The Wolf Returns To The Side Of The Lion.....by M.N. Hopkins

Source of picture:    http://zenom-art.deviantart.com/art/Wolf-and-Lion-by-moonlight-126141332

The wolf returns to the side of the lion and the once sheep will follow but not as before.

Now, the lions in sheep's clothing, full of courage, full of Light, full of Love.

© M.N. Hopkins

Protecting Organic Seed Integrity - Free Downloads From The Organic Seed Growers Association

Why Protect Organic Seed?

The organic seed industry is at the same time especially vulnerable to transgenic contamination and also a crucial link to reducing contamination. Organic seed, which by definition is free of genetically engineered (GE) contaminates, is the foundation of organic agriculture. Organic crops grown with contaminated seed will inevitably yield a contaminated crop. GE contamination, however trace, is unacceptable.

Compromised organic seed integrity has broad-reaching impacts on the viability of organic farms and the credibility of organic products. Organic farmers also risk the threat of patent litigation in the face of contamination. In order to limit GE presence in organic seed, growers need to become educated about best practices for contamination avoidance.

Ensuring the Integrity of Organic.

The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association has produced a manual, entitled Protecting Organic Seed Integrity: The Organic Farmer’s Handbook to GE Avoidance and Testing, to serve as a one-stop tool to help farmers, as well as seed handlers and seed companies, maintain genetic purity in organic seed, as well as organic food crops.

It offers pertinent guidance on seed contamination avoidance and testing protocols for the following at-risk crops (those with USDA-approved GE counterparts which are currently in commercial production): corn, soy, cotton, alfalfa, papaya, canola (Brassica rapa), sugarbeet, and squash (Cucurbita pepo).

The recommendations have been synthesized through an assessment of international literature, as well as solicited input from organic farmers, seed company professionals, and seed breeders familiar with isolation and purity concerns, along with implementation constraints in the field.

Resources for Organic Farmers.

The following resources are available as free electronic downloads. Please consider making a donation to OSGATA to ensure that we can continue offering resources to the organic seed community free of charge.

Protecting Organic Seed Integrity: The Organic Farmer’s Handbook to GE Avoidance and Testing.

GE Contamination Avoidance and Testing: Surveying Organic Seed Growers and Organic Seed Companies.

If you would like a hard copy of the handbook, please send $5 to cover shipping and handling costs: OSGATA/ PO Box 362 / Washington, ME 04574. Alternatively, use our Donate page to securely transfer the $5 S+H. Please include your address and “S+H” in the comments section!

Source:

http://www.osgata.org/organic-seed-integrity/

When Dealing With Risks, It's Not About More Studies - Sheldom Krimsky, Ph.D

Source:

GMO Free USA

Roundup 'Weedkiller' Feeds Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds by Sayer Ji

Roundup 'Weedkiller' Feeds Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds
by Sayer Ji, founder of Greenmedinfo.com

The nightmarish toxicological profile of Roundup herbicide (glyphosate) continues to emerge within the peer-reviewed research, this time revealing its role in supporting the growth of a pathogenic bacteria of great medical significance.

A concerning new study published in the Brazilian Journal of Microbiology titled, "Influence of glyphosate in planktonic and biofilm growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa," indicates that the world's most widely used herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) may be contributing to the enhanced growth of the pathogenic bacteria P. aeruginosa in our environment.

The Brazilian team responsible for the study expressed concern over the "virtual nonexistence" of research evaluating glyphosate herbicide-pathogenic microbiota interactions, and conducted a series of microbial experiments to fill this data gap.  They noted:

"Glyphosate is probably the herbicide most discharged into the environment. Due to its extensive use in the protection of crops, it is inevitable that it will reach surface and deep waters (Pournaras et al., 2007), especially after rainfalls."

P. aeruginosa is commonly found in watercourses and reservoirs in both oxygen (aerobic) and non-oxygen preferring forms (anaerobic), and can be a source of waterborne infection.

The results of the new study indicate that when exposed to varying concentrations of both glyphosate (a common contaminant found in GM agricultural runoff) and oxygen, both the aerobic the anaerobic and biofilm forming strains of this bacteria can thrive:

"Aerobic planktonic growth was superior to anaerobic one. This points to the possibility of P. aeruginosa, although a facultative organism (Davies et al., 1989; Yoon et al., 2002), has its growth significantly favored by the presence of molecular oxygen. Continuous bacterial exposure to low concentrations of glyphosate leads to increased rates of aerobic growth, which is somehow in agreement with previously published findings (Fitzgibbon and Braymer, 1988). By the contrary, in conditions of inaccessibility of molecular oxygen, the bacterium started to grow better in a concentration-dependent manner. It is possible that this phenomenon results from the use of the molecule as a source of phosphorus, as previously reported for the genus Pseudomonas (Peñaloza-Vazquez et al., 1995; Moore et al., 1983; Talbot et al., 1984). Glyphosate could also serve as a carbon source, which would be processed by both aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms (Rueppel et al., 1977), with increased rates in presence of oxygen. To support such theory, it has been found that different bacterial genera may promote catalysis of glyphosate using C-P lyases (van Eerd et al., 2003). Once broken up this connection, Pseudomonas spp. can produce glycine (Kishore and Jacob, 1987), which can also enhance growth."

The researchers also focused on the ability of glyphosate to support the growth of so-called biofilms, a closely adhering colony of bacteria embedded in a self-produced matrix of a "slimy" extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), revealing:

To read the entire article, please click on the link provided below:

Green Med Info

New Study Finds GMO Soy Toxic to Kidneys, Liver, and Reproduction by Christina Sarich

New Study Finds GMO Soy Toxic to Kidneys, Liver, and Reproduction 

by Christina Sarich

Natural Society,  2 January 2015

In North America, approximately 75 to 89% of the soy beans grown are genetically modified (GM). One may not realize it, but this is concerning news – especially because recent research found that GM soy is toxic to the kidneys, liver, and more.

There isn’t just one smoking gun anymore pointing at GMO toxicology. There is now an entire arsenal of scientific research proving that genetically modified organisms adversely affect the body. In yet another new study conducted by Egyptian researchers, rats given GM soy were found to have deadly amounts of toxicity in their kidneys, liver, testes, sperm, blood and even DNA.

Is there any question anymore about the true poisons that are biotech’s squalid wares?

The histopathological assessments made by the researchers of the rat’s bodily tissues leave no room for mistakes or misjudgments. You can’t argue over the results as some GMO-supporters have tried to do with other studies (like Seralini’s).  Seralini’s study is one of the most quoted papers on the Internet, yet Monsanto gave a lengthy refutation of its findings.

Seralini stands firm in his findings, with the support of thousands of other scientists around the world. Though you’d think that he was some sort of quack with the comments that biotech makes to try to discredit him. What does Monsanto do when studies like this one, keep mounting? The evidence comes out again and again against GMOs – then what? What happens when research finds GM soy to be linked to sterility and infant mortality?

Just some of the sordid highlights of GMO-fed rats from the study’s findings include:

• DNA fragmentation increased significantly after the rats were fed GM soy, and the levels of toxicity increased at 30, 60 and 90 days.

• Glyphosate tolerant enzymes were found in the blood, and as researchers pointed out, “There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health.”

• The kidney’s bio-pathology increased. Blood creatinine and uric acid concentrations increased significantly in rats fed the GM diet for 30, 60, or 90 days.

• Chromosomal aberrations were observed. There was a “highly significant” number of abnormal cells.

Almost every organ observed, along with the blood and DNA showed damage from the GM diet. The researchers stated:

“The results of all the param-eters evaluated in our investigation were consistent and confirm that the GM diet fed to rats for 30, 60, or 90 days caused significant histopathological, biochemical, and cytogenetic changes in all examined tissues.”

No animals were tested for toxic affects after 90 days – but it didn’t take more than this to see an obvious correlation between the toxicity levels of the rats and their GM diet. The wheat-based control diet did not cause the same results.

So here’s the kicker — the largest U.S. producer of hybrid seeds for agriculture, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, created a genetically engineered soybean which was approved in 2010. Soy is also on the seven most commonly grown GM crops list.

Read: 4 Huge Reasons Why Soy Should be Avoided

Since that time, numerous food products have been processed and sold on grocery store shelves in the US contain GM soy.

Many people have soy allergies now, too, which are likely due to GM varieties. Symptoms often include:

• Hives; itching; or itchy, scaly skin (eczema)

• Swelling of lips, face, tongue and throat, or other body parts

• Asthma or wheezing, runny nose, cold symptoms

• Skin redness

• A tingling mouth

• Abdominal pains, nausea, and diarrhea

To read the entire article and for other information on this subject, please click on the link provided below:

Natural Society

To Be Great, Be Whole....A Poem by Fernando Pessoa

To be great, be whole.

Exclude nothing, exaggerate nothing that is not you.

Be whole in everything. 

Put all you are

Into the smallest thing you do.

So, in each lake, the moon shines with splendor

Because it blooms up above.

Fernando Pessoa

Give Thanks To And Support Organic Farmers In 2015

“I always wanted to get away from the chemical side of farming ‘cause I never liked it from the start. And I’m pretty sure that it was my father’s demise. I wanted to not handle chemicals around my children more than anything. We didn’t have any songbirds for ten years after they sprayed with grasshopper poison. They eventually came back over time. We have all kinds of beautiful birds now. I’d never go back to the conventional way of farming, ever.” - Brian Krumm, Organic Oats Farmer, Krumm Country Farms, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Thank a non-GMO farmer.

WATCH the 4-minute video of Brian Krumm in Clif Bar’s “Farmers Speak” series:

http://youtu.be/YSoq8ZBdU20

READ more: http://www.clifbar.com/hubs/organic-sustainable

‪#‎ThankANonGMOFarmer‬ ‪#‎FarmersSpeak‬ ‪#‎ClifBar‬ ‪#‎BrianKrumm‬ ‪#‎OrganicOats‬‪#‎KrummCountryFarms‬ ‪#‎Saskatchewan‬ ‪#‎Canada‬ ‪#‎organic‬ ‪#‎nonGMO‬‪#‎boycottgmos‬ ‪#‎gmofreecanada‬ ‪#‎gmofreeusa‬

Source:

GMO Free USA