Celebrities Versus Monsanto

[jim49er]

Money may buy this election but as Dr. King said, "How long? Not long. Because no lie can stand forever."

In the end, the right to know what you're eating is a social issue. Today too many people know too much and the numbers of people who know too much are climbing every day. So whatever happens in California, all Monsanto and friends can really buy is some time. How long?

Not long.

http://fearlessrevolution.com/blog/celebrities-versus-monsanto.html

[Zack]

In practical terms, I think Monsanto has already bought all the time they needed. They used to be horrified about GMOs being labeled in the US. They knew their mission was to get things to the point where GMOs were ubiquitous, so that if labels were added, they would just be white noise. Now GMOs are in pretty much every prepared meal and every prepared snack, everywhere in the United States. Every plate and every side dish at every fancy country club. Every section of every combo meal at every lowly fast food joint. Every cookie, every-... Let me stop here. This could go on for a while. Let's pick one example to illustrate the current paradigm: Barbecue sauce. It's great because there are an almost infinite variety of brands and flavors. Here's an assignment for anyone to test out. Go to your local supermarket and stand before the gigantic barbecue sauce section and point to one bottle that has no GMOs. Any flavor and any brand. You might answer "Ah but I can't answer that because there aren't government labels." Well, the thing is, I think I know the answer already. There are probably none. Zero.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure Monsanto, and much of the food industry, will continue to fight things like labels out of fear that it could open up new niche markets, and add to the costs of marketing and labeling, maybe cutting into a percentage of their profits, but they aren't losing any sleep or sweat over the big picture anymore. Maybe in other parts of the world, but not in the United States. Right or wrong, they have won. That's just being realistic. If a medical paper comes out that is widely accepted as being a definitive "smoking gun", that would change the situation, but nothing else will.

I do have a question for anyone that supports food labelling laws, or no, let's make it about GMOs in particular to keep it simple. Do you think Coca-Cola and Monsanto and all these guys are guilty of fraud? If so, what exactly would it have taken, as far as labelling is concerned, to make them NOT be guilty of fraud? What if Coke just put a parenthetical in the ingredients? Like this: INGREDIENTS: CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (GENETICALLY MODIFIED), CARAMEL COLOR. Would that have been enough for you? What exactly is the fundamental basis of what you want, and does it absolutely have to involve hostile bureaucracies?

[Working Poor]

do have a question for anyone that supports food labelling laws, or no, let's make it about GMOs in particular to keep it simple. Do you think Coca-Cola and Monsanto and all these guys are guilty of fraud?

Yes

If so, what exactly would it have taken, as far as labelling is concerned, to make them NOT be guilty of fraud? What if Coke just put a parenthetical in the ingredients? Like this: INGREDIENTS: CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (GENETICALLY MODIFIED), CARAMEL COLOR. Would that have been enough for you?

It is better than nothing

What exactly is the fundamental basis of what you want, and does it absolutely have to involve hostile bureaucracies?

No it does not have to. I just want Monsanto stopped from using bureaucracies to take out their competition.

[Zack]

No it does not have to. I just want Monsanto stopped from using bureaucracies to take out their competition.

Which they inarguably do, through the implementation of IP law. Monsanto is one of the only companies that uses the government against its people in such far-reaching ways, and on such a massive scale. Outside of the financial sector, it may even be able to make a claim of being public enemy #1 among corporations.

But I don't see how that argument gets applied to labelling laws, or if you even mean for it to, and I'm still not clear on where any line is drawn between what people think these companies should have been doing, as far as labelling is concerned, and what they did do.