There are better writers, certainly, who could summarize
what I am about to say more eloquently with a lot more wit and pizzazz. I hope
they do. And I hope many ears are ready to listen and act.
But because I am both frustrated and devastated, I thought I
would add my voice to the mix.
Today it was announced a Monsanto executive won the
prestigious World Food Prize or “the Nobel Prize of Agriculture”. This award is
“an
international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have
advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability
of food in the world” [1].
Maybe this means nothing to you but I hope it will because
it absolutely affects you.
In case you don’t know who Monsanto is, they’re the brains
behind Round-Up, the oh-so-popular herbicide sold in every garden and food
store across the country [and DDT and agent orange and PCBs and on and on].
They are also responsible for creating seeds resistant to Round-Up; the leader
in fact, in producing genetically engineered seeds.
And, in order to grow their seed you must use their
herbicide and vice versa. A brilliant business plan some would say.
However, because we have gotten to a mono-crop agricultural
system [think corn, soy, and wheat], a demand by large farmers has been created
for a seed able to withstand the herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides
necessary to grow crops at the scale we do today. And, because we are a nation
in quite a powerful spot, this seed and herbicide can be widely distributed to
the less powerful countries now dependent on our business and seed and
herbicide.
So what was once a brilliant business idea has now become a
monopoly on global food crops. A monopoly taking actions to limit competition
[think buy-out, small farm lawsuits, patented seed, etc.].
Something apparently illegal in the United States.
Unless, of course, you know the right people and have the
correct amout of change because really, it’s all about the Benjamin’s baby.
And today this form of commerce was just given an award. A
very prestigious award.
Simply put, we just rewarded monopoly – the very thing we
rightly should stand against.
Why?
Because when one person or country or
organization or business grows large enough to dictate what we do and do not
eat, what is available and becomes unavailable, what genes get modified and
what don’t – I get nervous.
Yet we support it every single day.
You. Me. Everyone. We support it with our dollars, with our
influence as consumers, and with our voice [or lack thereof].
And now we support it with awards.
Biodiversity is the key to a sustainable healthy world, yet
an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 plant species are threatened with extinction [2].
In the last century, 75% of agricultural biodiversity has
been lost [3].
These aren’t plants with big names found in the rainforest
somewhere. These are plants we rely on as
food.
And by the by, the loss of biodiversity is essentially
irreversible – we can’t bring diversity within our food system back once it’s
been lost. And we’re losing big time.
I’m not okay with this.
I hope you’re not okay with this.
I hope it makes you mad - like red-faced, fists balled, blow
steam out your ears mad.
Because it should.
And I hope it leads you to action.
I hope you use your power as a consumer to give voice to the
powerless, the ignorant, the speechless and hopeless. I hope you write your
congress people, and your Facebook friends, and the President. I hope you talk
about it in the grocery store and at the Farmer’s Market, at church and the
bank and the bar.
I hope you get mad and then you get moving because fighting for
justice is powerful. More powerful than a company fighting to control the
global food system and winning awards for it. Fight with your dollars and your votes and the choices you make regarding food each day.
Because there's hope. And there's beauty in groups of people coming together to fight for what's right. Not just for us but for all. We can make change happen.
Because there's hope. And there's beauty in groups of people coming together to fight for what's right. Not just for us but for all. We can make change happen.
May you use your voice
and change the world.
[CITATION]
[1] World Food Prize
[RESOURCES]
Understanding biodiversity and its importance:
2 comments:
Tina, I think you have very eloquently put what needs to be shouted and explained to all. thanks!
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