Roger Beachy, as director of the USDA’s newly formed National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), is the lead researcher for the USDA. He was appointed to his post by President Obama in October 2009. Before taking this position he was the founding president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri where he’d worked since 1998. From 1991 to 1998 Beachy was the department head of the Division of Plant Biology at The Scripps Research Institute. From 1978 to 1991 he was a biology professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Sounds like a qualified scientist right?
While at Washington University, Beachy worked on the Monsanto sponsored project that resulted in the first genetically modified food crop. On the project tomatoes were modified for resistance to disease by adding genes from flounder. The world’s first Frankenfood.
Beachy’s notoriety lead to his position at The Scripps Research Institute where he again worked on formulating plant genetics so they would be resistant to disease. Scripps has worked hand-in-hand with Monsanto for years. The Dansford Plant Science Center is funded by Monsanto and it’s mission is to, “improve the human condition through plant science.” In other words it is charged with developing more GM produce.
What does this tell us about Roger Beachy? That from 1978 until being appointed to the USDA in 2009, Beachy was an employee of Monsanto, the company responsible for introducing e coli into our food system. Thirty-one years as an employee of a company that he is now responsible for making policy over. Another trip through the Monsanto revolving door.
Just how dangerous are Beachy’s genetically modified Frankenfoods? The US government has set up a web site (foodsafety.gov) to educate Americans about food borne microbials. The site also tracks food illness outbreaks and recalls, most of which are the result of genetically tampering with food. Among the recent outbreaks traced back to GM foods are the spinach e coli contamination in 2006, 2009’s Salmonellosis in peanut butter scare and just this week a massive recall of products containing hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
This week, Beachy is attending an international conference in Guadalajara, Mexico sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. When Beachy was asked by Tom Philpott of Grist Magazine, “Would NIFA be funding research for organic ag?” Beachy’s reply stunned all in attendance.
Beachy arrogantly said, “I’m concerned about the safety of organic food.” It also sent his his chief counsel, Rachel Goldfarb, scrambling to clean up the mess. She immediately cut him off saying, “This is just the sort of thing he should not be discussing without approval,” which ended the conversation.
Check out Philpott’s first-hand account of the exchange HERE.
The irony and absurdity of the very scientist who developed the lethal genetic modification of produce calling the safety of organic farming into question is the Mount Everest of hypocrisy. If you would like to share your displeasure with Mr. Beachy you can contact him via e-mail at rbeachy@nifa.usda.gov, by phone at (202) 720 – 4423, fax to (202) 720 – 8987 or snail mail to:
Roger Beachy
United States Department of Agriculture
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 2201
Washington, DC 20250.
- Follow Food Hysteria on Twitter!
Showing posts with label USDA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USDA. Show all posts
Don’t Tax Sugar; Stop Taking Bribes!
Dear politicians, stop trying to legislate morality. You’re not qualified.
Health study after health study tells us that sugary drinks are one of the primary causes of childhood obesity. There is no refuting this fact. Recently, one study came out and suggested the only way to stop children from consuming so many sugary beverages is to put a tax on them so their parents can no longer afford them?
Would it work? Most likely. Is it right? Not even close, in fact it is criminal. For the record I am against virtually all taxes. I’m tired of having people steal money from me to fund something I have no input over. Besides, the problem is a lot more complex than “sugary drinks are too cheap.”
First off, the phrase “sugary drinks” is not at all accurate. If soft drinks were sweetened with actual sugar there likely wouldn’t be an obesity epidemic in this country. They are sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a man-made sweetener developed by the chemical company Monsanto. It is a chemical that is far more dangerous than alcohol or marijuana could ever hope to be.
So why is it legal? One word: bribery lobbying. Monsanto and their ilk throw enough money at our government to cure the budget deficit. Why do they spend so much money on bribery lobbying? Because they know their products are lethal. Our politicians know these products are lethal too but they, whether Democrat or Republican, do not care. Politicians only care about power and money.
From the lowliest mayor in the tiniest town all the way to the top our politicians are crooked. They would gladly trade the lives of our children for a few extra green backs. In fact they do it everyday.
So, politicians, if you want soft drinks to cost more do not tax us for your transgressions. How about paying the $7.5 billion in this year’s budget set aside for farm subsidies to the farmers they are intended for. Currently this money only goes to farmers who produce untested genetically modified foods for big multi-national agricultural corporations. In other words farm subsidies do not go to farmers, they go to Monsanto.
In effect what companies like Monsanto are doing is money laundering. They take the $7.5 billion the US government gives them out of our paychecks and they hand it right back to individual politicians in the form of campaign contributions or bribes lobbyist gifts. The politicians pocket that $7.5 billion.
So instead of strapping the American people with yet another tax how about canning the Monsanto moles the President has appointed to run the USDA and FDA (Tom Vilsak, Michael Taylor, Roger Beachy, et al). Oh and maybe follow legitimate scientists recommendations of banning GM foods like HFCS at least until their effects have been studied. Do this and soft drink manufacturers will have to go back to sweetening their beverages with actual sugar, while though still not great, it is far better than HFCS. Not only will the price of soft drinks go up but child obesity go down.
Health study after health study tells us that sugary drinks are one of the primary causes of childhood obesity. There is no refuting this fact. Recently, one study came out and suggested the only way to stop children from consuming so many sugary beverages is to put a tax on them so their parents can no longer afford them?
Would it work? Most likely. Is it right? Not even close, in fact it is criminal. For the record I am against virtually all taxes. I’m tired of having people steal money from me to fund something I have no input over. Besides, the problem is a lot more complex than “sugary drinks are too cheap.”
First off, the phrase “sugary drinks” is not at all accurate. If soft drinks were sweetened with actual sugar there likely wouldn’t be an obesity epidemic in this country. They are sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a man-made sweetener developed by the chemical company Monsanto. It is a chemical that is far more dangerous than alcohol or marijuana could ever hope to be.
So why is it legal? One word: bribery lobbying. Monsanto and their ilk throw enough money at our government to cure the budget deficit. Why do they spend so much money on bribery lobbying? Because they know their products are lethal. Our politicians know these products are lethal too but they, whether Democrat or Republican, do not care. Politicians only care about power and money.
From the lowliest mayor in the tiniest town all the way to the top our politicians are crooked. They would gladly trade the lives of our children for a few extra green backs. In fact they do it everyday.
So, politicians, if you want soft drinks to cost more do not tax us for your transgressions. How about paying the $7.5 billion in this year’s budget set aside for farm subsidies to the farmers they are intended for. Currently this money only goes to farmers who produce untested genetically modified foods for big multi-national agricultural corporations. In other words farm subsidies do not go to farmers, they go to Monsanto.
In effect what companies like Monsanto are doing is money laundering. They take the $7.5 billion the US government gives them out of our paychecks and they hand it right back to individual politicians in the form of campaign contributions or bribes lobbyist gifts. The politicians pocket that $7.5 billion.
So instead of strapping the American people with yet another tax how about canning the Monsanto moles the President has appointed to run the USDA and FDA (Tom Vilsak, Michael Taylor, Roger Beachy, et al). Oh and maybe follow legitimate scientists recommendations of banning GM foods like HFCS at least until their effects have been studied. Do this and soft drink manufacturers will have to go back to sweetening their beverages with actual sugar, while though still not great, it is far better than HFCS. Not only will the price of soft drinks go up but child obesity go down.
Corporations Caught Misrepresenting Caloric Information
From AP writers Michael Hill, Sue Manning, & Caryn Rousseau:
Dieters can’t believe everything they read: The food at many popular chain restaurants and in the freezer section of the supermarket may contain a lot more calories than advertised.Read MORE.
A study of 10 chain restaurants, including Wendy’s and Ruby Tuesday, found that the number of calories in 29 meals or other menu items was an average of 18 percent higher than listed.
And frozen supermarket meals from Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice and South Beach Living had 8 percent more calories than the labels said, according to the study, published in this month’s Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
FDA’s Michael Taylor Promotes Himself
On Jan. 13, 2010 Michael Taylor, who was only recently hired as Food Safety Czar by President Obama, has now promoted himself to the new title Deputy Commissioner for Foods. He created this position to head his newly created Office of Foods for the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).According to an FDA press release Taylor’s new mission is, “to develop and implement a prevention based strategy for food safety, plan implementation of new food safety legislation, and ensure that food labels contain clear and accurate information on nutrition.” The web site also goes on to suggest that Taylor is a nationally recognized food safety expert. Of course legitimate nationally recognized food safety experts point out that he is anything but.
As part of Taylor’s credentials the press release cites his previous experience in the FDA and USDA. It also attempts to add authenticity by mentioning that he has served on several National Academy of Sciences expert committees. What it fails to mention is that he has spent most of the past 30 years as a lawyer and lobbyist for the nefarious Monsanto Company. It was Monsanto’s genetically modified corn process that introduced humanity to e coli. And they used your tax dollars to do it.
So while the FDA’s web site tries to convince people that Michael Taylor is the right person to have governing their food safety, the reality is that he is likely just securing more amnesty and tax dollars for Monsanto. That, after all, was the result of the his previous tenures in public service.
The Huffington Post has called Taylor, “The person who may be responsible for more food-related illness and death than anyone in history,” and that tends to be the consensus throughout the food safety world. Only the future knows how many more Americans will have to die before Taylor is done. One thing is for sure, no good will ever come of this.
Food Rules
