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MtnDon
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# Posted: 9 Aug 2015 02:02pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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Removing lead was a huge deal. I would say similarly removing GMO's would help too.
But there are many variables. Some research indicates that more intelligent people have fewer babies. Going by that the average IQ may naturally decline... Another theory is that we might just be getting better at taking (IQ) tests. Teaching to the test is not uncommon.
Link of interest regarding IQ
and another
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creeky
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# Posted: 9 Aug 2015 02:42pm - Edited by: creeky
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Quoting: MtnDon Teaching to the test
sorry. edited this. tmi.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2015 11:32am
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The majority of corn and soybeans grown since the '90's have been "roundup ready". Genetically modified to resist damage by the herbicide roundup. In the process of continually spraying the crop (our food) with just one herbicide we have triggered natural selection for resistance to that herbicide in weeds. It took 4 years for resistance to show and less than 20 to render the herbicide ineffective.
The article below is the solution big ag has come up with. The EPA has recently approved a system of crops resistant to an herbicide, roundup plus agent orange. If we bathe the fields (our food) in that, it will supposedly kill all the weeds.
It isn't generally considered wise to practice the same behavior and expect different results.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/superweeds-sprout-farmland-controversy-over-g mos-n214996
When we genetically engineer things like BT into crops for pesticide benefits the same thing happens. One difference in modifying a plant to produce these chemicals is that every cell is switched on to produce that chemical, from the roots in the soil, where it reacts with the beneficial soil microbes to the stems, leaves, and fruit. We have largely destroyed the efficacy of Bt, used judiciously by organic growers it would not have modified the insects, used constantly and widely it has mutated them. So we add neonicitinoids to the GMO package, that'll fix those bugs. They kill Monarchs and honeybees and a broad host of other beneficials.
When we figured out how to make plants accept and turn on these little factories, we didn't figure out how to target, how to receive feedback and how to switch off these genes. Ready, fire, aim...
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creeky
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2015 05:04pm
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i don't know if I posted this already. but there was a good article in one of my farm magazines. a farmer planting soy. his fields are completely round up immune now. his solution? increase the density of his planting. the plants themselves shade out the weeds.
result. he's getting 5 to 6 extra bushels per acre. and saving on herbicide and pesticide costs. there are better solutions. but they won't make any billionaires happy.
For myself: This kowtowing to billion dollar companies. I just don't understand it. I can't see the benefit to society of killing the soil of an entire continent with herbicides and pesticides. Regardless whether I save ten bucks on my grocery bill.
But I guess, give a man a hammer and the whole world becomes a nail.
Of course I'm feeling all smug. Act local right. I just bought my weeks veg from an Amish farmer in Ogdensburg. Organic and healthy. Ya. And it works out to just over a buck a day. Ouch. How will i afford it?
And, not to be too smug. I also bought chicken, undoubtedly farm factory raised, cause it was on sale for .95/lb. I mean. How do you sell chicken for .95/lb without some serious downloading of the cost.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2015 02:26pm
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Quoting: MtnDon Sadly, I'm not sure the general population IQ is going up.
 Oh, you're so right there.....well even if technically the IQ is going up, IQ is an old world measurement and highly over-rated. There are darn sure a lot more dumb asses out there now....common sense and IQ may be related somehow but maybe inversely?
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Borrego
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2015 02:39pm
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Quoting: creeky It boggles the mind that something as important as health care is denied to anyone.
It's not denied to anyone, never has been, you just have to pay for it. And if you're too poor to afford it, you've always been taken care of, as a matter of fact much better than now with the ACA. There are many ways around this puzzle with only one of the options being Government Controlled health care. Canada's system is not one to follow anyway despite your citizen's pride in it. My own feelings and experience aside, any quick search will show the shortcomings and coming financial woes. Not to bash Canada, great country and a fine neighbor, y'all just do things a bit differently, must be something in the beer... errr... water 
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Don_P
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# Posted: 9 Dec 2015 10:26pm
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The Grocery Manufacturers' Association and the biotech industry are currently lobbying Congress and the White House. They want a "rider" to the omnibus budget. The rider would temporarily stop states from enforcing their own laws requiring GMO labeling. Why is this happening now? If the budget doesn't pass by Friday, December 11th at midnight, the federal government will shut down. Because most politicians don't want the government to shut down, they are anxious to pass a budget, even one with an unpopular rider prohibiting GMO labeling laws from taking effect.
If the rider is included in the budget, states won't be able to enforce the GMO labeling laws they've passed. Specifically, Vermont, poised to begin enforcement of its GMO labeling law in 2016, will be prohibited from enforcing its law. Washington DC insiders predict that a temporary rider would set the stage for Congress to pass a permanent federal preemption of state GMO labeling laws in 2016.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 9 Dec 2015 11:08pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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Arg... grr...
For those who are so inclined all it takes is a few minutes time to find contact info for your reps. Email them your opinion.
My wife and I have strong feelings about GMO's and our rights to know about what is in our food. I urge you to stand strong against any "Dark Act" policy riders in the omnibus government spending bill. Americans deserve and need to know what is in the food we are feeding ourselves and our families. We want a strong, mandatory, on package GMO labeling law. This attempt to slide state preemption into a federal budget bill is disrespectful to these families who simply want to know what they are eating and feeding their kids.
Thank you,
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2015 06:27am
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Now with the Dow - Dupont Chemicals merger the GMO market will heat up and more Brown Envelopes will be passed around.
The "Big 6" pesticide and GMO corporations are BASF, Bayer, Dupont, Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto, and Syngenta. They are so called because they dominate the agricultural input market -- that is, they own the world's seed, pesticide and biotechnology industries.
I get noxious just thinking about how these Corporates are jockeying to control Food & Water supplies... I so want my garden next year and with luck have my little greenhouse built too...
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Don_P
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# Posted: 3 Mar 2016 06:26pm
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The DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) act moved out of committee today heading for a senate vote. This bill would forbid labeling of GMO food. Another bill has also been introduced that would require labeling of genetically modified food.
http://agfax.com/2016/03/01/senate-ag-committee-advances-biotech-labeling-bill-dtn/
Gotta wonder, if this is such a great new product, why do they want to hide it? Have you ever seen a company make such a technological "stride" without wanting to crow about it and thereby gain market share?
Grab your senator's ear and let them know you would rather know what is in the food you eat.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 3 Mar 2016 06:45pm
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Thanks for the heads up... 1 phone call made and another to go.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 3 Mar 2016 07:26pm
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For those who prefer to email, here's a handy page. Enter your ZIP and then your name, etc, and click
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 03:17pm
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The Senate voted against the DARK act this morning. So we are one step closer to having food labels spell out whether or not there are or are not GMO's in the package.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:22pm
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Yay! I got an email from (my future) Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon about this and signed his petition that he took to Congress. My current senator is Ted Cruz. Enuf said on that one, lol.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2016 05:33pm - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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Its funny how when a mfg supposedly "buy congress" the mfg is attacked. Why don't you go after your congressman for selling you down the river for a few campaign donations and dollars.
I don't blame matches for arson.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2016 06:16pm
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toyota_mdt_tech
Because it's the manufacturers who are responsible for putting stuff in our food! If they want to do that, OK, their choice but we need to know so WE can make a choice. It's really important. I'll give you a personal example ...
You know I have Lupus. I have a bad sensitivity to artificial sweeteners. The foremost Lupus expert (who literally wrote the book on the disease) is in London and has found that a bad reaction to artificial sweeteners is common in Lupus patients so he thinks there's something to it. An immune response. I found out I have it by accident, through trial and error, before I was even aware of this connection when I ate/drank at friends' homes who were either diabetic or on diets and used things that contained Splenda and the like.
Anyhoo, the food manufacturers are increasingly sneaking this stuff into freaking EVERYTHING. I read labels but they use a bunch of different names for the artificial sweeteners and the names change. I have to be very vigilant and keep tabs on the new terms because if I miss it and buy a drink or yogurt or something that contains it unknowingly, I'll wind up with a headache that makes a migraine seem pleasant and horrible gastro-intestinal issues for at least 24 hours. I wonder what that stuff is doing to my body!
I cook from scratch and buy "whole" ingredients as much as possible. It helps. There are many people out there with diagnosed illnesses -- and others who have allergies and illnesses of unknown origin -- who may have sensitivities to GMO products, additives, and the like and need to know what's in their food. Heck, that info should be available to everyone. It's in the manufacturers' hands to provide it.
This is simply the right thing to do. It sux that they have to be forced into it by the government and won't simply provide information on their own. And, yeah, you're right -- it also sux that they cozy up to our legislators with contributions to try to get out of doing the right thing. I boycott the companies that don't care and aren't receptive to customers' concerns and needs.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2016 06:55pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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Hey, it's a headline. It did catch your attention so it was effective.
All anyone who is against this bill wants is to know what is in the container of food they might buy. There are certain things I should not eat to avoid some health issues. I don't see why anyone should get their shorts in a knot about the simple desire to know what's in the can/box/whatever.
PS, my congressman voted against it but not enough of hos cohorts agreed with him. He got a thank you. Other times he also hears about my/our displeasure.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2016 08:18pm
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon toyota_mdt_tech Because it's the manufacturers who are responsible for putting stuff in our food! If they want to do that, OK, their choice but we need to know so WE can make a choice. It's really important. I'll give you a personal example ...
Julie and Don, I am not condemning people for wanting to know what is in their food and knowing what is added into it either. You may have missed my point. What my point was "why did your congressman sell you out".
I even see congressman go up before a crowd and start condemning lobbyist. The lobbyist is impotent unless a congressman takes the deal (cash for a political favor, special treatment etc.)
I think all food should have labels. This is important for many reasons, ie allergies, diabetes etc.
Julie, my older sister has Lupus also. So I know what its about to some extent, I have plenty more to learn though.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2016 10:00pm
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Monsanto has an impressive warchest and its employees thoroughly pervade governments. This tactic is not new, they've been at this since before any of us were born.
"Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for policy, wrote the FDA's rBGH labelling guidelines. The guidelines, announced in February 1994, virtually prohibited dairy corporations from making any real distinction between products produced with and without rBGH. To keep rBGH-milk from being "stigmatized" in the marketplace, the FDA announced that labels on non-rBGH products must state that there is no difference between rBGH and the naturally occurring hormone. In March 1994, Taylor was publicly exposed as a former lawyer for the Monsanto corporation for seven years. While working for Monsanto, Taylor had prepared a memo for the company as to whether or not it would be constitutional for states to erect labelling laws concerning rBGH dairy products. In other words Taylor helped Monsanto figure out whether or not the corporation could sue states or companies that wanted to tell the public that their products were free of Monsanto's drug.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2016 11:24pm
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With lobbyists, it's all about flinging stuff and seeing what sticks. Not just with politicians and contributions, either. When I was an editor, I got visits from them. I was astonished by how many food producers had lobbyists. Constant stream of visitors to the newsroom from the Milk Producers Board, the Beef Producers Association, the Poultry Farmers, etc. etc.
Mrs. Baird's Baked Goods (owned by Bimbo Group of Mexico) had the most creative approach. They hired some former rodeo star who showed up in hat, chaps, and spurs doing rope tricks with his lasso -- and carrying a big gift basket of new products.
They all wanted good press/glowing coverage/the benefit of the doubt if things went badly for their companies, of course. I didn't care how nice they were or what sort of freebies they brought in. If they did something legitimately good, it was reported as such; if they did something awful, it was reported and scrutinized.
I suspect it's that way with many politicians, too. Because if it wasn't, and it could be proven that votes were tied to money and free goods/services, then crimes have been committed and people would go to jail. Easy enough to prove with a wiretap.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2016 05:07pm
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Today General Mills has announced that it will begin labeling GMO ingredients in all its products.
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ChuckDynasty
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2016 06:49pm
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Thanks for the handy page link and this thread.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2016 12:08pm - Edited by: bldginsp
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The FDA considers 'acceptable' certain levels of pesticide in our foods, say, X amount of systemic pesticide in a glass of orange juice. But of course the FDA can't regulate how much orange juice you drink. So does someone who likes to drink a lot of orange juice get dangerous levels of pesticide in their blood?
I want a label on every food product grown with pesticides showing the approximate, calculated amount of pesticide in that product, along with the 'acceptable' level of that pesticide in that food.
They do this for nutrition- "This product contains 15 milligrams calcium, which is 30% of your recommended daily allowance." Ok, so how about- "This product contains 27 micromilligrams of systemic pesticide thermonucleardeathnelicide, which is 15% of your recommended daily allowance. 120 micromilligrams of this pesticide has caused cancer in laboratory rats, that is, the ones that lived."
Fat chance.
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creeky
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2016 02:17pm
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Aldi's, the food chain is going fully organic. that's good news.
they already ban 9 pesticides from the foods they sell. they also have stringent rules for all meats etc.
I believe the way to change the world is vote with your dollars.
Eat raw. Don't buy prepackaged foods.
You can hugely decrease your pesticide load by the simple act of buying organic. and growing your own. I do both. Remember organic protects you, the farmer, his family, and the environment. Plus it tastes better.
re: IQ. MtnDon the first article you posted agreed IQs are rising. The second article was one of the contrary viewpoints, agreeing IQs are rising but quibbles. So I'll add a couple more articles on rising IQs.
wikipedia has this to say
an introductory article to IQ keeps it simple.
As for the big AG groups. Follow the money. They own the seeds. They modify them to accept poison. They get the profits extracted from the farmer who buys the seed, fertilizer, poison from them. Neat system.
And the real cost is downloaded to the environment. Dead soil. Poisoned rivers. Cancer filled mammals. Good for the medical industry. Win/win.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2016 02:50pm - Edited by: Don_P
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Not to worry, follow the neat system one step further. They own the drug companies Searle and Pfizer... if you're going to sell poison might as well be vertically integrated.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 1 Jul 2016 09:13pm
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Mitch McConnell introduced a GMO labelling bill on Thursday directly to the floor, it should be voted on midweek next week. Remember VT's food labeling laws went into effect today requiring GMO laced foods be clearly labeled. The bill McConnell introduced allows a broad and misleading array of methods of labeling and no consequences for not labeling. This bill is intended to replace and gut state labeling laws. Sorry to keep asking but it might be a good idea to rattle the cage yet again. Big ag is trying very hard not to comply, they also are not ready for todays labeling requirements.
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