I need to change my opinion of the giant grocery chain Whole Foods. "Whole Foods" has often been called "Whole Pocketbook" because of the cost of many of their items. Since there isn't a Whole Foods store within a hundred miles of my home, I don't have much opportunity to check them out. However, if I'm on a trip, I will occasionally stop by a Whole Foods store in search of goodies I have not found anyplace else.
Then today, the NY Times carried the story that Whole Foods has become the first retailer in the US that will require labeling of ALL genetically modified foods sold in its 339 US and Canadian stores.
Whole Foods’ shelves already carry some 3,300 private-label and branded products that are certified non-GMO, the largest selection of any grocery chain in the country. (Look for 365 Everyday Value.)
Genetically modified ingredients have been deeply embedded in the global food supply since the 1990s. Most of the corn and soybeans grown in the United States have been genetically modified. Efforts are under way to produce a genetically altered apple that will spoil less quickly, as well as genetically altered salmon that will grow faster.
The Whole Foods announcement ricocheted around the food industry and excited proponents of labeling. “Fantastic,” said Mark Kastel, co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, an organic advocacy group that favors labeling.
22 states in the US now have some sort of pending labeling legislation.
Showing posts with label Non-GMO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Non-GMO. Show all posts
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Forensic Nutritionist?
I always thought Forensics were just used to solve crimes, but several years ago I met a man who called himself a "Forensic accountant" (the study and interpretation of accounting evidence).
Now on television, I see Forensic anthropologists (the application of physical anthropology in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of skeletonized human remains), and on the History 2 channel I see Forensic botany (the study of plant life in order to gain information), Forensic geology (deals with trace evidence in the form of soils, minerals and petroleum). There's also Forensic archaeology and Forensic seismology. They all seem to be searching for the Truth about something.
So, I looked up the word. It comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum." The two given meanings are:
1. Relating to, used in, or appropriate for courts of law or for public discussion or argumentation.
2. Of, relating to, or used in debate or argument.
Based on those descriptions, I think I could easily give myself the title of Forensic Nutritionist©, since I'm always seeking the truth about our foods vs. the fake foods manufactured and advertised as food... and this blog is certainly my Forum.
Since I'm now napping a lot during my slow recovery, I'm reading Taste, Memory... Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter by David Buchanan. His descriptions of some of the lost foods he has hunted down and now has growing in his gardens make my mouth water, and I want to search of the similar foods that were widely grown 200 years ago in my region. His are not merely heirlooms, but 90% or more are lost heirloom foods that have taken a lot of time to track down. All are open-pollinated and many have regional growing requirements.
In the book, David Buchanan asked John Barker (the Maine apple guy, founder of Fedco Trees) why he thinks we have abandoned so many old foods. John answered that in his opinion, "we have forgotten how to think and act independently. We follow the rules, find jobs, settle down, and turn agricultural production over to others.
"Food today is a tradable commodity, and as such it must adapt to the market, which demands consistency and discourages variety. It's no accident we find limited selections in our grocery stores."
That, however, does not mean we cannot track down and grow a few tasty old-timers in a small corner of our home garden or patio. We can be sure they aren't GMO, and they might have taste far surpassing our current homegrown heirlooms. The Ark of Taste is a good starting place, as are organizations like Seed Savers Exchange who put out a yearbook of over 20,000 listings of available but endangered seed, offered by members worldwide (seeds not commercially available nor ever listed online).
Meanwhile, Monsanto is searching out lost and almost forgotten foods in foreign places like South America, Russia and the Middle East, and getting patents on them.
Now on television, I see Forensic anthropologists (the application of physical anthropology in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of skeletonized human remains), and on the History 2 channel I see Forensic botany (the study of plant life in order to gain information), Forensic geology (deals with trace evidence in the form of soils, minerals and petroleum). There's also Forensic archaeology and Forensic seismology. They all seem to be searching for the Truth about something.
So, I looked up the word. It comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum." The two given meanings are:
1. Relating to, used in, or appropriate for courts of law or for public discussion or argumentation.
2. Of, relating to, or used in debate or argument.
Based on those descriptions, I think I could easily give myself the title of Forensic Nutritionist©, since I'm always seeking the truth about our foods vs. the fake foods manufactured and advertised as food... and this blog is certainly my Forum.
Since I'm now napping a lot during my slow recovery, I'm reading Taste, Memory... Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter by David Buchanan. His descriptions of some of the lost foods he has hunted down and now has growing in his gardens make my mouth water, and I want to search of the similar foods that were widely grown 200 years ago in my region. His are not merely heirlooms, but 90% or more are lost heirloom foods that have taken a lot of time to track down. All are open-pollinated and many have regional growing requirements.
In the book, David Buchanan asked John Barker (the Maine apple guy, founder of Fedco Trees) why he thinks we have abandoned so many old foods. John answered that in his opinion, "we have forgotten how to think and act independently. We follow the rules, find jobs, settle down, and turn agricultural production over to others.
"Food today is a tradable commodity, and as such it must adapt to the market, which demands consistency and discourages variety. It's no accident we find limited selections in our grocery stores."
That, however, does not mean we cannot track down and grow a few tasty old-timers in a small corner of our home garden or patio. We can be sure they aren't GMO, and they might have taste far surpassing our current homegrown heirlooms. The Ark of Taste is a good starting place, as are organizations like Seed Savers Exchange who put out a yearbook of over 20,000 listings of available but endangered seed, offered by members worldwide (seeds not commercially available nor ever listed online).
Meanwhile, Monsanto is searching out lost and almost forgotten foods in foreign places like South America, Russia and the Middle East, and getting patents on them.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Wanna Move to Peru?
Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for the next ten years.
In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review.
Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision 3 years after the decree was written despite previous governmental pushes for GM legalization due largely to the pressure from farmers that together form the Parque de la Papa in Cusco, a farming community of 6,000 people that represent six communities.
They worry the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will compromise the native species of Peru, such as the giant white corn, purple corn and, of course, the famous species of Peruvian potatoes. Anibal Huerta, President of Peru’s Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the ”danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology.”
While the ban will curb the planting and importation of GMOs in the country, a test conducted by the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) at the time of the ban’s implementation found that 77 percent of supermarket products tested contained GM contaminants.
”Research by ASPEC confirms something that Peruvians knew all along: GM foods are on the shelves of our markets and wineries, and consumers buy them and take them into their homes to eat without knowing it. Nobody tells us, no one says anything, which involves a clear violation of our right to information,” Cáceres told Gestión. GMOs are so prevalent in the Americas that it is virtually impossible to truly and completely block them, whether through pollination or being sneaked in as processed foods.
“There is an increasing consensus among consumers that they want safe, local, organic fresh food and that they want the environment and wildlife to be protected,” wrote Walter Pengue from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, in a recent statement concerning GMOs in South America. “South American countries must proceed with a broader evaluation of their original agricultural policies and practices using the precautionary principle.”
Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision 3 years after the decree was written despite previous governmental pushes for GM legalization due largely to the pressure from farmers that together form the Parque de la Papa in Cusco, a farming community of 6,000 people that represent six communities.
They worry the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will compromise the native species of Peru, such as the giant white corn, purple corn and, of course, the famous species of Peruvian potatoes. Anibal Huerta, President of Peru’s Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the ”danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology.”
While the ban will curb the planting and importation of GMOs in the country, a test conducted by the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) at the time of the ban’s implementation found that 77 percent of supermarket products tested contained GM contaminants.
”Research by ASPEC confirms something that Peruvians knew all along: GM foods are on the shelves of our markets and wineries, and consumers buy them and take them into their homes to eat without knowing it. Nobody tells us, no one says anything, which involves a clear violation of our right to information,” Cáceres told Gestión. GMOs are so prevalent in the Americas that it is virtually impossible to truly and completely block them, whether through pollination or being sneaked in as processed foods.
“There is an increasing consensus among consumers that they want safe, local, organic fresh food and that they want the environment and wildlife to be protected,” wrote Walter Pengue from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, in a recent statement concerning GMOs in South America. “South American countries must proceed with a broader evaluation of their original agricultural policies and practices using the precautionary principle.”
Note: This decree was signed into effect on April 15th 2011. I guess agribiz corporations didn't want it widely known!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Speaking out of both sides of the mouth
 |
The most important opportunity to affect the control the Corporate Agribusiness has over our foods is Proposition 37 on the California ballot in November. Prop. 37 is the Right to Know (what's in our food), mandating GMO labelling.
All Proposition 37 does is require clear labels letting consumers know
if foods are genetically modified. We already have food labels showing
nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know.
This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced
using genetic engineering, which is when food is modified in a
laboratory by adding DNA from other plants, animals, bacteria or
viruses.
I think the California vote on Prop. 37 is perhaps even more important that the Presidential vote. After all, no matter who is elected President, he will still have 535 Voting Members of Congress to deal with anything he wants to change or accomplish. However, if Prop. 37 passes, it will ultimately inform every one of us in the U.S. who purchases food because it will be too costly and cumbersome for corporations to have different food labels for foods sold in different states.
Most of us imagine that anything "organic" (by Law non-GMO) would automatically be on the side to defeat the proposition, yet many large corporations that produce or market organic foods have helped put over $26 MILLION into the war chest to defeat the initiative. How can these corporations market some foods as good for us, yet refuse to label what's in the other foods they market?
Kellogg’s (Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms);
General Mills (Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar);
Dean Foods (Horizon, Silk, White Wave);
Smucker’s (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic);
Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla);
Safeway (‘O’ Organics);
Kraft (Boca Burgers and Back to Nature);
Con-Agra (Orville Redenbacher’s Organic, Hunt’s Organic, Lightlife); and
PepsiCo (Naked Juice, Tostito’s Organic, Tropicana Organic).
General Mills (Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar);
Dean Foods (Horizon, Silk, White Wave);
Smucker’s (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic);
Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla);
Safeway (‘O’ Organics);
Kraft (Boca Burgers and Back to Nature);
Con-Agra (Orville Redenbacher’s Organic, Hunt’s Organic, Lightlife); and
PepsiCo (Naked Juice, Tostito’s Organic, Tropicana Organic).
On the other hand, there are many smaller organic leaders supporting the Proposition. By enlarging the poster above, you can see the companies donating to the cause. Please support them and their products when possible!
The current Administration has deregulated more genetically modified foods than ever. From plums to alfalfa and even sugar beets. But it's not just that so many crops are modified (93% of all soy, 86% of corn, and 93% of canola seeds are now genetically modified)
it's that there's currently no labeling system in place so that we know what we're buying.
We are one of the few industrialized
nations that doesn't require labeling of GMO foods. In the past year alone 19 U.S. states have attempted to pass GMO labeling laws, but each time Monsanto and biotech lobbyists have threatened to sue. Only Alaska, with its huge wild
salmon industry, has passed a biotech seafood labeling law.
Most of us would like to
believe that our foods come from nature, but that's far from the case. In 40 countries, including Australia, Japan and all European Union
nations, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the
production of GMOs because they are not considered proven safe.
Update: Giant pesticide and big food companies have
so far donated more than $37 million to defeat Yes on 37 to label GMOs in
California. Earlier this spring, the Grocery Manufacturers of America
(GMA), of which Monsanto is a leading partner, declared that defeating
Prop 37 was its single highest priority for 2012.
Monsanto just funneled another $2.9 million dollars to defeat California’s Prop 37 to label genetically engineered foods. This comes on top of their $4.2 million dollar pledge only weeks ago and brings Monsanto’s combined total to more than $7.1 million dollars! That’s a huge pile of cash and it’s dedicated to only one thing – denying us the Right to Know what’s in our food.
My Question: Did Monsanto just kick in more $$ because they are concerned the People might actually WIN??
My Question: Did Monsanto just kick in more $$ because they are concerned the People might actually WIN??
.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Buy Safe Seeds, guaranteed not GMO seeds
Several folks have asked where I buy my seeds. I really don't buy many, except for new things I want to try. Most of my seeds are my own saved seeds, or from swaps with friends.
When I do buy seeds, I ONLY buy from a company that has signed the Safe Seed Pledge.
Here's the Pledge:
"Agriculture and seeds
provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation
as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit
of all farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative, we pledge that
we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants. The
mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods
and between genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well
as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel that genetically
engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release.
More research and testing is necessary to further asses the potential risks of
genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to support agricultural progress
that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and
ultimately people and communities."
For more information
contact:
The Safe Seed Project
5 Upland Road, Suite 3
Cambridge, MA 02140
Telephone: (617) 868-0870
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Permaculture??
Bill Mollison and his student (at the time) David Holmgren did a great thing when they developed philosophy of Permaculture in the 1970's. It's a topic that greatly interests me because it's as much about us, and how we treat each other and our planet, as it is about growing things. The more I learn about gardening, the more I realize how my garden is connected to everything (just like my self and my body), and how we/it all has to work together to succeed and survive.
But really, what IS Permaculture? For years I have heard that word, and read a smattering about it online here and there, but not enough to make any real sense to me until I read Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden last year. That book gave me a basis for understanding permaculture, at least in a general way, and I'm now firmly convinced that permaculture is the very best, and perhaps the only way to get us out of the mess we've gotten ourselves into.
Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve the significant problems we face at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."
~ Bill Mollison (from the permaculture.net website)
This definition of permaculture expresses a basic concept in permaculture - examining and following nature's patterns. Permaculture advocates designing human systems based on natural ecosystems. Permaculture draws from several other disciplines including organic farming, agroforestry, sustainable development, and applied ecology. But, there are many other definitions of permaculture, just as there are many definitions of sustainable living.
The actual term permaculture is a contraction of the words "permanent," "agriculture,” and “culture.” Although the original focus of permaculture was geared towards sustainable food production, the philosophy of permaculture has expanded over time to encompass economic and social systems. It is a dynamic movement that is still evolving. For example, some practitioners are integrating spirituality and personal growth work into the framework of permaculture.
At the very core of premaculture are Ethics, sadly lacking in today's BigAg in my opinion.
I think those are some really exacting standards... but as we begin to embrace them, some wonderful things happen even on a small scale.
"Care of the Earth" happens in both big and small ways, and not just in growing things. I like Hemenway's distinction of horticulture vs. agriculture. He points out that the etymology of horticulture is the Latin hortus, meaning garden, while the etymology of agriculture is the Latin ager, meaning field. The big difference in planting huge fields and planting gardens could be considered as a part of permaculture.
I remember when I was reading The Celestine Prophecy back in the early 1990's, how one of the Insights was what happened to the plants when he talked to them. They flourished! That's just a tiny personal bit of "care of the earth" although permaculture goes much deeper. What happens when we give plants the real food they need, rather than a chemical soup which ends up harming our ecosystems like our soils and waterways? What happens when we put plants in nifty little plant communities with many diverse neighbors, and each plant contributes something to the success of the whole?
"Care of the Earth" is about what products we use and discard like trash. I fight daily to get my family here to consider the effects of all the cleaning chemicals they use, when hydrogen peroxide and baking soda would suffice. We live on a now almost-dead creek (from pollution); our creek waters flow down to the Holston River where they eventually join up with the French Broad River near Knoxville; there they become the beginning of the Tennessee River... and then they travel together along to the Ohio River and finally join and mingle with the Mighty Mississippi near Cairo, Illinois, and eventually end up in New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico with the massive floating dead zones created by the polluted rivers. Every individual along the many miles of this creek, and all the rivers downstream, could change some of the dying creeks and rivers by simple "Care of the Earth".
Another biggie is what we allow commercial enterprises do to our Earth... fracking, strip mining, mountaintop removal, nuclear power plant waste products that are hazardous for 10,000+ years... and GMO's. (A bit of scientific research about GMO's show that they reduce sperm count from the get-go; lab tests in rats show GMO's render complete sterility in 3 generations... if you think about it, that's really population control, without consent.)
"Care of the Earth" is also how we manage our finite resources (oil, natural gas, the metals we mine, water, and the topsoil we wash away) so that we can continue to exist, and still leave some resources for our children and grandchildren. (We should all work on becoming more realistic about what our basic "needs" vs. "wants" really are.)
Then there is BigAg, with their/our dependence on the rapidly depleting supplies of fossil fuels. The majority of the food we eat world-wide is produced by BigAg, unless we somehow manage to supplement it with a fruit-nut-veggie patch in our yards or our neighborhoods. Having a garden, even if it's just potted tomatoes on a balcony, IS one way we can start to make changes, and assure some nutritionally good foods in our households as we do. (There are many other ways, but a garden is a good one.) Permaculture can be a pathway because it can teach us, among other things, how to increase yield while eliminating dependence on man-made chemical fertilizers. We just have to learn to do as Nature does!
"Care of the People" is a vast challenge, and is more than just not making war on them, or even just feeding them. Most of us mentally divide "us" and "them", and we weep and gnash our teeth at problems that happen within our immediate family and those we know and care about, whether it's a health problem, an auto accident, or job loss. Of course, we also lament the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives in a catastrophe half way around the world, but it is a detached kind of lament and doesn't really touch us, deep down on some emotional level, like those at home do.
So, when we move manufacturing (sweatshops?) to foreign countries out of our view, we can act detached from the abuses. We prohibit DDT here in the US but sell it overseas, and we can pretend we have eliminated that particular toxin, even though it comes back to us in/on imported foods.
Here's a very simplistic "care of the people" test just in your own personal surroundings... If you work in a large office or plant, very likely there is a person you pass often, with just a cursory nod or "Hello". The next time you pass that person, stop and make a personal comment to them, something like "that color looks good on you"... or "hey, that's a great tie/tattoo/haircut"... just anything more personal than the previous impersonal nods. Watch the reaction... the whole energy pattern changes for the better.
"Accepting Limits to population and consumption"... Years ago, the Chinese limited the number and gender of live children a couple could have. It brought fierce turmoil to their people. But I think we all really KNOW in our hearts the world cannot continue to sustain the projected increase in world population. A big question for everyone is: are you willing to limit your number of children/grandchildren? Or is that just the responsibility of "others" in poorer nations?
But it's NOT just limiting population; it's about limiting resources so everyone has a fair share.
But really, what IS Permaculture? For years I have heard that word, and read a smattering about it online here and there, but not enough to make any real sense to me until I read Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden last year. That book gave me a basis for understanding permaculture, at least in a general way, and I'm now firmly convinced that permaculture is the very best, and perhaps the only way to get us out of the mess we've gotten ourselves into.
Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve the significant problems we face at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."
~ Bill Mollison (from the permaculture.net website)
This definition of permaculture expresses a basic concept in permaculture - examining and following nature's patterns. Permaculture advocates designing human systems based on natural ecosystems. Permaculture draws from several other disciplines including organic farming, agroforestry, sustainable development, and applied ecology. But, there are many other definitions of permaculture, just as there are many definitions of sustainable living.
The actual term permaculture is a contraction of the words "permanent," "agriculture,” and “culture.” Although the original focus of permaculture was geared towards sustainable food production, the philosophy of permaculture has expanded over time to encompass economic and social systems. It is a dynamic movement that is still evolving. For example, some practitioners are integrating spirituality and personal growth work into the framework of permaculture.
At the very core of premaculture are Ethics, sadly lacking in today's BigAg in my opinion.
The three philosophical ethics of
permaculture (in simple form) are:
1. Care of the earth means
that our number one priority is taking care of the earth, making sure we don't
damage its natural systems so all life systems can continue and multiply.
2. Care of the people means
meeting people's needs (having equal access to resources) so that people's lives can be sustained and have a good
quality of life as well, but without damaging the earth.
3. Accepting (or setting) limits to
population and consumption is realizing that as a human species we cannot continue
to increase and also sustain the planet. By governing our own needs, we can set aside resources for the 2 principles above.
I think those are some really exacting standards... but as we begin to embrace them, some wonderful things happen even on a small scale.
"Care of the Earth" happens in both big and small ways, and not just in growing things. I like Hemenway's distinction of horticulture vs. agriculture. He points out that the etymology of horticulture is the Latin hortus, meaning garden, while the etymology of agriculture is the Latin ager, meaning field. The big difference in planting huge fields and planting gardens could be considered as a part of permaculture.
I remember when I was reading The Celestine Prophecy back in the early 1990's, how one of the Insights was what happened to the plants when he talked to them. They flourished! That's just a tiny personal bit of "care of the earth" although permaculture goes much deeper. What happens when we give plants the real food they need, rather than a chemical soup which ends up harming our ecosystems like our soils and waterways? What happens when we put plants in nifty little plant communities with many diverse neighbors, and each plant contributes something to the success of the whole?
"Care of the Earth" is about what products we use and discard like trash. I fight daily to get my family here to consider the effects of all the cleaning chemicals they use, when hydrogen peroxide and baking soda would suffice. We live on a now almost-dead creek (from pollution); our creek waters flow down to the Holston River where they eventually join up with the French Broad River near Knoxville; there they become the beginning of the Tennessee River... and then they travel together along to the Ohio River and finally join and mingle with the Mighty Mississippi near Cairo, Illinois, and eventually end up in New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico with the massive floating dead zones created by the polluted rivers. Every individual along the many miles of this creek, and all the rivers downstream, could change some of the dying creeks and rivers by simple "Care of the Earth".
Another biggie is what we allow commercial enterprises do to our Earth... fracking, strip mining, mountaintop removal, nuclear power plant waste products that are hazardous for 10,000+ years... and GMO's. (A bit of scientific research about GMO's show that they reduce sperm count from the get-go; lab tests in rats show GMO's render complete sterility in 3 generations... if you think about it, that's really population control, without consent.)
"Care of the Earth" is also how we manage our finite resources (oil, natural gas, the metals we mine, water, and the topsoil we wash away) so that we can continue to exist, and still leave some resources for our children and grandchildren. (We should all work on becoming more realistic about what our basic "needs" vs. "wants" really are.)
Then there is BigAg, with their/our dependence on the rapidly depleting supplies of fossil fuels. The majority of the food we eat world-wide is produced by BigAg, unless we somehow manage to supplement it with a fruit-nut-veggie patch in our yards or our neighborhoods. Having a garden, even if it's just potted tomatoes on a balcony, IS one way we can start to make changes, and assure some nutritionally good foods in our households as we do. (There are many other ways, but a garden is a good one.) Permaculture can be a pathway because it can teach us, among other things, how to increase yield while eliminating dependence on man-made chemical fertilizers. We just have to learn to do as Nature does!
"Care of the People" is a vast challenge, and is more than just not making war on them, or even just feeding them. Most of us mentally divide "us" and "them", and we weep and gnash our teeth at problems that happen within our immediate family and those we know and care about, whether it's a health problem, an auto accident, or job loss. Of course, we also lament the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives in a catastrophe half way around the world, but it is a detached kind of lament and doesn't really touch us, deep down on some emotional level, like those at home do.
So, when we move manufacturing (sweatshops?) to foreign countries out of our view, we can act detached from the abuses. We prohibit DDT here in the US but sell it overseas, and we can pretend we have eliminated that particular toxin, even though it comes back to us in/on imported foods.
Here's a very simplistic "care of the people" test just in your own personal surroundings... If you work in a large office or plant, very likely there is a person you pass often, with just a cursory nod or "Hello". The next time you pass that person, stop and make a personal comment to them, something like "that color looks good on you"... or "hey, that's a great tie/tattoo/haircut"... just anything more personal than the previous impersonal nods. Watch the reaction... the whole energy pattern changes for the better.
"Accepting Limits to population and consumption"... Years ago, the Chinese limited the number and gender of live children a couple could have. It brought fierce turmoil to their people. But I think we all really KNOW in our hearts the world cannot continue to sustain the projected increase in world population. A big question for everyone is: are you willing to limit your number of children/grandchildren? Or is that just the responsibility of "others" in poorer nations?
But it's NOT just limiting population; it's about limiting resources so everyone has a fair share.
I personally believe that the principles of permaculture could cure the
planet from the all the damage conventional chemical agriculture has wrought, and maybe save us from extinction.
The permaculture ideas I know about are wonderful, and I have adopted some of the food forest ideas, which are partially from the Permaculture crowd and partially from others... and they all pretty much follow the Wiki definition, "Permaculture is a theory of ecological design which seeks to develop sustainable human settlements and agricultural horticultural systems, by attempting to model them on natural ecosystems."
I'd love to take a PDC but it is not likely; the charges for the PDC course vary considerably with location. Here in Virginia and nearby North Carolina, the going rate is well in excess of $1,000... while a friend in upstate New York can find the same PDC certificate course for under $300. I think the design concepts are important, especially the ecological ones, but I want lots of practical information applicable to my situation, too.
I must say, though, that if I had the opportunity (and the money) to take a PDC course from one of the established Permaculture giants like Geoff Lawton or Toby Hemenway, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
If money is an issue, as it is for me, there are some good alternatives to learning about permaculture other than taking a PDC. Unfortunatey for us in the US, much of the available information is for tropical climates, but that is beginning to change as the concepts are becoming more widely known across the US and Canada. There are some permaculture forums on the internet, and several blogs that focus on various aspects of permaculture.
If you learn easily from books, you can buy Bill Mollison's Permaculture: A Designer's Manual; it sells for around $110. It is the definitive Permaculture design manual in print since 1988, and it is the text book and curriculum for the 72-hour Certificate course in Permaculture Design (PDC). Written for teachers, students and designers, it follows on and greatly enlarges on the initial introductory texts, Permaculture One (1978) and Permaculture Two (1979, currently OOP) both of which are still in demand over twenty years after publication. Very little of the material found in the Designer's Manual is reproduced from the former texts. It covers design methodologies and strategies for both urban and rural applications describing property design and natural farming techniques.
An excellent book if you are just starting out is Gaia's Garden (by Toby Hemenway) for around $20.
Another alternative is to investigate the work of Sepp Holzer, an Austrian man who has done some remarkable things in Natural Farming, much like the great natural farming pioneer, Masanobu Fukuoka. The Holzer Permaculture is a branch of permaculture developed by Sepp independently from the mainstream Permaculture. It is particularly noteworthy because it grew out of practical application and absolutely detached from the scientific community.
By the way, there has been lots of contention over who if anyone controls the legal rights to the word "Permaculture", meaning is it trademarked or copyrighted, and if so, who holds the legal rights to the use of the word. For a long time Bill Mollison claimed to have copyrighted the word permaculture, and his books reflected that on the copyright page, saying "The contents of this book and the word PERMACULTURE are copyright." These statements were largely accepted at face-value within the permaculture community. However, copyright law does not protect names, ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something; it only protects the expression or the description of an idea, not the idea itself. Eventually Mollison acknowledged that he was mistaken and that no copyright protection existed for the word "permaculture". Source
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Walk the Talk
As much as I continually suggest we should all eat nutritious, real food... I fell off the wagon a year ago. Actually I didn't fall... it was a very long, slow descent, adding a few empty calories here and there... until the additives (which are designed to addict) took over after a few months. I even lost the habit of taking my few daily vitamins. As a consequence, my energy levels are down and my weight is up. So it's time to get back with the program.
I don't have the disorder known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but I can sure tell the difference in how I feel on bright, sunny days, even in winter. My self-diagnosis is a shortage of Vitamin D3 (the sunshine vitamin) and I started taking it again this very morning. I take about half a teaspoonful of fermented cod-liver oil in a gel that's mixed with a high-vitamin A butter oil made by Green Pastures. Mid-day and evenings I take a less expensive D3 gel cap.
A good breakfast had fallen by the wayside too, giving way to something high-carb and/or high sugar with my 2nd cup of coffee. I picked up 2 dozen farm eggs (from chickens fed NON-GMO feed) and some decent organic bacon this weekend, but not enough for the whole month because I didn't intend to start this until January, after the holidays. (It may still be just half-measures over the holidays.)
I'll need to make another trip to the nearest natural foods store (80-90 miles one way) later in the month to re-stock, plus buy some fresh yogurt to inoculate/make my own. I should order some kefir grains too. Mine were stored in milk in the fridge but unmarked, and I accidentally discarded them. Probiotics are an important part of a good food regime for me.
I don't expect the first several weeks will be easy, and I know that every time I nosh on something not good for me, it will just lengthen the time of adjustment back to well-being. No doubt I'll be cranky as a bear much of the time, but the Vitamin D3 should help.
I can't promise this change won't affect my every-other-day postings for the next few weeks. I will do my best, but they may contain some rants against the food companies where their designed use of addiction additives helped my fall from the wagon.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
"Organic Ready" Corn Thwarts GMO Contamination
Using a name chosen as a play on Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM crops, Frank Kutka and a group of corn breeders are developing organic and non-GMO corn varieties with a naturally occurring trait that can block incoming pollen and prevent GMO contamination.
"Frank Kutka is on a mission: to help save organic corn from GMO contamination. As acres of genetically modified corn increase—88% of this year’s US corn plantings are GM—it is becoming more difficult for organic and non-GMO farmers to prevent cross pollination—and contamination—from GM corn. Kutka, a plant breeder and coordinator of the Sustainable Ag Research and Education (SARE) program at North Dakota State University, recently received an $11,500 grant from the Organic Farming Research Foundation to develop what he calls “organic ready” corn." Read the whole article here
I love it (the name)!
I also love seeing some good news regarding GMO's... and that plant breeders and farmers are starting to become more aggressive in thwarting Monsanto's march to complete dominance (with the apparent help of the FDA) over the landscape ecology and our healthy food supply.
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