Judge to consider oral argument in lawsuit against Monsanto

Monsanto Farmer – Wiki image

In a development celebrated by the organic plaintiffs, Judge Naomi Buchwald announced yesterday that oral arguments on Monsanto’s motion to dismiss the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) et al v. Monsanto will be heard in federal district court January 31, 2012 in Manhattan. Judge Buchwald’s decision will establish if organic farmers are to see their day in court.

The eighty-three family farmers, small and family owned seed businesses, and agricultural organizations comprising the organic plaintiff group represent over 300,000 individuals. The landmark lawsuit, filed in March 2011, challenges the validity of Monsanto’s transgenic/GMO patents and seeks court protection for innocent family farmers who may become contaminated by Monsanto seed.

“We are grateful that Judge Buchwald has agreed to our request to hear oral argument on the motion,” said Jim Gerritsen, President of lead plaintiff OSGATA. “Last August we submitted our written rebuttal and it made clear that Monsanto’s motion was without merit. Our legal team, from the Public Patent Foundation, is looking forward to orally presenting our position. The family farmers deserve their day in court. We are anxious that this case go to trial as soon as possible so that our innocent farmers may receive Court protection.”

OSGATA is a membership organization composed primarily of farmers and seed businesses. Their mission is to develop and protect the organic seed industry along with their growers. In an effort to raise funds, OSGATA has launched a “Farmers Travel Fund” enabling family farmers from the plaintiff group to attend the court proceedings and related events. See www.osgata.org.

Background information on the OSGATA v. Monsanto lawsuit may be found at www.osgata.org .

More information contact: [email protected]

The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and lead plaintiff in this lawsuit is a not-for-profit agricultural organization that develops, protects, and promotes the organic seed trade and it’s growers, and assures that the organic community has access to excellent quality organic seed free of contaminants and adapted to the diverse needs of local organic agriculture. OSGATA’s membership is comprised of organic farmers, seed breeders, seed businesses, and affiliate organizations. www.osgata.org

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Humane Society image of sick cattle being moved to slaughter for school lunch programs,

Activist Post

Once again the Supreme Court sides with corporate interests and federal law over state law in a recent case involving the livestock industry.  A California state law mandating the “humane treatment” of livestock sold for human consumption was overturned unanimously on Monday, as reported by CNN.

At issue was not how animals heading to the slaughterhouse should be treated, but rather who has the authority to determine such regulations.  The Court ruled that federal regulators have the jurisdiction, concluding that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), which regulates slaughterhouses, preempts any state law.

CNN reports, “That law (FMIA) expressly prohibits any state regulation ‘in addition to or different from’ the federal requirements.”  The Supreme Court also claimed that since the meat was being sold across state lines, and interstate commerce falls under federal jurisdiction, state laws are nullified.

The California Penal Code 599f. that was overturned was originally put in place because animal rights activists released a video exposing disturbing cruelty at concentration-camp style livestock operations that showed grotesquely ill cows being shocked, water hosed, and even bulldozed into slaughter pens because they were too weak to move.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, credited with the undercover video that shocked state law makers into enacting Penal Code 599f, said, “This is a deeply troubling decision, preventing a wide range of actions by the states to protect animals and consumers from reckless practices by the meat industry, including the mishandling and slaughter of animals too sick or injured to walk.”

Since state regulations are nullified, and federal regulators give leeway to such behavior and are backed by the courts, disease-infested, GMO-corn fed, antibiotic-riddled animals will continue to end up on dinner plates with little hope for changing the treatment and health of animals meant for food.

What’s worse, since many more undercover videos have surfaced showing animal cruelty and unsanitary living conditions for livestock, some states are proposing making it a felony to expose these conditions to the public. You could even be branded a terrorist for fighting animal cruelty.  Apparently the factory food lobby will continue to dominate and push for the ability to produce unhealthy, inhumane practices.

Say no to chemically-grown GMO foods Monsanto farmer – Wiki image

New York, New York – It was standing room only as family farmers from around North America filled Federal Court Judge Naomi Buchwald’s courtroom in Manhattan on Tuesday, January 31. The topic was the landmark organic community lawsuit OSGATA et al v. Monsanto and the Oral Argument Monsanto’s pre-trial motion to dismiss which it filed last July. Plaintiffs from at least 21 States and Provinces were in the courtroom including Oregon, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Saskatchewan, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine.

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse in Foley Square, hundreds turned out for the Citizen’s Assembly of support for family farmers, an action organized by several groups including Occupy Food Justice. A depiction of Monsanto’s infamous 100 year history including Agent Orange, Dioxin, PCBs and now gene-spliced food was presented. Speakers addressed topics ranging from sustainable agriculture to risks associated with GMOs to issues of good food and food justice. After the conclusion of the courtroom Oral Argument, the plaintiff farmers and their legal team from the Public Patent Foundation provided details and comments on the courtroom proceedings, to supporters at the Citizens’ Assembly.

“We were very pleased that the court granted our request to have oral argument regarding Monsanto’s motion to dismiss our case today,” said Daniel Ravicher of the Public Patent Foundation, lead lawyer for the Plaintiffs. “The judge graciously permitted both parties to raise all the points they wished in a session that lasted over an hour. While Monsanto’s attorney attempted to portray the risk organic farmers face from being contaminated and then accused of patent infringement as hypothetical and abstract, we rebutted those arguments with the concrete proof of the harm being suffered by our clients in their attempts to avoid such accusations. The judge indicated she will issue her ruling within two months. We expect she will deny the motion and the case will then proceed forward. If she should happen to grant the motion, we will most likely appeal to the Court of Appeals who will review her decision without deference.”

The large group of 83 Plaintiffs in OSGATA v. Monsanto is comprised of individual family farmers, independent seed companies and agricultural organizations. The total number of members within the plaintiff group exceeds 300,000 and includes many thousands of certified organic farmers. The Plaintiffs are not seeking any monetary compensation. Instead, the farmers are pre-emptively suing Monsanto and seeking court protection from Monsanto-initiated patent infringement lawsuits under the Declaratory Judgment Act.

Non GMO Heirloom Seed Bank

President of lead Plaintiff, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen was in the courtroom and witnessed the Oral Argument. Gerritsen had this to say, “Our lawyer did a good job explaining the current injustice farmers face. We have a right to be secure on our farms and to be free from Monsanto’s GMO trespass. If we become contaminated by Monsanto, not only is the value of our organic seed crop extinguished but we could also be sued by Monsanto for patent infringement because their contamination results in our ‘possession’ of their GMO technology. We have farmers who have stopped growing organic corn, organic canola and organic soybeans because they can’t risk being sued by Monsanto. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Family farmers need justice and we deserve protection from the court.”

Early on in the legal process, Monsanto was asked by lawyers for the Plaintiffs to provide a binding legal covenant not to sue. Monsanto refused this request and in doing so made clear that it would not give up its option to sue contaminated innocent family farmers who want nothing to do with Monsanto’s GMO technology.

In a remarkable demonstration of solid support by American citizens for family farmers, co-plaintiff Food Democracy Now! has collected over 100,000 signatures on it’s petition supporting the rights of family farmers against Monsanto. “For the past 12,000 years farmers have saved the best seeds each year to increase yields and improve traits for the food we eat,” said Dave Murphy, founder and Executive Director of Food Democracy Now! “In 1996, when Monsanto sold its first patented genetically modified (GMO) seed to farmers, this radically changed the idea of how farmers planted and saved seed. Less than two decades later, Monsanto’s aggressive patent infringement lawsuits have created a climate of fear in rural America among farmers. It’s time for that to end. Farmers should not have to live in fear because they are growing our food.”

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A complete 36 page transcript of the Oral Argument is available here.
Further information on OSGATA et al. v. Monsanto is available at osgata.org and pubpat.org.

RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE: 
Monsanto-funded legislators suppress WA’s GMO-label bills, lie about funding

About OSGATA: The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association is a not-for-profit agricultural organization made up of organic farmers, seed growers, seed businesses and supporters. OSGATA is committed to developing and protecting organic seed and it’s growers in order to ensure the organic community has access to excellent quality organic seed free of contaminants and adapted to the diverse needs of local organic agriculture. www.osgata.org

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On February 24, Judge Naomi Buchwald handed down her ruling on a motion to dismiss in the case of Organic Seed Growers and Trade Assn et al v. Monsanto after hearing oral argument on January 31st in Federal District Court in Manhattan.

Her ruling to dismiss the case brought against Monsanto on behalf of organic farmers, seed growers and agricultural organizations representing farmers and citizens was met with great disappointment by the plaintiffs.

Plaintiff lead attorney Daniel Ravicher said, “While I have great respect for Judge Buchwald, her decision to deny farmers the right to seek legal protection from one of the world’s foremost patent bullies is gravely disappointing. Her belief that farmers are acting unreasonable when they stop growing certain crops to avoid being sued by Monsanto for patent infringement should their crops become contaminated maligns the intelligence and integrity of those farmers. Her failure to address the purpose of the Declaratory Judgment Act and her characterization of binding Supreme Court precedent that supports the farmers’ standing as ‘wholly inapposite’ constitute legal error. In sum, her opinion is flawed on both the facts and the law. Thankfully, the plaintiffs have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeals, which will review the matter without deference to her findings.”

Monsanto’s history of aggressive investigations and lawsuits brought against farmers in America have been a source of concern for organic and non-GMO farmers since Monsanto’s first lawsuit brought against a farmer in the mid-90’s. Since then, 144 farmers have had lawsuits brought against them by Monsanto for alleged violations of their patented seed technology. Monsanto has brought charges against more than 700 additional farmers who have settled out-of-court rather than face Monsanto’s belligerent litigious actions. Many of these farmers claim to not have had the intention to grow or save seeds that contain Monsanto’s patented genes. Seed drift and pollen drift from genetically engineered crops often contaminate neighboring fields. If Monsanto’s seed technology is found on a farmer’s land without contract they can be found liable for patent infringement.

“Family farmers need the protection of the court,” said Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, President of lead plaintiff OSGATA. “We reject as naïve and undefendable the judge’s assertion that Monsanto’s vague public relations ‘commitment’ should be ‘a source of comfort’ to plaintiffs. The truth is we are under threat and we do not believe Monsanto. The truth is that American farmers and the American people do not believe Monsanto. Family farmers deserve our day in court and this flawed ruling will not deter us from continuing to seek justice.”

The plaintiffs brought this suit against Monsanto to seek judicial protection from such lawsuits and challenge the validity of Monsanto’s patents on seeds.

“As a citizen and property owner, I find the Order by the Federal Court to be obsequious to Monsanto,” said plaintiff organic farmer Bryce Stephens of Kansas. “The careless, inattentive, thoughtless and negligent advertisement Monsanto has published on their website to not exercise its patent rights for inadvertent trace contamination belies the fact that their policy is in reality a presumptuous admission of contamination by their vaunted product on my property, plants, seeds and animals.”

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“Seeds are the memory of life,” said Isaura Anduluz of plaintiff Cuatro Puertas and the Arid Crop Seed Cache in New Mexico. “If planted and saved annually, cross pollination ensures the seeds continue to adapt. In the Southwest, selection over many, many generations has resulted in native drought tolerant corn. Now that a patented drought tolerant corn has been released how do we protect our seeds from contamination and our right to farm?”

A copy of Judge Buchwalds ruling is located here.

About OSGATA: The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association is a not-for-profit agricultural organization made up of organic farmers, seed growers, seed businesses and supporters. OSGATA is committed to developing and protecting organic seed and it’s growers in order to ensure the organic community has access to excellent quality organic seed free of contaminants and adapted to the diverse needs of local organic agriculture. www.osgata.org

Non GMO Heirloom Seed Bank

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Let’s have a toast to raw milk

Heather Callaghan
Activist Post

Things can seem really grim in the world of food freedom when farmers and food club members are jailed and squashed for providing fresh milk, while the media continues to spread outright lies about its consumption.

Just when it appears that the force, bans, food destruction, jail time, and deception are too much to handle – the people parry and thrust! In this dark cloud of oppression against health freedom and self-sufficiency, there are indeed some overlooked silver linings. For every bout of extreme force, there is a doubly powerful backlash.

There have been a handful of impressive rallies to defend raided small farms in the last year including the most recent one supporting Vernon Hershberger. Around 300 people showed up at his Wisconsin court hearing and were jam packed into the courtroom and basement during proceedings.

He refused to have a hearing without his own camera rolling and would not accept offers for settlement, i.e. reduced punishment for accepting guilt for four misdemeanors. The pressure from the crowd, his gentle constancy, and his recordings may have led the judge to rethink the call of prosecutors to punish him for violating bail terms. His trial date has been pushed to September.

The attendees and Hershberger signed a Declaration of Food Independence and went to a workshop to learn about standing up to food and farm tyranny.

The education and action always proves useful. For instance, Jackie Ownes, the DATCP inspector carrying out action against Hershberger calls herself a judge, but has no sworn oath on file and therefore, no real judicial authority. The rally organizers are suing her for fraud and misrepresentation.

Over 200 law enforcement personnel attended the first Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association convention in early February. Sheriff Brad Rogers received an award for “Meritorious Valor” and overwhelming applause for standing up to the feds attacking farmer David Hochstetler.

Rogers of Indiana bravely stood his ground and kept his oath knowing there would be sparks. He promised to protect Hochstetler who was subpoenaed in December for distributing raw milk.

He wrote the Justice Department attorney that if anyone came back to the farm without a signed search warrant, they would be “removed for trespassing.” They puffed back that they have federal jurisdiction via the Supremacy Clause, but he reminded them about the Constitution.

The Department of Justice removed its subpoena. This is what happens when constitutional sheriffs exercise their authority to protect their turf from federal bully overreach.

A step in the right direction, Harvard’s Food Law Society invited some of the biggest players in the politically incorrect food freedom movement to speak openly in a debate.

In the February debate below, Sally Fallon of Weston A. Price foundation and author David Gumpert spoke first about raw milk’s benefits, the deceptions, and the extreme government crackdown on farmers. Stark opponents to raw milk, attorney Fred Pritzker and Dr. Heidi Kassenborg spoke after.

This intriguing video is a must-watch to find out what all the fuss is about:

Who do you think made the strongest argument?

An old report from a Harvard student makes the connection that the addition of rBGH (hormones) to speed the production of milk from factory farm cows, as well as the practice of milking cows during pregnancy, leads to hormone disruption; and breast, prostate, and testicular cancer.

The resurfacing report from Harvard, lauded by the mainstream, and exposed during the same week as court hearings and CDC warnings (i.e, lies), is quite a punch in the face to the raw milk task force.

The media, including one of the debaters above, like to cite an instance when a raw milk farmer on the news was milking his cow and didn’t realize that some manure had landed on his face — as if that should be the death knell for all unpasteurized products. But, along with the Harvard study, it was also found that pasteurized milk contains, among other things, a speculated 150 times more blood, pus and feces than fresh milk. Does a body good?

In late February, the CDC put out another scary warning espousing the dangers of potential foodborne illness from consuming unpasteurized milk. Conveniently it comes during the midst of farmer court hearings and milk confiscations; also conveniently, it completely skews raw milk data and downplays the dangers of pasteurized milk. They also lied about two deaths from raw milk that were actually tied to eating an illegal cheese.

Just over a hundred people on average become sick from raw milk each year; fewer than sicknesses from pasteurized milk. Milk products in general are low risk; only a few hundred sicknesses out of around 24,000 foodborne illness cases each year. Raw milk sicknesses make up about 0.005 percent of that threat, and the chances of food sickness are 1,300 times higher from eating at a restaurant than from drinking raw milk.

The warning serves as a perfect example of an irrational attack that has nothing to do with food safety — but the wool is lifting from people’s eyes.

Other countries and cultures must look upon America’s raging War on Milk with bafflement. For thousands of years and now, people have consumed raw milk without incident.

In Europe, you can grab fresh milk from vending machines – the government often pays the vendors to provide their wares.

Recently, a woman undertook a rigorous 90-day raw milk fast to rid her body of Lyme disease. She uncovered old Mayo Foundation documents from the early 1900s applying raw milk fasts to serious diseases at the time such as Tuberculosis.

Not as Recent Honorable Mentions:

Don’t mess with the Raw Milk Freedom Riders! In November, strong moms and others joined a caravan of raw milk trucks and defiantly drove it back and forth over state lines in protest of the FDA’s strict interstate bans. President of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund FTCLDF, said, “How do you know when we’ve got a bad law? When thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens are breaking it on a weekly basis.”

Last year, a study showed that kids who drink raw milk have 40 percent less asthma and allergies than others. Raw milk has shown curative effects for asthma, a serious condition that kills 5,500 people each year.

In June, a female endurance cycling team powered by raw milk broke speed records records in their bracket, previously held by men. The Raw Milk Cats were in their fifties and sped completely across the country in six days. Body builders are also loving the use of raw milk for better protein assimilation.

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Ron Paul introduced The Unpasteurized Milk bill to decriminalize raw milk and allow interstate transfer. Watch a great interview on his stance here.

Big Picture Victory: The Forbidden Nature of Raw Milk

What seems like an irrational attempt to stomp out any remnant of the radical 9 million or more raw milk drinkers only serves to make people question – why??

More than likely, all the buzz will intrigue rather than preclude people from trying out America’s most “dangerous” contraband.

Care to rebel? Once you find out how private farm club memberships work, the rest is easy. Visit www.westonaprice.org to find chapter members who will help you locate and join a local club. Now is the time to opt for fresh pasture foods in lieu of slime and dead food.

Supporting local small farms is the best way to lend them strength — and to keep yours!

End The Lie show host Madison Ruppert & Heather Callaghan talk food freedom in a two-hour discussion here: Part 1 & Part 2

You can spread the word of victory by voting on Reddit to support this article:  http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/r5t84/7_recent_victories_for_raw_milk_freedom_advocates/

Please find other articles by Heather Callaghan HERE.

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Farmers Determined to Defend Right to Grow Food File Appeal in OSGATA vs. Monsanto

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Activist Post

Today, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, family farmers filed their Notice of Appeal to Judge Naomi Buchwald’s February 24th ruling dismissing Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear the farmers’ appeal, seeking to reinstate the case, which has received worldwide attention. The farmers are determined to move forward with their lawsuit challenging Monsanto’s patents on genetically engineered seed technologies in order to continue their pursuit of Declaratory Judgment Act court protection from Monsanto’s claims of patent infringement should their crops become contaminated by Monsanto’s seed.

“Farmers have the right to protect themselves from being falsely accused of patent infringement by Monsanto before they are contaminated by Monsanto’s transgenic seed,” said Dan Ravicher, Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), a not-for-profit legal services organization based at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law that represents the plaintiffs. “Judge Buchwald erred by denying plaintiffs that right and they have now initiated the process of having her decision reversed.”

The original complaint in OSGATA et al v. Monsanto was filed on March 29, 2011. In July, Monsanto filed a motion to dismiss. Plaintiff lawyers at PUBPAT then filed a rebuttal brief on August 11, 2011. Judge Buchwald called for oral argument on the motion to dismiss, which was held in Manhattan on January 31, 2012. The judge’s dismissal ruling was issued February 24th and plaintiffs were given thirty days in which to file their Notice of Appeal.

“Farmers are under threat. Our right to farm the way we choose, and to grow pure organic seed and healthy food on our farms for our families and for our customers is under assault,” said Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, President of lead Appellant OSGATA. “We are honor-bound to challenge an erroneous ruling which denies family farmers the protection the law says we deserve. We’re not asking for one penny from Monsanto. Ultimately, our fight is for justice and is waged to defend the right of the people to have access to good and safe food.”

The Plaintiff/Appellant group is comprised of individual family farmers, small and family-owned seed companies and agricultural organizations. They are all organic or committed to farming without using genetically engineered seeds, and have no desire to ever farm with Monsanto’s patented GMO technology. However, they are fearful that Monsanto seed will trespass onto their farms and that the resulting contamination of their crops will be viewed by Monsanto as illegal ‘possession’ resulting in patent infringement allegations. Monsanto’s harassment of family farmers is well known in farm country, the biotech seed and chemical giant has one of the most aggressive patent assertion agendas in U.S. history. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto admits to filing 144 lawsuits against America’s family farmers, while settling another 700 cases out of court for undisclosed amounts and imposing gag orders on farmers. The farmers’ fears were heightened when Monsanto refused to provide a legally binding covenant not to sue, signaling Monsanto’s intention to maintain their option to sue innocent family farmers in the future.

“America’s farmers deserve to be protected under the law from the unwanted genetic contamination of their crops by Monsanto’s flawed genetically engineered seed technology,” said David Murphy, founder and Executive Director of Food Democracy Now!, an Iowa-based national advocacy organization of more than 300,000 members. “These farmers have no desire to use Monsanto’s GMO seeds, yet they are forced into the untenable position of losing their right to farm in the manner in which they choose, face legal intimidation and the loss of economic livelihood, all because America’s legal system has failed to adequately protect them from the real threat of genetic trespass that is inherent as a result of Monsanto’s patented GMO seeds and the natural biological functions of cross pollination from wind, insects or animals.”

The Appellants in the suit represented by PUBPAT are: Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association; Organic Crop Improvement Association International, Inc. (OCIA); Food Democracy Now!; The Cornucopia Institute; Demeter Association, Inc.; Navdanya International; Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association; Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc.; Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont; Rural Vermont; Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association; Southeast Iowa Organic Association; Mendocino Organic Network (California); Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance; Canadian Organic Growers; Family Farmer Seed Cooperative; Sustainable Living Systems (Montana); Global Organic Alliance; Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund; Weston A. Price Foundation; Center for Food Safety; Beyond Pesticides; Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island; Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire; Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut; Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York; Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance; Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (Wisconsin); Midwest Organic Dairy Producers Alliance; Florida Organic Growers; Peace River Organic Producers Association (Alberta and British Columbia); FEDCO Seeds, Inc. (Maine); Adaptive Seeds, LLC (Oregon); Sow True Seed (North Carolina); Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (Virginia); Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds (Saskatchewan); Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., LLC (Missouri); Comstock, Ferre & Co. LLC (Connecticut); Seedkeepers, LLC (California); Siskiyou Seeds (Oregon); Countryside Organics (Virginia); Cuatro Puertas (New Mexico); Seed We Need (Montana), Wild Garden Seed (Oregon); Alba Ranch (Kansas); Wild Plum Farm (Montana); Gratitude Gardens (Washington); Richard Everett Farm, LLC (Nebraska); Philadelphia Community Farm, Inc. (Wisconsin); Genesis Farm (New Jersey); Chispas Farms, LLC (New Mexico); Midheaven Farms (Minnesota); Koskan Farms (South Dakota); California Cloverleaf Farms; North Outback Farm (North Dakota); Taylor Farms, Inc. (Utah); Ron Gargasz Organic Farms (Pennsylvania); Abundant Acres (Missouri); T & D Willey Farms (California); Quinella Ranch (Saskatchewan); Nature’s Way Farm, Ltd. (Alberta); Levke and Peter Eggers Farm (Alberta); Frey Vineyards, Ltd. (California); Bryce Stephens (Kansas); Chuck Noble (South Dakota); LaRhea Pepper (Texas); Paul Romero (New Mexico); Donald Wright Patterson, Jr. (Virginia); Common Good Farm; LLC (Nebraska); American Buffalo Company (Nebraska; Full Moon Farm, Inc. (Vermont); Radiance Dairy (Iowa); Brian L. Wickert (Wisconsin); Bruce Drinkman (Wisconsin); and Murray Bast (Ontario).

About OSGATA: The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association is a not-for-profit agricultural organization made up of organic farmers, seed growers, seed businesses and supporters. OSGATA is committed to developing and protecting organic seed and it’s growers in order to ensure the organic community has access to excellent quality organic seed free of contaminants and adapted to the diverse needs of local organic agriculture. www.osgata.org 

You can support this article by voting on Reddit:  http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/rinrl/battle_over_farmers_rights_against_monsanto/

Non GMO Heirloom Seed Bank

Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post

It may come as a surprise, but you may be consuming cloned meat on a regular basis. In fact, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (head of the USDA) says that he has no idea whether or not cloned meat has been sold inside the United States — or even how much.

Instead of investigating or setting up parameters, the USDA asserts that it is safe in their view so there is no cause for alarm. It is currently forbidden by the agency itself for any producer to distribute or sell cloned meat.

The news came back in August of 2010, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack went on record saying that he really doesn’t know whether or not cloned meat is being put on dinner tables nationwide. The announcement was made after the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency told consumers that meat from descendants of cloned animals had already entered the food supply.

Of course the agency made the statements a year after the cloned products leaked into the food chain. Still, just like the USDA, the UK’s FSA stated that they believe cloned meat poses no risk, so citizens should not panic. The reason? They say that cloned meat has ‘ no substantial difference’ to traditional meat, and therefore it is safe.

The statements echo those of Monsanto, whose genetically modified creations have been linked to everything from organ damage to toxicity-induced cell death.

Here’s what Tom Vilsack’s response is to whether or not cloned meat is being sold in United States stores and subsequently being eaten by citizens:

‘I can’t say today that I can answer your question in an affirmative or negative way. I don’t know. What I do know is that we know all the research, all of the review of this is suggested that this is safe,’ Vilsack said to reporters.

Conventional meat packing industries and suppliers often utilize disturbing growth techniques with zero regard for the welfare of the animals and the consumer. It is not to believe that cloned meat would slip into this chaotic process and be passed off as traditional meat.

In order to avoid the threat of not only cloned meat but a copious amount of antibiotics (that you will soon be eating), you should search for high-quality meat sources that utilize grass as a main feed source.

The antibiotic problem is so pervasive, in fact, that a judge recently ordered the FDA to remove antibiotics from animal feed in order to halt the production of super viruses.

Explore More:

1. Would You Eat Cloned Meat? Scientists Claim Cloned Cattle is Safe to Eat


2. Eating Meat Linked to Disease, Report Says


3. USDA Caves to Action Groups, Drops ‘Pink Slime’ From School Lunches


4. Japanese Scientist Creates Meat Using Human Feces


5. 4 Proofs the USDA Doesn’t Care About Your Health


6. USDA to Give Monsanto’s New GMO Crops Special ‘Speed Approval’

This article first appeared at Natural Society, an excellent resource for health news and vaccine information. 

Will international activism save this couple’s garden from a town code?

Heather Callaghan
Activist Post

People are hungry, economies everywhere are tanking. The answer to that problem used to be “do what you can on your own.” In America, it was the now iconic Victory Gardens. In Montreal, Canada there is a move to defeat such self-reliance.

For some strange reason, helping yourself is the very last thing the governments in both the U.S. and Canada will “allow” you to do; not even on your own land. Stranger still, it is the lower-rung, local governments that show up in news stories extinguishing property rights in the name of almighty municipal code.

Josée Landry and partner Michel Beauchamp decided to start an urban garden for both economic and health reasons, and they even have documented its progress via their family blog since its beginning. They proudly gave their new passion a name – Rosa – in memory of civil rights icon, Rosa Parks, who refused to take her place as ordered by the tyrannical bureaucracy of the day.

Now it seems that they find themselves forced to take a stand for another basic civil right: food freedom. Instead of allowing this garden to flourish and nourish, local officials in Canada now want to make any new front yard gardens completely illegal by autumn, along with uprooting Rosa.

The crackdown on home gardening has been marching across the first world at a rapid pace of late.  In the U.S. we have seen a woman threatened with jail for 93 days for front yard tomatoes and a Tulsa, OK woman sued after coming home to find her yard full of herbal remedies and vegetation ripped up and taken. Oftentimes, it’s a power play, and only when enough negative attention is garnered, do the code enforcers back down, usually citing their targets for some other minor infraction.

This latest move in Canada follows a similar pattern; by enforcing an arbitrary code that front yard gardens (also called kitchen gardens) are only allowed, at the bare minimum, less than 30% vegetation. Who in Drummondville, Quebec would create such a code and why? Also, shouldn’t other factors be considered: they own their home, they offer the food to the community without profit, it is aesthetic and has attracted worldwide media attention, as well as some celebrity garden bloggers.

Not only does the city want most of the couple’s garden uprooted and tossed, but they are seriously discussing outlawing all future front yard gardens! The only stipulation being that old gardens can apparently stay as long as it meets the “under 30% of the yard” code.

The couple was facing fines of between $100 and $300 per day if they did not comply by yesterday. According to CBCNews, “The couple said they had no intention of complying with the city’s request.”

As per usual, the local authorities love to vaguely claim that there have been neighbor complaints. CEO of Drummondville, Claude Proulx, called it a question of “uniformity of the urban fabric.”

But, Beauchamp has been open with his neighbors, and they have shared the fun and eats. He has had no inkling of anyone disliking the tidy and delicious landscape, adding, “They love it. Everybody is surprised by the kind of taste we can have from fresh vegetables.” (Source)

And no doubt the neighbors may also be impressed by the changes they see in the urban farming couple: both growing and eating the garden goods has helped Landry and Beauchamp lose a combined 100 pounds!

Take some tips from this video of their garden’s formation:

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Urban kitchen garden activist and blogger Roger Doiron got behind the fight and organized an impressive worldwide petition called Stop the War on Front Yard Vegetable Gardens. As of Sunday, they had 800 signatures, yesterday 8,000, and today almost 11,000 and counting. The couple’s “bed-in” peaceful protest, Lennon-Ono style, also garnered much support and media attention.

By the way, Doiron is the one who apparently encouraged Michelle Obama to grow the Presidential garden. No sooner had he featured the Canadian garden on his site when they get slammed with threats of hundreds of dollars in fines if they didn’t rip it out and replant grass. Do you think he wonders why the White House shows the world about gardening, and then municipalities everywhere start simultaneously cracking down on their residents?

What does it ultimately take to stop the rolling boulder of unyielding municipal power? As evidenced above and in other cases, a negative spotlight, lots of outraged people, and the threat of losing an election (and salary and pension) speaks volumes. The culmination of which recently bought Landry and Beauchamp till September 1, before the officials decide what to do with them. Activism works!

That allows them to harvest their garden, but then what? Will people forget the original intention to outlaw all such yard gardens? That’s a problem when things get pushed back – the officials hope that people do not stay so riled up, and that the media moves on. And what of the gardening soldiers? Will they be slapped with other arbitrary code violations?

Let’s try to revisit these plights to make sure we don’t leave them behind in the big fight for all of our food freedom.

If this garden is deemed illegal, we’re in deep you-know-what. – Roger Doiron

Sign the petition: http://www.causes.com/causes/11991-plant-healthy-gardens-feed-a-hungry-world/actions/1667714

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Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Potager-urbain/404082506296711

Personal website of Josée Landry and partner Michel Beauchamp: http://www.lepotagerurbain.com/

Roger Doiron’s Kitchen Garden organization with over 24,000 in the online community: http://kgi.org/

This ultra-sleek video was professionally produced by a friend of the couple:

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Heather Callaghan
Activist Post

Ready to test your knowledge of the Corn Monster? The statistics and comparisons below will be sure to astonish you.

Interesting that America’s most constant symbol – corn – shared at our first Thanksgiving amongst natives and pilgrims alike – has now been twisted and manipulated to exploit consumers and environment the globe over.

Although not directly stated, you may see indirectly, a few of Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto Planks throughout:

1) Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

7) Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

9) Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country. (Source)

What you won’t see are references to the GMO aspect – that’s a whole other ball game, although it has much to do with Big Ag politics, the influx of cheaply made high fructose corn syrup, exploitation of the hungry and poor, and the desecration of our health and environment.

The good folks at LearnStuff.com have combined statistics from myriad sources to bring an interesting presentation about the timeline of subsidizing corn for inefficient fossil fuels, ethanol’s impact on our wallets at the pump and atmosphere, the energy used per pound, consumption rates that directly correlate with our obesity rates, and more. The ‘Then & Now’ comparisons and analogies are quite telling.

Infographic graciously brought to you by LearnStuff.com:

Read other articles by Heather Callaghan HERE

By Catherine J. Frompovich

Oh, how prognosticating words about Monsanto apparently have come true!

And people say there’s nothing to astrology!

Moneywatch published online on June 5, 2018, “As Bayer Monsanto merger closes, a toxic corporate name to be retired” not quite five years after I published the article “GMOs: What Do The Stars Say Astrologically?” regarding Monsanto with how I ended that article:

However, as this writer assesses the GMO issue, Coppolino’s prognostications ought to revitalize all who are working to expose the dangers of GMO farming and foods, plus bring new-found hope and unfailing determination. When certain aspects are written in the stars, who knows what can happen. We just have to keep on, keeping on.

Well, who would have thought then that Monsanto, often referred to as ‘Monsatan, the most evil corporation in the world,’ [1] would no longer be around in name, but probably in ‘corporate spirit’ when taken over by Bayer [2], the German pharmaceutical giant, effective Thursday, June 7, 2018.

After 117 years of producing “questionable and toxic chemical products,” Monsanto will disappear in name from the business and corporate worlds, but their ‘toxic philosophies’ probably will be valued and hyped by Bayer, since it is paying $63-$66 BILLION for the takeover!  However, one has to wonder what the stars will have in mind astrologically for the ‘coup’ Bayer apparently thinks it has been able to pull off.

My car sported the bumper sticker “Millions Against Monsanto” for more years than I can remember. Remarkably, a rear-end auto accident recently, which ruined my back bumper and trunk lid, rather serendipitously made it extremely easy for me to get rid of that now-obsolete bumper sticker.

However, I wonder where I can find a bumper sticker that says, “Billions Against Bayer.”

Shouldn’t health-nutrition-and-environmentally-minded consumers now turn our thoughts, activism and buying habits toward influencing the stars to work on dealing with Monsanto’s chemical legacy moved to a corporation whose documented history is less than stellar, in my opinion?

Bayer supported Adolph Hitler.  In today’s trendy era of “political correctness,” how will Bayer’s Nazi past be viewed compounded by Bayer’s acquiring the Monsanto legacy of genetically-modified seeds and organisms, Roundup®/glyphosate, and the chemical ‘sins’ Monsanto produced for decades?

References:

[1] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Monsatan
[2] https://qz.com/1297749/the-end-of-the-monsanto-brand-bayer-pharmaceuticals-is-dropping-the-name-monsanto/

Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.

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Catherine’s latest book, published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Don’t Know About Vaccines, available on Amazon.com.

Her 2012 book A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.

Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008)

Catherine’s NEW book: Eat To Beat Disease, Foods Medicinal Qualities ©2016 Catherine J Frompovich is now available

Image credit: Natural Blaze

By James Corbett

It is hardly surprising that the first thing Bayer did after completing their takeover of Monsanto earlier this month was to announce that they were dropping the Monsanto name, merging the two companies’ agrichemical divisions under the Bayer Crop Science name. After all, as everyone knows, Monsanto is one of the most hated corporations in the world. But Bayer itself has an equally atrocious history of death and destruction. Together they are a match made in hell.

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TRANSCRIPT AND MP3 AUDIO: https://www.corbettreport.com/bayer/

Also Read: The Name Monsanto is Gone – Bayer Will Drop Name From New Mega Corporation

By Vin Armani

Watch live at 10am EST (1pm PST) – In the first hour Vin recaps his experience using cryptocurrency in real life attending and speaking at PorcFest this weekend. In the second hour, Vin welcomes Curtis Stone, The Urban Farmer, back to the show to discuss business and self-sufficiency.

Curtis Stone is a farmer, author, speaker and consultant. His area of expertise is in quick growing, high value annual vegetables for direct consumer market streams. His book, The Urban Farmer, demonstrates organic intensive techniques with a focus on business and systems to streamline labour and production. He offers a new way to think about farming. One where quality of life and profitability coexist. Curtis’ farm, Green City Acres is located in Kelowna, BC, Canada and was established in 2010. In an eight month growing season, the farm generates over $100,000 per year on only one quarter of an acre. Visit his site TheUrbanFarmer.co

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Vin Armani is the host of The Vin Armani Show, CTO of CoinText, author of Self Ownership, founder of Bebi Vodka and co-founder Counter Markets. Follow Vin on Twitter and subscribe on YouTube. Get the weekly podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Available for interviews at email – Vin (at) VinArmani.com.

By Michael Maharrey

Even with the liberalization of the law in 2014, the federal government still prohibits industrial hemp production for commercial purposes. But this hasn’t stopped more than a dozen states from developing commercial hemp markets anyway. They’ve simply ignored the federal laws, nullifying prohibition in effect within their borders.

Seventeen states specifically authorize and license commercial hemp production despite federal prohibition, and many other states allow commercial cultivation despite paying lip-service to federal law.

FEDERAL FARM BILL

In 2014, Congress cracked the door open for hemp in the U.S. with an amendment to the 2014 Farm Bill. The law allows hemp cultivation for research purposes, but prohibits “commercial” production.

The “hemp amendment” in the 2014 farm bill—

…allows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic or agricultural research purposes, but it applies only to states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Drug Enforcement Agency released a “statement of principles” to guide interpretation of the hemp section in the Farm Bill. It states:

The growth and cultivation of industrial hemp may only take place in accordance with an agricultural pilot program to study the growth, cultivation, or marketing of industrial hemp established by a State department of agriculture or State agency responsible for agriculture in a State where the production of industrial hemp is otherwise legal under State law.

In short, the current federal law authorizes farming of hemp – by research institutions, or within state pilot programs – for research only. Farming for commercial purposes by individuals and businesses remains prohibited.

The definition of “commercial” and the extent to which sales and marketing are allowed under the rubric of “research” remains murky. This has created significant confusion.

The statement of principles also asserted that industrial hemp programs are limited to fiber and seed. It didn’t mention the CBD oil or other edible hemp products. In fact, the DEA has declared CBD illegal, and the FDA has also indicated hemp food products manufactured through research programs also violate federal law.

The DEA has since reiterated its stand on CBD oil, saying it cannot be sold under any circumstances. An Indiana TV station interviewed DEA spokesman Rusty Payne, who affirmed this position.

“It’s not legal. It’s just not.”

Payne said cannabis plants are considered a Schedule I controlled substance, and medicinal oils derived from cannabis plants are illegal according to two federal laws: the Controlled Substance Act and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. He said confusion surrounding the 2014 farm bill is frequently cited as legal justification by those who want to manufacture, sell or use CBD oil. The DEA believes the Farm Bill permits only CBD research — not CBD marketing and sales.

“Anybody who’s in violation [of the federal laws] always runs that risk of arrest and prosecution,” he said.

IN THE STATES

According to a report released by the National Conference of State Legislators, 35 states have passed laws legalizing industrial hemp production. About half only allow cultivation for research purposes under federal law. But despite the threat of arrest and prosecution by the feds, farmers in 17 states across the U.S. have waded into the commercial industrial hemp business with the blessing and sanction of their state governments.

California, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming all permit licensed growers to produce industrial hemp for commercial purposes.

Connecticut also technically allows commercial hemp farming. In 2015, the state removed hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances. Farmers can grow the crop without any license or state oversight – just like tomatoes or corn. But the state has not created any kind of licensing program.

States that have ignored federal law have produced the most hemp. In 2017, states licensed more than 39,000 acres for hemp production. Of the top-10 hemp producing states, seven of them license commercial growers despite federal prohibition.

Kentucky presents a special case. The commonwealth ranks second in the U.S. behind Colorado in hemp acreage. State officials claim they follow federal law. But state law established “a commercial licensing program” authorizing hemp cultivation for any “legal purpose.” The phrase “legal purpose” technically excludes virtually all commercial production under the DEA’s interpretation of federal law.

Regardless of how the vague the statute reads, it’s clear what is happening in practice. Kentucky’s hemp program is not federally compliant, no matter how hard state officials try to convince you it is.

Walk into virtually any health food store in the commonwealth, and many major grocery chains, and you will find locally produced edible hemp products on the shelf. The feds claim this is illegal. More than half of Kentucky’s hemp acreage has been cultivated for CBD. The feds claim this is illegal. And yet the state Agriculture Commissioner noted in a letter to the DEA, “such products are already being grown, processed and consumed by Kentuckians every day, In fact, consumable hemp products were legal to buy and use even before the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program began in 2014.”

Nobody has gone to jail. The feds haven’t levied any fines. The DEA hasn’t sent in the SWAT team to destroy Kentucky hemp fields. A DEA spokesman even admitted to a Louisville newspaper that the agency is not enforcing the hemp law.

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In fact, many of the 16 states that endeavor to run federally compliant, research only hemp programs are likely non-compliant in practice. Any program allowing the sale of CBD oil violates the law as interpreted by the federal bureaucracy.

Federal Response

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., there is a strong movement to end federal hemp prohibition. On June 13, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a farm bill including provisions to fully legalize industrial hemp. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is spearheading the effort.

In reality, the feds are just playing catch-up. With so many states already effectively nullifying prohibition, Congress has little choice but to relent. The federal government simply doesn’t have the personnel and resources to maintain its ban on commercial hemp farming with so many states refusing to cooperate. It also faces growing public opposition to its hemp policy.

States led the way with hemp just like they’ve led the way on marijuana. Although the feds haven’t abandoned their failed efforts to enforce marijuana laws, after more than two decades of state, local and individual nullification, their unconstitutional prohibition of cannabis is beginning to come apart at the seams. We’ve even seen dedicated drug warriors including Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suddenly become outspoken weed advocates – not unlike McConnell’s sudden enthusiasm for legalizing hemp.

When states and individuals lead, the feds eventually follow. Successful hemp markets growing in states that have defied prohibition explode the myth of absolute federal power. As James Madison noted in Federalist #46:

“a refusal to cooperate with officers of the union” gives us a powerful tool we can use to undermine federal authority. Madison noted that “members of the federal will be more dependent on the members of the state governments, than the latter will be on the former.”

This has proven true. Without state, local and individual cooperation, the federal government cannot enforce all of its laws and regulations, or implement all of its programs.We can use this strategy to roll back federal overreach—whether the issue is hemp, marijuana, healthcare, gun control or anything else the feds have stuck their noses into, we just need to learn to say, “No!”

Michael Maharrey is the national communications director at the Tenth Amendment Center. This article was sourced from FEE.org