Category: Potatoes in History

“The so-called Green Revolution is neither “green,” nor ‘revolutionary.’ It was the name given to chemical industrial agriculture when it was imposed on the Third World. The Green Revolution was first introduced in the fertile and prosperous land of Punjab in 1965. It promoted monocultures of rice and wheat varieties bred for taking up more chemicals. The monocultures and chemical varieties were vulnerable to pests. This led to increased use of pesticides. The pesticides have led to a cancer epidemic in Punjab. Today, there is a train that leaves from Punjab to Bikaner, where there is a charitable cancer hospital — a train referred to as the ‘cancer train.'”

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/36203-women-around-the-world-are-leading-the-fight-against-corporate-agriculture

“Potatoes get a bad rap. Sadly, when many people think of spuds they think of a bland, deep-fried variety contributing to our addiction to bad-for-us fast junk food. But there are many types of potatoes in numerous colors, flavors, and shapes–and they all dazzle in diverse recipes. And yes, potatoes can be a healthy food, too. Read on for tips and tricks for growing potatoes in your own backyard.”

http://www.organicauthority.com/growing-potatoes-5-steps

“The issue that brought conservatives and progressives together in this way was clear-cut: keeping Nestlé Waters North America from building a water bottling plant and extracting over 118 million gallons annually from a spring in a small, rural community 45 miles east of Portland…

“When Primary Day came, Oregon voters in Hood River County passed a first-of-its-kind ballot measure that bans the production and transportation of large-scale commercial bottled water within the county. The measure succeeded by an overwhelming majority of voters — 68.8 percent voted in favor — and effectively ended Nestlé’s attempts to operate within the community…

“At this point, opponents of Nestlé’s project felt they had no other choice but to put the issue to a vote. The ballot initiative was started by Cascade Locks residents who were fed up with the local and state leaders who seemed impervious to their concerns.

“‘We were frustrated by Nestlé’s tactics such as working on the local and state officials and currying their favor,’ said Aurora del Val, the campaign director for the Local Water Alliance, the community group formed to pass the ballot measure. ‘Meanwhile, the citizens, our questions and our concerns, weren’t listened to in a real meaningful way. That’s what led us to this moment.'”

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36129-our-water-our-future-voters-in-oregon-defeat-nestle-s-attempt-to-privatize-their-water?tmpl=component&print=1

“Gradually, however, it became clear that certain companies thought differently. Some of my older colleagues shared their skepticism with me that commercial interests were running far ahead of scientific knowledge. I listened carefully and I didn’t disagree. Today, over twenty years later, GMO crops, especially soybeans, corn, papaya, canola and cotton, are commercially grown in numerous parts of the world…

“I now believe, as a much more experienced scientist, that GMO crops still run far ahead of our understanding of their risks. In broad outline, the reasons for this belief are quite simple. I have become much more appreciative of the complexity of biological organisms and their capacity for benefits and harms. As a scientist I have become much more humble about the capacity of science to do more than scratch the surface in its understanding of the deep complexity and diversity of the natural world. To paraphrase a cliché, I more and more appreciate that as scientists we understand less and less…

“Criticism of science and technology remains very difficult. Even though many academics benefit from tenure and a large salary, the skeptical process in much of science is largely lacking. This is why risk assessment of GMOs has been short-circuited and public concerns about them are growing. Until the damaged scientific ethos is rectified, both scientists and the public are correct to doubt that GMOs should ever have been let out of any lab.”

Growing Doubt: a Scientist’s Experience of GMOs

“Putting the two companies together would yield a giant whose products encompass antibiotics, genetically modified crop seeds and pesticides. It would have a combined annual revenue that would surpass $67 billion.

“News of Bayer’s interest in Monsanto has percolated over the last several weeks, stirring speculation that the agricultural sector could see another big deal after Dow Chemical and DuPont agreed last year to merge…

“Syngenta, which is based in Switzerland, eventually agreed, early this year, to sell itself to the China National Chemical Corporation.

“Afterward, Monsanto said that it was no longer interested in striking huge mergers, instead pursuing what would largely be a self-help strategy.”

“Fact is that Monsanto has viewed the laws of our land as mere hurdles in its way to swindle India and our farmers. On March 10, 1995, Mahyco (Monsanto-Mahyco) brought 100 grams of cotton seeds, containing the MON531-Bt gene, into India without the approval of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).

“Eager to establish a monopoly in India based on the smuggled MON531 gene, Monsanto-Mahyco started large scale, multi-centric, open field trials of Bt cotton in 40 locations spread across nine states, again without GEAC approval.

“Article (7) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, states: ‘No person shall import, export, transport, manufacture, process, use or sell any hazardous microorganisms or genetically engineered organisms/substances or cells except with the approval of the GEAC.’ GMO traits, once released into the environment, cannot be contained or recalled…

“India’s laws, rightly, do not permit patents on seeds and in agriculture. This has always been a problem for Monsanto and, through the US administration, it has attempted to pressure India into changing her robust intellectual property regime since the World Trade Organisation came into existence, and continues to do so today…

“In 2006, out of the Rs 1,600 per 450 gram package of Bt cotton seed (Rs 3,555.55/kg), almost 80 per cent (Rs 1,250) was charged by MMB as “trait fee”. In stark contrast, before Monsanto destroyed alternative sources of seed (including local hybrid seed supply) through unfair business practices, local seeds used to cost farmers Rs 5-9/kg..

“Monsanto’s ruthlessness is central to the crisis Indian farmers are facing. Farmers leveraged their land holdings to buy Bt cotton seeds and the chemicals it demanded, but the golden promise of higher yield and reduced pesticide use failed to deliver.

“Of the 300,000 farmer suicides in India since Monsanto smuggled the Bt gene into India in 1995, 84 per cent, almost 252,000, are directly attributed to Monsanto’s Bt cotton.”

http://www.asianage.com/columnists/make-monsanto-pay-668

“Researchers in the Sands’ Research Lab at MSU’s Plant Science Department have found low glycemic index potatoes that do not cause the rapid spike in blood sugar that comes with eating starchy foods. Sugar spikes can be dangerous for diabetics who lack the insulin to handle it and have been linked to cancer, heart disease and other conditions.

“Although potatoes provide valuable carbohydrates and vitamins with minimal fat, most varieties have a high glycemic index, which means they are rapidly digested and boost blood sugar dangerously fast. MSU currently has six varieties that have a lower glycemic index than Russet Burbank or Yukon Gold potatoes, which are rated high on the glycemic index.

“The potatoes are not genetically modified. Rather, researchers analyzed existing varieties and used traditional breeding methods to select for desirable traits…

“Huckleberry Gold, released by the Tri-State Potato Commission, is a nutritious variety that produces round to oval tubers more resistant to growth cracks, secondary growth and hollow heart than Yukon Gold and with high antioxidant concentrations and good resistance to common scab and Verticillium wilt

“’It’s a beautiful potato with purple skin and yellow flesh,’ Pilgeram said.”

http://www.theprairiestar.com/news/crop/researchers-find-spuds-that-could-foil-type-diabetes/article_0141603c-d1e5-11e5-ac59-dfc4149983a5.html

“Before cultivation, Indiana was blanketed in prairie grasses and forest, and the carbon content of the soil was as high as 10 percent in places. Today, after decades of tillage, which moves carbon from the soil into the atmosphere, and monocropping, the level on many farms is below 2 percent, Mr. Fisher said. Cover crops restore organic matter back into the soil, at a rate of about 1 percent every five years.

“‘As we put carbon back into the soil, it gives us a bigger tank to store water naturally,’ Mr. DeSutter said. ‘This is one way we build resilience into the system.'”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/business/cover-crops-a-farming-revolution-with-deep-roots-in-the-past.html?_r=1