Psycho Corporation Award Goes to Monsanto for New Pathogen, Dead and Stillborn Cattle, and Stock Animal InfertilityNo corporation could possibly be more deserving of the Psycho Corporation Award!by Heidi Stevenson25 February 2011 
The list of damage done by Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) crops and RoundUp, their insecticide, keeps growing. It's probably no wonder that they've instituted an egregious contract that makes farmers liable for every possible harm their products cause. The latest trio of news about Monsanto's products continues to demonstrate their scorched earth policy. Glyphosate, the generic term for RoundUp, is associated with a new pathogen, which is associated with the second problem, stillborn calves and infertile cattle. Their genetically modified Bt corn has been associated with dead livestock in India. Any one of the latest trio of disastrous results should be enough to ban Monsanto's products—but don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. A US court ruled that the USDA must not approve their GM beets. The USDA's response was to ignore the order. So, GM beets will soon be planted in one of the earth's most fabulous farming areas, the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The New Pathogen Linked to Cattle ProblemsSo recently discovered that it doesn't yet have a name, a new tiny virus-sized pathogen has been identified under a 36,000X electron microscope. High concentrations of it are found in Monsanto's RoundUp Ready soybean meal, corn, distillers meal, fermentation feed products, pig stomach contents, and pig and cow placentas. It's been linked with plant disease outbreaks: sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soy and Goss's wilt in corn. It has also been found in lifestock that suffer from infertility and miscarriages—and testing in clinical settings has been able to replicate the harm from the pathogens. Recent years have seen an escalating problem with infertility and miscarriages in cattle, pigs, and horses in the US. Infertility rates in dairy cattle have been as high as 20 percent and cattle have experienced miscarriages as high as 45 percent. The feed given to one group of cattle that had suffered 450 miscarriages out of 1,000 pregnancies was studied and found to contain the new pathogen. Bt Corn Linked to Dead Livestock in IndiaSagari R. Ramdas is a veterinarian and holds a masters degree in Animal Breeding and Genetics from the University of California. He informed the Ministry of Environment and Forests in New Delhi that Monsanto's genetically modified Bt cotton is linked to sickness and death in Indian animals, including sheep, goats, cattle, and buffalo. The cattle have been found to suffer from pathological lesions in the liver and kidneys—the same sort of lesions that were demonstrated to be caused by Bt corn in rats. Ramdas also pointed out that a study of Bt cotton and sheep demonstrated that the Bt toxin, an insecticide, was found in the rumen of sheep, indicating that they cannot digest it and pass it through their systems. This flies in the face of claims that the Bt toxin (Cry1Ac protein) breaks down quickly. USDA Was Warned of Glyphosate Dangers Before Approving GM BeetsPurdue University Professor Emeritus, Don M. Huber, is the USDA's National Plant Disease Recovery System Coordinator. In October 2009, he published a paper in the European Journal of Agronomy that stated glyphosate could: ...significantly increase the severity of various plant diseases, impair plant defense to pathogens and diseases, and immobilize soil and plant nutrients rendering them unavailable for plant use. The paper further stated that glyphosate can harm plants' resistance to diseases, stimulate fungus growth, and make pathogens, such as Fusarium, more virulent. The article stated further: [I]gnoring potential non-target detrimental side effects of any chemical, especially used as heavily as glyphosate, may have dire consequences for agriculture such as rendering soils infertile, crops non-productive, and plants less nutritious. To do otherwise might well compromise not only agricultural sustainability, but also the health and well-being of animals and humans. In an interview with The Organic and Non-GMO Report, Huber stated, "Glyphosate causes plants to be more susceptible and greatly stimulates the virulence of pathogens that kill plants." He expressed concern about glyphosate-related toxins entering the food chain. Huber warned Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture of the new pathogen and the association with animal and plant disease before the USDA approved the RoundUp Ready beets! So, not only did the USDA defy the court's order, they also demonstrated an utter lack of concern for the health and survivability of agriculture. The USDAOne can only wonder what goodies were received by which officials in the USDA to get them to break the law by ignoring a court's order to unleash Monsanto's GM beet. In the end, no matter how much damage Monsanto's earth-destroying products produce, the people in the company who have managed this campaign will probably waltz away. USDA officials and farmers—not to mention the rest of humanity and animals of the world—will suffer. Now that they're out of the bottle, GM crops and glyphosate may be impossible to stuff back in. Monsanto has demonstrated true brilliance in their scorched earth policy. No corporation has ever been more deserving of the Psycho Corporation Award! ***************************************************************************** *****************************************************************************
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