Things do not look good in the debate about whether man can manipulate the laws of nature, hide that manipulation from those who would consume the fruits of nature, and continue to profit as a monopoly. Although Supreme Court arguments never clearly indicate how the Court will eventually decide cases, it does not look good for those who want farmers to have the ability to grow crops and practice their craft as farmers have done for generations.
Monsanto's Supreme Court seed fight: What would Woody Guthrie think?
"Bowman v. Monsanto also touches upon many of the ancient themes and struggles that animated Guthrie's life and times: the little guy against big business, the small farmer against the agricultural conglomerate; the man of the land versus the agents of commerce. This is the story of who gets the reap the benefits of the good earth. Even Guthrie wouldn't have imagined the legal, economic or bio-ethical ramifications here. But House of Earth and Bowman, coming at the same time, remind us that some conflicts in America are eternal."
Meanwhile, we continue to promote a culture of eating that focuses on products that use limited resources at dangerously high rates.
Should you be worried about your meat's phosphorus footprint?
"Pretty unsurprisingly, she found that meat consumption is driving much of the phosphorus use in the food sector. And, she argues in a paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the heavy phosphorus footprint of meat is good reason to eat less of it, given that phosphorous is a finite resource that might become scarce one day."
And if it is not enough to worry about who controls the seeds of your diet, and the resources that go into it, we are left to wonder if the manner in which we store, transport, and sell our food is also causing us harm.
Do low doses of BPA harm people?
"BPA is arguably the most controversial chemical in consumer products. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic as well as food and beverage can liners and some paper receipts and dental sealants. What is widely agreed upon is that exposure is ubiquitous. More than 90 percent of Americans tested have traces of BPA in their bodies. BPA acts like an estrogen, disrupting hormones In laboratory animals. it alters how their reproductive systems and brains develop, and sets the stage for breast and prostate cancer. People with higher levels of exposure have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, according to some studies."
This forces some to look at doing what industry fails to do, recognize the environmental damage caused by the materials we use for food consumption, and ban products that do more harm than good.
Next up for Bloomberg: Styrofoam ban
"Bloomberg said he’s following Styrofoam bans in other localities, specifically on the West Coast. He pointed out that the caller is from Staten Island, the home of Fresh Kills landfill, which the city has closed and is turning into a park."
In other areas, establishing connections with local growers and having better control over what they eat, how they transport it, and where it comes from. Expecting half of your city to take this opportunity may be a little too unrealistic, but any movement in that direction can only beget good things.
Big Sky's the limit: How to make local food lucrative in Montana
"Conventional wisdom has it that local food commands a prohibitively high price — for its superior taste, freshness, and market cache, as well as the labor that would be taken over by middlemen in a larger operation — but Waller found that to be the case for only some items. With others, like zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower — things easy to grow and harvest in Montana — 'our prices were less than what we’d be paying for large distributors, and [the food was] honestly so much better.'"
Happy Friday!
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