Food Advocates Cry Foul At 'Monsanto Protection Act'

Hundreds of thousands of American food activists and farmers are livid after Congress adopted temporary funding legislation that includes a deregulatory provision for genetically modified crops, prompting protests and a plea to President Barack Obama to veto the measure.

When Congress passed the Agriculture Appropriations Bill (H.R. 933) last week it included a last-minute amendment rider, the so-called Monsanto Protection Act, was attached to the bill. (Search for Section 735 to read the rider.)

According to Farms.com the rider amounts to a provision that would protect the makers of genetically modified seeds from litigation over health risks.

Looked at another way, the measure would give the USDA the power to override judicial review and grant biotechnology temporary permission to cultivate their products, according to CampusProgress.org.

Anti-GMO groups, such as Food Democracy Now are charging that Congress has essentially given a blank check to biotech companies like Monsanto, Dow Chemical and DuPont that will grant blanket approval for growing and selling genetically modified crops.

Now that the measure has been approved by Congress, opponents of the bill are urging President Obama to veto the bill.

A Center for Food Safety statement called the rider "an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review of agency actions" and "a major violation of the separation of powers."

Bill Freese, a science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, said "The Monsantos of the world have everyone convinced through a massive misinformation campaigns that biotech crops are essential to feed the world, and patents are necessary for biotech crops. So there's this patina of virtuous innovation when in fact what biotechnology is really used for primarily is to develop pesticide-promoting crops."

While a veto is unlikely, President Obama reportedly said, "Here's what I'll do as president, we'll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying."

The most common genetically modified crops in the U.S. are soybean, corn, cotton, and canola. Because many processed foods use a form of those crops, it is estimated that up to 70 percent of food sold in grocery stores contain a genetically modified ingredient. 

At least 50 countries, including Russia, China and Mexico, already require the labeling of genetically modified foods.