Why can’t churches consign Monsanto to Hell from the pulpit?

“When Pope Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, farm advocates met with him to explain how biotechnology had ruined and changed the face of Argentine agriculture…” (David Andrews, National Catholic Reporter, October 8, 2013)

Priests and ministers spoke out against the war in Vietnam. They went after the drug-dealing Contras in Nicaragua. They are “of the people,” aren’t they?

At least that’s what they claim.

I’m talking about Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Unitarian, Shinto, Hindu priests and ministers. Men of the cloth, of all faiths, including the firebrands who bankroll sin into cash.

Sentence Monsanto to Hell.

Forget Limbo, Purgatory, and all the stops along the way.

And what about Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? They don’t think the destruction of countless small farms and communities in Africa is a “good issue” for them?

Seems to me I remember reading the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. As a boy, he had dreams of sheaves of wheat dancing. Food. Clean food. Grown without poisons and injected genes.

What bubble are these churches living in?

Let me see if I understand their position: God made Nature and Nature is sacred. So if Monsanto comes along and shoots genes into food crops and the genes drift and merge with anything that grows, and the insidious effects on health spread, and it turns out that more toxic Roundup, not less, is required, and superweeds resistant to Roundup are taking over huge swathes of farm land…the churches will rise up and declare Monsanto evil…right?

No?

They don’t want to cause trouble? They don’t want to alienate their constituencies? They’re politicians?

Oh.

In that case, what right do they have to act as intermediaries or guides for their people of faith?

Under pressure from the US government and its allies, the last Pope came out in favor of GMO food. This one, Francis, has yet to make a clear declaration. With over a billion members of his church in tow, Francis could change the balance of world opinion.

One domino falls, many follow.

And while I’m at it, what about colleges? Forty years ago, American students rallied and protested and struck in great numbers, on the issue of apartheid. They pointed fingers at their own administrations and demanded dropping investments in any company doing business with South Africa.

Well, how about protesting and striking at colleges, across America, where Monsanto money fuels research? It’s a natural. Then on top of that, students can also demand their colleges sell off stock in the company.

Pressure. Exposure.

For example, in 2012 Salon.com reported that South Dakota State’s president, David Chicoine, landed a plum spot on Monsanto’s board of directors, “where he earns six figures.”

Here’s another one (Mother Jones, May 9, 2012): The University of Illinois accepted a $250,000 grant from Monsanto “to create an endowed chair for the Agriculture Communications Program…”

Then there’s this report from a PhD candidate: “When I approached professors to discuss research projects addressing organic agriculture in farmer’s markets, the first one told me that ‘no one cares about people selling food in parking lots on the other side of the train tracks,’ said a PhD student at a large land-grant university who did not wish to be identified. ‘My academic adviser told me my best bet was to write a grant for Monsanto or the Department of Homeland Security to fund my research on why farmer’s markets were stocked with “black market vegetables” that “are a bioterrorism threat waiting to happen.” It was communicated to me on more than one occasion throughout my education that I should just study something Monsanto would fund rather than ideas to which I was deeply committed. I ended up studying what I wanted, but received no financial support, and paid for my education out of pocket.” (May 2012, Salon.com, “Monsanto’s college strangehold”)

There’s a lot more. A lot.

Instead of drinking the corporate Kool-Aid (Agent Orange, Dow), it’s time these college students woke up to what a real rebellion feels like.

Instead of proudly wearing T-shirts from Target and American Eagle Outfitters, they can gather on the campus and take over research buildings and make Monsanto feel some pain.

Churches and colleges.

Trance or action?

Jon Rappoport is the author of two explosive collections, The Matrix Revealed and Exit From the Matrix, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at www.nomorefakenews.com