Hillary Clinton's devotion to Monsanto's GMOs scares away Democrat voters

(NaturalNews) Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton's ties to agri-business giant Monsanto, the largest manufacturer of genetically modified seeds and crops, are costing her support in the crucial early primary state of Iowa, itself a bastion of agricultural production.

As reported by The Washington Times, typically liberal environmentalists in the state have already voiced their opposition, with some even dubbing her the "Bride of Frankenfood." The opposition has put another dent in her bid to woo liberal activists who have traditional been a staple of the Democratic Party and who are crucial to winning the early primary contest.

GMO crops dominate the landscape in rural Iowa, where much of the state's land is used to grow corn and soybeans -- the heart of its economy.

Opposition to Clinton's Monsanto ties became apparent at a recent meeting of the Tri-County Democrats, where members were measuring support for her candidacy.

The Times reported that a large group of women had expressed support for Clinton's candidacy until the issue of GMOs came up; that prompted them to switch allegiances to Independent candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a progressive-socialist stalwart who is challenging Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

"It's quite a big issue"

"I was surprised, because these women were really pushing for Hillary until they found out about the Monsanto connection, and then they dropped her like a hot potato," said James Berge, Democratic Party chairman for Worth County, Iowa, the Times noted.

"It's quite a big issue," he said. "There's people who are just wild about all the use of GMOs."

The GMO issue gives liberal voters yet another reason to be increasingly skeptical of Clinton. Many already don't trust her because of her warm relationships with Wall Street and her often centrist positions that are similar to those of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, when he was in office.

Clinton kept the issue on low simmer as she made a recent sweep through the early primary state in recent days. She scheduled appearances mostly at small, grassroots-style rallies and events to talk about supporting ways to expand small businesses throughout Iowa.

Still, among Democrats, Clinton enjoys a wide lead in the polls over Sanders -- 60 to 15 percent according to a recent Quinnipiac University survey. Though not a big threat to her candidacy yet, Sanders has slowly inched up in support since he entered the race for the party's nomination April 30. His liberal agenda is increasingly popular with party activists, as well.

"It's not a good thing"

"Iowa is a big agricultural state, but we've got to realize some of the food that we are producing in this country is going to cause great health effects down the road, and then it's probably going to be too late to try to fix it," Berge said. "You can't even wash this pesticide off, because it is in the plants themselves, and you are digesting it, and it goes into your body. It's not a good thing."

As Natural News readers well know, GMOs are seeds engineered in Monsanto and other labs to resist herbicides, such as the agri-giant's widely used Roundup. Most corn and soybeans grown in the U.S. are GMOs; they are used to make other widely used unhealthy food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and soybean oil while being subsidized by taxpayers.

Iowa is the nation's top corn producer and among the top in soybean production.

Though agri-business interests sing the praises of GMO crops, environmentalists and scientists have increasingly discovered that the genetic alteration of food is causing a rise in health problems. Also, GMO crops promote the overuse of dangerous pesticides, which can then seep into streams and ground water, or remain on the food itself.

And, as the Times reported:

A new scientific study bolstered environmentalists' concerns by finding the herbicide Roundup could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers. The study published last month in the scientific journal Entropy also reported evidence that residue of glyphosate, a chief ingredient in the weed killer, has been found in food.

Natural News' coverage on the damaging effects of GMOs and glyphosate is well documented: Click here for our latest coverage.

Sources:

http://www.washingtontimes.com