Emails Show White House Promotes Genetically Engineered Crops in Wildlife Refuges

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.truth-out.org/emails-show-white-house-promotes-ge-crops-wildlife-refuges/1311621066

The Obama administration is supporting genetically engineered (GE) agriculture in more than 50 national wildlife refuges across the country and watchdog groups say internal emails among top administration officials reveal that the GE plots are a priority in the White House.

Earlier this year, a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and its allies halted the planting of GE crops in US Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife refuges in northeastern states. Now PEER claims the Obama administration is working with the biotech lobby to shield GE plots in refuges from future legal challenges.

A January 10, 2011 email obtained by PEER reveals that biotech lobbyist Adrianne Massey contacted Peter Schmeissner, the senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology, about the legal challenge to GE crop plantings in northeastern refuges.

Massey, who has made a career out of promoting biotechnology across the world, promotes the public policy of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a lobby funded by Monsanto and other biotech firms.

More at the link --

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. Fuck fuck fuck fuck....

:mad:

And I thought keeping an eye on Bush was a full-time job...

[truebrit71]

3. No shit, right? This is getting to be way more than tiresome...

...

[Igel]

7. We miss the point.

The kind of person who has the drive and ability to become president (or, for the most part, senator or school board member) is likely to be the kind of person who believes, first and foremost, that he is better able to make the right decisions and control government in a way that is fundamentally good.

The right decisions are meaningless if you can't implement them. You need authority to carry out the good and wise acts that you know only you can make, acts which, since you make them, can only be good and wise. It's not arrogant or narcissistic; well, not especially so for politicians.

When Congress is challenged, (D) and (R) close ranks to maintain power. Once they're sure they have the power, then they argue among themselves. The only exception is if (D) or (R) belong more to their parties than to Congress--then you get (D) in Congress arguing for more power to go to a (D) president because then (D)s have more power. Subsitute (R) in that with no significant difference.

The president--and let that be a placeholder, not just * or Obama--will defend his decisions and those which, if overturned, would limit the authority of any later decisions. It's always a struggle when a law the president doesn't like might be overturned, because then it might limit the ability to uphold laws he does like. A newly elected president will fight to the death for something he said he fervently disagrees with, not because he's really changed his mind but he realizes if he doesn't, options for exerting power and implementing his good and wise policies will be closed off.

In GMOs in wildlife preserves, if he loses, then his authority and that of the governmental agency over what happens in wildlife preserves is reduced. That means not only can't GMOs be there--a practice he's likely to order stopped 20 seconds after he wins the case--but he and his can't make other rules without interference.

And those convinced they're good and wise *always* hate interference, and always eventually become intolerant of others' imbecility (which is, of course, rampant).

[roguevalley]

8. he really is a POS isn't he.

[gateley]

2. WH needs to put the kibosh on GMOs, and nuclear plants.

Did you see where Hungary destroyed all the Monsanto GMO maize crops?

Are we the lone company in the world who is consistently snapping to do the bidding of the behemoths over the best interests of the people? Really?

[randr]

4. What is it with the WH and Monsanto?

[madrchsod]

6. the sec of ag is a paid shill for monsanto...

[dgibby]

5. If GE crops are good enough for wildlife,

then why not plant them in the WH garden? Seems only fair. Anybody know how much Monsanto donates to Obama?