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August 10 2007
Monsanto Workers Ban GMO Foods From Their Own Cafeteria

The staff cafeteria at biotech-crop Monsanto’s UK headquarters reportedly banned GM foods from the menu back in 1999.

The private catering company running the canteen, Sutcliffe Catering, owned by Granada Food Services, told its clients, including Monsanto, that it would no longer use foods containing GM soya or maize because of “customer concerns” about the technology.

“We have taken the steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve,” Granada told its customers.

Tony Combes, Monsanto's director of corporate affairs, said the caterer’s decision was no reflection on Monsanto, but was rather a “blanket ban” covering all of its customers. He maintained that Monsanto staff members happily ate GM foods.

"We believe in choice. At our Cambridge restaurant there is a notice which says that some products may contain GM ingredients, because our staff are happy to eat products sprayed with fewer chemicals," Combes said in 1999.

Reports of these 1999 events have recently resurfaced in the media. In response, Monsanto’s head of external affairs at the UK headquarters said that the information is untrue.

“[The] Monsanto UK office does not even have a catering service. Our former staff restaurant was closed in 2003 when we sold our wheat breeding business, but even prior to that we displayed a sign that the policy was NOT to exclude food from GM sources,” he said.

Free Market News Network August 8, 2007 

Green Fertility August 2, 2007

Mindfully.org December 1999

BBC News December 22, 1999



Dr. MercolaDr. Mercola's Comments:
There has been some discussion among readers as to whether this outrageous story is true. Once again, it seems that truth really is stranger than fiction, as these reports do, in fact, appear to be for real.

However, they are referring to events that happened back in 1999. The archived articles -- probably because of the extreme irony they present -- have made a recent resurgence in the media, which is why Monsanto is now claiming that the reports are false.

It is telling, indeed, when your own catering company decides to ban the frankenfoods your biotech company is promoting as safe to the rest of the world.

The Problem With Genetically Modified (GM) Food

People around the world have joined forces to reject GM foods and crops because of the grave dangers they present to your health and the future of your food supply.

Not so in the United States, where many of you are not even aware that you likely eat GM foods everyday; some 70 percent of foods in grocery stores contain them, and no labeling is required!

There have been no safety studies conducted that prove GM foods are safe. To the contrary, dicing and splicing the components of your food supply into never-before-introduced combinations has been found to:
Meanwhile, the traits from GM crops can get passed on to other non-GM crops. This means that a crop engineered to contain a vaccine, or to be sterile, could easily taint an entire region, and eventually the entire world.

Monsanto: The Poster Child for Manipulation and Corporate Greed

Monsanto has succeeded in patenting their own GM seeds.

They have essentially patented life forms for the first time in history without a vote of the people or Congress. This makes Monsanto able to let new life forms loose on the land without long-term testing of the health effects nor any real government controls, including labeling of foods.

Why would Monsanto want to patent seeds?

To ultimately stop the ancient practice of seed-saving, in which farmers use the seeds from this year’s harvest to plant next year’s crops. This is the traditional way food is grown. Any farmer who purchases seeds from one of Monsanto’s patented lots, however, would be forced to purchase new seeds every year, under penalty of law. If the farmer can’t afford new seeds, and many can’t, they will be forced to give up their livelihood.

To control things even further, biotech companies have created terminator seeds, which actually prevent themselves from reproducing unless a certain chemical is applied to the crop.

If terminator seeds are used by Monsanto on a large-scale basis, it will likely inevitably lead to famine and starvation on a worldwide basis. Billions of people on the planet are supported by farmers who save seeds from the crops and replant these seeds the following year.

Yet, once terminator seeds are released into a region, the trait of seed sterility could be passed to other non-GM crops, making most or all of the seeds in the region sterile.

Please, if you are not yet familiar with the major scandal and manipulation that is going on right now with GM foods, set aside 90 minutes and watch The Future of Food.

It is one of the best documentaries I have ever viewed, and it will shock you to understand the very real threat that future generations are facing. Please also pass this very important video on to your family and friends.

For now, GM foods require no labels in the United States, but one of the best ways you can voice your opposition to this practice (and protect your health) is to not purchase GM products. How do you know if your food is genetically modified? This past article has all the information you need to avoid genetically modified foods like the plague.

How do you know if your food is genetically modified? Drop in at Jeffrey Smith's website www.responsibletechnology.org) for more information on how to protect yourself and your loved ones, and how to identify which foods you may be using that are GM foods.

I also urge you to also donate to this cause on his secured website -- it's your cause too if you care about your health and that of your loved ones!

Rally round to help us defeat this threat. A threat the big chemical companies that care only about their profits-not your health- are trying to force down our throats. The life and health of you and your loved ones, and possibly everyone on this planet, is at stake. I hope you will be able to help Jeffrey in this tax-deductible cause, to get the word out so we can all enjoy better health options.

Your donation will help preserve access to healthy, whole foods for you and for future generations. Let's stop this disaster from happening, and stop this insanity from being coerced upon us.

Visit www.responsibletechnology.org/donate today to be a part of this worthwhile and important cause.


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Community Comments ( 27 )
Comment on this Article
  
  
mmc88121
[ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on August 9, 2007 ]
15 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
Monsanto offers their workers a choice, that is more than they give the rest of the world.

Mary
 [ Reply ]
  
  
seg
[ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on August 10, 2007 ]
12 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
HAHA, i guess what is good for the goose is NOT good for the gander right, HAHA, i'm dying with laughter here which is about to turn into real anger very shortly......

Do these people think all of us are complete idiots???
I don't know about you folks but i got a hunch that "THEIR" days are numbered and when they fall they will fall really hard, as they say the higher you go the harder you fall....... BYE, BYE MONSANTO WE'LL NEVER MISS YOU.!!!!
 [ Reply ]
  
  
shiva
[ Joined on 10/06 ] [ Posted on August 9, 2007 ]
8 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
This is truly incredible.  .... Gotta get this one well circulated on the internet and in the press.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Patty D
[ Joined on 06/07 ] [ Posted on August 10, 2007 ]
7 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
If this is really true, it makes GMOs scarier than ever.  Makes me think Monsanto wants to make sure their employees don't overuse their insurance for RoundUp poisoning and cancer....
Patty
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Reesacat
[ Joined on 01/07 ] [ Posted on August 9, 2007 ]
6 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
You couldn't make this up-truth is stranger than fiction!
 [ Reply ]
  
  
annapavlova42
[ Joined on 02/07 ] [ Posted on August 9, 2007 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
I hope this article is correct.  But there seems to be an under line of, false to it.  Maybe because there is so much propaganda going on, one has to question everything, and one needs a lot of physcial proof.



 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Bridestein
[ Joined on 12/06 ]  [ Posted on August 10, 2007]
4 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Good call, Anna!
  
  
healing water online
[ Joined on 06/07 ] [ Posted on September 1, 2007 ]
2 Points        
   
 
Novice User

It dosent matter if it is true or not, GM food is not healthy anyway. This article can might have open someones eyes.

Many years ago there was a salesperson who sold DDT and to prove how non toxic it was he aste a spoon of DDT after every meeting, was it a proof of that the DDTwas non toxic, we dont need to tell that he died some years after when he started loosing weight, because DDT is connected to the fat in the body.

We also have the storry of Atracine which is made or invented of the same  company metioned in the article aboe, they also claimed tht it was almost healty. 25 years after we see the concequenses in the invirement.

The companies who produce the poison should also pay for the cleaning of the nature. There a re many of these stories.

Love and light Torben

 [ Reply ]
  
  
KeysFrancine
[ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on September 2, 2007 ]
1 Points        
   
 
Novice User

I was told by a local health food store owner that the salmon that the Publix grocery stores farm is fed a  "dog food" like product made by Monsanto.  He said that the salmon was unfit for human consumption.  I don't know how true this is but it is interesting information that we don't know as consumers.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Marnie1
[ Joined on 01/07 ] [ Posted on September 5, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Apprentice User

Farmers do not save seeds from the previous crop to plant for the next year.  The seed is bought from one year to the next.  How would a farmer go about collecting enough seeds to re plant 500 acres?  Where would he store it?  How many of you even know how big 500 acres is?  (In urban terms, a real estate lot with the dimensions of 180 ft x 50 ft is about 1/8 of an acre--4,000 lots = 500 acres.)  Plus, those seeds are the exact same thing he takes to market to sell.  To say the very least, this not cost effective.  This idea of "saving seeds" is about 100 years behind reality.  Unfortunately, because of the low prices for cash crops, farmers have no choice but to buy seed grain that has been hybridized to be more productive, as well as insect and drought resistant.  That's the only way they can even come close to breaking even. Do any of you know how much it costs to produce a bushel of grain vs. how much a farmer gets paid for that bushel?  

The reason I'm making this into an issue is because it comes down to money.  If you expect or want a farmer to go back to all natural and organic farming, be prepared to pay for it.  There will be decreased productivity, more loss due to insects and pests...  More cost for watering/ irrigation, since you will certainly insist on heritage crops, which of course will not have the drought resistance of the hybrids.  I am a born and raised farm girl from the middle of Iowa, and I don't think a lot of you have any idea of the layers of this sort of issue.  I am in full support of getting rid of the GMO crap, but of the 40 years my father has been farming, he has always bought "hybrid" seed corn and beans.  These "hybrids" have permeated our food supply so much that I doubt if there's actually any original forms of the food left.   I'm starting to see a bit more "heritage" fruits and veggies which is encouraging, but we have a long way to go.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Trevor2522
[ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on September 1, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

The British Parliament cafeteria has also banned GMO foods, whilst politicians give free rein to GMO companies to conduct research in open fields, and infiltrate the food industry with their products.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
curious7
[ Joined on 03/07 ] [ Posted on September 1, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Apprentice User

This is very telling, even those who have given us these "Franken" plants do not want to ingest this garbage.  I wonder why?

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Jasked
[ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on August 10, 2007 ]
-5 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User
When a story sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Unfortunately, this is not an exception.

A Monsanto rep has stated that the story is "completely untrue" and that they do not have a catering service or a staff restaurant. The story has also dissapeared from most locations.

Here is the quote from the Monsanto rep.
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=46944
 [ Reply ]

 
Truste
 
Mercola