The World According to Monsanto

A documentary that Americans won't ever see....On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE - French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto. Its covers everything and is researched extremely thoroughly and thoughtfully. In many ways it betters The Future of Food because the access gained to secret documents and pro-Monsanto political supporters is breathtaking. There is a lot less speculation, and lots more facts. Definitely a must if you want to truly understand all the arguments involved with Monsanto, PCBs, GM recombinant growth hormones and more...

It appears that this video has been pulled from the Google site - try My Tube and scroll down to The World According to Monsanto. The movie has been broken down into segments, which might be more convenient anyway). Otherwise this site seems to offer the full movie too.

GM Canola Begins

You can only shake your head in wonder - and now that the corruption that has been so entrenched within the NSW government begins to unravel, I am left wondering what really happened behind closed doors. The on-the-ground story in this article only serves to emphasis that wonder. No legal framework has been put together either...

What concerns me is what happens to those that happen to find GM contamination on their farms - as the movie above shows, Monsanto is not exactly gentle with their response. In some ways if you have no intention of going GM you perhaps need to register yourself publicly...

In the meantime South Australia will retain its GM moratorium indefinitely. Interestingly, 81% of the submissions and 97% of the letters supported retaining the moratorium. The government will be closely watching to see how NSW and Victoria address the key issues of segregation and regulation.

The Great GM Myth Exposed

Genetic modification actually cuts the productivity of crops, an authoritative new study shows, undermining repeated claims that a switch to the controversial technology is needed to solve the growing world food crisis. Monsanto said that it was surprised by the extent of the decline found by the Kansas study, but not by the fact that the yields had dropped. In addition, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development - concluded that GM was not the answer to world hunger.

Australia Doesn't Sign Again!

A United Nations (UN) report on farming practices has warned that production techniques must change to combat the global increase in food prices. Australia is one of only four countries that did not endorse the study, citing concerns over trade, but there are suspicions it may also be linked to GM concerns. I have not waded through the report, but this article states that the report suggests focusing on more than just production - but should also include environmental considerations and address inequitable trade regimes and subsidy schemes. This next article is a bit more specific citing that food producers should be trying to use "natural processes" like crop rotation and use of organic fertilisers, and the distance between the produce and consumer should be reduced. I wonder if our refusal to sign was a directive from our government alone, or whether our so-called representative agricultural bodies have stepped in and done some influencing...

Food Crisis

Something just doesn't sit comfortably with the explanations continuing to be given for the food riots. This article explores many of the issues that are supposedly involved, but the ones that jump out to me is the fact that it is price that is limiting access to food - not the lack of food itself, and this has more to do with the financial system (and its ever growing debt), than the agricultural system. Note the crises are emerging in those countries already dependent on imported food or food aide - ie they are buying their food in. I doubt all these countries are deficient in land that can produce food, rather the land is no longer owned by the citizens and any food grown is exported....but the most telling comment in this article to me is the call for a new green revolution....using biotechnology. I smell a rat.

But perhaps we are so enmeshed in our debt prone system that price is the ultimate motivator be it for survival or destruction - the chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee thinks that as prices rise, Europeans "may be more realistic" about genetically modified crops: "Their hearts may be on the left, but their pockets are on the right." The article goes on to suggest that GM wheat is likely to be put back on the agenda very soon.

For a discussion on why price rises are not always attached to scarcity I highly recommend Graham Dwyer's How to Profit From The Coming Great Depression. Calling in debt causes recessions and depressions, not scarcity of resources.

Soils, Water and Microbes are the Secret

It is a combination of soil, water and microbes that is bringing success to an Australian truffle grower. After years of focusing on each parameter in isolation, it has ended up being a balance between all that seems to be the key - holism. It is interesting to note that the research was conducted using organic soil analysis.

Organics and Climate Change

Scientists at the Rodale Institute in the US have proved that organic farming practices can remove about 7000kg of carbon dioxide from the air each year and sequester it in a hectare of farmland, and could contribute to mopping up 40pc of global greenhouse gas output.

CO2 Soil Mystery

Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was expected to increase plant growth, increase plant biomass and ultimately beef up the organic matter in the soil - but it didn't, and the scientists involved are starting to think the accelerated decay in organic matter was due to increased moisture in the soil, accumulated by plants closing up their stomata. They do admit though that they were only focusing on younger soil organic matter - that fraction that we now know is unstable anyway.

Feed Soil Concrete

UK researchers are amending soils with powdered calcium-silicate (concrete dust) to determine if crops will be induced to bind extra carbon dioxide. The concept underlying the initiative exploits the fact that plants, crops and trees naturally absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during photosynthesis and then pump surplus carbon through their roots into the earth around them, which may then react with the calcium to form the harmless mineral calcium carbonate. The carbon then stays securely locked in the calcium carbonate, which simply remains in the soil.

Stop Treating Soils Like Dirt

While this idea and conversation is truly fabulous, and links soil to all sorts of global issues, the claim that more soil science and bureaucracy (albeit less fragmented) is the solution is worrying. So many breakthroughs have come from the ground up - from innovative farmers. I suggest that a better model would be to allow these ideas to flow from the ground up and that science position itself to validate and refine them - without judgment and ivory tower arrogance. Let the information flow up, not just down.

Commonsense Approach to Soil

Linking progressive soil management to a livestock production system could achieve significant benefits in disease resistance, productivity and profit says Matt Rance of the Kingshay Farming Trust. He then went onto to describe how to assess soil quality - count earthworms, smell it, crumble it, look at plant roots, feel the temperature, and note the disappearance of organic matter.....wonderful commonsense!

Government Probes Soil Management

The Federal Government will study how soil management by farmers can help tackle climate change by examining how carbon storage in soils can be enhanced.

Biofuels a Crime Against Humanity

The growing criticism of biofuels continue to mount with UN officials wading into the debate, and importantly one has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to change its policies on agricultural subsidies and to stop supporting only programs aimed at debt reduction. Hooray! But there is a long way to run with that train of thought.

No-Till Mines Soil of Micronutrients

This article is specifically talking about chemical no-till practices and the researchers seem to have come up with a convoluted reason why no-till soils are losing their trace minerals....something to do with stubble being a nutrient sink and microbes gobbling up the minerals!! I would suggest that those microbes that provide the mineralising service are being killed off slowly by the continuous use of chemicals, and the stubble, which is simply left above ground, is oxidising all its minerals directly to the atmosphere...

Aboriginal Technology Used on Weeds

The Aboriginal technique of using smoke to germinate seeds is being investigated for its potential to force weeds to germinate at exactly the same time. Researchers have isolated the one chemical in smoke which will help speed up the revegetation of mined land, accelerate the recovery of fire ravaged vegetation and boost farmers' battles with the weeds taking over their fields. Most surprisingly they discovered that the molecule also triggers germination of plants that rarely or never experience fire, including some important agricultural weeds.

Industrial Hemp, Carbon, Fibre and Food

This is a media release from Ecofibre Industries Limited congratulates the NSW government's decision to allow commercial production of industrial hemp, but also highlights the potential uses of industrial hemp in Australia that still need to be recognised.

Green Roofs

Suddenly, green roofs are sprouting across North America. Designed to curb air pollution, decrease energy expenses and reduce storm runoff, the environmentally friendly assemblies are adding a decidedly earthy element to urban skylines - a sign that the green roof industry is rapidly coming into its own. Some pictures are included of whole factory roofs covered with plants!

The Tide Might be Changing

With little fanfare, a small number of prominent academic scientists have made a decision that was until recently all but unheard of. They decided to stop accepting payments from food, drug and medical device companies. There are some interesting individual stories that explain that some stopped because they did feel that they were being influenced by the money.

Then you have the exposure of a 2006 lung cancer study financed by the cigarette industry. Apparently prominent cancer researchers and journal editors were stunned to learn of the association, and critics are now questioning the validity of the study. Let the exposures continue!

The Dangers of Selective Science

It is amazing at what can be passed on as science - as the author is at pains to point out, some forms of analysis are useful, but it is their abuse through biased selection that is worrisome, particularly when it hits public media outlets. One of his concerns relates to subjecting nutrients to a drug model of testing and whether a time-constrained randomised trial can really capture a lifetime of consumption with respect to chronic disease?

Environmental Stewardship Program

Sustainable farm practices have been included as one of six major priorities under the Commonwealth Government's new Caring for our Country initiative. The initiative, due to commence on 1 July 2008 seeks to re-focus and re-align natural resource management programs. Existing natural resource management plans that will be integrated into one consolidated program include the Natural Heritage Trust, the National Landcare Program, the Environmental Stewardship Program, and parts of the Working on Country program.

2008 Telstra Business Womens Award

There are five Award categories open to business women this year:

• The Business Owner Award - for owners with a 50 per cent share or more in a business with responsibility for key management decision making;
• The Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award - for employees in the private and corporate sector, or owners with less than a 50 per cent share of a business;
• The IBM Community and Government Award - for employees in government departments, statutory bodies and not-for-profit organisations;
• The Business Innovation Award - for eligible business owners, private sector employees and entrepreneurs who answer the Innovation questions in the Entry Form; and
• The Young Business Women's Award - for entrants in one of the above categories who will be aged 34 years or under as at Friday 6 June 2008.

To nominate yourself or other inspirational business women visit www.businesswomensawards.telstra.com or call 1800 817 536 during business hours.

More Fuel Tax Credits

From 1 July this year many small businesses will be able to claim fuel tax credits for the first time, and many others will be able to claim additional fuel tax credits. The Tax Office is encouraging small business owners to find out if they can save money on their business fuel costs. To find out if your business is eligible or for further information go to www.ato.gov.au/fuelschemes or phone 13 28 66 between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

Health and Essential Oils

This is a fabulous opportunity to get the complete story on essential oils and their power to heal the body. Gary Young is a world leader in the field of essential oils and natural medicine. As the founder of Young Living Essential Oils, his life was transformed by a logging accident in his early 20s, which left him paralysed. Thus began his search for natural cures, which not only gave him back the ability to walk again, but led him to his life's work - therapeutic-grade essential oils. He will host seminars in Sydney 6th May and Melbourne 7th May, and then hold a 2-day convention at the Gold Coast 9th - 10th May.

What's New...

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, both free-living and symbiotic, have become reasonably well recognised and understood, but VAM are soil fungi that will no doubt become just as recognised and marketed in the near future as natural phosphorus solubilisers. VAM is short for Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza, but are now also referred to as AM by the scientists (Arbuscular Mycorrhizae).

VAM is an obligate symbiont - it has to be attached to living roots, making it hard and expensive to reproduce and market. VAM is already being marketed very successfully into the horticultural industry with great results, for example VAM-Tech by Nutri-Tech Solutions, but its use in broadacre is proving more difficult and expensive. I started treating seeds with it, but it was a bit hit and miss at the time.

Bionutrient Solutions have been playing with it for quite a few years now using it in a range of liquid microbial brews for broadacre crops and have hit upon a concoction called VAMSeed that is giving them the results they were chasing. It is a combination of kelp, amino acid and humic acid and when used as a seed dressing works out at roughly $7/ha in cereal crops. They have found that it provides valuable phosphorus, zinc and calcium essential to seedling vigour.

But the research continues, and a hunt for naturalised Australian VAM by another group has turned up some very promising cereal strains that are proving hardier and more productive in our Australian environment. The group has also developed a more efficient technology to reproduce them and make them far more cost-effective to use. They are taking the first steps to commercialising a strain, which opens up some exciting investment opportunities. I have further information on these developments for anyone interested, or you can look up Gaia Consultancy.

Sofenica - Part 40

My way of putting some yin into the yang was to offset the kitchen island and dining table. This diagram has since been drawn up, but I think the island needs to be angled just a little bit more so that it nestles into the kitchen space a bit better - but I think it feels better balanced having this arrangement in such a square space.

Then we started to muse about our bench tops. Originally we were taken with using slab timber, but my brother recently renovated his kitchen and use what appeared to be solid stone which looked fabulous, and it seems to make the bench top less prone to cuts and damage.

I went to a showroom to investigate and was initially taken with the composite stone tops, but something started to niggle - the composite was obviously put together using synthetic polymers of some sort, and it just did not feel right in the end...

Health

Trans-Fats Really are Bad

More research is linking trans-fat consumption to breast cancer and possibly prostate cancer. What truly amazes me is government dietary advice still puts forward margarine as a 'healthy' diet option! We would all be so much better off if they stopped trying to tweek the chemistry to mimic saturated fats, and just used natural saturated fats - good for product production and good for your health in moderation.

Sunshine Really Can Work

The anti-cancer properties of Vitamin D were boo-hooed vehemently only a few years ago, and those proposing it were called quacks. It appears that science is starting to validate it. Perhaps science needs to take this role on seriously - not standing up as the authorities on truth, but rather the data collectors of new theories and discoveries.

Bisphenol A

The Canadian government looks set to declare that common plastic food and drink containers are officially toxic, an odd twist is also emerging: Being declared toxic would not force the products off supermarket shelves. Fortunately the news has stores voluntarily racing to take Bisphenol A containing products off their shelves, no doubt concerned by consumer reactions (the consumer wins again!). Health Canada are alarmed at the premature reaction by retailers stating that there's no need for retailers to assume the role of regulator when it come to deciding which products are safe for sale in Canada... Interestingly, Bisphenol A was invented in the 1940s as a synthetic copy of the sex hormone estrogen!

Plastic Symbols

Do you know what the numbers on plastic containers really mean? I have learned to look out for '7' because of the Bisphenol A alarms, but the other numbers also harbour some important information to help you make your choices beyond just recycling.

Mumps Vaccine Failed

Despite 85% of a student population having received double vaccinations for mumps, they experienced the biggest outbreak of mumps in the US since 1990. Mmmm, and they are seriously contemplating triple vaccinations!

Autism and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

If mitochondrial dysfunction can convert into autism in large numbers (as is now being suggested), then the connection between vaccines and autism could be quite strong. Some experts believe a trigger, such as vaccines, a viral illness or even inflammatory corn oil and corn syrup in the American diet, is triggering underlying mitochondrial dysfunctions into autism.

Pharmaceutical Facts

Of the listed facts these two stand out for me 1) The price of drugs is increasing faster than anything else a patient pays for, and 2) Pharmaceutical companies spend more on marketing than research - Almost twice as much!

And consider the practice of ghostwriting used by pharmaceutical companies to get their articles passed into peer reviewed medical journals. The practice involves lining up prestigious doctors to put their names on the reports before publication. "What does it mean to be peer-reviewed if the company has essentially conceived the article, composed the draft and written the paper?"

Health & Teeth

While the article on tooth regeneration is interesting, the commentary below is of particular interest. The link between tooth health and body health is seemingly obvious, but rarely discussed.

Events

For all April events

For all May events

* Health & Essential Oils - Sydney NSW 6th May 2008.

* Health & Essential Oils - Melbourne Vic 7th May 2008.

* Health & Essential Oils Convention - Gold Coast Qld 9th - 10th May 2008.

Postscript

Lifes Little Mysteries

Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why do women's clothes button from the left, while men's button from the right?

Why are petrol caps on the driver's side of some cars but the passenger's side of others?