Saw "Food, Inc." today. Oh my god. I knew a lot of that stuff, but still learned a lot.

Like about Monsanto and the soybean seeds. 90 percent of the soybeans grown in our country are grown from Mosanto's genetically modified seeds. They file nuisance lawsuits against the farmers seeking to grow the other 10 percent (farmers who want to save, clean and plant their own seeds instead of using Monsanto's Frankenbeans. The farmers (and their seedcleaner) lost all their money fighting Monsanto.

Something has to be done to bring down these huge food conglomerates that are killing us with what they're feeding us (and treating animals in horrific ways).

That movie just made me bawl.

I also found out today that they're training farmed fish to eat corn ... the overgrowing of corn being one of the big problems with our food supply right now (livestock fed corn instead of the healthier grass; high fructose corn syrup in everything, etc.). I can't even get away from corn-fed critters by only eating seafood!

Now, almost all of the produce and meat I buy is local, grass-fed, and free range, and I'm planning a winter garden. If you haven't done so, already, read The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. And spread the word. Everyone needs to see that film. It's transformative.

It's the bane of anyone who wants to feed their dogs and cats a healthy diet, because the first ingredient in the vast majority of dry kibble is "ground yellow corn." Indigestible by dogs and cats, and not particularly digestible for humans either. But it adds bulk and filler, and most importantly is cheap. I've got nothing against good sweet corn, mind you, if it's not GMO crap - almost impossible to find even at local farmer's markets now. You have to buy heirloom seeds and plant your own.

I haven't seen the movie you reference, but I'm a big advocate of growing as much of one's own food as possible. If everyone would do it, or if people would come together as communities and plant organic gardens, it would put monsters like Monsanto right where they belong: out of business. They'd try to find some excuse to sue, but if the whole country were doing it, they couldn't go after everyone at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0

:patriot:

Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_OJcPKEYDE

Seed copyrights, lawsuits, shocking...

... as shown in "Food, Inc."

I was so fucking mad when I left the theater ... as much on that man's behalf as on my own.

I learned a lot from this video. (Didn't realize that Monsanto also brought us such hits as DDT, Agent Orange, PCBs and rBGH.)

I will check this one out.....

posted above me.

Here is an excerpt:

"Environmental Impact: Waste
"A 1,000-head feedlot produces up to 280 tons of manure a week, and the smell can be powerful. All that feed corn requires millions of tons of fertilizer and, ultimately, a lot of petroleum."

That manure use to be worth something. As a natural farmer, I'm always looking for good sources of clean manure to haul off into my compost pile. But that manure is filled with antibiotics, hormones and bug spray. (They use insecticide on large enclosed areas of animals so that disease doesn't spread to animals through the insects. But that insecticide spreads through the animals. That's not mentioned in the Time story.)

So huge corporations have managed to even make shit shittier.

I'm always amazed by the nuts who claim that the Obama administration is "just like Bush."

http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/08/10/antitrust-ventures-into-farm-belt/

Antitrust Ventures Into Farm Belt

By Joe Palazzolo | August 10, 2009

It’s been a while since we’ve considered agriculture in terms of antitrust enforcement, and we’re happy to do so now. On Friday, Philip J. Weiser, a telecommunications-law expert who was appointed deputy assistant attorney general in April, told a group of farmers (in Missouri!) that antitrust regulators are taking a hard look at the level of competition in several agribusiness sectors.

Click here for the WSJ story, and click here for Weiser’s full remarks, which include a well-presented history of the Sherman Act and its ties to ag biz, including the beef trust in Chicago.

As the WSJ notes, Washington has often sided with farmers who find themselves selling their commodities to fewer and larger processors. But the Obama administration is taking it a step further. Weiser said Antitrust has plans for workshops, in cooperation with the USDA, that will focus on a number of issues.

They include:

* Evaluating the state and nature of competition in a range of agricultural markets
* The impact of vertical integration
* Concerns about “buyer power”
* Relevant regulatory regimes
* The nature of transparency in the marketplace

Until then ... where do I get tofu and edamame that I can be sure don't come from soybeans grown from Monsanto seed ... when 90 percent of all soybeans in the U.S. are grown from Monsanto's genetically modified seeds?

It's about time.

Grassley sure isn't going to like that one, especially as it was announced just days before he started his summer job. You'd think he could do better for summer work than helping Monsanto to spread the joy to other countries. Maybe that's what made him so cranky.

http://grassley.senate.gov/events/Daily-View.cfm?clicked=1&day=17&month=8&year=2009



Just to keep their bases covered they also gave plenty to Sen. Harkin, and as I look, pretty much everyone else.

Went with a group last week to see Food Inc.

One thing is certain, Monsanto is an EVIL company. I wonder how the executives at Monsanto can even look at themselves in the mirror every morning.