Date: 3/11/2010 8:06:46 AM ( 14 y ) ... viewed 1861 times
5:54 AM
March 11, 2010
I am interested in catching up with Dr. Charles Benbrook,
chief scientist for the organic center. their VIP Dinner
nets the organization near $500,000 fundraising at the
event.
They set out about five or more years ago to
do Mission Organic, 10% by 2010. Last I heard,
we were around 3 %, I want to hear the update.
Some of the best thinkers and PR folks on the organic
side have been donating to this cause, yet where
are the results?
I want to hear how they did, and what they did with
all the money.
Dr. Benbrook is the chief scientist for the Organic Center.
I have been watching the success of the Biotech industry
in helping US policy go toward
GE seeds and their plan for sustainability.
At the recent American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in San Diego, I listened
to the Obama Plan that gears billions into science and tech.
Biotech has the inside track. The past president of
AAAS worked learns toward GE. The next president of
AAAS is Dr. Nina Federoff, author of "Mendel in the Kitchen,"
a scientist speaks on GMO's.
So why is Dr. Charles Benbrook not speaking at AAAS?
This is the most important meeting of science in the nation
and among those in the world. Why is the organic voice
not being heard? The organic side needs to be responsible
for where they are and where they are not.
The President's Bed partner also has a little organic bed
growing on the South Lawn. Keep the Beet Media Star,
The World's First Talking beet plant plans a visit. She feels
safe. The president does not like to eat beets.
Keep the Beet is headed for Hollywood cartoons.
I would recruit her "Rooting" ability if I had a point of view
I wanted to get across to the American public.
FYI, "The Ultimate Gardener", the book that lists
Charlie Nardozzi as the author, mentions Keep the Beet
in my photo bio note. I have six photos in that book.
Peter Vegso, HCI, dedicated The Ultimate Gardener to me.
Thanks Peter. Charlie was a consultant for Michelle Obama
on that organic white house garden.
CAN GE, CONVENTIONAL, AND ORGANIC
FOOD CO-EXIST?
The USDA position is that GE, conventional, and organic
ag can co-exist. That was their opinion in the 1500 page
report that just finished public comment period March 3.
The organic side may need some help from BIO--
The Biotechnology Industry Organication-- to understand
how to promote itself and make sure it does go the way
of other species who do not have strong and effective
communication.
Granted OTA is headed in the right direction
and has been for many years, but why are we not
more effective on the hill?
BIO, the Biotechnology Industry Org, sponsors 1000's of science
teachers across the country. Where is the organic side in the
classroom?
If I cared about organic, I would speak at the annual BIO meeting
and make an alliance. Why is there not more dialogue?
That is what the new dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Food
is all about, that starts here on this Plant Your Dream Blog.
FATHER OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AG SAID
Dr. Robert Fraley, father of Biotech Ag, said that GE and Organic can
co-exist when he spoke in San Diego at the AAAS meeting.
What is Dr Benbrook research on their co-existence?
What happens to all the research that the Organic Center does?
Why is it not out in the marketplace?
Is it out? Am I missing something?
These are questions I have.
I do not blame Monsanto Company for being great at business
and winning over the seed market. They were identified
as the top company in 2009 by Forbes Magazine.
They got that ranking because they know how to do business.
There is about a 91 Billion market for natural products
per a recent report I quoted here from the Fresh Ideas Group.
I am going to Blog on what the the Organic Side are up to in Washington
when I see the OTA (Organic Trade Association) leaders
here at the Natural Product Expo West.
Monsanto has done a great job with getting GE into the
food supply. They are near 90% in some markets.
What is the organic side doing to get up to speed
on their 10% as the Mission Organic touts?
Sara Snow, one of the top hostesses, is a top
gun for organic and green living. She is the daughter
of one of the founders of Eden Foods, a company
I highly admire at NPEW. 100 more Sara Snow's
will make a difference. I understand she was seen
hanging with Keep the Beet at the Hollywood Goes Green
event in 2008. She knows where the power is,
in the organic food.
Those who taste the food in the Fresh Ideas Tent
Thursday (12:30 -5:30 PM) will seen the best the
organic trade has to offer.
I will be bringing some of this food to breakfast here
at the Super 8 tomorrow morning to do an little science
experiment of my own. Would you choose a donut
over fresh berries???
Sara speaks Friday night at the Organic Center VIP Dinner,
and today.
The director of Food Inc also speaks today at 2:30 PM.
I want to catch up with him.
The top VIP's get together for lunch today at
Bob Bob Scowcroft Organic Farm Research Foundation Meet
and Greet Luncheon today, 11:30 AM-1:30 In 201,
Anaheim Convention Center.
I plan to show this Video I made to a couple of my
friends at that luncheon.
I need more financial backing to support the hours
I have been putting into this project.
Did you catch Gary Hirshberg in Food Inc?
Now that is a man who understands marketing.
The EG Mobile just got a new engine.
I am ready to roll at a new level and want to
pay a team of interns for research and writing help
on the Plant Your Dream Blog.
HERE IS THE ROUGH DRAFT
OF A VIDEO I MADE.
I need $800.00 for a new Olympus
that does more professional work.
I want to get over the sound issues.
I have a ton of Youtubes up already
made on my Olymus SP UZ.
THIS GIVES THE GIST OF THE
DIALOGUE ON SCIENCE, ETHICS, AND FOOD
THIS IS THE VIDEO THAT SARA SNOW
MADE FOR THE ORGANIC CENTER.
I DONATED NINE PHOTOS THAT ARE
IN THIS
This is an Video she helped make for the Organic Center
Thanks to researching Alexandra
for pointing this out. Alex was one of
five seed planters in the beet pot
with Dr Robert Fraley. She is a great
organic cooker maker. I ate some.
She will be sending some soon to
Robert and Tami of Monsanto.
Alex organized the eat in outside
of the Convention Center when
Dr. Fraley spoke.
Farmers’ Costs Rise
“Buying seed used to be not terribly costly,” said Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at the Organic Center in Boulder, Colorado, who in December completed a study of 35 years of seed pricing. “Now farmers are locked into these high seed costs on an annual basis.”
The study showed that soybean farmers spent between 4 percent and 8 percent of their farm income on seeds from 1975 through 1997. Last year, farmers who planted genetically modified soybeans spent 16.4 percent of their income on seeds, it found.
Monsanto’s licensing royalty on soybean seeds with the Roundup Ready trait climbed to $15.65 for each 140,000-seed bag last year from about $6.50 a decade ago, according to the owner of one seed company. A bag of Roundup Ready seed sells for about $35 and can plant three-quarters of an acre (0.3 hectare). He asked not to be named because the terms are confidential under his licensing agreement. Monsanto sells him seeds including the genetic trait, which he then reproduces and sells under his own brand, the person said.
I am going to be blogging more on this.
I would like to understand what really happened.
Percy is the poster "child" for drift, but how did
the drift really happen? I want to know.
Again, I want to know what regulations will be in place
for GE, Conventional, and Organic to co-exist?
The FDA is about to get billions when #Bill s-510 passes.
Will some of this go to uphold the organic standard?
If you want a real show, record the upcoming hearings
on #s-510. US BILL # 2749, got by the house without hardly
a peep last July. This is the second part of the bill
that will likely pass within a few days, but set policy
at the local farmers' Markets for decades.
Are you up on s-510? I will write about it here.
This is the Monsanto Company point of view
on Percy:
If you’ve heard much about agricultural biotechnology, you’ve potentially heard of Percy Schmeiser. Schmeiser is a Canadian canola farmer who Monsanto successfully sued for patent violation after unlicensed Roundup Ready canola was found growing on his farm.
More info: Why Does Monsanto Sue Farmers Who Save Seeds?
Starting from when we began our efforts to settle the matter out-of-court, Schmeiser claimed the biotech plants in his fields got there by accident and were not planted by him. It’s a claim he continues to make to this day. He’s become something of a folk hero in some circles, playing the role of David to Monsanto’s Goliath. He’s often quoted in the press and is a frequent speaker around the world at events hosted by groups opposed to agricultural biotechnology.
HERE IS ANOTHER ISSUE I WILL BE RESEARCHING
WITH GEORGE SEIMONS, FOUNDER OF ORGANIC VALLEY
The release of GMOs into our food system reflects the continued failure of the "risk assessment" system that is used by the FDA, USDA and EPA. They continue to allow the release of new technologies into the environment based on a "lack of solid data of harm." It takes years to know if a new product is harmful, yet we release them and live with the consequences later. This terrible system is the opposite of the Precautionary Principle, which says these new technologies are not to be released due to the unknown risk--we do not want to be lab rats!
There are approximately 23 Plant Your Dream Blogs
written between February 18-25 on my experience
at the 176th Annual meeting of AAAS This represents
approximately 60 hours of work. I have
20 more hours of debriefing and followup I would
like to do about the conference.
If you would like to be a sponsor
for these freelance writings that are intended
to further the dialogue, please contact me through the
email above, or through my personal email.
Your name will be listed on
a blog of sponsors of the dialogue, or you may
ask your contribution to remain anonymous.
ART UPLOADED
11:44 AM
February 23, 2010
I was given a United Nations Peace Medal in 1983 by Robert Muller,
then Undersecretary General of the U.N. for the work I would do
in my life. The image is the UN Peace Medal Surrounded by
beet seeds. That story is told here. http://lesliegoldman.com/AboutLeslie/id33.htm
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THE DIALOGUE FOR SCIENCE,ETHICS,
and FOOD
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OFFER THREE PHOTOS AS GIFT ITEMS
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Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an associate professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Email her at dr.freeride@gmail.com.
Category: Communication • Personal • Politics • Research with animals • Scientist/layperson relations • Tribe of Science
Posted on: September 28, 2009 3:34 PM, by Janet D. Stemwedel
At the end of last week, I made a quick trip to UCLA to visit with some researchers who, despite having been targets of violence and intimidation, are looking for ways to engage with the public about research with animals. I was really struck by their seriousness about engaging folks on "the other side", rather than just hunkering down to their research and hoping to be left alone.
The big thing we talked about was the need to shift the terms of engagement.
The mode people seem most used to -- and the one that seems to make the least difference -- is the debate. In a debate, the point is to win. Your aim is to score points, whether positive points for your position or negative points against your opponent. This can have the effect of reducing an exchange to dueling talking-points, my factual claim against your criticism of the source and reliability of that factual claim, and so forth. No one ends up knowing much more than they did when they came to the debate, and none of the participants' minds are likely to change.
I would argue that a better way to engage would be in a dialogue. Rather than setting the participants up as opponents in a point-scoring game, a dialogue makes participants partners in the project of understanding each other (and themselves) better. Dialogue lets you hear what issues are really important to the participants. It lets you explore the reasons they are concerned by various courses of action. It opens up the possibility of finding shared commitments and common ground. It won't magically resolve all conflicts, but holds out some chance of letting all the participants see what the conflicts are really about.
And, dialogue seems like it could lead to such improved understanding, and even to commitments to find ways to work with each other, without bludgeoning anyone either figuratively or literally.
ANTHONY ZOLEZZI SUSTAINABILITY EXPERT
I have been watching the career of Anthony Zolezzi
for numbers of years. He was one of the key players
in the Organic Center Mission 2010. He co-founded
Greenopolis that made a big splash at the NPEW last year.
I here he will not be at the VIP Organic Center dinner
Friday night.
Anthony was converted to organic the day he ate
an organic strawberry and compared it to strawberries
growing in a field that had no butterflies. I am going
to review his book "Pesticide Free Kids" soon.
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