I don’t get political here. Never have, thought I never would. But this makes me cry. I will never shop or knowingly purchase foods affiliated with these companies again.
Et tu? Whole Foods? Really?
Please read the article at the Organic Consumers Association‘s site:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm
So glad I grow my own.
My little bit of earth.
“Please Sir, may I have a little bit of earth?”
Mary, The secret Garden
~*~
PLEASE: If you have heard anything different since this article was published please enlighten us in the comments!
Thank you.
Life on the Farmlet 
Ok i read it, and have made a note of the names. And like you, thank god I have a little patch to grow my own food and feed crops for my cows, though it is IN the Center of GM crops, we will never be organic! but will still fly in the face of it. You would think that the down turn in fertility in cows fed GM crops would immediately tell the PEOPLE who eat this beef to Watch Out! Inertia prevails! c
Thanks for reading Cecilia. To be open and fair, there has been a rebuttal by a reader on FB, but so far I have not found anything and they didn’t leave any links. I will search. I have amended the post to ask others to point us to anything which may refute this article as well. ~ L
As a food producer I have been living in a state of “appalled” for years now. From the USDA to FDA to WFM, it is saturated with misinformation and outright lies. And while our politicians do their “smoke and mirrors” dances about inconsequential nonsense that gets everyone’s emotions in a knot the govt is busy working with the large agribusinesses in deals.
The amount of GMOs you eat unknowingly is huge. There are websites out there with commercial products and produce which are made with GMOs, you just have to look for them. Because, as usual, NO one is looking out for you. You must do the research, you must care enough to do it.
See how well I am staying away from the politics of it?
But both parties are complicit, both benefit from it. Equally. You dont and never will. You must track down the information, no matter how ugly it is.
Happy breakfast~lunch & dinner,
Connie
ps GMO sweet corn is on its way this year.
I guess the alarming thing for me, is the fact that the GMO pollens are in the air and that Monsanto can come in and sue the organic and small holdings farmers for patent rights, AND WIN! I also don’t like that the superweeds are already out there, and that GMO are growing freely along many roadsides via the wind. Perhaps we have already passed the point of no return. (???) I am not happy. This is the stuff that gives me nightmares.
this has been pushed below the public’s radar for decades. A good rule of thumb is to worry when you dont hear about things you are concerned about on the political stage. And check the stock market and Bloomberg…. always follow the money.
Thank you for this Connie!
Disturbing and unbelievable, except I do believe it and am worried.
I want to put my garden in a protective bubble, but it is infeasible. ~ L
Thanks for the links. There was little totally new, but it was a good reminder about being careful about what we buy and eat.
Nancy
Yes, we must. Though I am starting to feel that there is no hope… yet I persist in trying. ~ L
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-24/genetically-modified-crops-to-get-faster-approval-usda-says.html
OK, Now I will stop posting about this because I am becoming a militant-farmer about food safety. Now I have to go out and enjoy the day, the sun and my animals.
I feel like a gnat screaming in a wind tunnel when I talk about this, but if no one ever speaks up… ~ L
😦
Your concerns are founded and grounded in reality. Keep talking about it. It helps to have other voices out there. Otherwise it is too easy to dismiss the extremists and ignore the problem because the information is becoming distorted by the Crazies on both sides.
Thank you Connie, I believe they are too. I talk about it A LOT on FB to my friends, but most of them just blow it off, via a nonresponse. I am afraid they think that I am one of the crazies out there. It is very disheartening. ~ L
for those who feel they have no effect: follow the money and follow the power. We have elected these officials. All of us. Either with votes or purchases. The Whole Foods issue didnt surprise me… follow the money back to the owner.
The USDA and the FDA are the ones pushing these foods through the system faster and faster. Just because they are govt regulatory entities does not mean they have your best interest at heart. They follow the money.
Because I don’t like shoving my politics down people’s throats but also understand that non farmer/ag people really dont know “where the buck stops” with these issues (and really, why should you it is purposefully confusing) I keep telling those people to follow the money and power.
And be forewarned that the answers you find may be very upsetting and not what you want to believe.
Look into the head of the USDA, his history and google him. See who appointed him as the head of the USDA and do the same with the other regulatory groups. YOU do it…. I already have.
I am a producer, standing in the crosshairs of my state, for sabor rattling…..
I wanted to tell all of you that you do have impact. In the article I posted it clearly states that Monsanto’s original schedual of “product to market” took 6 months….. that’s it. It was always approved within 6 months.
Because of public pressure, that time went up to three years before approval could be had.
Now it will be halved back down to 1.5 yrs, next month, because consumers never see or understand how much power they actually DO have when they demand changes. With their money. And knowledge.
money always talks.
ie: probably if you buy a cheaper brand of sugar than C&H pure cane sugar, you will get gmo beet sugar, not sugar cane sugar. It looks the same, tastes the same. But it is sourced from GMO sugar beets.
Labeling is what we need as well. Because Im sure if American Crystal’s label said Genetically Modified Organism Beet Sugar and was 1/2 the price and it was next to one that said 100% cane sugar……. you’d buy the cane sugar. I would.
I would and I do! ~ L
Reading it from here in the UK, I still think what I’ve read is appalling. Well done for posting this important news. Keep on at it !
Oh, and The Secret Garden was a favourite of mine as a kid, thanks for the reminder 🙂
Thanks Claire. Perhaps I can post under a flag of GMO food concerns. Present the facts, let the public decide? I just feel like we can’t keep ignoring the elephant in the bathtub anymore. 😦
The Secret Garden has been one of my all time favorites for a very long time. 🙂
~ L
I have followed this subject for a while now, and also feel at a loss to speak out and make any kind of a dent in helping people become aware and to understand. I think most people don’t want to face what is happening, and most people I know find some way of making it okay, to justify it or simply poo pooing all the rant. I do the best I can to be aware and caution others about GM crops and products, and keep reference articles handy. It often feels overwhelming and hopeless trying to reach the masses though.
It isn’t going away unless more people take action. But most of us, myself included, don’t even really know where to start. and yes, I often feel that many of my friends feel that I am over reacting on the subject. Their silence speaks volumes. Thanks Lori for not being one of the silent ones. ~ L
I’m political all the time and I don’t care. If you want big companies to be controlled, you need two things: strong government and enough taxes to pay for regulators who can regulate and politicians who are not dependent on big business for re election. (Taxes help this last thing, honest.) Since the US is averse to strong government and reasonable taxes, Monsanto rules. Remember the saying of my distant ancestor, Cosmo Innes : “The poor have no lawyers.”
Thank you for sharing Tom!
Hi,
Very interesting indeed, it certainly makes you wonder.
Good links and thanks for the info.
You’re welcome Magsx2. ~ L
WOW! Lynda, lots of comments on this one. First of all, you are not over reacting. As for political – we are all political – just a fact. We have to fight Monsanto and we have to fight hard. We have to stand up to our wimpy government and demand they pay attention to what we the people want. This isn’t easy and it’s not going to happen quickly. This is going to be an ongoing battle for a very long time. Occupy Monsanto!!!!!!! Better still, erase Monsanto (and Dow and . . . .) from the face of the Earth.
Thanks Lindy, did you see my post on FB (2/27) regarding this very topic? And of course, there was no one sponsoring this here in Alabama! The mentality here is just a little bit too “Round-up Ready.” ~ L
BTW, this information was given to the discussion via Cindy Kirkpatric. See below.
If we never ‘get political’, if we don’t vote at the poll and with our purchases, we have no right to complain. I’ve been boycotting everything to do with Monsanto (Round-up…) that I know about, for years, trying to support people who worry about GM0’s in my small way. I know I’m just a gnat on the wind, but look at the comments here – this is grass roots. If each of us does what we can, we become a gnat storm, which are at the least very annoying to their target. One person informed is one more gnat in the storm. Bravo!
This just out today: Occupy Our Food Supply.
I would caution people to be realistic about the battles they are choosing when it comes to entities like Monsanto. I am a farmer and am absolutely against GMOs. But not pesticides.
I do have to use herbicides in my pastures in order to maintain them. Remember there are literally hundreds of weed species that were not here just 50-60 yrs ago. With no cultivation methods to kill them or natural enemies.
These are two distinctive & seperate issues: pesticides and GMOs.
They DO, as issues, overlap in the heavy use of RoundUp on the RoundUp ready crops- making the weeds into super weeds as they selectively survive and breed. Get rid of the Round Up ready GMOs, you get rid of the overuse of Round Up…. THAT’S how they overlap
I am also a past president and founder of MELA (Midwest Ecological Landscping Association) and had an “earth friendly” landscape company in Chgo for 15 yrs.
What I realized – back then- is that the landscape industry is the one Urbanites need to worry about as far as pesticides go. As the traditional landscapers were using them for everything.
The pesticides that are used by landscapers are in your backyard and in your home from feet (dogs, kids, adults) sometimes are at higher levels than in your yard, where they can biodegrade.
Here, I have to use specific herbicides to control the invasive introduced species of weeds that destroy my pastures- anything from Johnson grass to Lespedezia sericea. There are no alternatives – however there is correct application and management in order to control the noxious invasives. And keep the pesticides viable by not over applying them.
So…… just saying, these are two entirely different issues and you need to be educated about them both in order to fight them. There’s nothing a pro GMO debater loves more than you not knowing exactly the right terms.
Connie, you are a wealth of information on this issue! Thank you so much! ~ L
This was awesome and timely to the discussion, alas, there was no one sponsoring here in Alabama!!! No time to set up for one either. Hopefully there will be another chance soon! ~ L
I was quite surprised at how hot a topic this is, but glad to know so many care. Little ol’ me got 100 hits over this one… that’s a lot for one day, well for me anyway! 😉 ~ L
I knew just a little about Monsanto and GMO’s but had no clue that WFM was so deep into this. It makes me sad because like so many in urban settings, I try to be true to organics, shop at WFM in addition to my CSA, and had noticed that WFM has become more and more misleading with their packaging…now I know why. A very, very sad commentary in a time when local, organic and slow foods are struggling and are making a rise in the mass consciousness. Thank you for sharing this thought provoking and informative article. And more power to you and your farmlet, too!
Thank you. I always hesitate to take the outspoken road, but this one hits hard! Seems like I am not so alone in my feelings as I had thought. Therefore, I will post more as I am made aware! ~ L
This helps to clarify a lot – including the changes in packaging I’ve noticed. I had read about the change from certified organic to natural, and what a pile of hooey that is, and I have friends who garden and made me aware of the difference between heritage and GM seed.
The one thing I’ll mention from reading the comments is that a strong government is not the answer when the politicians are in bed with the corporations. Tom Vilsack is exhibit A. I just was up in Iowa and Minnesota last fall, and that man isn’t going to win any popularity contests with the farmers I talked with. “Bought and paid for” is the phrase that was used.
With no land to grow my own, it’s a problem. I’ve always gone to WFM, assuming it was a good source for – well, for healthy food. Fiddlesticks.
And now, the regulators are out in force, making it extraordinarily difficult for the small truck gardeners who always were at the farmers’ markets to get their produce to people.
I am sharing your link with people I know through weather underground and other such sites. There are some involved sorts in places like Cape Cod, Florida and Kentucky who will take up the task of passing on the word.
Good post.
Thank you Linda! I think for the average person, it is “get all excited and indignant about it, then forget about it until next time it comes around…” so the secret is to keep it going around so it’s on our minds all the time. Voting with our food dollars is good, now we have to keep talking/shouting out so we are heard as well. ~ L
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/10191-monsanto-prevails-in-suit-brought-by-organic-growers
* we have been waiting to hear about how this one turns out. Now we know.