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...I'm sick and tired of everyone just giving up and having a LOSER attitude...We CAN make a difference if we MAKE A STAND! So don't think negitively PLEASE!!! We can do it! We can change the world, DAMN IT...
The end of organic crops?
What you sow isn't always what you reap..
International — "This year I will again sow maize. But if it is again contaminated [with genetically engineered maize] I will abandon the growing of organic maize. It is obvious that I cannot carry on my shoulders the episodes of contamination like these, year after year."
This chilling statement came from Enric Navarro, an organic maize [corn] grower from Girona in Spain whose farm has been dedicated to organic maize cultivation for the last four years. This year his crop was contaminated by genetically engineered [GE] maize. He doesn't know where it came from. It could have been from any non-organic field, quite literally, anywhere on the wind.
When GE crops are allowed to "coexist" in the open with organic crops, what you sow isn't always what you reap.
Enric chose to burn nearly two-thirds of his organic maize crop after testing revealed up to 12.6 percent of it was contaminated with GE, rather than sell his crop at a premium through the organic market.
He followed his conscience. He suffered a massive economic loss.
And he isn't alone. Other organic farmers have burned their crops rather than allow them to further contaminate the Spanish maize market.
Enric Navarro
"I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I got into the conventional market with contaminated maize. Even though I know that there are thousands of hectares of GE maize and that our food chain is flooded with it, I felt I could at least intervene in stopping my own production. This act was done to publicly denounce the situation we are currently living with here in Cataluña with GE." Said Enric.
The choice facing his home region is clear to Enric: "If Cataluña abandons GE, I will continue to make organic maize. If not the organic maize will disappear. That simple. That sad."
More stories like Enric's are highlighted in a new report, 'Impossible Coexistence,' which was recently released by Greenpeace and two Spanish NGOs, Assemblea Pagesa and civil society group 'Plataforma Trangènics Fora!'. The report documents Spain's reckless adoption of genetically engineered maize and the subsequent disasters that have befallen many of the conventional and organic farmers in two of the main GE growing regions Aragón and Cataluña.
A conference on so-called coexistence is underway in Vienna where EU delegates will decide on the future of GE cultivation.
Economic losses like Enric's are a grim reminder of why countries should close the door to genetic pollution, especially as consumers do not want it and markets are closed to this unsafe technology.
Enric had this advice to the politicians: "To solve the GE problem and its social, environmental and health implications, the only option is to not cultivate a type of crop that the citizens do not want."
Don't nuke Iran
Pre-emptive peace strike, step one: keep NATO out of nuking Iran.
Amsterdam, Netherlands — An exposé this week by respected insider journalist Seymour Hersh reveals that the US is considering the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. But where would those weapons come from, and where would they strike? Those questions bear deep implications for NATO and innocent civilians in Iran.
Under something known as ‘nuclear burden sharing’ there are currently some 480 US/NATO nuclear bombs spread across six countries: the UK, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
The US could decide to use any or all of these without consulting the host countries governments, or people, to use against Iran.
Pirate ship boarded and branded.. GO GREENPEACE!
Las Palmas, Spain — Activists from the Esperanza have climbed on board an illegal cargo vessel full of fish stolen from Guinean waters. Greenpeace and the Environmental Justice Foundation tailed the "Binar 4" for six days, as it sailed from West Africa to dump its pirate catch on the European market.
The team of activists will "police" the vessel in the port of Las Palmas until Spanish authorities move to confiscate its illegal cargo. As the "Binar 4" waited to enter port it was branded with the words "Stolen Fish" - painted five times across both sides of its hull.
On April 6th, during an investigation into pirate fishing in West Africa - in which more than 100 vessels were documented - the crew of the Esperanza spotted the "Binar 4" illegally transshipping (transferring fish from multiple trawlers onto the cargo ship) fish from Guinean waters. The Esperanza trailed the pirate ship to the Spanish port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands where the fish were to be laundered into the European market
"The Guinean authorities have confirmed this ship broke the law. We will ensure that no further laws are broken before the authorities in Las Palmas confiscate the stolen fish on board", said Sarah Duthie, Greenpeace oceans campaigner.
More than 11,000 boxes of fish are on the Binar 4, taken from one of the poorest regions in the world. West Africa is the only place on the planet where fish consumption is actually falling. So far, the authorities in Las Palmas have refused to authorize the offloading of the illegal catch.
"We are encouraged to see that Spain and Guinea have taken action against this vessel and we hope that this is the beginning of a more effective cooperation to improve control of pirate fishing vessels attempting to enter Las Palmas", said Helene Bours of the Environmental Justice Foundation.
