EXPOSING THE CON: HOW MONSANTO’S INFERIOR GE COTTON MORPHED FROM ORCHESTRATED ‘HERO’ TO HEEL IN THIS AFRICAN NATION. Monsanto’s strategic deployment of cash and immense power to greedily further its own ends is increasingly hitting up against the brick wall of truth in courtrooms and the media.
What little is left of Monsanto’s scant ‘credibility’ is fast diminishing thanks to fatally-flawed products – most notably its stable of vulnerable Genetically Engineered crops and flagship probable-human-carcinogen ‘Roundup’ (Glyphosate) herbicide.
This valuable narrative in ‘Quartz’ about Monsanto’s con in the landlocked country of Burkina Faso in West Africa is well worth reading in order to understand the Monsanto modus operandi.
The truth will set us free. Jim
https://qz.com/africa/1900035/the-lie-of-monsantos-genetically-modified-cotton-in-burkina-faso/?utm_source=YPL

“The West African nation of Burkina Faso was once the poster child for genetically modified (GM) crop advocates. Its 2008 adoption of GM cotton for smallholder farmers was hailed as an example of how these technologies could alleviate poverty and food insecurity by protecting crops from pests and increasing yields.

“But this much celebrated success story came to an abrupt halt in 2016, when the Burkina Faso government and cotton companies decided to abandon GM cotton…

“Burkina Faso was the first African country where a GM crop was principally grown by smallholder farmers. The crop was an insect-resistant cotton variety, developed through a partnership with the US-based agri-business company Monsanto (now Bayer CropScience). At its height nearly 150,000 Burkinabè households grew GM cotton.

“Supporters quickly broadcast study findings demonstrating increased average yields and incomes. This developed into a prominent narrative of success…

“Observers were shocked when only eight years later Burkina Faso abandoned genetically modified cotton. The reason: it had shorter-fibre lint and ginning machines extracted proportionally less lint from harvested cotton bolls. This led to $76 million in losses for cotton companies.

“Other problems also surfaced. New evidence showed that GM cotton yields were less than half of early projections. And there were significant variations among farmers. Many farmers lost money…

“Our new research, which draws on over 250 interviews and in-depth research in Burkina Faso spanning over a decade, traces what happened. We found that rather than an abrupt turnaround, these problems were known by cotton sector officials as early as 2006—10 years before Burkina Faso abandoned GM cotton.

“The puzzle we unravel is how a success narrative could be built when problems were readily apparent.

“In short, the story has a lot to do with power.”

How the “success story” of genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso fell apart

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RURAL SCOTLAND TRAVEL-DREAMING ON A HOLIDAY WEEKEND. With COVID travel restrictions and quarantines these are not easy times for Americans hankering to travel abroad.
‘Matador Network’s’ contribution to compensate for this dilemma is its article listing seven must visit rural Scottish villages. Don’t miss the accompanying beautiful photos! Caleb Megan & Jim

“Scotland’s biggest cities are undoubtedly beautiful. Whether it’s Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns or Glasgow’s Merchant City neighborhood, the historic architecture transports visitors throughout the centuries, with cobbled streets, a medieval castle, and 18th-century warehouses, among many other features. But the real appeal of Scotland does not lie in its urban centers — it’s a rural affair. The wild, craggy, and green landscapes of the Celtic nation are speckled with spectacular villages, remote from the buzz of modern life, that will not only provide peace and tranquility to visitors but also a time-traveling experience that rivals the best seasons of Outlander. From an abandoned village on the isolated St. Kilda archipelago to a small fishing town in the Scottish Borders, here are seven places that are going to take you straight to Scotland of yore.”
https://matadornetwork.com/read/storybook-rural-scottish-villages/?ct=t%28EDITORIAL+TRAVERSE_AUGUST_31_2020%29

7 rural Scottish villages that are straight out of a storybook

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‘SAFEWAY’ THE CHOICE OF DISCERNING LAKE TAHOE BLACK BEARS. Stores do offer convenience.
Here in Northern Maine, frosts in early June decimated the wild Apple crop and our drought seems to have limited the wild Raspberry crop. They say Maine Black Bears are hungry this Fall. Caleb, Megan & Jim

“For the second time in two weeks, a customer has spotted a bear in a Lake Tahoe Safeway doing some light grocery shopping…

“The latest sighting came on Aug. 27, when the shopping bear in Safeway was filmed poking around the produce section, according to CBS Los Angeles. The animal seemed to be weighing its options before ultimately leaving with a plastic container in its mouth that looked like a cup of yogurt.

“It’s unclear if it’s the same bear that was spotted at the same store on Aug. 18. This bear at Safeway was seen nabbing a bag of Tostitos chips with its mouth and walking out…”
https://news.yahoo.com/oh-look-giant-bear-wandering-185553154.html

Oh look: A giant bear wandering the aisles of a California Safeway

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65+ orgs call on Home Depot & Lowe’s to end sales of cancer-linked Roundup

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A GROWING MOVEMENT HIGHLY CRITICAL OF BILL GATES & THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION AND ITS FAILED SCHEMES FOR HIGH-INPUT AG IN AFRICA. A self-serving ‘green revolution’ for Africa – “finance-intensive and high input agricultural model” – has NOT improved the lives of small farmers and instead echo familiar themes of colonialism and control.
This piece in ‘The Ecologist’ describes a new study by researchers at Tuft’s University and addresses failures found in the 14-year initiative. Caleb, Megan & Jim

“Billions of dollars spent promoting and subsidising commercial seeds and agrichemicals across Africa have failed to fulfill their promises to alleviate hunger and lift small-scale farmers out of poverty, according to a new white paper published by the Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute.

“African and German civil society organisations produced a report based on the research, ‘False Promises,’ calling on governments to stop funding and subsidising the so-called ‘green revolution’ and shift support to programs that help small-scale food producers, particularly women and youth, develop climate-resilient ecologically sustainable farming practices.

“The research examines the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a nonprofit launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates and Rockefeller foundations in 2006 with promises to double yields and incomes for 30 million farming households while cutting food insecurity in half in 20 African countries by 2020.

“The effort has fallen far short of those goals, according to the new research led by Timothy A. Wise, former director of the Tufts GDEI program and now a senior advisor at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy…

“The researchers found ‘little evidence of widespread progress on any of AGRA’s goals, which is striking given the high levels of government subsidies for technology adoption.’ The paper documents slow productivity growth, no significant increases in food security or small-farmer incomes, and worsening hunger in most of AGRA’s target countries.

“Wise said: ‘It’s a failing model, failing results; it’s time to change course’…

“They described AGRA’s approach as a “finance-intensive and high input agricultural model” that is ‘not sustainable beyond constant subsidy’ and is ‘capturing and diverting public resources to benefit large corporate interests.’

“A group of 500 civil society organizations, academics, and social movements also urged the UN to reconsider the appointment. Family farmers who produce more than 80 percent of the world’s food should be at the centre of the Summit, they said…

“AGRA’s lack of progress toward improving conditions of poverty and hunger is no surprise to Africa-based farming and food sovereignty groups who have opposed the ‘neocolonial logic’ of the Gates Foundation’s Green Revolution from the start.

“Mariam Mayet, executive director of the African Centre for Biodiversity, said: ‘For years we have documented the efforts to spread the Green Revolution in Africa, and the dead-ends it will lead to: declining soil health, loss of agricultural biodiversity, loss of farmer sovereignty, and locking of African farmers into a system that is not designed for their benefit, but for the profits of mostly Northern multinational corporations’…

“In a powerful essay in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the global uprising for racial justice, Belay discussed a false narrative about African food systems seeded by philanthrocapitalists, aid agencies, governments, and others who ‘talk about transforming African agriculture when what they are doing is creating a market for themselves cleverly couched in a nice sounding language.’

Belay wrote: ‘We are told that our seeds are old and have little capacity to give us food and they have to be hybridised and genetically modified to be of use; we are told that what we need is more calories and we need to focus on seeds of few crops; we are told that we are not using our land effectively and it should be given to those who can do a better job of it; we are told that our knowledge about farming is backward and we need to modernise with knowledge from the West … we are told we need business to invest billions of dollars, and without these saviors from the North, we cannot feed ourselves…'”

https://theecologist.org/2020/aug/14/gates-failing-green-revolution-africa?utm_source=IATP+Full+List&utm_campaign=093f986d76-MARCH_NEWS_18_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3f024f9ff8-093f986d76-74976973

Gates ‘failing green revolution in Africa’

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30-DAY FORECAST CALLS FOR GOOD HARVEST WEATHER ACROSS AMERICA’S POTATO BELT. The national Weather Service is predicting good harvest weather in September across areas where growing potatoes are big business.
This is good news against the backdrop of last year’s horrendous harvest which in the Upper Midwest and West devolved into disaster conditions with heavy rain, snow and freezing conditions.
Here in Maine it’s been dry this growing year.
Industry rag the ‘Spudman’ reports. Caleb, Megan & Jim

“Growers in the major potato-producing areas of the northern U.S. are in for warm and normal-to-dry conditions during September, if the forecast proves accurate.

“According to the National Weather Service (NWS), precipitation levels should be near average levels in the Columbia Basin, Great Lakes region, Red River Valley and Northeast, and some below average in Colorado, Klamath Basin and much of Idaho…

“Another area that has been dry this summer is Aroostook County, Maine. Harvest there usually ramps up in mid-September.

“’It has been another dry summer, drier than the last two for sure,’…

“’It is really too early to know the impact on yield other than to say we anticipate yields will be down from the last couple of years. We haven’t had any other issues, such as disease, so the quality should be good. We are a few weeks from harvest but some growers are gearing up for field direct for the chip companies.'”

Potato growers to see warm, dry conditions during September, NWS forecasts – Spudman

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GO TAKE A HIKE! A reminder in this opinion piece, ‘Fleeing the Trolls for the Grizzly Bears’ by Nicholas Kristof in the ‘NY Times’ that it’s important to cut the cords and regularly get outside for peace-of-mind. Always, but especially in these trying times. Caleb, Megan & Jim https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/22/opinion/sunday/hiking-wilderness-montana.html

“I backpack every summer because it’s wonderful family time, when none of us can be distracted by phones, emails or screens, when we share the camaraderie of blisters and bugs — and awe…

“The wilderness is restorative for the soul. Hikers are enveloped by silence, and there is time to think: It is the opposite of Twitter…

“In the wilderness, one appreciates just how vast America’s public spaces are. Some 28 percent of our country is owned by the federal government — by you and me — and we hiked for days at a time from Montana into Idaho without seeing any road, building or person.

“When Woody Guthrie sang ‘This Land is Your Land,’ he could have been speaking literally about America’s 640 million acres of federal lands. While the top 1 percent in the United States now enjoy greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent, these shared public lands offer an antidote to that inequity…

“Wild places accentuate geological time, reassuring us that present crises will pass — but also impressing upon us the need to address long-term assaults that would be irreversible…

“The wilderness awes us, freezes us, teaches us; it reminds us of forces and values larger than ourselves. Let the wild spaces inspire our efforts in this election cycle by underscoring what is at stake not only in the next four years but also over the next four millenniums.”

Opinion | Fleeing the Trolls for the Grizzly Bears

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MAINE’S WILD BLUEBERRY FARMERS EXPERIENCING A CROP DISASTER. June frosts and Summer drought took a huge toll on this year’s Maine’s Wild Blueberry crop and volume is signicantly reduced. Maine’s Blueberry crop is distinctive in that they are a wild crop raked (harvested) from Maine’s Blueberry Barrens. Their flavor is far superior to bland-tasting cultivated Blueberries (increasingly grown hydroponically) commonly produced across North America.
Not mentioned in this ‘BBC’ report is the fact that Maine’s Blueberry farmers have also been pummeled by jaw-dropping low prices over the last decade (https://www.agweb.com/article/usda-maine-blueberry-prices-sunk-to-10-year-low-in-2016-apnews) with prices as low as $0.22 per pound down from $1 per pound received as recently as 2007.
Maine Blueberry family farmers have been at a perennial disadvantage because the industry (and pricing) is controlled by a small handful of large blueberry processors which regularly practice bullying elements of monopoly control. Caleb, Megan & Jim
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53902850

“He says that the 2020 crop, which has been picked over the past month, will be limited. ‘It is to do with the weather. We had a series of frosts at the beginning of June, and then significant drought for the whole of the summer.’

“‘So we have much less fruit, and the berries are much smaller. It is a disaster’…

“‘Wild blueberries are different in every way, and we have to let the world know that,’ says Marie Emerson, a farmer from Columbia Falls in Maine, 40 miles from the Canadian border…

“However, some of Maine’s smaller blueberry farmers have already closed down or vastly scaled back.

“‘It’s hard for us, because we don’t have the deep pockets [of the few bigger producers in the state],’ says Greg Bridges, a third-generation blueberry farmer in Baring, Maine.”

Blueberry farmers warn of ‘disaster’ crop

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“WE WERE HERE FOR 45 YEARS BEFORE HE SHOWED UP.” ILLINOIS ORGANIC FARMERS REELING FROM NEW NEARBY POLLUTING HOG FACTORY FARM. In a distressing illustration of a grossly dysfunctional land use system in which local citizens are crushed by powerful Industrial Ag interests, organic farmers Crystal and Randy Clair are having to contend with a bullying, reeking hog CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) less than one half-mile from their organic farm.
The Clairs deserve justice.
We’ve witnessed the overpowering stink from a hog CAFO. No neighbor should ever be involuntarily subjected to this naked theft of one’s right to be safe and secure on your own property.
Thanks to Max Goldberg’s ‘Organic Insider’ for sharing this story. Caleb, Megan & Jim

“The Clairs and their organic farming are threatened by a 5000-hog CAFO just 2208 feet, less than ½ of a mile, from their home that opened in 2019. The stench from the CAFO is forcing the Clairs to stay indoors and posing risks to their health; both Randy and Crystal have fought cancer. Manure runoff from the CAFO could also contaminate a lake on their organic farm that the Clairs rely on for irrigation and water for their compost operation.

“The Clairs recently transitioned to organic farming after farming conventionally for 40 years. They farm 750 acres, growing a range of organic crops, including yellow corn, food-grade soybeans, blue corn, wheat, oats, and hay.

“They transitioned to organic because they saw that conventional methods were ruining their soil.

“’I wasn’t doing the soil any good,’ Randy says. ‘The only way I could see was to grow organically with the compost and try to get the life and health back in the soil'”…

“But the nearby hog CAFO could destroy the Clairs’ work—and the quality of their lives. They raised concerns about the hog confinement in 2018 when the owner, Ragan Peter, sought and received permission from the Illinois Department of Agriculture to build it.

“Crystal says Peter visited them in May 2018. ‘This guy came up on our porch and told us if we continue to oppose this CAFO that our lives and our livelihood will never be the same,’ she says.”

Strangulation wire sent to organic farmers meant to “put the fear of the devil” in them over opposition to hog confinement

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