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« Vagina Dentata! | Main | Can't be any more explicit than that » US Bullied EU and Guilted Vatican into Supporting GM CropsNothing exceptionally surprising. The US used its clout to pressure the EU to become more pro-GM. And, knowing the Catholic church is a strong influence in developing countries, they lobbied hard in that sector, as well. In response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety in late 2007, the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush, asked Washington to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops. The language in these documents show how conservatives plan for the long game, not for immediate results. "Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. But, recently, they somehow lost the support of the Vatican. But in a setback, the US embassy found that its closest ally on GM, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the powerful Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the man who mostly represents the pope at the United Nations, had withdrawn his support for the US. 1) I find it dismaying that the reason the Vatican changed its message to support GM crops was cause they felt bad about criticizing the US government for invading Iraq, which they damn well ought to have criticized them for if they believe any of the (New Testament) religious stuff they preach. Either there's more to the story than we know or the Vatican really is taking Catholic guilt too far. 2) What did the US government do to annoy them enough that they decided they weren't playing anymore? By min | January 24, 2011, 2:24 PM | Liberal Outrage |