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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JeffA who wrote (101964)	4/25/2005 10:08:43 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

I understand that you would be positive on the crops if they supply your living. But do you see any down side? Are you worried about them at all? My husband is much more down on these crops than I am- so I'm not trying to trap you or anything, but obviously you know something about them- what are the risks? The rewards (which you see) are higher yields?

To: JeffA who wrote (101964)	4/26/2005 2:02:26 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 108807

Gm crops will not actually feed the world, and may actually cause problems that will lead to people starving. The entire idea that we need GM crops to feed people is an advertising strategy by Monsanto. The reason there are hungry people on the earth is that some people are too poor to afford to buy food. There is no actual food shortage at all, and neither is there an impending food shortage. Show me the proof that my organic growing methods will not work on a large scale. My information shows that they will, and that local, sustainable agriculture is the best model not only for feeding all the world's people, but also significantly reduces soil erosion and pesticide contamination/runoff. Local, sustainable agriculture also saves family farms. New research shows that moving food around and having warehousing/central distribution points and shipping it all over the country dramatically increase fuel costs and pollution, things we do not need at all. Then of course there is the moral outrage that SHOULD occur everywhere against Monsanto and the other GM seed companies, for attempting to take the basic human right of saving seeds and growing them to feed people away. Terminator seeds are sort of like nuclear bombs to me--very negative idea. But Monsanto and the other companies are attempting to get away with this by convincing us that only GM crops can feed the world, and that is a total lie. Here are a few food facts for you: No evidence that GM will help solve world hunger GM crops will not feed the world and could pose a considerable threat to poor farmers, warns a new report launched today by ActionAid. GM Crops - Going Against the Grain examines biotech companies' claims that genetically modified (GM) crops can tackle world hunger. The report is being submitted to the Government in advance of the UK public debate starting on 3 June. GM Crops - Going Against the Grain reveals that at best GM crops are irrelevant to poor farmers, at worst they threaten to push them deeper into debt, making them more reliant on expensive seeds and chemicals and unable to save seed from one harvest to the next. "The UK public should not be duped into accepting GM in the name of developing countries. GM does not provide a magic bullet solution to world hunger. What poor people really need is access to land, water, better roads to get their crops to market, education and credit schemes," said Matthew Lockwood, ActionAid's Head of Policy. Using evidence from ActionAid campaigns in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the report takes a balanced look at the impact of GM crops in developing countries. It concludes that rather than alleviating world hunger, the new technology is likely to exacerbate food insecurity, leading to more hungry people not less. Why GM will not feed the world: GM seeds are far more suited to the needs of large-scale commercial farmers rather than poor farmers. GM expansion is driven by corporate profit not the needs of poor people. Four multinationals - Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience and DuPont - control most of the GM seed market. By linking their chemicals to seeds via GM technologies, these corporations have extended markets for their herbicides and pesticides. Farmers are not allowed to trade or save GM seed from one harvest to the next. 'Terminator technology' is also being developed that produces sterile seeds. There is no consistent evidence GM crops yield more and require fewer chemicals. In one study, Monsanto's GM soya had 6% lower yields than non-GM soya and 11% less than high-yielding non-GM soya. Insecticide use on GM cotton has fallen in some locations, but these gains may be short-lived. Chemical use on herbicide-resistant GM crops has sometimes gone up rather than down. In Pakistan, ActionAid has investigated how poor farmers have been enticed by the hype surrounding GM to buy expensive 'miracle' cotton seeds. The results have been disappointing, with many farmers losing most of their crops and facing ruin. The report recommends that there should be no further commercialisation of GM crops until more research has been carried out on their impacts, especially in poor countries. Also, poor countries and their farmers must have the right to open public debates before they decide whether to go ahead with GM crops. Key GM statistics: In 2002 GM crops covered 58 million hectares worldwide - an area two and a half times the size of the UK. Only 1% of GM research is aimed at crops used by poor farmers. The US biotech industry spends $250 million a year promoting GM. A small range of useful looking GM crops aimed at the poor are being researched but they stand only a 1 in 250 chance of making it into farmers fields. The four corporations that control most of the GM seed market had a combined turnover from agrochemicals and seeds of $21.6 billion in 2001. 91% of all GM crops grown worldwide in 2001 were from Monsanto seeds. "We know there is more than enough food in the world to feed everyone. What is causing world hunger is poverty and inequality. Money would be far better spent tackling these problems than poured into GM technology," said Adriano Campolina Soares from ActionAid Brazil. actionaid.org.uk

To: JeffA who wrote (101964)	4/27/2005 6:28:40 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

According to one of the very interesting factoids I'm citing below, only 2% of the corn in the United States is eaten by people. 77% of it is eaten by livestock. We have such a glut of corn products that almost every product requiring a sweetener is loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Some nutritional experts believe it is the addition of high fructose corn syrup to productss that set off the obesity epidemic in America. The reason for this? While when you consume sugar, your stomach sends a message to your brain when you are satiated, no such message is sent when you consume corn syrup. This might explain the recent market explosion in 64 ounce soda drinks and such too! So anyway, what exactly are we going to do with all of that genetically modified corn that is coming up? vegsource.com A Few Health and Diet Facts (Many Studies Compiled by Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating ) U.S. cancer deaths attributable to diet: One-third (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Jan 95. "Position of the American Dietetic Association: Cost-Effectiveness of Medical Nutrition Therapy", Volume 95, Number 1, p. 88-91.) Groups recommending generous amounts of fruits & vegetables to reduce cancer risk: National Research Council, National Cancer Institute, & the American Cancer Society (Wattenberg, Lee W. Cancer Research, April 1, 1995, "Inhibition of Carcinogenesis by Minor Dietary Constituents", Volume 52, Number 7 (Supplement), p. 2090S.) Leading cause of death in US: Heart Disease (Williams, Roger R. 1994. "Diet, Genes, Early Heart Attacks, and High Blood Pressure," Nutrition in the '90s: Current Controversies and Analysis, Edited by Frank N. Kotsonis and maureen A. Mackey; Marcel Dekker, Inc.New York, p. 25-44.) U.S. residents who will die from heart disease: Nearly 50% (Hans Diehl, 1994. "Reversing Coronary Heart Disease," Western Diseases: Their Dietary Prevention and Reversibility, N.J. Temple and D.P. Burkitt, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, p. 237-316.) Experience of most heart disease patients following Dr. Dean Ornish's program (which is based on a very low-fat vegetarian diet): Coronary Blockages Reverse (Gould, K. Lance; Ornish, Dean, et. al., Sept. 20, 1995. JAMA, "Changes in Myocardial Perfusion Abnormalities by Positron Emission Tomography After Long-term, Intense Risk Factor Modification", Volume 274, Number 11, p. 894-901.) Veterinarian's assessment of raising parasite-free livestock: "...Virtually Impossible..." (Haynes, N. Bruce, DVM. 1994. Keeping Livestock Healthy: A Veterinary Guide to Horses, Cattle, Goats & Sheep, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT. p. 258.) Leading source of kidney failure among North American children: E. coli Infection (July 23, 94, "To Zap or Not to Zap," The Economist, p. 27-28.) U.S. supermarket ground beef infected with E. coli: 4% (Herbert, Bob. July 7, 1995, "Bad Meat and Politics," New York Times, p. A25.) Time needed for campylobacter to infect every chicken in a 20,000 bird house: A Few Days (Madden, Robert H. July, 1994. "Microbial Hazards in Animal Products," Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Volume 53, Number 2, p. 313.) Number of antibiotics allowed in U.S. milk: 80 ( Begley, Sharon. March 28, 1994 , "The End of Antibiotics," Newsweek, p. 47-51) Number of antibiotics for which U.S. milk is tested: 4 ( Ibid.) Human infections resistant to all antibiotics: "...Rapidly Increasing..." (September, 1995. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Impacts of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Washington, DC, p. 1.) Leading source of human exposure to dioxin: Meat, Dairy, Eggs & Fish (Fries, George F. June 1995, "A Review of the Significance of Animal Products as Potential Pathways of Human Exposures to Dioxins," Journal of Animal Science, Volume 73, Number 6, p. 1639-1650.) Ranchers' reaction to proposed reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park area: Filed Lawsuit (Egan, Timothy Dec 11, 1994. "Ranchers Balk at U.S. Plans to Return Wolf to the West," New York Times, Section A, p. 1, 44.) Chicken manure generated each day in U.S.: 120 million kilograms (Mountney, George J.; Parkhurst, Carmen R., 1995, Poultry Products Technology, Third Edition, Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY, p. 335.) U.S. corn eaten by people: 2% (1994. 1993/94 World Maize Facts and Trends, CIMMYT, Mexico City, p. 50, 52.) U.S. corn eaten by livestock: 77% (Ibid.) Percentage of world grain supply eaten by livestock: 38% (Durning, A.T.; Brough, H.B. "Reforming the Livestock Economy," Brown, L.R., editor, State of the World, 1992, W.W. Norton and Company, New York, p. 66-82.) U.S. land producing vegetables: 4 million acres (January, 1993.1992 Census of Agriculture, Table 0A, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.) U.S. fruit and nut orchards: 5 million acres (Ibid) U.S. land producing hay for livestock: 56 million acres (Ibid) Anesthetic typically used during pig castration: None (White, R.G., et al. February, 1995, "Vocalization and Physiological Response of Pigs During Castation With or Without a Local Anesthetic," Journal of Animal Science, Volume 73, Number 2, p. 381-386.) Solution to the unhealthy air quality in commercial hog farms: "...wear a suitable mask at all times in hog facilities." (Morrison, W.D., Hacker, R.R.; Smith, J.H.; Morrison, W.D. June 1991, "Dust in Hog Growing Facilities: A Research Update," Highlights of Agricultural and Food Research in Ontario, Volume 14, Number 2, p. 6-10.) Total human attention given over four months to a factory-farmed pig: 12 minutes (Kilman, Scott. May 4, 1995, "Iowans Can Handle Pig Smells, but This is Something Else,"Wall Street Journal, p. A1, A6.) Of 1,324 chickens dying in transport to slaughterhouse, the ratio dying of heart failure: Half (Gregory, N.G. Mar-94, "Pathology and Handling of Poultry at the Slaughterhouse, " World's Poultry Science Journal, Volume 50, Number 1, p. 66-67.) Age of these chickens (that died of heart failure): Eight Weeks (Ibid.) Most profitable number of laying hens to keep in one commercial 30.5 by 50.8 cm cage: Five (Fraser, David. 1993. "Assessing Animal Well Being: Common Sense, Uncommon Science," Food Animal Well Being 1993 Conference Proceedings and Deliberations, USDA and Perdue University Office of Agricultural Research Papers, West Lafayette, IN, p. 41.) Time a chicken spends under these conditions to lay a single egg: Over 24 hours (Gay, Carol V. 18-Jul-92, "Penn State Poultry Pointers: Building Better Bones," Lancaster Farming, p. C5) Number of meat, milk, and egg producing animals slaughtered each year in US: Over Six Billion (January, 1993. 1992 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. Tables 20-25.) December 1995 government conclusion on typical health of vegetarians: "...Excellent Health." (1995. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.) Some recent additions: In Finland, a study of 21,930 men showed that a high-fiber diet protected against heart attack. The men's risk of dying from a heart attack dropped 17 percent for each additional 10 grams of fiber eaten daily. A recent study by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute showed a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables proved to be the best treatment for high blood pressure. Early results of a long-term study of healthy women showed eating a diet rich in vitamin B6 and folic acid -- contained in such foods as dark green leafy vegetables, peas and dried beans -- may cut a woman's chances of getting heart disease by 50%. The findings were from the Nurse's Health Study, an ongoing research project. A new study of 88 elderly people aged 65 or older who took 200 milligrams of vitamin E each day for about four months showed they significantly boosted their immune system's ability to ward off disease. The results appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found a link between prostate cancer and the consumption of saturated fat. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition recently reported that adding fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates to a sensible diet reduces a person's risk of a second heart attack, which shows that it is never too late to adopt healthy lifestyles. In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, coronary lesions shrank in 28 percent of heart patients who followed an intensive exercise program, versus 6 percent who received standard care. In clinical studies at Harvard University's Mind/Body Institue, a number of interesting effects were seen resulting from the practice of a 20 minute daily meditation period: chronic pain patients reduced their physican visits by 36 percent; 80 percent of hypertensive patients lowered their blood pressure and decreased medications; open heart surgery patients suffered fewer post-operative complications; and 75 percent of insomnia patients became normal sleepers, with 90 percent able to reduce their use of sleeping medications. High school students, meanwhile, significantly increased their self-esteem. Says Leslie Teets, M.D., director of the Center for Behavioral Medicine at Columbia Hospital in Richmond, Virginia: "The research shows that we are captains of our own destiny. Even if we are genetically pre-disposed to certain diseases, we don't have to accept that as fate. Changes in lifestyle can change the course of our health history. The choices we make and the way we live push us in different directions."