90% Sprout Contamination Conventional, Not Organic (Linked to Factory Farm Livestock Production)
Made this a note on my Facebook the other day. (Monday, June 6, 2011 at 5:54pm) Thought it be a good blog post too)
It's not just the US, this newest contamination news comes from Germany. I have to vent....
I grow tired of hearing about food contamination. It's a headline in the news to frequently. Never before in history, as in our modern agricultural days [when just about everything is genetically modified with such an agricultural emphasis of factory farms] have people gotten so sick from what they've eaten. It's starting to catch up with folks and thankfully the "system is starting to buckle". I think that corporate agribusiness has, worldwide, outgrown its ability to control the quality of its products. People are getting sick, even dieing, due men and women with deep pockets and wads of $$ trying to control the food industry at our expense. It's the new battle of this generation ~ who knew? They are not thinking of the consequences of the folks that are sick or even die from these outbreaks. Factory farming just doesn't work long term.
Monoculture-food crops don't work either. Yet such practices don't seem to be improving or changing. When a problem arises in the Agra-business their is no logical problem solving it's "how to make it bigger and better at the bottom dollar for profit sake". At our expense (fellow man). Not to mention they are abusing animals in the process. Wikipedia defines Monoculture like this,
Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from minimal labor. However, monocultures can lead to the quicker spread of diseases, where a uniform crop is susceptible to a pathogen. 'Crop monoculture' is the practice of growing the same crop year after year.
When a seed is GM to grow at humans demands due to scientific alteration and it's crop takes over what use to be standard farming practices it's Monoculture Farming.
Does anyone remember what happened during the great potato famine? It wasn't a lack of great scientific knowledge, nor the lack of modern farming equipment, it was result of growing one breed of potato. It was the ONLY potato grown to feed the population (and this is happening again today). When that spud crop suffered and all the people relyed on it as food, they too suffered horrifically. The death toll was a huge devastation to the Irish. That's exactly where GMO crops are headed. Check your history, in other parts of the world at the same time the Irish were suffering from their blight, other people groups in Peru didn't suffer so much because they had multiple potato variety plantings. When one planting or variety went bad or suffered a blight the other supd varieties that carried the population's nutrition. Modern day farming concentrates on their one GM crops and sticks with certain varieties. The french fry demands from our cravings primarily drive this monoculture supud crop planting. It's not just supds/ potatoes it's almost everything. Corn is another huge example. Most of our land in USA is farmed for corn. This corn isn't harvested for human consumption, it's for feed lots. Ironically the modern corn farmer isn't growing a sustainable crop that can be eaten by the farmer who grows it. It will never go to their or their neighbor's table, it will go to feedlots and feed cattle, pig and even chickens.
My two cents, God made the food cells, so stop messing with them and let God grow what he made. Start "farming" again the traditional way before monoculture and GMO domination.
The heavy push to feed more people for less money has driven the factory farming business from corn that feeds animals (which were never designed to live on) to the meats we eat, in turn changing the whole broad way of modern agriculture. Our culture in a way is praising convenience on a high note and paying the consequences for fast food. People are not getting healthy from eating a burger with the works for a buck off some dollar meal, yet it's become a way of life for many. I'm not trashing anyone, hey I'm guilty of taking advantage of the dollar menu pleasure in my past. Now that I've got a bigger picture on these things I can't ever go back. The Mr. works midnights and has gotten an organic Newman's coffee from time to time but hates that his dollar is still supporting big arches.
I did just read that Monsanto and others in the seed genetic alteration business are tapping into as many seeds as possible from our Nations seed preservation bank (in Washington D.C.) . This way they can "own" the food we eat. Once genetically modified they pull a patent on the crop. Than when organic fields get contaminated from chaff blowing off the GMO crops, the GMO farmer seed owners can sue the pants off organic farmers and claim "check mate". Is anyone bothered by any of this?
The whole thing is quite political. Many politicians are business men and women who come from big food business companies who in turn protect their private interests. It's all connected and somehow not being written in our school history books, hmmm. Such a dirty thing. Oh yes, he or she will display themselves as a modest business man/women who's in touch with the middle class which is far from the truth. It's no wonder my letters to our politicians don't seem to have much of an impact. The Mr. gets quite angry about the political side of this food war. He's a very patriotic guy but has declared war on this debate. We are very particular what we eat and spend our dollar on (which is our way of voting no for GMO). Just think of the impact we could have, if in one hour, one million Americans in one single day, said NO to fast food and yes to organic. Than the next day it went to two million, than three, than four. I think than someone would stop and notice. They'd first notice a loss of profit but hopefully come to realize that the people are voting with their dollar for organic.
On a positive note the outcome of food contamination problems as well as folks like me who are outraged by modern GMO ~ Monoculture farming have led to exponential growth of local food by family-scale farmers and artisan food processors! There is strong surge in sales at member-owned food cooperatives, farmers markets, CSAs (community supported/subscription agriculture farms) and other farmer-direct marketing vehicles have exploded over the past five years. I'm thrilled to support small organic farming. My dollar in turn becomes my vote. It's my way of sticking it to the big food destroying business men and women.
I've written letters to our governing leaders and signed many petitions on the matter. All those things are important but nothing speaks louder than going to a farmer's market and buying locally grown organic foods and grass-fed meats. Word of mouth is still stronger than advertisement from deep pocketed chains like Mc Ds. They don't even entice my family anymore. Modern media saturates our society with huge persuasion of what American's should eat. Even in the super~mega marts, the persuasion is there. The idea is buy TP, tape and splurg on a rollback at the mega mart, while there pick up a package of ground beef for dinner. When you silence that part of media saturated life, and step onto a farm, listen to the cattle in the field moooing as the wind blows across your face and the sun warms your head; you'd get a HUGE sense of where our food should come from (a real good ole' fashioned farm). I've said it many times, but our kids really love going to the dairy farm and visiting the Jersey cows when we pick up our milk. My three year old says, "Mama they make my milk". I know it's not possible for everyone across America to have this opportunity but Farmer's Markets are branching out and popping up as the demand and interest increases. As customers we can ask butchers to carry grass-fed, we can make the request when dining out. They are suppose to be supplying us with what we want. If we make it know that we don't want genetically modified produce or, super rapidly fattened meats from a feed lot things are not to late to change. (I'm still hopeful)
Our CSA starts next week!!!!!! We are so thrilled, can you tell, lol.
A side note, don't waddle in fear. Pray and get as much information about what you're eating as possible. This day n' age seems only necessary to do so. There are lot's of frighting things on the internet one could read about how far these factory farms and monoculture crop farmers are willing to go. I've learned to take it in all in strides and to do my part. I don't meant to shame anyone. There are choices and until this past year I didn't even know they existed. I assumed if the butter I was buying had a picture of a farm it was indeed from a farm. If the meat's said all natural on the package that it was 'good' meat. Than one day I began to question as to why all natural was on the meat package I was buying. Were there packages of fake meat or natural meat on the market that I unknowingly purchased? Remember the beef recall? I started pealing back the layers and the more I dug, the more I became repulsed by the findings. I didn't want chicken dipped in ammonia (to kill bacteria) fed to my family. I had no idea. I think the consumer aught to have a right and know where food is coming from. It's strategically hidden from the public. Just think of the name, Hidden Vally Farm. Precisely my point. There is no farm in the mega mass producing of what the majority of Americans are eating these days. It's a giant mechanical factory moving meats and produce down conveyor belts or meat processing plants. I'm just the kinda girl that's got the passionate side to her, and once finding all that out ~ the flames kept burning. I'm outraged at the blind eyes I had for so many years. Thankfully due to modern media such as the internet and satellite imaging these factory farms can't "hide" anymore. My thing isn't to act out in anger, rather lets just grow good honest food and share with others. Everyone, despite demographics or income deserves good wholesome food. They deserve an honest option at the very least.
To read more on the newest sprout contamination news, get the facts, click:
OK that's a mouth full, LOL. Comments anyone?
1 comment:
Early this morning I saw a commercial for "Round Up" or whatever it is called and my husband and I booed the TV because we HATE Monsanto. I don't use the word hate usually, but it is appropriate in this case.
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