You are probably here because you agree that organic food is a good idea. In that case, you might might be interested in this 5:47 radio link.

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

You may also be interested in knowing that Ireland is now officially and completely GMO free. Even so-called ‘trial fields’ (which end up contaminating the surrounding fields as their pollen spreads) are no longer permitted. This is a HUGE victory … to have even ONE government stand up to big agri-business instead of cowering before it, as the US, Canadian and British governments have.

Obama betrayed us all in his appointment of a representative of big-ag as our nations ag representative … but what else are we to expect? The guy he appointed is associated with the agribusiness lobbying group that started the “groundswell” letter writing campaign against the Whitehouse organic garden. Obama is too much of a politician, and not enough of a man, to stand up to these folks … but it looks like the Irish are up to the task.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading the past couple of weeks.

I thought you might be interested in this note dealing with the use of glyphosate (Round Up) on our food. To be honest, there really isn’t a lot of favorable science out there that defends this stuff, and the evidence is mounting that it is way badder than even the most frantic of activists originally thought.

Please, if you are new to this discussion, bear in mind that the USDA has decided that you are not allowed to know which crops are genetically modified and which are not. Unless you grow 100% of your own food, you are eating it.

So, here’s the link: New GMO Information.

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?

Here’s why:

We present for the first time a comparative analysis of blood and organ system data from trials with rats fed three main commercialized genetically modified (GM) maize (NK 603, MON 810, MON 863), which are present in food and feed in the world. NK 603 has been modified to be tolerant to the broad spectrum herbicide Roundup and thus contains residues of this formulation. MON 810 and MON 863 are engineered to synthesize two different Bt toxins used as insecticides. … Our analysis clearly reveals for the 3 GMOs new side effects linked with GM maize consumption, which were sex- and often dose-dependent. Effects were mostly associated with the kidney and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, although different between the 3 GMOs. Other effects were also noticed in the heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system. We conclude that these data highlight signs of hepatorenal toxicity, possibly due to the new pesticides specific to each GM corn. In addition, unintended direct or indirect metabolic consequences of the genetic modification cannot be excluded. –http://www.biolsci.org/v05p0706.htm

Our food is being poisoned in the quest for profits. These grains are already in the American retail food markets … and have been for a while. We are involuntary and unwitting participants in the worlds largest feeding experiment.

Other nations, recognizing the shoddy science, political cronyism and lax regulatory methods behind the US certification of these frankenfoods as, well, ‘food’, are bucking against accepting these grains into their food supply. For the most part, they are having a VERY hard time at drawing the line.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the full weight of the US is being used to force acceptance of these iffy ‘foods’ all across the globe. One tool has been a turn toward an international standard for food safety that permits such foods. Then countries with tighter standards will have to set those standards aside and accept this junk within their borders. The US is one such country that used to enforce a higher standard. That’s gone now. Literally 100’s of farmers in India have already been pushed into such a bleak economic corner that they have committed suicide by drinking the very poisons they have been goaded into applying to their fields. Apparently, despite a worldwide ban on its use / production, they are able to routinely obtain and use DDT.

Hint: they aren’t making it in their kitchens.

In the US, it is not possible to publish research like this. I have no clue how the French got  hold of this grain and a waiver allowing them to test this and publish their results. I suspect that they did not bother with the paperwork at all.

The reading is a little heavy – it is a full-on scientific research paper, after all — but I sure wish that you’d follow the link above and try to read at least some of it.

Keep in mind that most live animal science experiments end in the death of the test animals. In this case, that means us.

Cheap food is going to be popular as long as the social and environmental costs of that food are charged to the future. There’s lots of money to be made selling fast food and then treating the diseases that fast food causes. One of the leading products of the American food industry has become patients for the American health care industry. – Michael Pollan / NYT/ 2009 / Web / 3-25/2011 (Free registration required)

I just recently became aware of the existence of Michael Pollan, but he seems to have his information and insight straight. Later in the above article he makes the point that health care reform that stops letting insurance companies evade, by various tactics, offering coverage for the obese / diabetic and so on might actually bring pressure on the food industry to provide healthier foods at a lower cost while jacking up the price of ‘convenience’ foods to the point of inconvenience. The health care industry, due to its size, political clout, economic might and the ability to bring all of these to bear on a problem in a coordinated fashion, can bring pressures on the food industry that even the Federal government cannot. Or will not, as the case may be. Perhaps it is possible to get ‘the old boys club’ to work for the betterment of the population as a whole by making it the financially sane thing to do. Altruism, clearly, doesn’t work – but an appeal to ordinary greed might just do the trick.

Still, the better answer is for each of us to take responsibility for what we ourselves eat and how we train our children to eat. Put healthy, ‘slow food’, on their plates, starting when they are very small. There is no better time to set their expectations as to what food is worth eating and what is not. Mine had unrestricted access to a dish full of hard candies with the sole limit that they couldn’t have any 1/2 hour before a meal. They almost never stopped by the candy dish, but would instead head straight to the refrigerator, where I kept a constant supply of celery and carrot sticks in a gallon jar. Once in a while I would throw the candy away because it was stale – but I would refill the bowl immediately. Making candy a limited ‘treat’ doesn’t work as well as making it boring.

Stop buying them electronic toys. If you are going to buy them anything, buy them balls, bikes and other active toys and then get out there and exercise with them … it’ll be the most worthwhile half-hour (or more) of your day. You are NOT too dignified for a quick game of kick-ball in the back yard. If you are, fix it – your kids come first. More than that, not only could you stand to lose a few pounds yourself, the exercise will pay off in mental acuity and sense of self-worth. Remember that phrase “quality time?” This is what it referred to … doing healthful and fun things with your kids … not just cheering them from the sidelines. It’s true that your kid will feel really good the day they hit the winning home run … but even more so will they always remember the hours you spent with them in fielding practice. I didn’t do nearly enough of this when my kids were small. I missed something important. Don’t repeat my mistake.

Or the garden. They won’t forget time they spent with you in the garden. Show them some of its mysteries, if you know any. Learn some, if you don’t. Get out there with a cup of coffee before you head off to work. There, in the silence, soak in some of that mystery, observe the finer details. See the insect covered with dew, alive, but too cold to move until the sun hits it. Smell the earthy aroma of good soil. There are strengths in a garden that one never imagines until he has experienced it directly. Show these to your kids. I think my wife first ‘got it’ about gardening the quiet night I took her out into the garden to sit silently with me and listen as the garden grew. By day, you can’t hear it … too many birds and bugs and cars on the freeway and planes in the air. But in times past I had been out there seeking silence and solitude of my own and knew what awaited her. Now I’ll go looking for her in the house, and find her in the garden instead.

Put in a garden, if you haven’t already, and get the kids to help you in it. They may not care for the idea at first, but it will start making sense to them once the produce starts hitting the table. No more lame and limp produce from the store … at least not when the produce is in season right in their own backyard!

Your kids will take these experiences and this know-how with them when they leave the nest. Mine did and, even though they both live in apartments at the moment, I honestly think that they hunger for the day when they’ll have some soil of their own they can plant in. My oldest son has put in his first ever garden this year … some pots on a balcony. He’s 39 years old … he never forgot. Your kids will probably also enjoy having some private time with Mom or Dad again far more than they’ll admit right now. When teens get busy with other teens, Mom and Dad get pushed aside. It’s easier to push back if you have something concrete for the two of you to do together. If the other teens want to join in, that’s fine. (Yeah, fat chance!)

Let me ask you, there are photos of two young women in this post. Which of them do you think is accustomed to raiding the fridge for a healthy snack and which is more likely to be grabbing the other half of the chocolate cake? You can’t see what their hidden hand is doing, but you can see a difference in the results, can’t you? Given their physique, which is more likely to live longer and enjoy better health? Which one likes her reflection and which one avoids it?

Oh, and Friday night isn’t pizza night anymore. Friday night is “new recipe” night. If you don’t bring junk food in the door, it isn’t likely that they will. If their allowance allows them to buy a $25 pizza more often than once every couple of months, reduce it.

Yeah … feels good to do the right thing and save a few bucks too, doesn’t it?

– Bill

In other news, take a look at what our friends at grain.org have to say about the prospects for large scale rice contamination by GMOs.