Stop Monsanto from Putting a Rider on the Ag Bill

I am too busy on my farm to write much this time of year, BUT I can't ignore this: Monsanto has convinced congress to add a rider to the 2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill that would end judicial review of approvals of new genetically engineered crops.

If this rider (Sec. 733) isn't removed, organic and non-GMO farmers will lose their access to the court system and they'll have no recourse when the U.S. Department of Agriculture illegally approves new genetically engineered crops that threaten to contaminate their fields and seed supplies.

Monsanto's sneak attack is a response to successful lawsuits brought by the Center for Food Safety on behalf of organic and non-GMO farmers and seed growers that have attempted to block planting of genetically engineered sugar beets and alfalfa while the USDA conducted a court-ordered review of the dangers of contamination.

A vote on an amendment offered by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) to strike Monsanto's rider from the appropriations bill was expected this week, but will likely be delayed until after the July 4th recess. Let's use this time to spread the word and send tens of thousands of letters to Congress! 

Click here to tell your congress person to support the DeFazio amendment to remove this provision from the Ag Appropriations bill.

Save the Bees, SIgn This Petition to Ban Clothianidin

Tell the EPA: Ban the pesticide that's killing bees! 

In the next week, the EPA is expected to issue a decision on the pesticide Clothianidin -- which scientists believe is a major factor in the alarming decline in U.S honey bee populations, known as Colony Collapse Disorder.
 

Since 2006, one third of U.S honey bee populations have been dying off. One third. Every year. That's a terrible rate of species destruction on its own, but it's also a serious threat to our food supply. Honey bees play a crucial role by pollinating 71 of the 100 most common crops, which account for 90% of the world's food supply.

The EPA will be issuing a decision soon. If the agency doesn't act, it won't review Clothianidin again until 2018 -- and by then it could be too late for the bees.

 

Tell the EPA: Bee die-offs are an emergency. Ban the pesticide that's killing bees. Click here to sign the petition.

Occupy Monsanto in Boston MA

The biotechnology industry is having a convention June 18-21 in Boston, Massachusetts. In order to attend the sessions you must register for the conference, which costs thousands of dollars. Occupy Monsanto, Millions Against Monsanto, and other food democracy groups will be staging their own "Sidewalk Session" on the first day of the convention outside of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. They hope you can join them.

WHO: Occupy Monsanto, Millions Against Monsanto, & food democracy activists
WHAT: A Sidewalk Session - An open mic for activists to share & expose the dangers of the biotechnology industry
WHERE: Sidewalk in front of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210
WHEN: Monday, June 18th, at 8am until 10am
WHY: The biotechnology industry is conspiring to unleash more GMOs into the environment along with more toxic pesticides.

Click Here: to RSVP on Facebook

Or via e-mail: 

GCU@Occupy-Monsanto.com

How to Stop Your Local Farms From Growing GMOs

Some of you have an interest in banning all farming of genetically modified food in your county. I do myself. Luckily Jackson county in Oregon is paving the way for all of us. Go to this website to see how they are doing it. It is easier for all of us to ban GMOs in our individual counties than to try to get a federal law passed. It is also harder for Monsanto to fight all the counties in the United States. Check out Jackson counties proposed county ordinance that was just posted on the below website. Use it as a guide to put something similar on your county ballot.

http://www.gmofreejacksoncounty.org/initiative.html

Eating Like We Breath

This was a line I read in the book series called “The Ringing Cedar Series”. I highly recommend you read this series of books. Everyone I have given it to or recommend read it has found it enriching to their lives. The first one is called Anastasia which you can get at Amazon. 

Eating Like We Breath: I relate to this statement on two levels.

Inhaling nourishment: When I walk through my gardens and smell the air, it feels as if I am getting nourishment from the mere act of breathing in the odors that the plants are emitting. In the early summer when all the plants are blooming and exhaling their wondrous oxygen and voluptuous vapors into the air, I feel heady with glee. As I breath in their vapors I am  filled with a boundless happiness. My emotional being is nourished. I don’t need to ingest these plants to have their constituents become part of my body and effect my brain. The mere act of breathing in the plant vapors affects my brain, my mind, and goes directly to the heart of my soul. I feel filled with nourishment and my being is completely satiated by the act of breathing deeply.

Eating without effort: Additionally, this statement means my eating should be as effortless as my breathing. It should be something my body does as second nature. This comes back to the act of browsing I mentioned in a prior blog. When I browse in the gardens, I am not thinking of what I want to eat or what I need to eat. My body is drawn to an exceptional looking fruit or a beautiful looking bean beckons me to nibble on it. This type of eating is very much as effortless as breathing. I believe this is the way we were meant to eat. We were meant to eat like we breath.