Just what else is MONSANTO doing to the US Territory of Puerto Rico, and to the US citizens living here?
That is, as well as using Puerto Rico as a foreign offshore tax shelter to rip the US treasury and our fellow citizens in the other states?
Read Puerto Rico's colonial government’s report at the end!
Who do we believe?
Who in the PR colonial government or the US Federal Government cares enough to correctly inform us or do anything about it?
MJR
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GLOBAL RESEARCH
By Timothy Alexander Guzman
Global Research, May 26, 2013
Monsanto is the global multinational corporation that has been expanding its operation in the Caribbean nation of Puerto Rico. It has been using Puerto Rico as an experiment for its Genetically Modified Seeds (GMOs).
According to a 2011 report called “El experimento Caribeno de Monsanto” (Monsanto’s Caribbean Experiment) by the journalist Eliván Martínez for the Center of Investigative Journalism of Puerto Rico:
There is a situation in the works
here that the government is hiding and supporting: the island is an
important center for eight companies, seven of them multinationals, who
develop the first generations of genetically modified seeds to
distribute to the United States and around the world. The possessions of
these corporations include public and private farms, mostly on the best
cultivable lands on the south of the island, where in the last century
the empire of his majesty, the sugarcane, was in charge, held up by
great landowners who wanted the land for themselves.
The majority of these lands take up more than the limit of 500 acres,
which is the maximum permitted by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, while
they receive attractive benefits from the government and they enjoy the
Ley de Promocion y Desarrollo de Empresas de Biotecnologia Agricola de
2009 (Law for the Promotion and Development of Agricultural
Biotechnology Companies, 2009) [es], custom-made to favor them.The Colonial government of Puerto Rico supports the project as they do with every project that involves the United States government. Monsanto is a major corporation involved in producing genetically modified foods or genetically modified organisms (GMO). They have been the targeted for good reason because it is one of the most dangerous corporations in the world that poses a threat to our health, environment and for our future concerning our food supply. Doctors, researchers, activists, environmentalists, governments (Poland and Hungary) and international organizations have been battling Monsanto since its creation. Monsanto has produced products including Agent Orange, dioxin and genetically modified seeds (GMO’s). According to Dr. Joseph M. Mercola of the alternative medicine website Mercola.comwrote an article titled “Banned in Germany, But You’re Probably Still Eating It.” He wrote:
Why GM Foods should be Labeled with a Skull and Crossbones
Monsanto wants you to simply trust
them because they’re “experts” and because their industry-funded studies
“prove” their GM foods are safe. But these same experts also told you
PCB’s, Agent Orange, and DDT was safe, and we now know those claims were
far from accurate.
Of course, in terms of reliability,
there’s a big difference between corporate science, which tends to
primarily favor and support corporate interests, and independent
science, performed without preconceived bias. Scientists have, in fact,
discovered a number of health problems related to genetically modified
foods, including:
- An analysis of 19 animal studies revealed that nearly 10 percent of blood, urine, organ and other parameters tested were significantly influenced by GMOs, with the livers and kidneys faring the worst.
- A 2009 Brazilian study discovered that female rats fed GM soy for 15 months showed significant changes in their uterus and reproductive cycle, compared to rats fed organic soy or those raised without soy.
- A study performed by Irina Ermakova with the Russian National Academy of Sciences reported that more than half the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, while the death rate in the non-GM soy group was only 10 percent. Additionally, the babies in the GM group were smaller, and, worst of all, could not reproduce. In a telling coincidence, after Ermakova’s feeding trials were completed, her laboratory started feeding all the rats in the facility a commercial rat chow using GM soy. Within two months, the infant mortality facility-wide reached 55 percent.
- Milk treated with the Monsanto-developed genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) contains higher levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), a hormone linked to breast, prostate and colon cancers in humans.
“Monsanto, the agricultural
technology company, plans to announce on Wednesday a $4.3 million
expansion of its research and development labs in Puerto Rico, a boost
to the island’s economy.
Monsanto executives plan to expand
one of the company’s two Puerto Rico work sites, constructing a
20,000-square-foot home for new research and development laboratories.
Monsanto’s research on the island focuses on corn and cotton, and it
also grows corn and soybean seeds for the mainland United States”
The propaganda orchestrated by Monsanto is disingenuous to say the
least. The Puerto Rican government and Monsanto’s claim that the
island’s economy not only will grow due to its expansion but will be
used as a testing ground with new research facilities. Yes, it does
create jobs, but at the cost of the Puerto Rican people health. Dr.
Mercola’s article just mentioned stated the facts on Monsanto’s
so-called “benefits” to the local food supply:
Virtually all of the claims of
benefit of GM crops – increased yields, more food production, controlled
pests and weeds, reductions in chemical use in agriculture,
drought-tolerant seeds – have not materialized.
The Global Citizens Report on the State of GMOs states:- Contrary to the claim of feeding the world, genetic engineering has not increased the yield of a single crop.
- Herbicide tolerant (Roundup Ready) crops were supposed to control weeds and Bt crops were intended to control pests. Instead of controlling weeds and pests, GE crops have led to the emergence of super weeds and super pests … Herbicide resistant crops such as Roundup Ready cotton can create the risk of herbicide resistant “superweeds” by transferring the herbicide resistance to weeds.
- Despite claims that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will lower the levels of chemicals (pesticides and herbicides) used, quite the opposite has occurred, with 1.6 billion pounds of glyphosate (the active in ingredient in Roundup) being applied to American soil in 2007 alone. This is of great concern both because of the negative impacts of these chemicals on ecosystems and humans, and because there is the danger that increased chemical use will cause pests and weeds to develop resistance, requiring even more chemicals in order to manage them.
- Monsanto has been claiming that through genetic engineering it can breed crops for drought tolerance and other climate-resilient traits. This is a false promise.
- Among the false claims made by Monsanto and the Biotechnology industry is that GE foods are safe. However, there are enough independent studies to show that GE foods can cause severe health damage.
Thanks to glyphosate, the active
ingredient in Monsanto’s non-selective, broad-spectrum herbicide
Roundup, that is sprayed on massive acreages of GM Roundup Ready
soybeans, cotton, and corn grown in the United States each and every
year, super weeds are growing at an alarming rate. It’s estimated that
more than 130 types of weeds spanning 40 U.S. states are now
herbicide-resistant, and the superweeds are showing no signs of
stopping. In fact, the situation is getting progressively worse.
In a Brazilian study in 2009 found that female rats that were fed GM
soy for 15 months saw changes in their uterus and reproductive cycle
compared to rats fed organic soy or not were led to reproductive
disorders. In Jeffrey Smith’s article “Don’t Eat These Beans If You’re
Thinking of Having Children” stated the facts clearly back in 2010.
Smith wrote:
The changes in the rat uterus and
ovulation cycle are by no means a smoking gun. But they are now part of a
pattern of multiple reproductive disorders found in GMO feeding
studies.
Professor Vyvyan Howard, a
toxico-pathologist of the University of Ulster, says, “Several new
hazards can now be identified.” The growing body of research showing
problems, he says, “provides ample evidence that the producers of GMO
crops are not performing risk assessments for some of the hazards that
independent scientists are identifying and testing.”
Dr. Howard, who specializes in the
effects of toxins on the fetus and infants, asks, “What will be the
effect on the fetus in the womb of women eating these foods? This needs
to be tested.”
The few tests that have been done on
animals are more than sobering. In April 2010, researchers at Russia’s
Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences
and the National Association for Gene Security found that after feeding
hamsters GM soy for two years over three generations, by the third
generation most lost the ability to have babies.
They also suffered slower growth, a
high mortality rate among the pups, and a high incidence of a rare
phenomenon of hair growing inside their mouths.
At the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of
Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security study proved the
fact that Genetically Modified Soy has contributed to sterilization of
hamsters unable to produce babies over future generations that were
steadily fed GM Soy over a long period of time. It is a significant
study that only proves GM soy and other related products can cause
sterilization. Jeffrey Smith continued his analysis:
Central Iowa Farmer Jerry Rosman also
had trouble with pigs and cows becoming sterile. Some of his pigs even
had false pregnancies or gave birth to bags of water. After months of
investigations and testing, he finally traced the problem to GM corn
feed.
Every time a newspaper, magazine, or
TV show reported Jerry’s problems, he would receive calls from more
farmers complaining of livestock sterility on their farm, linked to GM
corn.
Researchers at Baylor College of
Medicine accidentally discovered that rats raised on corncob bedding
“neither breed nor exhibit reproductive behavior.” Tests on
the corn material revealed two compounds that stopped the sexual cycle
in females “at concentrations approximately two-hundredfold lower than
classical phytoestrogens.”
One compound also curtailed male
sexual behavior and both substances contributed to the growth of breast
and prostate cancer cell cultures. Researchers found that the amount of
the substances varied with GM corn varieties. The crushed
corncob used at Baylor was likely shipped from central Iowa, near the
farm of Jerry Rosman and others complaining of sterile livestock.
In Haryana, India, a team of
investigating veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM cottonseed
suffer from infertility, as well as frequent abortions, premature
deliveries, and prolapsed uteruses. Many adult and young buffalo have
also died mysteriously.
Biotech advocates usually deny or try
to discredit the evidence, and often attack scientists who discover it.
But they rarely call for follow-up studies. With little or no money to
follow up on these findings, we won’t know for sure if GMOs are the
cause, or if it is glyphosate, or something else. But numerous medical
doctors aren’t waiting for more research. They are telling their
patients, especially those pregnant or planning to have kids, just say
no to GMOs.
So if you were still eating GMOs before you read this, perhaps it’s time to take the doctors’ advice.
Jeffrey Smith’s advice should not be taken lightly. Companies such
as Monsanto poses a danger to Puerto Rico’s food supply and its people
in more ways than one tends to think. It contributes to numerous health
problems that include genetically engineered bovine growth hormone
(rBGH) that actually contains high levels of a substance called “insulin-like growth factor”
or IGF-1. Keep in mind that IGF-1 is a hormone that has been linked to
breast, colon and prostate cancers. GMO tests also conclude that the
team of investigating veterinarians report mentioned earlier that
buffalo’s who consumed GM cottonseed suffered from infertility,
abortions, premature deliveries and problems with their uteruses. Many
buffalos have also died without any formal explanations. GMOs have
created changes that have led to reproductive disorders in rat uterus
and ovulation cycles. It does not lower the levels of dangerous
chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides.In the economic sense, it does not produce crops in case of a major drought or a natural disaster was to occur. Herbicide tolerant or Roundup Ready crops are supposed to control weeds and Bt crops. It is intended to control pests but it has led to the growth of super weeds and super pests instead creating more problems for farmers. Monsanto is now in operation in Puerto Rico contributing to more health problems that includes sterilization, infertility, cancers and chemicals that would destroy the remaining farms that produce crops for local and US markets that would put a strain on its already fragile economy.
Monsanto creates two main problems for the Puerto Rican people; first it contributes to more health problems that would jeopardize population growth and secondly, it would destroy whatever is left of the agricultural industry because its seed-and-herbicide business forces farmers into a system of economic dependence. Farmers will also not be able to return to traditional farming after their farmland has been infected and destroyed with Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready”.
Protests in Puerto Rico and around the world are taking place with such organizations as ‘Puerto Rican Organization of Eco-Organic Agriculture’ who is allied with the’Campesina/Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones de Campo’ (Latin American Coordinator of Field Organizations) against Monsanto.
________________________________________________________________
Puerto Rico will get boost from Monsanto expansion
Adam Sege | McClatchy Newspapers
JUNE 29, 2011
WASHINGTON — Monsanto, the agricultural technology company, plans to announce on Wednesday a $4.3 million expansion of its research and development labs in Puerto Rico, a boost to the island's economy.
Monsanto executives plan to expand one of the company's two Puerto Rico work sites, constructing a 20,000-square-foot home for new research and development laboratories. Monsanto's research on the island focuses on corn and cotton, and it also grows corn and soybean seeds for the mainland United States.
The expansion will create 45 jobs and replace temporary facilities with permanent ones, said Kimberly O'Brien, a Monsanto spokeswoman.
The announcement sends a positive signal about the U.S. territory's economy, particularly after other recent life science investments, said Jose Perez-Riera, Puerto Rico's commerce secretary. "If you have one company that decides to do it, it may just be that that company decided to do it," Perez-Riera said during a visit to Washington for a biotech conference. "If you start getting others, it means that the business climate for that type of activity works." At last year's biotech conference, Pioneer Hi-Bred, an Iowa-based seed company, announced that it was adding a second research and development center in Puerto Rico.
Since Gov. Luis Fortuno took office in 2009, he's implemented several programs aimed at guiding the island from a manufacturing economy to what Perez-Riera calls an "innovation economy." New tax incentives, in particular, are catching the interest of outside companies, Perez-Riera said. Monsanto's expansion will take place in Juana Diaz, a town of about 50,000 in southern Puerto Rico, and will bring the number of full-time Monsanto employees on the island to nearly 200. Hundreds more employees work on a seasonal basis.
The company also hopes to partner with two local agricultural universities, including hiring some of their graduates, O'Brien said. Unlike the mainland United States, Puerto Rico has three to four distinct growing seasons, and the U.S. territory operates under the same regulatory structure as the rest of the United States, making it convenient for companies, O'Brien said.The announcement came about two weeks after President Barack Obama traveled to Puerto Rico in the first visit by a sitting U.S. president in 35 years.
Despite the positive signs Perez-Riera highlighted, the island is still emerging from a recession deeper and longer than the one that hit much of the mainland U.S. Sixteen percent of Puerto Ricans were unemployed last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. By comparison, of the 50 states, Nevada had the highest unemployment rate last month, at 12.1 percent.
Justin Velez-Hagan, the national executive director of the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, said he welcomed new investment in Puerto Rico as an encouraging sign. "If any company's willing to invest down there, it means they have some confidence in the government," he said.
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