Is Monsanto going down? Finally?

http://www.nationofchange.org/2017/03/23/monsanto-faces-hundreds-new-can...

I never heard of Nation of Change, but whatever else it might be or do, at least this bunch of leftists don't have their heads in the sand with regard to food and farming issues.

The recent news about the Evil M reminds me of the fight against Big Tobacco way back when. I think we may have reached the point where dominoes start falling. The linked article provides a good summary of recent developments. All of a sudden, Big M doesn't control the official narrative. I suspect the tipping point may have been the Oregon labeling initiative. Monsatan won, but they won dirty, with a recount, by about 800 votes and a lot of outside money, and anyone watching saw how dirty it got. Prior to that, the pro-GMO apologists could claim they had public support; the antis were just a bunch of radical subjectivist hippies whom nobody likes, etc.

Another article at the same site states that Indian farmers are going back to their traditional cotton varieties, and M is losing "millions".

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Wow, where to start. Monsanto poisons us coming and going, as it were. They provide 1) poison crop seeds with their transgenic (what could go wrong?) bacterial insect-poisonous seeds (hint: they might be poisonous to us too) or, another product,
2) ROUNDUP insecticide-resistant seeds.

So, either their seeds 1) kill pests feeding on them or 2) allow dowsing with Roundup to kill pests. Geez, what could go wrong? How about soil bacteria (really important for living organisms). And how about us? Ingesting this crap is ok? NFW! And funny as it sounds, this ties into global warming (lots of evidence).

This is an issue that transcends political bias. Both liberals and cons DECRY!!! the SCIENCE!!!. Get educated people.

And stay away from GMO sugar (beets) (it's in any cheap candy or baked goods (cookies anyone?), soy oil and protein, corn (oil, starch, etc.), and wheat (very nasty, wheat is if not organic). Generally, sweet corn is ok, not gmo. It's the feed corn that's gmo, for now. Lesson learned, eat organic for these items. Once you start, it's pretty easy.

OMG, politics so much more important than food!! And the population of eaters (how much is too much? 8 Billion? 9 billion? WTF? Taking care of oneself (get educated) is FAR more interesting than health care policy (yawn!). And speaking for one who almost died, far more EFFECTIVE!! Word!

Seriously, eat the right food, exercise (activity), and detox occasionally and wow! maybe national health care policy is not so important! And if you do get sick, serious sick, maybe you can treat yourself. Don't give up. Don't give in to the nonsense about, OMG? Science!

Yes (the right and left attack this). Treating oneself is empowering and effective. It could revolutionize health care. Any takers? PRETTY BOLD! OMG! SCIENCE! (and economics, BTW)

The point is take responsibility for your health! It's easy and has NOTHING to do with Big Healthcare. I mean really few should have need for health care until age 65 when Medicare kicks in. And if you are the few, We will take care of you (at a fraction of the cost if you all were sick.)

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@p cook and for you and anyone else interested, This is a great site for info on organic food, sustainable farming and of course anti Monsanto. https://www.organicconsumers.org/

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Thank you. Organics Consumers Association should be common knowledge in a site like this. Is it?
Peace.

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@p cook Wheat farmers routinely spray Roundup on their crop to dry down the wheat and make it easier to harvest. So, we the buyers are getting carcinogenic glyphosate in our purchased flours or baked goods. This is an instance where expensive organic really is the only healthy option, which is a choice we should not have to make.

Glyphosate needs to be banned!! Period. IMO, it is worse than DDT. For DDT there was at least the excuse that it was being used to eradicate the mosquitos which carried dangerous diseases, like malaria. For Roundup, there is no good excuse whatsoever.

GMO wheat, so far as I know has--not yet--been approved. You will have heard about the "experimental" roundup ready wheat which an Eastern Oregon farmer found in his fields.

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Mary Bennett

@p cook I have had no access to health care for almost 20 years. I paid out of pocket for reading and driving glasses and for dental care. The total came to less than one year's Bronze Level insurance premiums.

For those of us who are lucky enough to not have chronic health problems or disabilities, herbal medications for things like flue, colds and occasional indigestion work just fine. You do need to know what you are doing. I would not dream of wildcrafting anything other than common and easily recognized weeds like dandelions and plantians. For around $20 you can buy a bottle of elderberry syrup for winter colds and flues at the health food store. Lehmans sells a line of old time OTC home remedies. I was surprised to find that one of their salves works better than triple ointment for small scrapes, cuts, insect bites and so on.

BTW, there is now in the House a bill introduced by Rep. Conyers for a national, single payer health care system. So far it has 22 Democratic co-sponsors.

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Mary Bennett

Creosote.'s picture

to routinely screen food for glyphosate, here:
http://bullhorn.nationofchange.org/tell_the_fda_to_routinely_screen_food...

The Organic Consumers Association is one of the organizations working most intensively against GMOs and the toxic and very costly herbicides and pesticides now required to grow them. I encourage people to contribute to them.
What many don't realize is that glyphosate, and its even more toxic 'non-active' excipients (carrier chemicals),are now used not only to grow food, but to 'dessicate' it, because it dries out plants like corn and sugarcane, those used to produce vegetable oils, and many others, making them easier for machine harvest. This is another way glyphosate gets into countless fouds. Foods like sugar and vegetable oil seem to be 'safe' but are still going to be carrying residual chemicals.

Food & Water Watch is another website that is doing excellent work.

At the OCA site you should be able to find info on how to have the levels of glyphosate already in your system tested for, though it's expensive.

The big lie about GMO food that Monsanto constantly uses to attempt to make itself untouchable is that, without GMO food, and the poisons needed to produce it, farmers could not grow 'enough food to feed the world.' But that was proven false several years ago. Traditional, sustainable, and organic farming produce far higher yields.

Meanwhile, a new GMO 'non-browning' apple is being secretly introduced in ten big midwestern supermarket chains. Watch for the 'Arctic' apple, and let OCA or a similar group know if you see these untested, not-GMO-labeled apples on sale.

As for farming, with the poisons needed for GMO crops absent, soil organisms return, along with butterflies and birds. Many Midewestern states have reported immense drops in bird populations over the last decade, as glyphosate and other chemicals required for GMO plants kill the larvae and other invertebrates birds need to feed their nestlings.

Support your local organic market is my advice.

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@Creosote. nation of change? I have online signed so many petitions at the OCA that I think my signature is probably routinely discarded by anyone who reads the petitions.

OCA is one of the very few organizations around that I feel reasonably sure has not been infiltrated by the Corporate State.

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Mary Bennett

Creosote.'s picture

@Nastarana
Would be interested in your analysis of what Nation of Change is doing. Agree with you about Ronnie Cummins, who is now talking about a new group called Regeneration International -- though I think some of his Mercola stuff is questionable. Of course exercise is beneficial, but is he telling that to people working two jobs at minimum wage? So much food advice seems to come from very comfortable people.
My intro to matters of food and health was via Adelle Davis, ca. 1962 or so, and I've read a lot since then in what's called complementary or alternative medicine, used to edit a good quarterly newsletter reviewing research in that field.
Interesting to hear that the 'Arctic' apples being sold are sliced. They'd thus look fresh for many days, though what would they taste like?
Anyone can carry a pocket knife and a bandana and slice up a real apple, with almost no waste, but that must be an insupportable idea.

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@Creosote. being introduced as packaged slices, or so I read. Who buys apple slices?

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Mary Bennett

the Organic Consumers Association. He is routinely vilified, including at Daily Kos, as "anti-science, "anti-vaxer", which is a good indication that he and his org are on the right side and effective.

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Mary Bennett

If you're interested in two online voices who I have found valuable: Marc Sircus, for MgCl (magnesium oil), iodine, baking soda, and clay; and Mercola, he's just good to read to reinforce healthy eating and living. Mercola's stuff is too expensive but I read his weekly article roundup (I signed up for the email). I read the At-a-glance summary and then the comments. I'm a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to health care, I guess. [I have had to become one, since doctors failed me, as they have so many.]

Wheat. Yes, about that roundup for drying wheat - OMG!! So I buy organic wheat bread, preferrably sprouted.

Here's Sircus's link: http://drsircus.com/?utm_source=Dr+Sircus+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e6150a...

And GARLIC, raw... don't get me started on the wonderful, wonderful garlic!

Peace

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My mother used to say that the only thing I did not put garlic into was my coffee.

BTW, garlic is very easy to grow. It actually produces three different products, scapes, garlic scallions and then bulbs. Some gardeners sow the cloves rather close together, then thin for the scallions, leaving one to form a bulb. @p cook

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Mary Bennett