Monsanto & the GMO

For the common consumer, there is no way to know whether food, plants or seeds we buy at the store are genetically modified or not.

Kemetic wisdom states that, “One does not hire a madman to help you go fight your enemy. Once your enemy has been defeated, who will that mad man turn to destroy next?”

This proverb reveals a dilemma that every individual finds himself in today: Honesty prevents us from even attempting to deny that we are all suffering under the weight of politics. A system which provides a context for individuals to do whatever is necessary to maintain or acquire power is a system of potential madmen. In addition, a society designed around its monetary system becomes even more dangerous. Hopelessness becomes overwhelming when we observe the ‘monster in the human heart’ that has grown inside such a society. This dilemma affects every aspect of our lives and even life itself on Earth.

Monsanto Company is one of these monsters that have hatched under the madmen that the forefathers of this country hired to build their future. Monsanto started as a saccharin (artificial sweetener and proven carcinogen) producer and now creates many more chemicals to, as they claim, ‘make our lives better’. In reality, these chemicals are made to protect business interests using various methods: reducing cost of production, protecting food crops from infestation, and increasing livestock and crop production. However, Monsanto is perhaps best known for being the company leading the charge in the genetically modified organisms (GMO) movement. This company, which is just one of many like it, has found itself the topic of many debates of whether the ends justify the means. However, this company like any other company provides a service that consumers have the right to patronize or not.

What becomes more dangerous for the greater public is that companies like Monsanto have a lot of financial muscle and also save other powerful companies money and time. In a society driven by its monetary system, companies successful enough to have money to control how they are presented, how they are regulated, and how they find their way into the commoner’s lifestyle acquire a lot of power.

On June 21, 2012, the US Senate overwhelmingly voted against the Sanders Amendment, which would have allowed states to pass legislation that required food and beverage products to label whether or not they contain genetically engineered ingredients. This amendment came in a time when many states prepare to vote on ballot initiatives that would require such labeling of genetically modified foods. The amendment was voted down 73 - 26. Patty Lovera, the assistant director of Food and Watch explains, “This doesn’t happen overnight, this is a result of years and years of lobbying and pressure from the biotech industry.” Her company revealed that the largest food and agricultural biotechnology firms and trade associations spent a total of $572 million on campaign contributions and lobbying over the course of ten years.
So what does this mean for us, the local, common consumer?

Our politicians have forfeited the only line of defense we have from money-hungry capitalists parasitizing on human life. If we cannot even have the information to make the decision to buy or not buy products from people who surrendered their responsibility of the safety of humanity and this planet for the size of the deposits they can make to their bank accounts, we can safely say then that our lives have been surrendered to politics and we are at the hands of these madmen who have told us that they will lead us towards their promised land.
Chemical companies and pharmaceutical companies are specifically worth our attention because they are now trying to dictate what we put into our bodies for food and what we put into our bodies after those foods have caused the expected, consequential illnesses. If money is what determines the information they need to disclose to us, we are doomed to sit like guinea pigs waiting in our cage until it’s time for the next chemical to experiment with our lives.
Now politicians are passing laws not only to protect the secrecy of these companies but even to force us to have to do business with them. The new health care reform is forcing every able American to enter into the system of pharmaceuticals and modern medicine. Is the politician to blame? Or is he just the victim of the madmen that he hired to do his dirty work while building his wealth and power? Did these politicians and scientists forget that they are humans too, and their children will be born into the same world that they have overrun with mad scientists, parasites and vultures?
Perhaps the blame is on us, the consumer. At this point we must be aware that our society is motivated by profit. Are we not the ones who have hired these madmen? Are we not the ones who, instead of putting in the work to garden and build grassroots organizations to protect our livelihood, turn to corporations and governments already established for the sake of providing us some convenience and luxury? Are we not the ones who have?