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TJP
Jun-19-2011 15:36
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Battle Over GMO Food Rages in Flanders Field
Opinion by Tim King Salem-News.comBelgium: Brave activists challenge mad scientist food on an historic battlefield for a decisive victory.
 Courtesy: wn.com |
(SALEM / FLANDERS FIELD) - What does 'Flanders Field' mean to you?
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Granted, I am a student of the First World War, where the bloodiest fighting in history took place, soaking places like Flanders Field for more than four straight years. To me 'Flanders Field' means sacrifice, perhaps today more than ever.
Armistice Day represents the end of WWI, but today the trench fighting has returned, with a new enemy; genetically modified food (GMO), the new mad scientist seeds created in laboratories by injecting human components from mothers who can't conceive, into the creation of seeds that in essence make GMO food an act of cannibalism.
Our brothers and sisters in Belgium aren't having it.
As we reported yesterday in Protesters Destroy GM Belgium Field Trial, demonstrators with the Belgian Field Liberation Movement (FLM) held a peaceful protest to publicly remove GM potatoes and replant non-GM blight resistant potatoes. They were successful.
Although police were tipped off and waiting for the FLM teams to arrive, they were unable to stop them. Several hundred people highly intent on exiting GMO crops from their nation climbed the fence, and began uprooting the plants. Around 40 people were arrested, or should we say 'captured' by police?
There are few ways to get attention and results that top direct action. People power it has been called, and it is a very real thing as revolutionaries in Egypt and several other nations know well.
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Between the fences, no sign on this lawn
Remove all doubt, it's all ripped out
Again birds can sing, no sign of corporate clout
They all bailed when Monsanto set out
Will such moves motivate American activists to conduct similar actions? After all, the United States is behind all of this, regardless of what is taking place in Europe.
The company Monsanto which was responsible for Agent Orange; a toxic chemical sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam, is the same group pushing GMO food. Their goal is control, and by mutating food crops, they actually learned that they can essentially 'blueprint' their designs and if GMO seeds end up taking root an an organic farm, and Monsanto finds out, they will charge the farmer with the GMO invaders for a copyright violation. I'm not making this up.
I found the video below very empowering, in this world where problems greatly outweigh answers. I am a great admirer of the people of FLM and I hope their actions will lead to a better day at the dinner table.
Hundreds of farmers, environmental activists, scientists and other concerned citizens stood up to liberate a Belgian field trial with genetically modified potatoes. This is a motivating thing to know.
FLM tells Salem-News.com: "The action succeeded and opened a debate on gmo's and the (in)dependence of research from industry interests. But also the non-violent direct action of the Field Liberation Movement was heavily criminalized by gentech scientists, politicians and mainstream media. Damaging property seems to be a difficult issue in Belgian society".
And for the record, the 'O' in GMO stands for 'organism'.
Here is Wikipedia's description of GMO food:
"A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms which have inserted DNA that originated in a different species."
I believe there are lessons to be learned.
As a closing thought, I leave you with Sting's 'Children's Crusade' in honor of all who fought and died in the First World War, and the soldiers of the new movement to save the human race from the greedy desire of selfish corporate industries that have no consideration for your future or mine.
Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.
Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.
Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 88 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com
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Anonymous May 8, 2012 10:21 pm (Pacific time)
"Armistice Day represents the end of WWI, but today the trench fighting has returned, with a new enemy; genetically modified food (GMO), the new mad scientist seeds created in laboratories by injecting human components from mothers who can't conceive, into the creation of seeds that in essence make GMO food an act of cannibalism." Yes, there's so much risk in GMO. i can't really understand why most company is still doing it like this company Monsanto, they are the worst company in 2011 according to this article http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/31/monsanto-worst-company-of-2011.aspx
wieme June 26, 2011 5:22 am (Pacific time)
*sight...
BR June 26, 2011 10:00 am (Pacific time)
Seems like Salem has found its new witches: GMO's.
Editor: Wrong side of the USA BR, sorry. But seriously, you would actually compare these things? It just proves the mentality of the people who back this food, it is unhealthy and wrong.
Jelle C June 25, 2011 1:57 pm (Pacific time)
WAHAHAHAHA; all I can say here
Lots of bullshit. You obviously don't know what you are talking about here. Seriously, is this just an excuse to get attention or be violent? It's sad to see this happen. Imagine how it would be if patatoes can survive certain diseases they cannot now. Many people starving at this very moment would be very happy with some food. Find a legal and good way to fight what you do not want, but ofcourse, if you already know not a single judge in his right mind will say you're right...
Stop being violent and ignorant!
And for gods sake, please leave the world war and it's victims out of this, it's a disgrace! Those people fought for an honorable goal, unlike you.
Please grow up!
Editor: WWI, fought for honorable goals? You mean attrition? That is what World War One was and I sincerely doubt that you can even begin to hold a conversation with me about it, but I am happy to. The first World War was a terrible event. There were no clear good guys or bad guys, just a bunch of greedy control mongers like the people wreaking havoc on our food supply with GMO's. Yes, fighting you and your kind is more than honorable, you are the enemy and people will go to great effort to protect this human race from your kind. Mad science is what it is on the best day, and people don't want it, so quit messing with nature!
laura dierickx June 25, 2011 8:14 am (Pacific time)
Can you explain where following statement came from? There are so many untrue parts here, i don't even know where to begin.
"genetically modified food (GMO), the new mad scientist seeds created in laboratories by injecting human components from mothers who can't conceive, into the creation of seeds that in essence make GMO food an act of cannibalism."
It's obvious you don't have the slightest idea of what a gmo is.
Oh, and alse, the protest wasn't 'peaceful', or is hurting policemen and destroying fences peaceful?
Monsanto had nothing to do with this trial, this was a trial conducted by a university, and payed for by the government?
How you can compare an action of 300 nimwits with a revolution in the arab world is beyond me.
Oh, and 'Belgian' isn't a language. It's called Dutch. But I didn't expect you to know that, writing a piece about a Belgian situation of course.
It's an obvious conclusion that you don't do a lot of research before you throw something on the web, or that reality and facts are just lost on you... A bit sad for a so-called journalist.
Greetings,
Laura,
Belgian.
Editor: Yeah, no. Your money is in this stuff and I'd bet that is the beginning and end of it. Looks like I did error in the reference to the language, I stand corrected on that, but I have stood at your border with France. Yes, Monsanto is the birth mother of what you are doing. Yes, I compare the actions of these activists to those of the Middle east Revolution, it is all one big ball of wax and you who push GMO are as bad as any of the oppressive governments, you just select a different methodology to control the masses, that is all. And for the record, I have 91 writers in 20 nations and I carry the most important news on the planet every day, you are sadly mistaken in your assessment. The information below addresses your questions, from : http://www.salem-news.com/articles/may282011/gmo-not-food-cs.php
William Engdahl wrote in March of 2010 about a USDA funded project to create a GM corn that sterilizes people.
GMO, glyphosate and population reduction
One long-standing project of the US Government has been to perfect a genetically-modified variety of corn, the diet staple in Mexico and many other Latin American countries. The corn has been field tested in tests financed by the US Department of Agriculture along with a small California bio-tech company named Epicyte. Announcing his success at a 2001 press conference, the president of Epicyte, Mitch Hein, pointing to his GMO corn plants, announced, “We have a hothouse filled with corn plants that make anti-sperm antibodies.” 14
Hein explained that they had taken antibodies from women with a rare condition known as immune infertility, isolated the genes that regulated the manufacture of those infertility antibodies, and, using genetic engineering techniques, had inserted the genes into ordinary corn seeds used to produce corn plants. In this manner, in reality they produced a concealed contraceptive embedded in corn meant for human consumption. “Essentially, the antibodies are attracted to surface receptors on the sperm,” said Hein. “They latch on and make each sperm so heavy it cannot move forward. It just shakes about as if it was doing the lambada.”15 Hein claimed it was a possible solution to world “over-population.” The moral and ethical issues of feeding it to humans in Third World poor countries without their knowing it countries he left out of his remarks.
Valentine Dyall June 23, 2011 2:03 am (Pacific time)
OK – two parting shots. (1) The long term effects of everything are unknown and, if they turn out to be bad, it will be often not be too late to take remedial action. (2) So you don’t like capitalism? Should we perhaps resurrect the great socialist experiment in the Soviet Union in which political “necessities” trumped people with tens of millions of fatal consequences? Or perhaps you prefer the economic dynamism of Cuba. Best wishes, DJ: over and out.
Valentine Dyall June 22, 2011 4:13 pm (Pacific time)
DJ: I was wondering when someone would try to equate the American colonial revolt to vandalism of field trials, and you have kindly obliged. For a whole variety of reasons (which I do not have the time to enumerate and you would likely not have the patience to read) they are not comparable except in argumentative terms for blogs. Suffice to say that the colonialists were dealing with an unsympathetic government thousands of miles away across an ocean and had few rights: “no taxation”, you will remember, “without representation”. The anti-GM brigade are in a very different position: they have the same legitimate rights of reasonable protest as anyone else but consistently fail to make a convincing argument to prevent the adoption of transgenics where they are perceived as beneficial and appropriate. As a result GM-crops increase globally by 10% or so every year, their products bought, eaten and worn by people almost around the globe (including in many European countries). All your “warriors” can do is to act as thugs and bully-boys because otherwise too few people would notice them or care what they say. I do accept, of course, that this appears to be your blog, not mine, and that you will have the last word. So go ahead: unless there is a very pressing reason I will not seek to prolong the agony.
You've made my point. In the current case we have contemporary unsympathetic governments. History is always written by the winners. If the colonials had not prevailed, Washington, et al would today be defined as "thugs and bully-boys".The long term effects of GM foods are not known and if they turn out to be bad, it will be too late. But, as I've said before, in capitalism profits always trump people.
Valentine Dyall June 22, 2011 1:05 am (Pacific time)
No DJ, you are wrong. If the brave Belgian warriors (actually French, as I understand it) want to “fight fire with fire” they will have nothing to complain about when they find themselves at the wrong end of a flame thrower. Fortunately our society has developed a respect for the rule of law. Those laws also apply to brave warriors; if they choose to break it they will face the consequences which I hope will not be trivial.
DJ: You're speaking from the side of power, of those who can afford to go on while dragging things through court with the rule of technicality so that even if they lose, the consequences would be moot because either the establishment of gm has advanced to the point where it would be too costly to undo or, more likely, where the consequences can't be reversed.
Consider an analogous case: Would the U.S. have ever been founded if, instead, the colonists had decided to fight their grievances in court and Parliament? I think not.
Valentine Dyall June 21, 2011 1:46 am (Pacific time)
You might choose to call them brave fighters and compare the Belgian vandals with Egyptians protesting against a dictatorship; others will regard them as thugs and bully boys. We are fortunate in our democracies, of which Belgium is one, to have legal and peaceful ways of expressing opinion without destroying other people’s property. Your brave Belgian fighters might think of that course of action – or go off to fight bravely for one or other of the Middle East dictators who would appreciate their style and their action more than we do in the democratic West.
DJ: Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Our legal systems are so slow and corrupt that if we allow corporations to do whatever they want until they can be sued, it's too often that irrevocable or long-lasting damage is done. The environment belongs to us all and it is morally wrong to allow corporate interests (or even individuals) to run roughshod over our common world.
Melissa June 20, 2011 5:33 am (Pacific time)
I absolutely appreciate your investigative efforts. Keep up the work! Rock ON!
http://www.foreverflavor.org/
Editor: You rock on too sister, and if you have any hot stories, dial us in, tim@salem-news.com thanks!
Tim King June 19, 2011 4:16 pm (Pacific time)
I would love to have this in Belgian and French, if anyone is up to a proper translation I will gladly add, thanks!
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