Notes on Industrial Agriculture & Processed Food (for those of you who still don’t get it)

For those of you who still think the answer to “feeding the world” is modern technology provided to us by Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow Chemical, Dupont, BASF, Bayer, Nestles, Pepsico and General Mills - please take just a moment or two to read some of the below articles.  Trust me: They are well written, easy to read and yes…based on real science.  All written/published in 2017.New York Times: How Big Business Got Brazil Hooked On Junk Food"scientists say, the growing availability of high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods is generating a new type of malnutrition, one in which a growing number of people are both overweight and undernourished."https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/16/health/brazil-obesity-nestle.html?action=click&module=Top+Stories&pgtype=HomepageWashington Post: This Miracle Weed Killer Was Supposed To Save Farms, Instead It’s Devastating Themhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/this-miracle-weed-killer-was-supposed-to-save-farms-instead-its-devastating-them/2017/08/29/33a21a56-88e3-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.1e85f9faececPolitico: Can American Soil Be Brought Back To Life?"For generations, soil has been treated almost as a backdrop — not much more than a medium for holding plants while fertilizer and herbicides help them grow.”http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/09/13/soil-health-agriculture-trend-usda-000513UK Independent: Pesticides Linked To Birth Abnormalities In Major New Study“The sheer size of the study, and the meticulous way it has been carried out, suggest that there is an environmental hazard for mothers resident in an area with large scale pesticide usage”http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/pesticides-birth-abnormalities-linked-pregnancy-study-san-joaquin-valley-california-farms-a7918636.htmlOlder articles showing the duplicity and character (or lack thereof) of these corporations:New York Times: A Pesticide Banned Or Not Underscores Trans-Atlantic Trade Sensitivities“The weed killer is banned as a pesticide in the European Union as well as in Switzerland (corporate headquarters for Syngenta) over concerns that it is a groundwater contaminant.  Syngenta, however, did not get the memo…the company has long insisted that the pesticide was not banned.”https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/business/international/a-pesticide-banned-or-not-underscores-trans-atlantic-trade-sensitivities.htmlThe Nation: Blackwater’s Black Ops“Internal documents reveal the firm's clandestine work for multinationals and governments.” Spoiler alert - Monsanto hired them to infiltrate activists groups (which they of course deny)https://www.thenation.com/article/blackwaters-black-ops/