Thursday, June 16, 2005

Plant your garden!

Plant your garden!

Have you ever wondered why the produce looks so perfect at the grocery store? Well, I'll tell you. It's because most fruits and veggies are Genetically Modified. In Europe, the public is outraged, demanding that GMO foods are labeled. But here in the USA, the corporations are keeping things quiet. I had no idea how much this impacted my life until I started reading. What I found was horrifying. So, unless you want Pork Genes in your Tomatoes (which helps them not to bruise), eat organic as much as possible. You can always start small and learn to grow an herb garden in your kitchen window. If a corn worm dies from eating corn, what is that corn going to do to you? Don't take my word for it, look it up for yourself. Here in LA we are BLESSED with KPFK, a publically owned and operated radio station with amazing information. Take a look......


It's up to us to save this planet and education is the key!
Now, I'm off to water the Tomatoes.
Love,
Malena

3 Comments:

At 1:35 AM , Blogger K said...

Great post, Malena. This is a very worrying issue.

If it's not genetically modified, perfect-looking fruit has probably been scooshed with a generous helping of pesticide... mmm, pesticide.

Another problem with GM grain is that in developing countries (where a lot of it is grown) the farmers don't have a right to keep a portion of seed back for themselves, a traditional way of providing for their families. This is to stop GM grain getting mixed in with non-modified strains.

However, human nature being what it is, some of the farmers do keep seed back... Once the can has been opened, you can't get the worms back into it.

I don't particularly want to ingest pork genes with my passata (I'm vegetarian) but I'm more worried about what happens if we create strains that outcompete all the others. A smaller number of varieties would mean that if a plant pathogen evolved to target the dominant strain of (e.g.) wheat, it would be harder to find a different strain to replace it. Then you end up with the Irish Potato Famine - only on a much larger scale...

OK, rant over. On a lighter note, I've recently been reading "Changing Planes" by Ursula Le Guin, and as a funny, sad satire on the whole GM mess, the first story, "Porrige on Islac" does the business.

 
At 2:53 AM , Blogger K said...

Actually, I can spell "Porridge". Forgive me, I'm having a bad day...

 
At 12:47 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Great info K. Thank you. I am just learning about all this. Lorraine is fortunate to live in the country where she has lots of room for a garden. Keep us posted. Thanks!
Malena

 

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