The president just keeps spending our money, his time and a chunk of political capital on the putrid Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the newest corporate-backed trade deal--"newest" because every trade deal since NAFTA has been all about protecting corporate interests. Nothing seems to move this president to understand that this is a horrendous deal. And, while a lot of focus has been paid to the TPP, another very bad deal is in the works between the U.S. and Europe--and it will potentially make millions of people sick. Or kill them.
The president does not seem to understand, or care, that trade deals like TPP will drive inequality (though, after he held up Wal-Mart as an upstanding citizen, in utter rhetorical political stupidity given the party's focus on raising the minimum wage, it's less astounding). And despite his rhetoric about climate change, he doesn't seem to understand, or care, that trade deals like the TPP will undo environmental protections.
So, maybe this will work. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a deal being negotiated between the U.S. and the European Union. And it's a big deal as the two account for roughly half of the entire global domestic product, and one-third of the total trade in goods and services.
And it's the usual corporate love fest. Corporate lobbyists get to see the text of draft provisions. We don't. Nor do our elected representatives. And as usual, if a deal is reached, the president will try to ram it through Congress using the undemocratic procedure of "fast track" (which doesn't allow for any amendments or changes by the people YOU elect to represent YOU), though, happily, it doesn't look like "fast track" power will be renewed by Congress.
But, headline news: If the TTIP passes, the food you eat may make you very ill or just outright kill you.
The Center for Food Safety has a revealing report. The first thing I think we should emphasize is the goal of these deals:
A central aspect of trade agreements of the last two decades, including TTIP, is to harmonize differing safety standards between countries. In trade speak, “harmonization”—represented by terms such as “regulatory coherence or convergence,” “mutual recognition,” and “substantial equivalency”—results in a downward spiral of numerous safeguards for society and, perversely, constrains governments from setting safety standards higher than trade agreement rules.
I have never seen a trade deal, since NAFTA, that
raises safety standards. It's always about the lowest common denominator.
And on food safety, a lot of this touches on Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) but it's even broader and it's important to recognize the threat to all people, not just people in the U.S.:
FOOD SAFETY THREATS TO THE EU
GE Crops: Authorize and accept GE crops.
GE Labeling: Lower existing labeling requirements of GE products.
Livestock Antibiotics and Hormones: Accept U.S. meat imports of livestock treated with non-therapeutic antibiotics and growth-enhancing hormones.
Ractopamine: Accept pork that has been treated with ractopamine.
Chemically Washed Poultry: Accept U.S. chemically washed poultry.
Arsenic in Poultry: Accept poultry given arsenic-containing feed additives.
Animal Welfare: Lower or eliminate animal welfare standards that include production-method labeling, and regulating animal on-farm treatment.
Organic Standards: Potential threat to organic equivalency standards.
Nanotechnology: Lower or eliminate labeling standards of products with nanomaterials.
Geographical Indicators: Eliminate or ease geographical indicators.
Intellectual Property Rights: Change no-patents-onlife policy and intellectual property rights law that allows farmers to save and exchange seeds.
Agriculture Chemicals: Reduce stringent evaluation standards and legislation of toxic chemicals, including those used in farming.
FOOD SAFETY THREATS TO THE U.S.
Mad Cow Disease: Relax standards of feed ingredients that include ruminant materials known to transmit mad cow disease (or bovine spongiform encephalopathy—
BSE).
Listeria and E.coli: Eliminate the U.S. zero-tolerance policy for the presence of Listeria and E.coli.
Local Procurement: Replace “Buy American” procurement policies with “Buy Transatlantic.”
Dairy Standards: Recognize the European-wide milk standards as equivalent to the U.S. Grade A standard.
GE Labeling: GE labeling initiatives in the U.S. may be threatened if the EU lowers its labeling requirements.
In case you wondered about that cuddly sounding stuff called "ractopamine":
Ractopamine is a beta-agonist that is used as a feed a dditive primarily for pigs, but also for turkeys and cattle, to accelerate growth and produce leaner meat. The drug is banned in 160 countries, including the EU, because it is linked with serious health and behavioral problems in animals and can potentially adversely impact humans. Fed to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of pigs in the U.S., ractopamine has resulted in more reports of sickened or dead pigs than any other livestock drug on the market.[emphasis in the original]
It is no longer necessary, in fact, to scratch one's head to say "why the hell does a Democratic president pimp for these deals?" The tradition is a long and consistent one, going back to Bill Clinton (and his Labor Secretary Robert Reich, an avid NAFTA supporter).
But, if you pimp for these deals, a president is basically making it clear that he (or she...) is defying rationality and the facts that, racked up after 20 years of evidence going back to NAFTA, that these corporate-inspired deals are very bad for regular people.
And, in fact, can make people very sick. Or just kill them.