Ridin’ the range with Monsanto

The real True Crime
I’ve been told that newspaper readers like to read “true crime” stories—you know, the ones that feature such sordid juiciness as someone getting bludgeoned to death with a high heel under mysterious and baffling circumstances. I submit that far more insidious things are taking place under the guise of everyday goings-on. Take the recent news of the “Monsanto rider”—named after biotech-chemical giant Monsanto Co.— that has quietly slipped into the multibillion dollar FY 2012-13 agricultural appropriations bill, as AlterNet reported recently.

The rider would require (yes, require) the secretary of agriculture “to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed.”

Officially called the Farmer Assurance Provision, the Monsanto rider is poised to pose “a direct threat to the authority of U.S. courts, jettisons the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) established oversight powers on key agriculture issues and puts the nation’s farmers and food supply at risk,” as the Center for Food Safety (CFS) put it. The rider “is engineered to strip federal courts of the authority to halt the sale and planting of illegal, potentially hazardous genetically engineered (GE) crops while the USDA assesses potential hazards. It also would inexplicably force the USDA to allow continued planting of a GE crop even if a court of law identifies previously unrecognized risks.”

“There is no doubt that the objective of this explosive appropriations bill insertion is to empower a single corporation and a few of its industry friends to move beyond the control of the U.S. courts, USDA and public review to make their own rules and profit from slippery backdoor politics,” said CFS’ Andrew Kimbrell. “It’s no accident that game-changing policy riders like these are buried deep inside the pages of appropriations documentation.”

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has sponsored an amendment to get rid of the rider, which would have to be approved by the Senate if it makes it through the House of Representatives.

Go to http://signon.org/sign/stop-the-monsanto-rider to sign the “Stop the Monsanto Rider” petition.

Your help is needed
Shar Plowman of the Patrick Ranch Museum (10381 Midway) informed me that the museum is seeking volunteers to help with a number of upcoming events as well as with the restoration of the property’s Glenwood Farm House (pictured).

“The Glenwood Farm House is about to be wallpapered upstairs and we can use volunteers to get the farm house prepped for artifacts and furniture restoration and more,” wrote Plowman in an email.

Other opportunities to help are as follows:

• July 20, from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., when school children from Glenn County will visit Patrick Ranch for a “historic outdoor classroom” experience.

• Autumnfest 2012: Volunteers are needed to generate ideas for this annual fall event, as well as help with food and pumpkin sales, ranch tours, hayrides, kids’ activities and so on.

• Christmas at the Patrick Ranch Museum: Decorating Patrick Ranch and helping with food sales and tours are some of the ways volunteers can take part.

Call Mary Davis at 345-3559 or email her at mdavis7878@sbcglobal.net for more information. Also, go to www.patrickranchmuseum.org for more info about the Patrick Ranch Museum.