Editor, Times-Union: There is a vast difference between good solid agriculture practices and Agra-business.
Our county has been the proud agriculture county, in past years. Now, we are allowing ourselves to be sold down the river by Big Agra. They started the chant, “Feed the world.” Not wanting the world to go hungry, many buy into this chant and repeat it.
Do you know what they propose to feed the world? From time to time, the press finds out some of the dirty big secrets. Pink slime was one to break out, recently. Add to the list, GMO foods and foods packaged with BPA, a chemical used in the production of plastic and resins used in drink containers, can liners and medical devices.
BPA is an endrocrine disrupter and can mimic the body’s own hormones and lead to bad health effects. Look for mutant soy in many processed foods. It can cause depression, fatigue, infections, brain fog, nausea and cancer. Before you give your baby a soy substitute formula, find out what is really in it. Dairy cattle are being given rBGH-BST to artificially produce more milk. We, the consumers, pay the price by seeing more liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal problems.
Cattle need to graze on grass and are fed grain with additives, instead. This disrupts their whole system. Dairy cattle have 25 percent more problems with mastitis and need more antibiotics to overcome this. These antibiotics are passed along to humans and build up antibiotic resistance in us leaving us vulnerable to disease that can’t be fixed when antibiotics are needed. Milk is sold in containers made with BPA, so the consumer gets a double whammy.
Other countries ban these ingredients in their food supply. The United States government and Big Agra are best friends and don’t see the need to let the average person know anything detrimental about our food supply. CAFOs are the way to go so Big Agra can line its pockets at our expense. Our good farmers are being squeezed out to make room for the huge CAFOs, coming to a field near you.
When you hear the chant, “Feed the world,” know that the menu will consist of BPA, GMO, rBHG, pink slime and pork, chicken and beef doctored up with growth hormones and antibiotics. Will you sit by and allow this to happen?
