Although dealing in generalisations where the U.S.A. is concerned is difficult, tho’ many have tried, one thing clear is that the U.S. last enjoyed world approval during the late 1940s with the Marshall Plan. It briefly enjoyed world sympathy after 9/11. At all other times the foreign policies of its presidents have been strictly for home consumption and electoral advantage. Worse than these have been the ‘unacceptable faces of capitalism’ displayed by its many multinational corporations who bring the U.S.A., despite what its patriotic citizens might proclaim, into world pariah status. Monsanto is probably the latest and worst.

The various state governments are under pressure right now (and caving in, of course) to this sector’s lobbying to allow GM crops in Australia.

I might have missed it in the article but the methods of Monsanto include claiming the crop of a non GM farmer where the GM seed actually pollutes his crop (this occurred to a farmer in Canada).

Let’s see how long it takes for colony collapse disorder (of the honey bees) to also come to Australia.

It beggars belief.

Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy.

One day Monsanto says it can solve the world food shortage, the next it is denying a shortage exists.  Now it is lobbying for the subsidies to remain on ethanol based fuels.  It seems the biotechs can tailor their stance to suit the most profitable outcome. 
Meanwhile the world starves.
Cathran

“From a production perspective, we have abundance [of food],” said Rob Fraley, Monsanto’s chief technology officer. He said the “challenges” were in distribution and access to food because of wealth distribution.

chicagotribune.com
Agribusiness alliance sharpens food-versus-fuel debate
ADM, Monsanto and others argue ethanol subsidies should stay
Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2008
 
A group of U.S. agribusiness companies led by Archer Daniels Midland Co. launched a new front in the intensifying food-versus-fuel debate Thursday, maintaining that technology can ease global supply shortages.

Decatur, Ill.-based ADM, backed by Deere & Co. of Moline, Ill., and seedmakers Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co., made their call through a new lobbying organization called the Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy.

The move highlights a sharp divide in the U.S. agribusiness sector over domestic food and energy policy, notably subsidies for ethanol and other renewable fuels.

Members of the new alliance have argued technological improvements would continue to boost crop yields and prevent demand for renewable fuels from crowding out food supplies.

This view is fiercely opposed by companies such as Tyson Foods Inc., which has called for U.S. ethanol subsidies to be dropped as its profits have been eroded by higher feed costs for its poultry, pork and beef processing business.

ADM, Monsanto and others have seen their profits soar in recent years as booming demand for agricultural products in emerging markets has pushed up commodity prices and spurred additional production.

Prices of corn, soybeans, and other crops have reached record levels in recent weeks, and global stocks are at historic lows.

However, one alliance member said there was not a supply problem.

“From a production perspective, we have abundance [of food],” said Rob Fraley, Monsanto’s chief technology officer. He said the “challenges” were in distribution and access to food because of wealth distribution.

Fraley dismissed concerns among critics of U.S. agricultural policy that productivity is slowing. “The rate of growth is positive,” he said.

“[We want to] make the same sort of gains in processing efficiency as in agricultural productivity,” added Todd Werpy, vice president of research at ADM.

The new coalition faces tough opposition, notably from the food producers’ lobby in the U.S., which has been calling for the scrapping or reduction of subsidies to the ethanol industry.

“While improvements in global agriculture are vital, this work must not distract us from the fact that while we wait, millions of people will be pushed deeper into hunger and poverty because we are diverting more and more food and feed supplies to producing ethanol,” said a statement from the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association.

Tyson Chief Executive Dick Bond attributes rising food inflation in the U.S. to competition for corn from ethanol producers, as well as the rising global demand for protein that pushed corn and soybean prices to record levels.

Bond has called on Congress to reduce or drop a federal tax subsidy and end import tariffs on sugar-based ethanol.

Current U.S. renewable fuel policy includes a 51-cents-a-gallon subsidy on corn-produced ethanol and a tariff on imports, mainly sugar-based ethanol from Brazil.

“My fear is that if the body politic and the general public turns their back on the first generation [of ethanol], we won’t have a second generation,” said J.B. Penn, chief economist at Deere.

Mark Kornblau, the Democratic strategist who serves as executive director of the alliance, said it was seeking to expand its membership to other companies and government and non-government organizations overseas.

“We are trying to paint a broader picture [and] raise the level of debate,” said Kornblau.

The most telling comment in this sorry tale of greed and corruption is what Fox Vice President and WTVT General Manager, David Boylan, told reporters:

“WE PAID $3 BILLION FOR THESE TELEVISION STATIONS. WE’LL
TELL YOU WHAT THE NEWS IS. THE NEWS IS WHAT WE SAY IT IS.”

Oh, yeah? Is that our future—to be told by Monsanto and many other polluting, poisoning multinationals, and press czars such as Rupert Murdoch, what is good for our health and for the health of our planet?

In case you still have some lingering faith in your national newspaper, or local rag, bear in mind that eight corporations control more than 70% of the world’s media. And that means not just television, but radio, newspapers, magazines, cable, theatre chains, publishing houses, film production (unless financed by the gutsy Michael Moore), satellite systems and theme parks. Yes, even Mickey Mouse is not immune!

From: http://www.doctorsaredangerous.com/articles/monsanto.htm