Got Allergies? Question GMOs. On the eve of the Federal government shutting the door on ever labeling foods made with genetically modified materials, it’s important to restate the science which shows problems with this grandest-ever of experiments with our health. The engineering of genetic material is not the surgical process we are led to believe. Genetic code is carried in on the backs of metals, viruses and bacterium causing “genetic debris” to exist. The body reacts to foreign material with an immune response. Rampant, chronic inflammation and inflammatory diseases are more prevalent than ever. We won’t reiterate every fact, but urge readers to check out some of the informative links following this message. The precautionary principle is a bedrock of public health policy. The uninformed legislators voting on a bill they do not understand, the corporate puppets cashing paychecks to promote the death of transparency and disclosure, and the self-serving makers of this experimental technology all should be ashamed. But alas, shame is a rare commodity in this era of the self-serving lout. http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education/health-risks/ http://www.biointegrity.org/ http://gmoinside.org/faqs/
Meet an Eco-Farmer: Lupine Knoll Farm Jonathan Spero, Lupine Knoll Farm Why did you begin farming? I like working in the dirt. I like being outside physically working, and I like the quiet of the field. I began plant breeding because it is a way a person working in the dirt can make a lasting difference and contribute to the quality and diversity of the food supply for many people. Have you always been an ecofarmer, or did you make a change? I have always used organic practices. What was the biggest hurdle you have overcome? Finding land to farm. It took until I was almost 50 years old. What do you enjoy most about farming? I like physical work outdoors. I like mud between my toes. I like producing high-quality food and new seed that will produce more high-quality food, and that open source will mean others can reproduce that food and those seeds into the future. Looking to create new open-pollinated varieties of sweet corn, I planted a 100-foot row of each of 14 sugary enhanced f1 hybrids and picked a favorite. Eight generations later, Top Hat, one of my first releases, was selected out of Tuxedo, one of those 14. Tuxana (white corn) Festivity (multi-color corn) and Ana Lee (yellow corn) all come from a cross between Tuxedo and an Anasazi landrace corn. (more…)