Monsanto Finally Bulls Its Way Into Nigeria: Corporate Bully To Take Over African Nation’s Ability To Feed Itself As Was The Plan All Along
There are some takeovers that are overt and as bold as bold can be. The German army’s Blitzkrieg strategy of overwhelming much of Europe with its tank strength is an example that everyone could witness as it was happening.
But much more insidious, more common, and arguably more dangerous are stealth takeovers. Witness for example how Big Pharma’s lackeys have infiltrated top regulatory positions in the U.S. government, even going so far as to head up the CDC from time to time.
Something similar is happening with regard to Monsanto. And if signs of the company’s abilities to get its way are any indication, we are quickly heading toward a future in which the agri-chem giant will control most or all of the planet’s food.
This week saw the company’s GMO soy seed finally gain approval for sale in the E.U., for one thing. But perhaps even more insidious is the way Monsanto hacks finally wore down the government of Nigeria and gained approval to sell their genetically modified seeds in that struggling African nation.
After a long resistance, the Nigeria regulatory body for biotechnology, The National Biosafety Management Agency has finally capitulated and approved two permits that will allow Monsanto to swoop in on Nigeria’s seed market, selling GMO cotton and GMO maize, which are engineered to produce the infamous Bt toxin without safety tests. The permits that authorize the untested GMO seeds to be released onto the commercial market were issued during a holiday taken by NBMA director general, Rufus Ebegba.
Despite the fact that crops grown from Monsanto’s seeds require the copious use of Roundup brand herbicide–powered by a proven carcinogen, glyphosate–Ebegba derided arguments against GMO crops using language ripped right out of the Monsanto PR guidebook.
“The controversy surrounding the food and feeds are quite germane,” he said. “However, suffice it to say that [to] date there is no reliable evidence that GM crops pose any health risk whatsoever. Recent FAO, World Health Organization and other credible authorities attest to this. The public should therefore trust the agency’s decisions and avoid unscientific information and acts capable of causing public distrust and panic.”
In other words, don’t worry, all you poor farmers who are about to find themselves indebted to Monsanto for life in buying their non-self-reproducing seeds rather than getting the seeds for next year’s planting from this year’s harvest, as has been the way agriculture has worked since the dawn of civilization.
Don’t worry about the chemicals you will be forced to buy and spray all over your crops, chemicals that have allegedly caused dozens of U.S. farmers to contract non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Neither should you worry, parents and children who are going to be sold this chemical-laden food manufactured in a St. Louis lab not with the intent of feeding the poor, but of building the profits of a multi-billion dollar company with global ambitions.
And another domino falls, another place where Monsanto’s GMO crops will be able to push out natural, healthy, and cleaner growing practices that have been around for millennia. When will we wake up to the danger this corporation represents?
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http://www.naturalnews.com/054446_Nigeria_Monsanto_GMOs.html