You know that itty bitty white sticker you peel of your fruit or vegetable before eating it? We don’t think about it as an important label, but there is a wealth of information on that little tag. This tag is the way in which our Department of Agriculture categorizes our produce, according to food standards.
If the number on your sticker starts with a 4 (ex 4182) that fruit or vegetable was a "conventionally grown" item. Conventionally grown, means that the farm your food came from could have (and most likely) used some form of fertilizers, herbicides or chemicals. It is argued that some of these agents have potentially toxic repercussions (to both you and to the environment). Farmers use these products to enhance the yield of their fruits and vegetables, and to keep insects from eating their crops. The chemicals in some of these farming agents have been shown to harm our ocean and marine life, due to run-off into our water streams. Some disagree and believe that these agents are safe. I suppose it depends what types of chemicals the individual farmer is using, and how much of it. (http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/06/06/dead-zones-grow-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html)
If the number on your little label starts with a 9 (ex 94182), than that particular fruit or veggie is an "organically grown" item. Organic farmers do not use harmful chemicals or fertilizers to enhance their crops. They can by law, use some environmentally safe sprays both before and after harvest. These agents are less toxic and the safest for the environment and our bodies. Organic is a great choice if you want to consume the purest, most untouched fruit or vegetable available. You may notice in some cases that organic food is smaller, perhaps not as bright in color, or maybe even colorless compared to their conventionally grown neighbors. This is often because the chemicals sprayed on other categorized crops can artificially enhance their size, shape etc… Stated simply: Organic foods are in the most natural state possible with no added special effects!
*Try an at home taste test with one conventional apple and one organic apple, I found the organic fruit superior in flavor, despite the color and size of the conventional fruit, very interesting.
Last but most importantly, if your label starts with an 8 (ex 8412) that particular produce was 'built' using some genetically modified process or modified seeds (often known as hybrid and/or terminator seeds) and generally known as GMOs. I say 'built' because although it is technically grown (aka: comes out of the earth) it has a different starting point than the traditional seeds used in agriculture. Genetically modified seeds are created by using “DNA molecules from different sources, combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes, which is transferred into a new organism, giving it modified or novel genes.” (Source, Wikipedia).
GMOs are used because they seemingly produce a stronger looking crop (in size, shape, consistency) and can offer built in pesticides within the seed nucleus. The trick played on farmers, is that many seeds can not be re-cropped as they are a one time, one use product, keeping the farmer residually tied to this growing agribusiness. Genetically Modified Foods have been banned for many years in Europe and are a complex and controversial subject in our food supply. Today, the main domestic crops that are using GMOs are soy, corn, Hawaiian Papaya and cotton. (http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/Home/index.cfm)
Know your A-B-C's (or 4-8-9's) of your fruit and veggies!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The starving farmer
Farming in it's natural state
Since the dawn of civilization, farmers have preserved healthy seeds from their harvest and replanted them in future years. This naturally occurring seed selection, created a genetic diversity of crops that enabled them not only to store seeds for future harvest but also share with other farmers for years to come. These organic seeds ("organic" in terms of purest in nature) have the figurative DNA of hard working farmers from centuries past that have mindfully cultivated their harvest, noting flavor, color, harvest strength and reaction to specific farming conditions. Farm assisted Darwinism in action, if you will. The strong seeds survive and are planted again, traded, stored and rotated with other strong crops. Basic farming.
Through centuries of this hard work, our farming fathers have made a viable and intangible agribusiness from this practice. Building a strong, natural and invaluable commodity. Seed trading made crop diversity readily available, enriched soil, thereby increasing nutritious value of the end product, sustained food supply, expanded crop yields and increased profits for the worldwide farming community. Notably in third world countries, where farming is a major contributing source to GDP and sustainability on both economic and personal scales.
Patenting Mother Nature, Biopiracy
"Under intellectual property law, the holder of abstract "properties" has certain exclusive rights to the creative work, commercial symbol, or invention by which it is covered". (source: Wikipedia)
In 1970 the U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act was passed. This act enabled and offered opportunities for seed profit and created the incentive for corporate interests to take control of and expand the seed industry. In essence, Big Business was given the "intellectual property" rights to seeds and started to work like busy bees in their science labs, cloning mother nature.
Somewhere along the blurry line, we became a culture focusing far away from the roots of our existence, literally. Mom and pop farms being stomped on by bigger business is perhaps, an inevitable truth of capitalism. We are now accustomed to the convenience and vast variety of foods found in any grocery store. We can have fruits that are out of season at our fingertips (coming from warmer climates) and vegetables from around the world. Partially in thanks to large seed companies that have made a business from selling and distributing seeds to farmers around the world.
The problem is not with this concept, but with what happened thereafter. (Enter: Hybrid seeds) Hybrid seeds by definition are the first generation offspring seed of two distant parent lines of the same species. Man-produced inbred seeds were the platform for the commercial seed market. (Think Wal-Mart of seed distributors) With this technology, farmers were persuaded and in some cases forced to replace the traditional farm saved-seed with the new hybrid seed. This new species of seeds, gave a (perceived) benefit to both farmer and seed producer.
The farmer: achieved stronger yields, brighter colors, and the biggest sized crops. The seed manufacturer: keeps that farmer as a repeat customer. Why? Because the farmer can not utilize the seeds from the hybrid crop to reproduce another harvest- ever again. The hybrid seed will not "breed true" and will not perform at all (or nearly as well) if it were to be saved and replanted. Cross-polination of hybrids into the other 'natural' seeded crops on the farm would inhibit growth (of those crops) and mutate natural seeds. In addition, reliance on hybrid seeds created a dependence on fertilizer (a necessary component for modern hybrids to flourish at peak success and a subsidiary business of seed manufacturers). Thousands of years of evolution, a natural seed diversity and natural tolerance for localized growing conditions, slowly being lost. Farming practices which began in the nineteenth century, vanishing before our very eyes. Modern day seed companies have managed to capitalize-on and trade-mark mother nature.
The Global Effect:
Hybrid seeds have forced many of our world's farmers, especially in poor countries, deep into a debt cycle. Modern farming practices have drastically increased cost for seeds and agro-chemicals (an estimated 100% increase in farming cost since 1970). Small farmers in countries outside the U.S. are sometimes forced to switch to the hybrid option, so that exports can compete with the appearance of a stronger crop. In some cases, it is our own government that is buying up and using the land in other countries to make more and more food, or more and more commerce depeneding how you view it. It is the death cycle of farming.
Despite the abundance of food, what is the cost to our farmers and to our future? The estimated $30 billion dollar global seed trade is now dominated by a handful of corporate giants. The nutritious value of these crops inevitably declines, the soil is not being cultivated, crops no longer need to be rotated. Hybrid seeds will grow in any soil, given the proper fertilizer. And what in turn are we eating? Fertilizer? Petrochemical?
Given the increased farming costs, the government has created farming assistance programs. These programs are the 'largest corporate welfare programs' ever imagined as they keeps most farmers just above the poverty level. Providing subsidies to them for things that only serve "The Market" and not the farmer. "Farm subsidies are distributed not on the basis of need, but with regard to two other criteria: (1) the type of crop grown, with 90 percent of all farm subsidies awarded to farms that produce wheat, corn, cotton, rice and soybeans,3 and (2) the amount of crops grown, with farmers who grow more crops receiving higher subsidies. Therefore, large farms and agribusinesses--which, as a result of economies of scale, are also the most profitable farms--are eligible for massive subsidies as long as they grow the crops the government wants them to grow. Meanwhile, small lower-income farms growing the same five crops receive only a fraction of what large farms receive; and farmers planting the 400 other crops, regardless of their need, are completely excluded from most farm subsidies." (quoted source from www.primalseeds.org)
When you have this information and then think about why the government only subsidizes certain crops, it is almost transparent to see- to increase revenue on many cyclical fronts (Pharmaceutical, Agricultural, Big Business). It is a scary thought to know that capitalism has triumphed over the human race. Things like corn and soy (two products that receive 80 percent of all herbicides used in the entire United States) and as you now know, the greatest farming subsidy, account for today's main feed source for factory cows . Although one may think this is a natural option for a cow's diet- it is not. Cow's were intended to eat grass, they have a Ruminant Digestive System different from other animals. So this feed is making our cows sick, in turn increasing the need for antibiotics, therefore contributing to antibiotic resistant disease, pollution, amongst many, many, many other problems. To hear a little more about this issue you may have interest in reading my blog entitled "Choose Food Wisely, Save the World".
Choosing Organic
By supporting organic farmers, you are choosing to support a practice that is union with our earth. Organic farming has come a long way and is a movement that needs our support. This is far beyond the health benefits that organic food provides, it is about sustainable living for the human race. Organic farmers are the courageous heroes of our time, venturing out a re-birth of what our farming fathers worked so hard to preserve. With stores such as Whole Foods, Westerly, Fairway and other health stores in your area, there is often times a chance for you to vote with your dollar and support local, organic farming. In some cases, you need more than a $1.00, organic is expensive! But the cost of supporting hybrid and conventional farming methods are risky and in long run, could cost us everything.
Since the dawn of civilization, farmers have preserved healthy seeds from their harvest and replanted them in future years. This naturally occurring seed selection, created a genetic diversity of crops that enabled them not only to store seeds for future harvest but also share with other farmers for years to come. These organic seeds ("organic" in terms of purest in nature) have the figurative DNA of hard working farmers from centuries past that have mindfully cultivated their harvest, noting flavor, color, harvest strength and reaction to specific farming conditions. Farm assisted Darwinism in action, if you will. The strong seeds survive and are planted again, traded, stored and rotated with other strong crops. Basic farming.
Through centuries of this hard work, our farming fathers have made a viable and intangible agribusiness from this practice. Building a strong, natural and invaluable commodity. Seed trading made crop diversity readily available, enriched soil, thereby increasing nutritious value of the end product, sustained food supply, expanded crop yields and increased profits for the worldwide farming community. Notably in third world countries, where farming is a major contributing source to GDP and sustainability on both economic and personal scales.
Patenting Mother Nature, Biopiracy
"Under intellectual property law, the holder of abstract "properties" has certain exclusive rights to the creative work, commercial symbol, or invention by which it is covered". (source: Wikipedia)
In 1970 the U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act was passed. This act enabled and offered opportunities for seed profit and created the incentive for corporate interests to take control of and expand the seed industry. In essence, Big Business was given the "intellectual property" rights to seeds and started to work like busy bees in their science labs, cloning mother nature.
Somewhere along the blurry line, we became a culture focusing far away from the roots of our existence, literally. Mom and pop farms being stomped on by bigger business is perhaps, an inevitable truth of capitalism. We are now accustomed to the convenience and vast variety of foods found in any grocery store. We can have fruits that are out of season at our fingertips (coming from warmer climates) and vegetables from around the world. Partially in thanks to large seed companies that have made a business from selling and distributing seeds to farmers around the world.
The problem is not with this concept, but with what happened thereafter. (Enter: Hybrid seeds) Hybrid seeds by definition are the first generation offspring seed of two distant parent lines of the same species. Man-produced inbred seeds were the platform for the commercial seed market. (Think Wal-Mart of seed distributors) With this technology, farmers were persuaded and in some cases forced to replace the traditional farm saved-seed with the new hybrid seed. This new species of seeds, gave a (perceived) benefit to both farmer and seed producer.
The farmer: achieved stronger yields, brighter colors, and the biggest sized crops. The seed manufacturer: keeps that farmer as a repeat customer. Why? Because the farmer can not utilize the seeds from the hybrid crop to reproduce another harvest- ever again. The hybrid seed will not "breed true" and will not perform at all (or nearly as well) if it were to be saved and replanted. Cross-polination of hybrids into the other 'natural' seeded crops on the farm would inhibit growth (of those crops) and mutate natural seeds. In addition, reliance on hybrid seeds created a dependence on fertilizer (a necessary component for modern hybrids to flourish at peak success and a subsidiary business of seed manufacturers). Thousands of years of evolution, a natural seed diversity and natural tolerance for localized growing conditions, slowly being lost. Farming practices which began in the nineteenth century, vanishing before our very eyes. Modern day seed companies have managed to capitalize-on and trade-mark mother nature.
The Global Effect:
Hybrid seeds have forced many of our world's farmers, especially in poor countries, deep into a debt cycle. Modern farming practices have drastically increased cost for seeds and agro-chemicals (an estimated 100% increase in farming cost since 1970). Small farmers in countries outside the U.S. are sometimes forced to switch to the hybrid option, so that exports can compete with the appearance of a stronger crop. In some cases, it is our own government that is buying up and using the land in other countries to make more and more food, or more and more commerce depeneding how you view it. It is the death cycle of farming.
Despite the abundance of food, what is the cost to our farmers and to our future? The estimated $30 billion dollar global seed trade is now dominated by a handful of corporate giants. The nutritious value of these crops inevitably declines, the soil is not being cultivated, crops no longer need to be rotated. Hybrid seeds will grow in any soil, given the proper fertilizer. And what in turn are we eating? Fertilizer? Petrochemical?
Given the increased farming costs, the government has created farming assistance programs. These programs are the 'largest corporate welfare programs' ever imagined as they keeps most farmers just above the poverty level. Providing subsidies to them for things that only serve "The Market" and not the farmer. "Farm subsidies are distributed not on the basis of need, but with regard to two other criteria: (1) the type of crop grown, with 90 percent of all farm subsidies awarded to farms that produce wheat, corn, cotton, rice and soybeans,3 and (2) the amount of crops grown, with farmers who grow more crops receiving higher subsidies. Therefore, large farms and agribusinesses--which, as a result of economies of scale, are also the most profitable farms--are eligible for massive subsidies as long as they grow the crops the government wants them to grow. Meanwhile, small lower-income farms growing the same five crops receive only a fraction of what large farms receive; and farmers planting the 400 other crops, regardless of their need, are completely excluded from most farm subsidies." (quoted source from www.primalseeds.org)
When you have this information and then think about why the government only subsidizes certain crops, it is almost transparent to see- to increase revenue on many cyclical fronts (Pharmaceutical, Agricultural, Big Business). It is a scary thought to know that capitalism has triumphed over the human race. Things like corn and soy (two products that receive 80 percent of all herbicides used in the entire United States) and as you now know, the greatest farming subsidy, account for today's main feed source for factory cows . Although one may think this is a natural option for a cow's diet- it is not. Cow's were intended to eat grass, they have a Ruminant Digestive System different from other animals. So this feed is making our cows sick, in turn increasing the need for antibiotics, therefore contributing to antibiotic resistant disease, pollution, amongst many, many, many other problems. To hear a little more about this issue you may have interest in reading my blog entitled "Choose Food Wisely, Save the World".
Choosing Organic
By supporting organic farmers, you are choosing to support a practice that is union with our earth. Organic farming has come a long way and is a movement that needs our support. This is far beyond the health benefits that organic food provides, it is about sustainable living for the human race. Organic farmers are the courageous heroes of our time, venturing out a re-birth of what our farming fathers worked so hard to preserve. With stores such as Whole Foods, Westerly, Fairway and other health stores in your area, there is often times a chance for you to vote with your dollar and support local, organic farming. In some cases, you need more than a $1.00, organic is expensive! But the cost of supporting hybrid and conventional farming methods are risky and in long run, could cost us everything.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Vote at your grocery store- every week
The price of organic food is sometimes double that of their conventionally grown neighbor. It is challenging, especially in today's economy to spend almost double on our weekly produce just because we are choosing organic. It is important to remember that voting with your dollars is not only essential to change, but essential to your health. Choosing organic foods is choosing change.
Let's start with the basics:
You plant a seed and watch it grow. What are the 'living' conditions of that seed? Soil is a living, fragile and complex ecosystem that is the connection between the air we breath, our land and our water. As you read in my previous post, current day farming practices ie: using pesticides, hybrids, soil enhancers and other chemicals are dangerous and have huge repurcussions.
These practices make it easier, faster and arguably more productive than using good old fashioned farming methods such as general crop rotations (which help to enrich nitrogen in the soil and avoid pathogen build-up) and the use of mulch and manure to eliminate weeds. I don't blame anyone for trying to get more bang out of their buck, I will simply pass on the chemicals in my food, thanks.
So one may say..."What's wrong with a little insecticide, herbicide or fungicide?"
Aside from the direct affect on our food chain (more on that in a different post), there is a chain affect on our environment - and potentially our immediate health.
Since man-made pesticides are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One may assume they would safely control the amount of poison that can be applied on our food crops (is that an oxymoron?) This belief takes the assumption that investment by big business, consumption by consumers, government spending, subsidy farming, capitalism, economy, GDP...all step aside so that the USDA's can protect your individual health. Um....maybe.
Keep it basic and do your best to support the farms that believe in the integrity of the crops they produce, sans chemicals, and over-production for intentions other than pure cropping. These are the people looking out for you and our world.
Eat with your head:
Does wax on your apple feel good in your mouth? I mean, you know that can not wash that off...Does a huge watermelon without one single seed seem even a little odd? Or a perfectly round, bright, larger than a softball orange? Doesn't it just seem a little wierd? I think our society has been drowned with competitive choices and our internal guidance has been muted. Time to wake up!
Choosing fruit with nothing on it or in it but the natural compounds it is made from, makes sense. Eating (even a lil wee- bit) of man made chemicals does not. When it comes down to conventional vs. organic, we are paying less (for the conventional option) because the end product is less laborious, less nutritious.
It is all choice. Eat with your head, and vote with your dollar.
Happy Eating
Let's start with the basics:
You plant a seed and watch it grow. What are the 'living' conditions of that seed? Soil is a living, fragile and complex ecosystem that is the connection between the air we breath, our land and our water. As you read in my previous post, current day farming practices ie: using pesticides, hybrids, soil enhancers and other chemicals are dangerous and have huge repurcussions.
These practices make it easier, faster and arguably more productive than using good old fashioned farming methods such as general crop rotations (which help to enrich nitrogen in the soil and avoid pathogen build-up) and the use of mulch and manure to eliminate weeds. I don't blame anyone for trying to get more bang out of their buck, I will simply pass on the chemicals in my food, thanks.
So one may say..."What's wrong with a little insecticide, herbicide or fungicide?"
Aside from the direct affect on our food chain (more on that in a different post), there is a chain affect on our environment - and potentially our immediate health.
Since man-made pesticides are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One may assume they would safely control the amount of poison that can be applied on our food crops (is that an oxymoron?) This belief takes the assumption that investment by big business, consumption by consumers, government spending, subsidy farming, capitalism, economy, GDP...all step aside so that the USDA's can protect your individual health. Um....maybe.
Keep it basic and do your best to support the farms that believe in the integrity of the crops they produce, sans chemicals, and over-production for intentions other than pure cropping. These are the people looking out for you and our world.
Eat with your head:
Does wax on your apple feel good in your mouth? I mean, you know that can not wash that off...Does a huge watermelon without one single seed seem even a little odd? Or a perfectly round, bright, larger than a softball orange? Doesn't it just seem a little wierd? I think our society has been drowned with competitive choices and our internal guidance has been muted. Time to wake up!
Choosing fruit with nothing on it or in it but the natural compounds it is made from, makes sense. Eating (even a lil wee- bit) of man made chemicals does not. When it comes down to conventional vs. organic, we are paying less (for the conventional option) because the end product is less laborious, less nutritious.
It is all choice. Eat with your head, and vote with your dollar.
Happy Eating
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