Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack. Jack came from a hard-up family, but he considered himself a savvy, enterprising lad. To prove it, he went to the market, worked a deal and ran home to show his mother his newest acquisition. Beans.
What kind of beans? his mother asked.
Magic beans. I got them off a biotech guy.
What did they cost? she said.
Almost nothing. Just the cow.
Somewhere between pissed and heart-broken, Jack's mother tossed the beans out the window, convinced her idiot son had given away the only thing they had of value.
Meanwhile, the beans, which, being magic and all, grew. They grew a lot, and by morning, had put out a stalk so high Jack and his mother could not see the top of it.
See, I told you they were magic, Jack said.
Yes, but what kind of magic? his mother said.
Jack kissed her forehead and said, Mom, you are so old school. Then he began climbing up the beanstalk. This took all day and most of that night. He reached the top by midnight and came to a magnificent castle so huge he could slither under the door and get inside.
He ran smack into an ogre, or rather, the ogre's foot. He looked up and up until he could see the ogre's face. It was not smiling.
Fee fi fo fum, the ogre said.
You probably know the rest -- evil ogre in hot pursuit of Jack, who somehow escapes with the goose that lays the golden eggs.
So, what kind of magic were these beans? It depends on who's telling the story. A biotech company like Monsanto would boast about the beans' quick growing time, the fantastic yield -- c'mon, golden eggs -- painting a happily ever after scenario.
On the other hand, there's the unintended consequences. These aren't spoken of much, but Jack the consumer might have been duped, was almost an ogre's midnight snack, who knows just how happy an ending it really is?
Monsanto, the folks who brought you Roundup and Agent Orange, also produces genetically modified soy and corn. Even if they deliver greater crop yield, enhanced nutrition and all the benefits Monsanto promises, there are still unknowns and unintended consequences in every color but green.
Jack and his mother had a right to know what was in those beans. So do American consumers. Studies indicate genetically modified crops pose risks to the planet, by means of contamination and dangerous loss of biodiversity. They can also pose risks to our health. Haven't heard much about these studies? Thank Monsanto, which has flooded the market with GMO products while suppressing test findings that might be bad for business. Oh, really? Because the company just posted third-quarter income -- it's up 77 percent .
Eighty-seven percent of Americans would not knowingly consume genetically modified products. But over half of us do, because there is no GMO labeling law. Talk about unintended consequences -- we aren't being told what's in our food and unknowingly finance a practice we're opposed to. Meanwhile, Monsanto's making a killing. Perhaps literally.
Glyphosate, a major player in Monsanto's Roundup, has been linked to health risks including cancer and infertility. It's not just killing weeds, it may be killing us, too, and it's finally gotten the attention of the EPA.
I hope it's gotten your attention, too. Every new threat to our health creates a greater demand for a food system that's transparent and accountable, a system we can trust.
Unlike Jack's magic beans, that won't happen overnight. Until it does, eat defensively. Pass on processed products, where GMOs tend to lurk. Choose organic food or local food produced by a trustworthy source -- including yourself. It's been a record breaking year for seed-buying and first-time gardeners -- over 43,000,000 American households are growing their own food. You can't eat more locally than food you grow yourself.
Ensuring a safe food supply shouldn't take magic. It's our right. Cool beans.
Cowpeas with Za'atar
1-1/2 cups cowpeas, black-eyed peas, field peas, your choice
3 garlic cloves
1 dried hot pepper or 1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 bay leaf
6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey or agave
1 fennel bulb, diced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon za'atar *
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to tasteRinse cowpeas. Pour into a pot and soak with cold water to cover for 8 hours or overnight.
Drain and rinse beans well in cold water. In a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to boil over high heat, along with 2 of the garlic cloves, the dried pepper or peppercorns and bay leaf. Add cowpeas, cover and reduce heat to low.
Cook for 1 hour, or until beans are tender. Drain and rinse well. Fish out garlic and bay leaf and discard.
Pour beans into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and honey or agave. Mince or crush the third clove of garlic and add to the lemon juice mixture. Pour over beans and toss gently to coat.
Add diced fennel and grape tomatoes. May be refrigerated at this point until ready to serve. Add za'atar and season with salt and pepper just before enjoying.
Enjoy room temperature or chilled.
Serves 4.
* a fabulous Middle Eastern spice blend of sumac, sesame seeds and thyme, available at Middle Eastern markets and many gourmet and natural food stores.
Follow Ellen Kanner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/edgyveggie1
The fanatical Pro-Meat crowd spams the thread with propaganda
about how ignorant Vegans are.
They tout the alleged "benefits" of a diet high in Protein.
It is always the same 4 or 5 posters.
One has to wonder if they are indeed casual posters, as they seem very well organized
and coordinate their attacks.
So should any meat being fed with it.
I avoid them as well, in fact we are trying to grow most of our fruits and vegetables.
We pay extra for clean grains and legumes.
Unfortunately for vegans, virtually all of the commercially grown plants that they eat are either grown with animal products (organic) or toxic and completely unsustainable chemicals (conventional). Like it or not, animals are essential to every major form of sustainable agriculture. That's why so many prominent vegans have been spending so much energy as of late, using big ag shills such as McWilliams to lash out at sustainable ag.
were you aware it's legal to feed cows chicken poo? google it, i kid you not.
The more people use the power of their dollar to buy sustainable meat and organic food, the more our agricultural practices will change to support that market.
But then there is this from the science world:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/01/genetically-modified-foods-are-becoming-1/
"GM Wheat Means Hope for Celiac Sufferers"
...when any of you gluten allergy sufferers whine about GMO wheat being the cause of your allergy I just laugh since GMO wheat and science may actually HELP you.
the introduction of GMO wheat is being delayed by you antitechnology types. Ironic huh?
First of all you careen wildly back and forth between Celiac Disease and gluten allergies when they are not the same thing.
Secondly, splicing out the gliadinin particularly and using genetic material from this mutant barley strain will result in a possible wheat tasting product (although we do not know for sure) that does not react the same way in making bread.
What the heck are we supposed to do if this material "infects" the rest of the wheat, non-mutant barley, etc.?
Will we lose the ability to make all wheat products we are accustomed to consuming?
Are there any other problems with this mutant barley? Is it viable on its own? If you splice it with ordinary crops will it cause them to die out because it is not viable? What happens to wheat then if there is cross contamination?
You see, you people do not really know the slightest thing about science although you like to use it as a cover to attack people.
GMO does have a potential, just as every other scientific discovery or ability to do good or harm. The problem is it has only been viewed as a way to make money and that is usually the surest way to ruin for anything.
Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
I wrote a series of articles recently dealing with rBGH, the health risks that result from its usage, and the effects on the animals treated with it. I have written not only about the animal cruelty issue, but about the increased levels of cancer and the potential for the creation of antibiotic resistant bacteria associated with milk (and meat) produced with rBGH.
Yet the FDA, in the face of all the evidence available to themselves and the public, still has refused to admit that there were any health risks to humans from the use of the hormone, IGF-1, or the use of antibiotics.
For example, when responding to a study that demonstrated a possible between IGF-1 and prostate cancer, the FDA, while offering no supporting evidence, simply claims that “Although the mechanism responsible for the induction of cancer has not been characterized fully, it is clear that IGF-1 is not the causative agent.”[1]
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/07/90-day-rat-study-monsanto-igf-1-and-fda.html
http://rareseeds.com/
DESTROYING their crops are the only thing that is going to stop them. Every field, every seed should be ripped out, set on fire...god knows you can't spray a chemical on them to kill them now can you?
If we think pushing for a legislative solution or a judicial solution is going to work, we're nuts. It simply will NOT happen. Especially now we have the citizens united ruling. Anyone opposing these transgenic crops will be shut down faster than you can say 'high fructose corn syrup'.
I urge those of you with the cajones to find a field and do your best.
I'll bet you've never done this yourself have you?
i recently read these novels'' daemon and freedom '' by daniel suarez where that sort of thing does happen , it's sci fi , full of ideas, i think eventually there will be no other way but fighting.
those people [ monsanto, corporation, bought government ] wont just give up.
i'm amazed what these people have achieved in the face of quite nasty opposition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landless_Workers%27_Movement
here is someone who writes about this sort of thing a lot
http://rajpatel.org/
also, loved this http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/blogs/healthwellnessfashion/meatless-monday-refreshing-gazpacho-recipes-for-hot-summer-days
Okay, the way I see it is that the "magnificent castle" is the accumulation of Monsanto's ill-gotten gains from populations around the world who have been sold into slavery by their corrupt politicians--the underlings who have been purchased by Monsanto.
The "ogre" is the Monsanto Franken-creation who lives on biotech entities--from Agent Orange to GMOs to RoundUp and does the corporation's bidding because its body and soul have been perverted by the chemical wasteland.
Jack's reward for taking on the giant is the "golden goose" which is a collection of heirloom seeds and the only hope for saving humanity.
So, fairy tales are classic stories because they have an application in any period of history.
No soy or corn.
The seeds I buy are Heirloom. I'll have my first tomato in a few days. The lettuce will be coming in soon.
The only oil I use is olive and I'm picky about that too. If I need shortening, I use lard. Still looking for a local, organic, humane source for that. Thinking of rendering my own.
I bake a loaf of bread from organic ingredients every week.
I am doing my best to avoid GMO. I'm all for labeling. Monsanto is right, if there were GMO labeling it would have a negative impact on their profits as plenty of people would avoid food tainted with GMOs just like they are avoiding high fructose corn syrup.
If enough of us take control of our food, that will force those producing food to provide what the consumer wants. Right now, they are trying to control us by providing no alternatives. Hence the attacks on local farmers and organic gardening.
Number one on list of things to do: Make Monstanto fiscally responsible for any contamination of organic crops by their GMO crops. If they can't control the pollen that is tainting the pure heirloom strains, then maybe they're irresponsible. The irresponsibility should have a high enough price that it produces negative returns. That will certainly get their attention.
Obviously, as you have pointed out so clearly, GMO is not the way to go and has a lot of problems for the planet as well as a complete lack of labeling that does not even give us the choice.
Bravo on pointing out the questionable practice of pushing GMO products.
Now's she facing the wrath of the town (Oak Park, Michigan) and is being taken to court and could potentially face 93 days in jail. The town's yard law is vague. I believe this is an important case, and Julie Bass could be serving as an icon in an important movement of self-determination.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/961236/greenpeace_takes_on_monsanto_over_pesticides_arms_race.html