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Keeping Tabs on Monsanto
You Grow Girl
Seed buying and seed starting season is upon us. It won’t be long now (let’s pretend, even though the snow outside says otherwise) before we’re happily knee-deep into the growing season.
Yesterday, I put out a call on Twitter for an online list or chart of garden companies (as well as makers of garden products) affiliated with Monsanto. Several people replied, hoping to find something similar that they can refer to when making seed and product purchases for their own gardens.
It’s time to have this talk, and even though I have brought it up here and there, I am remiss in having neglected to post about this until now. It seems like many of us are flailing around, trying to make heads or tails of who, what, and where is profiting on our excitement to grow our own food and flowers. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a more definitive list that covers affiliate companies in the garden product spectrum beyond seeds, but considering the way things are going, seeds are a great place to start and one in which our spending dollars can make an impact.
The following link goes to the Council for Responsible Genetics Safe Seed Resource List that includes all of the US and Canadian seed sellers that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge affirming their commitment to non-genetically modified seed. While you’re there, I would also urge you to read through the CRG’s FAQ that makes an argument for why we should care about genetically modified seed and buying GM-free in the first place.
I was also pointed to another page put together by a concerned gardener that includes a list of some known GM seed sellers to avoid, as well as links to additional articles around the issues with Monsanto.
To Read the Rest of the Post and to Access the Hyperlinked Resources
Showing posts with label Agribusiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agribusiness. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, September 27, 2010
Michael Pollan and Raj Patel: The Politics and Economics of Food (How Markets Promote Famine and Subsidize Sickness)
(Extra credit opportunity for HUM 121 students)
The Politics and Economics of Food (How Markets Promote Famine and Subsidize Sickness)
Unwelcome Guests
Most Americans seem to know little about what is in the food they eat, by any standards a pretty remarkable state of affairs. Our first speaker this week is Michael Pollan, author of several books on food. His 2008 talk, "In Defence of Food", encourages us to look at food from a common sense, rather than a scientific perspective. His advise on what to eat is simple - "Eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables". But what is food? He also advises "not to eat anything that your great grandmother wouldn't recognise as food."
On the relationship between food and health, he notes that around 1960, the average US citizen spent 18% of their income on food, while their healthcare expense was about 5%. Nowadays, the average US citizen spends only 9% of their income on food, but their healthcare bill is up to around 17%. He discusses the role of the farm bill in shaping the food choices available to Americans, by heavily subsidizing corn and soy, and explains why the cheapest foods in the modern supermarket are the least healthy ones. He concludes that the agribusiness is overreaching, both politically and technologically, while a grassroots resistance movement is growing to food hegemony.
After a junk food song, "Twinkies and Ding Dongs" by Slash J. Frank, our second hour features Raj Patel, speaking on "The Hidden Battle for the World Food System". He will be asking questions such as
"Which unhealthy ingredient is in ¾ of all processed fast food?"
"What is lecithin?"
"Why is there no Wal★Mart in Germany?"
"What is Bunny Chow, and how does it relate to the apartheid laws?"
"Is your food made to suit you, or are you made to suit your food?"
"What is the importance of the Italian Communist Party to food?"
He rejects 'supermarket democracy' which allows consumers to choose from multiple different brands of the same toxic junk, and suggests that the answer is not shopping but political organising.
To Listen to the Episode
The Politics and Economics of Food (How Markets Promote Famine and Subsidize Sickness)
Unwelcome Guests
Most Americans seem to know little about what is in the food they eat, by any standards a pretty remarkable state of affairs. Our first speaker this week is Michael Pollan, author of several books on food. His 2008 talk, "In Defence of Food", encourages us to look at food from a common sense, rather than a scientific perspective. His advise on what to eat is simple - "Eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables". But what is food? He also advises "not to eat anything that your great grandmother wouldn't recognise as food."
On the relationship between food and health, he notes that around 1960, the average US citizen spent 18% of their income on food, while their healthcare expense was about 5%. Nowadays, the average US citizen spends only 9% of their income on food, but their healthcare bill is up to around 17%. He discusses the role of the farm bill in shaping the food choices available to Americans, by heavily subsidizing corn and soy, and explains why the cheapest foods in the modern supermarket are the least healthy ones. He concludes that the agribusiness is overreaching, both politically and technologically, while a grassroots resistance movement is growing to food hegemony.
After a junk food song, "Twinkies and Ding Dongs" by Slash J. Frank, our second hour features Raj Patel, speaking on "The Hidden Battle for the World Food System". He will be asking questions such as
"Which unhealthy ingredient is in ¾ of all processed fast food?"
"What is lecithin?"
"Why is there no Wal★Mart in Germany?"
"What is Bunny Chow, and how does it relate to the apartheid laws?"
"Is your food made to suit you, or are you made to suit your food?"
"What is the importance of the Italian Communist Party to food?"
He rejects 'supermarket democracy' which allows consumers to choose from multiple different brands of the same toxic junk, and suggests that the answer is not shopping but political organising.
To Listen to the Episode
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