Mother Wins Top Environmental Award for Beating Monsanto

Sometimes it feels as though going up against a monstrosity as big as Monsanto is an exercise in futility. On the other hand maybe not…

After experiencing the traumatizing death of her daughter to kidney failure just three days after her daughter was born, Sofia Gatica from Argentina became determined to find out what killed her daughter. Her conclusion? Monsanto’s genetically modified soy fields that surrounded her neighborhood, laced with damaging insecticides negatively affecting nearby neighborhood children and adults alike.

Gatica began to detail how her small town was plagued with astronomically high birth defect rates, respiratory disease, and even infant mortality. From this point, the courageous mother decided to take on Monsanto.

So, some woman in Argentina loses a daughter and decides she’s going to get her pound of flesh from the culprits. Sounds like a “snowball’s chance in Hell” scenario to me. Seriously, what chance can she possibly have against this behemoth and its army of lawyers?

After sharing her story with local mothers who were also concerned for the safety of their children and families as a whole, Gatica co-founded the Mothers of Ituzaingó — an action group of 16 mothers collaborating to end Monsanto’s rampant chemical usage. The team took to the streets, going door to door to create what was the first epidemiological study of the area, only to discover that the effects of Monsanto’s concoctions were dramatically affecting many families in the town of Ituzaingó.

With cancer rates 41 times the national average, something had to be done.

A grass roots movement among her neighbors? You can almost picture those #ssholes at Monsanto just shaking in their boots. The lawyers are getting warmed up in the bullpen just waiting for the chance to squash these people don’t you think?

As a result of the serious campaign to eradicate Monsanto, the mothers were rewarded. Argentina’s Supreme Court not only banned chemical spraying near populated areas, but demanded that the government, as well as soy manufacturers, now prove that these chemicals are safe.

Wait. What? Did that really happen?

Did these concerned citizens actually pull off a huge victory against the food giant?

Yes they did! What a great story. I just wish this could be a story that happened in America, but instead it was Argentina.

Still, a victory is a victory and perhaps this can spread and strengthen to other areas. One can only hope.

Now to put the cherry on top of the sundae:

Sofia Gatica is now being honored for her great environmental work with the Goldman Environmental prize, a major environmental award given to activists. The story shows just how serious activism can take down most any threat — even Monsanto.

Mother Wins Top Environmental Award for Beating Monsanto

Apparently, it can be done folks. Even when it begins at the local level, it can be done.

Ms. Gatica, I am sorry for your tragic loss. I also would like to praise you for having the strength and determination to fight the good fight. And I congratulate you for not only fighting the good fight, but for coming out on the winning end.

What do you folks think? Can this ever be done in America’s corporatocracy? Will it ever be tried and to what end?

Peace.

A small victory but hopefully a massive milestone. Good for her. We need more people like this lady in the world

What do you folks think? Can this ever be done in America’s corporatocracy? Will it ever be tried and to what end?

for now, no . . . the SCOTUS is terribly corrupted and they are probably all in Monsanto's pocket

Originally posted by Hessling
Sometimes it feels as though going up against a monstrosity as big as Monsanto is an exercise in futility.

Sometimes it feels as though getting ATS users to quote primary sources is an exercise in futility.

You've quoted blacklistednews, but they got the story from naturalsociety... and then added some commentary of their own.

Naturalsociety got the story from grist... and then added some commentary of their own.

Grist got the story from the goldman site... and then added some commentary of their own.

The Goldman prize is the link that should have been put into this posting.

So while half the blacklisted news story appears to blame GMO crops somehow, NONE of the original story does. The GMO part was added in later by other commentators and the reference to Endosulfan, the primary part of the original story, has been competely removed.

You folks wont "deny ignorance" that way.

reply to post by alfa1

Sometimes it feels as though getting ATS users to quote primary sources is an exercise in futility.

I'll start the self-flagellation after posting. (I'm planning on using a wet noodle by the way.)

So while half the blacklisted news story appears to blame GMO crops somehow, NONE of the original story does. The GMO part was added in later by other commentators and the reference to Endosulfan, the primary part of the original story, has been competely removed.

The only reference made to GMO crops from my original post is:

After experiencing the traumatizing death of her daughter to kidney failure just three days after her daughter was born, Sofia Gatica from Argentina became determined to find out what killed her daughter. Her conclusion? Monsanto’s genetically modified soy fields that surrounded her neighborhood, laced with damaging insecticides negatively affecting nearby neighborhood children and adults alike.

That being said, what do you think the odds are that those fields were planted with genetically modified seeds? My guess is pretty darn high. Still, that is not meant to sound like it is the boogey-man in this story but I can understand why one would come to such a conclusion. Many equate Monsanto=GMO, when really there is more to this than GMOs.

References from the original post about the chemicals:

Her conclusion? Monsanto’s genetically modified soy fields that surrounded her neighborhood, laced with damaging insecticides negatively affecting nearby neighborhood children and adults alike.

Gatica co-founded the Mothers of Ituzaingó — an action group of 16 mothers collaborating to end Monsanto’s rampant chemical usage.

The team took to the streets, going door to door to create what was the first epidemiological study of the area, only to discover that the effects of Monsanto’s concoctions were dramatically affecting many families in the town of Ituzaingó.

Argentina’s Supreme Court not only banned chemical spraying near populated areas, but demanded that the government, as well as soy manufacturers, now prove that these chemicals are safe.

I hope this clarifies where I am coming from.

You have done better research than I to point out the specific chemical involved and for that I thank you.

Peace.

Heck yeah! Finally. Don't stop-I'm not. I only buy organic and NON-GMO. Imagine all the animals and insects that will perish as well from eating our crap? Dogs, cats, raccoons, birds, fish, bears, bees, insects, and more all each High Fructose Franken Food!

Originally posted by Hessling
The only reference made to GMO crops from my original post is:

Monsanto’s genetically modified soy fields that surrounded her neighborhood...

Which is exactly why you need to go back to the original story, which only says "surrounded by soy fields".

No mention of GMO whatsoever. Now of course they may have been, but the whole point of the story had nothing to do with GMO, so falsely introducing that topic later on just sidetracks readers from the actual story - that of Endosulfan.

Grist, who took that original story, also correctly make no mention of GMO...

Her city, Ituzaingó, Argentina, is surrounded by soybean fields

Naturalsociety takes the story from Grist, and adds the GMO part for the first time with reference to Monsanto the company, but still describe the soybean fields correctly...

Near where Gatica lives, there are soybean fields

And then blacklistednews takes that story and jams the two elements together...

Monsanto’s genetically modified soy fields that surrounded her neighborhood

...and are also the first to stop mentioning Endosulfan.

Thats why I'm saying this. Because in all this, the actual news story has been lost, and a GMO story that was never a part of it has now become a lead actor.
Its no wonder samlf3rd (post above mine) mentions GMO foods and not Endosulfan. With chinese whispers like this, he never had a chance of knowing what the story actually was.

Originally posted by Hessling
Sometimes it feels as though going up against a monstrosity as big as Monsanto is an exercise in futility.

And furthermore...
Mother Wins Top Environmental Award for Beating Monsanto


It may interest you to know that this has nothing whatsoever to do with "beating Monsanto".
The actual story is so far removed from Monsanto that the company may have never actually even heard of this woman.


The actual story is about not spraying near houses...

Gatica subsequently succeeded in getting a municipal ordinance passed that prohibited aerial spraying in Ituzaingó at distances of less than 2,500 meters from residences.

Grist then take that and also use part of a video interview to add a reference to Monsanto, but keep the story fundamentally the same - that of a victory over local Government to get laws passed to stop spraying near houses.

Naturalsociety then take that and turn her story into a totally Monsanto targeted campaign, with references to getting local laws about spraying near residential houses (the actual original story) now having been dropped to a mere one line near the end.

By the time the story gets to blacklistednews, it has turned not only into a battle against Monsanto, but now a victory also for which she wins an award!!


Edit - to which the two posters below this post were sucked in by the false bogus headline "beating Monsanto", and know nothing of the actual real story.

Good to see the people getting some headway against these multinational corporations, and to try to direct the attention away to just being the "local government" is pretty ridiculous. Troll alert!

Congratulations! We won a battle but the war continues. Technology Suppression needs to be targetd as our next legal issue. There is currently a battery that lives longer than people and never needs a recharge. Fantasy you say? The U.S. Military has been using it since 2006. It is called a Thorium Plasma Battery. Here's the details below. Prepare to be pissed off! After your blood stops boiling, send this to everyone you know...

open.salon.com...

Probably a lot easier to do in Argentina than here in the old US.. I guess there are some untainted judges and politicians down there who never got the memo

S&F

NICE.....

This made me euphoric. I love this sort of stuff.....HELL YEAH...

This really got me juiced.

ITS IN YOUR MOUTH !!!! oooooh snap!

nice find. Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by alfa1


Jesus christ, man. Thanks for pointing that stuff out. Saved me a lot of work, that's for sure.


I, for one, do not really care to be mislead. Especially so blatantly. It seems as though this happens a lot regarding GMO's in "conspiracy circles". I was in a thread the other day in which claims were made GMO's were dangerous. When I was presented "proof" for this claim, what I found as people outright lying about what exactly "researchers" had said. Twisting results and statements to "vilify" GMO's.

It was standard ATS fair, except rampant this time. The literal whole thread was insisting evidence that outright said it wasn't evidence was in, in fact, evidence. Were they actively just trying to mislead me? I dont know. However, the weirdness of having people insist something is dangerous even though they base this off of "proof" that doesn't have any bearing on its safety makes me skeptical of this anti-GMO's crusade.

Really, its almost like they want to be poisoned by some shady corporation.

Originally posted by lurker007

What do you folks think? Can this ever be done in America’s corporatocracy? Will it ever be tried and to what end?

for now, no . . . the SCOTUS is terribly corrupted and they are probably all in Monsanto's pocket

Don't forget how corrupt the POTUS is as well. Obama is definitely a puppet for Monsanto.

reply to post by alfa1


Everyone needs to go back and read alfa1's post.

Whether you agree with what Monsanto is doing or not, you should never, ever, ever accept blatant disinformation in order to further an agenda.

These fabricated stories do nothing to further the cause against Monsanto.

reply to post by Hessling



good for her!!!!


we need this to happen everywhere

this is absolutely a massive step in the direction against evil.

G bless this woman, she is "the shot heard around the farm"

put on your coats and get your lawyers people! the greencoats are coming! the greencoats are coming!

don't ever give up!

peace.

reply to post by alfa1


Clearly, this story is about Monsanto. Is it even possible to mention that
name, the one in the Monsanto Tops Corporate Hall Of Shame, without talking GMO?

From the Goldman Site

Every year, the industry spreads over 50 million gallons of agro-toxins—namely glyphosate,

the key ingredient in Monsanto’s widely-used
herbicide Roundup, and endosulfan—through aerial spraying over farmland.

While Monsanto claims there is no risk to humans, a 2008 scientific study found that even at
low concentrations, glyphosate causes the death of human embryonic, placental and umbilical cells.
Endosulfan is a highly toxic pesticide that has been banned in 80 countries because of its threats to
human health and the environment. In May 2011, it was added to the UN list of persistent organic
pollutants to be eliminated worldwide.

As much as I love this story, and must applaud the efforts of a lady who has been robbed of the chance to live a pure life, it is clear that Monsanto is far from beaten. Ultimately any regulations will be insufficient as it is the entire cessation of activities that the Earth requires of Monsanto. Money will be changing hands and we will see just how effective these measures truly are.

reply to post by alfa1

While it is good to see the original source of any news story, thank you for finding it BTW, I still see this as a fight against Monsanto. Monsanto is the maker of the product Roundup. How would one go about spraying this chemical Roundup, a Monsanto product, on nearby soybean crops? The soybeans need to be Roundup resistant which is a GMO crop that also happens to be a Monsanto product. Not hard to put these together.

From Black Listed News.

Sofia Gatica from Argentina became determined to find out what killed her daughter. Her conclusion? Monsanto’s genetically modified soy fields that surrounded her neighborhood, laced with damaging insecticides

Endosulfan is a pesticide that is being phased out of the world market and glyphosate is an herbicide. Both have been used by Monsanto, glyphosate is found in Roundup.

From Goldman Prize.

While Monsanto claims there is no risk to humans, a 2008 scientific study found that even at low concentrations, glyphosate causes the death of human embryonic, placental and umbilical cells. Endosulfan is a highly toxic pesticide that has been banned in 80 countries because of its threats to human health and the environment. In May 2011, it was added to the UN list of persistent organic pollutants to be eliminated worldwide.

From Goldman Prize.

Argentina is the world’s third largest exporter of soybeans. Every year, the industry spreads over 50 million gallons of agro-toxins—namely glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s widely-used herbicide Roundup, and endosulfan—through aerial spraying over farmland.

I see your point in the wording from the different articles and agree that there is a need to 'find the source' in all news articles internet or otherwise. I disagree that this is not about Monsanto and their GMO crops. I suppose we could do a little more research.

What percentage of Soy being grown in Argentina is GMO?
From GMO-Compass.

GM plants are widespread in the world’s leading soybean producing countries.

The United States (85%) and Argentina (98%) produce almost exclusively GM soybeans. In these countries, GM soybeans are approved without restrictions and are treated just like conventional soybeans.

Given that this information is correct we can conclude that the soy fields surrounding Sofia Gatica's neighborhood are in fact GMO soybeans produced by the company Monsanto.

No mention of GMO whatsoever. Now of course they may have been, but the whole point of the story had nothing to do with GMO, so falsely introducing that topic later on just sidetracks readers from the actual story - that of Endosulfan.

I disagree with your opinion here. Understanding that nearly all of Argentina's soy crops are GMO than any story about Argentina's soy crops is also about GMO. Besides this story is about both chemicals endosulfan and glyphosate.
Let me quote this part again.
"Every year, the industry spreads over 50 million gallons of agro-toxins—namely glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s widely-used herbicide Roundup,"
So again, how does one go about spraying roundup over soybean crops?

Originally posted by Hessling

The only reference made to GMO crops from my original post is:

Just to sort out the basics...

YES..The chemicals that they sprayed the crops with, specifically glyphosate (which has been banned in 80 countires and growing) is the the issue.

GMO crops by themselves do not threaten people if they are being grown nearby. It is debatable whether they threaten people who consume them...personally I avoid them, but no scientific conclusion yet.

BUT...here is the rub...You take a naturally existing plant and mess with it's genetic structure and often the natural defenses that plant had are wiped out. You can make the crop grow bigger, produce more or do X,Y,Z, but you also have a crop without the natural pest resistance or immune system that it was given over thousands or millions of years...SO...what do you do? Lean heavy on pesticides and in this case a particularly nasty one.

So INDIRECTLY GMO crops were to blame as crops engineered to produce more often need tons more pesticides.

Sidenote...In my opinion, if the Monsanto goons had found her before she was in the spotlight, she would have been found dead in a field. Once she was "public"...all they could try was intimidiating her.

Gatica and the Mothers of Ituzaingó faced an uphill battle, having very few resources or any direct access to demand accountability from Monsanto, DuPont and other global agrochemical companies operating in Argentina. They also endured insults and threats from individuals, police officers, and local business owners in Ituzaingó. In 2007, an individual entered Gatica’s house and demanded that she give up the campaign while pointing a revolver at her.

www.goldmanprize.org...