Drugs in our food? And Wolves in Alaska

[helwen]

Drugs in Our Food?

Pharma crops are grown outdoors in 35 U.S. states. The primary pharma crops seem to be corn, rice, and some soybeans, with all sorts of interesting genes in them (for insulin, vaccines, industrial processes. Probably some for fuel now too).

There's a valid concern that these can or are contaminating food crops. Corn in particular is what's known as 'promiscuous'. Great pains have to be taken to make sure they're far enough away from other crops. And if a hurricane were to come through (and they have), the seeds and plants could be carried over several states.

You can find out if your state has permitted this here: Pharma food index
(I not only checked my state but also nearby states, because of wind/storm patterns - NY has one crop, PA has four, Ohio has eight, Illinois has 19, Iowa has 27)

If you want to find out more about all this, and possibly sign a petition against allowing pharma crops being grown outdoors, go here: Protect Our Food

Wolves

In Alaska (and not the only state to do this), they are working to make sure voters don't vote to end aerial hunting of wolves. They are using state dollars to fund advertising to get voters to vote for reinstating the hunting, presumably because wolves are causing 'trouble'. It may very well be that because the ecology is unbalanced that there are "too many" wolves, but aerial hunting usually kills too many wolves. It is done either by shooting from the air, or chasing the wolves until they're exhausted and then landing to shoot them.

The usual real reason for killing wolves is that they may be making some herding monopolist's business more difficult/expensive to run (hey, if the state does it, all the voters pay for it instead of just the concerned businesses). I'm not sure exactly what the business concern is in Alaska, since I don't think anyone is in the herding business up there. Perhaps it's a matter of trophy hunters wanting to have some 'fun'. In any case, wolves are a necessary part of the Alaskan ecology, and help to keep the caribou and moose populations healthy (and also not too numerous).

Defenders of Wildlife is running a counter-campaign against the state's ads, so that voters will get all the facts (I didn't say unbiased, but wolves don't deserve to be demonized just for living!). I usually just sign petitions and write letters (especially on our current budget), but decided this time to help out with a donation.

Anyone interested in donating can go here: Save Wolves

Comments

pharma crops

[murdersmurf.livejournal.com]

it's kind of scary as to how much of that stuff is being produced now. You'd think that all the mutant monster sci-fi movies from the 50's would've taught them something *snargle*

Re: pharma crops

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's scary how much of this stuff is grown outdoors. And then of course there's the manufacturers... friends of mine live in the same part of a city that has a Monsanto plant. They're growing veggies this summer and the leaves are turning yellow/brown from the tops down...

It's truly worrisome wondering what impact all the drugs loose in our environment are having on people, animals, plants, etc. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if some of the general malaise and illnesses that happen are at least in part due to constant exposure to this stuff.

Sometimes I read stories or reports that talk about all the drugs and chemicals that are in our water, worldwide, and really wonder how clean anything is that we eat or breathe. But I take it as even more motivation to try to do better with the stuff we grow and use. Not everyone is in a position to do that, of course, but the more people who try, the better off we all are.

Thank goodness there are folks out there who really know how to live a clean, low-impact life -- which would not be me -- I may be generally below the American consumer average, but have miles to go (on foot!) before getting to where I'll be feeling more confident about how decent our lives are :D

Re: pharma crops

[murdersmurf.livejournal.com]

being in basically the same position myself.
I understand. For us it's a matter of budgetary concerns. It seems almost fiscally impossible to be enviornmentally friendly.

Being Environmentally Friendly

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Well, not completely environmentally friendly, no. But we do what we can. If everyone tries, it's good for everyone, eh?

I have asthma and allergies (and of course various pains as time goes on), but try to minimize how often I have to take my meds by also doing self-accupressure. It definitely makes a difference, and I'm happier not having to take stuff several times a day, except when the air is _really_ bad. Saves money, too :)

Most of us can't afford solar power, which is why I do things like insulate the walls with wall hangings (fabric, blankets, whatever) -- save on needing to use energy to heat/cool in the first place. Far from what I'd like to be doing, but I figure it's better than not trying at all.

I figure the fact that we're moving into a smaller place, even though it comes with storage/use difficulties, is a good environmental move too -- 4 people in a house instead of 2 people in a house -- much as we've enjoyed being able to use the house for hosting workshops, practices, meetings, and parties. And cutting down on our fuel expenses doesn't hurt either...

You're already doing that, of course. But I think more people should consider sharing their homes -- better use of space, saves energy, saves money. Might even save enough money to do some other environmental stuff...