King Corn: an exposé with a light touch

December 23, 2011 by The Manic Gardener

We just watched King Corn this evening. I know, it’s been out for a while; we’re a bit behind the curve here. But if you are too–if you haven’t seen it–it’s worth the time. It’s funny and lowkey, and sort of sneaks up sideways on its subject, an exposé of commodity corn. Continue reading →

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Posted in Environment, Food & Recipes

Podcast #13 – Notes and Links for “Turning the Tables: Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto”

December 19, 2011 by The Manic Gardener

The “upcoming” podcast mentioned a few days ago is now up. You can listen to or download the show, “Turning the Tables: Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto,” to get part of the back story about why 83 organic seed growers, farmers, and organizations are suing GMO seed giant (and manufacturer of RoundUp) Monsanto.

You can also check out my original post on the suit, written a couple of days after it was filed last spring, for some background.

In the course of the show, many sins are laid at Monsanto’s feet: that genetically modified crops don’t increase yields as promised, that they may give rise to an organism that causes miscarriages in cattle, that they have fostered a race of super weeds, that Monsanto routinely engages in intimidating tactics, that it has sued thousands of farmers.

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Posted in Environment, Organic Gardening, Podcasts, Politics, The Scary Stuff

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Upcoming podcast: Organics vs. Monsanto

December 16, 2011 by The Manic Gardener

Yesterday I came off a marathon podcast editing session–about 20 hours straight, tacked onto the end of a work day.

It’s not the first time I’ve stayed up all night putting the podcast to bed; this fall I’ve probably been up more Tuesday nights than I’ve slept. But this was a bigger deal than most. This was a show about the suit brought by organic farmers, seed growers, and organizations against Monsanto, the seed company that keeps suing farmers whose fields become contaminated with its genetically modified–and patented–seeds. Continue reading →

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Posted in Environment, Podcasts, Politics

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A Recipe for Childhood Obesity

December 15, 2011 by The Manic Gardener

If you’re low on things to be mad about, I’ve got an article for you. But if your blood pressure is already high, maybe you should pass.

The article, which appeared in the N.Y. Times a couple of Sundays back (Dec. 3, 2011), describes how companies that provide food for school lunches are getting rich turning simple, healthy ingredients into junk food.  How can this be? In “How the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s Lunch,” investigative reporter Lucy Komisar explains all, in an article packed with relevant stats and useful links. I’m giving no more than a summary here. Continue reading →

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Posted in Food & Recipes, News flash!, Politics

Podcast #7 – Permaculture: Everything Counts

December 1, 2011 by The Manic Gardener

Permaculture has to be one of the most interesting gardening movements I’ve discovered recently, and I have to thank Jerome Osentowski and Kareen Erbe hugely for letting me interview them about it. The idea of perennial food gardens delights me, and in permaculture that’s just part of the picture: it’s a whole philosophy of living sustainably, and of getting as much of what you need from your own plot of land as possible. I’m all for that, and as I mention part way through—well, both interviews , I think—it’s given me a name for something I’m already trying to do.

I’m honestly not sure what I was up to when I stumbled onto Jerome Osentowski’s Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, which more or less blew my mind. Four greenhouses, and no power needed from off-site? Figs and passion fruit growing at over 7,000 feet? Hello? Continue reading →

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Posted in Landscaping, Organic Gardening

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