Final Project Precis

I would like to find some of the staples of the lunch food program here at ASFA (I'm thinking like canned vegetables? frozen chicken fingers? and the like) and trace where they came from and where they were packaged.
Once I have compiled the information, I would like to create something accessible to the student body displaying the information, like a big print-out map from the plotter printer that I could hang in the lunchroom, showing all the different places food came from, even statisctics like number of workers used or energy needed to transport the food (I guess that all depends on how much I can get done)...
And this is assuming I can get the lunch ladies to let me back there and get some info on the food... I'm not really sure of the best way or time to get that info? But, assuming I can, then I think my project will work out the rest of the kinks on the way.

ronald mcdonald house

A few hours ago, I got home after volunteering to help paint pictures with kids at the Ronald McDonald House.
Never having been there before, I was astonished to see what a beautiful building it was- and even more astonished to learn that all the materials had been donated...
For the first time in a good while, I sent a little bit of mental respect to Mickey D's for its efforts in developing and maintaining this organization.
..I don't think I'll be trying to buy a whopper anytime soon. But the house really does some great things for families who's children are in the hospital, and who are having a rough time with money (draining out for their child, and none coming in from work- which leaves hardly any to rent an apartment or hotel nearby the hospital).
I will, however, remember to drop my quarters in the clear boxes at most McDonald's fast food joints. It was nice to paint with some of the kids who deserve a good place to stay, and a little bit of fun, with their stressed families...

monsanto pt 3: buying seed companies (the end trail of a rant)

corporate control of seeds.
I find it intimidating... My bias is strong against the company, but I don't like their vision, and I certainly don't want it to become a reality.
Monsanto owns about 90% of all GM crops grown on the world, is a world leader in biotechnology, and is buying out seed companies across the globe. They are producing "Terminator" (suicide) seeds, from which the seeds will not reproduce-meaning a farmer wishing to reproduce these crops must buy Monsanto's seeds year after year. This company is quite interwoven with the FDA, with workers moving to-and-from the company and government agency (such as Michael Taylor, who moved to the FDA in 1991- who's previous law clients were Monsanto and the International Food Biotechnology Council- and founded a policy on GM regulation). And this is also the cooperation which has been charged with false advertising multiple times and data suppression (e.g. false claims of Round-up being biodegradable in New York [1996] and France, just a few years ago. In fact, tests done by Monsanto showed that only 2% of the herbicide had degraded in 28 days... not to mention iffy testing on the long-term effects of its products). GMO's are not labeled, in the US; the FDA considers a GMO to be substancially equivalent as conventional crops, and are "generallly recognized as safe", including rBGH (banned in Europe and Canada).

I could go on for quite a while on this... GMO Crops do not have to be "bad"! But I dont want anything to do with this company, and the two are unexplicably entertwined. GMO Crops and non-GMO crops have not been proven to be "identical", and I do not like Monsanto's secrecy regarding research on the effects/differences between the two.

monsanto pt 2: round-up ready crops

Round-up Ready crops are crops genetically engineered to withstand Monsanto's herbicide glyphosate , which can be applied to farmland to kill all weeds which would otherwise interfere with crop growth. The herbicide is strong enough it will kill most plant life (including the crops, had they not been engineered to be resistant). Round-up Ready crops include everything from soy, corn, wheat, sugarbeets, canola, rice, and others.

The herbicide and crop duo works quite well to control weeds. However, these crops are nearly dependent on the herbicide to grow properly- round-up ready soy uses about 2-5 times more herbicides than non-GM crops. Farmers who use round-up primarily use a no-till system- meaning that tilling practices are not used to control weeds; they depend entirely on the herbicide to do the dirty work.

Let's gloss over the adverse effects of pumping glyphosate into a local environment and watersystem (which researchers at the Institute of Biology in Caen, France, claim to have highly toxic effects to human cells- at much lower levels than the amount actually recommended as agricultural use levels).

what happens when natural processes stumble into the mix, or better yet, when companies try to bill for these processes? Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian farmer, had his canola crops cross-contaminated with the genetically engineered Monsanto canola from a farm nearby. Monsanto then insisted that he pay their Technology Fee... and also sued him (along with other small farmers such as Rodney Nelson) on patent infringement.
Besides the fact that it is ridiculous to sue farmers for using seeds which they did not plant (and may not even want in their fields), it is a little disturbing to think how easily these round-up ready crops can spread- off of transportation vehicles, through wind and weather, and even through wildlife/pollination. GM crops are popping up in random places- in gas stations, parking lots, and roadsides...

I can't help it... monsanto pt 1

We've been focusing on the benefits of genetically modified crops in class. There are many possible uses for such a agricultural/technical development, ones which we have said have the potential to "reduce world hunger" and perhaps absorb toxins from city air pollution or grow using less water.

I am not concerned with these possibilities (some of which are tantalyzing and exciting to imagine); it is the industrial and commercial control over these crops which bothers me. Very strange things start to happen when corperations try to gain control over food systems.

Lets take a look at Monsanto, a leader in GM crops/biotechnology/chemical production. They started out in 1901 as Monsanto Chemical Works in Missouri developing saccharin (an artificial sweetener), and have since produced things like styrene (synthetic rubber), Agent Orange, Astro Turf, vanillin, acryllic fiber and Nutrasweet (aspartame). They moved into agriculture in the late 60's with the production of herbicides, and in 1990 purchased a biotech firm- starting their development of genetically modification.

in 2000, they merged with Pharmacia Corperation, and then broke off completely to become its own agricultural company in 2002.

Now, the company claims to "apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world produce more while conserving more. We help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, produce healthier foods, better animal feeds and more fiber, while also reducing agriculture's impact on our environment." (Lots of ethos, seemingly plenty logos. Sounds like a great company, right?)