I guess most of you have heard about GMOs, Monsanto and all the fuss surrounding these by now. In case you haven't, here's a bit of info.
Monsanto is a multinational corporation pioneer in agricultural biotechnology. It started out more than a century ago as a chemical company and developed insecticides such as Agent Orange, PCBs and the peptide hormone rBGH -to mention a few. All involved in major controversial global issues because of the outrageous results their use has provoked in the environment and health of millions all around the world. That includes you and me in one way or another. Even though today a lot of people are still paying the price -as you can read under the links above- of the misuse of these, Monsanto is alive and kicking, as strong as ever, hiding behind a "sustainable" agriculture label and creating poison after poison that just keeps spreading further and further. Forget Agent Orange, PCBs and rBGH if you will, but do not think that you are safe from being contaminated. Monsanto developed herbicides to kill weeds that would compromise a crop's full growth. They are on top of the list of herbicide manufacturing in the world, with Roundup being their pride baby and a bestseller.
Genetically Modified Organisms are -as it clearly spells out- organisms that have been genetically altered. Even if genetic engineering and biotechnology are gigantic tools of modern science, the modification of organisms is in itself unnatural as these are not able, nor are they meant to, alter themselves in such a way. Monsanto genetically modifies seeds to be immune to the herbicides they themselves are selling. The crop is now injected with and is producing toxics to protect itself from the herbicides. Today, ALL those seeds are Monsanto patented and ayayay! he who dares grow them without Monsanto's approval. Even if you don't eat this type of crops per-se, a lot and I mean, A LOT of products use these crops as base. So that is -no more, no less- what you buy in the supermarket and feed your family with. In very few words GMOs, you and Monsanto are very much linked.
That not being enough, the "success" of the cultivation of these types of crops has created a monoculture that has spread to every corner of the world, making it easy for the now -by the way- also mutant insects to spread just as fast. But no worries, Monsanto has now put on the market yet ANOTHER poisoned insect-ready crop. The RR2. Well, well, well, would you take a look at that... Monsanto is everywhere. Corporate vicious circle. And we are in the middle of it. Their marketing skills are so high, that they have convinced so many of us of their "pure" intentions of ending world hunger. Maybe once upon a time, that was one man's dream, but today they couldn't be further away from that. They are controlling the world. Period. The corporatization of agriculture is one of the main characters in all the crises we are facing nowadays; poverty, climate change, desertification of our planet. Someone offering a spiritual -yet as Earthly as the air we breath- solution to end this was Masanobu Fukuoka and his "One-Straw Revolution", labeling all those conditions as unnatural and proposing solutions based on his own generations-old farming experience. Solutions of organic farming to regain the balance between Earth and its inhabitants, specially us humans, who seemed to have forgotten that Earth is the soil we step on, the air we breath, the water we drink, without it we are dust.
Like medical researcher Jonas Salk once said: “If all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all life on earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.”
In Europe for example, labeling GMOs is a must and so it is easier to know what we are consuming. But rules and regulations are changing constantly and you need to keep informed about those in your own country as these vary, even within the EU. These are even becoming less and less strict, more and more corporation-faborable.
I could go on forever about this, but I hope I've at least shed a light upon something here, that you'd wanna dig a bit deeper and become more conscious about what you buy to fuel your beautiful body. I am sure your priority is to take care of yourself and your family, so let's all become a part of the green revolution and stand against what's in our way to a healthy, happy life. Start here, by clearing your pantries of GM foods and rejecting to buy them ever again. Taking the risk of sounding like a modern clichè: Go organic, go green!
Here are some related suggestions that will expand your knowledge on the subject:
Documentary "The world according to Monsanto" by Marie-Monique Robin (there are many options on youtube)
An article on Vanity Fair about Agent Orange, here
Short documentary about soy plantations in Argentina, here
Very inspirational book by Masanobu Fukuoka "Sowing Seeds in The Desert"
An informative site against Monsanto, here
That not being enough, the "success" of the cultivation of these types of crops has created a monoculture that has spread to every corner of the world, making it easy for the now -by the way- also mutant insects to spread just as fast. But no worries, Monsanto has now put on the market yet ANOTHER poisoned insect-ready crop. The RR2. Well, well, well, would you take a look at that... Monsanto is everywhere. Corporate vicious circle. And we are in the middle of it. Their marketing skills are so high, that they have convinced so many of us of their "pure" intentions of ending world hunger. Maybe once upon a time, that was one man's dream, but today they couldn't be further away from that. They are controlling the world. Period. The corporatization of agriculture is one of the main characters in all the crises we are facing nowadays; poverty, climate change, desertification of our planet. Someone offering a spiritual -yet as Earthly as the air we breath- solution to end this was Masanobu Fukuoka and his "One-Straw Revolution", labeling all those conditions as unnatural and proposing solutions based on his own generations-old farming experience. Solutions of organic farming to regain the balance between Earth and its inhabitants, specially us humans, who seemed to have forgotten that Earth is the soil we step on, the air we breath, the water we drink, without it we are dust.
Like medical researcher Jonas Salk once said: “If all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all life on earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.”
In Europe for example, labeling GMOs is a must and so it is easier to know what we are consuming. But rules and regulations are changing constantly and you need to keep informed about those in your own country as these vary, even within the EU. These are even becoming less and less strict, more and more corporation-faborable.
I could go on forever about this, but I hope I've at least shed a light upon something here, that you'd wanna dig a bit deeper and become more conscious about what you buy to fuel your beautiful body. I am sure your priority is to take care of yourself and your family, so let's all become a part of the green revolution and stand against what's in our way to a healthy, happy life. Start here, by clearing your pantries of GM foods and rejecting to buy them ever again. Taking the risk of sounding like a modern clichè: Go organic, go green!
Here are some related suggestions that will expand your knowledge on the subject:
Documentary "The world according to Monsanto" by Marie-Monique Robin (there are many options on youtube)
An article on Vanity Fair about Agent Orange, here
Short documentary about soy plantations in Argentina, here
Very inspirational book by Masanobu Fukuoka "Sowing Seeds in The Desert"
An informative site against Monsanto, here
Some of the brands Monsanto either owns or has business with, here
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