Everything You HAVE TO KNOW about Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Craig Mackintosh
Monsanto will be rubbing their hands together in tentative glee as the powers that be in the UK – who preside over a citizenry that traditionally reject GM crop ‘technology’ – try to scare everyone into surrendering to the mega-corp via their latest Food 2030 report.
Whilst a food crisis certainly threatens, adding to the crisis by planting GMOs all over ‘Ol Blighty would less than help.
For those not aware of the importance of battling GMOs every step of the way, I embed the clip below. Jeffrey Smith is the tireless foe of all things GM. He has accumulated considerable knowledge of the topic and works hard to spread this knowledge in every way possible. I would certainly recommend his books for a more detailed examination, but the video presentation here is an excellent intro to the topic to get you up to speed.
If you prefer to watch on YouTube, you can do so via these links:
Comments (0)Posted on: January 10, 2010
The Looming Food Crisis and the ‘Food 2030′ Report
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Food Shortages, GMOs, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Peak Oil, Population, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contamination — by Craig Mackintosh
It can’t go on like this….
Not long ago I was standing in a bookshop, minding my own business, when a book title leapt out in front of me. The book was "History’s Worst Decisions and the People Who Made Them". It documents the sorry tales of dozens of people throughout history who, with the best of intentions, made some fascinatingly terrible choices.
Comments (1)Posted on: January 6, 2010
Bayer Admits it is Unable to Control Spread of GMOs
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Craig Mackintosh
Court case shows that all outdoors field trials or commercial growing of GE crops must be stopped before our crops are irreversibly contaminated.
GM Rice protest in India
We all know about Big Biotech suing over their ‘rights’ to intellectual copyright. Being little more than a decade since Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) started commercial-scale release, these companies have become powerful and arrogant in double-quick time as they’ve sought to make us all captive customers to their unnecessary and unwanted ‘products’. But, increasingly, farmers are deciding not to put up with their bullying and negligence any longer.
Today’s good news:
Comments (0)Posted on: December 14, 2009
Who Owns Water?
Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Health & Disease, Water Contamination — by Maude Barlow
Editor’s Note: Being 7 years old now, the dates and meetings mentioned in the article below are obviously not current, but the main content is more than highly relevant and makes for a very worthy read.
by Maude Barlow (founder of the Blue Planet Project) & Tony Clarke, originally published September, 2002
 Water – a need, or a right? |
Water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations.
As the World Summit on Sustainable Development draws closer, clear lines of contention are forming, particularly around the future of the world’s freshwater resources. The setting of the summit paints the picture. Government and corporate delegates to the September meeting will gather in the lavish hotels and convention facilities of Sandton, the fabulously wealthy Johannesburg suburb that houses huge estates, English gardens and swimming pools, and has become South Africa’s new financial epicenter. There, they will meet with World Bank and World Trade Organization officials to set the stage for the privatization of water.
Comments (0)Posted on: December 13, 2009
The Case of Syngenta: Human Rights Violations in Brazil – 2008
Deforestation, Economics, GMOs, Health & Disease, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contamination — by Craig Mackintosh
 The Case of Syngenta: Human Rights Violations in Brazil – 2008 2mb PDF |
Switzerland is often portrayed as a clean, green, intelligent, peace-loving nation. Dramatic landscapes apparently have beautiful, golden, braided-haired women prancing about innocently picking flowers from hillsides dripping in milk, honey and chocolate.
But, the beauty of globalisation and the international food swap model is that the darker side of modern industry can be hidden away on the other side of the world. Embarrassing, incriminating activities can be kept separate from oompa loompaville, away from prying eyes and swept into the remotest places – where there are virgin soils still to be found and gorged upon, where environmental regulations are weak or nonexistent and where legal protection for indigenous people are disincentivised in the quest for profit and ‘development’.
The Swiss company Syngenta – one of the world’s largest transnational agribusiness corporations, one well-known for its production of agrochemicals and GM seeds – however, has still managed to attract attention to itself even in far away Brazil. Like with other agribusiness companies we could mention, competitiveness is key to success, and externalising costs – at any cost – is one of the best ways to achieve this.
I won’t give you a long treatise on the document embedded here, but leave you to peruse yourself. In it you will find details about illegal GMO and chemical polluting and the persecution and murder of the local people who were inconveniently protesting against the same. Syngenta stands accused of violating Brazil’s Federal Constitution, their environmental laws, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other national and international laws.
Further Reading:
Comments (0)Posted on: December 7, 2009
Joel Salatin and the Expression of Chickenness
Animal Forage, Consumerism, Health & Disease, Livestock — by Rhamis Kent
Joel Salatin runs one of the best examples of a fully functional & productive sustainable farming operation found anywhere in the United States at Polyface Farms. It may not fit the precise permaculture mold, but it does demonstrate what’s possible without the use of expensive and destructive chemical inputs & CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations).
He recently participated in the TEDxMidAtlantic (similar to TED Talks) series of lectures to discuss the significance of adopting more holistic, comprehensive methods in producing food and tending to the land. Very inspiring and thought provoking.
What are you doing to allow a chicken to fully express its essence of ‘chickenness’? Or a cow its essence of ‘cowness’? Joel has a few things to say about that.
Comments (1)Posted on: November 18, 2009
Active Listening
Comedy Break, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Society — by Craig Mackintosh
Click for full view
Courtesy: ThrobgoblinsI’d be very interested in hearing what coping mechanisms readers have developed for dealing with “climate trauma.”
The knowledge that humanity is headed pell-mell toward self-destruction is tough to deal with. I am fortunate that I get to vent blog full time on this subject, though that doesn’t free me from the frustrations of the Cassandra syndrome. I will share one of my secrets for avoiding burnout… – Dealing with climate trauma and global warming burnout [click for more]
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Posted on: October 5, 2009
Gardening Bliss
Health & Disease, Soil Biology — by Craig Mackintosh
 A spoonful of happiness? |
Need cheering up after my last article? Keep reading….
There may be more to post-gardening joyfulness than we’ve previously realised. It seems that our heavy breathing amongst the rosemary and rhubarb has us inhaling a soil bacterium with a subversive agenda – that of saving us from depression.
If you have problems with the following passage, don’t despair – read the one after and all will come clear (a budding poet, I am):
Peripheral immune activation can have profound physiological and behavioral effects including induction of fever and sickness behavior. One mechanism through which immune activation or immunomodulation may affect physiology and behavior is via actions on brainstem neuromodulatory systems, such as serotonergic systems. We have found that peripheral immune activation with antigens derived from the nonpathogenic, saprophytic bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, activated a specific subset of serotonergic neurons in the interfascicular part of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRI) of mice, as measured by quantification of c-Fos expression following intratracheal (12 h) or subcutaneous (6 h) administration of heat-killed, ultrasonically disrupted M. vaccae, or heat-killed, intact M. vaccae, respectively. – PubMed Central
Layman’s translation:
Comments (1)Posted on: September 30, 2009
Throwing Out the Throwaway Economy
Consumerism, Health & Disease, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contamination — by Earth Policy Institute
by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute
Piles of rubbish, and an incredible stench, border a main market street in
Leh, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, northern India. Photo © Craig Mackintosh
The stresses in our early twenty-first century civilization take many forms – social, economic, environmental, and political. One distinctly unhealthy and visible illustration of all four is the swelling flow of garbage associated with a throwaway economy. Throwaway products were first conceived following World War II as a convenience and as a way of creating jobs and sustaining economic growth. The more goods produced and discarded, the reasoning went, the more jobs there would be.
Comments (0)Posted on: September 5, 2009
Life at Zaytuna – Getting Rid of Wi-Fi
Health & Disease — by Craig Mackintosh
If you’re reading this, you’ll be living in an area where your body is the target of a great deal of electro-smog. Your computer, television and a myriad other electrical devices all create electrical fields that actually charge tiny particles in the air (allergens, bacteria, viruses and the like). These charged particles are far more easily embedded into human tissue – like the inside of your lungs – which can cause health problems.
The higher the electrical field the greater the danger, as the most charged particles hit the tissue with more speed. As they crash land, they become deformed, which makes them stick more firmly. – The Independent
And now newer wireless technologies are under the spotlight, as their health impacts are the cause of a growing concern as well. The cell phone and Wi-Fi industry is huge, and growing, but some countries, like Germany, have warned their citizens to minimise or eliminate their exposure to Wi-Fi and cell phones, while others like the UK scoff at the precautionary principle and fervently promote the technology instead.
Comments (0)Posted on: June 28, 2009
Monsanto Runs Into Wall. Yes!!
Biodiversity, Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease, News — by Craig Mackintosh
 Say NO to Monsanto, GMOs, and the patenting of life |
The frustration about this company – Monsanto – and others like it has been running higher and higher over the last few years. (The free flow of information on the internet is a wonderful thing in this regard – corporate-bought media is no longer our only news option….) I think it may well be the most hated corporation on the web and on popular user-driven sites like Digg and Reddit. I would personally take great pleasure in seeing their buildings worldwide bulldozed and their fields razed – leaving behind only stone statue memorials that celebrate the greed and stupidity of man.
Today, however, I can share a beacon of hope. Read on!
Comments (0)Posted on: June 27, 2009
Europe’s Uprising Against GMOs and Patents on Life
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
The unstoppable groundswell of opposition to GMOs in Europe, by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
The recent call for a moratorium on GMOs in Europe [1] (see Europe Holds the Key to a GM-Free World, 5th Conference of GM-Free Regions, Food & Democracy, SiS 43) reflects an unstoppable groundswell of opposition to GMOs from both European citizens and governments.
An online poll [2] on the question: “Should GMOs be banned in Europe?” conducted in April 2009 returned a 79 percent yes, 18 percent no and 3 percent don’t know. Days earlier, Germany outlawed the cultivation of Monsanto’s GM maize MON810, a surprising move that delighted campaigners. Germany became the sixth EU country to introduce a provisional ban on the GM maize, after France, Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg and Greece [3]. A source close to the EC said the German ban might bring a revision of the European legislation on GM crops. Germany also voted with the majority in March when the European Commission (EC) attempted to force Austria and Hungary to reverse their bans, and its ruling was overturned by a big majority [1].
Comments (0)Posted on: June 21, 2009
Doctors Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith
Immediate Moratorium on All Genetically Modified Foods Recommended
By Jeffrey M. Smith, executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, and author of the highly acclaimed Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette.
On May 19th, 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.” (1) 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.”
More and more doctors are already prescribing GM-free diets. Dr. Amy Dean, a Michigan internal medicine specialist, and board member of AAEM says, “I strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods.” Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says “I used to test for soy allergies all the time, but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it.”
Comments (0)Posted on: May 19, 2009
The Bionic Burger
Consumerism, Health & Disease — by Craig Mackintosh
Long before Supersize Me or Fast Food Nation, Matt Malmgren was making interesting discoveries about fast food. In 1989, the trailing edge of the mullet era, he bought two burgers — he ate one and put the other in his pocket, intending to eat it later, but subsequently forgot about it. A full year passed before he pulled his old jacket out of the closet again, rediscovering the burger — and to his surprise found it still looked and smelled the same as a new one. It hadn’t decomposed.
When he told his friends about it, they didn’t believe him, so he repeated the experiment, several times over…. Today he has the world’s largest burger museum. All perfectly preserved with a chemical cocktail that discourages (much smarter) animals and insects from eating them.
Comments (0)Posted on: May 8, 2009
All Pigs in Egypt to be Culled
Animal Housing, Health & Disease, Livestock — by Craig Mackintosh
Continuing on from yesterday, where we revealed some pretty concrete links between H1N1 (Swine Flu) and corporate factory farms, and where we bemoaned the fact that the small-scale backyard farmers are likely to suffer because of the actions of this large U.S. industry, now we see that all the pig farmers in Egypt are going to lose their entire stock (around 300,000 – 400,000 animals in total). Apparently there is talk of ‘compensation’ (we’ll see…), but pig farmers would have to relocate their fresh new stock (when they’re allowed to restock is unknown) to locations away from birds and humans – arguably an impossible task for most. This will likely leave a great many families without a means of income.
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