Crops

Email this page to a friend

Want news about Crops and more e-mailed to you? Click here for free email alerts

The future of food: Why GM crops threaten the sustainability of the human race (opinion) Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

Suppose the terminator gene crops somehow cross-pollinate staple food crops that now feed the world... what happens then? Imagine all the wheat grown in the United States suddenly self-destructing after a single growing season. Mass starvation would quickly ensue, followed by economic collapse, military action and quite possibly the collapse of the nation itself. And the same is true in Europe, Australia, Asia and South America, too. This is what's at stake with terminator gene technology.

Did you ever wonder what happens when all the genetically modified, pesticide-compatible, gene-terminated, laboratory-concocted Frankenfoods end up genetically contaminating the natural crops we depend on for a sustainable food future? In a new CounterThink cartoon published today, I explore this important concept by showing the plight of a farmer fretting over an empty bag of seedless watermelon seeds. You may find this surprising to learn, but U.S.

Review: The Future of Food, a must-see documentary that exposes the biotech threat to life on our planet Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

U.S. crops). American consumers have remained in the dark on this issue for so long that it's frankly a little embarrassing to me, as an American, to admit. But this documentary, The Future of Food can help educate consumers around the world and rally them to support an outright ban on genetically engineered crops in the food supply. After all, who wants viruses in their corn? Who wants the entire food supply owned and controlled by evil corporations that have clearly demonstrated they have no concern whatsoever for public health or sustainable farming? crops is, in my view, a crime against nature that will only lead to disaster.

The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest Dan Buettner See book keywords and concepts

The small subsistence farmer, fully occupied with the task of securing a bare livelihood, possesses neither the land necessary for growing commercial crops, the time to tend them, nor the capital to finance the technological improvements essential for successful commercial production . . . Little attention has been paid to the possibilities of extending the cultivation of the crops of the Nicoyan garden, which require little land and slight care and yield abundantly . . .

Conscious Health: A Complete Guide to Wellness Through Natural Means Ron Garner See book keywords and concepts

There is long-term concern that pollen from bio-engineered crops will spread and kill beneficial insects as well as create strains of superweeds that are totally-resistant to pesticides. Genetic engineering is changing the composition of foods, and most North American consumers are uninformed on the issue of bio-engineered crops. In Britain and Europe, there is widespread awareness and opposition to the introduction of genetically altered foods. European and Asian nations are beginning to require labels on all foods containing genetically modified ingredients.

The Science of Flavonoids Erich Grotewold See book keywords and concepts

Catechin The Asian native Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) has displaced native weeds and crops throughout the western United States. Contributing to the invasiveness of this exotic is the secretion of the phytotoxic /ran.v-flavan-i-ol (-)-catechin from its roots (Bais et al., 2002) (Figure 1.1). Both enantiomers of catechin are present in root exudates of C. maculosa; however, only (-)-catechin had allelopathic (phytotoxic) activity.

Along with PA, they contribute to the seed quality of many important crops. To date, more than 20 loci involved in PA metabolism have been identified and according to the abnormal pigmentation of mature mutant seeds named TRANSPARENT TESTA1 (TT1) to TT19, TTG1, TTG2, and BANYULS (BAN). Sixteen mutants already have led to the cloning of the respective genes, among which 12 could be placed to the flavonoid pathway (Debeaujon et al., 2003; Dixon et al., 2005). In addition, six complementation groups defective in tannins biosynthesis (tdsl-6) have been described (Abrahams et al., 2002).

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto Michael Pollan See book keywords and concepts

Because these two plants are among nature's most efficient transformers of sunlight and chemical fertilizer into carbohydrate energy (in the case of corn) and fat and protein (in the case of soy)—if you want to extract the maximum amount of macronutrients from the American farm belt, corn and soy are the crops to plant. (It helps that the government pays farmers to grow corn and soy, subsidizing every bushel they produce.

Today these four crops account for two thirds of the calories we eat. When you consider diat humankind has historically consumed some eighty thousand edible species, and that three thousand of these have been in widespread use, this represents a radical simplification of the human diet. Why should this concern us? Because humans are omnivores, requiring somewhere between fifty and a hundred different chemical compounds and elements in order to be healthy. It's hard to believe we're getting everything we need from a diet consisting largely of processed corn, soybeans, rice, and wheat.

The Sunfood Diet Success System David Wolfe See book keywords and concepts

The cultivated crops were cross-bred for better taste, longer durability, stronger skins, etc., yet at the same time were growing genetically weaker as the unfittest strains were allowed to survive as long as they "tasted better" or "lasted longer." Eventually, certain crops and fruit trees were grown for so long in protective environments (away from wild Nature) that they no longer had sufficient "genetic energy" to survive in wild Nature untended. These foods I have termed "hybrid foods." Hybrid foods are foods that will not grow in Nature. My colleague, Dr.

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto Michael Pollan See book keywords and concepts

Since the widespread adoption of chemical fertilizers in the 1950s, the nutritional quality of produce in America has declined substantially, according to figures gathered by the USDA, which has tracked the nutrient content of various crops since then. Some researchers blame this decline on the condition of the soil; others cite the tendency of modern plant breeding, which has consistently selected for industrial characteristics such as yield rather than nutritional quality. (The next section will take up the trade-off between quality and quantity in industrial food.

Why this should be so is uncertain, but there are a couple of hypotheses. crops grown with chemical fertilizers *The news of declining nutrient levels in American produce prompted The Packer, a trade publication for the produce industry, to suggest that this might actually be good for business, because people would now need to eat more produce to get the same nutritional benefit. grow more quickly, giving them less time and opportunity to accumulate nutrients other than the big three (nutrients in which industrial soils are apt to be deficient anyway).

Also, easy access to the major nutrients means that industrial crops develop smaller and shallower root systems than organically grown plants; deeply rooted plants have access to more soil minerals. Biological activity in the soil almost certainly plays a role as well; the slow decomposition of organic matter releases a wide range of plant nutrients, possibly including compounds science hasn't yet identified as important.

The Sunfood Diet Success System David Wolfe See book keywords and concepts

The hybridized commercial crops grown today in weak demineralized soils are heavily sprayed with pesticides to keep the insects from overrunning the whole show. John Hamaker writes: "This question of the proper feeding of the soil is the crux of the whole food situation, for if the soil starves so does the plant and so do we. We cannot have healthy human beings without healthy food crops, and these depend entirely upon the healthy feeding of the soil." "High yields depend on loading the soil with both a large surface area of available minerals and organic matter.

Maryland Health Officials Who Coerce Vaccinations Qualify as "Terrorists" Under New Senate Legislation Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

Raiding farms at gunpoint, burning their hemp fields, spraying poisons on their crops via helicopter, imprisoning the farmers, and much worse. It's clearly a terrorist operation designed to achieve a political goal (the destruction of the hemp industry in order to protect the powerful cotton interests in this country). There is absolutely no logical rationale behind the suppression of the hemp industry. It is purely a political ploy.

Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness Tori Hudson, N.D. See book keywords and concepts

This is an important issue for soy foods in particular, as genetically modified soy crops have increasingly dominated in the agriculture business. Fortunately, there are farmers and manufacturers who are committed to raising and producing organic soy products. The optimal use of soy would be to start early in life and eat a diverse array of soy foods with a total dietary intake of 50 to 150 mg of soy isoflavones per day. If you don't like soy foods, take a high-quality soy protein powder or capsule. Flaxseed. Another significant dietary source of phytoestrogens to consider is flaxseed.

What's in an apple? Buying organic, healthful produce becomes increasingly complicated Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

It's all part of a plan to control the global food supply -- an endeavor that inevitably destroys local farming as well as agricultural biodiversity (which leaves crops susceptible to future wipeouts from infectious disease). Sure, these companies can produce a nice, round, shiny apple at the grocery store for an unbelievably low price, but at what cost to the world?

Interview: Organic Consumers Association's Ronnie Cummins tells the truth about organic milk that isn't Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

Or, they are importing soybeans from Brazil where there is a huge uproar over the fact that people are whacking down the Amazon - the lungs of the planet - in order to plant export crops, specifically soybeans, to export. Even if we think this does not affect us, because we do not eat meat or we do not eat dairy, we have to see the effect of these big corporations like Dean Foods coming into organic.

Traditionally, organic has always meant that you raise crops without chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers and that you raise animals without drugging them up with hormones or antibiotics. You cannot take sewage sludge and put it on farmlands. You cannot feed animals things like blood, slaughterhouse waste, manure and municipal garbage, and you cannot use untested and hazardous technologies like genetic engineering or fruit irradiation.

Earth changes, nature's backlash and lessons yet to be learned by humans (opinion) Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

And don't forget our modern corporate-controlled agricultural practices which eliminate biodiversity and base the future of humanity on a few patented strains of food-producing crops that are practically begging to be wiped out by blight or some other crop disease. Many natural disasters are ultimately caused by human behavior Then we turn to the forces of nature. Consider these: The rising intensity of hurricanes (Katrina, anyone?

When humans treat nature with respect, she responds with abundant crops, predictable weather and stable ecosystems that sustain life. But when humans treat planet Earth as a dumping ground for chemicals, pharmaceuticals, power plant emissions and automobile exhaust, nature responds in a way that ultimately "rebalances" the global ecosystem. And how do you rebalance the global ecosystem? The most direct way, from nature's point of view, is to get rid of the cancer that's destroying the planet. That cancer, of course, is us.

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto Michael Pollan See book keywords and concepts

Harsh chemical fertilizers (and pesticides) depress or destroy this biological activity, forcing crops to subsist largely on a simple ration of NPK. Plants can live on this fast-food diet of chemicals, but it leaves them more vulnerable to pests and diseases and appears to diminish their nutritional quality. It stands to reason that a chemically simplified soil would produce chemically simplified plants.

Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation: Unleash The Natural Healing Power That Lies Dormant Within You Andreas Moritz See book keywords and concepts

However, when crops are treated with pesticides, they don't need the natural protection of polyphenolics, and produce less of these compounds. Foods that contain pesticides are not only less beneficial in the nutritional sense, but also quite harmful. The U.K. report noted that pesticide use has been associated with a variety of health risks, including cancer, fetal abnormalities, chronic fatigue, and Parkinson's disease. One study showed that women with breast cancer are five to nine times more likely to have traces of pesticides in their blood than women who don't have the cancer.

page 1 of 24 | Next ->

FAIR USE NOTICE: The research quoted here is provided under the protection of Fair Use provisions and published by the 501(c)3 non-profit Consumer Wellness Center for the purposes of public comment and education. Authors / publishers may submit books for consideration of inclusion here.

TERMS OF USE: Read full terms of use. Citations of text from NaturalPedia must include: 1) Full credit to the original author and book title. 2) Secondary credit to the Natural News Naturalpedia as a research resource and a link to www.NaturalNews.com/np/index.html

This unique compilation of research is copyright (c) 2008 by the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center.

ABOUT THE CREATOR OF NATURALPEDIA: Mike Adams, the creator of this NaturalNews Naturalpedia, is the editor of NaturalNews.com, the internet's top natural health news site, creator of the Honest Food Guide (www.HonestFoodGuide.org), a free downloadable consumer food guide based on natural health principles, author of Grocery Warning, The 7 Laws of Nutrition, Natural Health Solutions, and many other books available at www.TruthPublishing.com, creator of the earth-friendly EcoLEDs company (www.EcoLEDs.com) that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting products, founder of Arial Software (www.ArialSoftware.com), a permission e-mail technology company, creator of the CounterThink Cartoon series (www.NaturalNews.com/index-cartoons.html) and author of over 1,500 articles, interviews, special reports and reference guides available at www.NaturalNews.com. Adams' personal philosophy and health statistics are available at www.HealthRanger.org.