Representative Dennis Kucinich Slams Monsanto and Demands Nationwide GMO Labeling

Today on the floor of the House of Representatives Congressman Dennis Kucinich said:

“In 1992 the Food and Drug Administration decided that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are the functional equivalent of conventional foods. They arrived at this decision without testing GMOs for allergenicity, toxicity, anti-biotic resistance and functional characteristics. As a result hundreds of millions of acres of GMO crops were planted in America without the knowledge or consent of the American people: no safety testing and no long term health studies.

“The FDA has received over a million comments from citizens demanding labeling of GMOs. Ninety percent of Americans agree. So, why no labeling? I’ll give you one reason: The influence and the corruption of the political process by Monsanto. Monsanto has been a prime mover in GMO technology, a multi-million dollar GMO lobby here and a major political contributor.

“There is a chance that Monsanto’s grip will be broken in California where a GMO labeling initiative is on the ballot. And here in Congress, my legislation HR 3553 will provide for a national labeling law. Americans have a right to know if their food is genetically engineered. It’s time for labeling and for people to know how their food is being produced.”

Source: Youtube

Monsanto’s Lobbying Expenses 2002-2012

Throwing around a few grand here & few grand there to buy off politicians is really nickels & dimes compared to the vast amount of money Monsanto has spent lobbying Congress.

Over the last 10 years Monsanto has spent over $52 million dollars making sure they get the most favorable legislation possible. Of that $52 million, nearly $11 million was paid to outside lobbying firms (listed below) to lobby on behalf of Monsanto, while the rest of the total (over $40 million) was spent on Monsanto’s staff lobbyists.

The results? More pesticides, more GMOs, and more of why we will Occupy Monsanto this fall!

Source: Center for Responsive Politics (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Note #1: When compiling this list it was shown that many of the lobbying firms no longer exist because many of the lobbyists merged their firms together. When a firm was found to have merged with another, the dirty money Monsanto paid them was added together in the table above.
Note #2: In 2000 Monsanto merged with Pharmacia & Upjohn and was later spun off into the “New Monsanto.” However, the data for 2002 includes Pharmacia as Monsanto’s parent company and show that there was lobbying money spent on the pharmaceutical industry. For the table above, only the lobbying money spent on Agricultural Services & Products was included.

Monsanto’s PAC Contributions to Members of Congress 2002-2012

When you’ve got billions of dollars in your coffers, you can afford to pay off political candidates & members of Congress. The tables below from the Center for Responsive Politics show donations to U.S. politicians from Monsanto’s Political Action Committee known as Monsanto Citizenship Fund between 2002 and the first quarter of 2012. If your Senator or Representative is on this list, contact them and say that you don’t support Monsanto’s efforts to genetically contaminate the world’s food supply. Combine the totals below with the $50 million dollars Monsanto spent on lobbying and it’s easy to see why Monsanto deserves to be occupied this fall.

Source: Center for Responsive Politics (2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002)

RT America: Occupy Monsanto vs Genetically Modified Congress

America’s Congress has been contaminated, but don’t worry — someone is already on it. Members of Occupy Monsanto, a protest group opposed to the biotech giant, are dispatching aid to the nation’s capital.

Dressed in hazmat suits, members of Occupy Monsanto protested in Washington, DC on Friday over what they say are corrupt ties between American lawmakers and the country’s agriculture architect, Monsanto. Based in the American Midwest, the Monsanto corporation is believed to be aiding in the bankrupting of small-time farms across the country by chemically engineering genetically modified seeds that are not just unnatural, but near impossible to compete with. Concerned over the toxic make-up of their man-made crops, as well as their corrupt connection with the US Congress, the Occupy Monsanto group is in Washington this weekend to make their voices heard.

“In the name of Wall Street profits, chemical corporations such as Monsanto genetically engineer crops to withstand high doses of their toxic weed killers that contaminate our food and water, and have not been proven safe,” explains Occupy Monsanto’s Ariel Vegosen in a statement made this week. In addition to participating in the protest group, Vegosen is a member of the Genetic Crimes Unit, or GCU, an offshoot of the Occupy clan considered to be their “agents of change” that take to the streets to rally for awareness of the actions regularly engaged by Monsanto.

In addition to buying out small-time farms that can’t compete with the billion-dollar biotech corp, Monsanto is also being accused of buying off Congress to let the company get away with feeding America genetically modified foods, or GMOs. As RT reported earlier this week, Monsanto was recently awarded federal approval to test out a lab-developed corn variant that is believed to be resistant to arid environments and droughts.

“We deserve to know what we are eating,” adds Vegosen. “Virtually every major country requires labeling of GMOs in foods so their citizens can make informed choices, including all of Europe, Japan and even China. Monsanto’s lobbying dollars are pouring into politicians so it’s clear we have a GMO contaminated US Congress that threatens our health and the health of the planet.”

Occupy Monsanto rallied outside the Cannon Building in Washington’s Capitol Hill on Friday, where hazmat suit-clad GCU officers identified victims of genetic crimes. Other protests were planned around the world to be held at the same time, including demonstrations in Los Angeles, Seattle, Düsseldorf and Winnipeg. In September, Occupy Monsanto is planning an even larger global protest that it says will become a day the biotech firm will never forget.

Source: RT America

Photos of the GCU at the U.S. Capitol

Today Genetic Crime Unit Field Agents descended upon the U.S. Capitol to visit a genetically modified Congress.

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Do you have photos from today’s global action against Monsanto? Please send them to GCU@occupy-monsanto.com!

March 15, 2012 — GCU to Visit Congress

WASHINGTON DC – On Friday, March 16, 2012, Occupy Monsanto’s agents of change with the Genetic Crimes Unit (GCU), a group designed to protect America from genetically modified foods, will wear bio-hazmat suits when they visit Congress. The group will gather at Capitol South Metro station at noon on March 16 to highlight how chemical company Monsanto is contaminating our political process. The GCU opposes Monsanto’s bid to increase spraying of food with toxic weed killers like 2,4 D (the main ingredient in Agent Orange), genetic contamination of the organic food supply, and other risks associated with genetically modified food (GMOs).

The GCU will arrive at the metro station wearing bio-hazmat suits to assess whether Members of Congress and their staff have been victims of genetic crimes. The GCU will hold a banner that reads, “Congress is Genetically Modified,” as they circulate on Capitol Hill sidewalks. This day of action is part of a larger international call to ‘Occupy Monsanto’ taking place all over the globe including Spain, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and at least 28 cities throughout the US.

“In the name of Wall Street profits, chemical corporations such as Monsanto genetically engineer crops to withstand high doses of their toxic weed killers that contaminate our food and water, and have not been proven safe. We deserve to know what we are eating. Virtually every major country requires labeling of GMOs in foods so their citizens can make informed choices, including all of Europe, Japan and even China,” said GCU’s Angela Johnson. “Monsanto’s lobbying dollars are pouring into politicians so its clear we have a GMO contaminated US Congress that threatens our health and the health of the planet,” says Vegosen.

WHO: Occupy Monsanto’s Genetic Crimes Unit (GCU)
WHAT: ID’ing Victims of Monsanto’s Genetic Crimes by GCU Agents in Bio-Hazmat Suits
WHEN: Friday, March 16, Noon
WHERE: Cannon Building: Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC, 20540, corner NJ Ave

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced three bills addressing concerns with GMOs. In addition, more than 900,000 people have signed onto the JustLabelit.org citizens’ petition to the Food and Drug Administration for GMO labeling (the most to sign an FDA petition ever). Last fall about 100 people marched in the Right2Know March from New York to the White House to demand President Obama keep his campaign promise to label GMO foods. Video of the promise can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqaaB6NE1TI In California Monsanto faces a 2012 ballot proposition on GMO labeling. Finally, on September 17, 2012 Occupy Monsanto is calling for hundreds of actions internationally, www.occupy-monsanto.com