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FinalCall.com News
National News
Farming, GMOs and loss of life
By Richard B. Muhammad -Editor-
Updated Oct 2, 2013 - 5:20:22 PM
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - Farmland is not only a prerequisite for economic development but is essential for the protection of human life, said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in the 38th installment of his enlightening lecture series “The Time and What Must Be Done.”
“In America generally, and in inner cities in particular, the Black community has become a food desert that is filled with fast food restaurants that proliferate our community, and with this denatured and hormonally- and chemically-based processed foods,” said the Minister in a Sept. 29 webcast at noi.org/thetime. The weekly Saturday evening broadcasts air at 6 p.m. CST.
“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in his monumental book How To Eat To Live, Book I, warns us of the danger of ‘commercialized food,’ and the need for us to take the time to ‘properly prepare our own foods,’ ” said Min. Farrakhan, citing the writing of his teacher and the patriarch of the Nation of Islam.
Mr. Muhammad also warned “there is a commercializing interest in those who rule the food industry. They do not worry about the lives they jeopardize so long as the dollar is safe. You might find yourself eating death, if you follow them,’ ” the Minister told the viewing audience.
“These powerful words from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teach us that we will never be successful economically, even politically and health wise, if we don’t own land and begin creating from that land agribusiness and all types of businesses that can create jobs for our people as a foundation for the building of real wealth, and this will take our people up out of The Valley of Poverty and Want.”
His message was titled “Wicked Policy and America’s National Interests, Part 2” and the beloved leader continued to explain America’s misdeeds, policies and actions that are resulting in premature and targeted deaths at home and abroad.
The Minister warned again of the use of harmful genetically modified seeds and products that are harmful to human life.
Eating genetically modified products, food high in chemical additives and highly processed are contributing to major health problems among Black men and Black women, who lead in an array of cancers, are more likely to die from heart disease and suffer from diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, he noted.
Monsanto and other major corporations, Syngenta, Bayer, DuPont, BASF, and Dow Chemicals are leading GMO producers and 70-80 percent of packaged supermarket foods contain genetically modified ingredients, the Minister added.
The power and influence of Monsanto and firms that produce GMO products is a national and international concern.
“Monsanto’s predatory business and corporate agricultural practices threatens ... health, fertility and longevity. MAM supports a sustainable food production system. We must act now to stop GMOs and harmful pesticides,” said Tami Monroe Canal, founder of March Against Monsanto. The group is supporting an international anti-GMO march Oct. 12.
“GMOs are not adequately monitored to ensure public safety. Long term, independent, peer reviewed studies were not conducted before GMOs were introduced for human or animal consumption. In the USA, the revolving door between Monsanto employees, government positions, and regulatory authorities has led to key Monsanto figures occupying positions of power at the FDA and EPA. Monsanto has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to obstruct all labeling attempts; they also suppress any research containing results not in their favor. The scientifically established health risks include, but are not limited to: organ damage, sterility, infant mortality, birth defects, auto-immune conditions, allergies and increased cancer risks,” said March Against Monsanto.
“GMOs have been partially banned by Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Madeira, New Zealand, Peru, South America, Russia, France, Switzerland and Costa Rico, and are currently labeled in 62 countries,” said the group.
Protestors will be demanding a permanent boycott of genetically modified organisms and other harmful agro-chemicals. Plans call for marches on 6 continents in 52 countries, with events in over 400 cities.
In the United States, “solidarity marches” are planned in 47 states.
“In India, more than 250,000 farmers have committed suicide after Monsanto’s Bt cotton seeds did not perform as promised. Farmers, left in desperate poverty, are opting to free their families of debt by drinking Monsanto pesticide, thereby ending their lives. Many farmers in other countries are also stripped of their livelihood as a result of false promises, seed patenting and meticulous legal action on the part of Monsanto and other big-ag interests. In many parts of Africa, farmers and their communities are left to choose between starving or eating GMOs,” said March Against Monsanto.
