Project Censored – 06.20.17

Nolan and Nicholas spend this week’s show in conversation with author and historian Katherine Olmstead; their topic is “conspiracy culture in media.” Katherine Olmstead teaches History at the University of California Davis campus. She has written several books about 20th-Century US history, including “Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy.” Download this episode (right click and save)

Lorraine Chow – GMO Arctic Apples to Hit Shelves Next Month Without Clear Labeling

The first genetically modified (GMO) apples, which are engineered to resist browning when sliced, will arrive in select midwestern U.S. stores next month. The fruit, produced by Okanagan Specialty Fruits and sold under the brand name Arctic Apples, will be packaged as “grab-and-go” slices, according to Capital Press. Read more

Lorraine Chow – Monsanto, Bayer CEOs Pitch Mega-Merger to Trump

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann and Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant met with Donald Trump in New York to ask the president-elect to bless the companies’ planned $66 billion mega-merger. “It was a productive meeting about the future of agriculture and the need for innovation,” a Bayer spokesman told Reuters. The German chemical giant’s pending takeover of the U.S. seedmaker would form …

All signs point to a corporate takeover of the marijuana industry by Bayer, Monsanto

Following months of negotiations and various offers, Germany-based Bayer has finally sealed the deal with Monsanto, purchasing the seed giant for $66 billion. The merger is reported to be the largest all-cash deal on record. The purchase means a lot of things, and none of them good for consumers. For one, it strengthens the monopolization of the world’s food supply. …

Kristina Martin – GMO STUDY FINDS ALTERED AMINO ACIDS MAY INCREASE HISTAMINE REACTIONS

One of the criteria the Food and Drug Administration considers when deciding whether or not to approve a GMO is called “substantial equivalence.” This means the nutritional profile and toxicity levels of the modified plant are within the same range as a non-modified plant. When a new strain of corn is similar enough to the original to demonstrate substantial equivalence, …

George Kimbrell – The Sordid Tale of Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered Bentgrass, the Dangerous Grass That Never Dies

Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture quietly greenlighted the first-ever genetically engineered grass. The GE creeping bentgrass, a product of Monsanto and Scotts, is genetically engineered to be immune to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. You may not have heard of it, but GE grass has quite a horror-film backstory. Once destined for golf courses nationwide, Monsanto first petitioned USDA for …

Wenonah Hauter – Three Massive Mergers—Millions for One Bank and a Disaster for Food, Water and Climate

You probably learned in high school that monopolies are bad for consumers; they eliminate the field of competition in the marketplace, leaving people with fewer options and higher prices. Mega-mergers in the food and energy markets are allowing a handful of corporations to dominate market sectors. Their market dominance means that when it comes to influencing public policy, politically powerful …

Ronnie Cummins – The Long March Against Monsanto: A Letter from The Hague

We are today in the midst of a battleground for two very different approaches to agriculture. One is the agro-ecological approach based on the use of open source traditional seeds based on biodiversity and living in harmony with nature. The other is the mechanistic world of an industrial system based on monocultures, one-way extraction and the use of pesticides, poisons …

PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY – VERDICT: MONSANTO AND POISON CARTEL GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST THE PLANET AND HUMANITY

The Hague, 16 October 2016: Monsanto and the Poison Cartel are guilty of crimes against our planet and humanity. This is the verdict from the People’s Assembly organized in the Hague alongside the Monsanto Tribunal. The voices of the soil, of the seeds, of farmers, consumers, and of people from all over world converged and reverberated in a new unity …