[Sustain] Fwd: Obama Team Includes Dangerous Biotech "Yes Men"

[Eric Brooks]

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/**/Spilling the Beans/, November 2008* 
(This newsletter is reprinted from Jeffrey Smith's new blog on 
Huffington Post 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/obamas-team-includes-dang_b_147188.html>.)

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*Obama’s team includes dangerous biotech “Yes Men”*

Biotech “Yes Men” on Obama’s team threaten to expand the use of 
dangerous genetically modified (GM) foods in our diets. Instead of 
giving us change and hope, they may prolong the hypnotic “group think” 
that has been institutionalized over three previous 
administrations—where critical analysis was abandoned in favor of 
irrational devotion to this risky new technology.

Clinton’s agriculture secretary Dan Glickman 
<http://books.google.com/books?id=kqjaCIT3A2IC&pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=If+you%E2%80%99re+against+it,+you%E2%80%99re+Luddites,+you%E2%80%99re+stupid.&source=web&ots=ce5uwFODXq&sig=PA5SdPHDdmS_mxQCpPam2tcBF6c&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result> saw 
it first hand:

“It was almost immoral to say that [biotechnology] wasn’t good, because 
it was going to solve the problems of the human race and feed the hungry 
and clothe the naked. . . . If you’re against it, you’re Luddites, 
you’re stupid. That, frankly, was the side our government was on. . . . 
You felt like you were almost an alien, disloyal, by trying to present 
an open-minded view”

When Glickman dared to question the lax regulations on GM food, he said 
he “got slapped around 
<http://www.responsibletechnology.org/utility/showArticle/?objectID=2308> a 
little bit by not only the industry, but also some of the people even in 
the administration.”

By shutting open-minds and slapping dissent, deceptive myths about 
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) persist.

    * The industry boasts that GMOs reduce herbicide use; USDA data
      <http://www.seedsofdeception.com/GMFree/EducationalMaterials/January2008/index.cfm> show
      that the opposite is true.
    * We hear that GMOs increase yield and farmer profit; but USDA and
      independent studies show an average /reduction/ in yield and no
      improved bottom line for farmers.
    * George H. W. Bush fast-tracked GMOs to increase US exports; now
      the government spends an additional $3-$5 billion per year to prop
      up prices of the GM crops no one wants.
    * Advocates continue to repeat that GMOs are needed to feed the
      world; now the prestigious International Assessment of
      Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development
      <http://www.agassessment.org/> has joined a long list of experts
      who flatly reject GMOs as the answer to hunger.

*Food Safety Lies*

Of all the myths about GMOs, the most dangerous is that they are safe. 
This formed the hollow basis of the FDA’s 1992 GMO policy, which stated:

*“The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived 
by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or 
uniform way.”*

The sentence is complete fiction. At the time it was written, there was 
overwhelming consensus among the FDA’s own scientists that GM foods were 
/substantially different/, and could create unpredictable, unsafe, and 
hard-to-detect allergens, toxins, diseases, and nutritional problems. 
They had urged the political appointees in charge to require long-term 
safety studies, including human studies, to protect the public.

Their concerns 
<http://www.responsibletechnology.org/DocumentFiles/145.pdf> stayed 
hidden until 1999, when 44,000 pages of internal FDA memos and reports 
were made public due to a lawsuit. According to public interest attorney 
Steven Druker, the documents showed how their warnings and “references 
to the unintended negative effects” of genetic engineering “were 
progressively deleted from drafts of the policy statement,” in spite of 
scientists’ protests.

“What has happened to the scientific elements of this document?” wrote 
FDA microbiologist Louis Pribyl, after reviewing the latest rewrite of 
the policy. “It will look like and probably be just a political 
document. . . . It reads very pro-industry, especially in the area of 
unintended effects.”

*Who flooded the market with dangerous GMOs*

Thanks to the FDA’s “promote biotech” policy, perilously few safety 
studies and investigations have been conducted on GMOs. Those that have, 
including two government studies 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/will-genetically-modified_b_145320.html> from 
Austria and Italy published just last month, demonstrate that the 
concerns by FDA scientists should have been heeded. GMOs have been 
_linked_ to toxic and allergic reactions in humans, sick, sterile, and 
dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab 
animals. GMOs are unsafe.

At the highest level, the responsibility for this disregard of science 
and consumer safety lies with the first Bush White House, which had 
ordered the FDA to promote the biotechnology industry and get GM foods 
on the market quickly. To accomplish this White House directive, the FDA 
created a position for Michael Taylor. As the FDA’s new Deputy 
Commissioner of Policy, he oversaw the creation of GMO policy.

Taylor was formerly the outside attorney for the biotech giant Monsanto, 
and later became their vice president. He had also been the counsel for 
the International Food Biotechnology Council (IFBC), for whom he drafted 
a model of government policy designed to rush GMOs onto the market with 
no significant regulations. The final FDA policy that he oversaw, which 
did not require any safety tests or labeling, closely resembled the 
model he had drafted for the IFBC.

_Michael Taylor is on the Obama transition team._

*Genetically engineered bovine growth hormone and unhealthy milk*

Taylor was also in charge when the FDA approved Monsanto’s genetically 
engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST). Dairy products from 
treated cows contain more pus, more antibiotics, more growth hormone, 
and more IGF-1—a powerful hormone linked to cancer and increased 
incidence of fraternal twins (see www.YourMilkonDrugs.com 
<http://www.yourmilkondrugs.com/>.) The growth hormone is banned in most 
industrialized nations, including Canada, the EU, Japan, Australia, and 
New Zealand. But under Michael Taylor, it was approved in the US, 
without labeling.

As more and more consumers here learn about the health risks of the 
drug, they shift their purchases to brands that voluntarily label their 
products as /not/ using rbGH. Consumer rejection of rbGH hit a tipping 
point a couple of years ago, and since then it has been kicked out of 
milk from Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Kroger, Subway, and at least 40 of the 
top 100 dairies. In 2007, Monsanto desperately tried to reverse the 
trend by asking the FDA and FTC to make it illegal for dairies to label 
their products as free from rbGH. Both agencies flatly refused the 
company’s request.

But Monsanto turned to an ally, Dennis Wolff, the Pennsylvania Secretary 
of Agriculture. Wolff used his position to single-handedly declare 
rbGH-free labels illegal in his state. Such a policy would make it 
impossible for national dairy brands to declare their products 
rbGH-free, since they couldn’t change packaging just for Pennsylvania. 
Wolff’s audacious move so infuriated citizens around the nation, the 
outpouring caused the governor to step in and stop the prohibition 
before it took effect.

_Dennis Wolff, according to unbossed.com 
<http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=2409>, is being considered for 
Obama’s USDA Secretary._

Although Pennsylvania did not ultimately ban rbGH-free labels, they did 
decide to require companies who use the labels to also include a 
disclaimer sentence on the package, stating that the according to the 
FDA there is no difference between milk from cows treated with rbGH and 
those not treated. In reality, this sentence contradicts the FDA’s own 
scientists. (Is this sounding all too familiar?) Even according to 
Monsanto’s own studies, milk from treated cows has more pus, 
antibiotics, bovine growth hormone, and IGF-1. Blatantly ignoring the 
data, a top FDA bureaucrat wrote a “white paper” urging companies that 
labeled products as rbGH-free to also use that disclaimer on their 
packaging. The bureaucrat was Michael Taylor.

*Betting on biotech is “Bad-idea virus”*

For several years, politicians around the US were offering money and 
tax-breaks to bring biotech companies into their city or state. But 
according to Joseph Cortright 
<http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/FG31Dk01.html>, an Oregon 
economist who co-wrote a 2004 report on this trend, “This notion that 
you lure biotech to your community to save its economy is laughable. 
This is a bad-idea virus that has swept through governors, mayors and 
economic development officials.” He said 
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-08-18-biotech-grant_x.htm> it 
“remains a money-losing, niche industry.”  

One politician who caught a bad case of the bad-idea virus was Tom 
Vilsack, Iowa’s governor from 1998-2006. He was co-creator and chair of 
the Governors’ Biotechnology Partnership in 2000 and in 2001 the Biotech 
Industry Organization named him BIO Governor of the Year.

Tom Vilsack was considered a front runner for Obama’s USDA secretary. 
Perhaps the outcry prompted by Vilsack’s biotech connections was the 
reason for his name being withdrawn.

*Change, Truth, Hope*

I don’t know Barack Obama’s position on GMOs. According to a November 
23rd Des Moines Register article, Obama, like Bush, may be Ag biotech 
ally 
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081123/BUSINESS01/811230309/1029/BUSINESS>, 
 there are clues that he has not been able to see past the biotech 
lobbyist’s full court spin.

    - His top scientific advisers during the campaign included Sharon
    Long, a former board member of the biotech giant Monsanto Co., and
    Harold Varmus, a Nobel laureate who co-chaired a key study of
    genetically engineered crops by the National Academy of Sciences
    back in 2000.

    - [Obama] said biotech crops “have provided enormous benefits” to
    farmers and expressed confidence “that we can continue to modify
    plants safely.”

On the other hand, Obama may have a sense how pathetic US GMO 
regulations are, since he indicated that he wants “stringent tests for 
environmental and health effects” and “stronger regulatory oversight 
guided by the best available scientific advice.”

There is, however, one unambiguous and clear promise that separates 
Obama from his Bush and Clinton predecessors.

*President* *Obama will require mandatory labeling of GMOs.*

Favored by 9 out of 10 Americans, labeling is long overdue and is 
certainly cause for celebration.

(I am told that now Michael Taylor also favors both mandatory labeling 
and testing of GMOs. Good going Michael; but your timing is a bit off.)

To sign a petition asking President Obama to make his GMO labeling plan 
comprehensive and meaningful, click here 
<http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/TakeAction/MandatoryLabelingPetitiontoObama/index.cfm>.   

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© copyright Institute For Responsible Technology 2008

Jeffrey M. Smith is the author of publication /Genetic Roulette: The 
Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods/, which presents 
65 risks in easy-to-read two-page spreads. His first book, /Seeds of 
Deception/, is the top rated and #1 selling book on GM foods in the 
world. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible 
Technology. www.responsibletechnology.org 
<http://www.responsibletechnology.org/>, which is spearheading the 
Campaign for Healthier Eating in America. Go to www.seedsofdeception.com 
<http://www.seedsofdeception.com/> to learn more about how to avoid GM 
foods.

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*/Spilling the Beans/* is a monthly column available 
at www.responsibletechnology.org 
<http://www.responsibletechnology.org/>. The website also offers 
eater-friendly tips for avoiding GMOs at home and in restaurants.

Permission is granted to publishers and webmasters to reproduce issues 
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The Institute for Responsible Technology is working to end the genetic 
engineering of our food supply and the outdoor release of GM crops. We 
warmly welcome your donations and support.

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<http://www.responsibletechnology.org/> or click here 
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-- 
"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." – Che Guevara

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