Our War of Shame (a letter to the editor)

To the Editor

Since our elected U.S. Legislators, Congress and Senate do not to seem to care about our Vietnam War Veterans who are sick from the herbicide Agent Orange Dioxin, I can say I am not proud of our government in the manner in which our Veterans are treated. However, we did our job and did not question our orders. We believed the Vietnam War was to free a country from communistic oppression. This is what America is about, freedom.

Freedom is not free; it is costly in lives and dollars. There is no dollar amount I know of that can replace a life. The real cost are those who died on both sides. The dollars mean nothing. Where the dollars do come into play are the dollars to care for those who came home broken and sick and those who came home in a box.

How do we get these dollars from the American taxpayer? Congress sets dollar amounts to pay for war, to pay for those who come home in a box, plus the wounded. What about those who are sick and broken? Now we have a new set of rules for those who fought the war and lived. Legislative bills must be introduced and dollar amounts agreed on to pay for the needs of the sick and broken who came home alive. It can take years and more legislation. In the meantime, these sick and broken war veterans die off one by one with no resolve from our government who sent them to war. Many get little to no health care and no compensation. A perfect example is the Vietnam War, our War of Shame.

I have often wondered, what if our Legislators were sent to war and had to defend themselves just like our troops on land, sailors at sea and airmen in the sky? A novel thought indeed!

John Bury, U.S. Navy, retired, Vietnam War Veteran Media

http://www.southphillyreview.com/opinion/Our_war_of_shame-366855621.html

Veteran calls himself an 'Agent Orange warrior'

After the war, Vietnam veteran Steve Dudich joined the Salvation Army as a lieutenant where he served impoverished neighborhoods in the Bay Area.

"Were you in Vietnam?"

That’s a haunting question Steve Dudich, of Arroyo Grande, has heard more times than he cares to remember.

Doctors asked when they detected his daughter had a rare cancer of the forehead, when his wife miscarried a child and when he developed ischemic heart disease, forcing his heart to beat 250 beats per minute, more than twice as fast as it should be beating.

A Serbian whose family fled to America, Dudich joined the Marines at 16 years old (his father, he said, forged his mother’s signature on the recruitment paperwork). As soon as he caught wind that the Russians were transporting missiles to Cuba, he vowed he would do whatever he could to fight communism.

He never imagined it would lead him into battle against his own government.

“I’ve been an Agent Orange warrior ever since I was first in (the) country. I was burned bad by that stuff,” Dudich said. “Agent Orange has destroyed my life. It has harmed my children, it has harmed my first wife … what they have done to us and put us through when we came home, there’s no excuse for what this government did.”

U.S. forces sprayed more than 19 million gallons of the herbicide throughout Vietnam between 1961 and 1972, using the powerful acid to cut down dense foliage enemies used for cover.

Dudich sprinted through a barrage of bamboo doused in Agent Orange. The splinters penetrated his skin, injecting the herbicide into his body hundreds of times. The pain became overwhelming. He stripped down to his skivvies.

“People thought I’d gone crazy. I looked like I’d been dipped in a vat of acid,” Dudich said. “That’s where I think I got my worst contamination.”

The effects are lasting.

He developed outbreaks of rashes and blisters throughout his body, repulsing his young daughters.

“They were scared of me," Dudich said. "My eyes would have blisters, my face would have blisters. I’d stay in my room and not come out.”

His daughters harbor resentment, Dudich said. Although not physically visible, they sustain secondary exposure to Agent Orange.

One of his daughters said she considers herself “tweaked.”

Dudich has spent his life advocating for veterans rights.

Before his exposure to the herbicide, Dudich was a brash soldier. He carried a Ruger Blackhawk 357 revolver and quick drew it like a cowboy. He would wear a white T-shirt instead of Army camouflage and a soft cover instead of hard helmet.

The bright target would flush out snipers, and as soon as Dudich found out where they were firing from, he’d call in an airstrike.

“I had every attitude at my young age that I could have. I’m ghetto born and bred, man.”

Years after the war, Dudich’s commanding officers offered to promote him to captain with retroactive pay, and award him the Navy Cross. He turned them down.

“What’s that do for me?” Dudich asked.

Eventually, Dudich would be commissioned as an officer, however. He joined the Salvation Army as a lieutenant where he served impoverished neighborhoods in the Bay Area.

“Never have I regretted going into the service,” Dudich said. “I learned so much through the war. Going forward, I can see the things other people just can’t see.”

LINK

GMO Science Deniers: Monsanto and the USDA

Perhaps no group of science deniers has been more ridiculed than those who deny the science of evolution. What you may not know is that Monsanto and our United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are among them. That's right: for decades, Monsanto and its enablers inside the USDA have denied the central tenets of evolutionary biology, namely natural selection and adaptation. And this denial of basic science by the company and our government threatens the future viability of American agriculture.

Third Grade Science

Let's start with interrelated concepts of natural selection and adaptation. This is elementary school science. In fact, in Washington D.C. it is part of the basic third grade science curriculum.

As we all remember from biology class, when an environment changes, trait variation in a species could allow some in that species to adapt to that new environment and survive. Others will die out. The survivors are then able to reproduce and even thrive under the new environmental conditions. For example, if a drought were to occur, some plants might have traits that allow them to survive while other plants in the same species would perish. The drought-resistant plants then become the "evolved" species, and they are able to reproduce in the drought environment.

Obvious, you are thinking. But let's explore how Monsanto's top scientists and government regulators would have failed a third grade science class in D.C. and the dire consequences that it is bringing to us all.

Biotech's Dirty Little Secret

First a little background. Since the early 1980s, Monsanto has endlessly hyped genetically engineered (GE) crops they claim could reduce hunger, reduce pesticide use, and survive droughts. In reality, no such "miracle" crops exist. No significantly greater yielding crops, no more effective drought resistance crops. And as for the claim of less pesticide use, behind this myth lies the "dirty little secret" of agricultural biotechnology. Namely, that GE crops actually add hundreds of millions of pounds of pesticides to our fields and crops, and create greater agrochemical residues on our food. Why? Because around 85 percent of all genetically engineered crops in the United States and around the world have been engineered to withstand massive doses of herbicides, mostly Monsanto's Roundup. Usually, if toxic weed-killing chemicals such as Roundup come into contact with a crop they will destroy it as well as the weeds around it. But Monsanto scientists genetically engineered a cassette of bacterial and viral DNA into plants that allowed them to tolerate these herbicides. So the weeds are killed, but the crops remain.

In the United States, more than 50 percent of all our cropland is devoted to GE corn, soy and cotton. They are commodity crops that feed cars, animals in industrial meat production and are used for additives like high fructose corn syrup. Almost none directly feeds people. So rather than feeding the hungry, this technology is about chemical companies selling more chemicals, a lot more chemicals. So as noted, each year 115 million more pounds of Roundup are spread on our farmlands because of these altered crops.

Profits versus Science: Science loses

If half of our nation's cropland is doused year after year with a particular herbicide, that is a significant change in the environment. The accompanying problem of adaptation and selection has probably already occurred to you. Wouldn't that massive increase in Roundup use over that huge a portion of our cropland cause some weed populations to develop resistance? Wouldn't weeds with natural resistance thrive in this new environment? Wouldn't these new "superweeds" eventually become a major problem for U.S. farmers, overrunning their crops?

As government regulators were considering whether to approve these plants in the mid-1990s, they asked Monsanto just that question. No doubt considering the billions they were going to make selling more Roundup, this is a moment when Monsanto's scientists seemed to find it convenient to their bottom line to deny basic evolutionary science. They stated, "Evolution of weed resistance to glyphosate (Roundup's active ingredient) appears to be an unlikely event." They also suggested that massive use of Roundup would lead to "no resistant weeds." Independent scientists were aghast. They mocked Monsanto's view that Roundup was somehow "invincible" from the laws of natural selection, and pointed out that the company's scientists purposely ignored numerous studies that showed there would be weed resistance. But incredibly, despite the strong contrary evidence, the USDA regulators just nodded in science denying agreement with Monsanto.

Of course, adaptation and natural selection did take place. As a result, in less than 20 years, more than half of all U.S. farms have some Roundup resistant "superweeds," weeds that now infest 70 million acres of U.S farmland, an area the size of Wyoming. Each year we see major expansion of this "superweed" acreage. Texas has gone so far as to declare a state of emergency for cotton farmers. Superweeds are already causing major economic problems for farmers with a current estimate of $1 billion lost in damages to crops so far.

Last year in a panel discussion with Robert Fraley, Chief Technology Officer for Monsanto and a founder of these herbicide tolerant crops, I confronted him. How could he and the other Monsanto scientists have claimed that natural selection would not take place? How could they ignore basic evolutionary science and clear contrary evidence? He just shook his head and said "You're right, weeds have evolved resistance." But apparently, Monsanto and their government regulators still haven't learned this third grade science lesson. They're denying science once again, and the stakes are even higher.

"Agent Orange Crops" and More Science Denial

Now Monsanto and Dow Chemical have received government approval to market new genetically engineered corn, soy and cotton, that are "stacked" with engineered DNA that make them resistant to Roundup as well as 2,4-D (one of the chief elements of "Agent Orange"). Monsanto has also gained approval from the USDA for the same three crops that can tolerate Dicamba. 2,4-D and Dicamba are older, more toxic herbicides than Roundup, and these companies are reverting to them because they have brought us to the point of peak herbicides. They simply don't have any new ones, similar to the current crisis in antibiotics.

But won't the weeds simply become resistant to these herbicides as well? Not according to the science deniers at Monsanto and Dow Chemical. Despite predictions that their new crops will add hundreds of millions more pounds of these herbicides each year, they say not to worry. They claim -- as they did 20 years ago -- that natural selection will not happen; that it is extremely unlikely for weeds to survive simultaneous attacks from two or more different herbicides with different methods.

Weed scientists have shredded this argument, noting that weeds in the past, through adaption, have done this and will almost certainly do it again. So in a few years we will be overrun with "superweeds" that are virtually indestructible by any known chemical. But by then Monsanto and Dow will have made billions selling their chemicals and can leave the "superweed" agronomic nightmare for others to solve. Nor will they have to deal with the other nightmares that could possibly occur: increased rates of cancer and diseases like Parkinson's associated with exposure to these herbicides.

A Better Way

A science-based, and safer, way forward is to abandon this doomed-to-fail chemical arms race against weeds and use ecologically based weed control. There are proven organic and agroecological approaches that emphasize weed management rather than weed eradication, soil building rather than soil supplementing. Crop rotation and cover crops can return productive yields without ridding the land of genetic biodiversity, and could reduce herbicide use by 90 percent.

So it's long past due that our government required real and rigorous science when regulating GE crops. It's time for them to say "no" to these herbicide-promoting crops, and prevent the looming agronomic disaster they will inevitably bring with them.

In the meantime, the next time you read hear about "GMO science deniers" -- think of 70 million acres of superweeds; think cancer, Parkinsons and other diseases caused by this growing use of herbicides; think Monsanto and its enablers at the USDA.

Agent Orange: It's Affecting Veterans and Their Kids

The number of Vietnam veterans affected by the chemical Agent Orange is astonishing.

Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure -- that's almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat.

“Did it save lives? No doubt. Over there it did, but nobody knew it was going to be taking them later,” said Dan Stenvold, President of the North Dakota branch of the VVA.

The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) define Agent Orange as a highly toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military to kill vegetation during the Vietnam War.

"You know we killed the jungle with back packs, sprayed so we had a good perimeter," said Stenvold.

According to Stenvold, one tablespoon of Agent Orange in the drinking water of Los Angeles would kill the entire city.

That toxicity is coming back to haunt veterans and it's also affecting their children...

“Well my dad was a Vietnam veteran, my brother has brain cancer believed to be caused by Agent Orange passed through my father,” said Ashely Busby, daughter of a Vietnam Vet.

…And their children's children.

“Our daughters that can't have children, there's a lot of them. I was telling Ashley I know of at least 70 in North Dakota alone where the daughters can't have kids,” said Stenvold.

11 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed in Vietnam over 20 million acres, putting three million Vietnam veterans and their families at risk.

"It’s an everyday question kind of, you know, what's passed on, what's not passed on," said Busby.

Stenvold did three tours in Vietnam and in 2002 he was diagnosed with diabetes linked to Agent Orange.

Since then he says he's made a vow to raise awareness.

Two years ago, the VVA received 50 thousand dollars from the state to do just that.

"It’s amazing how many Vietnam veterans don't know about it and you know it's really opened the eyes, I gotta thank the North Dakota legislature because two years ago they had enough faith in us to go out and do what we're doing and it's working," said Stenvold.

There are about 50 diseases connected agent orange exposure and nearly 20 birth defects recognized in the children of Vietnam veterans.

"I had a close friend who died a five years ago from lymphoma and he's laying in Minot, he's from Minot, dying and he says, "you know we all took a bullet over there, some of us just didn't know it. We're all going to die from it, eventually, or a lot of us will," said Stenvold.

Mcneilus steel in Fargo made history as the first corporation in North Dakota to donate money to the VVA.

The employees and the company gave a total of $1,500 dollars to this cause.

http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Agent-Orange-It--296824751.html

Veterans touched by Agent Orange tell their stories

Clifford Anderson’s serious health problems began when he was in his 30s.

It began with a diagnosis of colitis, an inflammation of the inner lining of his colon, in the early 1980s. By 1990, his colon had to be removed.

“When they took the colon out, the doctor at the university said they’ve never seen a colon like that before,” Anderson said. “It was like battleship gray.”

His health continued to deteriorate over the years as he developed poor circulation, bleeding ulcers on his ankles, blood clots, eye disease and now a rare cancer that leaves small tumors on the inside of his intestines.

Anderson, 67, of Joy, Ill., is convinced that his health problems stem from his exposure to Agent Orange, a highly toxic chemical sprayed on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War. Anderson served with the 101st Airborne Division from February 1966 to September 1967.

“I felt sorry for myself for a long time,” Anderson said Saturday. “But I tell you the worst thing is, and I’ll just put it very bluntly, the hell I put my family through.”

Now, he worries about the effects of the drug being passed down genetically to his son and eventually his granddaughter.

In fact, the effects of Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals that soldiers may come in contact with during war may be felt in the next five to seven generations, said Maynard Kaderlik of the Minnesota State Council, Vietnam Veterans of America.

“We beat up ourselves a lot over the years,” Kaderlik told a packed room of veterans and their families at the Rogalski Center at St. Ambrose University in Davenport on Saturday. “Don’t blame yourself for this issue, OK? We didn’t know that the stuff was going to do this to us.”

The town hall forum lasted much of Saturday and is the first of its kind in Iowa, said Gary Paulline, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776, Bettendorf.

The Department of Veterans Affairs currently recognizes about 50 illnesses, such as Parkinson ’s disease and multiple forms of cancer, connected to exposure to Agent Orange.

The VA also recognizes some birth defects, such as spina bifida and hip dysplasia, of children born to female Vietnam War veterans.

"We believe genetically we passed it on to our children and now the dioxin is in our tissue, so we don't know when the bomb's going to go off," Kaderlik said.

Since the Vietnam Veterans of America began doing the town hall meeting several years ago, they have identified about 750 diseases that may be linked to Agent Orange and other toxins, Kaderlik said.

It's not just Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to toxic agents.

In the Gulf War, service men and women were exposed to such things as depleted uranium used extensively in American armor-piercing ammunition and to enhance armor protection for some tanks. In the case of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, they were exposed to the smoke and fumes of burn pits used to burn everything from basic trash to chemical waste and human feces.

During the Agent Orange town hall meetings, the Vietnam Veterans of America also has collected stories from Vietnam War veterans and their families and plan to share them Congress in a push for legislation that calls for more research for toxic exposure research and support for military families.

They are doing it, in large part, for the future generations who may be affected by Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals, Kaderlik said.

"We have to fight the fight, we have to keep at it," he said.

Kaderlik encouraged veterans to file claims with the Veterans Administration for themselves and family members and register with the VA's Agent Orange registry, which provides a comprehensive health exam that alerts veterans to possible long-term effects related to Agent Orange.

Anderson said his son, born in Belgium in 1970, has had issues with his teeth, heart and hips for much of his life. He worries about his granddaughter, who has not shown any symptoms.

“We’re talking about the children here, but I’m still a firm believer that if we don’t get this on the registry and get proof of this, we’re all in trouble,” Anderson said.

Copyright 2015 The Quad-City Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The 40-year war AGENT ORANGE CASUALTIES KEEP MOUNTING

'They can't cure it'

Eleven years ago, at a routine physical, Terry Singer's doctor ordered him to see an oncologist. The elevated protein he found in his blood pointed to multiple myeloma, a rare and deadly cancer of the plasma cells and one of the presumptive diseases the government recognizes as associated with Agent Orange exposure.

"I didn't have any connection in my mind between the disease and my service in Vietnam," Singer said. "I didn't know there was any connection."

Singer was told he may have two to three years to live.

"The diagnosis was pretty shocking," he said.

Eleven years later, Singer continues to buck his doctor's expectations. The Hummelstown resident darts from one doctor's visit to the next, tending to quarterly medical screenings. Every four months or so, Singer undergoes blood work, MRIs and CAT scans to monitor his disease. So far, he has staved off treatment, which comes with its own adverse side effects and limitations.

"Sooner or later, it'll stop working," Singer said. "You run through the gamut, and then you have nothing left. They can't cure it."

Singer is playing the odds that he won't need chemotherapy for a long time.

A self-proclaimed news junkie, he worries that the government and VA have not adequately informed veterans of Agent Orange compensation.

"My gut tells me there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, [of Vietnam] veterans across the country ... who have been diagnosed with a disease, who are not aware that they might be eligible for disability benefits," he said.

Singer knows firsthand that, even under the best of circumstances, much less a crisis, the VA puts veterans through an exhaustive undertaking to process claims and secure benefits.

Singer waited close to a year for his claim for a presumptive disease to be settled.

He has never come across publicity or outreach on the part of the VA to inform Vietnam veterans about Agent Orange benefits. The federal agency, for the record, maintains a comprehensive website filled with information related to Agent Orange. Singer worries that thousands of veterans, even those who, like him, find out about the benefits by accident, are falling through the cracks.

"Part of not forgetting the sacrifice of that era, in particular because of the harsh way they were received by their countrymen, part of the commitment that needs to be sustained until that generation no longer exists is to be committed to doing as much as possible to make sure these veterans are aware they are entitled to compensation for these diseases," Singer said.

Singer counts himself lucky. Now retired, he has his own insurance and Medicare, and his 100 percent disability covers the medical care for his blood cancer.

"I feel fortunate that I'm still here and fortunate that I haven't suffered a lot," he said. "I know there are thousands of veterans who have suffered more greatly ... not that any benefit will make up for that. It won't. But it can make navigating things a little easier."

MORE Agent Orange Stories HERE

GMOs Proven Harmful To Human Health

Do you ever wonder why “pro gmo” people simply refuse to acknowledge the science?  The truth is, we don’t know enough about GMOs to deem them safe for human consumption. Believe it or not the very first commercial sale of them was only twenty years ago. There is no possible way that our health authorities can test all possible combinations on a large enough population, over a long enough period of time to be able to say with absolute certainty that they are harmless.

“GM Crop Production is Lowering US Yields and Increasing Pesticide Use…There is no reason GM foods should be approved safe for consumption, we just don’t know enough about them. We could easily feed the planet through organic, GMO-free methods, so there is absolutely no reason we need GM foods around… the current approval of glyphosate and Roundup is deeply flawed and unreliable…Because humans that’ve been exposed to glyphosate have a drop in amino acid tryptophan levels, they do not have the necessary active signalling of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with weight gain, depression and Alzheimer’s disease.“

GMOs Prove Harmful To Humans In These Ten Scientific Studies :

15 GMO Safety Studies LINKS HERE

Vietnam War Was Monsanto’s First Herbicidal Operation

The Vietnam War was the Monsanto Company’s first herbicidal operation. Monsanto and Dow Chemical were the two companies that manufactured Agent Orange, the deadly dioxin based herbicide.  The March Against Monsanto (MAM) is scheduled to host global protests at more than 100 sites on May 24. MAM is very vocal about moving beyond a genetically modified organism (GMO ) labeling centered discourse when it comes to exposing Monsanto’s negative impact on the world.

The protest network sponsors projects like Agent Orange Awareness (AOA). Founder of the AOA Kelly L. Derricks comments, “If we fail to realize that March Against Monsanto is not about GMOs alone, then we have already lost the battle.”

Organizers want to inform the public that Monsanto’s devastation stretches across the board. The media often simplifies protesters’ demands against Monsanto’s domination of food resources by not covering Monsanto’s history as a major manufacturer of Agent Orange.

Even though Monsanto was not the only Agent Orange producer, MAM confirms that Monsanto manufactured the chemical at 1,000 times its original potency making them the most deadly contributor to the herbicidal weapons used in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange was used in Operation Ranch Hand which began Monsanto’s role in destroying the global environment and harming the health of millions.

The Organic Consumers Association gives the history of how the toxic chemical was used in the Vietnam War. Approximately 72 million liters of herbicides, a majority Agent Orange, were sprayed by the United States military from 1962 to 1970. More than a million Vietnamese citizens and over 100,000 allied troops came into contact with the toxin. Since then, Monsanto has falsified several studies about the toxic effects of Agent Orange.

Studies that show Agent Orange’s toxic effects exist, but this research has done little to implicate Monsanto’s role in poisoning humans. Studies in the 1970s found that Agent Orange exposure caused, “a very significant, multi-system illness affecting all parts of the nervous system, and causing fatigue and muscle aches.” Groups like AOA and MAM are working to draw attention to the countless studies and life experiences that prove the damaging effects of Agent Orange.

Monsanto  was neither the first nor the only company to create Agent Orange used in the herbicidal operation in the Vietnam War. Dow Chemical also made large quantities of  dioxin, the main ingredient in Agent Orange. Agent Orange victims have spoken out about the dangers of allowing Monsanto and Dow Chemical to continue patenting agricultural products.

Dow AgroSciences will follow Monsanto and release their own version of herbicide resistant GMO corn and soybean seeds in 2015. The Dow herbicide called, Enlist Duo, contains traces of Agent Orange’s dioxin in a mixture of  2,4-D and glyphosate. Many demand that the EPA should prevent Enlist products from being sold in the market because of decades of scientific research that link dioxin toxicity to severe health issues.

Concerns about Monsanto’s role in facilitating the deregulation of the agricultural industry stem from Monsanto’s influence in the federal government. The Food and Drug Administration as well as the Environmental Protection Agency have employed former Monsanto attorneys in their organizations.

On May 24, the world will witness thousands of people protesting the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture. Monsanto’s Agent Orange operation in the Vietnam War was the first insight into the biotech corporation’s future in herbicidal warfare. The protests will expose this connection. Media coverage of last year’s protests was very slim. However, this year is promising to gain greater attention as long as more people become concerned about where their food comes from.

VIDEOS HERE

(Dom's Multiple Myeloma was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam)

The Legacy of Agent Orange

James Rhodes, 65, grew up in Alabama and went on to play trombone in the Troy University band. He was drafted into the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War in 1969. He went on search and rescue missions, and somewhere during his time in country, was exposed to Agent Orange, the pesticide deployed by the U.S. government, which has in subsequent years been shown by various studies to have caused lingering health problems for service members and civilians. He was honorably discharged from medical complications he traces to his exposure to the toxic chemical.

Agent Orange, manufactured by Monsanto and Dow, was used by American – authorized by President John F. Kennedy as Operation Ranch Hand in 1961 — and South Vietnamese forces to destroy crops and defoliate the trees and bushes of the North Vietnamese enemy.

Rhodes, who now divides his time between Alabaster and Vietnam, has written a book about his experience in the war and in dealing with the after-effects of Agent Orange. The book, Diary of a Former Enemy, is published only in Vietnamese, and proceeds from its sale go to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

Rhodes shared a little history with Weld for this interview.

Weld: What is the book about?  

James Rhodes: My war and Agent Orange experience, written as therapy. … My Veteran’s Administration therapist, years ago, suggested I do this, but I don’t think they ever thought it would actually go to print and be a bestseller. Who knew?

Weld: So, what happened to you in the war? What was the effect of Agent Orange on you?

JR: Have had 14 “growths” cut out of me — none by the US government. … [I became a] participant in the Agent Orange legal action where veterans got shafted by lawyers. … I was at the high end of the scale; I got $6,000 — that is, $1,000 [per] year for six years — while the lawyers got millions.

Weld: How did you come to be in Vietnam?

JR: I went to Vietnam because my name was not George Bush and I could not hide out in the Alabama National Guard; my name was not Bill Clinton and I could not protest; … my name was not Dick Cheney and I could not claim to be 4-F; and I was not skilled enough to flee to Canada and be pardoned by President Carter!

The USAF [recruiter] promised me I would be in the band. Ended up as a crew chief on a search and rescue team.

Weld: What is your relationship with the country of Vietnam today?

JR: I love Vietnam. The people have been great to us. They actually saved my life, as I could not get treatment for any of my Agent Orange conditions in this country. The Vietnamese had pity and compassion for me. They treated me as a long-lost relative. They are better Christians than any preacher you will meet in this country. Being around poor farmers whose only goal in life is to make Buddha, Jesus, or Baha’u'llah proud puts life in its correct focus, I think. We [he and wife Nina Avina-Rhodes] spend a great deal of time in the Hanoi area.

We attempt to spend three-to-six months a year there. When I am there I teach at the university where the U.S. State Department sent me in 2011 — the National Academy of Journalism and Communication in Hanoi. I spent all of 2009 in Hanoi.

Weld: What is your background?

JR: I was a Fulbright educator at Hoc Vien Bao Chi Va Tuyen Truyen (the National Academy of Journalism and Communication). The students are great; the staff and administration are great; public transportation is cheap and they have socialized medicine because, unlike here, people don’t object to paying taxes as long as it benefits others.

Working with the Vietnamese has been great therapy for me and a tremendous religious experience. I have gotten to know, as serious personal friends, people at Vietnam Television International; Voice of Vietnam; Vietnam News Agency; Bao Dien Tu (the government’s online daily); and Quan Doi Nhan Dan (the Army online daily). I have worked for the Vietnamese government at Vietnam Television International, Bao Dien Tu and Quan Doi Nhan Dan.

Weld: Tell us a little about your family.

JR: Dad “Dusty” Rhodes (Navy WWII vet) of Matthews, Alabama; MVP 1954 World Series. Brother David Ronald Rhodes (Wetumpka), 22 years USAF and Army, misdiagnosed after his military [service], which resulted in his untimely death years ago.

Weld: Can you please elaborate?

JR: He had five cancers that went undetected until they killed him. How in hell does this happen?

Weld: Where is the book being released?

JR: Released last month, only in Vietnam, with all my proceeds going to Vietnamese victims of herbicidal poisons — they’re fourth-generation now.

Do note that New Jersey veteran George Mizo was wounded in combat, sent to Japan for mending and returned to combat. He was then wounded a second time and sent to Japan to mend and also returned to combat. After the third time, he refused to go back to Vietnam and was given a less than honorable discharge — something Bush, Clinton and Cheney did not have to worry about.

He founded, with his German wife, an American 501(c)3 organization to assist the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange after the war ended. That facility still exists today in Hanoi. It is the Friendship Village. Shortly after its completion, Mizo died of an Agent Orange-related illness. He is my hero, as are all the people who look after these unfortunates.

Some funds [from the book] go to the Friendship Village. Some go to other facilities, of which there are many, as there are many victims countrywide.

LINK

Agent Orange to Farm to Table

 With genetically engineered corn and soy, Dow Chemical aims to bring back toxic herbicide use, big time

While my sister-in-law put the finishing touches on Thanksgiving dinner, I listened to her friend recount the losing battle her husband, a Vietnam veteran, fought with lung cancer. She explained her husband’s illness was caused by his wartime exposure to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange, produced primarily by two companies, Dow Chemical and Monsanto. Named for the colored band on its transport tanks, Agent Orange was a cocktail of chemicals, including an herbicide called 2,4-D. Shortly after the spraying — conducted to deprive guerrilla fighters of cover and a food supply — started in 1962, reports began to emerge of serious health effects, from birth defects to other illnesses. To this day, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs offers an Agent Orange registry health exam for the possible long-term problems caused by exposure, and more than 40,000 veterans have submitted disability claims. The Red Cross estimates that 1 million Vietnamese were affected, including third-generation children born with severe birth defects.

In January the U.S. Department of Agriculture opened a public comment period on the environmental and health impacts of a new suite of crops engineered to be resistant to 2,4-D. These corn and soybean plants, produced by Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, would be the first developed to be resistant to the herbicide.

According to experts, the introduction of these new crops could cause 2,4-D use to jump, big time. Chuck Benbrook, a pesticide policy expert with the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University, has estimated that if it’s approved, the engineered corn could cause applications of 2,4-D to jump 20-fold by 2019.

That’s particularly concerning because experts have long shown that 2,4-D causes serious harm to humans, especially when used over vast swaths of farmland and lawns. Largely because of such concern, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to revoke the chemical’s approval, first granted in 1948.

NRDC researchers and other critics of 2,4-D point to studies showing the chemical is a neurotoxin and that exposure to it can cause hormone disruption, certain forms of cancer and genetic mutations. The chemical has also been linked to lowered sperm counts, liver disease and Parkinson’s disease as well as adverse effects on reproductive and immune systems. What’s further worrisome is that 2,4-D is known to drift, affecting areas near farms, including streams, rivers and wildlife.

In April 2012 the EPA rejected the NRDC’s petition, stating that the group did not prove that the chemical was unsafe in the manner it is used. Despite the EPA’s actions, public health advocates have maintained that there are serious human health impacts, based on compelling evidence from peer-reviewed studies around the world. A University of Minnesota study found a greater frequency of genetic mutations in pesticide applicators who had higher rates of 2,4-D in their urine. A National Cancer Institute study found farmers exposed to 2,4-D upward of 20 days a year had a higher risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma than nonfarmers did, by a factor of six. The EPA’s fact sheet notes that the chemical has shown toxic effects on the thyroid and gonads and expresses concern about potential “endocrine-disrupting effects.”

With all these risks, why are chemical companies like Dow and Monsanto formulating seeds to be resistant to this decades-old chemical with a terrible health track record? The USDA said these new crops are intended to “help address the problem of weeds that have developed resistance to other herbicides.”

The real motivation for introducing new herbicide-resistant seeds is Monsanto’s and Dow’s bottom lines; it is one of the best ways to boost sales of chemicals. 

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Farmers fear Monsanto is collecting too much crop data

Big data has come to the farm. The world's two largest seed sellers, Monsanto and DuPont, are building "prescriptive planting" technology that will take in detailed data from farmers and spit out precise guidelines for planting. The upside is that farmers can use the algorithmic advice to easily identify things like the best soil for the best seeds, the amount of fertilizer needed, and optimal density for planting.

Some farmers and agricultural organizations are worried about the amount of control the industry is ceding to megacorporations, however. Farmers today rely heavily on algorithms and iPads to automate their planting, and that data is easily harvested. Deere even signed a contract to beam data directly from its tractors to DuPont and Dow Chemical, reports The Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, the new technology could price struggling small farmers out of business.

DEERE TRACTORS BEAMS DATA DIRECTLY TO DUPONT AND DOW CHEMICAL

There are also fears that the data services will be used to convince farmers to plant more and therefore buy more seeds. Farmers are also concerned that the data could be used on Wall Street to inform price projections, cutting into their profit on futures contracts. "I'm afraid, as farmers, we are not going to be the ones reaping the benefit," one farmer told WSJ.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/26/5450226/farmers-fear-monsanto-is-collecting-too-much-crop-data

Why We Need to Keep ‘Agent Orange’ GMO Crops Off Our Farms

Have you heard of superweeds? For years, Monsanto has been selling genetically engineered (GE) or GMO corn and soybeans that promote the use of an herbicide called Roundup. Evolution is happening, and now weeds are becoming resistant to Monsanto’s killer.

Dow Chemical thinks they have the solution – new GE corn and soybeans genetically engineered to survive an even more toxic herbicide called 2,4-D.  But big profits for Dow Chemical is bad news for the rest of us!

2,4-D was a major component of the chemical defoliant known as Agent Orange

Agent Orange was sprayed aerially by U.S. planes in Vietnam to destroy the country’s forests and agricultural lands. The veterans and civilians exposed to Agent Orange experienced extreme health complications – a range of cancers and birth defects have been linked to exposure to the toxic chemical. The Vietnamese Red Cross estimates nearly 1 million people have experienced health problems as a result of the use of Agent Orange.[1]

2,4-D alone is the seventh largest source of dioxins in the U.S

2,4-D is thought to be the less toxic component of Agent Orange, but 2,4-D alone is the seventh largest source of dioxins in the U.S. Dioxins are highly toxic chemical byproducts of 2,4-D and can bioaccumulate, which means they can build up in your system over time. A 2008 study found that women living near Dow Chemical’s facility in Michigan have significantly higher rates of breast cancer.[2] It has been projected that Dow Chemical’s corn and soybeans would increase the amount of 2,4-D used in industrial agriculture by over 100 million pounds,[3] severely increasing the amount of this toxic herbicide in our food, air, and water.

Exposure to 2,4-D has been linked to major health problems

Health problems include cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, lowered sperm counts, liver disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Studies have also demonstrated the chemical’s adverse effects on hormonal, reproductive, neurological, and immune systems.[4],[5],[6],[7],[8]

Dow Chemicals has lied about product safety before

Dow Chemical insists that the use of 2,4-D is safe. But they also assured the public that an insecticide called Dursban was safe…until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined Dow Chemical $800,000 for illegally withholding over 250 reports of poisonings, including many that occurred even when the product was used correctly.

Why did Dow Chemical think Dursban was safe? They fed it to prisoners in New York and decided that none became “violently” ill right away.[9]

Even after paying the EPA fine for withholding evidence of poisonings, Dow Chemical continued to market Dursban as “safe” in its brochures. In 2003, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued the company for violating a 1994 agreement against falsely advertising the product as safe. Dow Chemical agreed to pay $2,000,000.

So, do YOU trust Dow Chemical to care for the crops you could feed your kids? Currently, the USDA is reviewing Dow Chemical’s new GE crops designed to be resistant to 2,4-D, and they are accepting public comments until February 24.

It is up to you to say “No” to Dow Chemical Company’s “Agent Orange” crops!  

Learn more and take action at www.dow-watch.org.

LINK

Read Truth about Agent Orange

October 08, 2013 12:00 am

As a military veteran, I am compelled to respond to Kim Ferraro's Sept. 27 letter about Agent Orange use in the Vietnam War. Ferraro said, "Agent Orange caused injury to people who were exposed, but it was not injury that was meant to happen or anticipated."

I suggest Ferraro research further about the tragic history of Agent Orange.

Admiral E.R. Zumwalt submitted a classified report to the Veterans Administration in 1990 concerning associated health effects from Agent Orange exposure. The classified report is now available online. This report discloses the U.S. military "dispensed Agent Orange in concentrations six to 25 times the manufacturer's suggested rate."

Furthermore, Zumwalt quotes Dr. David Clary, a government scientist who worked with Agent Orange, as saying, "When we (military scientists) initiated the herbicide program in the 1960s, we were aware of the potential for damage due to dioxin contamination in the herbicide. We were even aware that the 'military' formulation had a higher dioxin concentration than the 'civilian' version due to the lower cost and speed of manufacture. However, because the material was to be used on the 'enemy,' none of us were overly concerned."

Ferraro also says Agent Orange "was used as a defoliant to expose enemy movements covered by jungle overgrowth." The U.S. military also purposely targeted food crops with Agent Orange. What should we call using toxic chemicals to destroy innocent impoverished people's food crops during war, which could lead to mass starvation?

I found estimates of hundreds of thousands to millions killed by Agent Orange in Vietnam and also hundreds of thousands maimed by birth defects.

The truth about Agent Orange use in Vietnam might not be very palatable, but it is nonetheless the truth.

- John Meinhold, Portsmouth, NH

Letters to the Editor

GMO Backlash Is About to Cause a Boom

As consumer awareness grows around the risks associated with genetically modifying the food chain, the rise of foods that have been certified as having not been altered in the lab grows accordingly. The folks at Packaged Facts say non-GMO foods could potentially account for 30% of all U.S. food and beverage sales, or $264 billion worth, by 2017 -- and if package labeling becomes mandatory, it could hit 40%!

GM food proponents say there are no safety concerns as the engineered goods have been studied for decades and there are little to no health risks. Because they allow farmers to grow crops in regions previously inhospitable to farming and can create cheaper and perhaps more nutritious foods, it's a boon to the world's hunger problems.

For those of us on the other side of the issue, we'd point to the fact there's been no long-term testing of GM foods on humans. It unnaturally introduces organisms, bacteria, and viruses into the food chain, creating Frankenfoods that have genetic materials from different species injected into them, that can cause unwanted side effects from overexposure.

Companies like Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN  ) and Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD  ) have just agreed to stop injecting their cattle and hogs with weight-gain drugs just before slaughter because of the ill effects they were causing the animals. And the CDC released a report showing the threat to human health posed by overexposing livestock to antibiotics.

It's more than just a casual relationship that we have developed superweeds and superbugs through the overapplication of herbicides and pesticides. As I've pointed out before, there is a growing body of evidence that specific pesticides created by Bayer, Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW  ) , and Syngenta (NYSE: SYT  ) are also causing the collapse of honeybee colonies, which is a grave risk to the food chain because they are the pollinators of the world that ensure our crops grow.

To think that a seed can be genetically altered to withstand the spraying of Monsanto's (NYSE: MON  ) powerful herbicide Round-Up and continue growing, and that it's still OK to eat, is a bridge too far for many.

Which is why GMO labeling is so important for consumers. It allows the individual to decide when, how, or whether she will choose to eat such products. Admittedly, today it's difficult to actually not eat lab-altered foods, so prevalent is the reach of the chemical agri-giants. Virtually all processed and packaged foods have been tainted, but despite the breadth of coverage, it wouldn't cause any increase in food costs as has been suggested. A just-released study called "Why Labels Don't Affect Food Prices," confirms consumer demographics and competitor pricing has more of an effect on prices than changing labels does, which is a regularly occurring process for manufacturers anyway.

With at least 85% of all soybeans, corn, sugar beets, and canola grown from GMO seeds, and most of them are made by Monsanto. If you're eating something that has those listed as ingredients on the label, there's a good chance it's been modified on a genetic level. It's estimated 60% to 70% of all food on the supermarket shelf is GMO.

The best way to counteract corporate agriculture's grip on the food supply is to grow as much of your own produce as possible, and failing that (or supplementing it), supporting local farmers markets. This isn't some "back to nature" 1960's hippie movement, but rather recognition that the more Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, and others control what is grown, the less choice we have over what we can eat.

But as Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) , Ben & Jerry's, and other companies commit to labeling their own products or ensuring they're GM-free, it will eventually becoming a much broader phenomenon we see take hold. The demand for natural, organic foods will drive their growth as Whole Foods is witnessing, reporting third quarter sales grew 12% from the year ago period, which is down only slightly from the 13% gains it recorded at the time.

Monsanto's not going away, as entrenched as they are, but investors should be on the watch for those companies on the forefront of ensuring the purity of their food as they will be the ones to reap the greatest rewards from the effort down the road.

LINK

‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Killed In Senate: Controversial Provision Removed From Spending Bill

The so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” has been removed from a Senate spending bill to the delight of those opposed to the controversial provision.

The provision would have stayed on the books under a continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives last week, but U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., led a successful charge to have the language removed from the Senate version of the bill.

“One week ago, I asked, ‘Who pulls more weight on Capitol Hill? The agrichemical companies like Dow and Monsanto, or the food movement?'” Elizabeth Kucinich, policy director for the Center for Food Safety, said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of Senator Barbara Mikulski we now know the answer: the food movement.”

Mikulski introduced an amendment to have the language of the bill changed to remove the “Monsanto Protection Act” removed. The amendment was approved earlier this week, and the provision will expire at the end of this month.

A massive groundswell of public opposition to the “Monsanto Protection Act” began in March, when news of its existence hit the mainstream.

The provision, officially Section 735 of the HR 933 continuing resolution passed in March, came under fire because food safety advocates warn that it strips federal courts of the authority to halt the sale and propagation of genetically modified seeds and crops if safety tests reveal concerns about their safety.

Links and More HERE

AGENT ORANGE RESEARCH TIMELINE

Vietnam veteran and activist Dick Phenneger, founder of a nonprofit called Veterans Services Transparency, is working to help Vietnam veterans and their families cope with the devastating effects of Agent Orange. He's  interviewed more than 200 area Vietnam vets and their families and assembled a chronological table on Agent Orange findings. Included with this update is that chronological table, which Phenneger has made easy to follow and understand.

Agent Orange Timeline HERE

AGENT ORANGE- Fighting for the Next Generation

Vietnam vets push for help, recognition of Agent Orange's effect on their children

After Al and Sharon Martinelli had their first son who was born with short limbs, they thought they had the assurance they needed before having their second child.

"One of the questions that we asked a team of doctors is, if we have more children, what are the chances (of having another child with a disorder)," Al said. "They looked at me in the eye and said the chances would be a million to one."

The Cocolalla couple also had family history on their side. Neither Al nor Sharon had a history of any disorders in their families.

But, three years later, their second son was born with Down syndrome.
"We saw one of the doctors we had seen three years before, and you should have seen the expression on that man's face," Al said. "He was devastated when he saw Chris. That poor guy didn't know what to say."

Martinelli said having two sons with conditions was devastating for the young couple starting out after he had served in the Navy Reserve during the Vietnam War.
"
It was a tough situation," he said, fighting back tears. "Having children with completely different maladies - one with a bone disorder and one with a chromosome disorder - was pretty amazing according to the doctors. But we came to the conclusion that it is what it is, and we'll make the best of it."

The situation of the Martinellis and some other Vietnam veterans is at the core of fellow Vietnam vet Dick Phenneger's research and findings on Agent Orange, an herbicide used during the war.

Phenneger, of Post Falls and founder of a nonprofit called Veterans Services Transparency, has interviewed more than 200 area Vietnam vets and their families, assembled a chronological table on Agent Orange findings and has mingled with several lawmakers, scientists and foundations in pursuit of finding more help for those affected by the herbicide.

Agent Orange was intended to defoliate forest, depriving guerrillas of cover. The herbicide was later discovered to be contaminated with a toxic dioxin compound that resulted in deaths, illnesses and birth defects.

When Martinelli participated last year Phenneger's survey of Vietnam veterans, a light came on.

Several of the questions about exposure to the herbicide and medical conditions that resulted afterward to both himself and his children were relevant.
"I'm convinced, after doing a lot of research, that some of my problems and those of my children are the result of my exposure to Agent Orange," Martinelli said.
The duty of the ship Martinelli served on was to offload and retrieve Marines and keep them supplied.

"During the course of our action in that area, they were spraying Agent Orange along the river banks and any roadways they used to transport supplies that we offloaded," he said. "I saw aircrafts spraying it as they'd come off the river. Materials we handled had been exposed. It was everywhere.

"During that time, not knowing it then, but knowing it now, we were exposed to large amounts of Agent Orange both in the water and air."

Martinelli isn't eligible for benefits associated with exposure to the herbicide because he was not "boots on the ground" in Vietnam. He said he has had both physical and psychological effects from the war, but declined to discuss the details.

While Martinelli said he realizes the government won't likely recognize his conditions and those of some fellow Vietnam veterans as being eligible to receive benefits associated with herbicide exposure during his lifetime, he's hoping there will be breakthroughs with studies and research for his children's generation and future generations.

The Martinellis have insurance to help with their children's conditions, but "the monetary strain on the family has still been tremendous," Martinelli said.

Phenneger plans to submit his findings and research to federal lawmakers in hopes of sparking an independent national epidemiological study on the effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their children.

Phenneger said 20 percent of the Vietnam veterans he interviewed had children with birth defects or related illnesses.

Phenneger, who has made trips to Washington, D.C., to discuss his efforts with key players, said the study would cost an estimated $19 million. His talks lead him to believe that amount is reachable.

"This is a drop in the bucket for Congress," Phenneger said.

He said the study can't be completed without the assistance of government agencies that have the records needed.
"So congressional approval of the study with independent scientists is a must," he said.

Phenneger said he hopes the study will result in a national Children of Agent Orange Trust Fund to assist those who were affected by the herbicide.

"The veterans who I have spoken with during the past year have said, 'Dick, what has happened to us, has happened, but we've got to take care of our kids,'" Phenneger said. "That's why I'm shifting focus to getting action to address that Agent Orange causes birth deformities."

Phenneger said the government has fallen short of taking care of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, more needs to be done and previous government-funded efforts on the subject have fizzled.

The Department of Veterans Affairs in Spokane directed questions seeking comment to the federal office in Washington, D.C.

Randy Noller, a spokesman for the V.A. in Washington, said children of Vietnam veterans may receive benefits if they are born with spina bifida, a developmental disorder, or with certain other birth defects born to a female veteran. He said such benefits could be expanded to others.

"V.A. makes these decisions relying on our scientific advisers from the independent Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences," Noller wrote in an e-mail. "IOM has ongoing analysis of the scientific literature looking at questions of health effects from exposure to Agent Orange, including birth defects."

Martinelli said Phenneger's efforts to assist veterans and their families is a "noble cause." He said while the time is ticking to help Vietnam veterans, there's hope to help their children and younger generations of veterans.

"The biggest reward for us would be that the folks coming up the line are treated with more respect and get more help," Martinelli said. "It's not going to be a perfect world - we realize that - but when you come back from the combat zone you should be taken care of in a manner that shows respect for these people."

LINK

Does Monsanto cause cancer?

First here’s some background to catch you up to speed:

Monsanto is a chemical company that has slowly, steadily begun taking over the American food supply.  It would be safe to assume they harbor global aspirations, but outside North America, their products have been continually rejected as unsafe or unfit for the local population.  Most widely known for the weed killer RoundUp, their chemical arsenal includes/included PCBs, Agent Orange, DDT, and rBGH.  They have a stranglehold on genetically modified seeds, tinkering with the chemical makeup of harvest staples like corn, soy, wheat, and cotton.  With a motto that once was, “Without chemicals, life itself would be impossible,” this is the company that is feeding your family.

If you read their innocuous website, one would presume they are the helping hand to Middle America’s farming agriculture.  With annual revenues around $12 billion, though, this ain’t your typical Midwestern feed store.  A quick Google search reveals that the corporation has health nuts, conspiracy theorists, and generally concerned citizens openly questioning the harm Monsanto is causing the food chain and, ultimately, the consumers of that food – you and I.

There is a ton of background and nuance to the GMO debate, but it boils down to is this: Monsanto can control the food supply – and the pile of money that goes with it – if and when they patent the seeds that grow the food the world consumes.  They can only patent genetically modified seeds, nearly all of which are never tested for adverse effects on humans.   How do they do this?  

First, by creating a synergy between their biggest product (RoundUp) and the seeds they sell.  Those GMO seeds are manufactured to withstand RoundUp while killing off surrounding weeds.  Consequently, the crop produced is dosed with RoundUp, and the resulting harvest yields a double-whammy of genetically-modified food that has been drenched in pesticides.

Second, by bullying every small farmer they can find in the heartland.  Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds are patented and licensed, so when the crops die off each season and the seeds replanted, Monsanto wants a cut of the money.  Every year.  Forever.  If, by some chance a Monsanto seed gets cross-pollinated with a non-Monsanto seed, they still want their money, even if the farmers don’t want their engineered seeds in the first place.  It’s not unlike Paulie from Goodfellas asking to be paid.

Third, just like other big industries, by greasing the wheels in Washington – this is where the real health concerns kick in (a real shocker).  Monsanto employees get appointed to policy-making positions within government, most notably former Monsanto attorney/former deputy commissioner for the FDA Michael Taylor, who conveniently returned to Monsanto as the VP for Public Policy, before jumping back to the FDA as Deputy Commissioner for Foods.  The FDA, and now the EPA, bends or changes laws to benefit Monsanto and other chemical firms, like doubling the allowable amount of the pesticide glyphosate on crops.  Doing this despite studies showing that glyphosate, the main toxin in RoundUp, feeds cancer cells – particularly breast cancer – and causes chronic cellular inflammation, damaging cells throughout the body and inducing a variety of “Western diet” diseases.  Agencies that should be independent and accountable to their constituents – the American people – have become the wolf guarding the hen house.

It’s not just Monsanto; Delaware-based DuPont doesn’t exactly have its hands clean in this GMO mess, and many seed and agriculture companies work alongside or in concert with the chemical giant, notably BASF, Bayer CropScience, and Dow Chemical.  Heck, the leading ones even have their own GMO biotech website to tell their version of the GMO story, and contribute heavily to anti-GMO food labeling initiatives (here’s a cheat sheet of some of those companies).  But Monsanto has become the massive figurehead – the rural Microsoft.

Much More HERE

"Agent Orange corn" and Herbicide Spark Concern

There's a main ingredient in Agent Orange called 2,4-D, and it's one of the latest toxic chemicals being pushed as an herbicide by Dow Chemical, CREDO Action reports. As the U.S. Food & Drug Administration decides whether to approve genetically modified corn that will be resistant to the chemical, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering stepping forward to restrict use of 2,4-D.

Agent Orange was used by the U.S. military as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, and was responsible for the deaths or injuries of an estimated 400,000 Vietnamese people during that time. Now one of its major ingredients - 2,4-D - is marketed by Dow Chemical to be used on fields by farmers.

Perhaps just as worrying is Dow's marketing of special modified "2,4-D-resistant corn." Nicknamed "Agent Orange corn," the genetically modified corn was created by Dow AgroScience, a division of Dow Chemical. It is engineered to be impervious to 2,4-D, but environmental activists and critics are not convinced of its safety.

Aside from the concerns many have over GM crops, there is even more outrage over the use of 2,4-D as a weed-killer. It is considered by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to be carcinogenic to humans. 2,4-D has been linked to cancer, reproductive issues, hormone disruption, and Parkinson's disease. It is banned entirely in parts of Canada and Europe.

This development may prove particularly infuriating for activists, in that it harkens back to a similar move by the Monsanto biotech corporation. Monsanto's "Roundup" herbicide was so toxic to plants that Monsanto, too, had to produce genetically modified "Roundup Ready" seeds that could withstand the effects of the poison. Now, though, weeds are becoming resistant to Roundup, which in turn requires the use of stronger herbicides like the dangerous 2,4-D.

The use of 2,4-D has been drawing ire on all fronts; not simply from environmentalists: Vietnam Veterans of America recently wrote to President Obama, urging that the U.S. Department of Agriculture perform a thorough investigation of how the herbicide might harm people's health (the administration has so far failed to conduct any such study).

Many farmers, too, are disgusted with the chemical.

Lowell, Ind., farmer Jody Herr was concerned when he found his tomato fields deformed by the weed-killer, which he believes wafted over to his property from farms almost two miles away.

"The leaves had curled and the plants were kind of twisting, rather than growing straight," Herr remarked. He expressed displeasure at the idea that "Agent Orange corn" was on the verge of receiving regulatory approval.

Herr and a grassroots group of activists, and vegetable canners Seneca Foods - together called The Save Our Crops Coalition - have filed petitions with the government seeking a delay in the corn's approval. They noted that, while not opposed to biotechnology altogether, they feared that crops not immune to 2,4-D would be accidentally exposed to the toxin as it drifted and wound up on the property of an unsuspecting farmer, like Herr.

CREDO Action is asking activists to submit public comments expressing their concerns, and to implore the EPA to heavily consider prohibiting the use of the herbicide.

LINK

White House Refuses to Disclose Ties with Monsanto

Mounting rage, anger, civil and national refusal to accept Genetically Modified seeds from Monsanto and Dow Chemical Companies, the White House appears to be their best ally.

“Despite requests made under the Freedom of Information Act for correspondence out of the White House, the Obama administration is refusing to comply with calls to disclose discussions with Monsanto-linked lobbyists. (1)

The US-based non-profit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is demanding that the White House comply with a FOIA request for information that might link the Obama administration with lobbyists tied to the Monsanto corporation.

Monsanto is an agricultural biotech company that rakes in billions each year, has become the enemy of independent farmers in recent years after the corporation has sued hundreds of small-time growers and, in many cases, purchased farms that are unable to compete in a court of law.

As Monsanto’s profits grow and the group comes close to monopolizing the market for American agriculture, the company has at the same time thrived due its use of controversial genetically-engineered seeds.”

The White House is blocking information in an email from a Monsanto lobbyist and the White House. Under the FOIA -Freedom of Information Act the government is obliged under law to release such information to the public especially concerning a bio-piracy corporation who are overtaking US agriculture in a negative way.

No good can come out of President Obama’s hiring of ex-Monsanto employees and their lawyers for government high level jobs that are releasing more approvals of GMO seeds for American food production. Even though many countries are banning US food imports the President just doesn’t get it and now he’s covering it all up.

Obama’s support of Monsanto despite scientific proof that GMO is deadly to human health causes cancer, diabetes, and will cost a heavy price in higher healthcare costs, he refuses to listen to logic.

When Barack Obama ran for President in 2008, he promised to end the open doors to lobbyists. Now an email from a Monsanto lobbyist firm to a top level White House Policy Analyst is being kept secret.

The White House claims it is the “proprietary” information in the email that would give competitors of the companies involved (Monsanto, Biotechnology Industry Organization or Syngenta) an edge. Again, the White House protecting corporate interests.

“Lobbyists Won’t find a Job in My White House”
Barack Obama 2008 Campaign Promise
More Here....