Fw: konformist digest - Nutrasweet Controversy Continues

[Guest guest]

For those of you concerned about your health - the aspartame controversy

continues. On one side is the powerful multinational corporation Monsanto -

on the other, a handfull of dedicated activists determined to have the FDA

recall this product. Read the following and then, if it doesn't have you

start reading ingredient labels, nothing will.

>http://www.konformist.com

>http://www.konformist.com/botm/volume03/botm0599.htm

>

>

>Beast of the Month - May 1999

>Monsanto, Korporate Chemical Giant

>

> " I yam an anti-Christ... "

> Lydon (aka ny Rotten) of The Sex Pistols, " Anarchy in the UK "

>

>Sometimes, evil is obvious and in your face: take, for example, the NATO

>bombings of Kosovo, or the school massacre at Littleton, Colorado. At

other

>times, however, evil is secretive and hidden, and when that happens, it

often

>hides in the most unlikely place: out in the open. This is the most

popular

>place to hide for huge multi-national korporations such as Monsanto, The

>Konformist Beast of the Month, the U.S.-based chemical behemoth whose

>products are loved and consumed regularly by Americans, despite the fact

that

>even a marginal inspection of their history would reveal a shocking pattern

>of deceit and contempt for its customers.

>

>For those of you who are unaware, Monsanto is best known for introducing

the

>sugar substitute aspartame, which they sell under the brand names of

>NutraSweet and Equal. Contrary to what the name " NutraSweet " implies,

>however, aspartame is not nutritious, and is quite unhealthy, having earned

>the nickname " NutraPoison " from critics. As reported in Constantine's

>now-classic underground conspiracy expose " Psychic Dictatorship in the USA "

>(in the aptly-titled chapter devoted to Monsanto and NutraSweet " The Swirl

>and the Swastika " ), as well as the work of noted Monsanto critic Betty

>i of Mission Possible, aspartame has been documented to cause

>headaches, numbness, fatigue, blurred vision and blindness, heart

>palpitations, brain lesions and tumors, memory loss, dizziness, muscle

>spasms, irritability, anxiety attacks, vertigo, seizures, rashes,

>tachycardia, tinnitus, joint pain, nausea, mood alterations and depression,

>hearing loss, slurred speech, loss of taste, and insomnia, as well as erode

>intelligence and short-term memory. It also helps trigger multiple

>sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein Barr, Parkinson's,

>Alzheimer's, diabetes, mental retardation, lymphoma, and birth defects. No

>real surprise here: originally, aspartame was categorized as a biochemical

>warfare weapon by the Pentagon in a list submitted to Congress. In 1969,

Dr.

>Harry Waisman studied the effects of aspartame on primates, and seven

infant

>monkeys were fed the chemical in milk. One died after 300 days, 5 others

had

>Grand Mal seizures. These findings were deleted from the report to the FDA.

>MIT researchers surveyed 80 people who suffered brain seizures after eating

>or drinking products with Aspartame, and the Community Nutrition Institute

>states: " These 80 cases meets the FDA's own definition of an imminent

hazard

>to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a

>product from the market. "

>

>Despite this, NutraSweet was in over 9,000 foods by 1997 and on nearly

every

>restaurant table. The irony is that the two things aspartame is most often

>marketed for, diabetes and weight loss, it has been shown to not be

>beneficial for. According to Dr. H. J. , after summarizing 58

>diabetic aspartame reactors, " I now advise ALL patients with diabetes and

>hypoglycemia to avoid Aspartame products. " Further, aspartame triggers a

>craving for carbohydrates, hardly the reaction wanted for those trying to

>lose pounds. The FDA has received more than 10,000 consumer complaints

over

>aspartame, approximately 80% of all complaints about food additives since

>being introduced to the market. If the FDA was an honest organization,

>NutraSweet would not have ever been approved: fortunately for Monsanto,

that

>isn't the case. Former FDA Commissioner Arthur overruled his own

board

>of inquiry to approve aspartame (claiming, falsely, that criticism was

> " anecdotal " ) then went to work for a public relations firm retained by G.D.

>Searle (the company which introduced the product that was acquired by

>Monsanto in 1985.) Federal attorney Sam Skinner was assigned to prosecute

>Searle for fraudulent tests in their application, but switched sides and

went

>to work for Searle's lawyers instead.

>

>Thanks to the compromised nature of the FDA, Monsanto has received a yearly

>multi-billion dollar license to kill through aspartame, one that it defends

>relentlessly. They have waged a campaign against stevia, the natural

>zero-calorie herbal sweetener that is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar,

>using the FDA - supposedly its " watchdog " - as an attack dog instead.

>Claiming that stevia has not been proven to be safe as a sweetener

(something

>that aspartame has been certifiably shown not to be), the FDA, under

intense

>pressure and backing by Monsanto, banned it in 1991, then later lifted the

>ban after receiving numerous complaints from outraged consumers. Still,

>stevia is only available as a food supplement, and manufacturers can't add

it

>to foods or drinks. In the enforcement of this ban, the FDA has threatened

>to burn cookbooks using stevia as a sweetener, a threat they wisely didn't

>follow through on when it was disclosed by a stevia distributor affected by

>this abuse of power. Currently, Monsanto is in the process of approving

>Neotame, the next generation NutraPoison: expect more of the same.

>

>Of course, aspartame is just one product of destruction in the arsenal of

>Monsanto. Among the others: BGH (the dangerous growth hormone given to

cows

>to increase milk production); Simplesse (an artificial butter fat); the

>artificial grass Astroturf; garden herbicides Roundup and Dimension;

>agricultural chemicals Lasso, Harness Plus, Far Go, Machete, Bronco,

Bullet,

>Freedom, Landmaster BW, Ram Rod, Accord, Lariat, and Rodeo; all garden

>products made by Ortho and GreenSweep; and genetically modified plants,

>including corn, potatoes and soybeans.

>

>It is especially due to the genetically modified crops (labeled

" genetically

>engineered " to benignly describe the modification by korporate news organs)

>that they has been targeted by The Great Boycott, an organization

boycotting

>the eight of the top producers of toxic herbicides and genetically modified

>food. These two commercial operations are highly related, as most of the

> " enstein Foods " are specifically being genetically modified to

withstand

>more toxic spray, which then enters the human food chain. Along with

>Monsanto, the companies targeted by The Great Boycott (founded by the

highly

>esteemed investigative journalist Jon Rappoport, and whose current chairman

>is some guy named Sterling) are Dow, Dupont, Ciba-Geigy, Bayer,

>Imperial Chemical Industries, Rhone Poulenc and Hoechst. In recent months,

>the issue of genetically modified food has become a larger controversy

>worldwide. In the UK, there has been a serious debate on this issue, as

>(ironically enough) aristocrat Prince has strongly attacked the

>dangers of GM foods, while supposed " liberal " Prime Minister Tony Blair

>(bowing to the money that backs him) has defended the practice. In India,

>the opposition has been even stronger, as activists have torched fields

>suspected of harboring GM plants in protest.

>

>Still, none of this tells just how big of a covert menace Monsanto is to

the

>world. Here's a clue: the top 3 most censored stories of 1998 (according

to

>Project Censored) all are linked heavily to the chemical giant.

>

>The number three story is tied most directly: Monsanto's attempt to

introduce

>what is known as " The Terminator Seed, " or genetically modified seeds that

>will produce only infertile seeds at the end of the farming cycle. The

>purpose of this is to force farmers (many already living in impoverished

>conditions) to purchase new seeds from Monsanto each year. What is worse,

>considering how seeds travel courtesy of winds, those who don't even buy

such

>seeds will likely be effected, and see their crops dwindle thanks to this

> " scientific advancement " that benefits nobody but large seed companies such

>as Monsanto. In any case, the Terminator seed is a serious threat to

>worldwide food production if approved, especially in the most impoverished

>countries where farmers can afford yearly seed purchases the least.

>

>The number two story, meanwhile, is how leaders in cancer treatment and

>information are the same chemical companies that also produce the

>carcinogenic products that cause it. One such product is Monsanto's Bovine

>Growth Hormone (BGH) in milk. A study of U.S. women published May 9, 1998

in

>the LANCET links insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) with breast cancer, a

>7-fold increased risk of breast cancer among pre-menopausal women younger

>than age 51 with the highest levels of IGF-1 in their blood. Despite this

>evidence, widespread usage of BGH continues, with much support from the

USDA

>and little criticism from the korporate media. Perhaps the case of Steve

> and Jane Akre explains the silence: the award-winning reporters were

>hired by a Fox affiliate in Tampa to produce a series on BGH in Florida

milk.

> Among the report's stunning facts: BGH wasn't properly tested before the

FDA

>allowed it on the market, evidence dairy herds grew sick soon after

>treatment, lack of testing for excessive antibiotics, and Canadian

government

>officials claiming Monsanto tried to bribe them for approval in Canada.

>After more than a year's work on the series, Fox executives (most notably

the

>former GOP operative Ailes) canceled it the last moment, receiving

>letters from Monsanto lawyers saying Monsanto would suffer " enormous

damage "

>and warning of " dire consequences " for Fox if the series aired. Fox

lawyers

>tried to water down the series, and when and Akre refused, Fox

>threatened them with dismissal if they didn't broadcast false and

misleading

>material, promising to replace them with reporters who would, actions which

>violated the station's license from the Federal Communications Commission.

>(There is a pending lawsuit over Fox's treatment of and Akre.)

>

>The number one story, meanwhile, may be the most damaging of the bunch: the

>Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which threaten national

>sovereignty by giving corporations near equal rights to nations. The MAI

>would have devastating effects on all nations' legal, environmental and

>cultural sovereignty. It will force countries to relax or nullify human,

>environmental and labor protection to attract investment and trade, and

>necessary measures such as food subsidies, control of land speculation,

>agrarian reform and health and environmental standards could be challenged

as

> " illegal " under the MAI. This same illegality is extended to community

>control of forests, local bans on use of pesticides, clean air standards,

>limits on mineral, gas and oil extraction, and bans on toxic dumping.

>According to human rights activist Sheila Goldner (the woman who alerted

>Project Censored of this story in the first place), one of the biggest

>beneficiaries of the MAI would be Monsanto itself, who would use its newly

>gained sovereign power to force countries to buy its enfoods.

>

>For now, both MAI and the Terminator Seed appear to be on the backburner,

but

>like Arnold as the original Terminator, Monsanto has a nasty habit of

coming

>back again and again. In a sane world, BGH wouldn't be in milk and

>NutraPoison wouldn't be in practically everything else. This should leave

an

>uneasy lack of confidence about what may happen. So, whether Monsanto is

>poisoning people with a dangerous sugar substitute, plotting to destroy

world

>food production for personal profit, contaminating the USA's milk supply

with

>a carcinogen, or even become a sovereign power through international law

>agreements, Monsanto has proven itself to be one of the few truly

threatening

>korporate leviathans as we approach the new millennium.

>

>In any case, we salute Monsanto as Beast of the Month. Congratulations, and

>keep up the great work, dudes!!!

>

>Sources:

>

>REVOLT AGAINST THE EMPIRE:

>Welcome to the Great Boycott

>Come join us and give the multinational corporations a message.

>http://home.earthlink.net/~alto/boycott.html

>

>Project Censored

>http://censored.sonoma.edu/ProjectCensored/

>

>Betty i, Founder

>Mission Possible International

>770 242-2599

>bettym19@... http://www.dorway.com/possible.html

>

>Leading Edge Research Journal

>http://www.trufax.org/

>

>Pesticide Action Network North America

>http://www.panna.org/panna/

>email: panna@...

>

>MAI TRADE AGREEMENT Sources:

>IN THESE TIMES, " Building the Global Economy, " January 11, 1998, by

>Bleifuss

>DEMOCRATIC LEFT, " MAI Ties, " Spring 1998, by Bill Dixon

>TRIBUNE DES DRIOTS HUMAINS, " Human Rights or Corporate Rights? " April 1998,

>Volume 5, No.s 1-2, " Giving The World Away " by Elaine Weinreb, Vol 27, No

11

>'ECONEWS' December 1997

>

>CHEMICAL CORPORATIONS PROFIT OFF BREAST CANCER Sources:

>RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH WEEKLY, " The Truth About Breast

>Cancer, " Dec. 4, 1997, by Montague

>THE GREEN GUIDE, " Profiting Off Breast Cancer " Oct. 1998, by Sloan

>and Baxter.

>

>TERMINATOR SEED Sources:

>MOJO WIRE Title: " A Seedy Business, "

>http://www.motherjones.com/news-Wire/broydo.html Date: April 7, 1998, by

>Leora Broydo

>THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE #92, " New Patent Aims to Prevent Farmers From Saving

>Seed, " by Chakravarthi Raghavan

>EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL Title: " Terminator Seeds Threaten an End to Farming, "

>Fall 1998, by Hope Shand and Pat Mooney

>THE ECOLOGIST, " Monsanto: A Checkered History " and " Revolving Doors:

Monsanto

>and the Regulators, " Sept./Oct. 1998, Vol. 28, No. 5, by Tokar

>The Pesticide Action Network (www.panna.org/panna) newsletter Global

>Pesticide Campaigner Vol 8, No 2. " 'Terminator Technology' Prevents Farmers

>from Saving Seeds, " June 1998.

>

>

> " The Swirl and the Swastika "

>From " Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A. "

> Constantine, Feral House

>

>MILK: THE DEADLY POISON

> Cohen

>

> " Free Press My Ass "

> Sterling

>Steamshovel Press Online

>http://www.umsl.edu/~skthoma/

>

> " The Poisoning of America: Nutrasweet "

>The Free American Newsmagazine

>April 1999

>http://www.freeamerican.com

>

> " The Nefarious FDA Strikes Again "

>n Whitaker, MD

>Health & Healing Newsletter

>(1-800-539-8219)

>

>Relevant Websites About Genetic Engineering:

>

> http://www.safe-food.org/welcome.html

> http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html

> http://www.greenpeace.org/~usa/reports/biodiversity/roundup

> http://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/cbio/geneng.html

> http://www.indiaserver.com/betas/vshiva/

> http://users.westnet.gr/~cgian/biotech.htm

> http://www.rafi.ca

> http://www.purefood.org

> http://www.med.upenn.edu/~bioethic/genetics/articles.html

> http://www.ucsusa.org/agriculture/ag.docs.html

> http://www.k2net.co.uk/~savage/ef/earthfirst.html

> http://www.essential.org/crg/

> http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/shag/

> http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rone/gedanger.htm

> http://www.bio-integrity.org

> http://www.natural-law.org/issues/genetics/ge_hazards.html

> http://www.peg.apc.org/~acfgenet/

> http://www.indians.org/welker/genome.htm

> http://www.solbaram.org/articles/clm505.html

> http://www.netlink.de/gen/home.html

> http://www.psagef.org/indexgen.htm

>

>

>The Konformist

>http://www.konformist.com

> Sterling

>Post Office Box 24825

>Los Angeles, California 90024-0825

>(310) 737-1081

>Robalini@...