Cassandra Anderson
Morphcity
The USDA, FDA and EPA favor corporations over human health and the environment, especially when it comes to genetically engineered (GE) organisms.
Contemporary law is no longer based on the Constitution and common law, but has been replaced by case law precedents. The GE alfalfa case (Forage Genetics and Monsanto v Geertson Seed Farms) is disturbing because it appears that a dangerous precedent has been set.
Alfalfa is a perennial plant that lives more than 2 years, so it is especially prone to contamination. The USDA deregulated or allowed open, restriction-free planting of of GE alfalfa on January 27, 2011. The Center for Food Safety (the lawyers opposing Monsanto and Forage Genetics) filed a lawsuit on March 19, 2011, and the case will not be heard until December 2011.
GE alfalfa has been allowed to be planted openly since Spring 2011 and will contaminate conventional and organic alfalfa fields as well as polluting the organic dairy and meat markets because it is used primarily for animal feed. GE alfalfa is pointless because over 90% of alfalfa grown in the US needs no herbicide, so the purpose of GE alfalfa appears to be the contamination of natural alfalfa for profit and to create a monopoly as alfalfa is the 4th largest crop in the US.
Read More: Incompetence Sets A Precedent- GE Alfalfa
Cartoon by Bob Moran
