I suppose by now that you are hoping I will leave off the rants for a while … and in a while I intend to do so.
What kind of gardener would I be if I was afraid to stir up a little dirt when the time comes?
If you did not know already: IE does not display this site correctly. This is because Microsoft has chosen not to follow internationally accepted web standards. Most importantly, IE is susceptible to viruses, and spyware; the monthly patch of Internet Explorer on a set monthly schedule allows 'blackhats' to release their evil-ware on the day after the patch, thus granting them 30 days to access your computer without challenge from Microsoft. Once their viruses and spyware are installed on your computer, you no longer control it. It may be used for illegal activity without your permission or even awareness. Such illegal activity has resulted in criminal prosecution. Even if acquitted, the defense itself may incur a significant financial burden. For these, and other, reasons I highly recommend a safer, more standards compliant browser such as Mozilla Firefox.
February 4, 2010
January 29, 2010
Just this month the front cover of Forbes called Monsanto “Seed Heroes”.
(hack, cough, cough) Balderdash.
I may buy a copy just so I can frame that cover as evidence that Forbes has abandoned even the pretext of journalistic integrity and cannot be trusted to be truthful in any matter whatsoever.
The linked video, about the effects of chemical farming in India, is instructive. I know that your time is valuable. I’m asking for 30 minutes of it with the promise that I will not waste even a single minute. Start by viewing the video for the first 26 minutes.
September 25, 2009
It would be chilling enough if any other type of company were able to prevent independent researchers from testing its wares and reporting what they find—imagine car companies trying to quash head-to-head model comparisons done by Consumer Reports, for example. But when scientists are prevented from examining the raw ingredients in our nation’s food supply or from testing the plant material that covers a large portion of the country’s agricultural land, the restrictions on free inquiry become dangerous. Scientific American, August 2009
Ah … but that is only part of the point. Imagine if parking a Buick next to an already-parked Ford meant that you could no longer drive the Ford without infringing the patents of the Buick.
That’s what happens when the patented genes from the pollen of a GM crop pollutes the field of another grower (organic or not).
April 1, 2009
Okay … just one rant this week and after that I’ll be good, I promise. Revelation 11:18 promises “ to bring to ruin those ruining the earth”. When it was penned, humans hadn’t 2% of the ability to ruin the earth that they now have … and exercise.
Yes, I am hot and worked up and this post is all writing with no pictures. This ain’t no sound bite. Sorry about that, but if you are short on brain cells at the moment, it’s okay to click the back arrow on you browser. That’s the one near the top of the page pointing to the left.
But first, I owe you a quote so that you can see the source of the steam:
March 4, 2009
The top 4 seed producers in the world produce 36% of the world’s seed. Monsanto is number one, Dow Chemical is number two. They are also heavily engaged in both securing plant patents and enforcing those patents. Their seed cross-pollinates the fields of others … and then they sue the others for possessing ‘their’ genetic material.
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) seeds do not occur naturally. They are engineered and ‘tested’ by their makers. Unbiased oversight is minimal, at best.
And it’s all so very legal.
