I don’t collect a lot of statistics about my readers so I can’t be certain that you will be interested in this.

It is only tangentially related to gardening. Well, maybe in the sense … Actually, it probably isn’t related at all, but I thought you might be interested in it anyway.

This is an example of the cool stuff that I encounter using Stumble Upon that I probably would never have seen without it. Hopefully you will take a moment to ‘Stumble’ this page using the (ShareThis) social networking link below.

Well, enough about that. Here’s the link you need.

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/posters/chromosome/chooser.shtml

When you get there, you’ll be able to order a free 24×36 poster of the human genome.

–Bill

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?

Read on, my gardening friend. Read on …

This is going to be interesting … if the flames can get fanned just a little.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/opinion/04wed4.html?_r=1

If you’ve been following the sea change from chemical to organic production of our foodstuffs, you are probably already familiar with how horrible the early drafts of the “organic” laws were in the US.

Just about anything was fair game.

In a display of politics as usual, the highly esteemed Obama-ramalamadingdong is set to appoint one of the chief architects of that loathsome first draft to a key negotiating position for US agriculture around the world.

Let me put it this way: this guy is to sustainable agriculture what the Nazis were to civil rights.

Those of you who voted for ‘change’ are getting it. If you want to shape that change, you need to get moving.

What I find somewhat ‘odd’ about this whole thing is this: 1) BHO was briefed on this guy and recommended him anyways and 2) normally I would expect the mainstream media to ignore a story like this … but someone on their staff is paying attention to the progressive poisoning of our food supply and, at the editorial level, has stuck their neck out. This is my effort to support that rare instance of editorial guts.

My understanding of the Bible forbids involvement in politics. It does not, however, forbid discussing facts with others who might choose to respond with a letter to their congress critters.

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).

Read on, my gardening friend. Read on …

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:

Read on, my gardening friend. Read on …

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.

Read on, my gardening friend. Read on …