"On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television. It is a documentary most Americans will never see, explaining how the gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years?
For millennia, farmers have saved seeds from season to season. But when Monsanto developed GM seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup, Monsanto patented the seeds. For nearly all of its history the United States Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant patents on seeds, viewing them as life-forms with too many variables to be patented. But in 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for seed patents in a five-to-four decision, laying the groundwork for a handful of corporations to begin taking control of the world’s food supply.
Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company.
Monsanto puts pressure on farmers, farmers’ co-ops, seed dealers, and anyone else it suspects may have infringed its patents of genetically modified seeds.
To do this, Monsanto relies on a shadowy army of private investigators and agents. They secretly videotape and photograph farmers, store owners, and co-ops. They infiltrate community meetings. They gather information from informants about farming activities.
Some Monsanto agents pretend to be surveyors. Others confront farmers on their land and try to pressure them to sign papers giving Monsanto access to their private records. Farmers call them the “seed police” and use words such as “Gestapo” and “Mafia” to describe their tactics."
"Foodstuffs that are showing on food labels, low levels of sugar and/or sodium(salt), may be using a different ingredient.
The company, Senomyx, may be responsible for the sodium and sugar levels falling in various grocery items. It is possible they may be putting chemicals into our food right now, without telling us and without our realisation. The law -at least in the United States -says they don’t have to!
It appears Senomyx has contracted with Kraft, Nestle, Coca Cola, and Campbell Soup to put a chemical in foods that masks bitter flavours by turning off bitter flavour receptors on your tongue. How convenient!The companies can then reduce sugar and sodium levels by approximately half without affecting the flavour.
These chemical compounds are not required to be listed separately on food labels; they are grouped into the general category we read on labels of artificial flavours and companies will not say which foods contain this chemical.
Senomyx was able to obtain the United States FDA approval and a “generally recognised as safe” classification from the Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association.
Approval was given in less than a year and a half, based on a safety study of rats conducted for just 3 months.
Food items that are most likely to contain these new chemicals include soups, juices (fruit and vegetable), ice cream and sauces."
This news is not new as you can see by the date below so how long have we been ingesting this stuff in the UK?
From Business Week On Line:
March 28, 2005
>Sweet Or Salty With Senomyx (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_13/b3926149_mz027.htm)
"Each compound, [Robin Manners West of New Mexico's State Investment Council] says, works on a different flavour, so foodmakers can calculate how much to cut back on sugar, salt, or monosodium glutamate. On Mar. 3 two of Senomyx' enhancers got approval from the Flavour & Extract Manufacturers Assn., typically endorsed by the Food & Drug Administration, which dubbed them 'generally regarded safe.' These are the only approvals Senomyx needs." (Emphasis added)
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