© Salem-News.orgMonsanto is synonymous with reckless deadly business practices in America, and now their man has secured a position in the FDA, again.
A 2010 article published by Veterans Today titled, Former Former Monsanto Exec. Appointed to the Head of the F.D.A.!, announced that Michael R. Taylor, was appointed Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the FDA.
Taylor is a former top executive (VP Public Policy), attorney and lobbyist with Monsanto and has had prior positions with law firms, the USDA and the FDA
Veterans Today wrote in the article about Taylor:
"During his former stint in the FDA during the Clinton administration, he helped write the rules to allow rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) into the American food system and our children's milk. Which is perhaps why the FDA staffer who wrote Taylor's bio seems to have all-but-forgotten his decade-plus of Monsanto work.In 1995, Monsanto ranked 5th among US corporations in the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, having discharged 37 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land, water and underground.
Michael Taylor and Monsanto are responsible for subjecting this country and many others to the increased risk of breast cancer (7 times greater risk), prostate cancer and colon cancer because of what they did to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream with rBGH as well as to all the foods that rely on milk solids and other parts of milk.
He left the FDA in 1994 and a few years later became Monsanto's Vice President in charge of lobbying in Washington. As a lobbyist, Taylor argued AGAINST the Delaney Clause, one of the foundations of food safety regulation that prohibits cancer-causing chemicals to be added to food."
From horrific Veteran cancer death and deformities inVietnam to genetically modified food for your kids; this company is widely despised by Vets & health activists.
The same law required the National Academy of Sciences to periodically review the science on dioxin and herbicides used in Vietnam to inform the Secretary of Veterans Affairs about the strength of the scientific evidence showing association between exposure to Agent Orange/Dioxin and certain conditions.
Through this process, the list of 'presumptive' conditions has grown since 1991 and currently the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, type II diabetes, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and spina bifida in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange as conditions associated with exposure to the herbicide.
This list now includes B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease, these last three having been added on August 31, 2010.
There is currently a concern being voiced by several highly placed individuals in government about whether some of the diseases on the list should, in fact, actually have been included.
The Vietnam Red Cross reports that as many as 3 million Vietnamese people have been affected by Agent Orange including at least 150,000 children born with birth defects.
According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 people being killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.
While in Vietnam, the veterans were told not to worry, and were persuaded that the chemical was harmless. However, after returning home, Vietnam Veterans began to suspect that their ill health or the instances of their wives having miscarriages or children born with birth defects may be related to Agent Orange and the other toxic herbicides they were exposed to in Vietnam.
Veterans began to file claims in 1977 to the Department of Veterans Affairs for disability payments or health care for conditions that they believed were associated with exposure to Agent Orange, or more specifically, dioxin, but their claims were denied unless they could prove that the condition began when they were in the service or within one year of their discharge.
In 2004, Jill Montgomery, a spokesperson for Monsanto said that Monsanto should not be liable at all for injuries or deaths caused by Agent Orange, saying:
"We are sympathetic with people who believe they have been injured and understand their concern to find the cause, but reliable scientific evidence indicates that Agent Orange is not the cause of serious long-term health effects."
Products with Monsanto's Aspartame contain the serious metabolic poison Methanol. Living human bodies convert it to formaldehyde (embalming fluid) & formic acid.
There is a very simple way to ascertain whether or not this poisonous drug is causing you any health problem(s). Stop ALL intake of Aspartame (anything with Monsanto's NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, Benevia, NutraTaste) in it. READ LABELS. Have your pharmacist check all your medications, Aspartame is in many drugs. This poison is in over 9,000 items including most Children's Vitamins, Children's Tylenol, Alka Seltzer, Toothpastes and Metamucil.
The Monsanto Company is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate marketed as "Roundup". Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed - it provides the technology in 90% of the world's genetically engineered seeds.
If you're thinking of planting a garden to give your family healthy, nontoxic vegetables - be prepared - finding non-Monsanto seeds is a problem.
If you visit most chain stores like Wal-Mart, you'll be buying Monsanto seeds. Buy heirloom seeds if you can. These seeds have been saved over generations of home farmers and are NOT genetically modified. Most seedlings you buy are grown from Monsanto seeds, so grow your vegetables from heirloom seeds instead.
It's difficult, since they aren't labeled (and aren't required to be), but if you steer clear of mass-produced seeds and plants, you should be able to locate non-Monsanto products.
So, what can you do about this? How do you wean yourself from Monsanto's poisoned foods?
Find, collect and save heirloom quality seeds, and grow your own vegetables from them.
- Reduce your corn and soybean consumption. Read the label - it's in almost everything!
- Don't use Roundup or other pesticides or herbicides - grow organically (it's really not that hard!).
- Limit your intake of high fructose corn syrup (yet another Monsanto consumer gift).
- Buy locally-grown organic foods, if you can find them.
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So for anyone curious as to what Michael Taylor's responsibilities will be while in charge of "Foods" in the FDA, they are as follows:
- develop and carry out a prevention-based strategy for food safety
- plan for new food safety legislation
- ensure that food labels contain clear and accurate information on nutrition
"We look forward to working in new ways within FDA and with partners in other government agencies, the consumer community, and the food industry to tackle the important challenges - and the unprecedented opportunities - we currently face."Mr. Taylor was previously a partner with King & Spalding, a law firm in Washington, DC. King & Spalding defended Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, in Federal Court when they were criminally charged with marketing OxyContin as less likely to be addictive or abused. Maybe Howard Udell, Chief Counsel for Purdue Pharma should be considered for a position at the FDA as head of "opioid safety."
Michael Taylor head of "Foods" at the FDA - an outrage to the safety of the American people.
The words "bon appetit" will not be on the lips of the American consumer if the "fox guarding the hen house" - Michael Taylor - is protecting our food supply with the name "Monsanto" on his resume.
Open Letter To The GAO:
Michael Taylor, Monsanto Attorney Should Be Removed From The FDA Because Of Conflict Of Interest, Aspartame Approval Reinvestigated And Banned - By Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum
"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the F.D.A.'s job.'" - Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications, New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1998
"A populace never rebels from passion for attack, but from impatience of suffering." - Edmund Burke (British Statesman and Philosopher 1729-1797)
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