FDA Approved post number 3!

Side effects of this posting may include nausea, rage, insightfulness, protest, and reflection.  Please consult your doctor before reading.



Monsanto....ahhh where to begin!  If you're not sure who or what Monsanto is, do a quick StartPage.com search (StartPage is like google but without all the baggage of government tracking) and I'm sure you'll take to the issue of their existence the same way I did...or relatively close anyway.

They're a multinational corporation deeply rooted with many OTHER multinational corporations (DOW, DuPont, Pfizer) and are widely regarded as corporate bullies.  I'll let you do the background research since I've already learned my stuff and you can further verify what I write in here.  Started in the beginning of the 20th century, they were a chemical company who created chemical weapons during WWI, pesticides, had a huge part to play in creating the first atomic bomb during WWII, created Agent Orange, etc.  They are best known for their pesticides and herbicides, specifically RoundUp.  They began gene splicing projects to created plant strains that were RoundUp resistant and this began a trip down the rabbit hole into Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Herbicide Resistance

It all sounds GREAT on paper.  Plants that can stand up to herbicides??? Awesome!  Now we don't have to pull weeds, just spray large quantities of this toxic compound directly onto the whole crop and it wipes out any trace of anything else without harming the crops themselves!  Let's pretend for a moment that this herbicide, which says right on the label just how toxic it is to ALL living things, stays right where it is, on the top of the soil and on those dirty nasty weeds.  Oh wait, that's an impossibility.  Inevitably, when those plants are watered whether by rain or by irrigation, that poison is going to end up flowing along with the water and down into our groundwater.  No problem, right?  I mean it's not like we drink that stuff....unless we have a well....
Even beyond the water contamination, the way GMOs are made is as follows:
Monsanto scientists find organisms that seem to be unaffected by the active ingredient in any given herbicide.  They take specific genes from this organism, whether bacteria, moth, spider, you name it, and splice them with the genes present in a given seed.  They then patent this seed and sell it in mass quantities to contracted "farmers".  I use the quotes because a true farmer grows more than just a single type of crop.  It's common sense, but we'll get into that later.  These "farmers" grow the plants, harvest them, and sell them to the public without indicating that this corn or soy or zucchini is different from naturally occurring plants.  The unknowing public buys their product and consumes traces of herbicide with every bite.

Cross Polination

Kind of a no-brainer, right?  Bees, butterflies, the wind...all helpers in this great thing called pollination.  Pollination allows for certain plants to produce fruit which may not without it.  It also can enhance a strain of plants by creating hybrids.  This is all naturally occurring stuff, right?  Well, tell that to Monsanto's executives and lawyers.  If by an act of nature, Monsanto seed pollen comes in contact with your non-Monsanto seed crop and one of their investigative spies comes along and takes a sample of your crop to test....and finds out that it has traces of Monsanto's patented product within the pollen............consider yourself sued, your land taken, and your future indebted to their service.  Don't believe it?  Talk to one of the hundreds of farmers currently being or having been sued for this very reason.  These people didn't even WANT the contamination to happen.  They wanted their pure strain without the baggage.  No matter, the multination corporation sues indiscriminately even if there is no evidence sometimes.  They want farmers to know that they run the show around here.

BT Toxin

Well, as I mentioned, most farmers are only growing monoculture (single type of food) crops.  You drive down any country road and all you can see for miles are corn fields.  Year after year, ear after ear, corn corn corn....
One of the biggest problems with monocultures is it's prone to disease and pest infestation!  Since only one type of plant is grown in this massive area, bugs and fungi that thrive on this particular food source see this as the opportunity of a lifetime and go in full force to satisfy their cravings.  This can lead to a massive loss in revenue for the "farmer" and increased food costs for the rest of us.  However, people have been catching on that pesticides = bad for everyone...not just bugs.  Monsanto's answer: put the pesticide in the seed's DNA!  Thus BT corn was..born?  Concocted.  Now, when insects try eating this tasty treat, their insides rupture and they die!  No more pesticide in the water supply, though!  But wait....if the poison is IN the plant...and people are growing the plant to eat....wait a minute this just doesn't compute!  Actually, traces of the BT toxin have been found in unborn babies.

I'm not even going to get into PCBs.  Look it up.  It's in the link below...along with some other nice reading material.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

The FDA

In order to protect itself from lawsuits and required labeling, Monsanto has lobbied their way into the United States government.

Obama signed the Monsanto Protection Act on March 26 despite campaigning on our right to know.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00042069

What's wrong with lobbying?  Well, that's another discussion.  The point is, Monsanto is in the White House.  Obama signed into law the Monsanto Protection Act just this month which protects them from lawsuits regarding GMOs.  Funny how they should need that kind of protection really, I mean if their products are safe and all....  I digress.

http://rense.com/general33/fd.htm

This should answer any and all questions as to my point.  Monsanto lobbyists have found a comfortable job and a home within the EPA, FDA, USDA, Supreme Court, Congress, and the Senate.  Democrats, Republicans, they both took payment and pushed through the ideals of this multinational bully.  In almost every other nation in the world GMOs are either banned or required to be labeled.  Is there really any question as to why that hasn't happened in America yet?

The Right to KNOW

Sounds pretty basic.  It IS basic!  The right to know what is in our food and water is a fundamental right and is being blocked at every turn.  The regulatory boards will argue that these GMO foods are just as safe and are seen as an equivalent food as anything grown in nature.  But if they're the same, why can't we just go out and patent things found in nature?  If they're separate but equal, why is Monsanto able to sue those who save seeds?  Also, if they're so sure these foods are safe and are so proud of them as a feat of engineering, why wouldn't they want to display that pride on a label?  Because in other countries, and even in America, studies have linked GMOs to cancer, allergies, obesity, and other illnesses.

Another problem with Monocultures

Monsanto allows and pushes for "farmers" to grow specific crops in bulk every year.  I already explained how this is problematic as far as pest infestations go.  Now let's cover why it's destroying the earth.

When you plant a seed in the ground and it grows, produces fruit, and dies, it requires nutrients and minerals found within the soil.  Decomposing plant matter, plus a slew of other ingredients makes for healthy, living soil which allows for healthy, growing plants.  Each type of plant depletes the soil of specific nutrients.  If the same crop is planted in the same place repeatedly, the soil quality lessens...which means the food production slows....and eventually you are left with a desert.  Read up of the 1930 Dustbowl in the Midwest.  The soil became sandy...dust-like due to overuse and was unusable....

Crop Rotation

I covered this a bit in my gardening blog, but I feel like I should elaborate on why monocultures are killing the earth through a LACK of crop rotation.

When a plant grows, it uses up nutrients in the soil.  However, it also puts key ingredients back in, especially when it dies and decomposes.  If you rotate your crops properly, the nutrients used up in one season by a particular crop will be replenished the next by another and so on.

Organic v. Conventional Farming re: Profit per Acre

Organic, sustainable farming produces more and provides higher quality foods.

Conventional farming isn't only harmful to the soil, but to the air and any animals that may be hiding in the fields.

Organic wins by a landslide.  http://www.newag.msu.edu/Home/tabid/37/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/158/Economic-returns-per-acre-from-an-experimental-organic-farm-in-WestCentral-Illinois.aspx

Organic farmers using no pesticide, no chemical (meaning made in a lab) fertilizers, and using proper crop rotation yields more high quality food at less cost than conventional farming methods.  Don't even get me started on raising animals.  That's an entire blog in itself.

I hope this has opened your eyes to an issue we all need to address.  I'm trying to push for a people's ballot initiative in Michigan to get GMO labeling as a legal requirement, but so far I need about 99,950 more signatures to even get a spot on a ballot.  I'm not going to quit until I succeed, but I need help.  We can all do our part by voting with our dollar in the meantime.  Yes, organic food is expensive.  Quite a bit more than conventional.  However, you don't have to start out with buying EVERYTHING organic.  Start with maybe a bag of oranges, apples, or a bunch of bananas.  My future Mrs. and I taste a VERY noticeable difference in our organic fruits v. conventionally grown fruit.  They're sweeter, juicier, and you feel their effects more.  Every purchase is registered in the store's database and when the demand for more organic produce increases, the price begins to decrease and farmers are made to comply with the growing demand.

Start a garden!  NO MIRACLE GROW!  That's cheating and it's poisonous.  If you eat soil, you're going to get dirt in your teeth and a bad taste in your mouth.  If you eat a fertilizer stake, you're going to be on the toilet for a while before you have to go to the hospital.  IF you must fertilize, use a good manure based compost.

Finally, here's a list of recommended documentaries to view.  They're all on Netfilx minus the first one.

The World According to Monsanto

Food Inc.

Food Matters

Hungry for Change

Farmageddon

The Gerson Miracle

Forks over Knives

Dirt

Fresh

There are more, but off the top of my head this is all I could come up with.  Happy learning!

Just say no to Frankenfoods.

Sources (some)

http://www.maximizedliving.com/Home/MaximizedLivingBlog/tabid/772/Article/574/is-monsantos-herbicide-a-new-agent-orange.aspx

http://www.new-ag.msu.edu/Home/tabid/37/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/158/Economic-returns-per-acre-from-an-experimental-organic-farm-in-WestCentral-Illinois.aspx

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/dustbowl.htm

http://www.naturalnews.com/037493_gmo_toxins_pregnant_women.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/00707.html

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef130.asp

www.millionsagainstmonsanto.org

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/28/study-gm-maize-cancer

http://www.dailytech.com/Monsanto+Defeats+Small+Farmers+in+Critical+Bioethics+Class+Action+Suit/article24118.htm

http://bestmeal.info/monsanto/company-history.shtml

http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00042069

http://www.examiner.com/article/congress-passes-legislation-to-protect-monsanto-and-gmo-products-from-lawsuits

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

No, not Christmas time....the beginning of GARDENING SEASON!

THIS is my absolute favorite time, regardless of the fact that there's still snow and frigid temperatures to come.  This is the time when I get all my seeds together, come up with a game plan for the growing season and begin my indoor starters.

I've been gardening now for about a decade and I've never felt so connected to nature or God doing anything else.  There's something so spiritually rewarding to planting a seed and watching it grow into a full, fruiting plant.  ESPECIALLY organically.  I refuse to use chemicals or anything unnatural in my gardening so far as I can help it.  I don't care if it's nitrogen, manganese, zinc, iron, or anything else.  If it's made in a lab and thrown into dirt as an additive, it's not natural OR organic.

I have a lot of goals for this year's garden:

Compost.

I want to compost this year at both my parents' house and at my future in laws'.  Since I don't get to have my own garden due to living in an apartment, I use their yards and we all share in the labor and fruits.  It's kind of a sweet deal, especially since at my future in laws' we have 14 awesome chickens consisting of 13 egg layers and a rooster and they've been VERY productive!  Best part of about that is chicken poo makes some of the best fertilizer money can buy...and for us it's free!  Of course, you can't use it fresh or it has the potential to burn the plants and kill them.  One whiff of that stuff and you'll understand why.  But I plan on composting their poo and anything else that's biodegradable and thusly provide the gardens with their own helpings of all natural fertilizer that does more than add a few key nutrients, but the entire SPECTRUM of nutrients.  It's going to be a challenge to get out there and turn that crap each day, but I'm making a point to stay motivated!  Nothing worth doing ever came easy, right?

Proper crop rotation.

I've had a nasty habit of planting whatever I want wherever I want and then wondering why certain plants produce less fruit than others....DUMB on my part!  I never thought too much about crop rotation before as a necessity.  "Can't we just fertilize the crap out of it and hope for the best?"  Sure.  We can do a lot of things.  For instance, we can eat 20 McDoubles and then fast for a month in order to maintain body weight.  The thing is, it isn't practical or smart.  Artificial fertilizers like Miracle Grow have a huge impact on your plants, absolutely.  The problem is, those plants are getting an overdose of key nutrients and are starved of others.  The result is one heck of a showroom tomato...but if we're going by taste, I'll take the smaller, more flavorful organic tomato any day.  When we deplete the soil of specific nutrients via growing the same crop over and over again year after year in the same place, letting the soil rest or artificially enhancing that soil aren't enough to really bring the quality back.  Monocultures have a nasty habit of creating deserts.  If you pay attention to what's happening between soil and plant, you'll really get an idea of how nature was intended to work.  For example, one year you decide to fill your yard with corn.  Corn as far as the eye can see (up to the back fence...then it's just fence and another yard that you WISH was yours but whatever).  Corn requires a LOT of nutrients, a key one being nitrogen.  If you keep planting corn over and over again, you'll deplete the nitrogen content of the soil down to nothing.  BUT if you rotate from one year growing corn to the NEXT year growing beans, well you've effectively replenished the soil with nitrogen!  I know, I know....that's crazy talk!  Plants USE nutrients..they can't possibly replenish them!  They do both, in fact.  Mother Earth News has some wonderful tools to help with knowing which crops to rotate and when.  If you can rotate between crop types, you can have a successful garden.

Utilizing ground cover.

I'm not talking about fancy tarps so much as fancy herbs!  I want to try something this year that I've never heard of anyone else doing, but it could be fun!  I want to minimize weed growth around my plants that I do NOT dig up each year by planting creeping thyme, oregano, mint, and parsley all around.  Yes, I'll still have a good number of weeds poking up, but it'll make better use of the space around my grapes, trees, yucca, and so on than wood chips or a tarp....  Plus, weeding the garden is therapeutic for me.  I like to take out my aggression on that stupid crab grass and whatever else the crap is growing where I don't want it by pulling them out by their roots and throwing them into the fence where they'll hang and die!  If we weren't talking about plants, that would have sounded incredibly morbid....but yeah, I like to get my hands dirty and yank out those pesky weeds.  There's just something fulfilling about doing things yourself, you know?

More raised beds.

Raised beds are absolutely wonderful.  I didn't think so before, but after experimenting a little last year, I'm sold.  They provide better protection from rodents, certain bugs, and weeds on top of looking nice.  They're also great for creating good drainage situations for your plants that are rather particular about being water-logged.  I know my parents' backyard tends to flood after a good rain and having the one raised bed made a big difference for those plants.  It's also easier to harvest, especially root veggies like carrots and beets, or leafy greens like chard and lettuce.  However, I refuse to go out and BUY raised bed kits.  That's just dumb to me.  Why would you spend money on something when you can use pretty much whatever's laying around!  I used a whole bunch of old bricks I had laying around the yard from when I wanted to build my own pizza oven...obviously I didn't accomplish it so I utilized the bricks and created a raised bed next to the garage where the ground was severely sunken in.  It worked like a charm!  You can use old pop or wine bottles, old leftover lumber, paint cans, plastic tubs, whatever you want or have laying around basically!  Yes, you'll need to fill them with dirt and that can be pricey if you're buying it all from a store...but if you're composting already, problem solved.  Of course, if you're already composting...you've probably thought this through!

Paying more attention to the needs of the plants.

Men.  We never stop to ask for directions and HATE to use instruction manuals.  However....even I can admit that I probably should.  So, I vow to follow the instructions provided on the seed packets much more closely this year!  I have another nasty habit of planting things where it's convenient for ME and not where it'll be the most productive for the plant.  This year, I'm reading every step provided and doing my best to follow them and plan my gardens for SUCCESS.

MORE SEED SAVING!

This is a key thing for me.  Anyone who knows me knows how strongly opposed to Monsanto and their big ag attitude of "no seed shall be grown that we do not own".  These corporate bullies are all about buying a whole new crop of seeds each year from their distributors.  That's one way to keep food costs up and farmers' profits down...  Not for me though.  I'm going to expand on my seed saving project that I started last summer and try to save as many seeds from each crop as I can.  I'm still learning the ins and outs of it all, but it's a process.  I want to make it so that I never need to buy seeds again...now, wanting to buy new varieties or new types of seeds is a completely different story.  That's because I want to try something new.  But I want to keep a steady supply of "staple" seeds on hand at all times, saved from previous seasons and free for me to share or store.

Aquaponics (take two)

For those that don't know, aquaponics is the all natural, waste-free version of hydroponics.  Basically it combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a super-charged growth method and complete ecosystem.  You start by setting up a hydroponic grow area, outdoors or indoors is largely irrelevant for this.  Then, instead of the gallon buckets and bubblers and artificial additives for the water, you set up a fish tank and raise fish.  Now, they can be fish for decorative purposes or you can raise something edible like trout or tilapia.  The type of fish only matters if you plan on eating it.  Instead of using a filter to clean the tank of fecal matter, you pump the water out of the tank and into the grow beds just like in hydroponics.  The water floods the beds and the plants soak of the ammonia and other waste from the fish, then the water pours back into the fish tank clean and ready for another go around.  It's a no waste system that, once established, can produce fruits at up to 6 times the rate of a conventionally grown plant. Too cool.  I had a set up like this at my in-laws' last year and it was AWESOME!  The problem is, I had too many fish in too small an area....and not a big enough grow bed or enough plants to filter the waste properly.  THIS YEAR I know what I did wrong and plan on correcting it.  I won't give up!

Spending more time in the garden.

Life gets in the way too much sometimes and I end up wanting to just sit inside and read a book or watch TV rather than go out and observe my plants, pull weeds, or work on a compost pile.  Instant gratification isn't always all that gratifying.  I want to spend more time learning patience through watching my plants grow and produce.  Nature in action is better than any TV show or movie EVEN on Discovery or National Geographic.  Just sitting in the garden gives you time to reflect and plan.  It's got a healing quality to it.  Just being surrounded by God's work...by things you had a hand in growing...it's an indescribable feeling that so many don't stop to even consider.  I spend a good amount of time in my gardens, but not nearly what I'd like to.  This is a new year and a new chance.



So I started some seeds today.  Not a whole lot, but enough to get my blood pumping with excitement and anticipation!  I planted some Artichokes, Asparagus, Purple Broccoli, Black Krim Tomatoes, Eggplants, Jalapenos, Orange Bell Peppers....all heirloom seed varieties from www.victoryseeds.com and I'll be planting more as the directions allow..you know since I'm following them and all..  I'm really pumped about the prospects of my gardens this year and all the joy they'll bring to me and those I share them with.  This year is kind of my beginning the rest of my life year....I'm getting married in May to the most wonderful girl on the planet (for me!) and raising chickens and gardens and getting closer to earning my degree and becoming a registered interpreter for the deaf!  All in all, I'm happy.  Money is always tight and always an issue, but give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.  I like to think of me doing my part in gardening sustainably as giving back to God somehow.

Morality is doing what is right regardless of what is told. Obedience is doing what is told regardless of what is right.

There were probably about 50 tomato plants here, all heirloom and all pretty productive.  I just couldn't bring myself to thin out the "herd" :P

The outer edge of one garden.  In this section I grew carrots, beets, herbs, cucuzzi, zucchini, and cucumbers mostly.  There were some tomato plants as well, but only a couple.  On the far right is the entrance to our chicken yard!

My first raised bed.  As you can see, the bricks are all different colors and sizes, but it got the job done at no extra cost and my beets, lettuce, carrots, greens, and herbs were all AMAZINGLY productive!

Here you can see some of my tropicals I planted alongside some veggies.  The center tree near the fence is a fig and there are two more on either side of that one.  The leaves in the very center near the front are from my lemon tree.  Sadly, it died this year due to my neglect, but it fruited!

Here is my bamboo trellis.  I've become pretty proficient in constructing sturdy trellises out of bamboo and twine.  The plants here are sunflowers, broccoli, cabbage, blue corn, cucuzzi, and wildflowers.

Corn, Cucumbers, Dill, Beans, and Peppers

This is the basic concept for any aquaponics set-up.  You can make them as simply or as elaborate as you'd like, just make sure you do it!  It's super cool!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-it/aquaponics-the-basics.aspx#axzz2OEILQpnX

http://www.motherearthnews.com/city-farming/i-say-compost-you-think-of-rotting-food-dirt-flies-a-horrible-smell-for-that-reason-most-people-wont-even-consider-composting-at-home.aspx#axzz2OEILQpnX

http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-it/how-to-rotate-crops-zb0z1302zsto.aspx#axzz2OEILQpnX

Welcome to Paradise

Well this ought to be interesting, being that I've never blogged before!  Let's give it a go!


I have a pretty basic question I'd like to ask almost everyone I see anywhere:

What happened to personal responsibility?  Where did it go?  I mean am I the only one who notices that we live in a society of whiny, needy children (no offense actual children, I'm referring to adults as well)?  I work in a school and let's just say I've seen enough garbage to last a lifetime from students,  parents, co-workers, and I'll admit, even myself.  I see parents claiming to be struggling financially.  They're unable to pay for little Jimmy's school supplies at the beginning of the year because they're living on disability or whatever other reason they might come up with.  That's all fine and understandable.  I really sympathize (and empathize with being broke....that much is for sure), but if you're broke and living on welfare or disability, WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE THE LATEST SMARTPHONE????  Of course they're always fully equipped with Bluetooth and any other possible accessory money can buy (our tax money, that is).  Then I see little Jimmy come to school with HIS OWN smartphone AND a brand new Nintendo 3DS!

Maybe I'm coming off as heartless.  You know, maybe Jimmy and his mom really needed those smartphones so they could look for work while on the go....and since both have their own, they can apply at twice the rate of any one person...and maybe that video game console was to build up Jimmy's self esteem...you know the other kids all have one and we don't want him to be an outsider to the public norm...that's how serial killers are born after all.

Yes, I get that sometimes these luxuries are given as gifts from other family members and sometimes they're remnants of life when money was abundant and life itself was good.  I get it.  The problem is, more often than not, this isn't the case.  I'm dealing with parents who have kids pretty much for the tax write offs and the welfare checks.  These are parents who WON'T answer their phones, pick their puking kids up from the office, or sign medical information papers.  These are parents who think it's MY job to feed, teach, wash, wipe, and dress their child...of course without being too hard on them and without actually giving them real creative freedoms.  Discipline and "NO" are words of the past.  Now we must "nurture" and coddle and hope.  I kid you not when I tell you I had a 7 year old screaming bloody murder in the bathroom because I would NOT wipe his butt.  We had to call mom in to do it for him and as I was explaining that he needs to be able to do this himself, she was picking his nose.  Reread that, I beg.  She was picking HIS nose while telling him that he needs to start doing things for himself.  Mind you, he is perfectly capable of the task, just didn't want to.

We're raising a whole generation of lazy children who are better acquainted with the latest TV show characters than their own families.  TVs are the new babysitters, multi-player online role playing games have replaced playing outside with your friends, and leftover animal protein sludge, GMO vegetable and fruit-like products, and artificial colorings and flavorings have replaced nutritionally sound food.

So not only do we have a generation of infants who are unwanting of doing for themselves, but a generation of obese, socially deficient, nutrient lacking, closed minded, overly sensitive, unappreciative, and unmotivated slugs who have no pride in their work or themselves.



Of course this does not go for allllll of them.  And it definitely doesn't refer to all the parents I've dealt with over the years.  There are MANY who are taking measures in their own way to correct these problems and I absolutely applaud the effort.  It does not take a village to raise a child, it takes loving parents (this title goes for legal guardians of any kind.  Note: I never said BIOLOGICAL parents) who will nurture AND discipline as needed.  Parents make all the difference in the world.  Mine never had to beat me or my siblings, never had to be overly aggressive...  They taught us empathy.  They taught us pride.  And most of all they taught us respect.  If you can empathize, you'll feel bad for those you hurt and take responsibility.  If you have pride, you'll work hard and enjoy the outcome of your labor even more knowing that it was YOU who made it happen.  And if you have respect...well you get what you give as the old saying goes and if you give respect, you're bound to receive it as well.

I could literally write on this topic for hours, becoming distracted, going further off topic, and delving into all sorts of fun political topics, but since it's late and my eyes are starting to blur over.  Time for a cup of tea and a trip to snoozeville.

Keep it real, y'all, and remember:

Those who would trade liberty for security will gain and deserves neither.