Oct 23 2008
Iraqi Order 81 Enforced on American Family Farms
Iraqi Order 81 was implemented in 2005 by Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). It promptly made criminals and terrorists of Iraqi family farmers. The order is pre-emptive seed legislation written by and for American agri-business. It prevents Iraqi farmers from saving their seed, which they have done for generations. Instead, all of their saved seed was confiscated or bombed, and the CPA used American troops to pass out genetically modified seed (GMO) with American patents. From now on, Iraqi farmers must pay giant American agribusiness for the right to plant any and all seed. When the family farmers protested this undemocratic move, they were labeled terrorists and hauled off to an undisclosed location.
This same legislation, word for word, is being quietly implemented in the United States of America, making criminals out law-abiding farmers. The Association of American Seed Control Officials (AASCO), the group that wrote Iraqi Order 81 for the CPA, has contacts in every state government and is actually a puppet agency for the biotech industry. The members, all with strong ties to the biotech industry, have managed to influence the processes of American government on a heretofore unattainable level. We have seen plenty of national policy shaped by big agri-business, but the AASCO has found a way to bypass the expense of influencing lobbyists in Washington D.C.; state officials can be bought much cheaper, and in the case of most state legislatures, the biotech can get a two for one deal.
AASCO is working to change seed laws nationwide by quietly convincing state governments to pass pre-emptive seed legislation. The laws prohibit state governments and municipalities from banning the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their jurisdictions. AASCO offers the changes under the pretext of protecting farmers. They claim the creation of a new, pre-emptive seed law would allow farmers to plant whatever they want. Now, I don’t know about other farmers, but whenever big government and big industry start telling me they want to protect me, I get a little nervous. As an American, I become even more agitated when proposed legislation circumvents the democratic process and wrenchs control from local municipalities.
The authority of the people to govern themselves is truncated by silent, unholy alliances between big agriculture and big government. If you live in the following states, your legislature has already sold small-scale sustainable agriculture down the river, ensuring that the sustainable farming in your state will not thrive, and making family farmers sitting ducks for biotech lawsuits: Arizona, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, SouthDakota, Texas, and West Virginia.It’s time for American family farmers to stand up for their rights. Read how to take action in your state…Think this law doesn’t affect you because you aren’t a farmer. Don’t bet on it. Consider these words by Friedrich Gustav Martin Niemöller:
When the Nazis came for the communists,I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.
Once Monsanto and the other agri-giants control the food supply, they control all of us. Take action now, before it’s too late. View the latest news from the country at RFD America.
