An Indo-US CSR-Humanitarian Crisis: PGI Supports Action To Stop Monsanto GMO Monopoly

ON January 31, 2012 American family farmers will take part in the first phase of a court case filed to protect farmers from genetic trespass by Monsanto’s GMO seed, which contaminates organic and non-GMO farmer’s crops and opens them up to abusive lawsuits. In the past two decades, Monsanto’s seed monopoly has grown so powerful that they control the genetics of nearly 90% of five major commodity crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and sugar beets.

In many cases farmers are forced to stop growing certain organic and conventional crops to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto admits to filing 144 lawsuits against America’s family farmers

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/515?akid=462.368500.aF97Ns&t=14

IN INDIA: Not ONE MORE SUICIDE. Decide that Enough is Enough!:

Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops

In 2008 when Prince Charles claimed thousands of Indian farmers were killing themselves after using GM crops, he was branded a scaremonger. In fact, as this chilling dispatch reveals, it's even WORSE than he feared.

Shankara, like millions of other Indian farmers, had been promised previously unheard of harvest yields and income if he switched from farming with traditional seeds to planting GM seeds. In a complicated web of profits and finance, fueled by corporate hand-in-glove international lobbying, Monsanto's GMO seeds are a multi-billion dollar industry that rides on the backs of the world's most at-risk, the rural family farmer. In a single village in UP India 18 farmers have committed suicide after being sucked into GMO farming debts. In some cases, widowed women took over farms from their dead husbands - only to kill themselves as well. It is one of hundreds of villages and 1000's of GMO related suicides each month as confirmed by the Indian Ministry of Ag.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082559/The-GM-genocide-Thousands-Indian-farmers-committing-suicide-using-genetically-modified-crops.html#ixzz1kjOnocGb

AS CONFIRMED IN U.S. DIPLOMATIC CABLES: WIKILEAKS  -source Democracy Now

"Some countries are clearly in the camp of precautionary principle and protecting interests for health. Others are basically moving in lockstep with the U.S. government and Monsanto. A lot of the focus of the State Department has been on developing countries. They deployed the Secretary of State’s chief advisory — scientific adviser, Nina Fedoroff, to Australia and to India. They tried to engage the Indian government with a contract or a treaty that would allow their scientists to be trained in the U.S. So (Monsanto) has been working around the world to try and influence policy on every single continent. And in some cases, they’re doing — they’re actually winning, where they’re overtaking the regulatory authorities and making it quite weak, like it is in the U.S."

-Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology. He is author of two books: Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating and Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods.







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CSR Best Practices

PRESS RELEASE

Jan. 9, 2012, 12:49 p.m. EST

2nd Annual Corporate Responsibility Best Practices Report Released

CR Magazine, CROA & NYSE Euronext Survey Results Reveal Insights into CR Practices Among Global Corporates

EDISON, N.J., Jan 09, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine has released its analysis of the results of the second annual CR Best Practices Survey, a survey of CR professionals performed earlier this year in cooperation with the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA) and NYSE Euronext. The findings provide the CR community with important insights on the state of corporate citizenship, how this has changed year-over-year, and some of the field's best practices. Click here for an executive summary of the 2011 survey results.

The 2011 survey results, based on responses from 300 companies from across 20 industries, build upon the inaugural survey from 2010, which set a baseline by providing the broadest sampling of how companies plan, structure, and budget for corporate responsibility programs (click here for the 2010 survey results). High level survey findings include:

-- Formal CR programs are on the rise: 72% of all companies have formal CR programs, up from 62% in 2010

-- Dedicated CR budgeting, while increasing, continues to lag behind formal programs: 60% of organizations have dedicated CR budgets

-- CR leadership roles are on the rise: 62% of organizations have a lead CR role, up from 42% in 2010

-- Senior-level engagement in CR is increasing: 66% of CEOs have driven a CR-related initiative in the past year

-- Mid-sized firms struggle more than small and large firms in implementing CR programs

-- 77% of companies expect to expand their CR programs over the next three years

The survey covered the following areas in order to develop a comprehensive view of successful practices and what is working well in current company operations:

1.  Executive/board involvement in CR - how involved CEOs and
              boards are in CR initiatives, what kinds of initiatives they
              drive, and their top areas of CR focus.
          2.  Current and future CR practice - key CR audiences, how
              companies measure the impacts and benefits of CR, how they budget
              for CR, CR's impact on profitability, and how firms establish
              specific measurable goals.
          3.  CR function - a snapshot of the CR function within
              companies, including how it's organized, staffed, and budgeted.
          4.  CR roles - whether or not the company has a formal CR role,
              to whom it reports and what areas it's responsible for.
          5.  CR communications - how the company communicates about CR,
              including whether it produces a dedicated CR report, whether
              marketing communications rely on CR messaging, and which
              initiatives the company participates in (e.g., GRI).
        

The executive summary of the 2011 survey results is available online at: http://www.croassociation.org/files/CR%20Best%20Practices%202011%20-%20executive%20summary.pdf

About CR Magazine www.thecro.com CR Magazine is the voice of the corporate responsibility profession covering case studies, best practices, and trends in the 5 primary segments of the CR profession: a) Governance, Risk, Compliance, b) environmental sustainability c) Corporate Social Responsibility, d) philanthropy, and e) workforce/diversity.

The Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA) www.CROAssociation.org The CROA and its members transform ideas into action, advancing corporate responsibility, the profession, and their careers. The CROA is the single largest independent community founded on the concept that to excel in corporate responsibility, organizations need to embrace all CR disciplines: sustainability, governance, social responsibility, and philanthropy.

SOURCE: CR Magazine

CR Magazine 
        Richard Crespin,             732-590-4773       
        Richard.Crespin@SharedXpertise.com
        

Fair Use Notice: This post contains copyrighted material that has not been authorized by the copyright owners. PGI believes this educational use on the Green Eye Web-blog constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.) If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Fair Use notwithstanding we will immediately comply with any copyright owner who wants their material removed or modified or wants us to link to their web site which we routinely do as a business practice notwithstanding.