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Theme: Life in the Land Grab

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142 Comments

  1. Re: US food is poison: what % of farmers in the US take out crop insurance?

    “AHA” moment—a friend studying for insurance licensure found out that in order for farmers to get crop insurance, they must adhere to EXACT requirements set out by the insurance company that dictate everything from what kind of seeds to use, what pesticides MUST be sprayed, and how
    Often, etc.

    This has to be the main driver, right? (I don’t know but seems like maybe THATS the invisible hand behind so much of it?)

    1. Hmm, sounds very plausible. The irony is, Zach Bush says, in his work to help farmers switch to regenerative farming, that organic crops are hugely more profitable, but he’s found a cultural resistance is the main block. In a typical conservative Christian farming community, one guy is likely NOT going to make such a move, because he’d be ostracized for breaking with “tradition”, trying something newfangled…that kind of thing…what would the neighbors say…would his family get funny looks at church every Sunday…
      That’s the barrier, but it can be overcome, just takes time and courageous examples…

      1. If you plant heirloom seed while the guy nearby plants Frankenseeds and sprays with herbicides such as glyphosate, etc. in order to control weeds, your crop is at risk from overspray. Which happens a lot. Maybe they aren’t doing it on purpose, but damage is done anyway.  No harm done if you’re using the same seed.
        The seed from Monsanto and like are genetically modified so the growing plants will withstand those herbicides (you still get to eat the Roundup, etc).  
        Supposedly they wait for calm periods to spray, but their schedules are more important than your crop. And that stuff drifts a long way. Even in what appears to be calm. One exposure to non modified seed can be devastating.
        When everyone around you is spraying that stuff, and you’re not, you’re at risk.

      2. I know more Christian ranchers, dairy farmers and goat shepherds who got on board with regenerative practices far before Zach Bush came along!

  2. Catherine, I’m not sure about the farmers protests and the Great Poisoning issue. Is there any suggestion that small farmers don’t use exactly the same huge volumes of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides as large, directly owned corporate farms. Take the Netherlands…it’s around number 3 in the world in synthetic nitrogen use by hectare and in the top 25 for pesticide use, and much of Europe has similar stats.

    So while the land takeover is a crucial fight, does preserving small farms do anything whatsoever to solve the Great Poisoning crisis. You said they grow nutritious food…what’s the evidence for that? I suppose it theoretically might be less poisonous for bodies, water and soil, but how much less and what evidence do you have for this?

    Same with Texas ranchers, they sell their cattle to GMO feedlots same as the corporate farms, don’t they?

  3. Catherine;
    Can you reach out to your contacts in Texas and see if any of the farmer’s would be interested in larger donations. Instead of a small donation, we would be interested in a stakeholder/shareholder/investment partnership with one of the cattle farms as a way to help them recoup quicker, and bring us a solid investment. As you always say: Invest in people. We also to do what we can to make sure none of this property ends up in the hands Mr. Global.

  4. Hello friends,
    Just received this morning, and hope this is helpful:

    Martens
     From:
    alerts@wallstreetonparade.com
    To:
    alerts@wallstreetonparade.com

    Tue, Mar 12 at 2:01 AM

    Wall Street On Parade has posted a new item:

    FDIC Data Contradicts Fed Chair Powell: Shows Real Estate Problems Have
    Skyrocketed at Largest U.S. Banks, Not the Smaller Regionals
    https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/fdic-data-contradicts-fed-chair-powell-shows-real-estate-problems-have-skyrocketed-at-largest-u-s-banks-not-the-smaller-regionals/

    By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 11, 2024 ~
    On Sunday, February 4, the CBS program 60 Minutes aired a taped interview with
    Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The actual interview had occurred
    three days earlier and was conducted by 60 Minutes interviewer Scott Pelley.
    Two noteworthy things happened in connection with that interview: First, CBS
    did […]

    If the hyperlink above is not active, please paste it into your browser and
    press “Go” to read the full article.

  5. As usual, great M&M. Appreciate the actionable items. Can you share the link for helping Texas panhandle ranchers?

    2. I donated to Doc Pete Chambers. If you state the donation is for the fires, he will make sure the money goes for that. His group has been using money raised at Give Send Go for border protection and helping on other things, so saying it is for the fires will direct the money where you want it to go.
      https://www.givesendgo.com/GAHGF

  6. LLMs and computer vision or other algorithms used for military purposes are not equivalent, or even in the same ballpark. There are problems with both, but they’re very different technologies. Equivocating them obscures the real issues and feeds “AI bad” group think. Also, I don’t think “the AI did it, we’re not responsible” argument holds up in court:

    https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/resources/business-law-today/2024-february/bc-tribunal-confirms-companies-remain-liable-information-provided-ai-chatbot/

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