided that all food products sold in the state which contain GMOs must be labeled as such—‘this product contains GMOs’.”

Two very different types of labels. They contain different information.

Also, one type is voluntary, and the other becomes mandatory after passage of a vote, in a legislature or through a ballot measure.

So what?

Well, let me put it to you this way. What would happen to Whole Foods’ program of voluntary GMO labeling if there were mandatory labeling…

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Judicial Corruption News: MONSANTO vs Hawaii Mauis – GMO Ban Blocked By Federal Judge! – Ignoring the Voice of the People

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8 Beers That You Should Stop Drinking Immediately!!!

Millennials, Monsanto wants to be your hipster friend

Millennials, Monsanto wants to be your hipster friend.

#SayNo2GMO: ‘ Does your food contain GMO you may be surprised by this lab report ‘

RT: Billion-dollar lawsuits claim GMO corn ‘destroyed’ US exports to China

10 things that would fix the food system faster than GMO-labeling

10 things that would fix the food system faster than GMO-labeling.

4 problems GMO labeling won’t solve

4 problems GMO labeling won’t solve.

World Environment News – China launches media campaign to back genetically modified crops – Planet Ark

World Environment News – China launches media campaign to back genetically modified crops – Planet Ark.

Reject Monsanto’s New Pesticide-Resistant Crops – ForceChange

Reject Monsanto’s New Pesticide-Resistant Crops – ForceChange.

Foods we would loose without bee’s pollinating … –

digger666

via Foods we would loose without bee’s pollinating  … –.

Foods we would lose without bees pollinating:

Apples, Mangos, Rambutan, Kiwi Fruit, Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, Guava, Rose Hips, Pomegranates, Pears, Black and Red Currants, Alfalfa, Okra, Strawberries, Onions, Cashews, Cactus, Prickly Pear, Apricots, Allspice, Avocados, Passion Fruit, Lima Beans, Kidney Beans, Adzuki Beans, Green Beans, Orchid Plants, Custard Apples, Cherries, Celery, Coffee, Walnut, Cotton, Lychee, Flax, Acerola – used in Vitamin C supplements, Macadamia Nuts, Sunflower Oil, Goa beans, Lemons, Buckwheat, Figs, Fennel, Limes, Quince, Carrots, Persimmons, Palm Oil, Loquat, Durian, Cucumber, Hazelnut, Cantaloupe, Tangelos, Coriander, Caraway, Chestnut, Watermelon, Star Apples, Coconut, Tangerines, Boysenberries, Starfruit, Brazil Nuts, Beets, Mustard Seed, Rapeseed, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Bok Choy Chinese Cabbage, Turnips, Congo Beans, Sword beans, Chili peppers, red peppers, bell peppers, green peppers, Papaya, Safflower, Sesame, Eggplant, Raspberries, Elderberries, Blackberries, Clover, Tamarind, Cocoa, Black Eyed Peas, Vanilla, Cranberries, Tomatoes…

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Nestle/Gerber Won’t Listen: Boycott the Company Who Puts GMO Bt Toxins in Baby Food

digger666

via Nestle/Gerber Won’t Listen: Boycott the Company Who Puts GMO Bt Toxins in Baby Food | NationofChange.

Like many food producers supplying some of the most popular foods, some baby food companies, such as Purity Brands, are going GMO-free due to public demand. But other companies stuffed with the hot air of their own inflated CEO’s egos refuse – Nestlé International, the parent company of both Nestlé USA and Gerber baby foods – is adamant about using GMOs in their products. It looks like it’s time for another boycott.

Many parents in the U.S. and North America are unknowingly feeding their infants and small children Gerber Baby Foods which contain genetically modified corn and soy, both of which contain Bt toxins, a registered pesticide with the USFDA.

NationofChange fights back with one simple but powerful weapon: the truth. Can you donate $5 to help us?

If it was sold at Home…

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Nearly 300,000 suicides in India so far from GMO crop failures

MEDICAL CORNER …. THE IMPORTANCE OF GMO FOOD LABELING …. Where’s the USA?

It Is What It Is

~~July 26, 2014~~ 

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard the term GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), and have likely eaten foods that were genetically engineered in some form or fashion.

But, do you know what this actually means and what it’s doing to your body?

What is a GMO?

A genetically engineered food is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered in a laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. This type of genetic alteration is not found in nature, and is experimental. The correct scientific term is “transgenics,” and is also often referred to as (GE) genetically engineered.

64 countries, including the entire European Union and China, have jumped the non-GMO train, banning the use, or requiring the labeling, of all GMO products. Of all of the developed countries in…

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Major Study: Monsanto GMO Corn Can Cause Damage to Liver and Kidneys, and Severe Hormonal Disruption – NewsTrust.net

digger666

via Question Everything • Major Study: Monsanto GMO Corn Can Cause Damage to Liver and Kidneys, and Severe Hormonal Disruption – NewsTrust.net.

A scientific study that identified serious health impacts on rats fed on ‘Roundup ready’ GMO maize has been republished following its controversial retraction under strong commercial pressure. Now regulators must respond and review GMO and agro-chemical licenses, and licensing procedures.

A highly controversial paper by Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini and colleagues has been republished after a stringent peer review process.

The chronic toxicity study examines the health impacts on rats of eating a commercialized genetically modified (GM) maize, Monsanto’s NK603 glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup.

The original study, published in Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT) in September 2012, found severe liver and kidney damage and hormonal disturbances in rats fed the GM maize and low levels of Roundup that are below those permitted in drinking water in the EU.

However…

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