It is recognised that food waste is one of the biggest crimes of our time, for it is believed that food waste could feed the entire world several times, and yet millions of people on all continents go to bed without food, even in our civilised countries. How can this be? How can this be tolerated? How do we all contribute to food waste? Here is what you should know before throwing food away, but before I would like to make a point and this is to discredit and shame the likes of Monsanto (now owned by Bayer, a multi-billion dollars corporation responsible for producing the most toxic and lethal products on our planet today, which include GMOs, artificial fertilisers, but also pesticides, herbicides, insecticides sprays, many of which are found in your own home, and also, most importantly medicines, for both humans and pets — for the entire list of products: https://www.bayer.com/en/products-from-a-to-z.aspx) and prove that their argument is pure propaganda in an effort to gain power ("world domination" and not in a animated-story-like happy-ending) and, of course, money — loads of it (think billions)— by producing and selling these products and by picking up the pieces if you ever (well, you will) get sick: they have a medicine that is just right for you! As I was looking for answers about these companies, I went directly to the source: www.bayer.com and this is what I could read straight from the home page: This is what they had to say: “The agricultural and food industry is facing huge challenges. It has to feed a rapidly growing world population while at the same time ensuring the best-possible conservation of our scarce natural resources. Increasingly extreme weather conditions such as droughts and flooding, limited arable land and changing dietary habits make this task even more demanding.” “For tomorrow’s agriculture, we need new approaches aimed at increasing both productivity and environmental protection.” Written in bold and larger characters after the first paragraph, words from Liam Condon, member of the board of management of Bayer and president of the crop science division. The answer for this company is to sell their GMOs to the world and their insecticides, pesticides and herbicides — that their seeds are genetically altered to resist, which means that each plant can receive excessive amount of lethal chemicals and still are able survive, or die, but not before being tricked to produce more offsprings in the hope for the survival of their species — and this is how it goes about it: “Farmers Need to Protect their Crops from Weeds and other Pests. Every year, as much as 40 percent of the world’s potential harvests are lost to damaging pests, including weeds. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), these losses could double without pesticides and other crop protection practices. That’s why most farmers, both organic and conventional, use some type of pesticide to keep weeds and other pests from hurting their crops.” However, this is terribly misleading. It is a fact that some pesticides are allowed in Organic farming; however, they must originate from natural sources and not deadly petrochemicals. This is also another reason why I have lost faith in the new organic and would rather look for more environmental-friendly alternatives, in particular, Biodynamic farming (Demeter certified) for such farms are not allowed to work against nature. Farmers cannot use any pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics to treat (or prevent) diseases. How do they do protect their crop from bugs and stocks from diseases? The answer is simple: “The enemy of my enemy are my friends.” Let me explain... In conventional farming, an apple or a strawberry may be sprayed by up to 20 different chemicals (all labelled under the umbrella of pesticides) so that bugs, fungi, weed or other inconveniences do not savage the crops. Usually, the main ingredient used is Glyphosate (Round-up), the well-known petrochemical-derived weed-killer. In organic farming, vegetables or fruits can be sprayed with some pesticides, but they must be from natural sources. Both of these methods destroy nature in their own way. Well, one being more deadly than the other, I may have to agree. On the other hand, biodynamic farms, if a bug is seen to damage the crops, its sworn enemy (or simply a predator) is brought up to the seen, chasing the bugs elsewhere. “[Without glyphosate] The organic matter content of the soil is likely to be detrimentally affected. Yields would decline again and increased ploughing would release more CO2 from the soil into the atmosphere.” Another bold statement in the middle of the page by Richard Hatherell, farmer, in the United Kingdom This bold statement is also misleading as research as shown that mass-farming (and non-rotation of fields) is at the root cause of corrosion of topsoil and the reason why our soil is so depleted from all “organic matter”. “There is no single approach in the crop protection fight.” Bayer’s article goes further, adding: “Farmers today have a variety of tools, including state-of-the-art pesticides, advanced data analytics, and precision technologies [GMOs]. While these tools are individually powerful, when farmers use them together, it enhances their effectiveness while minimising the environmental impact of agriculture.” Glyphosate impact on the environment is not only the subject of thousands of research but it has been shown to be a contaminant in rivers and our water system. So the impact is well beyond that of agriculture and weeds. Drinking unfiltered water from the tap is, research shows, as bad as eating such contaminated foods. This is what the “Advancing together as one” article claimed: “Today’s milestone means that the two leading innovators in agriculture will now come together as one to shape agriculture through breakthrough innovation [GMOs] for the benefit of farmer, consumers and our planet.” This is not only shocking to me but also sad. It is sad to think that either they think we are stupid enough to believe them or that we are stupid enough to wanting to believe them and buy their genetically-modified-pesticides-ridden-so-called-foods. How could spraying deadly chemicals on a plant destined to end up on our plate be for our benefit or that of the planet? Now this is the counter argument to such misleading and somewhat infuriating arguments: Must-read/websites to visit: |
It is all about FOOD™ This Blog offers an easy-to-read condensed descriptive of food groups, nutrients, and their role on our body; cooking processes; world news with major impact on food and consumers; comprehensive reviews of restaurants (Menus, Food-on-plate and Quality of Service); and easy-to-follow Exquisite recipes, as well as healthy snacks and juices. Author Olivier is a Michelin trained chef, a registered Naturopath and Nutritional Therapist, embracing fully his passion for good food and healthy eating. Archives
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