Green | August 06, 2008 | 21 comments

A farmer's fight against GMO contamination

source: http://www.yourtv20.com/greenlife/26179704.html

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JanforGore
A Northern California farmer and dairyman is on a mission to make food safer for all of us. He is Albert Straus and he runs his family creamery, the first organic creamery west of the Mississippi.

The Straus Family Dairy Farm was established up in Tomales Bay in 1941 with just 23 cows! Now there are more than 300. While the family always followed sustainable land practices, Albert began his quest to become certified organic in 1993. It takes a dairy heard one year to become fully certified to produce organic milk and in 1994, the farm became the first certified organic dairy west of the Mississippi River. Also that same year, Straus opened Straus Family Creamery to produce organic milk, yogurt, butter and ice cream under the family name.

Another thing happened on the way to becoming certified organic. Straus came across animal feed that was contaminated with genetically modified organisms, or GMO's.

"GMO contamination of organic feeds could threaten consumers' safety, as well as my dairy's organic certification," said Straus. "Close to 70% of our food supply has it."

Last year, Straus began testing his purchased certified-organic feeds. He found that one out of every three batches of certified organic corn had some contamination from GMOs, ranging from trace levels up to 6 percent contamination.

Straus decided to act, starting a non-GMO program , that requires all feed and ingredient suppliers to submit the results of a strip test analysis prior to shipment of the feed or ingredient.

"I started this program in order to safeguard my livelihood as an organic farmer," said Straus. "Our requirements are causing other companies to sit up and take notice."
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Are companies sending out bands of thugs to deliberately contaminate organic crops? The pervasiveness of it seems to be too coincidental to just be the wind blowing. Good to see farmers standing up to this.
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21 comments // A farmer's fight against GMO contamination

  • Bren589
  • isoceles
    • 0
      isoceles  

    • Hats off to Mr. Albert Straus. This story is great. It just hows there is no way to know what you are eating. Even if it says organic. I know there are a lot of good farmers out there but if they aren't checking every little thing there is no way of truly knowing.

      It's going to be a never ending battle to get things changed when the beef, pork, chicken, and dairy industries are larger than the automotive companies. They have so much power it's hard to get a platform to say anything. Even Monsanto had enough money and power over Fox to have them completely gut a story that was explaining the dangers of Posilac.

      I wish things weren't always in the interest of big business.

    • 3 years ago
  • wislogger
  • cibalin
    • 0
      cibalin  

    • thank-you!! thank-you!! There's a store not 3 miles from me that has their products. I have bookmarked their website. I love supporting those who make a product you can trust!! And even more so, when they go out of their way to ensure that the public is aware of the choices out there.

    • 3 years ago
  • MrWatt619
  • elegua
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • Here is the link for the Straus Creamery. Even their dairy is sustainable. These are the farmers we need to be supporting with our business...the ones who really care about people and product quality.

    • 3 years ago
  • Allsunday
    • 0
      Allsunday  
    • JanforGore:

      I buy milk from these guys almost exclusively. Not only are they organic and very environmentally friendly, but their glass bottles have tons of convenient uses once the milk is gone. You'll never need to buy a vase again.

    • 3 years ago
  • echoz
  • bluestranger
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  

    • to Monsanto:
      ———-/´¯/)——--(\¯`\
      ———/—//———--\\—\ \
      ——--/—//————-\\—\ \
      —-/´¯/—/´¯\———/¯`\—\¯`\
      -/-/--/—/—/-|_—-_|-\---\—\—\-\
      (-(—(—(—/-)--)--(--(-\—)—)—)-)
      -\————\/--/—\—\/————/
      --\———— /——\-————/
      —\-———-(———)———-/
      and all you GMO producing phux
      (stand up! if you want your balls back!)

    • 3 years ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  

    • endearingly dedicated to Monsanto...
      "[you] mferz deSERVE ta die...die SLOW mfer! ...hit 'em up! hit 'em up!"--tupac

      you farmers are the NEW bad boys...best hit 'em up! like the song says before we ALL owned and there's no turning back...but if you down with that GMO SHIT, FUK U2!

    • 3 years ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • echoz:

      Intro: Tupac
      I ain't got no motherfuckin friends
      That's why I fucked yo' bitch, you fat motherfucker
      (take money) WEESSSSSSIIIIIDE!!
      Bad Boy killers
      (take money) You know the realest is niggaz
      (take money) We bring it to you
      (take money)

      Verse One: Tupac
      First off, fuck your bitch and the click you claim
      WEESSSSSSIIIIIDE when we ride come equipped with game
      You claim to be a player but I fucked your wife
      We bust on Bad Boy niggaz fucked for life
      Plus Puffy tryin ta see me weak hearts I rip
      Biggie Smallz and Junior M.A.F.I.A. some mark ass bitches
      We keep on comin' while we runnin for ya jewels
      steady gunnin, keep on bustin at the fools, you know the rules
      Little Ceaser, go ask ya homie how I leave ya
      cut your young ass up, leave you in pieces, now be deceased
      Lil Kim, don't fuck around with real G's
      Quick to snatch yo' ugly ass off tha street, so fuck peace
      I let them niggas know it's on for life
      So let the West side ride tonight (haha)
      Bad Boy murdered on wax, and killed
      Fuck wit' me and get ya caps peeled, you know, see...

      Chorus:
      Grab ya glocks, when you see Tupac
      Call the cops, when you see Tupac, uhh
      Who shot me, but ya punks didn't finish
      Now ya bout to feel the wrath of a menace
      nigga, I hit em' up...

      Interlude: Tupac
      Check this out, you muthafuckas know what time it is
      I don't even know why I'm on this track
      ya'll nigguz ain't even on my level
      I'ma let my little homies ride on you
      bitch made-ass bad boy bitches, deal with it!!

      Verse Two: Fatal
      Get out the way yo, get out the way yo
      Biggie Smallz just got dropped
      Little Moo, pass the Mac, and let me hit him in his back
      Frank White need to get spanked right, for settin tracks
      little accident murderer, and I ain't never heard-a ya
      Poisinous gats attack when I'm servin ya
      Spank the shank ya whole style when I dank
      Guard your rank, cause I'ma slam you in the pavement
      Puffy weaker that a fuckin rocka wanna do, nigga
      and, I'll smoke ya junior mafia in front of you, nigga
      With the ready power tuckin my Guess under my Eddie Bauer
      ya clout, pretty sour I push packages every hour
      and hit em up

      Chorus

      Verse Three: Tupac
      Peep how we do it, keep it real, it's penitentiary steel
      this aint no freestyle battle, all you niggaz gettin
      killed with ya mouths open
      tryin to come up offa me, you in the clouds hoping
      smokin dope it's like a sherm high
      Niggaz think they learned to fly
      But they burned muthafucka, you deserve to die
      Talkin bout you gettin money but its funny to me
      all you niggaz livin bummy why you're fuckin with me
      I'm a self made milionare
      Thug Livin out a prison, pistols in the air, hahaha
      Biggie, remember when I used to let you sleep on my couch
      and beg the bitch to let you sleep in the house, ahh
      Now its all about Versacci, you copied my style
      Five shots couldn't drop me, I took it, and smiled
      Now I'm bout to set the record straight, with my AK
      I'm still the thug you love to hate
      Motherfucker, I hit em up

      Verse Four: Kadafi
      I'm from N-E-W Jerz, where plenty murders occur
      No points to be calmer, we bringin drama to all you herbs
      Knuckle check the scenario, Little Cease
      I bring you fake G's to your knees
      Coppin pleas to 'De Janeiro'
      Lil Kim, is you coked up, or doped up?
      Get ya lil Junior Whopper click smoked up, what the fuck
      is you STUPID?!?! I take money, crash and mash through Brooklyn
      with my click lootin, shootin and pollutin ya block
      with 15 shots cock glock to your knot
      Outlaw mafia click movin up another notch
      And you bast stops squaws get mopped and dropped
      All your fake-ass east coast props brainstormed and locked...

    • 3 years ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • echoz:

      Verse Five: Edi
      Youse a, beat biter, a Pac style taker
      I'll tell you to ya face you aint shit but a faker
      Softer than Alize with a chaser
      Bout to get murdered for the paper
      Idi Amin approach the scene
      Write a caper, like a loc, with little ceaser in a choke hold
      Totin smoke, we aint no muthafuckin joke
      Thug Life, niggaz betta be knowin, we approchin
      in the wide open, guns smokin
      no need for hopin its a battle lost, I got across
      Soon as the funk was poppin off
      Nigga I hit em up

      Outro: Tupac
      Now you tell me who won
      I see them, they run
      They don't wanna see us
      Whole Junior M.A.F.I.A. click dressin up tryin ta be us
      How the fuck they gonna be the mob when we always on our job
      We millionaires, killin ain't fair but somebody gotta do it
      Oh yeah, Mobb Deep, you wanna fuck with us?
      You little young ass motherfuckers
      Don't one of you niggaz got sickle cell or somethin?
      You fuckin with me nigga you fuck around
      and have a seizure or a heart-attack
      You better back the fuck up, fore you get smacked the fuck up
      That's how we do it on our side
      Any of you niggaz from New York that wanna bring it bring it
      But we ain't singin, we bringin drama
      Fuck you and your motherfuckin mama
      We gonna kill all you motherfuckers
      Now when I came out I told you it was just about Biggie
      Then everybody had to open their mouth with a motherfuckin opinion
      Well this how we gonna do this
      Fuck Mobb Deep
      Fuck Biggie
      Fuck Bad Boy as a staff record label
      and as a motherfuckin crew
      And if you wanna be down with Bad Boy
      Then fuck you too
      Chino XL, fuck you too
      All you motherfuckers, fuck you too

      (take money)
      (take money)
      Alla y'all motherfuckers, fuck you die slow motherfucker
      My fo'-fo' make sure all y'all kids don't grow
      You motherfuckers can't be us or see us
      We the motherfuckin Thug Life ridahs WEESSSSSSIIIIIDE till we die!
      Out here in California we warn ya we'll bomb on you motherfuckers
      ...We do our job
      You think you mob, nigga we the motherfuckin mob
      Ain't nuttin but killers and the real niggaz
      All you motherfuckers feel us
      Our shit's going triple and four-quadruple
      (take money)
      You niggaz laugh coz our staff got guns at they
      motherfuckers belt, you know how it is
      When we drop records they felt
      You niggaz can't feel it
      We the realest, FUCK EM, we Bad Boy killaz!

    • 3 years ago
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  

    • And now we see the difference between a family farm and corporate agribusiness. Who do you think is more concerned about your health? Who do you think is more concerned with profit margin? We are all in business to make a living but there's a difference between profit and carpetbagging. Cutting corners at the risk of our health should never be part of the equation.

    • 3 years ago
  • whocontrolstheworld
    • 0
      whocontrolstheworld  
    • Image

    • "He found that one out of every three batches of certified organic corn had some contamination from GMOs..." -- it's terrifying to think that even farmers are often unaware of what is going into their feed. It makes me wonder... WHO is in control of what goes in feed, in food?

      I recently came across another story about GMOs: Farmers in Africa that have been taught safe, sustainable farming practices are being pressured (forced?) into planting GMO seeds. Corporations are making ties with African governments and using monetary incentive (increased production/increased trade) to increase pressure on these poorer countries.

      We need more farmers like Albert Straus who are willing and can stand up to the power structure to make food safer for us all. With enough support and action against corporate practices, farmers can take back their rights to safe and sustainable practices.

      Thanks for posting this story!

    • 3 years ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • Image

    • VOTE WITH YOUR FORKS!!! =D

      Q: Why does it matter?

      A. It matters because consumers have been guaranteed by federal law that products sold as "organic" have been produced to specific standards. In many cases consumers have paid a premium for this label ["USDA ORGANIC"], are" voting with their fork" and have the right to get what they pay for. In the case of consumers with chemical sensitivities, mislabeling can threaten the consumer's health. It also matters because organic farmers have paid a significant amount of money to get certified organic and have done a lot of extra work in terms of practices, inspections and record-keeping. It simply isn't fair for producers who have not done the work to pass themselves off as the same as those who have. It's also against the law.

      FOR PRODUCERS in New Mexico:

      If a grower wishes to sell a product as "organic," what to do?

      Call the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission ( NMOCC) at (505) 841-9070 to find out how to certify or register.

      The NMOCC is an agency of the state of New Mexico, and is accredited by the USDA's National Organic Program to provide organic certification services. We [NMOCC] also provide education and marketing assistance to organic producers and processors, and supply consumer information. The NMOCC has a regulatory role to protect consumers: making sure that the word "organic" is only used as allowed by state and federal law and that organic products are handled in a manner that does not compromise their organic integrity. Please call the Organic Commodity Commision with any problems or questions... (505) 841-9067.

      ***most excellent**** post Jan' thank you!!!!

    • 3 years ago
  • PWNtheVOTE
  • saltygirl
    • 0
      saltygirl  

    • Awesome, it's great to know that there are farmers and food producers willing to stand up for the safety of what they're putting out for us to consume. When more consumers are made aware of the dangers of GMOs and support producers like Mr Straus, more producers will get the picture and it won't be as difficult to find contaminant free food in the marketplace.

    • 3 years ago
  • MeganMcKenzie
    • 0
      MeganMcKenzie  

    • This area is not far from where I live and it is incredibly beautiful, rich in wildlife and it shows how humans have the ability to work and produce goods while also sustaining the environment.

    • 3 years ago
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