The Iowa caucuses revealed more than who the front runners might be in the upcoming presidential race. In a meeting of Iowa’s Tri-County Democrats, there existed a rather large block of women who had expressed strong and vocal support for Hillary Clinton. When these women discovered, however, that Mrs. Clinton is a visible supporter of genetically modified organisms and the biotech industry that’s pushing for their introduction across the globe they immediately switched their allegiance to Bernie Sanders. Iowa is the biggest producer of corn in the country and much of that is genetically modified. Perhaps these Iowan women know first hand the effects the massive amounts of pesticides necessary to grow GMOs have on the health of their families and the land itself.

Brandon Turbeville, the author of “The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President,” outlines her ties to Big Ag. It starts with her work at The Rose Law Firm in the 1980s when Monsanto was a client. Her association with Monsanto may have led to an increasing co-mingling of former biotech employees with the federal government. Many were hired and appointed to the FDA and the USDA during the Clinton administration in the 1990s. He also points out that 10% of WikiLeaks cables released in 2010 revealed that “the U.S. State Department was essentially a marketing wing for biotech companies and ‘biotech’ products across the world.”

These particular cables were largely ignored until Food and Water Watch analysed them and released a report in 2013. Food and Water Watch say their study of the cables revealed “a concerted strategy to promote agricultural biotechnology overseas, compel countries to import biotech crops and foods they do not want, and lobby foreign governments – especially in the developing world – to adopt policies to pave the way to cultivate biotech crops.” Hillary Clinton apparently has never wavered in her belief that GMOs are a solution to just about everything as she continued to push for their expansion while serving as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. As Secretary, Hillary promoted the USAID-funded “Feed the Future,” a program that promotes the use of Round-up Ready products.

Not only has Mrs. Clinton served as an adjunct lobbyist for the biotech industry. In 2014 she spoke to a Monsanto lobbying group, Biotechnology International Organization (BIO), for which she received a $325,000 speaking fee. For her speech, in which she coached the lobbyists on how to develop “a better vocabulary” to change negative perceptions of GMOs, she was labeled the “Bride of Frankenfood” by Iowan progressives. Hillary dodges the question of whether she supports what 90% of Americans want, which is that products containing GMOs be labeled, but given her stance on GMOs it’s unlikely.

Moreover, Mrs. Clinton hired a Monsanto lobbyist, Jerry Crawford, to run her campaign. Crawford has worked with both Democrats and Republicans, but aligns himself only with those who support Monsanto’s goals. As Jerry Crawford served Monsanto he used his skills and connections to fight against small farmers who claimed that the main ingredient in Round-up, glyphosate, caused their cancers. The World Health Organization, as you are aware, recently proclaimed glyphosate to be a “probable human carcinogen.”

Even though GM corn still dominates the market, and this in part because of subsidies provided by our government, farmers are beginning to question the efficacy of GM corn as well as the profits derived from such crops. GM seeds are expensive and must be purchased every year. Farmers are also becoming tired of dealing with “superweeds” and the money they must expend to defeat them. Add to that the concerns of consumers and their increasing demand for “sustainable” agriculture. And as the price of corn has been falling, farmers are realizing they can demand a higher price for non-GMO corn.

The changes are incremental, to be sure, but consumer driven, which proves the point that Americans want food that is grown in a less harmful manner. And they want GMO labeling. If Hillary is elected it will be even more difficult for environmentalists to check the excesses of Big Ag. Some even believe that if she is elected it would lead to the Monsanto agenda being pushed as national policy and that there would be a nationwide federal ban on GMO labeling. And as Monsanto right now is suing California’s ban on glyphosate, there could also be a corporate-government ban on all efforts to ban glyphosate and other harmful pesticides.

And, no, President Obama never acted on his promise in 2007 in Iowa to make sure GMO products would be labeled. His cooperation with Big Ag has been disheartening, but he’s nowhere near as devoted to the promotion of GMOs as is Hillary Clinton. As always, Clinton would be preferred over the likes of Trump, Cruz or Rubio, but the differences between most of the candidates is becoming blurred.

Listen to the women of Iowa and vote for Bernie.

Recipe of the Week

Not much this week as I’m on a forced diet of liquids. But I made a good smoothie.

Breakfast Smoothie

1 banana

1 cup roasted hazelnuts

1 cup fresh blueberries

milk and/or yogurt

Put the nuts in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the banana and berries and pulse until smooth. Add enough milk and yogurt to make the smoothie drinkable. It fills you up and tastes fine.