Genetically modified (GM) soy accounts for 91 percent of soybeans planted in the US and is rapidly growing throughout the world [1]. The dangerous biotech created science behind the introduction of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is rapidly mounting and can no longer be ignored by scientists or the public. The biotech propaganda of increasing crop yield and ending world hunger have been proven false, and attempts to skew the simple fact that the sole reasoning for the mass introduction of untested, toxic and dangerous GMOs into our plants, soil, animals and genes is to increase profits at any expense for the large multinational biotech companies. (more…)
Today, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.”[i] They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling.
AAEM’s position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,”as defined by recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.” READ MORE…
An article by April Mc Gregor found HERE explains what has happened to the grain industry, and how small farmers and bakers are beginning to understand that localization is the answer to health and survival in the days to come. April owns the Farmer’s Daughter in Carborro, NC. Here is a statement from her site:
Farmer’s Daughter seeks to promote the value of sustainable, small-scale agriculture as well as traditional, handmade methods of preserving.
By moving forward with industrialized farming, we have actually taken a huge step backwards towards dependence on multinational food processors and nutritional genocide. It is time to reclaim our lost heritage, promote life, and get healthy. Here is an excerpt from April’s article:
A loaf of bread made of locally grown and stone-ground grains requires a certain kind of infrastructure that disappeared almost completely from our national landscape in the 1880s, with the introduction of the steel-roller mill and the rise hard Midwest-grown wheat. The steel-roller mill could efficiently remove the perishable germ and bran from wheat berries, creating a shelf-stable flour that could easily travel long distances.
Before this development, local mills had been necessary because flour had a shelf life of approximately one week. After, flour could be stored for months. Scalping the bran and the germ from wheat, however, meant stripping away key nutrients and fiber. This technological advance represented a nutritional step backward. READ MORE…
Here is a statement from the Farm and Sparrow in Marshall, North Carolina. This bakery is committed to food localization, and changing the way we eat, one loaf at a time.
Farm and Sparrow is a wood-fired craft bakery located in the hillsides of Marshall, NC that produces rustic breads, pastries, and other specialty products. We aim to respect the integrity of the foods available to us through seasonal menu rotation, hands-on methods of production, and a strong commitment to our local food and cultural economies. LINK TO SITE.
As demand for a healthy and ecologically sound alternative to industrialized farming becomes greater, I believe that more people will start returning to the skills that have been all but lost in the quest for grocery store convenience foods that have long shelf lives artificially induced by stripping them of nutrition and pumping them full of chemicals.
Become part of a growing trend of backyard growers and fight the industrialization of our food by supporting food localization one person, one plant, and one meal at a time. It can be done, and we can do it.
My raspberry plants are coming up this season, and I can’t wait to try this recipe. It has no processed sugar or chemicals, as it uses Rapadura, a dried, unrefined, naturally evaporated sugar cane juice that contains all the original natural vitamins and minerals that are processed out of refined sugar.
Monsanto and its cohorts in crime promised us that they would not be using Terminator technology called GURT, or genetic use restricted technology. In fact, the United Nations actually issued a moratorium on the project. So we’re safe, right? Wrong. (more…)
GMO proponents like to say that the use of their products, which include proprietary pesticides and patented seeds that have to be purchased yearly, along with no-till land management, is the solution to world hunger. This is not true. There is an organic solution that is far superior, that actually improves the soil each year, increases crop yields by 50-100%, and cuts seed costs by 80-90%.
Read the following article by SRI, and watch the videos to see how this is done with rice. According to the SRI website, “SRI concepts and methods have been successfully adapted to upland unirrigated rice, and they are now being extrapolated to other crops like millet, wheat and sugar cane.”
The System of Rice Intensification known as SRI – also as le Systéme de Riziculture Intensive in French and la Sistema Intensivo de Cultivo Arrocero* (SICA) in Spanish — is a methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice cultivation by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. SRI practices lead to healthier, more productive soil and plants by supporting greater root growth and by nurturing the abundance and diversity of soil organisms. The agroecological principles that contribute to SRI effectiveness have good scientific bases. SRI concepts and methods have been successfully adapted to upland unirrigated rice, and they are now being extrapolated to other crops like millet, wheat and sugar cane.
SRI does not require the purchase of new seeds or the use of new high-yielding varieties. Although the highest yields with SRI have been obtained from improved varieties, most traditional or local varieties of rice respond well to SRI practices and command a higher market price. And while chemical fertilizer and agrochemicals can be applied with SRI, their use is not required as organic materials (compost, manure or any decomposed vegetation) can give good or even better results at low cost. Farmers report that when SRI methods are used correctly, rice plants are better able to resist damage from pests and diseases, reducing or eliminating need for agrochemical protection.
Because plant populations are greatly reduced with SRI, seed costs are cut by 80-90%, and because paddy fields are not kept continuously flooded, there are water savings of 25 to 50%, a major benefit in many places. However, cessation of flooding means that increased weeding is required. If this is done with soil-aerating implements like a rotating hoe, this cost has a benefit of enhanced crop production.
SRI does requireskillful management of the factors of production and, at least initially, more labor, particularly for careful transplanting and for weeding. Since yield increases are usually 50 to 100%, and possibly several times present levels, the returns to labor can be very great. The profitability of rice production can be greatly increased when yield goes up with a reduction in the costs of production. As farmers gain skill and confidence in SRI methods, their labor input in fact decreases, and over time SRI can even become labor saving compared with conventional rice-growing methods.
SRI is a work in progress, with improvements continually being made, including better implements and techniques that further reduce labor requirements. Farmers are encouraged to make their own improvements in SRI methods and to share experience within the farming community. Yield is the most evident (and controversial) feature of SRI, but many other considerations are also driving its spread around the world. Additional information on SRI benefits such as resistance to drought and storm damage, shorter time to maturity, and more milled rice resulting when SRI paddy is processed can be found in a paper on: Features of the System of Rice Intensification apart from Increases in Yield.
By Dr. Gregory Damato, Ph.D.
Surviving the Middle Class Crash 