beled, therefore GMO products should be labeled as well. People have the right to be informed about what they are about to place in their bodies as food.
The GMO seeds used in developing nations under the guise of “feeding starving nations” is very controversial. Although these “frankenplants” might appear to feed the hungry in the short term, it will most likely back fire in the long run. Big agri-business practices will be very difficult for farmers to sustain in countries like Africa and elsewhere. Their soils are already poor of nutrients due to the lack of sustainable farming practices. GMO seeds, and the horrible pesticides that feed them, will worsen the situation. Instead, the farmers in these developing countries should be educated on sustaining healthy farms to grow healthy crops. Run off pesticides into the water supply further endangers the ecology resulting in added pollution and more diseases.
WANT TO HELP THE HONEY BEES MAKE A COME BACK?
- Try not to use pesticides around your house. I don’t use any pesticides and pick my own weeds the old fashioned way. Besides, it’s good exercise. Definitely, don’t use pesticides mid-day when honey bees are out looking for nectar. Also, do not use pesticides on flowering plants that attract bees.
- Attract bees in flower gardens by planting red clover, aster, black-eyed Susan, caltrop, currant, huckleberry, Joe-pye weed, lupine, elder, goldenrod, cotoneaster, foxglove, giant hyssop, globe thistle, sunflowers and zinnias. I’m sure there are plenty more choices to plant.
- Attract bees in herb gardens by planting basil, English lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage and oregano.
THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY (“Butterflies Are NOT Free” ) to migrate
In 1976, one billion monarchs gathered to the mountain top forests in central Mexico. Reaching 59% in decline, this is the 3rd straight year less butterflies are completing the journey from Canada and the United States to Mexico. The loss of native plants and milkweed are affecting the butterflies. American farmland has replaced milkweed plants, which monarch larvae feed on, with GE corn and soy laced with herbicides. Almost 150 million acres of monarch butterfly feeding grounds have disappeared. Recent droughts in the mid west, Texas and the southwest are making it more difficult for the monarch butterflies to complete their journey.
WANT TO HELP THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY MAKE A COME BACK?
- First – DO NOT kill caterpillars, they turn into butterflies.
- Plant milkweed and nectar producing plants.
- On a patio you can plant milkweed, passion vine and parsley.
- Create a mud puddle to provide male butterflies with the minerals necessary for reproduction. Just sink a pan into the ground filled with equal parts of sand and composted manure. If you can keep it moist, it will become a hangout for butterflies.
- Place scraps and chunks of rotting apples, pears, oranges and peaches into a mesh bag and hang from a tree to attract butterflies.
Visit the website Monarch Watch for some more great information on butterfly conservation and projects to help save this beautiful butterfly.
Whether it’s the dying birds and penguins, the colony collapse disorder of honeybees or the decline of the monarch butterfly, one thing is very clear. Practices such as these: Using more super pesticides, stripping the land of it’s natural plants like milkweed and polluting the atmosphere and oceans/rivers all have one thing in common. They are all human induced. The challenge is for us to minimize the negative impact we are creating. Are we up for the challenge?