Living Large in Our Little House Links
Happy February Living Large community! Here are links to some stories I thought you might find interesting, entertaining and/or informative:
GMO Alfalfa approved. This is bad news for people who want to eat pure organic products, grown from heirloom seeds. My neighbor, who has eaten a vegetarian, organic diet for nearly 30 years calls these “Frankenseeds.”
And more on the Frankenseeds ruling by the Obama White House.
You can even choose to be buried “green,” and don’t let the funeral directors tell you otherwise!
Phil may have said winter was going to end early, but Woody predicts 6 more weeks of winter – what a surprise!
The advantages of bamboo flooring
New Zealand fascinates me. Their demand for organic milk continues to grow.
The controversy continues over CFL bulbs.
I am extremely upset about the GMO decision. If we have to have GMOs, so be it, but please, please leave organic options. I feel as if the wool is being pulled over our eyes, with GMO alfalfa, and all the implications. Seems GMO beets were approved this week, too, while no one was paying attention. What are we going to do if GMO foods prove to be as lacking in nutrition as some people believe? Rats on a diet of GMOs stopped reproducing after four generations. I also find it unconscionable that Monsanto has created a situation where regular people like you and me cannot save seeds.
Personally. I am conflicted about GMO foods. I understand the controversy, but they may be the only route to plentiful food supplies for the world population. At present, a bad harvest year is already driving prices up all over the world–which has been a major trigger to the unreast in Egypt and elsewhere. GMO yields are often much higher with less resort to pesticides that are also troubling. It isn’t quite so straight forward as many of those arguing would suggest.
I agree on the world food argument, David. However, what I’m angry about is that those of us who wish to have organic foods should be able to do so and know that our food was grown from heirloom seeds not modified by Monsanto or laced with RoundUp. If you watch the documentary, “Food Matters,” Monsanto is trying to eliminate heirloom seeds altogether in soy, alfalfa and other crops. Big farms have already sold out and caved to them and the poor little organic farmers who are trying to hold out are being forced into bankruptcy as Monsanto has an unlimited reserve for legal fees and they’re tying these farmers assets up in attorney and legal fees until they drive them out of business. In my opinion, it is just another watering down of the term “organic,” and I agree with some people that true organic food will probably not even exist in 25 years.
I’ll add that the legal argument is by Monsanto is that they own ALL rights to ALL soy seeds produced in the U.S. – heirloom or not. This, by definition, is a monopoly, not to mention a tragedy for organic farmers and people who wish to eat truly natural foods. As well, it could have a devastating effect on the earth as GMO foods have not been around long enough to test the true health effects of such foods in our environment or on our livestock or for human consumption.
You’re such a homesteader, Frugal! I admire that. Milking is just a little too hands on for me. 🙂
Interesting about the organic milk down here in NZ. We know a farmer who sells it “at the gate door” up the road from us here in the Bay of Islands, but have also planted the seeds of having a milk share with a good friend of ours. I’d be glad to go and milk a day a week to take the proceeds away with me!