Demonstrators rally against Monsanto in global anti-GMO protest - Washington Post

LOS ANGELES '� Protesters rallied in dozens of cities Saturday as part of a global protest against seed giant Monsanto and the genetically modified food it produces, organizers said.

Organizers said 'March Against Monsanto' protests were held in 52 countries and 436 cities, including Los Angeles where demonstrators waved signs that read 'Real Food 4 Real People' and 'Label GMOs, It's Our Right to Know.'

Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply.

Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But critics say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.

The 'March Against Monsanto' movement began just a few months ago, when founder and organizer Tami Canal created a Facebook page on Feb. 28 calling for a rally against the company's practices.

'If I had gotten 3,000 people to join me, I would have considered that a success,' she said Saturday. Instead, she said an 'incredible' number of people responded to her message and turned out to rally.

'It was empowering and inspiring to see so many people, from different walks of life, put aside their differences and come together today,' Canal said. The group plans to harness the success of the event to continue its anti-GMO cause.

'We will continue until Monsanto complies with consumer demand. They are poisoning our children, poisoning our planet,' she said. 'If we don't act, who's going to?'

Monsanto Co., based in St. Louis, said that it respects people's rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.

The Food and Drug Administration does not require genetically modified foods to carry a label, but organic food companies and some consumer groups have intensified their push for labels, arguing that the modified seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating traditional crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods.

The U.S. Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a lobbying group that represents Monsanto, DuPont & Co. and other makers of genetically modified seeds, has said that it supports voluntary labeling for people who seek out such products. But it says that mandatory labeling would only mislead or confuse consumers into thinking the products aren't safe, even though the FDA has said there's no difference between GMO and organic, non-GMO foods.

However, state legislatures in Vermont and Connecticut moved ahead this month with votes to make food companies declare genetically modified ingredients on their packages. And supermarket retailer Whole Foods Markets Inc. has said that all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018.

Whole Foods says there is growing demand for products that don't use GMOs, with sales of products with a 'Non-GMO' verification label spiking between 15 percent and 30 percent.

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Online:

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/p/blog-page.html

http://www.facebook.com/MarchAgainstMonsanto

http://www.monsanto.com

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Daniel Green Women's Redwood II Slipper,Creampuff,X-Small (US Women?s 5-6-M) Buyer Reviews

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The women's Redwood II slippers from Woolrich feature a fleece upper for a great look. The key features are: Chunky fleece upper, Soft fleece lining, and Durable indoor/outdoor outsole.

Source: Daniel Green Women's Redwood II Online Store

Happy Feet Dallas Cowboys NFL Slipper - Blue-Grey Recent Reviews

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• For those who find cleats uncomfortable before bed• Plush polyester upper with team logo and decorative lace detail• Comfortably padded footbedSizing GuideS (Fits Women’s shoe sizes up to 6 and Men’s shoe sizes up to 5)M (Fits Women’s shoe sizes 6-1/2 to 8 and Men’s shoe sizes 5-1/2 to 7)L (Fits Women’s shoe sizes 8-1/2 to 10 and Men’s shoe sizes 7-1/2 to 9)XL (Fits Women’s shoe sizes 10-1/2 to 12 and Men’s shoe sizes 9-1/2 to 12)XXL (Fits Women’s shoe sizes 12-1/2 to 15 and Men’s shoe sizes 12-1/2 to 14)

Source: Happy Feet Dallas Cowboys NFL Slipper - Blue-Grey Online Store

Hagel: Cadets must stamp out sex assault scourge - Wall Street Journal

Associated Press

WEST POINT, N.Y. '� Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that they must stamp out the scourge of sexual assault in the military.

A day after President Barack Obama delivered a similar edict to U.S. Naval Academy graduates, Hagel's message comes amid a series of widespread incidents of sexual misconduct across the armed services in recent months and a new report showing that the problem is growing. The challenge is particularly poignant for the West Point crowd, since earlier in the week an Army sergeant was charged with secretly photographing and videotaping at least a dozen women at the upper New York state academy, including in a bathroom.

"Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal '� a profound betrayal '� of sacred oaths and sacred trusts," Hagel told 1,007 graduating cadets during a cold, rainy outdoor ceremony. "This scourge must be stamped out. We are all accountable and responsible for ensuring that this happens. We cannot fail the Army or America. We cannot fail each other and we cannot fail the men and women that we lead."

Hagel, who served in the Army in Vietnam, took the opportunity to reflect on his own time in uniform and the lessons that he said must resonate as the soldiers take on the job of helping to transform the military. It was his first graduation address as defense chief.

The graduates, he said, must be the generation of leaders who will stop the debilitating and insidious threats of suicide, sexual assault and drug and alcohol abuse that are hurting the all-volunteer force.

Wounded twice during his roughly one year at war, Hagel has two Purple Hearts and is the first man to become secretary of defense after serving only in the enlisted corps. Reflecting on his military service, Hagel said his time in the Army shaped him forever.

"In Vietnam, I learned that combat is a furnace that can consume you, or it can forge you into something better and stronger than you were before," said Hagel, who took over the job as Pentagon chief at the end of February.

He also told the graduates that they must begin to build the future Army as the service recovers from the strains of more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Future conflicts, he said, will take on new and unfamiliar forms, and the military must be ready to face them even as budget cuts force the service to curtail training and trim the number of soldiers from a wartime high of about 570,000 to 490,000.

But he said that readiness will be strained by health and social problems.

Pentagon leaders have been struggling to deal with what they have come to call an epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. A Pentagon report released this month estimated that as many as 26,000 military service members may have been sexually assaulted last year and that thousands of victims are unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programs. The estimate was based largely on anonymous surveys.

According to the report, the number of sexual assaults actually reported by military service members rose 6 percent to 3,374 in 2012. And nearly 800 of those simply sought help but declined to file complaints against their attackers.

Spurred on by furious Congress members, the Defense Department has ordered the services to come up with ways to curb the problem and better help the victims.

In the latest case, Sgt. 1st Class Michael McClendon is facing charges of dereliction of duty, mistreatment, entering a women's bathroom without notice, and taking and possessing inappropriate photos and videos of at least a dozen women who were naked or in various states of undress.

The women have been notified by the Army about the matter.

He was charged May 14 with violating four articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but some of the allegations date back to 2009. He has been transferred to Fort Drum, N.Y. It isn't immediately clear if McClendon has a lawyer.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey has called the problem a crisis and said the women who serve in the military are losing confidence that it can be solved.

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Baldor contributed from Washington.

'�Copyright 2013 Associated Press

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