Scientia Liberia, Twisting Strands:

The April 1, 2024 session of the IPAK-EDU Director’s Science Webinar featured the research of Alexis Baden-Mayer. The research she presented weaves a timeline of people and organizations, from the end of the 19th century to the present, and raises serious questions about the future of food and the intentions of the actors and organizations involved.

“The Nixon era Rockefeller plan of 1969 to shift consumption toward synthetic meats and ‘food from factories’ was paralleled in popular culture as well.

Just a few years prior, Star Trek had presented a fantastic vision of food in the future. The notion of food synthesized by a machine, the Replicator, was planted in the popular imagination. No animals, no crops, no farms, no farmers, no cooking, no people. Food available on demand, without cost. It simply magically appears in a mechanized box with blinking lights.

Swanson and Son’s frozen heat-and-eat TV dinners were first launched in 1953 with initial sales of 5000 units. In 1950, just 9% of US households owned a television; by 1955, that would balloon to some 64%.1 In 1955, more than 13 million Swanson TV dinners were being consumed annually.

The selling points were ‘less effort’, ‘family’ and ‘fun’, while paying homage to notions of ‘tradition’ and ‘wholesomeness’. The ads conjured an image of the future wrapped in nostalgia.

It’s worth noting that no nutritional claims were ever made in these vintage advertisements. The primary message was simple: ‘Relax’ and ‘Trust’.

By the time synthetic biology came to public consciousness in the 1980’s, the advertised promises for the future of food were well-ingrained.

Where will this all lead?

There are powerful interests shaping the future of food, and the future of farmers, their farms, the soil, and the health of all, is inextricably intertwined.

Alexis Baden-Mayer advocates for a deep consideration of how consumers make choices in this context and how those choices affect the fates of farmers and the future of food.’

Watch the full talk and discussion

TAKE ACTION: Ban New GMO Frankenfoods Made with Synthetic Biology

By Alexander Zaitchik, Food & Environment Reporting Network:

“Do nations have the right to determine their own food policies? Can they make laws to safeguard domestic agriculture, public health, the environment, and the genetic integrity of the national diet?

If sovereignty means anything, the answer to these questions is yes. Defending food supplies is an ancient cornerstone of the social contract, one enshrined in 21st century trade pacts including the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to NAFTA. In December 2023, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador invoked this right when he banned genetically modified corn for human consumption and phased out the use of glyphosate, GM corn’s signature herbicide, which the World Health Organization calls “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The measure, said López Obrador, was necessary to guarantee Mexicans’ “rights to health and a healthy environment, native corn, [and] ensure a nutritious, sufficient, and quality diet.”

If GM corn and glyphosate pose health risks to humans, as suggested by a growing body of research, then those risks are magnified in Mexico, where the national diet revolves around minimally processed white corn, especially in the form of its iconic flatbread, the tortilla. Corn meal accounts for more than 60 percent of the average Mexican’s daily calories and protein, which is roughly 10 times the US average and puts Mexicans at 10 times the risk.”


Read about the conflict and how some think it’s safe to say that Mexico has no intention of allowing GM corn into its tortillas

Analysis by Ashley Armstrong:

“STORY-AT-A-GLANCE

• Flax, historically used in paints and industrial applications, is often marketed as a health food despite its potential negative effects on metabolism and long-term health
• The principal use of flax oil in the past has been for industrial purposes, such as paint, due to its high polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) content, which makes it prone to oxidation
• Consuming flaxseed oil, synonymous with linseed oil, can be harmful because PUFAs are unstable and oxidize easily
• Flaxseeds also contain lignans, a type of phytoestrogen, which can mimic estrogen and contribute to hormonal imbalances, increasing the risk of conditions like breast cancer
• Excess PUFA consumption lowers thyroid and metabolism, as thyroid hormone (the master metabolic regulator) is blocked at the production, transport, and cellular action steps by PUFA”

Learn more

This week, the World Health Organization cemented its illegitimate global power over pandemics when the World Health Assembly adopted amendments to the International Health Regulations, an international agreement to implement global medical tyranny, including vaccine passports.

Even before the amendments, the International Health Regulations were a dystopian nightmare. Now they’re even worse.

Before the amendments, a “pandemic emergency” was a disease outbreak with “wide geographical spread,” “exceeding the capacity of health systems,” and “causing economic disruption.”

Now, just the “risk” of these problems can be treated as an “emergency”!

READ: What you need to know about the new International Health Regulation amendments

WATCH: Dr. Tess Laurie and James Roguski explain the new International Health Regulations amendments

TAKE ACTION:

Tell your state legislators to reject the World Health Organization’s pandemic power-grab!

Tell Congress to treat these pandemic amendments as a treaty… no approval without a two-thirds vote of the Senate!

Directed by Anthony Suau:

This is a wonderful opportunity for farms, businesses or communities to watch this groundbreaking film.

NEW opportunity to host the documentary

ORGANIC RISING INVITES YOU to host a screening of the documentary on your farm, at your business or to your community this summer.

Organic Rising has opened a one-time download of the film in High Definition Stereo for you to present on a screen or projector to your community, employees or clients.

The initial reaction from most viewers to the eye opening documentary is, “How do I show this film to more people?”.

Organic Rising has now created a simple web-link for this: https://www.organicrisingfilm.com/host-a-screening/

Working in coordination with CCOF Organic and others Organic Rising offers you the possibility to present this film to small or large local communities, businesses or farms throughout the country and around the world.

Don’t miss the chance to host this internationally award winning documentary directed by Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award winner Anthony Suau with Executive Producer Deepak Chopra and producer Goldcrest Films.

Cristen Hemingway Jaynes writes for EcoWatch:

“According to allegations by a former research fellow for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the EPA’s own documents indicate that false information may have been presented to the public regarding the agency’s testing of harmful contaminants in pesticides.

In May 2023, the EPA issued a press release stating that it had found no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” in samples of particular insecticides, reported The Guardian. However, the press release contradicted a former study by an EPA researcher that had found PFAS in the cited pesticide products.

“It’s pretty outrageous,” said Kyla Bennett, director of scientific policy at PEER. “You don’t get to just ignore the stuff that doesn’t support your hypothesis. That is not science. That is corruption. I can only think that they were getting pressure from pesticide companies.”

The allegations by PEER, which is led by former employees of the EPA, were made on Tuesday.

Bennett said PEER obtained the contradictory pesticide testing data after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.”



Learn how the the EPA responded

After years of single-issue campaigning against America’s degenerate food and farming system, with real but limited success, it’s time for a change of strategy and tactics. By connecting the dots between a range of heretofore separate issues and campaigns, by focusing on some of the major weaknesses or vulnerabilities of the system, we can speed up our transition to an organic and regenerative food and farming system before our health, environmental and climate crises turn into full-blown catastrophe.

We need to take back control of our food system, our health, our government and regulatory agencies. If the government won’t allow proper labeling and safety testing of foods and regulate synthetic foods then we, the global grassroots, need to investigate, expose and boycott toxic products and chemicals. If industry and the government won’t fund “sound science,” then we will need to crowdsource and fund independent, sound science ourselves.

Please make a donation, if you can, to help us work towards gaining control of our health and creating healthy food systems.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International, our international sister organization

Consider giving stock

Regenerative Agriculture is a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants to balance the carbon cycle and build soil health, crop resilience, and nutrient density.

Regenerative agriculture improves soil health primarily through practices that increase organic matter, which expands biota diversity and biodiversity above and below the soil surface.  In turn, this increases water-holding capacity and sequesters carbon at greater depths balancing atmospheric CO2 and improving soil structure to reverse soil loss.

Regenerative Agriculture reverses damage from tillage, agricultural chemicals, salt-based fertilizers, and mining to build a better future.  Enrich your knowledge, soil, and income with this unique course by Dr. André Leu, D.Sc., BA Com., Grad Dip Ed.

SESSION 1

Lesson 1: Maximizing Photosynthesis

Lesson 2:  Ground Covers and Weed Management

Lesson 3:  Soil Health and Nutrition in Regenerative Organic Agriculture

Lesson 4: Using Functional Biodiversity to Manage Pests and Diseases

Lesson 5: Making It Happen – Applying the knowledge

Prof. Dr. André Leu D.Sc., BA Com., Grad Dip Ed.
International Director, Regeneration International
Ambassador, IFOAM – Organics International
Author, Growing Life, Poisoning our Children, The Myths of Safe Pesticides
andre@regenerationinternational.org
http://regenerationinternational.org

Cost – USD $500

A reduced price will be available to anyone on a limited income wanting to take this course.

To apply, submit your name, position or profession, email, mailing address, tel #, portrait photo, and why you want to take this course to  admin@SouthSeasUniversity.com.

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Learn more

Claire Turrell writes for Mongabay:

Regenerating an ancient corridor

“The 180-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest is part of the Eastern Kuku Yalani people’s ancestral lands, handed back to them by the Australian government in 2021.

The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people have been involved with the Tropical ReGen project since the beginning and continue to guide the Climate Force team on what trees to plant to help replenish the rainforest. Elders underlined the importance of planting red cedars (Toona ciliata), known as birthing trees. For centuries, birthing trees were used by Aboriginal women as a place to shelter and give birth.

‘Elders talked about when the area was first colonized and [they] were forced to do most of the deforestation [for income],’ says Crag Carttling, tourism facilitator of the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, which manages and protects the Daintree Rainforest.

‘This included cutting down the birthing trees. A lot of the red cedar, which were called ‘red gold’ from the price they could fetch, were birthing trees of elders who had passed, and those trees were considered to be family.’


This is first group to do rainforest restoration organically without using pesticides and leading the way in terms of transparency using lidar and blockchain reporting.”


Read about the collaboration to make the project a success

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:


”STORY-AT-A-GLANCE

• The documentary film “We’re All Plastic People Now” delves into how we have become the embodiment of the trash we created. Director Rory Fielding had four generations of his family’s blood tested for plastic-derived chemicals and found alarming results
• Many of the chemicals used to make plastic are endocrine disruptors, which mimic, block or interfere with your natural hormones, causing problems in various physiological functions, such as growth, metabolism and reproduction
• Some endocrine-disrupting chemicals are also considered estrogenic carcinogens, which mimic the effects of estrogen in the body, thus increasing your risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers
• Vote with your pocketbook and get your national and local government involved to catalyze changes in plastic use.”

Learn more tips on how to reduce your microplastic exposure and
read how plastic pollution has become a generational burden

‘Without Them, the City Would Be Lost’: The Art of Preserving Mexico City’s Ancient Floating Gardens

Mexico Elects Claudia Sheinbaum As First Woman President in Landslide

Pineapple Weed Tea – Wildcrafting Wild Chamomile

Palestinian Groups Call to Declare Gaza a Famine-Stricken Area

Girls Are Getting Their First Periods Earlier. Here’s What Parents Should Know

Meet the First Nations Guardians Protecting Canada’s Pristine Shores

Delays, Denials, Debt and the Growing Privatization of Medicare

Exposure to Morning Sunlight Profoundly Affects Mood, Health, and Nighttime Sleep

Land Grabbing Is Not Just Back With a Vengeance. It Is Taking on New Guises Such As Carbon Offsets, Green Hydrogen Schemes, and Other “Green Grabs”.

New Fashion Scorecard Finds Brands Continue To Burn Fossil Fuels, Evade Accountability on Renewable Energy Efforts

The U.S. Military Has Denied the Use of Agent Orange at Hundreds of Locations in the U.S. And Around the World

10 Toxic Houseplants Pet Owners Should Avoid and Pet-Friendly Swaps

Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine