Government “Regulators” and Big Business: Goliath and Goliath
Sometimes it seems like government and industry are so closely intertwined that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. In one of the most blatant examples of this, some state governments have teamed up with Monsanto to PREVENT food companies from labeling their ingredients accurately.
Ben & Jerry’s has been advertising that their ice cream doesn’t contain the synthetic bovine growth hormone made by Monsanto. This hormone was approved by the FDA in the 1990s in the United States. Canada, Japan and the European Union have never approved the drug because of safety concerns.
Just when you think you’ve seen the most absurd intelligence-insulting Astroturf organization yet, the bar gets lowered even further. American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology is the "grassroots" organization that's trying to prevent Ben & Jerry's from even telling you that their ice cream doesn't contain rBGH. Take a wild guess: this gang of douchebags consists mostly of (A) farmers; or (B) Monsanto lobbyists.
psssst! The answer is (B).
And just to make the whole situation even more Orwellian, a Monsanto spokesperson said “Monsanto is really an advocate in support of accurate labeling of dairy products in the dairy case.”
So now we have a popular organic ice cream company being squelched by two 800-pound gorillas (hereafter referred to as David vs. Goliath & Goliath).
Monsanto’s growth hormone (rBGH) was banned in most other countries for the effect it has on animals. It doesn’t directly affect humans. But rBGH causes increased levels of another growth hormone in cows; and that hormone is believed to cause cancer in people.
sssshhhhhh!!!! Move along! Nothing to see here!
cross-posted at Bring It On!
Labels: American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology, Ben and Jerry’s, bovine growth hormone, Monsanto, rBGH
posted by Tom Harper @ 6:49 PM
9 Comments:
States' rights! States' rights!
Only in America - well, and other nations headed by dictators, totalitarians and lunatics - is there a push for LESS information.
You'll eat what we tell you to eat!
What in the flying ninja's ball pull my hair out kind of country do we live in. So organic food is not really organic? (Guess this avers my suspicion all along). Somehow I feel like I'm living in Upton Sinclair's world even though it's 2008.
Jo
Randal: That's right, less information from government/industry to us. But look on the bright side -- there's MORE information flowing from us to the oligarchs (massive spying, Patriot Act, Protect America Act). So that balances everything out, doesn't it?
Jo: Good question. Wish I knew the answer.
Unfuckingbelievable.
J: Yup, my sentiments exactly.
Organic food isn't organic unless those with all the money say it is.
What a bunch of SCHEISERS. Time to look up Monsanto and find out what all kinds of things they are involved in.
Snave: With my limited knowlege, Monsanto is the most self-absorbed amoral company in the world. I hope you'll confirm or deny that with your own web searches. But who else would try to get state and local governments to do their bidding for them?
A few years ago Monsanto sued to overturn a referndum in Mendocino County, CA that banned genetically modified crops from being grown in the county. The referendum passed, and as far as I know Monsantso's suit failed. But that shows how far that company will go to squelch any sentiment against them.
We are living in a country controlled by a government that allows companies to profit while killing its citizens with the crap they put into food medicine and allow to sink into the ground and float into the air.
At the same time they enforce laws to restrict us from doing anything wrong that will hurt the environment or that they think will take away from their pharmaceuticals.
We pay and take emission test for our cars every year. If we are caught dumping anything we are fined. We are harassed and put away for purchasing marijuana that seems to help terminal ill patients , yet they are slowly killing us with what they allow big business to do to us in the name of wealth for the companies and the pennies they get from the deals.
Let's Talk: Yeah, it's gotten pretty bad when government and industry are working together to squelch consumers and the environment. I always thought government was supposed to be sort of a referee between large corporations and the public interest, but I guess I had it wrong.
You're right, an individual will get nailed to the wall for the tiniest infraction but a large company will get just a slap on the wrist (if that).
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