Thanks for adding me...This is my story: A story worth sharing: Bees, Food Supply, Health, Environment, Science, and Politics. By Vida Cropas 2014 “Man did not weave the web of life –he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” ~Chief Seattle, 1854 Whenever I read something about bees in peril, I remember the day we left Saskatchewan, my husband Julien, carrying our paralyzed daughter to the car in his arms. It was another drought year, and we were unable to sell, yet there we were, farm chemical refugees fleeing a toxic environment. Our youngest daughter, Madeleine, would literally paralyze every summer, when aerial spraying began; we had no choice. After batteries of tests, doctors, clearly not trained in pesticide poisoning, had diagnosed: Yet another summer virus or, maybe the onset of juvenile arthritis... However, little by little, especially after hearing a pilot, in casual conversation, laugh about doused deer not making it out of the field alive, I connected the dots. Later, a friend gave me the “Pesticide Safety Handbook put out by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Foods (and not doled out to farmers,) which confirmed that pesticide exposure was indeed to blame. It reads, Emergency preparedness: “Pesticide application is a very serious business. Pesticides can cause illness; and they can kill. Their great usefulness rests on their ability to interrupt the life process of insects, fungi, rodents or plants. But many toxic chemicals can have dangerous effects on humans and other animals…Emergency Action –Severe poisoning: Vomiting, loss of reflexes, inability to breathe, uncontrollable muscular twitching, constriction of pupils (to pin point pupils), convulsions, unconsciousness, severe secretion from respiratory tract, fever, thirst, and increased rate of breathing. NOTE: Not all of these symptoms may be evident and they may vary according to the poison and the exposure.” And though all this was known since at least 1996 when the brochure was published, precious little of this information has trickled down to the general public or to farmers who still cavalierly spray around neighbours houses, school yards, wetlands, streams, and bee yards. Even now, while lack of pollinators is becoming a serious issue, our corporate friendly –some would say owned- politicians make sure that corporate interests supersede our health, safety, and food supply -not to mention how it negatively impacts our children’s development and learning abilities. In 2001 (the year we moved,) The Nature of Things presented the Effects of Pesticides On Human Development in which, anthropologist Elizabeth Guillette compared the children of a pesticide heavy agrarian region to the children living a traditional lifestyle in the foothills. Suffice to say that Madeleine’s issues are not uncommon and, that the pesticides that negatively impact honey bees, are more far reaching than what we have been lead to believe. Spray doesnt fall like lead. It hovers in the air and, once caught up in drafts, travels with air currents. It falls in water ways, catches on clothes hung to dry, and is breathed in by the unwary while adjuvants designed to “stick to, penetrate and kill cells”, insidiously go to work. How could substances that are able to kill deer –and farmers- not negatively impact human health, child development, soil ecology, (bacteria, fungi, algae, yeasts, worms, etc. needed for a living healthy soil), amphibians, birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects like bees? –Yet some would scream: “If it wasn’t safe it wouldn’t be on the market!” And “-Where’s the science!?” Or again: “We need GMO’s to feed the world!” -Yet according to Frances Moore Lappé who has studied world hunger and food distribution for decades, there is no lack of food on this planet; there is a lack of ethics, distribution, democracy, and fair trade –that biotech companies only exacerbate. Given the amounts of known carcinogens, endocrine disrupters, and allergens in our food supply, the lack of scientific research is a genuine concern. The way I understand it, is that our politicians are so corporate friendly, that they have granted these companies the authority to police themselves as in: determine what they want studied, how the study is conducted, for what length of time, and by whom, and whether or not their products are safe to market. -Conflict of interest!? Scientists in other countries certainly think so! Some have even taken it upon themselves to conduct independent studies on companies like biotech giant, Monsanto’s GMOs -without Monsantos knowledge or consent! This was done both in France and Egypt. Although Monsanto cried foul, and tried to discredit these studies, other scientists and yet other countries endorsed them. This is why GMOs are banned, labeled -or heavily restricted in Europe, with some countries burning GMO fields, while others have mandatory labeling and designated growing areas. This awareness is spreading; Russia declared GMO’s and the farming there of as, “an act of terrorism” -that should be punishable by law. Haiti stated that they, didn’t need another “disaster”! Mexico has banned GMO corn and Peru has banned them altogether. What I find interesting is the number of prominent PhD scientists who publicly speak out against GMO’s and Roundup. The likes of world expert Arpad Pusztai, who according to Wikipedia is: a Hungarian-born biochemist and nutritionist who spent 36 years at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is a world expert on plant lectins, authoring 270 papers and three books on the subject. Shiv Chopra, a drug evaluator for Health Canada, David Suzuki, Dr. Mercola, and Dr. Russell Blaylock, etc. all with numerous Youtube links for those who want to learn more, or, catch many of them on: Seeds of Death -a documentary that in my opinion should be seen in schools. And, while French scientist, Giles-Éric Séralini and his team’s paper was recently peer reviewed and republished denouncing GMOs and their accompanying chemicals, President Obama signed the Monsanto Protection Act, absolving the company of any wrong doing and, even if further research shows that GMOs or GE seeds cause significant health, or environmental damage, the US federal courts no longer have any power to stop their spread, use, or sales. Hence, it comes down to whom do YOU trust: -Corporate owned scientists and lackadaisical leaders, or the scientists who stick their necks out to denounce corruption? Yet consumers remain confused as if hypnotized by dishonest advertising, which if truthfully reiterated would sound more like this: “For your un-optimum health, be sure to negatively impact your meals with GMO products doused with their accompanying chemicals, so that doctors can prescribe the necessary antidotes, (which may or may, not work,) and, big pharma -owned by the same biotech giants that produce the toxic food- can continue to profit from your family’s ill health!” –No longer a conspiracy theory -just the way it is. It has gotten to the point where I no longer fear social backlash for speaking the truth. I simply answer: “Do the research, do what you can to make a difference, and look out for your loved one –as no one else will.” As I reflect upon the spirit of the age that has blessed us with complacent politicians, corrupt corporations, and an over trusting, misinformed public, I have come to realize that if our children are to have any kind of a worthwhile future, we will have to all wake up and make a personal effort. I am confident that like Madeleine, who was laughing and running around, by the time we reached Ontario -and has never relapsed since- that once the poisons are removed or heavily regulated, the bees, birds, butterflies, amphibians, environment -and humans- will fare a lot better.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 20:00:56 +0000
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