IRAQ WAR - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
Iraqi Order 81 Update: It is Even Worse Than Originally Reported |
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by Rosemarie Jackowski Media Monitors Network Entered into the database on Friday, August 12th, 2005 @ 19:56:12 MST |
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On August 8, 2005 Reuters reported that the Iraqi seed supply is at risk. Below
is an excerpt from the Reuters report. "... The war in Iraq destroyed the country's seed industry, putting
the country's domestic food supply at risk, the United Nations food agency said
on Monday as it appealed for aid to rebuild farming. The Food and Agriculture Organisation said it needed $5.4 million to help
the agriculture ministry rebuild a seed industry destroyed by the fighting and
looting. "Iraq had a relatively stable and functioning public-sector-controlled
seed industry before the war in 2003. After the war, research and seed production
facilities have greatly deteriorated," FAO said in a statement. Iraq can now cover only 4 percent of its demand for quality seeds from
its own resources.... If no immediate action is taken, serious seed shortages can be expected
in the near future, threatening the country's food security...." How convenient...perfect timing. What a break for U.S. corporations,
such as Monsanto. First outlaw the seeds and then destroy them, or did it happen
the other way around. Were the seeds destroyed first and then outlawed? This
news story has thus far received very little attention. The news story about the Iraqi Orders has been virtually ignored by
the U.S. press. Order 81 is just one of 100 Orders that have been imposed
on the people of Iraq by the U.S. government. These orders are sometimes referred
to as the Bremmer Orders. No one in the U.S. or Iraq was ever allowed to cast
a vote in the ballot box for any of these Orders. This says a lot about the
kind of democracy that the U.S. is imposing on the people of Iraq. The important information about Iraqi Order 81 is that it was designed
to have a major impact on the way farming is done in Iraq. This order prohibits
Iraqi farmers from using the methods of agriculture that they have used for
centuries. The practice of saving seeds from one year to the next is now illegal
in Iraq. Order 81 wages war on Iraqi farmers. They have lost the freedom to
choose their own methods of agriculture. The legalese in which the orders are
written creates confusion about their exact meaning, but the desired result
is obvious. Order 81 prohibits the farmers from using their own seeds, on their
own farms, to grow their own crops. Prior to the U.S. invasion, agriculture in Iraq was flourishing. The Fertile
Crescent had developed a system of farming that was the envy of the world. Now,
under Occupation, centuries of progress have been destroyed, almost overnight.
The food chain has been under worldwide assault by U.S. corporations
for some time now. The Master Race of corporations has seized control of the
very essence of life itself. We are now in the age of Genetically Modified Doomsday
Seeds. The USDA was complicit in the development of these bastard seeds. This is not a new phenomenon. It has been a gradual takeover. Remember Percy
Schmeiser, the Canadian farmer, who was sued by Monsanto? Not enough people
stood up for Percey, so then they came for other farmers. In fact, Monsanto
has sued so many farmers that a national hotline (1-888-FARMHLP) has now been
set up to assist them. Is it possible that Iraqi farmers think back fondly to the good old days before
the Occupation and before Order 81? Even Saddam Hussein allowed them to save
seeds for the next year’s crop. Is the Pentagon a worse master than Saddam?
Farmers and consumers around the world need to stand in solidarity with the
farmers and consumers in Iraq. There is no one who contributes more to society
than the farmer. At the top of that hierarchy is the organic farmer. Doctors,
lawyers, plumbers, and factory workers make important contributions to society,
but none would survive without the farmer. Why did the U.S. destroy the seeds? Did the Pentagon mistake the seeds for
bombs and WMD's? Think of that as a headline for tomorrow's paper, "CIA
confuses pomegranate seeds with WMD's." This sounds like a comedy "headline"
from the Leno show. If the survival of thousands of people was not an issue,
we could all laugh at the absurdity of this saga. The propagandists will try
to convince the world that the destruction of the Iraqi seeds was just a mistake,
an accident of war...collateral damage. Iraqi Order 81 proves otherwise. Iraqi
Order 81 is proof that the U.S. had a strategic plan which would insure that
U.S. corporations would not have to compete with the Iraqi farmers. U.S. corporations
don't like competition. The idea of free markets is just a myth. The Predatory
Capitalism of the U.S. could not survive without the threat of the military
behind it. Can it be denied that U.S. corporations are seeking total control of the food
supply of the planet? After all of the seeds that are owned by farmers are destroyed,
it will be necessary for the farmers to purchase them. Those most likely to
profiteer are U.S. seed companies. General Smedley Butler was right. War is
still a racket. Imagine what would happen if there was a successful worldwide movement of resistance,
an international Save the Seed Campaign. A source in Australia reports that
a seed bank has been set up there. Every other nation must heed this warning
and set up secure seed banks. It is not known what the U.S. government will
do to eliminate this competition to U.S. seed corporations. Will the countries
that institute seed banks be on a Pentagon hit list? Another possibility will
be a covert CIA operation. The U.S. policy of using food as a weapon of war shows a depraved, mind numbing
level of cruelty. This has been referred to as the Ultimate War Crime. It is
one of the most serious Crimes Against Humanity of our generation. There is a hidden tragedy in this seed destruction policy of the U.S. The U.S.
has not only endangered the entire population of Iraq but it has also shot each
of its own citizens in the foot. Maybe it has rendered a fatal shot to our children
and future generations. No one will ever know if any of the seeds, that have
been destroyed during our war and occupation, would have produced plants that
could have been used to prevent or cure disease. The seeds that have been lost
can never be replaced. Someday, in the distant future, maybe we will become more civilized. Then we
will have monuments to honor farmers. We will have parades in celebration of
farm workers. The era of glorification of war will just be a fading memory. |