As we watch politicians from ours and other countries, we eventually realise that the future safety of our food, air, water, and life in general will be up to us. No matter what political party in whatever country, most politicians are being lobbied by big oil, big pharma, and all sorts of financial institutions. Those lobbyers have millions of dollars at their disposal to sway politicians. They can infiltrate government departments which can affect every part of our lives, from air quality, to which chemicals can be used to grow our food, to how much plastic or “forever chemicals” are allowed to enter our water, soil, and air.
Many of today’s chemical sprays are derived from poisons invented during WWI and WWII to either kill the enemy or render the soldier useless. Other chemicals were used to defoliate the landscape to make it easier to see the enemy. Some of those chemicals will slowly decompose, while others (forever chemicals) will never decompose or become safe. One of the newer chemical sprays developed after the wars is now very heavily controlled because it has gotten into our streams, lakes, and oceans and it has been proven to cause some amphibians to have both female and male sex parts. Some plastics will never break down, but the plastic will break into microscopic pieces so small they cannot be filtered out of our drinking water and can even be found in our body tissue. Some forever chemicals were invented to make tents and rain coats waterproof and are also used in cosmetics. Those forever chemicals never break down or become safe.
More than 25 years ago, while I was combining a corn test plot, I noticed that some of the corn varieties had zero damage from wild animals, while the non-GMO varieties were severely damaged at the end of the field close to the woods. Nobody told me which varieties were GMO or non-GMO. Ever since that day, I have wondered what those wild animals knew that I didn’t. Now there are more than 30 countries who do not allow any GMO varieties of corn, soybean, canola, wheat, rice, sugar beets, or any food crops to be grown domestically, and a much smaller number who refuse to import GMO crops.
One country let GMO cotton into the country because it was more productive, but the new seed, spray, and fertilizer cost more than the farmer received for the cotton crop in the fall. Farmers began to go bankrupt, loose their farms, and farm suicides escalated. When the company that sold the GMO seed wanted to introduce other GMO food varieties, the farmers went on strike for three years before their government finally gave in to the farmers. Several years ago in the U.S., people who had been exposed to high amounts of glyphosate-based herbicide RoundUp sued the company, linking exposure to cancer. Several billions of dollars of lawsuits have been settled either in court or out of court before they were heard. Many cases are still in court. This is a multi-million dollar industry.
As time went on, weed varieties became immune to those new herbicides, and new blends of those and other chemicals began to be used on farms. Some farm groups and herbicide manufacturers claim that without those chemicals, our world could not feed all the people. Other “neutral” organizations have proven that nearly 50 per cent of all food produced never reaches consumers, because it does not look perfect, the colour is not perfect, there is a lot of waste of food at restaurants, some storage does not keep the foods safe, transportation costs are too high, etc.
The president of that large country just across our border has declared that those chemical sprays that have a “debateable” safety record have been proven safe by the companies that produce them. Hence, they will continue to be used widely across the U.S.. Many other scientists and medical associations have great doubts about the safety of many of the chemical sprays used extensively in the U.S.. Some of those questionable sprays have been given temporary extensions for use in Canada. The new “forever chemical” spray has been cleared for use in certain crops like soybeans in the U.S.. With the use of synthetic growth hormone rBST still accepted in dairy products in the U.S., and those chemical crop sprays still legal for use in the U.S., I will not be eating or drinking anything that comes from the U.S.. Many countries in the world do not accept any alcohol from the U.S. Even California wine (used to be my favourite) is allowed to have over 60 ingredients added without listing them on the label. I still have a long list of food items that I just don’t buy or eat. Anything made from any GMO product is probably sprayed with one of those maybe cancer-causing chemicals and has residues of unknown quantity. We live in a free country, where people can make their own decisions on what they buy or eat. As Dad used to say, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.”
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
