Son of a Farmer

It’s not often I toot the horn of a single individual out there on the cosmic prairie, but this one is long overdue. Michael C. Ruppert is a true American patriot. In every sense of the over-abused term, this man represents what our government officials should strive to be – an honest and brave leader.
His latest book, Confronting Collapse, which deals with this world’s energy issues in regards to Peak Oil is dealt with front and center. The documentary Collapse puts all this into colored images, rather than straight text, grabbing us by the bottom of our cerebellum, and shaking lose the cobwebs of indignant brain-staining we’ve been succumbed to for decades. But this treasure of an essay (GlobalCorp.) he wrote back in 2005, must be reviewed again.
I want to thank you Mr. Ruppert for all you’ve done in ripping off the lid of illusions for many of us.

(This article comes via The Center for Food Safety.)

(January 15, 2010) Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a first-time case about the risks of genetically engineered crops. Named Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, the case before the high court will be yet another step in an ongoing battle waged by the Center for Food Safety to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops.

The modified alfalfa seed at the heart of the dispute has been engineered to be immune to Monsanto’s flagship herbicide Roundup. Monsanto intervened in a 2007 federal district court ruling that the Department of Agriculture’s approval of GE alfalfa was illegal. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a 2006 lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of non-profits and farmers who wished to retain the choice to plant non-GE alfalfa. CFS was victorious in this case – in addition CFS has won two appeals by Monsanto in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: in 2008 and again in 2009. Now, upon Monsanto’s insistence, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

“This is truly a ‘David versus Goliath’ struggle, between public interest non-profits and a corporation bent on nothing less than domination of our food system,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety. “That Monsanto has pushed this case all the way to the Supreme Court, even though USDA’s court-ordered analysis is now complete, and the U.S. government actively opposed further litigation in this matter, underscores the great lengths that Monsanto will go to further its mission of patent control of our food system and selling more pesticides.”

The federal district court required the Department of Agriculture to undertake an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assessing the impacts of the crop on the environment and on farmers; the first time the U.S. government had ever undertaken such analysis for any GE crop. The court permitted farmers that had already planted to continue, but halted any further planting pending the agency’s re-assessment. That the EIS was required is not in dispute; the legal issue is only the scope of relief while USDA analyzed the impacts of the crop for the first time.

In October 2009 Monsanto asked the Supreme Court to hear further arguments. In response, the Center and the U.S. government separately opposed that request the following December. USDA completed the first draft of the EIS in December 2009.

“Although we believe a further hearing is unnecessary, we are confident we will again prevail, as the lower courts have already three times determined,” continued Kimbrell. “We hope that this grand stage will further inform the public, policymakers and the media about the significant risks of genetically engineered crops and the vital need to protect farmers and the environment.”

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a key source of dairy forage. It is the first perennial crop to be genetically engineered. It is open-pollinated by bees, which can cross-pollinate at distances of several miles, spreading the patented, foreign DNA to conventional and organic crops. Such biological contamination threatens the livelihood of organic farmers and dairies, since the U.S. Organic standard prohibits genetic engineering, and alfalfa exporters, since most overseas governments also reject GE-contaminated crops.

“We trust the Supreme Court will uphold farmers right to choose their crop of choice and protect us from the constant fear of contamination from GE crops,” said Phil Geertson, an alfalfa farmer based in Idaho.

Related:

A 2009 study showed that the use of genetically modified crops, the vast majority Monsanto’s “roundup ready” crops, has caused over the last 13 years a dramatic increase in herbicide use, by 383 million pounds, and concomitant harms to the environment and human health.

The U.S. Department of Justice has undertaken an investigation of Monsanto regarding violations of anti-trust and monopoly laws and is set to hold public hearings in spring 2010.

Another 2009 study showed that, despite decades of promises and hype, GE crops do not increase yields.

A lot of us Southerners don’t really know what winter is like anymore. But with December 2009 and January 2010, we’re reminded just how hard Old Man Winter can still bite. Today, we nipped just below 20 degrees, with a windchill closer to 10. Feels good.
Add that with about two inches + of moisture via snow and rain the past month, and we feel like a time-warp into another dimension. That’s more moisture than we had the entire winter last year. Hopefully the drought is over, and 2010 will be a solid bumper crop year. Personally, 2009 was a year I’d like to forget…save for all that character it built. ha. Most farmers have had enough character to last quite a spell.
The coolest thing about wearing a beard in the winter (besides warmth) is it is an excellent gauge for winter below 20 degrees. Get into the teens with or without windchill and the all-natural mask freezes a tad with each breath. One more night of juevo-shrinking cold tonight. Diggin’ it.

Since the holidays are officially over and with it our indulgent dinner consumptions, we can loosen our belts and sigh as visions of resolutions dance in our heads.
Much of our focus in eating is on eating healthy foods or trying the latest fashion of diets with fast results. Little attention is focused on responsible eating. Since we are at the top of the food chain, operating food markets from all walks of life, we must be able stewards of the Earth. We should be aware of not only what we consume, but where our food comes from, and the ramifications of its displacement in Nature.
Primarily, I’m talking about ocean life. I’ve been reading The World is Blue by Sylvia A. Earle. For those who’ve never heard of Earle, she is the oceanography yin to Jacques Cousteau’s yang. Earle reveals many alarming facts about depleting ocean wildlife from whales to sharks to tuna to salmon to the most microscopic creatures due to our strain on tasty fish.
These facts include:
*Half the shallow coral reefs are gone or are in serious decline since the 1950s.
*More than 400 “dead zones” have formed in coastal areas in recent decades.
*The ocean’s pH is changing owing to increased CO2.
A small percentage of people realize 20 percent of our breathable oxygen exists from healthy ecosystem in the ocean. Doesn’t seem like much unless you hold one out of every five breaths. By taking large numbers of fish on a daily basis, we’re upsetting the delicate balance of the ocean. Some fish take 15 to 20 years to fully mature, where they can reproduce another generation. Some fish take three to five years to reach moderate growth. Some families of whales can live between 100 to 200 years, but the grandmothers and grandfathers are becoming fewer and farther between with Asia’s excessive whaling industry.
For instance, the bluefin tuna is in serious danger. Earle writes about the diminishing fish, stating, “Knowing these things, tuna should never be consumed casually, but always with great respect, if they are to be consumed at all. Their present precarious state makes eating bluefin tuna comparable to dining on snow leopard or panda. If present trends continue, those who really love eating tuna and most other forms of ocean wildlife will have to time-travel back to the middel of the 20th century.”
Studies show that if present trends continue, all fish and seafood species are projected to collapse before 2050. Many of us will still be here.
I don’t like hearing this information any more than the next person. But we should be aware of our toll on all walks of life. By focusing on farm-raised fish such as catfish, tilapia, and others we can help alleviate some of the pressure we cause by our demand on ocean life.