Monsanto, Cargill and Smithfield…Oh My

Did you know that despite endless aisles of food in the grocery store, just a handful of companies decide what kind of food you can buy and how farmers can produce it? It’s true. Decades of bad farm policy and unchecked corporate mergers have driven out independent players, creating powerful agribusiness giants who control much of what ends up on our plate. Can you sign our petition to break the monopolies in the food system?

Consumers are fed up with a broken food system that makes us sick, harms the environment and promotes factory farms. A few weeks ago, we worked with our coalition partners to deliver over 200,000 comments opposing Monsanto’s genetically engineered Alfalfa to the USDA. This was just the first step in a growing movement to take back our food system!

We have an important opportunity right now to get the Department of Justice to investigate the handful of companies that control much of the food system. Can you take action to encourage the Department of Justice to break the monopolies?

*How bad are things right now?*

- Four companies process more than 85% of U.S. beef cattle.

- Two companies sell 50% of U.S. corn seed.

- One company controls 40% of the U.S.milk supply.

- Five firms dominate the grocery sector, ensuring that low prices paid to farmers aren’t passed along to consumers at the store.

After decades of government officials looking the other way, regulators are finally acknowledging there might be a problem. Tomorrow, Food & Water Watch staff are participating in the first of several hearings being held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hear about the state of competition in agriculture markets.

Join our effort to break up the monopolies in the food system.

Thanks for taking action,

Sarah Alexander, Outreach Director

Food & Water Watch

goodfood(at)fwwatch.org

Who is Polluting Your Drinking Water?

Pollution rates are rising, thanks to Supreme Court rulings that left uncertain which waterways are protected under the Clean Water Act. American Rivers is fighting to restore these critical safeguards to protect our rivers and drinking water supplies.

Three Questions

1) What is the Clean Water Act and its purpose?

2) What are some of the pollutants that get into the water supply?

3) Where does your water come from?

Homes for Our Troops Building 32 Houses for Disabled Veterans

Mary Susan Littlepage, Truthout: “Since Homes for Our Troops was founded in 2004, the organization has built 54 homes for disabled veterans, and 32 homes currently are in various stages of construction around the country.”

Brother, can you spare a dime?  Donate here!

Tell Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

To ensure that the Refuge remains forever wild, we need your help.  Please ask your member of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 39, legislation currently pending that will guarantee the future protection of the Refuge - for the wildlife and for future generations of Americans.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a world-renowned area with some of America’s most spectacular wildlife.

Grizzlies, caribou, wolves and muskoxen are just a few of the more than 200 wildlife species that rely on the Refuge for their habitat. The Coastal Plain of the Refuge is also the most significant on-shore polar bear denning habitat in the U.S., all the more important as global warming melts the sea ice that polar bears depend on.

Today is the 14-month anniversary of Gaiatribe: Ideas for a Thinking Planet.  This blog was launched on January 14, 2009.  So far, it has established favored subject areas and attracted a following of regular readers.  I would enjoy further input from you regarding this blog’s progress and possibilities.

Where We’ve Been

Gaiatribe displays a dynamic tag cloud, and the list of categories also includes the number of posts per category. This makes it easy to identify the most prominent topics.  These include Community, Environment, Activism,  News, Homestead, Politics, Networking, Discussion, Blogging, Civics, Holiday, and Food.

We use the basic Wordpress Stats function, plus the StatPress and Popularity Contest plugins, to gauge traffic.  Most days, the traffic is in the 100-110s range, gradually tending upwards. According to Wordpress Stats, the top posts are “Saving the World One Day at a Time” (2,258 views), “Imbolc Food and Decorations” (978 views), and “Red, White, and Blue Foods for July 4″ (637 views).  The most active posts currently are Saving the World One Day at a Time (38 views), Red, White, and Blue Foods for July 4 (21 views), and Avatar’s Legacy (9 views).  The top searches are “blue foods,” “logical fallacies and how to refute,” and “how we can help the honey bees.”

Gaiatribe is now listed on various blog directories and other social networks. The Gaiatribe community over on MyBlogLog currently has 72 members, and the blog’s profile page on Blog Catalog has seventeen reviews with a present score of 4.88 out of 5 possible stars.  Bloggers Unite provides an excellent source for blog topics and current issues; you can view my events on my profile page.  For activist news, check out what I’m doing over on Change.org.

Which Gaiatribe post(s) have you enjoyed the most so far?  Which post(s) have you enjoyed the least or skipped over?  Have you found the writing style to be clear and engaging?  What else has caught your attention about this blog?

Where We’re Going

Although an established blog, Gaiatribe continues to evolve; and so does the Geek Universalis Network to which it belongs.  Those of you comprising the regular audience have the opportunity to help shape what this blog becomes.

The Weekend Meet’n’Greet continues to attract modest attention as it helps audience members get to know each other.  If you want to ask me about something or make a topic request, that’s a good place to do so.

What would you like to see more of?  What topics would you like me to cover that I haven’t approached yet?  What else do you think would improve Gaiatribe?

How You Can Help

If you want to see Gaiatribe thrive, there are many things you can do to help.  Here are a few ideas:

• Join the Gaiatribe community on MyBlogLog. If you’re on that service but haven’t added me to your Contacts, here’s my profile page.
• Leave comments! Feedback is candy. I’m hoping to build up a lively audience on Gaiatribe, people who will join conversations and share exciting ideas.
• Mention Gaiatribe on your blog, or anywhere else you think would be appropriate. Word of mouth helps spread beyond the audience within immediate reach.
• Recommend Gaiatribe posts on StumbleUpon, Digg, Twitter, or any other social network of your choice.
• Links: If you want to put a link to Gaiatribe on your page, go right ahead. Do you have a blog or other website that deals with the environment, community, activism, Paganism, or other related topics? If so, perhaps we can exchange links. (Check the link list first. I’ve already linked to several folks I know.)
• Interviews & Guest Blogging: If you think our subject areas overlap, get in touch with me and we can discuss the possibility of mutual promotion through interviews or writing a post for each other’s blogs.
• Reviews: Books, music, product samples, and other goodies are welcome if they fit Gaiatribe’s field and would appeal to this audience.
• If you can think of anything else that might be helpful, go for it, or ask me if you’re not sure how to make it work.

Thank you for all your support of my various projects. You folks are a terrific audience and I really appreciate you!

Green Foods

Artichoke is a medium to dull green, actually a flower head rather than a true vegetable.  It is usually steamed and eaten one petal at a time, with sauce or (my personal favorite) pickled ginger.

Asparagus spears are light to medium green.  They may be boiled, steamed, or roasted whole.  Sometimes they are chopped and tossed with other vegetables.

Avocado has dark green rind over bright creamy green flesh.  It can be eaten in chunks or slices.  It also makes a terrific base for sauces, dips, or soup. Guacamole is made primarily from avocado.

Broccoli has light green stems with dark green florets.  It is good steamed or stir-fried, although it can be boiled.  Some recipes cover it in cheese.

Brussel sprouts look like tiny dark green cabbage heads.  They are usually steamed or boiled.

Celery grows as a clump of pale green stalks.  Chopped, it makes a great addition to salads or stews.  Longer pieces of stalk are good with peanut butter or cream cheese, as a snack.  The leaves can be chopped and used similar to fresh parsley or cilantro.

Chard is a leafy dark green vegetable.  Baby chard may be served in fresh salads.  Older leaves are steamed or boiled and served as a mass of greens.

Collards have dark green leaves, exceptionally rich in vitamins and minerals. They are good when cooked with bacon bits.

Cucumber is a long green vegetable, ranging from medium green to almost black.  It is often sliced or cubed for use in salads.  It is quite good sliced and served in sweetened vinegar.  It can even be made into a sorbet with mint and served as a palate cleanser.

Green apples include Granny Smith, Paul’s Big Green, Newtown Pippin, Calville Blanc, Mutsu, and Rhode Island Greening.  To show off the color, slice and serve fresh with peanut butter, chocolate sauce, or sharp white cheddar cheese.  They also make excellent apple salads, and you might want to include some diced celery.

Green beans are long fleshy bean pods, medium green in color.  They may be steamed, boiled, or baked into casseroles.  They are good with bacon bits.

Green bell peppers are bright green with crisp zesty flesh.  Stuff them with meat, vegetable, or bread stuffing and bake.  Chop them for use in salads or stir-fries.

Green grapes range from yellowish green to bright lime.  They are usually sweet, but some varieties have seeds.  Serve in bunches on a fruit plate or pick them off the stems and add to fruit salads.

Green tea comes in tea bags (which make a pale yellow-green tea) and powder (which makes a much darker, stronger tea).   It is also used to make ice cream, which is a wonderful finish to Asian feasts.

Herbs are usually green.  Popular ones include basil, chives, cilantro, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.  Use for flavoring dishes and for decoration.  Mint makes excellent tea.  Basil can be pureed to make pesto sauce.

Kiwi fruit has fuzzy brown skin and brilliant green flesh.  Peel and slice the fruit, or chop it for fruit salads.

Lettuce includes many varieties in different leaf shapes, from pale to deep green.  Use it as a base for salads, or put it in sandwiches.  You can also use lettuce leaves as a background for layering other foods on top.  Wilted lettuce is made with vinegar.

Limes are light to bright green outside and pale green inside.  They have a sprightly citrus flavor.  Lime juice goes well with fish and fruit, and can be used to make limeade.  Lime zest is also used in some recipes.  Many lime-flavored beverages are green, as is lime jello.

Okra consists of medium to dark green seed pods.  They may be steamed whole if small.  Larger pods are typically sliced and fried with cornmeal, or cooked in gumbo.

Peas include snow peas, sugar-snap peas, and shelled peas.  Peas in pods are usually steamed or boiled; snow peas are a favorite in stir-fries.  Shelled peas are boiled or microwaved.  Peas may also be dried, then reconstituted for split-pea soup or pease porridge.

Pistachios are small nuts with pale shells and a greenish papery husk inside.  They are most often eaten whole, salted.  They may be candied or peppered.  Sometimes they are cooked in recipes, or turned into green soup or ice cream.

Spinach is a classic green vegetable with very deep green leaves loaded with vitamins and minerals.  Baby spinach may be served raw in salads.  Older leaves are usually steamed or boiled and served as a mass.  However, sometimes spinach is chopped or pureed, then mixed with other ingredients to form dark or bright green recipes.  Quiche or egg pie with a lot of spinach can be quite eye-catching.

Turnip greens are similar to other leafy green vegetables that can be cooked and served as a mass.

Zucchini is a long summer vegetable, ranging from pale gray-green through bright green to almost black.  Baby zucchini may be sliced and fried.  Larger zucchini are sometimes cubed for use in casseroles or other dishes. Zucchini may also be cubed and pureed with a little water to make zucchini milk, useful as a base for pancakes or other baked goods.  If you don’t peel it first (remember, most of the vitamins are in the peel) then the zucchini milk will be greenish, lending a little color to the finished product.

Green Recipes

There are many recipes for green foods.  Here are a few to get you started:

• “The 8 Greatest Green Desserts“
• “Cooking with the Color Green“
• “Green Desserts“
• “Green Drink Recipes“
• “Green Foods“
• “Green Salads“
• “St. Patrick’s Day Green Food Recipes“
• “St. Patrick’s Day Recipes“

Zygmunt Bauman | On Languages of Power and Powerlessness

Zygmunt Bauman, Truthout: “The disciplining force of society is at its most effective when its human origins are denied or covered up. The admission that society - with all its prescriptions and proscriptions, rewards for obedience and punishments for veering off the line - rests ultimately on man-made choices and decisions invites critical scrutiny, dissent and resistance: What has been done by humans can be undone by humans. No wonder that throughout the modern era, attempts were made and continue to be made to represent the grounds for the demands of power-holders as beyond human capacity.”