Bees. Butterflies,the GMO Effect?

The story of our lives continues. TheMomsey trusts that the food she eats is healthy. Food is food or it's not! I have read countless news stories on the catastrophic demise of bee colonies, important miniature airborne critters which are central to the health and well being of our food: agriculture, plant species and us. GMO seeds, Roundup, organics, mother nature's pollinators, plants, blossoms and the meat industry are not separate entities but parts of the same basic conundrum referred to as health and human life!

Late last year, when the weird tomato event happened, in my kitchen, I began to think, “What is this?” I took note. Never in my life had an event of this magnitude ever happened to Momsey. It was troubling. Then it happened, again, several days later. Nothing since. Then came the strange looking strawberries whose profiles reminded me of salmon. I only buy organic strawberries when I can, now. (Trusting 'invisible' third parties can be dangerous). Hm. Strange Momsey or strange observations? Are these events all connected in some sinister way? Then I began thinking of the bees. Where have they been hiding? I have not seen them for years. Are they doomed? Are we? Bee deaths are a cyclical thing, some say. I understand yet do not. Is more happening, here, than we realize? I began to worry about the bees, those tiny buzzing flying critters last year. Bees give plants their mission statements by mixing traits from one family with those of another. Bees are responsible for giving us 25-30% of the food we eat. Bees work hard to do their jobs. They do not bite us when we visit their 'living room' provided we do not interfere. But having read so much on flying animal species, on the decline, that pollinate our food, TheMomsey had to take another look. And it was troubling.

It was the early 80's when RoundUp came to my attention, from an ad in Reader's Digest. This new product could kill weeds in between the patio stones, bricks or ground cover. Wow, I thought. Great idea. It was a quick look into a future I knew nothing about. (Momsey was so gullible and naive, back then.) I trust that companies tell the truth, at all times. They are supposed to be selling safe/healthy products to the buying public. I trust that our various levels of governments have laws in place for this to happen. ... We voted these people, now called politicians, into power. We are their employers, are we not? ... There are agencies to monitor the world of free enterprise. I now wonder how free we are when information is kept from us like little children. That is unacceptable! RoundUp was not purchased, that day, decades ago, after reading, “Kills all vegetation”. We stood firm. That is not good. RoundUp is still with us today. It seems to be part of a package deal with other 'cides', on the menu, that are harming bees, butterflies, birds and our food supply. There is something called neonicotinoids, implicated in bee deaths. In the quest to grow more food, resistant to disease, insects and drought for an ever expanding world population, have we gone too far in producing hardier crops? Whatever harms the plants we grow also harms us. They are not mutually exclusive. Are frogs being affected, too, in a similar way? Are we, the trusting public, being duped profoundly while 'walking in the dark?' We have glyphosate, a chemical ingredient, whose trade name is RoundUP, the herbicide designed to kill 'all weeds'. Can this chemical differentiate between weeds and vegetables/fruits?

Strengthening crops through the genetic modification of their seeds is having a profound effect on the innocent bystanders in the game called agriculture and food production. The death of bees, butterflies and other pollinators is troubling. Living in the country puts us in their midst, time and time again. But I never see them. Where are they? Reading about the dire consequences of newer and stronger seed 'coatings' designed to kill bugs, plant diseases and make crops hardier has me wondering, “What is the collateral damage here, to the environment and to us?” Where are those butterflies and bees? Even the birds: cardinals, blue-jays are rarely seen. The frogs. Where are they, too? Are we next? Are the health challenges of celiac disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, diabetes, obesity, the results of a toxic world of food, water and air? 

Genetic modification has become a Pandora's box, none of us envisioned. Science and research supports the mistrust we feel of the food we think we know and eat. Are we too accepting of the blame in the food choices we make? Does home cooking automatically conjure up a more wholesome cornucopia of nutrition? It would seem so, unless we look at some or many of the GMO ingredients we are unknowingly using to make that delicious stew or soup. Should we now look in another direction to the cause of these maladies we have inherited? If some of the food supply is contaminated then it stands to reason that the water table and the air we breathe can't be doing too well, either. ... Are the 'unintended consequences' as mentioned in “The Science of GMOs, Part 2” beginning to unfold? Do we simply ignore all these coincidences and trust 'invisible' third parties, whose jobs are primarily to provide us with safe food? The problems are real and troubling. Campbell's Soup, a 147 year old company, is now beginning to transform itself, going NON-GMO wherever possible and labeling the remainder of its product lineup, GMO. This conglomerate is following Vermont's lead as the state enacts legislation requiring the labelling of GMOs in food, by July 1^st. ... 

Campbell Soup is now doing the right thing for its customers. Yay Team! Ace Bakery began its cleansing process of NON-GMO Verified, this month. To both companies, I salute you! (Get rid of the high fructose corn syrup and other non-ingredients, Campbell's Soup, wherever it is used and we have a deal!) ... We can play with the truth when our children are young, tell them what to do, what to think, what and who to believe. But eventually, one day, our children grow up! Momsey is now all grown up!