A Short List of People In Charge of Your Food

Want to know who President Obama hired to run the Agriculture Department in charge of growing the nation’s food?

1) Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice President, is now the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods.
2) Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto-funded Danforth Plant Science Center, is now the director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
3) Islam Siddiqui, Vice President of the Monsanto and Dupont-funded pesticide-promoting lobbying group, CropLife, is now the Agriculture Negotiator for the US Trade Representative.
4) Ramona Romero, corporate counsel to DuPont, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
5) Margaret Miller, a former Monsanto researcher, now reviews Monsanto research for Obama’s FDA.
6) Susan Sechen, also a former Monsanto researcher, is Miller’s assistant.
7) Michael Taylor, yes, also from Monsanto, is in charge of “food safety” for this administration.
Just thought you'd like to know.

America's Golden Opportunity

Dear Kind People,

Clean, safe food is your birthright. Please understand that food safety is a nonpartisan issue; we have been given a Golden Opportunity to stand united as Americans!

Last week President Obama and Secretary Vilsack approved Monsanto's GMO alfalfa, a move fundamentally undermining the organic dairy and beef industries.

This is how it works: the planting of Monsanto's GMO alfalfa will result in genetic contamination of organic and non-GMO alfalfa, thus making it hard for organic farmers to meet USDA organic standards that require organic feed for certification. Essentially, Monsanto is working diligently to put organic farmers out of business, and our government is lending the corporation a helping hand.

Not only that, but our conventional alfalfa farmers who use non-GMO seed stock (which accounts for 93% of alfalfa crops grown in the US) will lose important overseas markets because foreign consumers refuse to accept GMOs as safe for human consumption. We cannot afford to allow Monsanto to close this door!

Mankind's Greatest MistakePresident Obama's support of Big Ag Biz is being called "Mankind's Greatest Mistake," and every voice must be raised against this poorly thought-out decision. We cannot let this be our legacy. I don't know about you, but I don't want to support greed, pollution, and illness.

Think this is just another case of Chicken Little "sky is falling" posturing by the bohemian tree-hugging contingency your mother warned you about? Before you blow this crisis (and it is indeed a crisis) off, I urge you to educate yourself by linking to the Institute for Responsible Technology site here.

Please, get on board! Let's show the world that, in America, normal citizens like us can unite and take down this behemoth Goliath. Look around, people; the whole world's watching.

President Obama and Secretary Vilsack need to hear that YOU are disappointed by this unwise decision. Tell them that you are deeply disillusioned by this decision, and please ask all of your friends who care about organics and clean, safe food to join in. It's outrageous to risk the contamination of the organic dairy industry (and small organic farmers everywhere) simply for Monsanto's corporate profits.

Put down your plowshares and pick up your sword! We must stop this destruction of our food supply.

Follow this link from Food Democracy Now! to sign the petition declaring your support of a safe, clean food supply. Then please pass this on to everyone you know.
Our independence is at stake, and you have a voice. Use it!

Thank you.

Yours in Good Health,
Lynn Byrd, The Byrdfeeder

Gone Seeking

Has anybody seen my mojo?

Hiatus n. a break or gap, esp. in a series, account, or chain of proof.

My ponyless boat

No worries; my life jacket is snug, and food is aboard. I'll return home before The Thaw.