Monthly Archives: May 2016

Monsanto’s Genetically Modified Alfalfa: not worth the risk

31 Tuesday May 2016

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Genetically modified Alfalfa

If you’re over fifty, you have to be wondering about what kind of mess we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. Especially when it comes to GMO

A genetically modified version of alfalfa is now being sold and planted in fields this spring, and its effects could be wide-spread, pernicious, and impossible to reverse.

Alfalfa is a popular “perennial forage crop” eaten by livestock, especially cows, either on pasture or in preserved forms like hay or feed pellets. It is also an important food source for bees. Alfalfa, while being a nutritious animal feed, also adds nitrogen to the soil while it grows and improves soil health and texture by adding organic matter.

Ten years ago, a version of alfalfa was genetically modified to be resistant to Monsanto’s pesticide Roundup, also known as glyphosate. Like other Roundup Ready crops, this genetically modified alfalfa is meant to allow farmers to spray broad-spectrum herbicides to kill weeds without harming the alfalfa crop.

According to Monsanto, the intent is to allow farmers to use less pesticide. But the effect may ultimately be the opposite: while Roundup Ready crops are relatively new, in many places they have already become weeds. If you grow Roundup Ready soybeans in a field one year, and corn the next, leftover soybean seeds can act as herbicide resistant weeds. Moreover, genetically modified traits are not limited to the crops they are put into.

Most domesticated crops we depend on have wild ancestors and wild relatives with whom they exchange genes and as herbicide-resistant genes move into feral plants, farmers will have to spray more herbicide, not less, to kill these new genetically modified weeds.

Genetically modified alfalfa was at first held back from both Canada and the US markets because of deep concerns about the its long-term effects.

There is no way to isolate a genetically modified alfalfa crop

Bees are amazingly effective pollinators: they move pollen many kilometers. Because bees feed and pollinate alfalfa, there is no way to isolate a genetically modified alfalfa crop in an area where bees cannot carry the genes to an unmodified alfalfa flower.

Once planted, there is no possible way to stop the genetically modified trait from spreading to organic and conventional farms and crops.

Many organic dairy farms depend on alfalfa

Alfalfa is a key species in our pasture and hay fields, along with other perennials like clover. Because it is a perennial, it is reliable. Its deep root systems make it resistant to drought and the challenging whether that climate change is already bringing. But again, the genetically modified trait has turned those very qualities against us. Unlike annual crops, which are mostly finished after a single year if not replanted, the genes in perennials like alfalfa will persist forever. Once released, there is no way to contain it.

How this will ultimately affect organic farmers and our certification is unclear, but it will not be good. Conventional farmers and the land itself may ultimately suffer from a crop that will mean more herbicide-resistant weeds and more pesticides sprayed.

JMD

jmdlive@lefuturistedailynews.com

https://jmdlive.com/

King Global Earth & Environmental Sciences Corporation

Hunger in the world

25 Wednesday May 2016

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The world is blighted by hunger, with some countries having almost half their population unable to get enough food on a daily basis. Together, we can indeed eliminate the scourge of hunger.

“Together, we can indeed eliminate the scourge of hunger” – King Global Earth & Environmental Sciences Corporation

There are around 795 million people who are undernourished around the world, the majority of which are in Africa and Asia.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, since 1990, considering a global population growth of 1.9 billion, the reduction in the number of hungry people has been striking. However, progress towards reaching the UN’s food security targets in some countries has been hampered by challenging global economic conditions, extreme weather events and political instability.

Today, Haiti, Zambia and the Central African Republic have the highest rates of undernourishment in the world. In all, seven of the ten most undernourished countries in the world are in Africa. Progress has been hindered by slower and less inclusive economic growth, as well as political instability and in some countries Food insecurity has also been made worse by natural and human-induced disasters.

Of one hundred twenty-nine developing countries monitored, by 2015, only seventy-two had reached the one per cent hunger target that was laid out by the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Important factors were the stable political conditions and economic growth, as well as the “social protection policies” for the vulnerable.

In developing regions, the prevalence of undernourishment, which measures the proportion of people who are unable to consume enough food for an active and healthy life, has declined to 12.9 percent of the population, down from 23.3 percent a quarter century ago.

We must be the Zero Hunger generation

There are moments in history when common icons of that control our lives, are replaced by an empathetic compassion for those who suffer, for those on the fringe of society: the poor, the hungry, the victims of natural disasters and human atrocities and those who live in fear. Every individual deserves to fully live his life. Most, if not all, of the world’s faiths adhere to some form of the “Golden Rule”, to treat other persons as well or better than one is treated, or to some form of exhortations like to proclaim justice, to free the oppressed, to feed the hungry, to care for the poor, and to clothe those who have none.

Every 10 seconds, a five years old or younger child dies of malnutrition.”

Today, 923 million people in the world go hungry every day, most of them in developing countries. Notwithstanding this fact, a third of the food produced in the world never makes it to the consumer.

By the year 2050, the world’s population is expected to grow from about 7.3 billion to 9.6 billion. The challenge we are now facing is to double our worldwide global food production to feed those extra 2 billion people yet to be born.

As the world’s population will grow, many countries will also improve their economy and because of the increase in income of many of their population, dietary changes are to be expected. More people will be able to afford and will want to consume products like meat, milk, eggs, fish, cooking oil and other products previously not affordable.

In order to make that much more product, animals are going to need to be fed more grain, courtesy of agriculture. Who is going to provide the feed-stuff for those animals and fish? It is a real opportunity for all the producers of the world.

King Global Earth & Environmental Sciences Corporation

King Global Earth & Environmental Sciences Corporation can help you feed the world in a profitable way. One of our goal is to educate consumers about the nutritional and other benefits of eating pulse crops, as well as to marshal the capabilities of agricultural research organizations around the world in developing new, improved varieties that will help further global food security and sustainable agriculture.

JMD

jmdlive@lefuturistedailynews.com

https://jmdlive.com/

http://www.kingglobalearth.com/

 

Give Trump the credit

08 Sunday May 2016

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Trump is a political animal

Throughout the primary season, Trump surprisingly demonstrated a never seen before acute political instinct that is hard to match.

During the February Florida Republican debate, Trump was asked about former Mexican President Vicente Fox’s comment that his country wouldn’t pay for Trump’s “fucking wall.”

“The wall just got 10 feet taller,” Trump shot back.

He then called on Fox to apologize for his foul language, reiterated that Mexico would, indeed, pay for the wall and hit Mexico for its countless sins against the United States.

In slapping down the former Mexican president, Trump reiterated and confirmed his toughness and nationalistic fiber.

Trump did the same thing when he turned Ted Cruz’s “New York values” attack into a riff about 9/11.

And again, reaffirming his patriotic values, in response to the San Bernardino terror attack, when he proposed his now infamous temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

Everyone denounced him. Apparently, no one agreed with him.

Trump could not care less. For trump, the emotional punch of the ban, and the way it differentiated him from the other candidates, was the important thing and ultimately, a large part of the Republican voters agreed with him.

In New Hampshire, 65 percent supported the ban, in South Carolina, 74 percent supported it, in New York, 68 percent.

Trump calls it as it is

With no pollsters, no speechwriters, no fundraising staff, little campaign organization, few TV advertisements, no debate prep, Trump has won the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump’s achievement is not so difficult to comprehend.

He did it by pounding a simple, emotive message over and over: “Making America Great Again”. He did it not being afraid of controversy and saying it as it is. It made him stand out from a field of an original field of seventeen candidates.

Trump’s every act of outrageousness reinforced his reputation as the “truth-telling” outsider.

Challenging and changing the rules

Trump while proving to be an exceptionally skilled politician was also fortunate. Not being taken seriously, for most of the primary season, there wasn’t any organized effort against him. He won three out of the first four contests while his rivals squabbled among themselves.

The establishment initially bet on Jeb Bush, and then, tapped out financially and psychologically, did nothing to rally around Cruz, whom many insiders fear and hate more than Trump.

Rubio may have been an option but trying to go against Trump mano to mano was not is greatest idea.

All of sudden, it became clear that the only alternative to a clean Trump nomination was a contested convention.

Trump has changed all the political rules. What he has done is not easily replicable. Now it is on to the next test: Will the Trump’s recipe work in the general election or will he fade away?

It would be foolish to discount his chances.

JMD

JMD is an enthusiastic private and public events speaker, writer, syndicated columnist and social activist who most enjoys evolving in complex interactive situations.

jmdlive@live.ca

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Donald Trump: Defying Gravity

06 Friday May 2016

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Donald Trump: Against all odds

Everyone said it wouldn’t happen. Everyone was wrong.

May 3, 2016, Donald Trump pulls off one of the most unlikely electoral coups of modern times. Toppling the political and media establishment, Trump becomes the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

His campaign initially dismissed as a joke, Trump confounds the pundits to such a degree that all bets are off about how the rest of the 2016 Presidential race might unfold.

‘Thought I’d be going longer’

Even Trump himself seemed surprised by the swiftness at which he locked down the nomination. In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday May 4, Trump said he expected Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton to finish her primary campaign before him. “I’m even surprised,” Trump said. “I thought I’d be going longer, she’d be going shorter.”

But the drudgery of presidential politics leaves no time for relishing victory.

In his first full day as the presumptive nominee, Trump’s campaign had to quickly shift gears from a primary fight to a search for a running mate.

Meanwhile, Trump faces a host of new questions including whether his unorthodox approach to winning the GOP primary will translate into a general election battle against one of the biggest names in politics today: Hilary Clinton.

Starting from a tough place

The latest CNN/ORC poll dated Wednesday May 4 find that Clinton leads Trump 54% to 41% in a potential general election match-up. She is more trusted than him on issues ranging from foreign policy to education and health care.

Still, by a 50% to 45% margin, voters say Trump would do a better job handling the economy. And almost 9 out of 10 voters in the poll called the economy extremely or very important to their vote, outranking any other issue tested in the poll.

The political skills that Trump brought to the primary fight could prove potent in a race already shaping up as a bitter, nasty personal clash between the two presidential candidates.

Up to now, Trump’s tough tactics disrupted one of the most experienced Republican fields of presidential candidates in a generation. He destroyed the political hopes of Jeb Bush with his “low energy” jibe. He destroyed the political hopes of Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio referring to them as “Lying” Ted and “Little” Marco.

Trump is now trying to take a similar approach to Clinton, dubbing her “Crooked Hillary,” accusing her to play “The Women Card”.

Revolutionizing political campaigns

With an spot-on eye for a rival’s weaknesses, Trump revolutionized how campaigns are won, becoming a master of social media, hijacking news agendas with skills honed on a reality television and a mastery of targeted marketing.

And with undeniable political skill, Trump became an earthy cypher for ignored blue collar Americans who revile conventional politicians as they struggle to get by in a wounded economy.

Using just a few issues, like illegal immigration, the toll wreaked on industrial communities by free trade and by playing into a wider sense of national decline with his “Make America Great Again” message, Trump made himself an unstoppable political force. His bite was so intimidating that by the time competitors such as Bush, Cruz and Rubio mustered the courage to criticize his past, his character and his politics, their campaigns were already faltering.

Clinton may not make a similar mistake. In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, she showed no problem hitting Trump. “He’s a loose cannon,” she said. “And loose cannons tend to misfire.”

Even though along the primaries, Trump lifted his vote totals easily above the 50% mark, his core support in the blue collar Republican electorate still represents a minority of opinion in a nation that is becoming more diverse and less white.

Defying rock-bottom approval ratings

Trump enters the general election with rock-bottom approval ratings among Hispanics, African-Americans and women.

His rudimentary policy platforms will come under increasing scrutiny. Then voters will have to decide if they are willing to elect a President whose impact is already reaching far beyond the nation’s borders, triggering palpable concern abroad.

Trump’s critics worry that his political rhetoric on issues from immigration to women’s rights take American politics closer to the dark fringes of demagoguery than it has been for decades and the Democratic barrage has already begun.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren went on the attack soon after Trump’s triumph in Indiana tweeting that Trump built his campaign on “racism, sexism, and xenophobia” and that what happens next “will determine whether we move forward as one nation or splinter at the hands of one man’s narcissism and divisiveness.”

Many Democrats believe that Trump’s victory in the GOP primary means they are almost certain to keep the White House. However, as the past year has proven, they would be unwise to underestimate the power of Trump.

Trump will be the next president of the United States of America.

JMD

JMD is an enthusiastic private and public events speaker, writer, syndicated columnist and social activist who most enjoys evolving in complex interactive situations.

jmdlive@live.ca

http://jmdonline.tumblr.com/

http://lefuturistedailynews.com/

http://news.thefuturistdailynews.com/

https://about.me/jmdlive/