The arms of Monsanto spread far and wide, and weave a more complex web than most understand...

In short, Midwestern agriculture quickly evolved into a vast, efficient system that is much easier to farm but is "biologically simple," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and a specialist on biotech agriculture.

"But the problem is,'' he added, "it's a perfect storm for resistance."

A new article from the Star Tribune about the perfect ecological storm that is being created by Monsanto.

8 Reasons Not to Trust Monsanto with Our Food

I'm having a little difficulty properly formatting the image. So just click on the image to view it completely.

From Care2

France finds Monsanto "Guilty" of poisoning farmer

I love when Monsanto "gets what's coming to them", but it doesn't happen nearly enough.

Farmers Sue USDA Over Monsanto

And Monsanto is in the news once again...

Other countries protect their people against GM crops

Other countries across Europe are acting to protect their people and environments against GM crops, but sadly not the US.

Monsanto in the news

Jeez, I've been coming across a ton of stories regarding Monsanto lately.

Today I read this article about Monsanto Alfalfa being USDA approved just weeks after a senior soil scientist alerted them to a pathogen found in the soil of Round Up Ready corn and soy that they think could be linked to infertility in livestock and disease in crops.

"For the past 40 years, I have been a scientist in the professional and military agencies that evaluate and prepare for natural and manmade biological threats, including germ warfare and disease outbreaks," Huber wrote in his January 16 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Based on this experience, I believe the threat we are facing from this pathogen is unique and of a high risk status. In layman's terms, it should be treated as an emergency."

Read the article here.

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This article is from 2008, but I have read similar things in 2010, so the issue continues.

So Shankara became one of an estimated 125,000 farmers to take their own life as a result of the ruthless drive to use India as a testing ground for genetically modified crops.

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And this article addresses "Why Monsanto Always Wins".

Back in 2003, USDA officials were concerned about "deficiencies" in Monsanto's original petition to deregulate the GE alfalfa seeds, so they drafted a letter with about 90 questions for Monsanto. In several emails, officials working with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) asked Monsanto officials to comment and "suggest improvements" on at least three drafts of the "deficiency letter." Monsanto was happy to redraft the letter point by point.

 and

The increased reliance on glyphosate-based herbicides like Roundup has caused weeds to develop their own tolerance to the chemical. Herbicide-resistant weeds, sometimes called "superweeds," now infest millions of acres of cropland. Farmers now combat the weeds with cocktails of herbicides like 2,4 D - an ingredient in Agent Orange - that are know to be more toxic than glyphosate. In all, farmers have used at least 318 million more pounds of herbicides and pesticides in the past 13 years as a result of planting GE crop seeds like Roundup Ready corn and soy.

Check it out!

Monsanto may be connected to birth defects

And yet another article on the dirty deeds of Monsanto. This one outlines a possible connection between Monsanto crops and birth defects in chickens. I know I've been seeing more stories coming out of other countries regarding chicks born with extra sets of legs and such. There may be a connection to Monsanto.

GMO crops have escaped into the wild...

I've griped about Monsanto for years, their seed-patenting, toxic Round-Up products, and GMO crops. Now genetically engineered canola is popping up in the wild, and may become an uncontrollable weed, since they are herbicide resistant. Read the story here.

Down with Monsanto

I've written in the past about Monsanto, their unethical and heavy-handed business practices, and the negative impact they are having on agriculture. I found another article today regarding them, this time on the Survivalist Seeds website. I tracked it down to an article written by P.J. Huffstutter of the LA Times. Read it here, and be aware.

Tomato Blight Plight?

I have something going on with my Roma tomatoes. It begins on green, developing fruit. First the blossom will hold on rather than fall off...


I have to pull the blossoms off. After pulling this one off, this is what the blossom end looks like...

Is that Blossom End Rot? I'm confused, because there are several things that are very similar. Blight, Blossom End Rot, Buckeye Rot. And they mostly seem to be caused by soil splashing up and contaminating the fruit, but my fruit is high up and should be free of soil.

Today I plucked my first ripe tomato...


...and you can see how the blossom end rotted away.


This is going on with ALL of the fruit coming in.



What's the deal? And is this some fungus that is going to affect my grape tomatoes starting to blossom nearby? Do I just need to destroy all of this fruit, and the new fruit coming in will be fine? Maybe the first tomato was affected by blight or something, and it has spread it to the other fruit? So maybe if I destroy all those affected and start fresh, the new fruit will be okay.