While the majority of the coverage on this blog focuses on the dangers of GE foods, I want to try to avoid being all doom and gloom. Starting now, I will try to find a good news story and post it every Monday to start the week off on a good note. Here is the first installment.

The Nature Conservency of Canada has just acquired the largest single amount of private land for conservation in Canadian history (read the press release here). The stretch of land is of great significance, as it is home to 29 species-at-risk, and connects a network of conserved land which now totals 250,000 acres. The plot is situated in the West Kootenay region of BC between the towns of Nelson, Salmo and Creston.

Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved had harsh words for corporations, governments, the WTO and the World Bank in an interview with CBC that aired today on a program called “Diet for a Hungry Planet”. That interview can be heard by downloading the podcast from iTunes. According to Patel, who worked at both the WTO and the World Bank, it is official policy of these two organizations to drive the poor from farming areas into the cities, and to encourage chemical industrial agriculture to dominate instead.

(image credit: food_for_action on flickr)

I think there are few readers of this blog that would disagree with Patel’s assessment with that policy decision. He states that small scale organic or at least low chemical-intensive farming which relies on crop rotation and crop diversity (which he implies is the most common method of farming among the poor in developing countries) is the most sustainable form of agriculture being practiced in the world today. The decision by these two major organizations to encourage the use of agricultural methods which use toxic chemicals, erode topsoil, and reduce biodiversity is an enormous step in the wrong direction, and I can’t say I disagree. That being said, the WTO and the World Bank are not exactly organizations which have been known for choosing to help people and the planet over the profits of corporations.

I think if we are going to provide a place to live for our grandchildren, we need to be providing micro-finance loans to the impoverished farmers of developing countries. We should be promoting people to live in smaller communities rather than contributing to urban sprawl. And most of all, we should be encouraging local food economies based around organic farming methods in both developed and developing countries to reduce our dependency on petroleum and toxic chemicals.

According to the Viewspaper, British researchers are developing GE mosquitoes to deal with malaria. A few strategies they are working with, thanks to $38 million in grants from the Gates foundation, are engineering the insects to be resistant to the malaria parasite, and inserting a gene for sterility in males to control the populations. However, one has to question the way we are chosing to control this disease, and whether we are creating a larger problem then we are solving.

(image credit: Pachakutic on Flickr)

While genetically engineered food does not solve any real problem, and therefor is absolutely not worth the risk (read What is wrong with GE food?), Malaria is a devastating disease. 3 million people die every year from the illness which is transmitted by mosquitoes. One could argue that saving 3 million lives per year is worth releasing a new gene into the environment, however we have to seriously consider the long term implications.

First off, inserting a sterility gene into an animal and released into the environment is incredibly dangerous. When birds and dragonflies eat the mosquitoes, the gene could transfer into the larger animals body through horizontal gene transfer.

One also has to consider that when mosquitoes sting human beings, they inject saliva into our blood in order to block the hemostasis system (the system which naturally stops us from bleeding). Their saliva consists of at least 20 active, and many inactive proteins. Any gene manipulation is going to have unintended effects on how proteins are created and expressed, and will likely lead to the creation of novel proteins. Essentially by genetically engineering mosquitoes, we are again using human beings in an uncontrolled genetic experiment, although this time it will be sub-Saharan Africa instead of North America.

I believe that this method of reducing disease is akin to swallowing an uncontrollable genetically-engineered spider to kill the fly.

According to a press release issued by the NDP last week, the government is trying to privatize the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The CFIA is responsible for enforcing labeling laws for packaged food, as well as recalls of contaminated food. They also carry the file for genetically engineered ingredients in processed and packaged food.

I believe that our labeling laws are misguided, and that our system of ensuring the safety of the food Canadians are eating is severely inadequate. However, I think that privatizing food inspection would be an irresponsible thing to do even if we had sound laws.

The problem is with accountability. What happens if the private company makes a mistake? A profit-driven private company is likely to cut corners to ensure they are making money. An issue like the safety of our food is not something that should be left to the private sector. What’s next? Labeling and other food safety laws written by the private sector? Oh wait, I guess we already have that don’t we.

To say that Ryan Nassichuk (ryansgarden.com) has green thumbs would be like saying that Naomi Klein is not a fan of corporations. This man lives and breathes urban agriculture, and his methodology flies in the face of most gardeners.

After spending an evening with him a few weeks ago walking around his “garden”, I picked up the following advice.

1. Relax. Growing food does not require one to obsess over the success of every plant, or the appearance of a given plot. Just get some seed in the ground with some good, live soil and you will get some good food.
2. Nurture the soil. Keeping the earth alive means not using chemicals, and letting nature work as it has for millenia. The only thing he adds is a little organic fertilizer he makes himself.
3. Use lots of compost. Pretty well everthing will decompose, so have a good composter for all kitchen scraps, he recommends one of the open wooden ones rather than a plastic one with a lid. It doesn’t have to be fully decomposed before it goes on the garden, chunks of food bits that are well on their way will continue to decompose in the soil. Also, be sure to layer carbon rich (fall leaves or other brown stuff) and nitrogen rich (most kitchen scraps, yard clippings and other green stuff) in the composter to keep it smelling fresh.
4. Mulch. Layers and layers of fall leaves, straw, or other mulch keeps the weeds down, and as it breaks down, adds more life to the soil. The constant layer of decaying organic matter on the surface of the soil maintains strong microbial communities by leeching nutrients.
5. Share. Share seeds, share plants, and share your harvest. Ryan gives away free seeds on his website to anyone who sends him a postage paid envelope, and he gave me two tomato plants, which are now doing very well. He also doesn’t mind sharing his crop with friends and strangers alike.

If everyone got rid of their perfect chemical soaked lawns, and instead replaced them with Ryan-style mounds of living organic earth yielding delicious seasonal food, we would have better health, a cleaner environment, and greater food security.

For all you within cycling distance of upper lonsdale, Ryan will come to you and help build you a lively garden. Check out his website at www.ryansgarden.com