An educational day to bring awareness about the patenting of life forms, and the danger of bio-piracy and agricultural monocultures.
Message from:
Institute of Near Eastern & African Studies (INEAS)
We Wish All ISD Endorsers, farmers, organic food advocates, scientists and activists a
Merry Seed Day
and we hope that this seed campaign reaches many African and Asian countries in 2011
Please help us help you
http://www.ineas.org/in/ev/seed-day.htm
We thank you for distributing this greeting widely
Positive Reports:
1. On behalf of 60 family farmers, seed
businesses and organic agricultural organizations, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed suit in March 2010 against Monsanto Company to challenge the chemical giant's patents on genetically modified seed
http://www.pubpat.org/assets/files/seed/OSGATA-v-Monsanto-Complaint.pdf
2. From ISD endorser and farmer Morgana Washington:
"With any luck, we will be putting in our first seeds on the 26th. The weather here in upstate NY has been cruel as far as seed setting is concerned. But we are going to do it on the 26th, as the temp.'s seem to be stabilizing enough for the ground temp. to come up in our cold frame. Then we will lay out our NEW garden from which we hope to mostly feed ourselves in 2011. We are using organic and heirloom seeds as a thumbing of the nose to the eco-terrorist corporatocracies like Monsanto, Syngen et al.
Our only worries are how much radionuclides the plants will absorb, but since gardening under cover is not an option for us, we will accept the risks to ourselves and eat our own food.
Happy planting everyone!" Morgana
3. Since April 18, we have been phoning women, farmers, agriculture experts and activists in India and Iraq to alert them
about International Seed Day (ISD), its mission, the phenomena of seed patenting and genetically modified seeds (GMS). Bringing
awareness to the public and forming an international committee of lawyers, scientists, farmers, journalists and activists that collectively alert, exchange information, take action, protest and defend against the monopoly and bio piracy of the agribusiness corporations is essential and long overdue.
Again
Merry Seed Day
We Love to Hear From You!
Institute of Near Eastern & African Studies (INEAS) is a 501(c)(3) educational and cultural organization geared to educate the public and inform the media on issues related to Africa and Asia. Located in Cambridge, MA, since 1994. Find out more at our website http://www.ineas.org/
and our Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/INEAS
Address:
P.O. Box 425125
Cambridge, MA. 02142 USA
Email: info@INEAS.org
and INEAS@aol.com
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Monsanto GMO crops. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Monsanto GMO crops. Afficher tous les articles
mardi 26 avril 2011
vendredi 8 octobre 2010
Monsanto’s Income Fell by Nearly Half for Year
Monsanto’s Income Fell by Nearly Half for Year
By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: October 6, 2010
Executives of Monsanto told skittish investors on Wednesday that earnings per share would grow 13 to 17 percent in the next fiscal year and that the company was on its way to fixing problems in its seed business that have undermined the confidence of Wall Street.
Peter Newcomb/Reuters
Engineered seeds of soybeans, corn and other crops constitute most of the company's business.
The remarks, in line with some previous assurances by company executives, were made as Monsanto reported that net income for the year that ended Aug. 31 had dropped by nearly half from a year earlier.
“I believe we’ve taken steps to allow our company to return to growth,” Hugh Grant, the chief executive, told analysts and investors Wednesday on a conference call.
He said the seed business was going to offer “more products at more price points” to help regain the trust of farmers who have been put off by high seed prices and lower-than-expected yields for some products, particularly Monsanto’s new SmartStax corn.
Company shares, which have lost about 40 percent of their value this year, rose 5 percent in early trading Wednesday but then settled back down. The shares closed at $48.65, up 13 cents.
Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company and the leading developer of genetically engineered crops, said that net income for the year plunged to $1.1 billion from $2.1 billion a year earlier.
In the fourth quarter, Monsanto lost $143 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a loss of $233 million, or 43 cents, in the period a year ago.
The decline was largely because sales and profit from its Roundup weed killer business were eviscerated by low-priced generics from China.
Sales for the year fell 10 percent, to $10.5 billion from $11.7 billion. For the quarter, sales were $1.95 billion, up from $1.88 billion in the period a year ago.
Earnings were $2.01 a share for the year compared with $3.80 a year ago. Excluding restructuring charges and discontinued operations, earnings were $2.41 a share, at the low end of the range the company had expected, though the forecast had been lowered earlier in the year. The company said it expected earnings to rise to $2.72 to $2.82 a share in fiscal year 2011.
For its fourth quarter, the company reported a loss, after adjustments, of 9 cents a share, 3 cents worse than the consensus analyst estimate. Monsanto typically loses money in the fourth quarter because farmers do not buy many seeds in the summer.
While the decrease in earnings came largely from the Roundup chemical business, the focus of both analysts and company executives was on seeds and genetically engineered traits, which constitute most of the company’s business now and are expected to be the source of growth.
The biggest concern is that early data from this year’s harvest have shown the company’s newest product, SmartStax corn, with eight inserted genes, was not providing higher yields than older varieties with three genes.
Monsanto executives said that since most corn had not been harvested yet, it was too early to judge. Some yield problems, it said, were the result of one particular corn variety that did not perform well in the high nighttime temperatures in parts of the Corn Belt this year.
Nevertheless, the company has already cut prices sharply for SmartStax for next year. “Going into 2011 we’ve taken a decidedly practical approach,” Mr. Grant said.
American farmers planted three million acres of SmartStax corn in 2010, below Monsanto’s goal of four million. Executives declined to provide a goal for 2011 for SmartStax alone. The goal is the midteen million acres for SmartStax and two other product families combined.
A version of this article appeared in print on October 7, 2010, on page B3 of the New York edition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/business/07monsanto.html?_r=4&ref=todayspaper
By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: October 6, 2010
Executives of Monsanto told skittish investors on Wednesday that earnings per share would grow 13 to 17 percent in the next fiscal year and that the company was on its way to fixing problems in its seed business that have undermined the confidence of Wall Street.
Peter Newcomb/Reuters
Engineered seeds of soybeans, corn and other crops constitute most of the company's business.
The remarks, in line with some previous assurances by company executives, were made as Monsanto reported that net income for the year that ended Aug. 31 had dropped by nearly half from a year earlier.
“I believe we’ve taken steps to allow our company to return to growth,” Hugh Grant, the chief executive, told analysts and investors Wednesday on a conference call.
He said the seed business was going to offer “more products at more price points” to help regain the trust of farmers who have been put off by high seed prices and lower-than-expected yields for some products, particularly Monsanto’s new SmartStax corn.
Company shares, which have lost about 40 percent of their value this year, rose 5 percent in early trading Wednesday but then settled back down. The shares closed at $48.65, up 13 cents.
Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company and the leading developer of genetically engineered crops, said that net income for the year plunged to $1.1 billion from $2.1 billion a year earlier.
In the fourth quarter, Monsanto lost $143 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a loss of $233 million, or 43 cents, in the period a year ago.
The decline was largely because sales and profit from its Roundup weed killer business were eviscerated by low-priced generics from China.
Sales for the year fell 10 percent, to $10.5 billion from $11.7 billion. For the quarter, sales were $1.95 billion, up from $1.88 billion in the period a year ago.
Earnings were $2.01 a share for the year compared with $3.80 a year ago. Excluding restructuring charges and discontinued operations, earnings were $2.41 a share, at the low end of the range the company had expected, though the forecast had been lowered earlier in the year. The company said it expected earnings to rise to $2.72 to $2.82 a share in fiscal year 2011.
For its fourth quarter, the company reported a loss, after adjustments, of 9 cents a share, 3 cents worse than the consensus analyst estimate. Monsanto typically loses money in the fourth quarter because farmers do not buy many seeds in the summer.
While the decrease in earnings came largely from the Roundup chemical business, the focus of both analysts and company executives was on seeds and genetically engineered traits, which constitute most of the company’s business now and are expected to be the source of growth.
The biggest concern is that early data from this year’s harvest have shown the company’s newest product, SmartStax corn, with eight inserted genes, was not providing higher yields than older varieties with three genes.
Monsanto executives said that since most corn had not been harvested yet, it was too early to judge. Some yield problems, it said, were the result of one particular corn variety that did not perform well in the high nighttime temperatures in parts of the Corn Belt this year.
Nevertheless, the company has already cut prices sharply for SmartStax for next year. “Going into 2011 we’ve taken a decidedly practical approach,” Mr. Grant said.
American farmers planted three million acres of SmartStax corn in 2010, below Monsanto’s goal of four million. Executives declined to provide a goal for 2011 for SmartStax alone. The goal is the midteen million acres for SmartStax and two other product families combined.
A version of this article appeared in print on October 7, 2010, on page B3 of the New York edition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/business/07monsanto.html?_r=4&ref=todayspaper
jeudi 1 avril 2010
Iraqi Agriculture - International Seed Day: An International Day for Patent-Free Seeds, Organic Food and Farmers' Rights- April 26, 2010
International Seed Day (ISD): An International Day for Patent-Free Seeds, Organic Food and Farmers' Rights
April 26, 2010
Organizations and activists from around the world will observe April 26 as International Seed Day (ISD) advocating for patent-free seeds, organic food and farmers' rights. ISD will be an educational day for the public to learn about genetically modified food, its health hazardous effects and the monopoly over worldwide agriculture by major US and European agribusiness companies.
Why April 26?
Order 81 was signed on April 26, 2004 by Paul Bremer, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq to control Iraq's agriculture. The Order was a declaration of war against farmers.
Article 14 of this law states "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds of protected varieties," Order 81 mends Iraq's original law No. 65 on patents, created in 1970.
The most significant part of Order 81 is the subject of 'Plant Variety Protection' (PVP), which ensures not the protection of biodiversity, but rather the protection of the commercial interests of USA and European major seed corporations. In order to qualify for PVP, seeds have to be 'new, distinct, uniform and stable'. Therefore, the sort of seeds being encouraged to grow by corporations such as World Wide Wheat Company (WWWC), Monsanto and others will be those registered under PVP. International Seed Day (ISD) Library
samedi 23 février 2008
Seeds of Destruction + Iraq and Washington’s ‘seeds of democracy’
The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulationby F. William Engdahl
Global Research, 2007 ISBN 978-0-937147-2-2
This skillfully researched book focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread.
"Control the food and you control the people."
This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. Engdahl takes the reader inside the corridors of power, into the backrooms of the science labs, behind closed doors in the corporate boardrooms.
The author cogently reveals a diabolical World of profit-driven political intrigue, government corruption and coercion, where genetic manipulation and the patenting of life forms are used to gain worldwide control over food production. If the book often reads as a crime story, that should come as no surprise. For that is what it is.
Engdahl's carefully argued critique goes far beyond the familiar controversies surrounding the practice of genetic modification as a scientific technique. The book is an eye-opener, a must-read for all those committed to the causes of social justice and World peace.
F. William Engdahl is a leading analyst of the New World Order, author of the best-selling book on oil and geopolitics, A Century of War: Anglo-American Politics and the New World Order,’ His writings have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
What is so frightening about Engdahl's vision of the world is that it is so real. Although our civilization has been built on humanistic ideals, in this new age of "free markets", everything-- science, commerce, agriculture and even seeds-- have become weapons in the hands of a few global corporation barons and their political fellow travelers. To achieve world domination, they no longer rely on bayonet-wielding soldiers. All they need is to control food production. (Dr. Arpad Pusztai, biochemist, formerly of the Rowett Research Institute Institute, Scotland)
If you want to learn about the socio-political agenda --why biotech corporations insist on spreading GMO seeds around the World-- you should read this carefully researched book. You will learn how these corporations want to achieve control over all mankind, and why we must resist... (Marijan Jost, Professor of Genetics, Krizevci, Croatia)
The book reads like a murder mystery of an incredible dimension, in which four giant Anglo-American agribusiness conglomerates have no hesitation to use GMO to gain control over our very means of subsistence... (Anton Moser, Professor of Biotechnology, Graz, Austria).
********
Iraq and Washington’s ‘seeds of democracy’
By F. William Engdahl,
5 June 2005
(Previously published in Current Concerns)
‘The reason we are in Iraq is to plant the seeds of democracy so they flourish there and spread to the entire region of authoritarianism.’ - George W. Bush
When George W. Bush spoke of planting the ‘seeds of democracy’ few realized he might have had in mind Monsanto seeds.
Following the US occupation of Iraq in March 2003, the economic and political life of that country changed radically. Iraq is under the complete economic control of the occupying power, the United States.
Please click on the link below to read the article
http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net/GMO/Iraq_and_seeds_of_democracy/iraq_and_seeds_of_democracy.HTM
MONSANTO A BABYLONE
L’agriculture millénaire irakienne détruite par les transnationales agro-alimentaires étatsuniennes
Par Joëlle Pénochet
Le 13 fevrier 2008
“Contrôlez le pétrole, et vous contrôlez des nations entières ; contrôlez le système alimentaire, et vous contrôlez les populations. »
Par Joëlle Pénochet
Le 13 fevrier 2008
“Contrôlez le pétrole, et vous contrôlez des nations entières ; contrôlez le système alimentaire, et vous contrôlez les populations. »
Henry Kissinger
C’est au cœur de la Mésopotamie qu’a été inventée l’agriculture - avec un système d’irrigation sophistiqué -, voici plus de dix mille ans. La plaine alluviale exceptionnellement fertile située entre le Tigre et l’Euphrate offre des conditions idéales pour la culture des céréales. C’est là qu’est apparu le blé sauvage dans l’Antiquité. On y faisait pousser presque toutes les variétés connues aujourd’hui dans le monde (plus de 200 000). Les palmiers dattiers, qui fournissaient l’autre ressource vitale du pays, abritaient des plantes potagères très variées.
Les « semences de la démocratie » *
Depuis son invasion en 2003, l’Iraq n’a pas été seulement spoliée par ses agresseurs de sa souveraineté politique, de son patrimoine archéologique, de ses ressources pétrolières, mais aussi de sa souveraineté alimentaire.
En violation de la Constitution irakienne, et des conventions de la Haye et de Genève qui stipulent que l’occupant doit respecter la juridiction du pays occupé, l’administrateur provisoire Paul Bremer (un ancien collaborateur de Kissinger) a édicté, avant l’installation d’un gouvernement fantoche par Washington, cent ordonnances scélérates qui ont force de loi et qui ne peuvent être abolies ni modifiées par aucun gouvernement irakien (article 26 de la nouvelle constitution). Le pays tombait ainsi sous le joug économique total de l’Occupant, qui avait décidé de réformer drastiquement son économie sur le modèle économique néo-libéral américain.
L’ordonnance 81 du 26 avril 2004 a livré le pays en pâture aux nécro-entreprises géantes qui contrôlent le commerce mondial des graines, comme Monsanto (le fabriquant de l’agent Orange), Syngenta et Dow Chemicals. Elle conduit à la destruction irréversible de l’agriculture Iraqienne. L’Afghanistan avait subi le même sort en 2002.
Biopiratage dans le jardin d’Eden
Cette ordonnance, rédigée de façon très perverse, a institué de fait une obligation pour les fermiers irakiens d’acheter chaque année une licence et des semences transgéniques aux multinationales américaines - alors que la juridiction irakienne interdisait toute privatisation des ressources biologiques.
La règle de« Protection des variétés des plantes » (PVP), au centre de cette loi, ne traite pas de conservation de la biodiversité, mais de la protection des intérêts des transnationales semencières américaines (qui, en vertu des ordonnances Bremer, sont exonérées d’impôts, ne sont pas obligées de réinvestir dans le pays et possèdent le droit de rapatrier tous leurs profits). Pour être qualifiées, les plantes doivent être « nouvelles, distinctes, uniformes et stables », des critères que les plantes traditionnelles ne peuvent pas remplir.
Ces sociétés étrangères détiennent un droit de propriété intellectuelle (semblable à ceux que Washington a introduit dans les règles de l’OMC- dont l’Iraq ne fait pas partie) qui leur concède pendant vingt ans le monopole sur la production, la reproduction, la vente, l’exportation, l’importation et le stockage de toutes les semences génétiquement modifiées et les variétés de plantes «similaires».
Monsanto a fait un hold-up sur les semences millénaires de l’Iraq pour les modifier génétiquement et les breveter. Et les agriculteurs sont maintenant contraints de payer pour pouvoir les cultiver (1).
Dans un premier temps, pour faciliter l’introduction de l’agriculture transgénique, le « ministère » irakien de l'Agriculture, à la façon d’un dealer de drogue dure, a distribuées quasi gratuitement les « nouvelles semences » aux fermiers irakiens. Sans leur dire qu’ils entraient ainsi dans un système infernal dont ils ne pourraient plus sortir.
Les fermiers iraqiens rançonnés par les géants semenciers
L’ordonnance 81 a rendu illégales les traditions antiques de sélection des meilleures semences par les agriculteurs pour les réutiliser d’une année sur l’autre, et les échanges entre voisins. (Selon la FAO, 97% des fermiers irakiens réutilisaient encore leurs graines, ou les achetaient sur le marché local en 2002). Par croisements, au fil des générations, ils avaient créé des variétés hybrides adaptées au dur climat de la région.
Les agriculteurs « coupables » d’avoir semé des graines non achetées, ou dont le champ aurait été contaminé accidentellement, encourent de fortes amendes, voire des peines d’emprisonnement, la destruction de leurs récoltes, de leurs outils et de leurs installations!
Le terrorisme alimentaire pratiqué par les multinationales comme Monsanto dans les pays qu’elles colonisent a conduit au suicide de dizaines de milliers paysans du Tiers Monde - ruinés par l’achat annuel de semences transgéniques et des pesticides, herbicides et fongicides très toxiques qui leur sont nécessairement associés. Ainsi, pour la seule année 2003, 17 000 agriculteurs indiens auxquels les banques ne voulaient plus prêter d’argent pour acheter les semences de Monsanto se sont suicidés.
Vers le contrôle total de la chaîne alimentaire par les transnationales américaines
Les bombardements incessants depuis 1991 avec des armes à l’uranium appauvri - qui ont transformé le pays en une vaste déchetterie radioactive - et l’embargo de treize ans, avaient déjà commencé de détruire l’agriculture irakienne - anéantissement du système d’irrigation, du matériel agricole et des palmiers dattiers (2). De 1990 (date de l’instauration des sanctions) à 2003, le volume de la production de céréales avait diminué de moitié. Les troupeaux d’animaux d’élevage ont été décimés.
En plus de subir les exactions quotidiennes des occupants, les fermiers iraqiens, devenus des serfs, sont désormais condamnés à produire des plantes artificielles, destinées pour moitié à l’exportation mondiale (ou aux troupes d’occupation, comme les variétés de blé réservées à la fabrication de pâtes, étrangères au régime alimentaire irakien), au seul bénéfice de Monsanto et consorts. Ceci alors même que la population irakienne meurt de faim (3). C’est pourquoi, à l'instar de leurs homologues afghans, de plus en plus de fermiers désespérés abandonnent la culture des céréales pour celle de l’opium.
Les chimères issues des nécro-technologies représentent un très grave danger sur les plans environnemental, sanitaire, économique et éthique. Elles entraînent une pollution environnementale aussi irréversible que celle qui est provoquée par l’uranium appauvri. Par ailleurs, elles peuvent être utilisées dans le cadre de guerres biologiques ou bactériologiques silencieuses (3).
Les OGM constituent l’une des principales armes des instigateurs du Nouvel Ordre Mondial pour asservir l’une après l’autre les populations du monde entier. L’Iraq est devenue le nouveau laboratoire en grandeur réelle de cet instrument de domination diabolique, et les Irakiens les cobayes.
* Allusion à la phrase de Bush peu après l’invasion : « Nous sommes en Irak pour y répandre les semences de la démocratie de façon à ce qu'elles y prospèrent et se propagent dans toute la région où règne l'autoritarisme." (George Bush).
Notes
(1) Des échantillons de chacune de leurs variétés avaient été conservés dans la Banque nationale de semences… d’Abu Ghraib, qui a été détruite par l’Occupant.
(2) Cf. http://www.planetenonviolence.org/
Non-violence-ecologie-Une-catastrophe-ecologique-passee-sous-silence-la-destruction-des-palmeraies-en-Iraq_a225.html .
(3) En 2004, la police militaire américaine a fermé le journal al Hawza, qui avait publié un article affirmant que Bremer "menait une politique visant à affamer le peuple irakien afin, qu'entièrement occupé à se procurer son pain quotidien, il n'ait aucune chance de réclamer des libertés politiques et individuelles."
(4) Cf. les articles de Mae Wang Ho et Joe Cumming, de l’Institute of Science in Society (ISIS).
Sources
Michel Chossudovky: Sowing the Seeds of Famine in Ethiopia,www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=366, 10 septembre 2001.
C’est au cœur de la Mésopotamie qu’a été inventée l’agriculture - avec un système d’irrigation sophistiqué -, voici plus de dix mille ans. La plaine alluviale exceptionnellement fertile située entre le Tigre et l’Euphrate offre des conditions idéales pour la culture des céréales. C’est là qu’est apparu le blé sauvage dans l’Antiquité. On y faisait pousser presque toutes les variétés connues aujourd’hui dans le monde (plus de 200 000). Les palmiers dattiers, qui fournissaient l’autre ressource vitale du pays, abritaient des plantes potagères très variées.
Les « semences de la démocratie » *
Depuis son invasion en 2003, l’Iraq n’a pas été seulement spoliée par ses agresseurs de sa souveraineté politique, de son patrimoine archéologique, de ses ressources pétrolières, mais aussi de sa souveraineté alimentaire.
En violation de la Constitution irakienne, et des conventions de la Haye et de Genève qui stipulent que l’occupant doit respecter la juridiction du pays occupé, l’administrateur provisoire Paul Bremer (un ancien collaborateur de Kissinger) a édicté, avant l’installation d’un gouvernement fantoche par Washington, cent ordonnances scélérates qui ont force de loi et qui ne peuvent être abolies ni modifiées par aucun gouvernement irakien (article 26 de la nouvelle constitution). Le pays tombait ainsi sous le joug économique total de l’Occupant, qui avait décidé de réformer drastiquement son économie sur le modèle économique néo-libéral américain.
L’ordonnance 81 du 26 avril 2004 a livré le pays en pâture aux nécro-entreprises géantes qui contrôlent le commerce mondial des graines, comme Monsanto (le fabriquant de l’agent Orange), Syngenta et Dow Chemicals. Elle conduit à la destruction irréversible de l’agriculture Iraqienne. L’Afghanistan avait subi le même sort en 2002.
Biopiratage dans le jardin d’Eden
Cette ordonnance, rédigée de façon très perverse, a institué de fait une obligation pour les fermiers irakiens d’acheter chaque année une licence et des semences transgéniques aux multinationales américaines - alors que la juridiction irakienne interdisait toute privatisation des ressources biologiques.
La règle de« Protection des variétés des plantes » (PVP), au centre de cette loi, ne traite pas de conservation de la biodiversité, mais de la protection des intérêts des transnationales semencières américaines (qui, en vertu des ordonnances Bremer, sont exonérées d’impôts, ne sont pas obligées de réinvestir dans le pays et possèdent le droit de rapatrier tous leurs profits). Pour être qualifiées, les plantes doivent être « nouvelles, distinctes, uniformes et stables », des critères que les plantes traditionnelles ne peuvent pas remplir.
Ces sociétés étrangères détiennent un droit de propriété intellectuelle (semblable à ceux que Washington a introduit dans les règles de l’OMC- dont l’Iraq ne fait pas partie) qui leur concède pendant vingt ans le monopole sur la production, la reproduction, la vente, l’exportation, l’importation et le stockage de toutes les semences génétiquement modifiées et les variétés de plantes «similaires».
Monsanto a fait un hold-up sur les semences millénaires de l’Iraq pour les modifier génétiquement et les breveter. Et les agriculteurs sont maintenant contraints de payer pour pouvoir les cultiver (1).
Dans un premier temps, pour faciliter l’introduction de l’agriculture transgénique, le « ministère » irakien de l'Agriculture, à la façon d’un dealer de drogue dure, a distribuées quasi gratuitement les « nouvelles semences » aux fermiers irakiens. Sans leur dire qu’ils entraient ainsi dans un système infernal dont ils ne pourraient plus sortir.
Les fermiers iraqiens rançonnés par les géants semenciers
L’ordonnance 81 a rendu illégales les traditions antiques de sélection des meilleures semences par les agriculteurs pour les réutiliser d’une année sur l’autre, et les échanges entre voisins. (Selon la FAO, 97% des fermiers irakiens réutilisaient encore leurs graines, ou les achetaient sur le marché local en 2002). Par croisements, au fil des générations, ils avaient créé des variétés hybrides adaptées au dur climat de la région.
Les agriculteurs « coupables » d’avoir semé des graines non achetées, ou dont le champ aurait été contaminé accidentellement, encourent de fortes amendes, voire des peines d’emprisonnement, la destruction de leurs récoltes, de leurs outils et de leurs installations!
Le terrorisme alimentaire pratiqué par les multinationales comme Monsanto dans les pays qu’elles colonisent a conduit au suicide de dizaines de milliers paysans du Tiers Monde - ruinés par l’achat annuel de semences transgéniques et des pesticides, herbicides et fongicides très toxiques qui leur sont nécessairement associés. Ainsi, pour la seule année 2003, 17 000 agriculteurs indiens auxquels les banques ne voulaient plus prêter d’argent pour acheter les semences de Monsanto se sont suicidés.
Vers le contrôle total de la chaîne alimentaire par les transnationales américaines
Les bombardements incessants depuis 1991 avec des armes à l’uranium appauvri - qui ont transformé le pays en une vaste déchetterie radioactive - et l’embargo de treize ans, avaient déjà commencé de détruire l’agriculture irakienne - anéantissement du système d’irrigation, du matériel agricole et des palmiers dattiers (2). De 1990 (date de l’instauration des sanctions) à 2003, le volume de la production de céréales avait diminué de moitié. Les troupeaux d’animaux d’élevage ont été décimés.
En plus de subir les exactions quotidiennes des occupants, les fermiers iraqiens, devenus des serfs, sont désormais condamnés à produire des plantes artificielles, destinées pour moitié à l’exportation mondiale (ou aux troupes d’occupation, comme les variétés de blé réservées à la fabrication de pâtes, étrangères au régime alimentaire irakien), au seul bénéfice de Monsanto et consorts. Ceci alors même que la population irakienne meurt de faim (3). C’est pourquoi, à l'instar de leurs homologues afghans, de plus en plus de fermiers désespérés abandonnent la culture des céréales pour celle de l’opium.
Les chimères issues des nécro-technologies représentent un très grave danger sur les plans environnemental, sanitaire, économique et éthique. Elles entraînent une pollution environnementale aussi irréversible que celle qui est provoquée par l’uranium appauvri. Par ailleurs, elles peuvent être utilisées dans le cadre de guerres biologiques ou bactériologiques silencieuses (3).
Les OGM constituent l’une des principales armes des instigateurs du Nouvel Ordre Mondial pour asservir l’une après l’autre les populations du monde entier. L’Iraq est devenue le nouveau laboratoire en grandeur réelle de cet instrument de domination diabolique, et les Irakiens les cobayes.
* Allusion à la phrase de Bush peu après l’invasion : « Nous sommes en Irak pour y répandre les semences de la démocratie de façon à ce qu'elles y prospèrent et se propagent dans toute la région où règne l'autoritarisme." (George Bush).
Notes
(1) Des échantillons de chacune de leurs variétés avaient été conservés dans la Banque nationale de semences… d’Abu Ghraib, qui a été détruite par l’Occupant.
(2) Cf. http://www.planetenonviolence.org/
Non-violence-ecologie-Une-catastrophe-ecologique-passee-sous-silence-la-destruction-des-palmeraies-en-Iraq_a225.html .
(3) En 2004, la police militaire américaine a fermé le journal al Hawza, qui avait publié un article affirmant que Bremer "menait une politique visant à affamer le peuple irakien afin, qu'entièrement occupé à se procurer son pain quotidien, il n'ait aucune chance de réclamer des libertés politiques et individuelles."
(4) Cf. les articles de Mae Wang Ho et Joe Cumming, de l’Institute of Science in Society (ISIS).
Sources
Michel Chossudovky: Sowing the Seeds of Famine in Ethiopia,www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=366, 10 septembre 2001.
William Engdhal:WTO, GMO and Total Spectrum Dominance , 29 mars 2006.
Le pillage «libéral» de l'Irak, 14 novembre 2005.
Ghali Hassan:Iraq’s New Constitution , 17août 2005.
Biopiracy and GMOs: The Fate of Iraq's Agriculture, 12 décembre 2005.
Stephen Lendman:Unleashing GMO Seeds: "Food is Power"
Reviewing F. William Engdahl's Seeds of Destruction, Part 3. 19 janvier 2008.
Agribusiness Giants seek to gain Worldwide Control over our Food Supply, 7 janvier 2008.
Reviewing F. William Engdahl's Seeds of Destruction, Part 3. 19 janvier 2008.
Agribusiness Giants seek to gain Worldwide Control over our Food Supply, 7 janvier 2008.
Arun Shrivastava:Suicides en masse de fermiers indiens : ce qui se profile à l’horizon , 14 novembre 2006.
Jeffrey Smith:Genetically Modified Foods Unsafe? Evidence that Links GM Foods to Allergic Responses Mounts, 8 novembre 2007.
ORDER 81: Re-engineering Iraqi agriculture, 27 août 2005.
Autres documents et articles consultés :L'ordonnance n° 81:http://www.mindfully.org/Farm/2004/Iraq-Plant-Variety-Law26apr04.htm
William Engdahl, Iraq and Washington’s ‘seeds of democracy, http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net/GMO/Iraq_and_seeds_of_democracy/iraq_and_seeds_of_democracy.HTMChristopher D. Cook, Plowing for Profits U.S. Agribusiness Eyes Iraq’s Fledgling Markets, In These Times 15mar2005 : ***http://www.mindfully.org/GE/2005/Iraq-US-Agribusiness-Profit15mar05.htmIraq's New Patent Law: A Declaration of War Against Farmers Focus on the Global South and GRAIN 15oct04 :http://www.mindfully.org/Farm/2004/Iraq-Patent-Law-CPA15oct04.htm
Iraq's Crop Patent Law A Threat To Food Security By GM Free Cymru03 March 2005 ***http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-cymru030305.htm
Patrick Cockburn, Desesperate Iraqi Farmers Turn to Opium, 24 janvier 2008: http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick01242008.html
Voir également le dernier livre de William Enghdal: Seeds of Destruction
Iraq's Crop Patent Law A Threat To Food Security By GM Free Cymru03 March 2005 ***http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq-cymru030305.htm
Patrick Cockburn, Desesperate Iraqi Farmers Turn to Opium, 24 janvier 2008: http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick01242008.html
Voir également le dernier livre de William Enghdal: Seeds of Destruction
To express your opinion on this article, join the discussion at Global Research's News and Discussion Forum
For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com
© Copyright Joëlle Pénochet, Global Research, 2008
The url address of this article is: www.mondialisation.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=PéN20080213&articleId=8062
© Copyright 2005-2007 Mondialisation.
© Copyright 2005-2007 Mondialisation.
mardi 12 février 2008
Memorandum from Manuel Miranda – Juan Cole’s comments
http://www.juancole.com/2008/02/70-killed-or-found-dead-on-sunday-big.html#comments
There is a lasting delusion that we are winning the war militarily as can be seen from this document published @ mountainrunner:
Received this commentary on Ambassador Ryan Crocker and State's effort in Iraq yesterday (Friday) morning. Highlights are mine. Comments from the different communities affected are requested.
M E M O R A N D U M
To: Ambassador Crocker
From Manuel Miranda,
Office of Legislative Statecraft
CC: ALCON
Date: February 5, 2008
Re: Departure Assessment of Embassy Baghdad.
Introduction
As I prepare to sign out after a year with the State Department, I feel it my last duty to offer you my assessment of what I observed. Please accept this assessment in that spirit. The presence of so many Section 3161 temporary direct hires in various areas of expertise in the Embassy is a unique opportunity for the evaluation and oversight of the Foreign Service and the State Department's bureaucracy and competence, whether it is a Service at War or Peace.
We all have opinions. If there is any doubt of the sincerity of mine, I am ready to share to list the names of those scores of other 3161's who share it, each from the vantage point of their areas of expertise and particular experience in the Embassy.
I have kept my observations to the areas that I have most directly observed as Senior Advisor for Legislative Framework in the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office and the Embassy's Rule of Law community, and as Director of the Office for Legislative Statecraft in the Political Section. I apply to this assessment my background as a former counsel to the Senate Majority Leader and as a student of legal institutions, and, as importantly, as a lawyer with 12 years experience in sovereign government negotiations, comparative and international law, and the legal framework and conditions needed for foreign direct investment in energy infrastructure and domestic economic progress and stability in developing democracies.
Nothing in this assessment is intended to be critical of General Petraeus, his leadership, his staff, the efforts of the Coalition forces in Iraq, or the success of the security component of the "Surge" initiative, now one year old. Nothing in this assessment is intended to cast doubt on the diplomatic strengths of the Foreign Service in Iraq. Nothing in this assessment should be read as critical of the hundreds of civilian men and women, of all ages and backgrounds, who work in Iraq tirelessly and at great personal sacrifice of their careers and family lives, and the many at lower levels of internal management who support us. Although my assessment is limited to certain areas of expertise, it is applicable Embassy-wide.
I should point out that I support America's mission in Iraq, while fully recognizing our many errors over time. I support the President's policy that ignores the historic stereotypes of the Middle East and offers the region a culture of liberty protected by responsible government and the rule of law. I support a long-term American military presence in Iraqi bases, welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Iraqis and a democratically-elected government, as a means of bringing peace and stability to the region, as we did in Europe and the Far East. History may recognize this end as singularly worthy of the sacrifice that America's sons and daughters have made.
I believe, however, that the potential for this peace requires the progress of Iraqi society and the confidence of the Iraqi people in their government.That civilian progress, and the Pax Americana, will not be achieved with the Foreign Service and the State Department's bureaucracy at the helm of America's number one policy consideration. You are simply not up to the task, and many of you will readily and honestly admit it. I believe that a better job can be done. It is simply that we have brought to Iraq the worst of America – our bureaucrats – and failed to apply, as President Roosevelt once did, the high-caliber leadership class and intellectual talent, whose rallying has defined all of America's finest hours.
Summary
America's success in Iraq requires pacifying the country and assisting its government to inspire the confidence of Iraq's people. America can be confident that the former task is in good hands, but the latter effort will fail if we continue to rely on the State Department and the Foreign Service to lead or manage our civilian support efforts. As we did with the military Surge, America and Iraq would be well served by retaining our diplomats to do the work of diplomacy, but putting the effort to stand up the GOI in more competent hands. This is especially true in the areas of legislative reform and the rule of law. But it is also true in other areas.At stake, as a whole, is not only the success of the mission, the lives of Americans and the future of a country for which we must now bear some responsibility, but also hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars being wasted and poorly managed.
GENERAL ASSESSMENT...
http://mountainrunner.us/2008/02/departure_assessment_of_embass.html
I had this to say:
"This memo seems to be a bold admission that the U.S. government is attempting to engineer an Iraq in it's own image with little regard to the interests of Iraqis, their society, and culture:
Miranda: "I support the President's policy that ignores the historic stereotypes(?) of the Middle East and offers the region a culture of liberty protected by responsible government and the rule of law."
I would HAVE TO ASSUME Mr. Miranda means "WESTERN Law", such as the one that foists Monsanto owned GMO crops off on Iraqi farmers against their better judgment and will, almost at gunpoint by US soldiers during Operation Amber Waves.
Little do these farmers know about 'patent law' and how those crops, and any contaminated crops surrounding those crops are OWNED by Monsanto et al... and indeed, little should they have to know, except for the enforcement of 'western law' foreign to not only Iraqi culture, but truly foreign to muslim culture in totality.
Also, despite the consistently discredited brash claim that "...a long-term American military presence (is) ...welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Iraqis.."I believe it would be just as brash to claim that the State department is any more welcome than our military, except perhaps in it's historic stereotypical (sic) role as an arbiter of trade and diplomatic relations."
There is a lasting delusion that we are winning the war militarily as can be seen from this document published @ mountainrunner:
Received this commentary on Ambassador Ryan Crocker and State's effort in Iraq yesterday (Friday) morning. Highlights are mine. Comments from the different communities affected are requested.
M E M O R A N D U M
To: Ambassador Crocker
From Manuel Miranda,
Office of Legislative Statecraft
CC: ALCON
Date: February 5, 2008
Re: Departure Assessment of Embassy Baghdad.
Introduction
As I prepare to sign out after a year with the State Department, I feel it my last duty to offer you my assessment of what I observed. Please accept this assessment in that spirit. The presence of so many Section 3161 temporary direct hires in various areas of expertise in the Embassy is a unique opportunity for the evaluation and oversight of the Foreign Service and the State Department's bureaucracy and competence, whether it is a Service at War or Peace.
We all have opinions. If there is any doubt of the sincerity of mine, I am ready to share to list the names of those scores of other 3161's who share it, each from the vantage point of their areas of expertise and particular experience in the Embassy.
I have kept my observations to the areas that I have most directly observed as Senior Advisor for Legislative Framework in the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office and the Embassy's Rule of Law community, and as Director of the Office for Legislative Statecraft in the Political Section. I apply to this assessment my background as a former counsel to the Senate Majority Leader and as a student of legal institutions, and, as importantly, as a lawyer with 12 years experience in sovereign government negotiations, comparative and international law, and the legal framework and conditions needed for foreign direct investment in energy infrastructure and domestic economic progress and stability in developing democracies.
Nothing in this assessment is intended to be critical of General Petraeus, his leadership, his staff, the efforts of the Coalition forces in Iraq, or the success of the security component of the "Surge" initiative, now one year old. Nothing in this assessment is intended to cast doubt on the diplomatic strengths of the Foreign Service in Iraq. Nothing in this assessment should be read as critical of the hundreds of civilian men and women, of all ages and backgrounds, who work in Iraq tirelessly and at great personal sacrifice of their careers and family lives, and the many at lower levels of internal management who support us. Although my assessment is limited to certain areas of expertise, it is applicable Embassy-wide.
I should point out that I support America's mission in Iraq, while fully recognizing our many errors over time. I support the President's policy that ignores the historic stereotypes of the Middle East and offers the region a culture of liberty protected by responsible government and the rule of law. I support a long-term American military presence in Iraqi bases, welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Iraqis and a democratically-elected government, as a means of bringing peace and stability to the region, as we did in Europe and the Far East. History may recognize this end as singularly worthy of the sacrifice that America's sons and daughters have made.
I believe, however, that the potential for this peace requires the progress of Iraqi society and the confidence of the Iraqi people in their government.That civilian progress, and the Pax Americana, will not be achieved with the Foreign Service and the State Department's bureaucracy at the helm of America's number one policy consideration. You are simply not up to the task, and many of you will readily and honestly admit it. I believe that a better job can be done. It is simply that we have brought to Iraq the worst of America – our bureaucrats – and failed to apply, as President Roosevelt once did, the high-caliber leadership class and intellectual talent, whose rallying has defined all of America's finest hours.
Summary
America's success in Iraq requires pacifying the country and assisting its government to inspire the confidence of Iraq's people. America can be confident that the former task is in good hands, but the latter effort will fail if we continue to rely on the State Department and the Foreign Service to lead or manage our civilian support efforts. As we did with the military Surge, America and Iraq would be well served by retaining our diplomats to do the work of diplomacy, but putting the effort to stand up the GOI in more competent hands. This is especially true in the areas of legislative reform and the rule of law. But it is also true in other areas.At stake, as a whole, is not only the success of the mission, the lives of Americans and the future of a country for which we must now bear some responsibility, but also hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars being wasted and poorly managed.
GENERAL ASSESSMENT...
http://mountainrunner.us/2008/02/departure_assessment_of_embass.html
I had this to say:
"This memo seems to be a bold admission that the U.S. government is attempting to engineer an Iraq in it's own image with little regard to the interests of Iraqis, their society, and culture:
Miranda: "I support the President's policy that ignores the historic stereotypes(?) of the Middle East and offers the region a culture of liberty protected by responsible government and the rule of law."
I would HAVE TO ASSUME Mr. Miranda means "WESTERN Law", such as the one that foists Monsanto owned GMO crops off on Iraqi farmers against their better judgment and will, almost at gunpoint by US soldiers during Operation Amber Waves.
Little do these farmers know about 'patent law' and how those crops, and any contaminated crops surrounding those crops are OWNED by Monsanto et al... and indeed, little should they have to know, except for the enforcement of 'western law' foreign to not only Iraqi culture, but truly foreign to muslim culture in totality.
Also, despite the consistently discredited brash claim that "...a long-term American military presence (is) ...welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Iraqis.."I believe it would be just as brash to claim that the State department is any more welcome than our military, except perhaps in it's historic stereotypical (sic) role as an arbiter of trade and diplomatic relations."
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)
