Hey all, I'm on a mission to spread the word, and if we are to do that we need information that we can distribute in easily digestible form
The very fact that we are all interested in CS and other alternative wellness methods suggests that we care about our nutrition and what goes into our bodies. I've just received a powerpoint presentation from a friend [who is a CPA about to give up her financially lucrative career to campaign for local food and work on her town's transition and grow her own food full time] The presentation is about local organic food as the answer to the horrors wreaked on our food supply by the big conglomerates. Here are some facts that she has carefully researched and which you can pass on to people you talk to if you wish...They might scare people into doing something.. AND there are solutions. Permaculture is one... you can google it or see this simple explanatory article on my blog site with a lot of blog postings about my own permaculture design course experience and what I learned. http://www.pierresoleil.com/ourblog/permaculture/permaculture/ A PLEA FOR LOCAL FOOD AND SELF-SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH ORGANIC AND HEALTHY FOOD PRACTISES Please, if you love your food and value your health and that of your children and the future, use these facts to engage people in conversation in the store, in the street, the workplace, at your kids schools or PTA's. Speak to everyone.... ask questions... do you know where your food comes from? Are you worrieda bout your kids nutrition or whether there will be any decent food left for them. It's so important that we raise awareness... otherwise we will all go sheeplike to our slaughter... We are losing bio-diversity, water quality, seasonal and regional food habits as well as encountering mad cow disease and the perils of GMO foods, all of which is damaging to our health. This is happening because we are in the grips of big biz agriculture. And we are hypnotically entranced by the media to buy fast food and accept unacceptable food additives. Dontcha just hate the word 'all natural'.. what does it really mean... THE FACTS We are consuming huge quantities of ever decreasing oil supplies through modern agricultural practises n Americans consume 400 gallons each of oil a year (17% of our nation’s energy use) for agriculture n Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers & other equipment, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides & herbicides n From seed to harvest takes 1/5th of oil used n Most oil is used to get food from farm to your plate n Fuel-thirsty processing steps: drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking. Also, packaging n Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles Agriculture is controlled by HUGE multi-national corporates who are in it for great profit NOT to feed us healthily. In the same way healthcare that makes a profit cannot have human interest as its primary concern. n Four firms control 85% of global coffee roasting n A small group of multinationals handles 80% of world trade in cocoa, pineapples, tea & bananas n Merger of Philip Morris & Nabisco in 2000 created food conglomerate that collects nearly 10 cents of every dollar an American spends on food n Five companies control 75% of the global vegetable seed market n Seed companies patent more & more genetically modified varieties and prevent seed saving n Four companies slaughter 81% of American beef n Cargill, Inc. controls 45% of the globe’s grain trade & Archer Daniels Midland controls 30% of the globe’s grain trade n Number of potato farmers in Idaho has fallen by half in last 15 years n Four multinational companies control over 70% of fluid milk sales in the U.S. n One Ohio “farm” produces 3 billion eggs per year Chemical farming is destructive to our bodies, our plant life and costs a lot of MONEY More than 500 species of insects & mites now resist chemical controls, along with over 150 viruses & other plant pathogens Some 300 weed species resist all herbicides 1965 - 335 million pounds of pesticides 1989 - 806 million pounds of pesticides 1999 - 985 million pounds of pesticides (at a cost of $8 billion) How Monsanto screws us In 1999, farmer sued by Monsanto & lost the case Allegation: possession of intellectual property (“gene”drifted to his plants) If seeds remain in the soil, itis technically illegal to harvest because according to the law the farmer has stolen Monsanto genes. Farmers could lose “organic”status due to contamination by GMOs What kind of GMO practises are going with the food we eat if we don't buy selectively or grow our own? Human growth genes into fish, pigs & other livestock (grow larger & more quickly) Flounder into tomatoes (grow & store at lower temperatures) Pesticide gene into corn & other vegetables (resist pesticides) Firefly genes into tobacco (causing plants to glow 24 hours a day, for no purpose at all) NOTE: 75% of all processed foods have at least one GM food Costs of producing conventional food Agriculture fuel use ($22B) Farm Bill subsidies for corn & wheat ($3B) Treatment of food-related illnesses ($10B) Agricultural chemical cleanup costs ($17B) Collateral costs of pesticide use ($8B) Costs of nutrients lost to erosion ($20B) Farming Subsidies. These were created after the Depression to help small farmers get on their feet. Now they are easy money for the big corporate growers. n About 1/3rd of all federal payments go to largest 2% of farms n About 3/4ths of all federal payments go to top 10% in size n Subsidizes those crops geographically concentrated in a few states: wheat, corn, soybean, rice (no butternut squash or apple subsidy both of which grow really well in the US) n Crops that don’t qualify have been plowed under for corn - true story. My friends father had a cotton farm. He was told that he had to get rid of it and grow corn. He had a massive heart attack as he couldn't cope and died. n Wonder why soybean products are found in 2/3rds of all processed foods? (also, high-fructose corn syrup?) Organic Farming has these benefits Build rather than deplete soil Eliminate pesticides & herbicides Maintain & apply knowledge of many different crops Organic food is considered safer, more nutritious & better for you! (contains higher levels of trace minerals, vitamin C, and antioxidant phytonutrients) Organic Takeover Small farmers spent 20 years “spreading” the idea of organic Sales have been growing 20% a year, which attracted large growers Large growers are lobbying Congress to “relax” the standards why? for profit of course In every other respect, these large growers resemble every other agribusiness grower (global sourcing, packaging, gases to increase shelf life) Contributes more greenhouse gases (mostly methane) to atmosphere than all cars & trucks (18% of total output) Billion of tons of animal waste every year (pollutes waterways - more than all other industrial sources combined) Beef production uses more water than is used in growing our entire fruit and vegetable crop 1/3 of all raw materials & fossil fuels consumed in U.S. used in animal production 10-acre farm can support 60 people growing soy, 24 people growing wheat, 10 people growing corn—but only two raising cattle Reducing U.S. meat production 10% would free grain to feed 60 million people Buy free range chickens from a local farmer - why? Compassion–CAFO’s (concentrated animal feeding operations) are unacceptable Clean water – CAFO animals in U.S. produce about six times the volume of fecal matter of all humans on our planet (vs. animals on pasture enrich the soil Public health – Confined animals are routinely given antibiotics; antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria significant new threat If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed oflocally & organically raised meats & produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. A peek into our world.. Feed the Future - Forest gardens - Sustainable Lifetime Food for All Feed the Future- The blog In depth articles - forest gardens, natural wellness, human consciousness WHAT has to happen for us to evolve and emerge? Follow us on Twitter - www.twitter.com/return2earth Wellness v pharma, free energy v oil, own grown v processed food, community v nuclear, natural building v concrete, consciousness v asleep Info on what's going on and alternative and natural technologies for a simpler life Tune in and friend us on Facebook - Pierre Soleil return to earth ----- Original Message ---- From: Dorothy Fitzpatrick <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Fri, March 5, 2010 8:02:58 AM Subject: Re: CS>Take a stand now and reject Mon San To's GMO drive Well said Annie. dee On 4 Mar 2010, at 19:40, Annie B Smythe wrote: > Yeah but most of them don't have the potential of contaminating and screwing > up every food crop on earth. Of causing a planet wide decimation of heritage > crops. They're so sure they know and they've made claims in arrogance, and > with no knowledge of long term effects. And they've tried to suppress any > study that shows ill health effects from their tampering. > > Take round up ready GMO crops. The plants have actually become more resistant > , and the resistance has spread to other weeds. They've opened up Pandora's > box and they're not going to be able to contain it. It is the height of > arrogance to introduce genetic material that they KNEW would spread and > contaminate other plants. There is no way to control the spread of it. And > maybe that's what they want, for their genes to end up in everything so they > can claim they own it. And then charge everyone money for having their genes > in everything from garden roses to backyard gardens. > -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: <mailto:[email protected]> List Owner: Mike Devour <mailto:[email protected]> -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: <mailto:[email protected]> List Owner: Mike Devour <mailto:[email protected]>
