Opponents of genetically modified food are outraged over a provision they have dubbed the “Monsanto Protection Act,” which was signed by President Barack Obama after being added to an essential spending bill without congressional hearings. The rider strips the power from federal courts to halt the sales and planting of genetically modified foods even if health concerns arise, according to Food Democracy Now, a food-safety advocacy organization. Food Democracy Now collected more than 250,000 signatures on a petition that called for the president to veto the measure, which was tucked into the $982 billion six-month spending bill needed to keep the government open for the rest of the fiscal year, CBS News reported. “This provision is simply an industry ploy to continue to sell genetically engineered seeds even when a court of law has found they were approved by USDA illegally,” the petition stated. “It is unnecessary and an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review. Congress should not be meddling with the judicial review process based solely on the special interest of a handful of companies.” The measure was added to the spending bill by Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Newsmax confirmed. Blunt’s office wasn’t able to respond by press deadline, but the senator defended his work in a Politico article.
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