NZ food bill

lesterg3 · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 8:44 am Post subject: NZ food bill

Here's some real good news for our friends in NZ. If you're prepping might want to get some heirloom seeds on hand.

NZ food bill to make growing food a government privilege rather than a human right
Wednesday, December 07, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

The God-given human right to freely cultivate food is under attack in New Zealand (NZ) as special interest groups and others are currently attempting to push a "food security" bill through the nation's parliament that will strip individuals of their right to grow food, save seeds, and even share the fruits of their labor with friends and family members.

In accordance with the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Codex Alimentarius scheme for global food control, the NZ Food Bill, if passed, will essentially transfer primary control of food from individuals to corporations under the guise of food safety. And unless massive public outcry and awakened consciences within the NZ government are able to put a stop to it, the bill could become law very soon.

According to NZ Food Security, a group working to protect the food freedom of New Zealanders, the bill will turn growing and sharing food into a government-granted privilege rather than a human right. It will also make it illegal to distribute any type of food based on the bill's language. This includes seeds, nutrients, natural medicines, minerals, and even water -- without expressed government permission.

You see, agribusiness giants like Monsanto want full control of the food supply, which means putting an end to small-scale agriculture systems that operate "off the grid," so to speak. This is why they have worked so hard in places like the US to convert conventional, staple crop systems to genetically-modified (GM) ones that are continually reliant upon new seeds and chemical interventions.

As far as enforcement, the NZ bill also authorizes private companies to deploy "Food Safety Officers" that can raid private property without warrant. Not only will these "Food Safety Officers" be permitted to draw weapons against those they are pursuing, but they will also be immune from criminal and civil prosecution for their illegal actions.

What all this means, of course, is that the NZ government may soon be able to arbitrarily decide at any time to restrict individual freedom to plant vegetable gardens and share the produce with their neighbors, for instance. Even "cottage industries," which include at-home food artisans, could be restricted under the new law.

TRBLSHTR · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:59 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Not that I don't believe you Lester-but let's ask a Kiwi LEO about his opinion on this:

HEY Radar;Have you heard of this bill before and has it passed yet?This would make NZ more nazi than the land that obama tries to rule!What are your thoughts on the garden"plotting"? wtf

Elvis · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:43 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

while we wait for Radar....
the only thing Ive heard is the likes of selling homemade jams will be stopped and garden markets /farmers markets will be controlled so your stuff cant be sold unless you have the required red tape. have not heard anything about no grow your own???? my vege patch is within shotgun range of the back door so any "rabbits" that try to raid it will get hit by the boys slingshot.
farm killed meat has been regulated for years, the gist of the rules is you cant kill and sell a sheep etc, you can kill for your own use and you can kill to help another person but cant sell it to them. so.... loophole is you buy the sheep them get your new buddy to kill it for you in their killing house with offal hole to dispose of the unwanted bits. as for the veges well I dont know how thats going to work we have roadside stalls selling chook eggs and swedes all over the country.

lesterg3 · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 3:59 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

In the US they tried to pass H.R. 2749: Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, for a couple of years, but thank God it never made it.

Monsanto was the main company lobbying (they also participated in writing the bill, and they also hired a couple of other professional lobbyists to help it pass. All in the guise of food safety, but in reality Monsanto just wants to control the seed market. According to the American Seed Trade Association the U S market is $12 billion dollars, so what would the rest of the worlds add up to, and Monsanto is the biggest seed producer worldwide and they want to sell sell sell.

Quote::

The World's Top 10 Seed Companies

2007 seed sales (US$ millions) - % of global proprietary seed market

1.Monsanto (US) - $4,964m - 23%
2.DuPont (US) - $3,300m - 15%
3.Syngenta (Switzerland) - $2,018m - 9%
4.Groupe Limagrain (France) - $1,226m - 6%
5.Land O' Lakes (US) - $917m - 4%
6.KWS AG (Germany) - $702m - 3%
7.Bayer Crop Science (Germany) - $524m - 2%
8.Sakata (Japan) - $396m - <2%
9.DLF-Trifolium (Denmark) - $391m - <2%
10.Takii (Japan) - $347m - <2%
Top 10 Total - $14,785m - 67% [of global proprietary seed market]

Quote::

ST. LOUIS (Jan. 24, 2005) - Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced today that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Seminis, Inc., for $1.4 billion in cash and assumed debt… “

The news of Monsanto’s agreement to purchase Seminis has received little attention from the media other than the financial pages and a few seed industry and anti-globalization web sites. But then again, why should it? How many consumers – of food or seed – have even heard of Seminis? And yet, as Seminis spinmeister Gary Koppenjan said, “If you've had a salad, you've had a Seminis product."

It is estimated that Seminis controls 40 percent of the U.S. vegetable seed market and 20 percent of the world market—supplying the genetics for 55 percent of the lettuce on U.S. supermarket shelves, 75 percent of the tomatoes, and 85 percent of the peppers, with strong holdings in beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and peas. The company’s biggest revenue source comes from tomato and peppers seeds, followed by cucumbers and beans.

Sounds like the seeds a typical home gardener or farmer might buy.

Check it out of course most sites say personal farmers would never be affected, but if you read the right sites you'll find out differently. And, besides I would much rather buy the produce I can't grow from a local farmer than from the grocery.

Of course I'm just a crazy part time prepper, but I bought a bunch of heirloom seeds so I can keep planting what I want and not the sterile genetically modified seeds.

Ominivision1 · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:50 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Here is a link that explains the bill, and at the bottom of the article it tells who and what you can't do. www.stuff.co.nz/nation...of-control

Elvis · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 2:21 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

thanks for that omni it sure puts things in perspective when you read that link.the very bottom of the article tells it in short.

pete4d · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:44 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Then next year or the year after they'll be wanting to change this.

Quote::

WHO IT DOESN'T APPLY TO:

Food grown at home for family consumption.

Food given away.

Food swapped for other food with friends.

Cakes, jams or other foods sold for charity up to 20 times a year.

One step at a time

Never trust your own government ,, they will lie to you. Its for the children /s

Elvis · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 3:36 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

I can clearly remember having my cooking class school teacher in tears one day after she told the class it wasnt safe to drink milk straight from a cow. well being a country lad now we lived out in the boonies boy did I set her straight. Ive heard of people asking if its OK to eat eggs that the chicken has just laid because they havent come from the factory in a box!!! and the look on kids faces when they eat peas straight from the pod they just picked is priceless, my kids kindergarten teachers got them to help grow a garden so they could see real food as some kids have no idea now days. not my 2 they have helped me dig the spuds or chop silverbeat,rubarb etc to cook for tea not to mention the meat that dad just brought home from the bush. If we are worried about food in the future we should teach the younger generation where it comes from so they know. my vege patch is MINE touch it at your peril.

Ominivision1 · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:40 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Elvis wrote:

my vege patch is MINE touch it at your peril.

I agree Elvis, it seems nowdays any government wants to micromanage it's people.

Elvis · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:43 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

or should that be "brainwash and mismanage"

lesterg3 · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 5:41 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Elvis it would be wonderful if every kid got the chance to spend some time on a working farm or at least someplace like it to learn and experience the things we did and our kids have instead of having their butts glued to a chair in front of a boob tube or computer. Maybe then they wouldn’t think chicken nuggets grew from trees. But, I don’t see that happening anytime soon our collective governments and big business have decided that an ignorant populace is best.

Since my original post on this subject I have spent more time studying Monsanto and have decided that they and the other top Agribusiness companies are evil. Yep I said it evil at least their intensions are.
We at HNut are all concerned about our firearm and hunting rights as well we should be, but if we look back through history it is plain that anytime governments and big business collude or act independently to abridge one of our God given rights it eventually affects other rights. Little by little, inch by inch. The old adage about the horse losing its foot for the lack of a nail comes to mind. Most of the time I believe that we here on Hnut see more clearly than most and have not partaken of the Kool-Aid. Personally I have never been drawn to activism I would much prefer to move out to my farm and hunt, fish, plant my trees and ignore the rest of the world and what’s going on, but I have children, grandchildren, and sometime soon great grand children that will be faced with much worse than we are. So I ring the bell as well as I can. God be with you.

Quote::

Saving the world: Monsanto
Why lobby the government when you can be part of it? Former Monsanto vice-president Michael Taylor is now a senior adviser to the US Food and Drug Administration – going from a corporation that aggressively promotes its genetically modified crops to a body that advises on food safety.

The Obama administration is littered with former Monsanto employees who are now in positions of power. Islam Siddiqui, vice-president of Monsanto-funded lobby group CropLife is now a negotiator for the US Trade Representative on agriculture. Roger Beachy, a former director of a Monsanto-funded plant science centre has become the director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.1

Regardless of these insiders, biotech giant Monsanto still feels the need to be heard, investing more than $6.5 million on lobbying the US administration in 2010.2

Quote::

NZ Farmers Could Face Impact of Monsanto Court Win
Sunday, 4 March 2012, 8:52 pm
Press Release: GE Free NZ

NZ Farmers Could Face Impact of Monsanto Court Win Through TPPA

A US court decision backing Monsanto against farmers disputing contamination by patented GE seed could impact the rights of New Zealand farmers.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald dismissed the complaint by the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, and found that the spread of Monsanto genetically modified seed into the organic growers' fields did not constitute harm.

Following the Court decision there are real concerns that organic producers in New Zealand could be forced to accept GE contamination or face legal action from overseas companies claiming food purity standards are a barrier to free trade.

“The court decision has huge implications for farmers if the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement exposes all trade-partners to the same minimum standards,” says Jon Carapiet from GE Free NZ in food and environment.

“The US court decision can be appealed, but even so, it is a warning that New Zealand exporters of organic and high-quality food products are at risk from enforced reduction in standards as a result of free-trade negotiations.

Like other aspects of the trade negotiations, TPPA clauses on GE contamination and food safety standards are still secret. However, the precedent of forced contamination in organics has been set in the US court decision.

The US court victory for Monsanto is one issue of a range of concerns that trade deals will undermine food safety standards. The approval of food sprayed with 2,4,D is one example where US officials admit no proper safety data has ever been considered.

There is a real risk to New Zealand's reputation for food safety and the economic benefits it gives us, from trade agreements where corporate lobbying weaken food safety and other quality standards. Trade negotiations must not destroy our exporters' ability to differentiate New Zealand in the market, including 100% Pure New Zealand organics.

Here is a link with some more information. Pay particular attention to Terminator technology.

www.sourcewatch.org/in...e=Monsanto

Elvis · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:33 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

very scary link.
we are making ginger beer at home and we gave a "plant " to one of our friends... she was sure it was to go in the ground and water!!!!!
I see what you mean about terminator seeds!!!
we have gone down that path with alot of things we take for granted. did you catch the documentary on how man has stuffed up dogs by designer breeding??? loads of breeds cant even reproduce without a vets help!!! some have genetic faults eg hip displexia eyes that need fixing, the poor wee pug cant breath through the nose etc etc.
I think I better go and buy heaps of seeds as well as primers n powder.

Vince · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 11:53 pm Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Elvis wrote:

very scary link.
we are making ginger beer at home and we gave a "plant " to one of our friends... she was sure it was to go in the ground and water!!!!!
I see what you mean about terminator seeds!!!
we have gone down that path with alot of things we take for granted. did you catch the documentary on how man has stuffed up dogs by designer breeding??? loads of breeds cant even reproduce without a vets help!!! some have genetic faults eg hip displexia eyes that need fixing, the poor wee pug cant breath through the nose etc etc.
I think I better go and buy heaps of seeds as well as primers n powder.

Scary isn't a strong enough word mate.

I read through the link posted by Lester, and even taking into account the fact that it is produced by an organisation that would tend to show only their side of the story, there is some very alarming information in there.

There is only one way that companies like Monsanto may be stopped, but as that method is highly illegal, it is not likely to be taken up in a hurry by anyone. But stopped they must be. It is pretty obvious to me that their (Monsanto) only objective is total control of the seed market which will deliver untold billions of dollars income...so I see the problem as being pure and simple greed on the part of the company directors.

As Elvis said..."Touch MY vege patch at your peril". I agree wholeheartedly and feel 110% the same. However, when the big corporations OWN the Government, and indirectly, the authorities and Police...what can you do????? Also, unless you stockpile and save your own seeds, you won't know if you are buying Monsanto's GM seeds until you try and grow the resultant seeds next year, and by then the damage is done.

Is there any wonder people go "Postal" in this day and age !! When the only way they can see of dealing with a problem that is destroying them and their family is to take matters "into their own hands" and (as the 1% bikers call it) "take care of business", it is not hard to understand why they do what they do. I don't condone it by any stretch of the imagination, but I can understand why.

Cheers, Vince

Suzanne · Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:29 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

Solution? See what you can do about educating yourself the Euell Gibbons way, "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." Thing is, if you spent as much time needed to find enough food that way, you'd have to be a gatherer for a living. Won't pay the mortgage, but you won't be relying on Monsanto for your food.

Funny I've just noticed that I have a tendency to learn to live with a situation, instead of fight it. Certain things I fight, others I live with. Depends on the size of the adversary I guess.

I would think this would be a good thing to fight tho. It's an issue that's going to effect generations. I'm a seed saver, but what if the seed you save is not viable for saving, or is sterile, and you're depending on it for your food? If that ever happens we're in trouble. You have to take it upon yourself to not let it happen. You are in control of what you do. Save heirloom seeds and use heirloom garden varieties at home. Commercial varieties are what the big companies exploit for volume and other reasons and we don't use them in our gardens anyway. You can't even buy them for your garden. If you see a farmer drilling seeds and he leaves his equipment out over night for you to steal some....then you can get some. All I'm sayin is you should do your part and save the seed from the plants you like and don't panic. If these companies sterilized every plant they use for seed, they'd be out of business.

gettin
loopy
Suz

lesterg3 · Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:53 am Post subject: Re: NZ food bill

He who rules the food rules the world.

I've said before that I'd rather spend my time doing many other things than worrying about Monsanto and their ilk, and I am buying, and saving heirloom seeds more now than ever but from what I am reading that may not work in the long run either.

Monsanto just won a suit here where a large group of organic farmers, organic seed producers, and heirloom seed producers, were seeking patient infringement protection from Monsanto's seeds crossing with what the farmers planted. Also the farmers proved that Monsanto's sterile seeded plants crossed with the farmer’s plants and the farmers resulting crop became sterile too.

www.reuters.com/articl...PN20120228

Not all I found is in that link but there are plenty out there to see, it took awhile to get the whole story.
I just want this to stop maybe if no one responds to this I will wake up one morning and have forgotten overnight about Monsanto.