India defies Monsanto, and says NO to GMO crops — The New Internationalist

From “The New Internationalist”:

“We’ve followed the story of the slow but increasing and badly needed pushback against Monsanto’s predatory business practices, which force farmers to buy Monsanto seed annually, rather than re-use it. Worse, Monsanto seed has been genetically engineered so as to require the use of Monsanto herbicides and fertilizers.

And with (until recently) the seeds patent protected, farmers could be sued for having Monsanto genes in their crops. And with Monsanto having established a near monopoly in seeds, it has set prices so as to extract a higher percent of agricultural revenues than it could otherwise command. Needless to say, what is good for Monsanto is not at all good for farmers, as these excerpts from a Daily Kos post illustrates:

FDA attacks Estrella Family Creamery near Seattle with another Morningside Dairy style raid

From the farm’s website:

Estrella Family photo from 2006. Via Augie's Journal of Natural Food and Healing.

“Last night at about 5:30 three cars pulled into the yard with FDA and Federal Marshals, alarming our kids. They posted a seizure order that named all cheeses on the property.  This is serious, it could put us out of business.

School children in Florida sickened by pasteurized milk at school’s cafeteria

Here an excerpt from the report by Juan Ortega, at the Orlando Sentinel:

Cooper City Elementary School in Florida, where children were recently sickened by pasteurized milk.

“The Broward School District ordered all milk removed from school cafeterias Friday after 12 students at Cooper City Elementary were sent to the school clinic with stomachaches and other children complained that it tasted funny.

Michael Schmidt seeks to call further evidence to battle Crown appeal in Feb.

From the Owen Sound Sun Times:

Michael Schmidt talks to media outside the courthouse after his acquittal on all charges in January

“Michael Schmidt said Friday he expects to hear in two or three weeks if he will be able to introduce more evidence at the Crown appeal of his acquittal of charges linked to the distribution of raw milk.

Schmidt said the point was argued Thursday in a courtroom in Newmarket, Ont., where he was acquitted in January of 19 charges laid under the province’s public health regulations, the Ontario Milk Act and the Health Protection and Promotion Act.”