BU research supports that Agrofest started in 2005. It means by any reasonable expectation the objectives of the event should be starting to bear fruit.
What are the objectives?
- To demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between agriculture and the community.
- To highlight the impact of agriculture on other economic sectors.
- To cater to the wide and divergent interests of the Barbadian public.
- To demonstrate the agricultural career opportunities for young people.
- To demonstrate the importance of agriculture in feeding and providing economic support to the family.
- To portray agriculture in a fun and interesting way.
Source: BAS website
The blogmaster respectfully suggests that if we review economic indicators in listed in recent Central Bank reports, there has been no positive movement in the economic indicators measuring agriculture output. The blogmaster agrees attending Agrofest 2020 was a satisfying social event to take the family for a couple of hours.
What say you?
Good QUESTIONS. This is but another example of one of BARBADOS MAIN FAILURES, COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS. When they set up these type of initiative/programs the facilitators consider the operation COMPLETE after initial setup with no future followup or evaluation assessments of thier effectiveness. It becomes an annual function with little or no assessment of ROI(Return On Investment). It basically becomes an annual government political PHOTO OP and BRAGGING affair.
To use the blogmasters quote, SAME OLD SAME OLD.
The blogmaster respectfully suggests that if review economic indicators in a recent Central Bank, there has been no positive movement in the economic indicators measuring agriculture output……(Quote)
What is this in simple Engish? Should we be polite, or call out illiteracy?
What is this in simple Engish? Should we be polite, or call out illiteracy? {Quote}
@ Hal Austin
There ain’t nobody on BU whose structure of sentences and usage of the English Language are worse than Mariposa’s.
SO HOW COME YOU NEVER, EVER ASK HER NONE OF THOSE SILLY QUESTIONS or IMPLY she is ILLITERATE, BUT DOES GIVE HER “SPOT ONS” INSTEAD?
YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A DECEITFUL HYPOCRITE WHO LIKES TO ATTACK AND INSULT CERTAIN PEOPLE.
@R.G
Do not be distracted, try to comment on the substantive point.
Too err is human.
Good that Wily despite the omission used context to understand the point.
Prior to “Agrofest” there was the Annual Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition in Queens Park.
those are some beautiful black bellies in that file photo. almost a shame to eat them. is sheep meat still called mutton or it is lamb?
agrofest sounds v interesting and looks like the kids enjoy it.
Were any financial institutions there to offer start up capital to potential farmers?
Did government have a booth offering loans through any of its funding institutions to current farmers for water storage devices etc?
So other than a display what actually took place to take agriculture forward?
@John A
What are farmers doing to create marketable business plans? Do you know?
I think the Wily ran off the wrong track
David
There is also the one for manufactures (BMEX I think it is called), same can be said. I think thing are down because of the economic conditions + other conditions some of which other mentioned yesterday. These EXPOs should not be judge like the Wily.
@John2
BIMEX and AGROFEST are perceived as social events on the annual calendar by many. How are the two events translating to change in how we do business in manufacturing and agriculture?
@ hants
I remember a very long time ago they used to have an agriculture show some where in st phillip I think.
same kind of thing like what is now in the park.. I was too young to give any more details but I remember leaving the schools in a bus and seeing all the animals
Was there a Home Agricultural Station?
Home is the name
Seeing that the world is potentially facing a global pandemic, the issue of food security weighs heavily on my mind. What if the global food supply chain is disrupted?
@fortyacres
Global supply change is already being disrupted.
@ David.
The problem is most farmers know how to farm and don’t get too involved with a business plan. So everybody grows say tomatoes the same time causing a glut and a fall in prices. Few however have greenhouses so then rain falls and tomatoes disappear for 4 months, or sell at $7 a pound if you can find them. Following this someone will say there is no money in tomatoes. Really?
Point is there is no plan or body that can help guide them either. I keep saying government needs to enter into a large scale green house project with say 3 sizes of green houses for rent. I mean they have the biggest land bank on the island and there is no shortage of good agricultural land lying idle either.
Action vs talk in other words.
@John A
The operative word in the comment is marketable plans. Farming is not about digging holes, sowing seeds and turning on the sprinkler these days.
Are we there yet?
Is barbados readily prepared for the social and economic impact from the Coronavirus
With China literally having to closed its doors to major supply markets
It means that the chain of productive supply would be broken and small economies would be caught in a dragnet of having to provide many necessary supplies for their populace which can include food
@David. Maketing plan is not easy as sound. Even developed countries with their technology and analytics failed regularly to optimise and maximise supply with demand in the agriculture sector.
Over fifty years now I hear the same complain about the same problems in the agri sector to no avail. Number one on the list is issue of matching supply with demand at the right time.
@David. Agriculture is a technical and scientific endeavor and at the same time one of the most risky of businesses. That is why it is the most subsided sector by the government in most countries. And not only that, food security is paramount for any credible sovreign state.
We in Barbados, should be at least 50% sufficient in fruits, tubers, other starcy food, vegetables, and meat.
@Mariposa. NO COUNTRY IS FULLY PREPARED.
@ Forty,
Don’t exaggerate the food security argument. That emerged only in the Second World War. As to subsidies to farmers, the US is the biggest culprit, then the UK. Farmers are greedy and hold the nation to ransom.
We have had this argument before on BU, with a UK farmer from Kent.
@David. Growing up with my granparents in rural BIM over 60 years we were self-sufficient. I never felt hunger. Ground provisions, bananas, plantains, legumes, fruits, vegetables etc you name it we had it in the field. Not to mention plenty of free-range fowls, goats, and over a dozen pigs. We always had meat ( pork) cured in smoked in the kitchen. I really miss those days.
@fortyacres
We have reached the tipping point. It is time for the government to put up or let the people starve. We find millions to subsidize airlift and waive millions in taxes but underwriting initiatives to feed ourselves?
Nothing symbolises British fears of a standard-slashing US trade deal better than chlorinated chickens: those zombie birds, barely able to move, cluck or feed, stuffed with chemicals that force them to grow to unbelievable sizes, sitting in their own waste, covered in sores rather than feathers. At the end of their miserable life of confinement, they are washed in chlorine or a similar chemical to get rid of the bacteria that infect them.
In fact, the wash is believed to hide rather than eliminate some bacteria, potentially driving much higher rates of food poisoning in the US, not to mention the appallingly treated workers in the industry who suffer “rashes, burns, destruction of the eye tissue, difficulty breathing, and inflammation of the respiratory system” as a result of exposure.
But chicken is only the tip of the iceberg. Despite government claims, here are five other unpleasant foods that could make their way to our menus as part of a UK-US trade deal.
Antibiotic meat
Much US meat is produced on an industrial scale, with conditions as bad as those in the chicken sheds. In particular, hormones, steroids and antibiotics are regularly used to make animals bigger and faster, and to prevent them getting ill in the unnaturally close conditions in which they are kept. Many cows and pigs never see sunlight, walk freely or eat grass. Many of the chemicals used are bad for us too – antibiotic overuse is threatening to make these vital drugs useless, and to bring down a pillar of modern medicine. Another chemical, ractopamine, is regularly fed to industrially farmed pigs in the US, despite making the animals collapse, turn aggressive, suffer liver and kidney dysfunction, and even die. But it probably affects humans too, which is why not just the EU but also Russia and China have banned this dangerous chemical, as well as US pork that contains it.
GM foods
The majority of US processed foods contain genetically modified ingredients, unlike British food. The US is demanding a “science-based” approach to food. This sounds good, but in trade deals “science-based” is a shorthand for more genetically modified food and more intensive chemical use. It contrasts with the EU’s precautionary principle, which takes a cautious approach to health risks and bans foods where there’s a credible risk to health. In the US, the balance of proof works the other way, and there is a high barrier that has to be passed before “harm” translates into regulation. Lead paint, banned in most of Europe before the second world war, was not prohibited in the US until 1978. Boris Johnson and his lead negotiator to the EU have talked about the need for the UK’s approach to food standards to be “governed by science”. GM is coming this way.
US rules allow milk to have nearly double the level of somatic cells – white blood cells that fight bacterial infection – that the UK allows. In practice, this means more pus in our milk, and more infections going untreated in cows. Much US milk would be deemed unfit for human consumption in Britain. Vegans don’t escape unscathed, because the US allows far more pesticide residue on fruit and vegetables, and allows 72 chemicals banned in the EU, including some responsible for serious harm. That’s before we get to the truly horrific – the rat hair, insect fragments and excrement traces that the US allows in small amounts in food.
Unsafe baby food
Even baby food carries higher risks in the US. In Britain, baby food has special standards including a complete ban on artificial colours and E-numbers, very low maximum levels of pesticides and limits on added sugar. The US has no specific regulations for baby food. A recent test of baby foods in the US found that 95% contained toxic metals, with 73% containing traces of arsenic. While the amounts may be small, the lack of tight regulation on US baby foods, and the certainty that sugar is often added to toddler snack food, should cause deep disquiet.
All-American Stilton cheese and Cornish pasties
Britain currently protects certain foods to ensure they’re made to specific standards and to promote local farming and industry. Think Cornish pasties, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Scottish wild salmon and Stilton blue cheese. In trade talks to date, the US has “pressed the UK to move away from current EU approach on generic terms”. American companies would be able to produce Cornish pasties on a massive scale and sell them back to us. The US also wants to “eliminate … unjustified labelling” saying it unfairly discriminates against American foods and, incredibly, the administration “view[s] the introduction of warning labels as harmful rather than as a step to public health”.
These are not marginal concerns for the US – food is not an aspect of a future deal that Britain will be able to simply opt out of. It is central to US objectives that call for “greater regulatory compatibility to reduce burdens associated with unnecessary differences in regulations and standards” including “a mechanism to remove expeditiously unwarranted barriers that block the export of US food and agricultural products”. The US trade deal is a threat to our food standards and our farmers, and the US will not sign a deal that doesn’t have food standards in it.
@Hal. I am sorry, but I have to emphasise food security. Even if it meant, over time we become sufficient in at least vegetable production. Going forward, we certainly will have to change our taste.
Forty acres
Not being an alarmist but more countries are better prepared for food shortages in a time of crisis
Your response speaks well to many in barbados who belives that barbados is an island unto itself and nothing that affects global markets can affect barbados
This crisis is a crisis of global proportions where the effect of China being one of the world’s leaders in manufacturing and productivity can have an effect to small islands nations similar to famine as it closes it supply doors
Not to mention grocery shelves having dwindling inventory and which can be a cause for them to fold.
In the USA there has already been stores where certain food items are hard to find and when asked when the supply would be in stock
Management replies are they do not know
The sad part with all the negative fall out which is happening in international countries this govt remains stoic and lackadaisical about telling the overall truth to the people
This is more than a health crisis but a virus which carries with (it )a social and economic impact without people becoming sick because of the virus
@Forty
What are you emphasising about food security?
@Mariposa. You are way off. Where did I implied that Barbados is immune to global shocks of this nature? I simply itoned that no country ( not even the great USA) could fully handled a full blown coronavirus epidemic.
@ Hal March 2, 2020 3:45 PM
” chlorinated chickens: those zombie birds, barely able to move, cluck or feed, stuffed with chemicals that force them to grow to unbelievable sizes, sitting in their own waste, covered in sores rather ”
Contrary to what you and people in UK are deriding.it is perfectly safe to use an acid-wash to remove bacteria such as E.coli which form attachment to the epidermis of the bird that are extremely difficult to remove by normal processing . The use of organic acid such acetic acid has been long recognized as a method of decontaminating the surface of birds of pathogenic bacteria. The efficacy of the organic acid wash can be increased by substituting a hydrogen atom in the methyl group of acetic acid (vinegar by a chlorine atom) eg. CH3COOH (vinegar/acetic acid) + Cl2(chlorine)= CH2Cl COOH( mono-chloro-acetic acid). When mixed and sprayed on the surface of slaughtered birds, the substituted acid forms an unstable compound of hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a weak acid that forms when chlorine dissolves in water, and itself partially dissociates( resonance dissociation), forming hypochlorite, ClO−. HClO and ClO− are oxidizers, and the primary disinfection agents of chlorine solutions. I suppose there will be talk of not drinking potable water which has been chlorinated to prevent the spread of water borne diseases. Were it not for chlorination of potable drinking water, a lot of people would die. The levels at which the chlorination is used is perfectly safe for the average person. Having said all of the fore going Chlorine when used at 1000ppm is carcinogenic. At levels of 1-200ppm it is perfectly harmless as demonstrated by risk assessment studies.. The question I am posing is this : if it is okay to drink chlorinated water shouldn’t it be okay consume acid washed poultry? The main reason why acid wash has be used is the fact that the average consumer is sloppy when it comes to food safety. For example ,a knife is used to dissect a bird and the unwashed knife is then used to prepare salads. There is also the problem of not properly cooking the meat.
Wasn’t there a mad cow disease in the UK? Wasn’t there the horse meat scandal? Some years ago there was an E.coli outbreak in Scotland. What about the foot and mouth disease outbreak? People in glass houses should not throw stones, that is a moral one would do well to bear in mind.
what is wrong with GM foods? GM foods are merely the speeding up of classical breeding techniques. For example you want to breed a cow for improved milk attributes. From your records you select you best cow(milk production wise) and cross it with a bull of proven pedigree. The F1 cross might have the attributes you are looking for, but in most cases such will not happen. The gene for improved milk is linked to traits that are not desired. You then to do what is known as back crossing to either the cow or the bull. Several such back crossings may have to be done before the desired trait is made. Might take twenty or more years. With GM you know the gene, you cut it out enzymatically and insert it . bingo problem solved. Hal stop being a Luddite.
@ Robert
Not me. Argue with the EU scientists.
As I have on previous occasions AGROFEST is a waste of time. As a final year Agriculture student in 1971, Tom Henderson, Professor of Agricultural extension explained to the class why it was the case. I have alluded to his reasons elsewhere on this Blog. Elsewhere on this Blog I have said that James Paul has not got a clue about where the thing should go :He first has go and learn agriculture science. THE BAS has been used as a political stepping stone for the last thirty-odd years
@ Hal March 2, 2020 5:26 PM
Must confess that I glanced at the article got the rough gist of the matter. I am glad that you are not a Luddite. If there was regular shortages of food The UK and Europe would be singing from a different hymn book.
“The blogmaster respectfully suggests that if review economic indicators in a recent Central Bank, there has been no positive movement in the economic indicators measuring agriculture output…(Quote)
@Hal Austin March 2, 2020 7:04 AM “What is this in simple Engish?”
Agriculture int looking too good.
@Hal Austin March 2, 2020 2:53 PM “Farmers are greedy and hold the nation to ransom.”
Farmers are not greedy. Fat people are greedy. They want a full guts 3 times a day, and they want to pay way too little.
Food is life.
How much is life worth?
@fortyacresandamule March 2, 2020 3:01 PM “@David. Growing up with my granparents in rural BIM over 60 years we were self-sufficient. I never felt hunger.”
Me neither. And until i was an adult I thought that t was so for everybody. I’ve still never been hungry. Still grow much of my own food,
How is it that three restaurants in barbados put their employees on the bread line and there is not the usual Shock and awe responses coming from the BU rumshop
These three most likely are casualties of the Bert program
A program which has lend itself to causing high prices
A program which has taken money out of peoples pocket
A program which all by itself has set barbadian households on a path to poverty
There will be no economic recovery with Bert
@robert lucas
Talking about acid washing chickens and acetic acid/vinegar.
Is this why our mothers “lime and salted” the meat and then washed and seasoned it before cooking?
I’ve heard that the Brtish have had to re-intoduce domestic science in all public schools because so many young people never learned how to cook.
We are talking about robotics in Barbados. I am not a Luddite, I have nothing against robots and robotics, but i wonder how many of our young men ad women, say those under age 25, know how to prepare a nutritious, tasty, inexpensive meal?
Or do they think that in the short term they will be able to buy a robot to do it for them?
@ Mariposa
Spot on.
@ Mariposa March 2, 2020 6:23 PM “How is it that three restaurants in barbados put their employees on the bread line and there is not the usual Shock and awe responses coming from the BU rumshop These three most likely are casualties of the Bert program A program which has lend itself to causing high prices A program which has taken money out of peoples pocket”
So didn’t Cin-Cin and company say that their business was mostly dependent on the tourist market?
So tell me Mariposa how many Bajans can afford to go out to dinner at $125 USD per plate.
Certainly not me
@ Silly Woman
Spot on.
It is amazing the only source of info about this matter for some of these overseas commenters is Facebook and the newspaper yet they feel embolden to pontificate with authority about every Rh topic in Barbados especially if it is negative.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/03/02/workers-in-search-of-answers-after-sudden-closure-of-three-restaurants/
Workers in search of answers after sudden closure of three restaurants
In a statement issued today, Chief Executive Officer Joanne Pooler blamed the closure of the restaurants on a significant drop in visitor spend over the last 12 months, a decline in the British Pound Sterling exchange rate and increased taxes on tourism-related restaurants.
@ S March 2, 2020 6:27 PM
Correct and also as a tenderizer. Also to improve the taste.unless you are accustomed to eating unseasoned meats. The latter would take some time for one to become accustomed.
The last time we had a big family “do” we had to cap it at $50 USD per plate, plus drinks.
Because after the “do” is done we still have to buy soap, toilet paper, bread, milk and pay for electricity and water.
$125 USD per plate int for most of we, not even for a wedding, graduation or 25th anniversary.
We might go up to $125 USD per plate for a small 50th anniversary party, small because 50 years on most of our elders and most of our friends are dead and don’t need to be entertained.
Gotta be practical.
Thanks Robert. in food preparation i still mostly follow the old fashioned ways of my fore mothers.
Oh and the Chief ex also forgot the numerous taxes govt placed on tourist / industry from them screwing a light bulb into a lamp to flushing the toilet
Govt made a decision to pay Bert first and let the crumbs fall off the table for all and sundry to fight over and the result is disaster
Today is a huge example of showing govt they cant have it both ways
Mia deceptive practices are beginning to bite her in the arsee
Mia is not an economist she will be remembered as the Butcher of the barbados economy
How come some people could just establish a pig farm with 500 pigs right in the midst of a residential district and the neighbors have to complain about the stench that is affecting their lives?
To add insult to injury the Gov’t closed a similiar one at the same location sometime ago.
I can’t kill a pig in my backyard but a pig farm no problem
@ac
“Mia is not an economist she will be remembered as the Butcher of the barbados economy”
Unfortunately the “Butcher” has already been reserved for Big Sink. He wrote his name on history’s page long before the former MoE, grabbed the prime ministerial reins.
Shut your mouth and just gatherin. Your money is all we want from you.
Here is what Jeremey Stephens said about the closures
Today probably marks ten years I did telling wunna done off with reporting tourism arrivals alone. When more of this happens then you’ll realise that going after this doesn’t reflect quality:
It is amazing the only source of info about this matter for some of these overseas commenters is Facebook and the newspaper yet they feel embolden to pontificate with authority about every Rh topic in Barbados especially if it is negative.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MAYBE YOU MEANT.
It is amazing the only source of info about this matter for some of these overseas commenters is Facebook and the newspaper yet they feel embolden to pontificate with authority about every Rh topic in Barbados especially if it is TRUTH
David March 2, 2020 7:30 PM
It is amazing the only source of info about this matter for some of these overseas commenters is Facebook and the newspaper yet they feel embolden to pontificate with authority about every Rh topic in Barbados especially if it is negative
But David how come u and other bajans can pontificate on Trump policies
Yet none of wunna dont live in the USA
I gather yours and barbadians living on the island sources would be Fb and news outlets
Makes me wonder why u david makes such asinine comments
From my vantage point
Mia in two years destroyed the barbadian houshold placing the economy further downward into a culdesac
For what it is worth to quote those who oppose Stuart and condems him for not reviving the barbados economy
Stuart took ten years… and Mia with all the experts and technocrats available to make light work destroyed what was left of the barbados economy and many households in( tow) Two RH years
Cant imagine what the other three yearswould become
Hopefully Mia might be able to use more photo ops by which she can charm the people if they choose to be so foolish
Interesting that a newspaper would be cited as a source of information that people would rely on – ah know we scraping the bottom of the barrel when some of us have to depend on what is reported in the paper.
From now on I’m going to pay more attention to the viral videos that are in circulation as publicized by the former Communications guru from the BWA who was explaining the lack of information in the Press about the recent traffic changes.
We have been talking about linkages between agriculture and tourism since at least the 1970’s. The bureaucrats quite simply will not facilitate the growth of bajan farmers for purely sociological reasons. . Eg. Ministry of agriculture is sitting on a proposal for insurance that will compensate farmers for losses caused by a predetermined weather related event, egotistical excessive rainfall beyond a predetermined amount. Let’s say five inches of rain in two hours. The farmer would have bought the amount of insurance coverage that allows him/her to recover from the event. The event occurs , the off shore agency confirms the event triggered. The policy pays the face amount. Endless discussion. The insurance is already at work elsewhere in the Caribbean, but in Barbados there is now talk of insuring hoteliers against beach erosion. I hope someone will explain if the same model is being used. It’s the sociology. The bureaucrats will NEVER facilitate linkages that will compensate bajan farmers for their HARD work and this includes the bureaucrats in the financial industry. After 911 there was also the song and dance about food security. Things settled down to normal. Food security vanished in the rear view mirror. It’s the bureacrads and the sociology that need calling out.
Good point.
When Sandals had the fight with last government about including more local produce in food procurement, there was high hope we would have been further along regarding linkages with agriculture and tourism. In 2020 were are still here.
For example not egotistical
But David how come u and other bajans can pontificate on Trump policies
Yet none of wunna dont live in the USA
I gather yours and barbadians living on the island sources would be Fb and news outlets
Makes me wonder why u david makes such asinine comments
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MARIPOSA THEY WILL SAY THAT YOU ARE NOT BOWLING YORKERS AT THEIR TOES BUT PELTING WHICH IS A NO BALL WHICH IS WHY HE CHOOSES TO GLOSS OVER YOUR COMMENT.
HE IS A REAL HYPOCRITE THAT IS NOT LIVING IN REALITY..
Eg. Ministry of agriculture is sitting on a proposal for insurance that will compensate farmers for losses caused by a predetermined weather related event, egotistical excessive rainfall beyond a predetermined amount. Let’s say five inches of rain in two hours. The farmer would have bought the amount of insurance coverage that allows him/her to recover from the event. The event occurs , the off shore agency confirms the event triggered. The policy pays the face amount
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
THIS WOULD BE A MONUMENTAL STEP FORWARD.
MAYBE THE MINISTER NEEDS A LITTLE GREASE TO SIGN OFF LIKE DONVILLE INNISS.
@ Baje
Whu happen wid you?
Dem gine say dat you writing de ole man and now talking like he!
You ent see how de second of de Rented Jackasses get call back to cuss you?
De ole man ent going write much causing you got everything under control
Heheheheh
@ Piece
Just watch the ball. Recently saw a for sale sign :
Apologist for sale: Contact BU
Just watch the ball………….
Steuspe, some learned from your former boss the late Sir Richie.
@ David March 2, 2020 7:30 PM
Shows the folly of having a one-foot developmental policy.
Like I have stated we diversified the economy and ended up with one sector. Remarkable.
A multi billion industry that should have been the cash cow for our culture and agriculture industries ended up in the hands of expatriates and high end jobs for party hacks from within the now fully exposed decadent Duopoly.
We talk about heritage tourism when in fact the national trust chose to protect the history of one group within the society. We collectively destroyed the workmanship of our forefathers to satisfy the greed of so-called investors. Today we scramble to get a little walk path to our beaches.
We have some pure bred I’ll informed jokers preaching the further exploitation of workers. We have blamed public servants , under paid workers and free education for the masses as the main culprits while we have given a pass to a parasitic traditional private sector and a visionless political class.
We are what we eat. The apologists find themselves in quick sand and the comedians are realizing it’s not so funny anymore. Regardless of where we live all Barbadians with access to modern information tools are informed. Childish attempts to silence them are futile. How often we hear that somebody living in Brooklyn knows about something that happens in Barbados before somebody living in the country.
Climb some more …….. climb some more ….continue to expose your ……….brilliance.
@ Piece the Legend March 2, 2020 10:04 PM
As you all know, my comments are always strictly neutral and balanced. I don’t speculate, I stick to the facts. Today, however, I cannot help but share my theory with you: Piece The Legend could be Charles Jong. How do I come to this conclusion? Well, both are grandmasters of social media, well-versed in digital technology and masters of camouflage and deception.
Didn’t you also notice how efficiently and focused Piece has been in destroying the DPL before the last elections with his picture campaign? He virtually defeated the DLP on his own. And shortly after the election, he turned around and launched his constant attack on our beloved Prime Minister. There’s only one explanation for this. He’s supposed to be testing ministerial loyalty for his boss. People suspected of writing anonymously on BU and blaspheming the boss. That’s why Piece is always trying to tempt Tron. But Tron is only an attentive and neutral observer, who has no stake in politics.
@ Dr. Lucas
Dr. Lucas, you can take your GM crops and seeds and stick them “where the sun don’t shine.” That way, in perpetual darkness at least, without a glimmer of sunlight, they will die off before causing more misery, hardship and grief for the greater mass of humanity while depriving of revenue the few, miserable, mercenary, psychopathic, poison dealing corporations who, by and large, are doing their best to control the world’s food supply for their own immense profits (and to mankind’s detriment) with their patented GM products.
The Battle Over Genetically Modified Organisms
by Howard Straus
The “big six” manufacturers of genetically modified seeds, have used their seemingly limitless funds to force GMO agriculture on the entire US and are on track to extend its forcible conversion of the world’s crops to all other countries. They have used their economic and marketplace power, along with massive government influence, to crush farmers and organizations who refuse to use GMO seeds.
They continue their goal of a complete takeover of American food agriculture by gradually purchasing the seed companies that would otherwise provide an alternative seed source for farmers averse to GMO crops.
Foxes in the FDA Henhouse
The biotech industry has often made representations about GMO products that have proven false in the long run, proving that they either have not tested their product properly or are lying about the results. This is highly disturbing, given that one of the representations they have made is that GMO crops are safe for human and animal consumption.
The FDA has relied totally on these representations to approve the crops for use in agriculture and food production, yet no independent testing of the crops has ever been done. Monsanto claims that their crops are “substantially identical” to the unmodified crops when pressed for safety testing, yet claim that the crops are different enough from natural crops to warrant patent protection. At very least, one of these two assertions must be false.
When asked about whether their GMO crops were safe,Monsanto’s Director of Public Communications went on record saying, “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the F.D.A.’s job” (Philip Angell, Monsanto’s director of corporate communications. “Playing God in the Garden” New York Times Magazine, Oct 25, 1998.)
For its part, the FDA seems to have abdicated its position as guarantor of food safety, too. “Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety” (FDA, “Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties” [GMO Policy], Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 104, 1992, p. 229.)
(Emphasis added in the above paragraphs, by me GreenMonkey)
Do the words “catch” and “twenty-two” come to mind?
More: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/battle-over-genetically-modified-organisms
By the way, on another important topic, Coronavirus. Everybody should check out the recent articles on the home page at the same web site, i.e. GreenMedInfo, about the success doctor’s and hospitals in China have recently reported treating severe case of coronavirus/pneumonia with high doses of vitamin C and without residual side effects. In extreme cases it might take up to 12,000 or 24000mg/day administered by IV to bring patients around.
@ Green Monkey March 4, 2020 4:38 PM
I am aware of the actions of companies like Monsanto. Their actions do not gainsay the benefits to be derived from GM technology. You can shout as much as you like GM is here to stay . I do not hear you keeping noise about the use of insulin which since it has been made by genetically modified E.coli bacteria, has seen a reduction in price locally .Get off of your high horse ;come down to earth. Stop being a Luddite.
@ Green Monkey March 4, 2020 4:38 PM
” i.e. GreenMedInfo, about the success doctor’s and hospitals in China have”
If I were you I would not take the above very seriously.. The first person to extol the miracle properties of Vitamin C was the double Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling in the 1950 ‘s: he said that high dosages would cure cancer. At a time like this one will hear all sorts of claims. Any how, one has to take claims from China with a pinch of salt.
I have posted this excerpt also under the Coronavirus Blog (BU).
Leading Harvard doctor claims coronavirus isn’t as deadly as first feared and death rate will be less than 1% – far lower than the World Health Organization’s figures of 3.4%
Dr Jeremy Samuel Faust said people should not be anxious about the outbreak and stop hoarding food and masks
He claimed that the coronavirus death rate is less than 1 percent – far lower than the World Health Organization’s alarming figures of 3.4 percent
The doctor slammed the ‘frightening numbers’ which overstate the risk
Faust said that looking at the doomed Diamond Princess cruise ship gives a better indication of how fatal the disease is than global statistics
Around 705 passengers out of the 3,711 on board the boat caught coronavirus
Only six people from the boat have died, giving a death rate of 0.85 percent, and all deaths are in people over 70
He casts doubt on China’s death toll, saying many happened in areas where the death rate is already higher than the norm and respiratory issues are rife
He also pointed out that 25,000 people die in China every day, while just 25 coronavirus deaths were reported per day at the height of the outbreak
Instead of stockpiling food, Faust said the public should be helping the elderly and infirm who are most at risk
By RACHEL SHARP FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 02:25 GMT, 5 March 2020 | UPDATED: 02:25 GMT, 5 March 2020
robert lucas
March 4, 2020 11:22 PM
All people over seventy if infected will have a hard time (including myself) and a number of Bloggers in fighting off the infection.Look on the bright side and do not worry unduly. As a scientist one has to be dispassionate.
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@Robert Lucas.
Dr Lucas, Notice from my first post the apparent absolute, mind boggling stupidity of having a situation where the FDA, regulator of food products to ensure damaging substances are kept out of the US food supply, says it has no obligation to ensure the safety of the new GMO foods, because it is the duty of the producer of the GMO seeds and crops to ensure they are safe. While as far as the biggest promoter and producer of GM products at the time, Monsanto, is concerned, their only duty was to make as much money as possible selling the stuff and safety be damned, that was the FDA’s responsibility to look after a trifling thing like the safety of their own Monsanto products. And at the time it is on the record that the FDA’s own scientists were calling for stringent and extensive testing of GMO foodstuffs before they were allowed on the market and GM seeds were let loose in the environment. However they were overruled by the FDA brass..
Can you imagine the outright jackassery of the FDA willingly turning over the safety of the USA’s food supply to a company like Monsanto with a long and distinguished track record as a producer of chemicals of releasing damaging chemical pollutants into the environment, causing extensive damage to the environment and to human health, and then shirking any responsibility for the damages it had unleashed on the public.
See: startpage(DOT)com/do/dsearch?query=monsanto+history+of+pollution&cat=web&pl=opensearch
It reminds me of the situation with Boeing, where the federal regulators, the FAA, turned much of the safety verification of the 737 Max over to Boeing and was content to let Boeing guarantee the safety of their product. In the FAA’s favor, at least until recently Boeing had a sterling reputation of engineering fine aircraft, which unfortunately they have managed to, if not destroy, at least set back considerably, with the 737 Max fiasco. The only record Monsanto had going for it when the FDA turned over responsibility to it for guaranteeing GMO food safety was its record of making money by spreading chemical pollution and then denying it had any responsibility for paying to fix the damages and harm it caused out of its ill gained profits.
The thing is, Boeing when it was caught producing a faulty product, could be forced to recall that product and ensure the faulty planes were kept out of the air. Unfortunately with GMO seeds and crops once they are unleashed into the environment they can’t be recalled in a similar, relatively easy fashion. Once they are out there getting them out of the natural environment would be like trying to get the toothpaste back into the tube.
And yes there are novel health related problems with GMO food products, regardless of denials to the contrary by the GMO pushers. See:
Scientist warns scrapping the EU’s strict GMO rules threatens health
Napier strikes a patronizing note, saying, “Michael’s views on the ‘sanctity’ of the genome, while well intentioned, are outdated and prone to scaremongering.” He also calls Dr Antoniou “an outlier”.
Let’s put aside the gratuitous insult, which is a sure sign that Napier has lost the scientific argument. What the article doesn’t mention – and what Napier also ignores – is the large number of scientists who share Dr Antoniou’s concerns about the safety of genetic engineering. These will include the many scientists who have published feeding studies or scientific reviews drawing attention to the unexpected toxic and allergenic effects found in animals fed GM crops. So when it comes to GM food safety, there are considerable numbers of “outliers”.
Unfortunately it is our experience that plant genetic engineers happily admit to never reading animal feeding studies and see no reason why they should. Napier himself appears to have no expertise in toxicology or human and animal health. Dr Antoniou, on the other hand, co-authored a book that summarises animal feeding studies showing problems with GM foods.
The adverse effects found in these studies are nothing to do with what Napier terms the “sanctity” of the genome, and everything to do with biological toxicity. There is no need to “believe” that GM foods are bad in order to understand that they have caused liver and kidney toxicity and immune responses – all common effects of ingesting these foods.
https://gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/19295-scientist-warns-scrapping-the-eu-s-strict-gmo-rules-threatens-health
To lurkers on this thread. The GMO pushes have millions if not billions of dollars to push their pro GM propaganda, do yourself a favour and keep any eye on sites like Gmowatch(dot)org for the other side of the GMO story . As was stated in the Hindustan Times:
“There are over 500 research publications by scientists of indisputable integrity, who have no conflict of interest, that establish harmful effects of GMO crops to human, animal and plant health, and on the environment and biodiversity… On the other hand, virtually every paper supporting GM crops is by scientists who have a declared conflict of interest or whose credibility and integrity can be doubted.”
US is trying to control our food production Hindustan Times, August 7, 2014
Because the agro/chem/GM seed/GM food companies like Bayer, Cargill etc buy tremendous amounts of advertising from the media, don’t count on the mainstream media to bring you the “other side” of the GM story.
Vitamin C Saves (New Zealand) Man Dying of Viral Pneumonia
Written By: Dr. Jeffrey Dach, MD
The Allan Smith Story – TV Documentary
Allan Smith, a New Zealand Dairy farmer, contracted Swine Flu while away on vacation in Fiji. When he returned home, the flu quickly evolved into severe pneumonia which left him in a coma on life support in the Intensive Care Unit. Chest x-rays showed the lungs were completely filled with fluid with an “opaque” appearance called “white out”. After three weeks of this, Allan’s doctors asked the family permission to turn off the machines and let him die. Allan’s wife Sonia had a brother with some medical knowledge, so he stepped in and said, “you haven’t tried everything, You have got to try high dose IV vitamin C on Allan”. At first, the doctors resisted, saying it was useless. Next, the three sons weighed in with a persuasive argument to try the IV vitamin C, saying there was nothing to lose.
Doctors Agree to Try IV Vitamin C
The doctors were in unanimous agreement that IV vitamin C would be useless and a waste of time, and that the patient would certainly die. However, one doctor felt “slightly uneasy” with the decision to turn off life support, without first acceding to the family’s wishes, and so they reluctantly agreed to give the IV vitamin C. Their plan was to give the IV vitamin C, show it was useless, and then turn off life support.
Continue reading at link to see what happened with Mr. Smith’s poor health and dismal outlook after the doctors (reluctantly) agreed to give him mega doses of Vitamin C by IV.. Did he continue to get sick and die, or did he get to come off the life support equipment and go on to a full recovery. What do you think?
https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/vitamin-c-saves-man-dying-viral-pneumonia
In Barbados we have a tree that is rampant in areas where land is not under supervision. It is often derogatively referred to as bush. The elders on BU would be familiar with this tree as it would have been commonly exploited by their communities during their formative years.
The “bush” has an exotic name: Tamarindus indica. And is commonly called the Tamarind tree.
The Tamarind tree has been heavily researched and is exploited by a number of countries. It is commercially exploited by the outside world. Yet here in Barbados we appear not to have a use for this diverse tree. Sadly it has become a landmark for land that is not managed.
We have so much on our land that could be exploited. Yet!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind