Occupy Food

Normally I would post anything to do with Occupy in Social Issues or one of the Political Forums but I think this post belongs here.

Farmers Join Occupy Wall Street, Calling for Food Justice

As Wall Street’s corrupt influence on the economy has grown, the corporate ownership of our food system has hurt the health and livelihood’s of some of our most vulnerable communities. This Sunday, December 4th food justice activists and occupiers will be traveling from as far as Colorado, Iowa, Maine and Upstate New York to join together for the Occupy Wall Street FARMERS’ MARCH.Through a day of dialogue, musical performances, and a march, farmers and their urban allies working for food justice in their communities will form alliances to fight and expose corporate control of the food supply.

occupywallst.org

Speakers will include:

George Naylor - Iowa farmer and president of the National Family Farm Coalition. Karen Washington - Founder of City Farms Market and board member at NYC based organization Just Food. Jim Gerritsen - Maine based farmer who was named one of 20 world visionaries by Utne Reader in 2011 and is the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Monsanto.

Most of us on ATS, especially on this forum are well aware of the extremely harmful practices of Biotech Corporations. We know that the promise to feed the hungry and make farmers rich has fallen seriously short. The hungry the world over are no more fed than they were 10 years ago and the farmer is discovering biotech to be more costly. If nothing else from a perspective of self we know that biotech just isn't healthy for our bodies.

reply to post by Kali74


I can endorse this idea.
The big corp has stood in the way of farmers and farmers markets too many times, btw 1 is waaay too many but we hear of this happening fairly regularly.
I remember eating real food at my grandparents home when I was a kid.
I sure hope my grandkids will be able to enjoy what I did.
I sure hope they won't end up fat like me too.
Fresh, real foods are not too much to ask for is it?

reply to post by g146541


No it isn't too much to ask for, it shouldn't have to be asked for at all. It shouldn't be nearly impossible to find foods that contain non gmo products. It shouldn't be so hard for farmers to grow non gmo food.

reply to post by Kali74


The corporate ownership of our food system is destroying peoples' health everywhere - not just in "vulnerable communities"!

GO farmers - Occupy! Too bad most small farmers lost their land decades ago to big agri-business.

.....the corporate ownership of our food system has hurt the health and livelihood’s of some of our most vulnerable communities.

Yes - Occupy Monsanto! Destroy those nasty genetically modified seeds and start from scratch.
Get the Monsanto corporation out of Washington for starters.

they started this to take control of the food supply and every aspect of food production. here in the US we have seen a rise in deficiency diseases which are most always directly related to "fake food" or genetically modified substitutes.

In the US, by 2009/2010, 93% of the planted area of soybeans, 93% of cotton, 86% of corn and 95% of the sugar beet were genetically modified varieties. Source

In India, GM cotton yields in Andhra Pradesh were no better than non-GM cotton in 2002, the first year of commercial GM cotton planting.

this business has put too many local farmers out of business anyone who opposes using these GMO seeds has hell to go through not because farming is hard or because GMO crop do better but because big business is Killing our American way of life we could feed the world with the amount of land and sun we have in America it is a world wide tragedy that America's big business keeps anyone but the 1% from prospering.

I can easily see the day that farmers can't produce enough food to support the demand for it based on the fact that not all of them is able to afford or willing to cave to the demands by corporations like Monsanto. The square acreage of farm land that isn't governed by such corporate entities are dwindling. So I agree, action is needed.

reply to post by Kali74


The sensible thing to do would be to hijack a dozen military transport planes and load them up with several tons of food and seed the GMO farms from above

reply to post by Kali74


It is - finally - going to fall upon those who have begun this movement, to move it into what may be termed the mainstream. There needs to be organization and an effort to focus the energy on select targets.

The corporate respects only one thing; money. And so the way to get their attention is to hit them in their heart... or wallet.

The largest and most fundamentally reliable source of support would be the massive US consumer base. Nearly everyone is tired of banks gouging them and high prices and poor quality in the market place. If OWS were to consolidate their position, invest their gains and redirect towards the national consumer base, they could get the attention of those they occupied real doggone quick.

If there is one word the corporate fears more than anything else, it is 'boycott'.

Just something to think about.

Oo MY kind of thread. Thanks for this'un.

Last night. I go to my local grocerie store. It's not a big chain name with better quality choices like Whole Foods. This is a low income (white/caucasian) area of elderly and disabled. Our access to good food and water is mostly.........not.
Those who sell nutrition, favor the upper class. (Why is that?)
Anyway, I made the mistake of purchasing from produce. a bag of granny smith apples, a bag of baby carrots, a bunch of bananas. Today they are all out to the dumpster.
The flawless shiney green apples which all looked alike, were soft inside. You ever remember a ---grannysmith--- being soft? I ate half one anyway, and 20 minutes later, I was on the toilet, hard-spraying out poopoo. It was scary. The carrots, which were big pretty fat little things, had NO taste to them. The babanas all had these tiny black seeds and fiber down the middle of each one, adding a bitter and granuley sensation. It looked rotten, but they were not ripe. I avoid the bread loaves. they all contain azodicarbonimide, which is a plastics foaming agent that is banned in other countries, but allowed in US bread. I was looking at the icecream, but I moved on, because its full of guar gum, a pure fiber, that causes gas, and was dumped by Benefiber.

I feel like I'm starving to death for nutrition. And I'm certain, this is by design.

reply to post by Saucerwench


Something is definitely wrong with food these days. In talking with the parents at my daughter's school about what foods we should serve at an upcoming function, I was taken aback by how the MAJORITY of the kids were afflicted with serious allergies and sensitivities to various kinds of food ingredients, natural/organic or not. This was not a problem when I was a kid in the 1970's. Back then it was maybe one kid out of the whole school who had a severe allergy or digestive problems. I don't believe it is due to under-diagnosis back then, either, we are talking reactions that can land the kids in the hospital or set them up for a month of bad eczema or something like that.

I've seen other threads on ATS that are really derogatory about the whole occupy movement. But I have to say it's been good to see people shake up out of complacency and start talking and acting on the wrongs that have been building up for a long time now. I'd be interested in seeing if these food protests come around to my area. We do have good access to organics where I live but it really hits the pocketbook hard. I'm really struggling to keep organics and free range and humanely farmed meats in our budget. And yes, I have noticed after being on a better diet, if you accidentally get the GMO crap, it makes the digestion go badly off. I was surprised by that.

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain


Thanks so much for that, I appreciate it. I was a kid back in the early '70's, and I --vividly-- remember bighting into any...apple specie, and it was -crunchy- -sweet- juice ran down your chin. Where I live now, everyone is obese. Obese young people, obese people in wheelchairs. It's interesting, when I'm in this particular store, I watch people in there, and I see them wander slowly, looking long at everything, and not readily throwing stuff in their cart. They all know that their choice for anything thats real, is hard to find. I believe they are trying (to find it) This is heartbreaking.

Originally posted by -W1LL
they started this to take control of the food supply and every aspect of food production. here in the US we have seen a rise in deficiency diseases which are most always directly related to "fake food" or genetically modified substitutes.

In the US, by 2009/2010, 93% of the planted area of soybeans, 93% of cotton, 86% of corn and 95% of the sugar beet were genetically modified varieties. Source

In India, GM cotton yields in Andhra Pradesh were no better than non-GM cotton in 2002, the first year of commercial GM cotton planting.

it is a world wide tragedy that America's big business keeps anyone but the 1% from prospering.

i love how you added the rise in deficency diseases, but would like to add that chrons disease ulcerative colitus, fibromyalgia and other diseases are highly rising too. LOTS to think about. Imagine how healthy we would be if the food was not fake, we were able to live healthy and work hard like those in the 1%



maybe then OMG half the population wouldnt be sick, disabled, poverty stricken, unemployed and suffering.

If they did not create our failures, imagine where we would be today. Probably way past the technology we have now, Even the technology we dont even know about yet.

And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts:
The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder,
And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed.
The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked,
And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon.
Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured,
And still more often the condemned is the burden bearer for the guiltless and unblamed.
You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked;
For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together.
And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also.

Kahlil GIbran

i think mc donald's..and other fast food places are guilty of serving fake food, as well.....sorry...but, a burger that can sit out in the open...and not grow anything...mold, or otherwise....is NOT food....it's a bad genetic experiment gone horribly wrong...it's really sad to see organic food to be priced so high..to the point where the average person can't afford to buy it...even if we buy seeds to grow our own produce, how do we know for a fact they haven't been modified in any way?

Originally posted by N3v3rmor3



i love how you added the rise in deficency diseases, but would like to add that chrons disease ulcerative colitus, fibromyalgia and other diseases are highly rising too. LOTS to think about. Imagine how healthy we would be if the food was not fake, we were able to live healthy and work hard like those in the 1%

maybe then OMG half the population wouldnt be sick, disabled, poverty stricken, unemployed and suffering.

If they did not create our failures, imagine where we would be today. Probably way past the technology we have now, Even the technology we dont even know about yet.

And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts:
The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder,
And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed.
The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked,
And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon.
Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured,
And still more often the condemned is the burden bearer for the guiltless and unblamed.
You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked;
For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together.
And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also.

Kahlil GIbran

thank you.. and I cant believe I didnt mention autoimmune diseases as I have Fibro.


that quote is one I have not heard before it is beautifully thought provoking something every person should not only read but understand.... great post

I learned about Monsanto and GMO shortly after joining ATS. It was my first step into seeing what drives my beloved government. It still has the power to make my jaw drop, how dark and conspiritorial it all is. I'm not one who was ever asleep but I don't think I was fully awake until Occupy. My government disgusts me. To literally feed us and also the rest of the world, poison...I don't think there is a prison big enough to hold all those guilty of crimes against humanity.

reply to post by moonweed


I have wondered the same thing about the seeds. I bought a few different winter squash varieties at the reg grocery store and when I was cutting them I guess one of the seeds sprang out and into the pot of paper whites growing on my kitchen table. There are now squash plants growing with the paperwhites. I just figured all seeds from fruits/veggies bought at the grocery store wouldn't reproduce. Well low and behold they are growing...but how do I know they were not GM'd? The paper whites have no dirt and are just growing in some water and rocks.....

Rain on the Scarecrow, blood on the plow....

That's what came to mind when I began reading this thread.

Now, what I'd like to say it look into CSA's, Community Supported Agriculture. I joined a farm's program last year. At the end of each week I pay a portion of my share, they let me break it up over the whole year or I can pay for the whole share at the beginning of the season. I get a bushel basket of fresh produce. The farmer uses only heirloom seeds. There is a difference between being organic and heirloom. Organic refers the growing process, GMO seeds can be grown organically. So watch the labeling and research or ask. I was able to save seeds from the green beans and tomatoes that I know will germinate after proper drying and storage and hardening off the seeds. I will refrigerate those seeds for 6 weeks before planting. Most squash family produce will germinate. Many produce products from the grocery chains are hybrids, their seeds may germinate, but not bear or they bear but wont be as the same quality as the product they were harvested from. I have little yard space, but have been collecting buckets from local restaurants and drilling holes in the bottom for container gardening. Also I forage, harvested pears from a lady whose tree was full, and noticed she wasn't using them. I canned 17 jars and spiced those suckers, some will be Christmas presents others will warm our bellies on the cold winter nights. Hmmm warm spiced pears. Also potatoes from the grocery will produce! Ya know, when they turn green skinned and begin to sprout, put in paper bags in cool dark place and let em sprout out. Then plant em. I may use pallets and garden fabric to create some vertical planting space.
I am glad OWS is going for food. Now that is something I can be affected by and stand up for!

reply to post by Neopan100

madebyhandonplanetearth.blogspot.com...

This link lists the varieties of squash that are GM. It's come down to this. If you wish to avoid eating these things, you almost need to either know the people who grew them or grow them yourself. This is the moral equivalent of war, folks. And the other side plays dirty.

No. You cannot trust that the 'foods' sold in the grocery are safe or even real.

No. You can scream and yell and sign petitions and demand labeling of GM foods so you can make a personal choice as to whether you're going to eat them, but nothing will be done. Labels will not be allowed. We are all guinea pigs in this grand experiment.

If the nutritional guidelines for proper diet were correct, then we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. We keep believing the propaganda and telling ourselves that soda pop is fine; that factory foods are really good and convenient; and that the huge increase in diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and any number of other serious conditions is due to lack of willpower. Or bad luck.

Wake up. Your body can tolerate a lot of abuse, but it depends on good food to recover and to thrive.

If you dig deeply enough, and do the research, you will no longer believe the hype and your shopping cart will change. Fresh produce, organic if possible. Stuff that looks the same way it did when it was harvested. One ingredient - itself. Save money by not buying the crap and spend the savings on good fresh food.

I personally have eliminated all wheat. The wheat we have today is NOT the wheat your grandparents had. Amber waves of grain no longer wave because the wheat planted now is a short variety, introduced in the 60's. It doesn't blow over, so the yield is greater than the old taller sort. However, it is not the same genetically. It's got a different protein makeup, and it causes havoc. After about 4 days of going without it, I felt about 10 years younger and my energy level was through the roof. I cheat, and I fell like crap the next day.

Whole grain goodness is another lie I'm no longer buying into.

There are others, but this is long enough.

Originally posted by SunflowerStar
Rain on the Scarecrow, blood on the plow....

That's what came to mind when I began reading this thread.

Now, what I'd like to say it look into CSA's, Community Supported Agriculture. I joined a farm's program last year. At the end of each week I pay a portion of my share, they let me break it up over the whole year or I can pay for the whole share at the beginning of the season. I get a bushel basket of fresh produce. The farmer uses only heirloom seeds. There is a difference between being organic and heirloom. Organic refers the growing process, GMO seeds can be grown organically. So watch the labeling and research or ask. I was able to save seeds from the green beans and tomatoes that I know will germinate after proper drying and storage and hardening off the seeds. I will refrigerate those seeds for 6 weeks before planting. Most squash family produce will germinate. Many produce products from the grocery chains are hybrids, their seeds may germinate, but not bear or they bear but wont be as the same quality as the product they were harvested from. I have little yard space, but have been collecting buckets from local restaurants and drilling holes in the bottom for container gardening. Also I forage, harvested pears from a lady whose tree was full, and noticed she wasn't using them. I canned 17 jars and spiced those suckers, some will be Christmas presents others will warm our bellies on the cold winter nights. Hmmm warm spiced pears. Also potatoes from the grocery will produce! Ya know, when they turn green skinned and begin to sprout, put in paper bags in cool dark place and let em sprout out. Then plant em. I may use pallets and garden fabric to create some vertical planting space.
I am glad OWS is going for food. Now that is something I can be affected by and stand up for!

edit on 3-12-2011 by SunflowerStar because: d added

GMO seeds can be grown in an organic way, but they cannot be labeled organic. But, yes, watch the sneaky labeling!

SunflowerStar, you are a person after my own heart! I do the containers all over with tomatoes and peppers. We plant a lot of veggies. I'm in Ohio and my husband just announced he ate the last tomato from the garden tonight - December 3! We still have a winter garden going that will last until it hits around 20º. Kale and chard and broccoli.

And seed saving is vital! We also use heirloom varieties and never need to buy it. We share for free, too with the only cost a promise that they will also save and share them. It's not hard but it takes a paradigm shift.

This comes down to self-preservation in the end. If the food supply is compromised, people need to take things into their own hands and get hold of food that is safe. No one will do it for you.