While We Slept Seeds of Destruction Were Sown

…But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. (Matt 13:25)

Deceit, corruption, cronyism, and special interest has always been the watchwords of the American Political System from the birth of our nation; now however, it is so ingrained that it can be regarded, as businessmen call it, simply a custom of the trade. While it seems our alleged two party system of Democrats and Republicans ostensibly disagree on issues, in reality they are merely two sides of the same coin. Take, for instance, the whole Syrian situation. We now have prominent Republics calling for uniting behind the President, despite only 9% of the American people being behind any attack on Syria. …but I digress. The matter at hand has seemingly less effect but actually represents the ongoing struggle for the populous’ access to healthy food.

Way back in March, 2013 the President signed a bill passed by Congress designed to fund government function through this September, 2013. House Resolution 933, a 587-page emergency spending bill passed to avert a government shutdown. Since HR 933 had to pass, it got larded up with a lot of special interest pork deals, including Section 735, a cheap play to be sure, known as the “Monsanto Rider” or the “Monsanto Protection Act.”

Section 735 appeared mysteriously — without benefit of debate — while the House bill was under review by the Senate Appropriations Committee. It orders the Department of Agriculture to ignore any federal court decisions that would block use of USDA-approved seed containing Genetically Modified Organisms.

The result is that GMO crop seed, most significantly corn and soybean (predominantly Monsanto seed for crops resistant to Monsanto’s Round-up herbicide) already in the ground can stay in the ground, no matter what any court might say. The language relieves Missouri-based Monsanto and a handful of other seed and fertilizer companies of a great deal of risk.

While the legislation is only designed to last until now, September, 2013, (unless the funding is extended), it sets a bad precedent for law; and though most Americans are unaware, US laws at all levels are extensively based on precedent. SO unless a court rules such language of Section 735 as unconstitutional, it can go on and on and even be converted into permanent law.

It is interesting that one of the chief sponsors of the bill is Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. additionally; the bill also took money away from a school breakfast program to ensure that fewer meat inspectors would be laid off because of federal budget cuts. This assures big poultry operations, like Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms, that while a few children may have to skip breakfast, their business will not suffer unduly from budget cuts.

By sheer coincidence, Tyson is headquartered in Arkansas, the home state of Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, chairman of the Agriculture appropriations subcommittee. The new chairman of the full appropriations committee is Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland. Guess which state Perdue Farms calls home?It’s amazing that the Republicrats can get on so well when money is on the table.

While Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and the Tares left the fruits to mature only to be separated at harvest with the tares tossed in the fire, the consequences of this deception perpetrated by our Congress will affect the finances and health of the innocent American people. Not to worry, however, most Americans will simply read this and then flip on the tube, eat some GMO chips, and drink GMO tainted beers made from wheat. In the Orient they call this karma, however I prefer the phrase: what goes around comes around, meaning such outlandish deceptions are the result of the electorate’s apathy.

Richard of Danbury, D.S.G.