Clipmarks | bignosemousie's Agriculture collection

Modified Corn Seeds Sow Doubts

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:58:28 GMT

clipped by: brightlight4
clipper's remarks: More at source.

Remind me NEVER to eat corn in the future!!

Modified Corn Seeds Sow Doubts

Next spring, farmers in Canada will be able to sow one of the most complicated genetically engineered plants ever designed, a futuristic type of corn containing eight foreign genes.

With so much crammed into one seed, the modified corn will be able to confer multiple benefits, such as resistance to corn borers and rootworms, two caterpillar-like pests that infest the valuable grain crop, as well as withstanding applications of glyphosate, a weed killer better known by its commercial name, Roundup.

But a controversy has arisen over the new seeds, which were approved for use last month by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Health Canada hasn't assessed their safety.

The health agency said

hat it didn't have to do so, because it is relying on the two companies making the seeds, agriculture giants Monsanto Co. and Dow AgroSciences LLC, to flag any safety concerns.

But the companies haven't tested the seeds either, because they say they aren't required to

More people growing their own vegetables to save money

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:18:07 GMT

clipped by: ofcapri
clipper's remarks: For one tomato seed packet you pay $1.99 and you get 20 seeds, to grow 20 plants. From those plants you could harvest up to $150 worth of tomatoes, and that's just the beginning.

Clip Source: www.ktvb.com

More people growing their own vegetables to save money

BOISE -- Employees at lawn and garden stores say they are seeing more people come in to learn how to grow their own vegetables.

They say it's because people want to save money during these tough times.

More people are picking up a shovel and getting their hands dirty once the economy took a downturn.

They say during the Great Depression "victory gardens" began to pop up all over the nation and now they're beginning to see the same thing.

"Victory gardens" were used to help families sustain themselves during tough times in the 1930s and 1940s.

Workers at D & B Supply say they've seen more first time gardeners come through their doors then ever before. The store has expanded their seeding isles to fit the demand.

Nancy Meckel is the nursery supervisor, and she also grows her own food in her North End home.

She has a small garden only 12 by 10 feet, but is able to grow a lot of veggies.

Tags: garden

The Future of Food It's not looking good

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:30:24 GMT

clipped by: brightlight4

Clip Source: www.brasschecktv.com

The Future of Food

It's not looking good

[Video]

Interview with the film maker

[Video]

The corporate take over
of our food supply

How much of your own food do you produce?

Where would you go to get food if all the stores were closed?

A surprisingly large number of people in the so-called "developed" world answer "zero" and "I don't know."

If you're depending on Corporate Amerika to make sure your food supply is safe, you may be making a fatal mistake.

You can purchase the complete film and support its message by going here:

www.TheFutureofFood.com

The End of Organic Farming

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:22:16 GMT

clipped by: cheapogroovo

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: farming, food, organic, monsanto

Our Rights Taken Away By Corporations

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:30:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "He went on to specify how this could happen: direct seed movement by birds, by wind, especially on the prairies, by floods, and through cross-pollination by bees). It doesn’t actually matter how the genetically modified organisms get into an organic farmer’s field or into the fields of a conventional farmer like myself: once there, those seeds and plants become Monsanto’s property.”

It was a very startling decision. The judge also ruled that we were not allowed to use our seeds or plants again and that all the seeds and plants that we had developed over 50 years became the property of Monsanto. The judge also ruled that all the profit from my 1998 canola crop was payable to Monsanto. The judge further ruled that even from the land that had no contamination, all profit would be payable to Monsanto because there was a probability that our seed contained some of Monsanto’s GMOs.
The really worrying thing is how we can lose our rights and freedoms. The contract from Monsanto, take

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

I am a seed developer from western Canada, where since 1947 my wife and I have been developing a strain of canola that is resistant to certain diseases that we have on the prairies. I am also a seed saver, like hundred of thousands of farmers around the world who save their seed from year to year, to plant and harvest.

In 1998 without any prior knowledge, Monsanto laid a lawsuit against me alleging that I had infringed their patent by growing their genetically modified conola without a license.

We stood up to Monsanto, arguing that if any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were present in our pure seed, then Monsanto were liable for destroying the property of others.

This is what the judge ruled: it does not matter how Monsanto’s GMOs get into or onto any farmer’s field or into a seed supply

Regenerative farming

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:56:23 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: Read his whole story at the source. By growing vegetables, Joe Icet reaped a whole new life.

Clip Source: www.chron.com

About 10 years ago, on land in the Fifth Ward, Icet built a little house with help from his son, and they started an organic garden in the backyard. That garden grew and kept growing, swallowing the junk-strewn lots next door. Old tires were replaced with onions, cabbages, tomatoes and okra.

Suddenly Icet knew what he wanted to do with his life. “Regenerative farming,” he called it: growing organic food on abandoned urban land, turning eyesores into gorgeous little farms.

He took time off from working at refineries but eventually returned, happy to earn money to support the farm, which he didn’t want to turn into a profit-making venture. He knew he could probably sell all his produce, but wasn’t it better to give most of it away? And to put any profits from farmer s markets right back into compost and tractors? In 2003, the Last Organic Outpost established itself as a nonprofit.

Monsanto's Harvest of Fear

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:55:58 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: Monsanto are evil. Evil, evil, evil.

More:

In the majority of cases where Monsanto sues, or threatens to sue, farmers settle before going to trial. The cost and stress of litigating against a global corporation are just too great. But Pilot Grove wouldn’t cave—and ever since, Monsanto has been turning up the heat…Monsanto demanded hands-on access to Pilot Grove’s in-house computers…petitioned to make potential damages punitive—tripling the amount that Pilot Grove might have to pay…Monsanto expanded the scope of the pre-trial investigation by seeking to quadruple the number of depositions.…Monsanto now subpoenaed the records of more than 100 of the co-op’s customers. In a “You are Commanded … ” notice, the farmers were ordered to gather up five years of invoices, receipts, and all other papers relating to their soybean and herbicide purchases, and to have the documents delivered to a law office in St. Louis. Monsanto gave them two weeks to comply.

Clip Source: www.vanityfair.com

Gary Rinehart clearly remembers the summer day in 2002 when the stranger walked in and issued his threat.

the man began verbally attacking him, saying he had proof that Rinehart had planted Monsanto’s genetically modified (G.M.) soybeans in violation of the company’s patent. Better come clean and settle with Monsanto, Rinehart says the man told him—or face the consequences.

Rinehart was incredulous, listening to the words as puzzled customers and employees looked on. Like many others

Rinehart knew of Monsanto’s fierce reputation for enforcing its patents and suing anyone who allegedly violated them. But Rinehart wasn’t a farmer. He wasn’t a seed dealer. He hadn’t planted any seeds or sold any seeds. He owned a small—a really small—country store in a town of 350 people.

When the stranger persisted, Rinehart showed him the door. On the way out the man kept making threats

to the effect of: “Monsanto is big. You can’t win. We will get you. You will pay.”

Monsanto eventually

dropped the suit

Tags: monsanto, evil, genetic-engineering, gm-foods, corporatism, jackbootery

Monsanto Loses Case in Canada

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:56:21 GMT

clipped by: cheapogroovo

Clip Source: www.makingthelinksradio.ca

Key points achieved were:

1. Percy has maintained his freedom to speak out - no gag order.

2. He will be compensated for the removal of Monsanto GMO plants from his land.

3. He or members of his family can take Monsanto to court in the future if they feel their land is contaminated by Monsanto. (Monsanto wanted a settlement earlier that would have involved Percy and his family accepting a gag order, and giving up any rights to take Monsanto to court in the future).

4. Percy and his partner Louise have set a precedent by challenging Monsanto and effecting a settlement with them

Percy, Louise and their family view this not only as victory for them but for producers throughout the world who want the freedom to plant their own seed, and keep the natural seeds from being contaminated by GMO products. And, the freedom to speak out and challenge those interests who promote corporate domination of the food system.

Tags: seed, farming, gmo, monsanto, fascism

The Meatrix needs your help

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:33:57 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: In case any Clippers would like to volunteer for the cause, they need people that can read and write Chinese, Japanese or Korean.

Links to the two Meatrix movies at the top.

Clip Source: www.sustainabletable.org

The Meatrix and The Meatrix II: Revolting. For short, entertaining films on the problems with our meat and dairy supplies, watch the award-winning animated Matrix spoofs produced by Sustainable Table and Free Range Graphics.

Clip Source: sustainabletable.org

We need HELP proofreading Chinese, Japanese and Korean!

But, we are in desperate need of people to help proofread the Asian languages. Can you read Chinese, Japanese or Korean? Do you have a friend who might be able to help? If you can volunteer a little time, please contact Dawn at dawn@sustainabletable.org for more details. For Chinese, we need someone who can read and write and who has the capability to re-type the subtitles for us (they are already created but need some help!)… this would be a little more time commitment if anyone is interested!

You will be showered with Meatrix gifts if you can help out, THANKS!!

Tags: volunteer, meatrix, agriculture, dairy

The Sustainable Table

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:27:48 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: There are many links, and much information at this website for getting started.

Clip Source: www.sustainabletable.org

oday’s dominant form of agriculture relies on synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, large amounts of water, major transportation systems and factory-style practices for raising livestock and crops. Artificial hormones in milk, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, mad cow disease, and large-scale outbreaks of potentially deadly e.coli are all associated with this industrial form of food production.

Sustainable agriculture involves food production methods that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, are humane to animals, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities. But rather than focus on the problems, Sustainable Table promotes the positive shift toward local, small-scale sustainable farming.

Clip Source: www.sustainabletable.org

Small changes can have large, lasting impacts, so join the millions of people who are now making wiser choices about the food they eat. Find out what you can do – and then go do it!

Tags: agriculture, sustainable, farming, eating, health, food

Monsanto's Udder Disgrace

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:15:19 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks:

The milk labeling controversy - and other corporate practices of Monsanto - have been issues for years. For a while every time I saw my Senator, I would greet him with the same comment, "Hey Bernie, when are you going to do something about Monsanto?" Senator Bernie would shake his head and raise his hands in frustration.

I often heard him say that no matter how bad you think things are in Washington, they are really much worse. While the Congress is distracted with growth hormones taken by sports figures, our farm animals are being abused with other hormones. Baseball players have a free choice. Cows don't.

None of us have a choice. Not if Monsanto has anything to say about it and they do. Money talks.

Clip Source: mwcnews.net

I won't say that cows suffer painful mastitis because of injections of Monsanto's BGH.

I won't say that Monsanto puts profits ahead of the health of all of us.

Monsanto, known for its strong-arm legal tactics, is opposing the labeling of ice cream.

BGH, otherwise known as Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, is a drug developed to increase bovine milk production. Ben & Jerry's is fighting for the right to continue to label ice cream that is made with milk from BGH-free cows.

Monsanto's position, which was supported by the USDA

was that consumers did not have the right to that information.

The food chain is under worldwide assault by U.S. corporations. The Master Race of corporations has seized control of the very essence of life itself. We are now in the age of Genetically Modified Doomsday Seeds. Why has there been no public discussion on who should have control of the planetary gene pool?

Tags: gmo, food safety, animal welfare

Not just a Farm Bill, it's a food bill

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:17:16 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks:

If the eaters and all the other “people on the outside” make themselves heard, we just might end up with something that looks less like a farm bill and more like the food bill a poorly fed America so badly needs.

Call your Senator!

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Americans have begun to ask why the farm bill is subsidizing high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils at a time when rates of diabetes and obesity among children are soaring, or why the farm bill is underwriting factory farming (with subsidized grain) when feedlot wastes are polluting the countryside and, all too often, the meat supply. For the first time, the public health community has raised its voice in support of overturning farm policies that subsidize precisely the wrong kind of calories (added fat and added sugar), helping to make Twinkies cheaper than carrots and Coca-Cola competitive with water.

“This is not just a farm bill. It’s a food bill, and Americans who eat want a stake in it.”

Tags: farming, farm bill, agriculture, politics

National Action to Support Farmers

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:26:13 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: See source for ways to help. Send an email and call your Senators. It's easy to email your Senators at the source.

Clip Source: action.environmentaldefense.org

TODAY: National Action and Call-In for Conservation

Join 30 wildlife, environmental and conservation groups in a National Action and Call-In for Conservation.

The Senate is now debating the 2007 Farm Bill. A vote is expected in the coming weeks.

But the Senate Agriculture Committee is considering a Farm Bill that MIGHT NOT include enough conservation funding.

Take action! First, email your Senators to support a Farm Bill that provides $6 billion in new funding for conservation programs.

Then, call Capitol Hill (202-224-3121). Tell your Senators you support more conservation funding for farmers.

A single call is worth more than 100 emails, so your call is well worth it

Tags: agriculture, politics, farmers, farm bill, environmentalism

Does the Indian government really believe this stuff?

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:07:48 GMT

clipped by: mbthorman
clipper's remarks: Sounds good at first reading, but then note the 200 meter isolation. This is nothing considering that both wind caried pollen and insect carried pollen will inevitably cross over a small area such as 200 meters. Contamination of nearby natural crops cannot be assured!

Clip Source: www.thehindu.com

The field trials of Bt brinjal developed by Mahyco will be carried out under the direct supervision of the Director IIVR and would have to comply with the Supreme Court directions stating that all trials should have a lead scientist’s name who would be responsible for all aspects of the trial including regulatory requirements, an isolation of 200 metres would be maintained during field trials and before bringing the GM material from the green house for conduct of open field trial, the company should confirm that there has been no contamination. The two year trial will also include a flavour analysis of the product as it is a food crop.

Tags: genetically modified, crops, government, health, safety, technology

Higher grocery bills

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:37:12 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: There is so much more info at the source. I recommend reading the entire article.

Clip Source: www.chron.com

In the Houston area, grocery prices rose 0.9 percent in July, on the heels of a 0.4 percent increase in June, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A basket of groceries that cost $100 in July 1984 and $183 a year ago would cost nearly $190 today.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans reported paying significantly more per week — between $8 and $20 — for groceries, according to a survey by America's Research Group. That's up from 53 percent in February and March.

Part of the rise in price is increased demand. About 14 percent of the U.S. corn crop is going to produce ethanol as an environmentally-friendly alternative and gasoline supplement.

Higher fuel costs translate to higher food prices because very little food gets eaten in the same part of the world where it is grown,

In addition to more corn going to ethanol, growing wealth in China and other developing nations means those countries have more money to buy food.

Tags: environment, agriculture, corn, ethanol, farming, shopping, consumerism