The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” which is the second-highest classification for substances that can cause cancer. Glyphosate is the main ingredient of Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup.
Instead of protecting public health and removing it from their products, Monsanto hired an army of fraudulent scientists and industry lobbyists to push their agenda. Backed up by the government and mainstream media, fake stories flooded the internet to cast doubts on the cancer-causing properties associated with glyphosate, allowing Monsanto to continue selling their toxic products.
Last July, the European Union (EU) granted an 18-month extension of glyphosate’s approval after a proposal for a full license renewal met opposition from member states and campaign groups. Despite the strong opposition from environmental groups, a new study by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has reopened the negotiations with EU nations over renewing the license for glyphosate, Reuters reported.
After Europe forced a delay in the decision to renew the license of glyphosate for commercial use, the European Commission is now proposing to extend its use by 10 years. According to the EU body, which regulates chemicals and biocides, glyphosate should not be classified as a cancer-causing substance.
After taking the latest state of scientific research into account, a spokeswoman for the Commission said that they will start to “work with the Member States to find a solution that enjoys the largest possible support.”
Doubts over glyphosate’s safety remain
In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose carcinogenic or mutagenic properties and has no toxic effect on fertility, reproduction, or embryonic development.
As reported by Reuters, the ECHA study has been welcomed by the EFSA and lobby groups for farmers who use glyphosate-containing products on their fields. No date has been set for the start of the discussions between member states, so there is still hope Europe will maintain its strict safety standards and ban this health damaging chemical from its lawns and fields.
Bart Staes, a Green Party group member of the European Parliament, said that it makes no sense at all to ignore the wide range of risks associated to glyphosate. Despite the clear link between glyphosate and cancer, the decision to seek a 10-year rather than a long-term approval was criticized by glyphosate opponents such as the European Crop Protection group. They called the decision “short-sighted,” claiming it pandered to activists.
Will Europe fall for the bad science practices of the agricultural industry and fake media reports? Or will it make the right decision, putting people before profit? Only time will tell. Since glyphosate was registered in over 130 countries as one of the world’s most heavily used weed killers in 2010, Monsanto will not give up its biggest money-generating product without putting up a big fight. According to analysts, Monsanto is looking at a loss of up to $100 million if Europe bans the use of glyphosate.
The basic purpose of these ten forms is the presentation of a false picture of reality.
You could find more forms, or divide these ten into sub-categories.
The ten basic forms are:
* Direct lying about matters of fact.
* Leaving out vital information.
* Limited hangout. (This is an admission of a crime or a mistake, which only partially reveals the whole truth. The idea is that by admitting a fraction of what really happened and burying the biggest revelations, people will be satisfied and go away, and the story will never be covered again.)
* Shutting down the truth after publishing it—includes failing to follow up and investigate a story more deeply.
* Not connecting dots between important pieces of data.
* Censoring the truth, wherever it is found (or calling it “fake news”).
* Using biased “experts” to present slanted or false “facts.”
* Repeating a false story many times—this includes the echo-chamber effect, in which a number of outlets “bounce” the false story among themselves.
* Claiming a reasonable and true consensus exists, when it doesn’t, when there are many important dissenters, who are shut out from offering their analysis.
* Employing a panoply of effects (reputation of the media outlet, voice quality of the anchor, acting skills, dry mechanical language, studio lighting, overlay of electronic transmissions, etc.) to create an impression of elevated authority which is beyond challenge.
These are all traditional forms and methods.
Here’s an example of a big story that deployed all ten forms of fake news: the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009.
In the spring of 2009, the World Health Organization (elevated authority beyond challenge) announced that Swine Flu was a level-6 pandemic—its highest category of “danger.” In fact, there were only 20 confirmed cases at the time (direct lying about “danger”). And W.H.O. quietly changed the definition of “level-6” so widespread death and damage were no longer required (another aspect of direct lying).
The story was, of course, picked up by major media outlets all over the world (echo chamber effect, fake consensus, never connected dots re W.H.O. lies), and quite soon, Swine Flu case numbers rose into the thousands (direct lying, as we’ll soon see).
Medical experts were brought in to bolster the claims of danger (biased experts; important dissenters never given space to comment).
In the early fall of 2009, Sharyl Attkisson, then a star investigative reporter for CBS News, published a story on the CBS News website. She indicated that the CDC had secretly stopped counting the number of Swine Flu cases in America. No other major news outlet reported this fact (omitting vital information).
Attkisson discovered the reason the CDC had stopped counting: the overwhelming number of blood samples taken from the most likely Swine Flu patients were coming back from labs with: no trace of Swine Flu or any other kind of flu. Therefore, a gigantic hoax was revealed. The pandemic was a dud, a fake.
Despite Attkisson’s efforts, CBS never followed up on her story (shutting down the truth after exposing it). Never probed the lying by the CDC (failure to connect dots). In a sense, CBS turned Attkisson’s story into a limited hangout—a further investigation would have uncovered acres of criminal behavior by both the CDC and the World Health Organization, to say nothing of the governments and media outlets that supported these lying agencies. The mainstream press essentially censored Attkisson’s revelations.
Then, about three weeks after CBS published Attkisson’s story, WebMD published a piece in which the CDC claimed that its own (lying) estimate of 10,000 or so cases of Swine Flu in the US was a gross understatement. Truly, there were 22 MILLION cases of Swine Flu in the US (doubling-down on lying).
And that was that.
Which leads to an 11th form of fake news: if one lie doesn’t quite fly, tell a much bigger lie.
And these mainstream sources are currently shouting and bloviating about independent media spreading fake news. I guess you could call that number 12: accusing their opponents of committing the crimes they are, in fact, committing.
The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at NoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine.
Source: WilliamEngdahl.com F. William Engdahl
December 28, 2016
The year 2016 has been pivotal one for mankind. The foreign and economic policies of the USA are in shambles as the Obama era ends. A new President, one with no political experience, takes office in some days having promised to “make America great again.” He has promised to “drain the swamp” of special interest corporate influence in Washington yet has chosen his cabinet from the banks of those special Wall Street interests, has chosen his national security and Pentagon figures from US military generals, and has chosen no fewer than five cabinet members who are billionaires, and seeks counsel of geopolitical architects of war such as Henry Kissinger
The European Union is nearing a dissolution of the Brussels construct that is so anti-democratic. Not only Brexit, but now also likely in coming months Italy, Hungary, Greece, even France are possible candidates to leave the dysfunctional European Union. The Euro project has created deeply divided EU. The refugee crisis that has been created by Brussels, and by the German government, is causing social unrest and conflict unprecedented in peacetime.
To the east of the EU, despite continuing economic sanctions, Russia has decisively turned to the east and cooperation with China has deepened on all levels, a geopolitical nightmare for Washington. China for its part is engaged in the largest infrastructure construction in history, its One Bridge, One Road, new high-speed rail and deep-water port shipping infrastructure linking for the first time undeveloped resources and potential markets across Eurasia. The Washington policy of war by proxy to destroy Syria’s regime has decisively failed. Russia is emerging as a major power after a quarter century of abject humiliation by the Western NATO powers after 1991.
And Russia has taken decisions that will benefit all mankind by its law banning all planting of Genetically Modified seeds or GMO. Russia is, as a result, emerging as one of the most healthy natural food producers on the planet, in direct opposition to the USA which has allowed GMO to completely takeover American food.
It’s becoming increasingly clear to more people that the agenda of GMO, of Monsanto, which soon will vanish into the bowels of Bayer AG of Germany, is one of harm, not of feeding the hungry world. Its special agrichemicals like Roundup are labelled “probable carcinogens” by the WHO, yet governments ignore independent tests showing the harm. While Russia has just taken a courageous decision to ban all GMOs, China’s government looks set, despite the domestic opposition, to promote GMO as “biotechnology,” a huge error.
As we begin a new year we find our world beset with problems, with hate, murder, power addiction, and at the same time we find more pockets of hope, of life, of optimism that our world is weary of the endless wars and genuinely wanting peace. May peace, not war, be the hallmark of the coming year!
F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”
Source: NaturalNews.com
Samantha Debbie
September 7, 2016
The Securities and Exchange Commission has paid out the second largest settlement in U.S. history to a former Monsanto executive who blew the whistle on the biotech giant’s shady business dealings involving Roundup, a widely used herbicide containing glyphosate which was labeled a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization last spring.
The whistleblower’s identity is being kept secret, according to reports, presumably to protect the individual from the potential backlash of powerful industry groups.
The former Monsanto executive, who exposed “accounting improprieties” involving Roundup, has been awarded more than $22 million, according to CNBC.
“The award of $22,437,800 was tied to an $80 million settlement between the SEC and Monsanto in February, according to the lawyer, Stuart Meissner in New York, in a statement.”
Federal government accuses Monsanto of fudging sales numbers for weed killer
The SEC has accused Monsanto of lying about its earnings for Roundup. The allegations specifically involve a corporate rebate program designed to increase sales of the product.
The agency said that the seed giant “lacked sufficient internal controls to account for millions of dollars in rebates that it offered to retailers and distributors. It ultimately booked a sizeable amount of revenue, but then failed to recognize the costs of the rebate programs on its books.”
Monsanto reportedly “materially” distorted its consolidated earnings over a three-year period. The company is said to have “neither admitted nor denied” the allegations, while stating in the fiscal year 2015 that it was fully prepared to pay the resulting penalties.
“Company employees are in unique positions behind-the-scenes to unravel complex or deeply buried wrongdoing. Without this whistleblower’s courage, information, and assistance, it would have been extremely difficult for law enforcement to discover this securities fraud on its own,” said Jane Norberg, acting chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.
SEC’s whistleblower program issues $107 million in five years
The agency was given the power to award whistleblowers under the Dodd Frank financial reform law, signed by President Obama in 2010 to prevent institutions from becoming “too big to fail.”
The program has so far awarded more than $107 million to 33 whistleblowers since its implementation in 2011. The largest award was issued in 2014, totaling $30 million.
Monsanto, of course, is no stranger to the legal system. The company is facing more resistance from the government over its plans to merge with John Deere, which manufactures farming, construction and forestry equipment.
Justice Department sues to block Monsanto, John Deere deal
Headquartered in Moline, Illinois, John Deere revealed its plans to acquire Monsanto’s Precision Planting back in November.
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block the deal, arguing that if it goes through, it will give John Deere “a stranglehold on the market for high-speed precision-planting devices,” USA Today reports.
The two companies together sell 86 percent of all equipment in the precision-planting sector.
“If this deal were allowed to proceed, Deere would dominate the market for high-speed precision-planting systems and be able to raise prices and slow innovation at the expense of American farmers who rely on these systems,” said Renata Hesse, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice’s antitrust division.
John Deere and Monsanto claim that the merger is necessary to protect farmers, and will fight the lawsuit.
Monsanto is also considering an offer by the chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer. The German-based company offered $64 billion to purchase its agribusiness rival, Monsanto.
Source: NoMoreFakeNews.com Jon Rappoport
September 1, 2016
Millions of bees have just died in South Carolina, because Dorchester County officials decided to attack Zika mosquitoes from the air, from planes, with a pesticide called Naled.
“The county acknowledged the bee deaths Tuesday. ‘Dorchester County is aware that some beekeepers in the area that was sprayed on Sunday lost their beehives,’ Jason Ward, county administrator, said in a news release. He added, according to the Charleston Post and Courier, ‘I am not pleased that so many bees were killed.’
That’s the highest degree of outrage County Administrator Ward can muster? He’s not pleased?
Who said this Naled pesticide was safe? None other than the CDC. Sort of.
On the agency’s web page titled “Zika Virus: Information on aerial spraying,” we have several remarkable and inconsistent statements, obviously designed to straddle the fence and cover the agency and pesticide companies:
“Spraying Naled can kill bees outside of their hives at the time of spraying; therefore, spraying is limited to dawn or dusk when bees are inside their hives…”
“Because Naled breaks down quickly, it does not pose a risk to the honey bee populations…”
“Studies show that honey production between hives in treated and untreated sites did not show significantly different quantities of honey over the course of a season…” [But suppose millions of bees are killed and their colonies are destroyed?]
“For additional protection, urban bee keepers inside the spray zone can cover their hives when spraying occurs…”
A masterpiece of slippery contradiction. Naled is safe, but it isn’t, but it is.
Regardless, Dorchester County, in South Carolina, just learned a lesson about pesticide safety.
And for what? To kill mosquitoes purportedly carrying the Zika virus.
This is the virus that hasn’t been proved to cause anything. Zika. I have covered this hoax extensively in past articles. In a nutshell, no researchers anywhere in the world have been able to demonstrate a strong correlation between the presence of Zika and cases of the birth defect called microcephaly. The correlation isn’t there.
This failure is actually a refutation of the notion that Zika causes microcephaly. It’s a mandatory reason for saying, “Well, that Zika idea doesn’t work, now we have to go back to the drawing board to find out what’s causing this birth defect.”
But that’s not what the CDC and the World Health Organization are doing. They’re promoting Zika day and night; and the payoff will be a Zika vaccine.
These are the global health agencies tasked with guarding your health.
If you want to dig further, you can discover that, despite assurances to the contrary, Naled, like other toxic organophosphate pesticides, harms humans as well. Organophosphates are neurotoxins.
The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free NoMoreFakeNews emails here or his free OutsideTheRealityMachine emails here.
Source: NaturalNews.com
S.D. Wells
August 15, 2016
Before delving into these highly controversial subjects, it is paramount to review the proper definitions of each, as they inherently relate to the relevant understanding of how each applies to today’s “science,” politics, the environment, and of course, human health and safety.
First, a weapon of mass destruction, or “WMD,” is a chemical, nuclear, radiological or biological weapon that has the ability to kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans, not to mention massive damage to human-made structures and the biosphere.
Pesticides are the only toxic substances released intentionally into our environment (on a regular basis) to kill living things. The term pesticide is an umbrella term that includes substances used to kill weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides), fungus (fungicides) and rodents (rodenticides), among other agricultural “pests.”
Chemtrails are part of an ongoing mass aerial dispersal of biological waste and pesticides that initially look like normal contrails, but are easy to detect because they do not dissipate quickly since they are not formed from normal water-based condensation. Chemtrails are also much thicker than contrails, and often extend across the sky in patterns of Xs and tick-tack-toe-looking grids.
Vaccines are experimental injections of disease-causing agents intended to conjure an unnatural, hyper-immune reaction in humans in order to ameliorate the effects of future infections by “wild” pathogens. Yet, the effectiveness of inoculation theory and practice has never been proven successful; in fact, “deadened” or “weakened” forms of microbes and viruses often spring back to life inside the injected humans, spreading or “shedding” the very infectious disease the immunization is supposed to prevent. Even if the injected victim does not become immediately ill from the dormant virus, known carcinogenic agents and genetically modified organisms are now prominent in all vaccines, including flu shots, and can cause severe health detriment in the short- and long-term.
These agents, or “adjuvants,” often include mercury (listed as thimerosal), monosodium glutamate (MSG), formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and aluminum (known to cause Alzheimer’s disease). No vaccine has ever been proven safe for humans, despite “paid for” research published by the manufacturers. Current immunizations are proven to contribute to the spread of over 25 known infectious diseases, including polio and measles.
Biological and chemical weapons utilized for population control in America and developing countries
No other country in the world is more interested in the cessation of population expansion than the USA, especially when it comes to eugenics – the racial profiling and proliferation of non-whites, as the globalists and elite super-rich pretend to help minorities and the under-privileged with “food” and “medicine.”
In fact, U.S. law allows the testing of chemicals and biological agents on the civilian population. There is no conformed consent here, and there are no democratic voting procedures in place to protect human health, animal health or environmental welfare. Plus, many self-proclaimed philanthropists, like Bill Gates and George Soros, fund depopulation agendas by funding, promoting, and distributing GM (genetically modified) foods (cancer-causing, pesticide-laden food) and toxic vaccinations to unsuspecting populations.
Under the guise of help, entire populations of “undesirables” are being systematically wiped out by the very food and medicine they believe are helping them. Vaccines like DTAP and HPV are sterilizing many female teenagers. In fact, Kenya Catholic Doctors Association is charging UNICEF and WHO for sterilizing millions of girls at the beginning of their child-bearing age, under the guise of the “anti-tetanus” vaccination program that’s sponsored by the Kenyan government itself. Scientific evidence from independent laboratories revealed at least half a dozen samples of the tetanus vaccine tested from various locations around Kenya confirmed their worst fears, as they tested positive for the HCG antigen used in anti-fertility vaccines!
Zika virus HOAX: Spreading of ‘Naled’ actually causes the birth defects mass media claims are caused by Zika
Right now, over a 10-square-mile area of Miami-Dade County, EPA- and CDC-approved mass chemical warfare on humans is in effect, with the excuse tied to the Zika virus hoax. The highly toxic insecticide “Naled” (pun may be intended) contains dibrom, known to cause birth defects in humans, even in low concentrations. So, in effect, a weapon of mass destruction is being used in the name of fighting mosquitoes, and the U.S. population is so dumbed-down from fluoridated water and pharmaceuticals, that they believe the government actually cares about them and is trying to help.
Zika virus does not cause birth defects in human babies. This hoax is now officially debunked. Zika virus was discovered about 70 years ago, and since then, no deformations of human babies have ever been associated with it.
Think of zika as the new swine flu, where the CDC is pushing propaganda to scare everyone into an upcoming mass vaccination program that brings in millions of dollars for the biotech, pharma and vaccine industries, including Monsanto, Bayer and most likely Merck. Remember last year when the CDC admitted that the flu shot contained the wrong strains, but told everyone to “get in anyway,” just in case? They sold over 200 million shots, filled with mercury, MSG, aluminum and formaldehyde. Here are the facts about zika on a timeline for your educational convenience:
1947: Zika virus is discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda, Africa. An arbovirus of the genus Flavivirus, zika is similar to dengue and yellow fever, and the first human cases are described. Identified outbreaks in Southeast Asia and Oceania follow, and cases in Africa are documented by the early 1960s.
2007: Yap epidemic (an island in Pacific Ocean) documents first large scale epidemic, where three quarters of the local population are infected with zika, but zero birth defects are reported.
Genetically modified version of the zika virus is developed by a British biotech company called Oxitec (Oxford Insect Technologies), with funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
October, 2009: Beginning of the first outdoor trials of GM transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on the Caribbean island of Grand Cayman. Genetically engineered mosquitoes allegedly fight the spread of dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and zika virus.
June, 2014: Sumitomo Chemical Company, associated with Monsanto, manufactures and releases pyroproxyfen chemical larvicide and weed killer for distribution in Latin America, because Roundup is no longer killing the weeds. Pyroproxyfen produces malformations in mosquitoes.
August, 2014: WHO (World Health Organization) recommends spreading deadly poison pyroproxyfen on state drinking water in Brazil to combat mosquito problem, because mosquitoes are breeding in standing water supplies.
Massive spreading of pyroproxyfen using planes over poverty-stricken areas ensues.
May, 2015: WHO and the Ministry of Health estimate more than 1 million “suspected” cases of zika “virus disease” occurring in Brazil.
By the end of 2015: Up to 4,000 children in Pernambuco are born with congenital malformations, including microcephaly (small heads).
February, 2016: Physicians in Brazil report benign disease dengue-zika is spreading among the population, and is being transmitted by the Aedes mosquito.
March, 2016: Brazilian Ministry of Health jumps to make the assertion that the rise in microcephaly cases in newborns is directly linked to the zika virus.
Research reveals (but is buried by mass media) that previous zika epidemics did not cause birth defects in newborns, even though affecting certain countries – like Columbia – at a rate of 75 percent of the population. In fact, there are zero records of microcephaly on record.
Brazilian doctors confirm that chemical “control” is not decreasing the number of mosquitoes.
Zika virus is detected in 18 of the 26 states in Brazil.
The Gates Foundation releases GM “genetically modified” male mosquitoes to breed with females to produce malfunctioning babies that are deformed and can’t reproduce.
The D.U.M.B. Virus = Deformations (from) Unbelievable Mosquito Bites
Here is why you’re better off just getting the zika virus than risking taking an experimental vaccine: Zika “disease” is really more of a minor flu, usually accompanied by a low-grade fever, minor joint pain, headache and rash. Some people experience diarrhea, abdominal pain or constipation. Microcephaly was never associated with zika, until the latest hoax spread across the mass media. Remember the swine flu hoax? Millions of people ran out to get the vaccine, only to find out it didn’t work, and actually caused horrific side effects.
Beware! Population control is being applied across the world, and the main form of “contraception” is delivered by toxic inoculation of teenage girls and pregnant women: from the toxic HPV vaccine, to the hoax swine flu, and soon to mass zika (DUMB) shots for all the terrified, feeble-minded sheeple. What’s next, a common cold vaccine?
These vaccinations are disguised as infectious disease immunizations, but in reality, they are nothing more than severe health detriment, income for Big Pharma and population control mechanisms, with a goal of immediate population cessation and reduction by the billions. The U.S. government infiltrates with this agenda across the globe, in countries where there are population overloads and where non-white, low income families are the majority, such as in African nations, India, Brazil and inner cities of the United States.
I’ve often written about the collusion between industry and our regulatory agencies, and how industry-funded research tends to simply support and promote the industry agenda rather than shed truthful light on the benefits or risks of any given product.
Recent media reports have now revealed devastating evidence showing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) executive aided a Coca-Cola representative in efforts to influence World Health Organization (WHO) officials to relax recommendations on sugar limits.1
In March 2015, WHO published a new sugar guideline that specifically targeted sugary beverages, calling them out as a primary cause for childhood obesity around the world, especially in developing nations, where the soda industry is now aggressively expanding its reach.
WHO’s recommendation to limit soda consumption was a huge blow to an already beleaguered soda industry, struggling to maintain a declining market share amid mounting evidence identifying sweetened drinks as a primary contributor to the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
The damning email correspondence between Coca-Cola and the CDC was obtained by the nonprofit consumer education group U.S. Right to Know (USRTK).2 According to PhillyVoice:3
“The emails were between Barbara Bowman, Ph.D. director of the CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and Dr. Alex Malaspina, a former Coca-Cola scientific and regulatory affairs leader and the founder of a food industry-funded group, International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI).
They allegedly show Bowman’s multiple attempts to aid Malaspina’s relationship with WHO leaders whose actions (think soda tax) were hurting the beverage industry.
According to the report, Bowman — whose job is to try to help prevent obesity, diabetes and other health problems — ‘appeared happy to help the beverage industry cultivate political sway with the World Health Organization.'”
Soda Politics
This kind of political maneuvering and back scratching is covered at length in Marion Nestle, Ph.D.’s book “Soda Politics.” I interviewed Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, last year.
“[T]he fact that a high-level U.S. health official is communicating in this way with a beverage industry leader appears improper,” adding the emails “suggest that ILSI, Coca-Cola and researchers funded by Coca-Cola have an ‘in’ with a prominent CDC official.
The official appears to be interested in helping these groups organize opposition to ‘eat less sugar’ and ‘disclose industry funding’ recommendations.
The invitation to dinner suggests a cozy relationship … This appearance of conflict of interest is precisely why policies for engagement with industry are needed for federal officials.”
Nestle’s book reveals the soda industry is well aware of the connection between soda consumption and obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Soda companies are by law required to inform the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about vulnerabilities, and for the last decade Coca-Cola has been telling the SEC that obesity is the most significant threat to soda industry profits.
In short, Coca-Cola knows that once the truth about soda’s influence on obesity becomes fully recognized, their jig is up.
Exposed CDC Official Steps Down
For many years now, health advocates have warned people about the connection between sugary drinks and obesity, and the message has slowly but surely started to take hold.
U.S. soda sales have dropped 25 percent since 1998,5 no doubt due to successful public health advocacy, and this makes the current scandal all the more scandalous, as it’s an attempt by a high-level health official to undo all the work that’s already been done to protect the public health. According to USRTK:6
“Alex Malaspina was able to ask for and receive regular input and guidance from a top official at the … CDC on how to address actions by the World Health Organization that were hurting the food and beverage industry.
The emails … reveal that … Bowman … tried to help Malaspina find inroads to influence WHO officials to back off anti-sugar talk. Bowman suggested people and groups for Malaspina to talk to, and solicited his comments on some CDC summaries of reports … ”
Surprisingly, Bowman had the good sense to immediately vacate her post once her betrayal of the public trust was exposed.
According to The Huffington Post,7 Bowman “announced her immediate departure from the agency … two days after it came to light that she had been offering guidance to a leading Coca-Cola advocate who was seeking to influence world health authorities on sugar and beverage policy matters.”
Perfect Example of Why Revolving Door to Industry Needs to Be Shut
While Bowman didn’t mention her public disgrace as a factor in her resignation, saying she’d made the decision to retire “late last month,” her boss, Ursula Bauer, Ph.D., confirmed Bowman’s dealings with Coca-Cola in an internal email to CDC staff.
In it, Bauer states the “perception that some readers may take from the article [revealing Bowman’s dealings with Malaspina] is not ideal,” adding that the situation “serves as an important reminder of the old adage that if we don’t want to see it on the front pages of the newspaper then we shouldn’t do it.”8
Bowman’s connections to Coca-Cola actually dates back decades,9 and it’s anyone’s guess as to how those ties may have slowed down the path to truth and influenced public health policy. She’d been at the CDC since 1992; she was appointed director of the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) in February 2013. But earlier in her career, Bowman worked as a senior nutritionist for Coca-Cola.
This just goes to show the power of the corporate and federal regulatory agency revolving door allegiances. Public servants must choose the hard road of doing what is best for the public, not their former bosses and acquaintances.
Few have that kind of integrity, it seems, and this case is a perfect example of why the door between private industry and public health and regulatory agencies needs to be more closely monitored. This is not a new problem and is pervasive in Washington for other industries. Yet the U.S. Congress and Senate continually fail to pass legislation to address this glaring loophole that decimates public health.
Philadelphia Imposes Soda Tax and Other Bad News for Big Soda
This scandal comes on the heels of a number of blows against the soda industry. Aside from WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan announcing soda is a key contributor to child obesity and suggesting restrictions on sugary beverages, Philadelphia recently decided to implement a soda tax to cut consumption.
Mexico imposed a soda tax in 2014, and San Francisco requires ads for sugary drinks to include a health warning as of last year. Many cities around the world are also considering similar measures to restrict soda sales. However, the stance against sugar taken by WHO was perhaps considered one of the most serious. In a June 2015 email to Bowman, Malaspina expresses worry about negative publicity related to sugar-rich products and European soda tax plans.
Malaspina says WHO’s actions can have “significant negative consequences on a global basis,” and that “the threat to our business is serious.” He also notes that WHO officials “do not want to work with industry,” adding that, “something must be done.” In response to Malaspina’s request for suggestions on how to get an audience with WHO, Bowman replies that “someone with Gates or ‘Bloomberg people’ may have close connections that could open a door at WHO,” USRTK writes.
“She also suggests he try someone at PEPFAR program, a U.S. government-backed program that makes HIV/AIDS drugs available through the sub-Saharan Africa. She tells him that ‘WHO is key to the network.’ She writes that she ‘will be in touch about getting together.'”
Clearly, the soda industry is struggling to stay alive. But at what cost should they be allowed to promote their business? It’s equally clear that the price for their unrestricted success is disease and death of its consumers, which is why these kinds of backdoor dealings are so unpalatable.
Many environmental groups throughout Canada are seeking answers to these important questions, as Dr. Cleary’s temporary replacement, Dr. Jennifer Russell, won’t agree to talk, and neither will her spokespeople. Dr. Cleary simply picked up where Dr. Russell left off, officials are claiming, and that’s the end of that – or is it?
In a letter to Dr. Russell, Ann Pohl of the Kent County branch of the Council of Canadians, is demanding that Dr. Cleary’s report – or at least what was completed of it before Dr. Cleary was let go – be released immediately for public review. Many fear that this is yet another instance of corporate corruption silencing the truth about the world’s most widely used herbicide, which the World Heath Organization (WHO) found to be probably carcinogenic to humans.
“We need to see that report now,” Pohl’s letter demands. “It is not clear to us if your report has been scrapped, suppressed, or something else has happened.”
An earlier letter from Dr. Cleary to Pohl from last August, when she was still in her position, elicited a positive response about a formidable action plan to be released “in the coming year.” But, before that plan could be released, Dr. Cleary was told to pack her bags and go home, with no logically defensible reason as to why.
If you question the safety of industry cash cows like glyphosate, prepare to be punished
Shortly after Dr. Cleary’s firing, the province’s deputy minister of health, Tom Maston, released a statement claiming that Dr. Cleary’s release had absolutely nothing to do with her conclusions about glyphosate, nor did it have anything to do with the potential contents of her soon-to-be-released report.
But, not everyone is convinced, especially since Maston’s statement was a direct response to the widespread backlash that ensued over the controversial decision. When Dr. Cleary was first fired, no explanation whatsoever was given as to why, which is why many people throughout the region and country are asking some serious and pointed questions.
“Thousands and thousands of New Brunswickers share the concerns I have penned on behalf of our Kent County NB Chapter of the Council of Canadians,” Pohl’s letter adds with succinct clarity.
“Valid population and environmental health research of the risks associated with these compounds is urgently needed. We sincerely hope that the report you have been working on will meet the tests for being valid, in depth and independent. Please send me the report that we are promised.”
Part of the impetus for Pohl and others’ suspicions is that Canada’s Progressive Conservative (PC) Party had earlier tried to bury the findings of a report Dr. Cleary had conducted on shale gas, a.k.a. hydraulic fracturing, another hot-button political issue. Dr. Cleary’s work in this area was eventually allowed to be released, but only after considerable pressure was put on the PC government.
Canadian officials claim that Dr. Cleary’s report, with whatever changes or alterations are possibly being made under the direction of Dr. Russell, is “nearing completion,” though no official timeline for its publishing has been announced.
Source: NaturalNews.com
Daniel Barker
July 6, 2016
The European Commission has re-approved the use of glyphosate for another 18 months, despite repeatedly being unable to secure a majority decision from EU member states.
The last minute decision came as no surprise to most observers, and serves as testimony to how powerful the chemical industry truly is in terms of influencing legislation – even when the populace has consistently voiced its opposition.
From Eco Watch:
“The EU’s current approval of glyphosate had been set to expire on Thursday [June 30] but due to the member state gridlock, the EU’s executive body had the final say on whether or not the controversial weedkiller remained on Europe’s shelves. Had glyphosate’s license been allowed to expire, manufacturers would have been given six months to phase out products containing the chemical, such as Monsanto’s Roundup and other herbicides. …
“Europe’s opinion of the widely used pesticide has been sharply divided ever since March 2015 when the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. To complicate matters, other regulatory agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority, declared glyphosate as safe in November.”
Monsanto vs. the people
Despite the 18-month reprieve, glyphosate’s days may be numbered – at least in Europe. The commission had originally planned to extend the licensing of glyphosate for another 15 years, but growing public opposition to its use has forced a reassessment of its long-term use on the continent.
The 18-month extension will allow the European Chemicals Agency to continue its assessment of the safety of glyphosate, but Green Party members and other activists see the decision as a failure by the EU governing body to acknowledge the opposition.
Green Party MEP Bart Staes said:
“This decision by the commission to extend the approval of glyphosate in spite of last week’s vote shows a disdain for the opposition by the public and EU governments to this controversial toxic herbicide.
“As perhaps the first EU decision after the UK referendum, it shows the commission is failing to learn the clear lesson that the EU needs to finally start listening to its citizens again. This temporary extension must be the beginning of the end for glyphosate; we would now urge EU governments and regions to exercise their rights to impose significant restrictions on its use, so we can begin the process of phasing-out glyphosate.”
It has been revealed by European health commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, that France, Germany and Italy had quietly pushed for reapproval of glyphosate, despite publicly supporting the opposition to renewal – a testament to the lobbying power of Monsanto and other companies who manufacture and sell glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide.
It will be interesting to see how the purveyors of cancer-causing chemicals fare in the long run against an increasingly aware and opposed European populace – perhaps the days of widespread glyphosate use are finally nearing an end.
Taking steps to avoid glyphosate exposure
Meanwhile, back in the United States, glyphosate residue can be found almost everywhere: in human urine, breast milk, breakfast cereals and even beer – to name just a few. Even products claiming to be “100 percent natural” often contain glyphosate.
Clearly, the best way to ensure that the food you eat is glyphosate-free is to grow it yourself. And one of the best and easiest ways to get started is by purchasing the EasyGreen MikroFarm automatic sprouting system, which will allow you to grow your own organic wheatgrass and sprouts with a minimum of expense or fuss.
TheBreakAway 