The garden this group started in Wattle Park is coming along splendidly.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Sunday 11 September 2011
A very practical gate to plate
The garden this group started in Wattle Park is coming along splendidly.
Friday 9 September 2011
Local meat co-op brings home the gravy
A win for local meat co-op
Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin said she is very pleased that her lobbying on behalf of the Northern Co-operative Meat Company has paid off.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig has come up with a $25.8 million package to support the meat processing industry with the implementation of the new Australian Export Meat Inspection System (AEMIS).
“I have been lobbying the Minister this year on behalf of the Northern Co-operative Meat Company Ltd and the meat industry in general, calling for a funding package to cover the extra market access costs, such as additional meat inspectors.
“The General Manager of Northern Co-operative Meat Company, Garry Burridge, who is also head of Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC), has done a great job in his advocacy. He put up the strong industry arguments.
“I was able to champion his just cause for the local workers and all involved in the meat processing industry.
“The minister has agreed with me that the meat processing industry needs extra support to change over to the new meat inspection system which starts in October.
“The package accepted by the AMIC is for $25.8 million in rebates for the industry.
“Persistence had paid off. I knew it was hard to lobby on this, particularly when a scheme had been agreed to that would cut out at a certain point.
“I’ll be speaking on this in Parliament when the legislative instruments for the new certification system, along with the new fee structure, are introduced.
“Minister Ludwig once he’d made the decision was keen to tell me.
“I have now invited the Minister to come to the electorate again and visit the meatworks,” Ms Saffin said.
[Janelle Saffin MP for Page Media Release 5 September 2011]
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Robert Briseno and Kelly McFadden take on ConAgra Foods Inc over deceptive GMO food labelling
According to the Food Court blog:
two separate class-action suits (McFadden et al v. ConAgra Foods Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, no. 11-3186; Briseno et al v. ConAgra Foods Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, no. 11-5379) seek millions of dollars in refunds on behalf of recent purchasers the Wesson oil line — including canola oil, vegetable oil, corn oil and a blend — as well as a court order prohibiting Con-Agra from making its all-natural claim on Wesson oils.
An application to merge Briseno et al with McFadden et al appears to have been lodged on 16 August 2011.
Robert Briseno et al versus ConAgra Foods Inc [2011]
Tuesday 16 August 2011
Profile of a McDonald's fast food customer
Pic from ourweed.com
The discovery of 79g of marijuana inside a McDonald's brown paper takeaway bag led to police confiscating a total of 130g from one fast food afficianado on the 6th June 2011.
Locals are pointing to the possibility that he was a customer of the McDonald's hamburger joint in Yamba.
Just another reason why franchisee Scott Campbell's name is not top of the pops in that small NSW coastal town.
Locals are pointing to the possibility that he was a customer of the McDonald's hamburger joint in Yamba.
Just another reason why franchisee Scott Campbell's name is not top of the pops in that small NSW coastal town.
Thursday 11 August 2011
Just how safe is the food we buy?
Number of food recalls coordinated by FSANZ,
shown by recall classification,
shown by recall classification,
between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2010.
Number of recalls by food class
from 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2010
Click on graphs to enlarge
from 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2010
Click on graphs to enlarge
In April 2011 a Byron Bay business was fined $1,320 for the Sale of unsuitable food - Leptin Green Coffee 800 sold on internet - contained chemical agent, bis-Desmethylsibutramine, foreign to the nature of the food. This tea (along with leptin jelly and chocolate products) originated in China according to the NSW Food Authority and, six months earlier in October 2010 it was subject to recall in Australia.
This is not the first food recall of the year as I discovered when I went to the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website where I found this sad window on the food we eat:
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
It would appear that food recalls in 2011 may possibly outstrip the 2010 total by the end of this year.
Sunday 31 July 2011
The Banana Mortgage Belt
As we leave July and enter August 2011, buying a banana is still a luxury for many on the NSW North Coast at around $14-$16 a kilo in some of the larger supermarkets.The Australian Bureau of Statistics kindly places the pain in our wallets into perspective.
ABS CPI June quarter 2011 up 0.9%
The ABS Consumer Price Index rose 0.9% in the June quarter 2011, compared with a rise of 1.6% in the March quarter 2011.
The most significant price rises this quarter were for fruit (+26.9%), automotive fuel (+4.0%), hospital and medical services (+3.4%), furniture (+6.0%) and deposit and loan facilities (+2.1%). The most significant offsetting price falls were for vegetables (–10.3%), audio, visual and computing equipment (–6.3%), electricity (–1.5%), domestic holiday travel and accommodation (–1.5%) and milk (–4.6%).
Fruit prices increased by 26.9% in the June quarter 2011 mainly due to an increase of approximately 138% in the price of bananas due to shortages created by Cyclone Yasi. Banana prices increased 470% over the six months to the June quarter 2011.
The ABS Consumer Price Index rose 3.6% through the year to the June quarter 2011, compared with a rise of 3.3% through the year to March quarter 2011.
Thursday 28 July 2011
MeadowLea and The Case of the Missing Non-GM Oils
Snapshot from MeadowLea About Our Products Ingredients, 26 July 2011MeadowLea promotes its margarines as Non GM on the outside of its tubs.
However, on the base of the these same tubs a question arises as to the legitimacy of this claim.
Firstly, only the canola seed is claimed to be Non-Genetically Modified on the tub bases.
Secondly, on the bottom of Salt Reduced and Extra Light tubs, I've noticed the claim only covers part of Vegetable Oils 65% (Containing 52% Canola & Sunflower Oils) and Vegetable Oil 31% (Containing 26% Canola & Sunflower Oil) respectively.
So what is the nature of the remainder of the vegetable oil (13% and 5% in the examples quoted) called plant & seed oils on its website and hidden within the term Vegetable Oil(s) on its tubs.
Could it possibly be from plant material that cannot be guaranteed as Non-GM?
Hhmmmm.....
Monday 18 July 2011
GMO News: Monsanto's unusual payments and CSIRO denial of link to biotech giant
According to an American Public Media Marketplace Morning Report radio segment on 30 June 2011:
NANCY MARSHALL GENZER: Monsanto's Roundup herbicide was a blockbuster for years. Then China made a generic knockoff. To counter that, Monsanto started a program to give distributors cash incentives to buy Roundup. The SEC wouldn't comment.
But the federal government has investigated Monsanto for alleged anti-competitive practices before. Monsanto declined my interview request. But in a conference call yesterday CEO Hugh Grant said the company is co-operating. The company also says it's phasing out the incentives. And its seed business appears to be blossoming.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has had cause to address the matter of unusual payments with Monsanto & Co. before as seen here:
Monsanto Company: Lit. Rel. No. 19023 / January 6, 2005
First, the Commission filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia charging Monsanto with violating the FCPA and seeking a civil penalty. The Commission further charged that the senior Monsanto manager devised a scheme whereby false invoices were submitted to Monsanto and the senior Monsanto manager approved the invoices for payment. The approximate $700,000 was derived from a bogus product registration scheme undertaken by two Indonesian entities owned or controlled by Monsanto. As a result of the conduct described above, the Commission charged that Monsanto violated the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA (Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). In a related proceeding, the United States Department of Justice has entered into an agreement with Monsanto Company to defer prosecution on charges of violating the anti-bribery and books and records provisions of the FCPA.
Monsanto Company: Admin. Proc. Rel. No. 34-50978 / January 6, 2005
File No. 3-11789 In the Matter of MONSANTO COMPANY, Respondent. PTMK reports to Monsanto through Monsanto's Asia Pacific regional management, which is headquartered in Singapore. PTBS reports to Monsanto through Monsanto's Asia Pacific regional management, which is headquartered in Singapore. During the period, the Indonesian affiliates violated the accounting policies, controls, and procedures of Monsanto. Monsanto wanted to increase acceptance of GMO crops in Indonesia. The senior Monsanto manager is a citizen of, and was based in, the United States. On behalf of Monsanto, the senior Monsanto manager, management of the Indonesian affiliates, and the consulting firm employee lobbied for legislation and ministerial decrees favorable to GMO crops. In order to fund the $50,000 payment, the senior Monsanto manager devised a scheme involving false invoices. The invoices were submitted to Monsanto in the United States on December 20, 2001, several weeks before the second trip occurred.
Charles Michael Martin: Lit. Rel. No. 20029 /March 6, 2007
The complaint further alleged that to generate the funds to make the illegal $50,000 payment and to conceal the unlawful activity, Martin directed the Consulting Firm to create a set of invoices to falsely bill Monsanto in an amount sufficient to cover the illegal payment. Martin subsequently approved the false invoices for payment by Monsanto, and took steps to ensure that Monsanto paid the false invoices, thereby causing Monsanto's books and records to be falsified and circumventing Monsanto's system of internal accounting controls. Based, in part, on these allegations, the Commission previously filed a settled enforcement action and instituted settled administrative proceedings against Monsanto. SEC v. Monsanto Co., Case No. 1:05CV00014 (D.D.C. January 6, 2005); Monsanto Company, No. 3-11789, Exchange Act Rel.
Closer to home the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation denies it has links to Monsanto. The denial comes despite its collaborative efforts with that giant biotech corporation with regard to developing novel plant material based on Monsanto patented genes, especially Ingard Cotton in the 1990s and, the fact that this cooperation appears to exist to date if Monsanto itself is to be believed in 2011.
Indeed, these commercial R & D links being so well-known that they are often recognised in academic papers.
['Consolidating Control: Plant Variety Rights, Genes and Seeds']One has to wonder why the CSIRO was so foolish as to make such a blanket denial.
Saturday 2 July 2011
Monsanto's GM canola? Can't give the stuff away in WA
The following may be read while softly humming that old song Who’s sorry now?
The West Australian on December 16, 2010:
Harvesting a WA record 13,000-hectare genetically modified canola crop is a time-critical challenge for man and machine.
Monsanto plays hard in the West Australian on April 21, 2011:
GM canola seed company Monsanto estimated GM canola crops would surge from about 70,000 hectares to 100,000ha in WA this year.
On GM Canola seed costs for farmers in the West Australian on May 18, 2011:
“The seed is about $70 a hectare, but home-grown seed is about $12-$18 a hectare….. GM canola growers need to pay seed developer Monsanto a $3 technology fee on top of the seed and an end point royalty of $13.20 when they deliver the product. GM canola is also discounted on the world market, with growers receiving about $20 a tonne less than regular varieties.
The West Australian on May 26, 2011:
Two of Australia’s biggest grain traders say they have no plans to take genetically modified canola this season.
Elders-Toepfer Grain acting WA accumulations manager Ben Noll said the company was not currently taking GM canola and that was unlikely to change as the season progressed.
“From where we sit at the moment, we’re all non-GM, ” he said.
“We’re in the process of being involved in certification for the sustainability of canola products.”
Under the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, canola for the European premium-paying biofuel market requires International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), which means sustainably produced canola is in and GM canola is out.
Glencore Grain, both Australia and WA’s second-biggest grain exporter, is not taking GM canola either — at least for the moment.
The company is also in the midst of ISCC……
Mr Haddrill said 95 per cent of WA’s canola went to Europe last year and given the dry conditions across much of northern Europe, demand would likely be high again this season……..
Gavilon currently has a $40 discount for GM canola and AWB has a $30 discount.
Viterra has GM canola bidding at $45 below non-GM and Emerald at $30 below.
The Hon. Peter Collier representing the West Australia Minister for Agriculture in the WA Parliament on June 23, 2011 in response to questions from Lynn McLaren MLC:
Question: How much GM canola was produced last year?
Answer: 49, 000 tonnes.
Question: How much of this GM canola has been sold and to whom?
Answer: I am advised that none of this canola has been sold at this point….
A. Tom Powell, Binnu The Countryman 10-6-10
B. Andrew Messina, Mullewa The West Australian 13-4-10
C. R & M Appleyard, Northern Gully The Countryman 24-6-10
D. J&B Bagley, Mingenew The Countryman 25-5-10
E. Bill Crabtree, Morowa Farm Weekly 4-2-10
F. Brian Ellis, Bindi Bindi Farm Weekly
G. John Shadbolt, ,Nungarin The Countryman 15-4-10
H. Jason Haywood, Goomalling The Counyry Man 17-6-10
I. Mervyn Burges, Meckering The West Australian 22-5-10
J. John Snooke, Meckering The West Australian 9-4-10
K. David Fullwood, Cunderdin The Countryman 18-3-10
L. Les Thompson, Wagin thecountryman.com.au/article/2912.html
M. Chris Hockey, Gibson thecountryman.com.au/article/2805.html
N. Michael Shields, Wongan Hills
1. Bodallin
2. Wongan Hills
3. Kojonup
http://fw.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/huge-gm-canola-planting-at-bodallin/1874316.aspx?storypage=0
O. Craig Simpkin, Binnu 2ha 5ac The Countryman 1-7-10
* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Friday 10 June 2011
Gene Ethics: Grain traders snub GM canola
Excerpt from a Gene Ethics media releases of 3 March and 26 May 2011:
Major grain purchaser Co-operative Bulk Handlers (CBH) has confirmed that strong demand for non-GM canola has resulted in premiums of $50/tonne over the price for GM canola (See MR attached). The co-operative's March 3 Grain Weekly says: "By far and away the biggest development this marketing season has been the increased demand for Australian non-GM sustainable canola.
European and Australian demand for GM-free grain is so strong that leading grain traders Elders-Toepfer and Glencore Grain refuse to buy any genetically manipulated (GM) canola this year. And traders that buy GM will pay up to $45/tonne less than for non-GM grain.
“This market is a bonanza for the majority of Australian grain growers who wisely stayed with non-GM canola varieties,” says Gene Ethics Director, Bob Phelps.
“Ninety five per cent of Western Australia's canola sold to Europe last year and strong demand is expected to continue, but only for non-GM. European shoppers have zero tolerance for GM canola.
Monday 6 June 2011
Is Monsanto telling untruths?
On 3 March 2011 the bio-tech multinational Monsanto Corporation stated on its own corporate blog Beyond The Rows in the post Monsanto's Commitment: Farmers and Patents:
It has never been, nor will it be Monsanto policy to exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seed or traits are present in farmer's fields as a result of inadvertent means.
In a written statement to ABC Rural, plant breeder Monsanto says It has never been, nor will it be, its policy to exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of patented traits are present in a farmer's paddock or grain as a result of inadvertent means.
It has never been, nor will it be Monsanto policy to exercise its patent rights where trace amounts of our patented seed or traits are present in farmer’s fields as a result of inadvertent means.
Monsanto confirms this policy in a letter from its legal representatives Wilmer Hale on 28 April 2011:
However, I can find no formal Monsanto policy document online which sets out this exemption for accidental contamination of non-GMO farmland or crops.
Nor can I find any current publicly available company documents which define the terms trace amounts and inadvertent means.
As accidental contamination by GMO seeds in Australia has been recorded at seventy per cent of the area of one West Australian organic farm, one has to wonder why trace amounts is so vague a phrase and what implications this may have as contamination instances spread.
It also remains a concern that while Monsanto continues to insist on patent enforcement it also insists that it is not liable for loss suffered from accidental contamination according to this legal opinion of 19 February 2011:
The language: "In no event shall Monsanto or any seller be liable for any incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages" limits and restricts the ability to sue for any damages. There is no "hold harmless" clause contained in the agreement to benefit the growers.
Monsanto's agreement shifts all liability to the growers, including contamination issues or any potential future liability.
* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.
Oh no Brad, tell me it ain't so!
If the idea of genetically modified crops made you feel slightly queasy, then a technicolour yawn might be induced at even the passing thought that it's not only fictional serial killers who may've been having something extra with their fava beans.
Of course the only possible place to hide the stuff originally derived from R&D using human cells would possibly be in the "high fructose corn syrup" or "natural" flavouring. Then again the blog first reporting this was an American Christian pro-life site and thus its balance is suspect.
Conclusion: No-one is actually eating foetal product, but quite a few food and beverage multinationals are somewhat embarrassed because it seems that they probably do benefit from research and development originally based on human embryonic stem cells – and maybe cadavers.
Monday 23 May 2011
Abbott tries to calculate a carbon price on goods produced by a church-owned health food company
Here’s Tones in crusading mode last week as he began his latest media blitz against a national price on carbon pollution:
“This carbon tax is going to be so toxic because it's going to make the price of manufacturing everything here in Australia much, much higher,” Abbott told the Herald Sun at the NSW Sanitarium Health Foods factory, which makes the popular Weet-Bix breakfast cereal.”
Oooh, aah, we won’t be able to afford our hot weeties on a cold winter morning if the dastardly Gillard gets her way!
Hold on – isn’t there a small problem with this scenario? Not only is the manufacture of health foods, spreads, snacks and breakfast cereals not listed among the highest polluting industries in Oz, but the Australian Health & Nutrition Association Ltd (trading as Sanitarium) is owned by the very conservative Seventh Day Adventist Church, a charitable institution operating on Christian based principles.
Which is really a polite code signifying that its profits are protected in large measure (eg. Income Tax exemption, GST concession, FBT rebate) and under the new rules proposed by the Federal Government loss of tax exemption status will not apply to its existing commercial activities for some years to come.
So if anyone could absorb the probably low flow-on costs from a so-called carbon tax introduced in 2012-13 it would surely be this church-run business.
In fact the only price rises Sanitarium itself is foreshadowing are due to rising global commodity prices (including cereal grain prices) which affect its supply of raw materials. Something I'm sure they quietly told Tones. Along with the fact that the industry peak body to which it belongs told the Gillard Government in early 2011 that it agreed with a carbon pricing mechanism:
"AFGC is of the view that it is not a question of whether Australia should become more energy efficient and reduce emissions, but by how much, by what means and at what cost to the economy.
The most critical response to climate change is a globally consistent approach, including a common price signal for all greenhouse gas emissions. In this global context, Australia should develop a strategic national approach to emissions reduction and carbon pricing policy measures".
Saturday 23 April 2011
Banded Morwong begins the hard fight against a decline towards extinction
It was inevitable that evidence of the impact of climate change on marine life would move away from corals and hard-shelled creatures and focus on fish.
As an edible fish the Banded Morwong forms part of Australia’s native food stocks.
On 17 April 2011 Nature Climate Change magazine published Tolerance limit for fish growth exceeded by warming waters by A. B. Neuheimer, R. E. Thresher, J. M. Lyle & J. M. Semmens which demonstrates that this fish is beginning to be adversely affected by increased seawater temperatures:
Our data demonstrate that increasing water temperatures have pushed a species past the point where warming is beneficial to growth, and suggest mechanisms for range contraction as a result of this increase. The distribution of any species is a function of local environmental conditions and the likelihood of spawning and subsequent recruitment of juveniles. For populations living at the warm-edge of their distribution, temperatures that surpass TP result in higher metabolic costs and less availability of energy for growth and reproduction. Declining growth rates are also likely to reduce fecundity and egg quality, both of which vary directly with female size in fish (see, for example, ref. 25), and increase the risk of predation and starvation. Additionally, the loss of large fish at high temperatures is expected, as thermal sensitivity (via oxygen supply restriction) increases with body size. All of these effects imply a reduction in the population’s recruitment success24 and productivity.
Photograph from Reef Watch Victoria
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Is Australia's food security failsafe measure under threat?
In January 2011 Australia had donated USD $13,047,051 to the Global Crop Diversity Trust’s Svalbard seed vault in Norway, with another USD $8.1 million.Australia is currently the third largest national government financial donor to the Trust after Norway, Britain, and the United States. Chairperson of the Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity (Australia), Professor John Lovett, sits on its board.
Among the individual foundation/corporation donations to the Trust so far, only the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/UN Foundation has given more than Australia or Norway, Britain and America.
In February this year Victorian farmer Dr. Tony Gregson travelled to Norway with 301 samples of field peas and 42 rare chickpeas, presumably for inclusion in the Australian Gene Banks held in the vault.
The Svalbard seed vault has been in operation for three years and has been plagued with budgetary and operational problems which seriously threaten ongoing seed viability.
Climate change impacts are predicted to hit Australia hard and those successive natural disasters we have experienced since late 2010 have shown us the possible scale of these impacts.
So what is the Australian Government doing to ensure that all these well-meaning geneticists, biologists, farmers and other seed collectors (attempting to insure that the country’s food security is assured) are not working hard in vain? Are the Global Crop Biodiversity Trust’s activities being monitored closely at ministerial level?
Monday 11 April 2011
The road to a hardier banana
With half the Northern Rivers rigid with shock since the humble Aussie banana skyrocketed past $15 a kilo and then entered the stratosphere to become a diamond-studded luxury item in the wake of record breaking natural disasters across the country; the mind turns to how limp yet pricey nanas might be avoided in future. Perhaps Waitrose found an answer on 1 April 2010 when it published this advert?
Friday 25 February 2011
McDonald's Australia - a fast food nightmare
No wonder that McDonald’s new fast food outlet in Yamba doesn’t appear to be doing a roaring business during peak tourist season on the Clarence Coast:
It contains 1623 calories and 68.5g of fat.
It's McDonald's new Favourites Combo - being promoted as a lunch meal for one, which contains almost the entire daily recommended calorie and fat intake.
Tania Ferraretto, a dietician for 17 years, said she would never recommend anyone eat the calorific meal.
She said a person's required calorie intake was variable depending on age, gender and activity level but that the average adult needed about 2000 calories per day.
"This McDonald's meal is a huge proportion of that," Ms Ferraretto said. The meal is also dangerously high in saturated fat - containing a whopping 24.4g.
"That's more saturated fat in one meal than you need in one day," Ms Ferraretto said.
"Saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.
"I think it's completely irresponsible and ridiculous to promote a meal like this, especially in the current climate with obesity being such a problem."
The promotion hit South Australian stores on January 25 and will only be available until March 2.
In the middle of the promotional period, the Cancer Council released results from a national survey which revealed one in four high school students were overweight or obese and 51 per cent had tried a new food or drink in the past month that they had seen advertised.
McDonald's Hindley St store manager Yihong Hu said the Favourites Combo promotion was proving to be popular…….
[www.news.com.au, 20 February 2011]
Monday 21 February 2011
And this is a biotech company FSANZ takes at its word......
On of the most disturbing facts about methodology employed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand when it 'investigates' new food products or genetically modified food/food additives, is that it takes the so-called research offered in support of produce/product safety at face value when it is presented by biotech multinationals such as Monsanto & Company.
It is almost as though FSANZ is completely blind to a corporate history of environmental damage, deceit and avoidance of responsibility that is the trademark of this multinational.
It is almost as though FSANZ is completely blind to a corporate history of environmental damage, deceit and avoidance of responsibility that is the trademark of this multinational.
Apparently choosing to believe that biotech industries miraculously operate differently once they establish themselves in Australia.
This is posted on the Environment Agency U.K. concerning what The Guardian U.K. called in 2007 one of the most contaminated places in Britain:
Between 1965-70 Brofiscin quarry was used as a disposal site for industrial and chemical waste.
The wastes included toxic substances such as solvents, heavy metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs.......
We have completed our extensive enquiries to identify those we consider should be held responsible under the contaminated land laws and be held liable for the cost of remediating Brofiscin Quarry. We are at an advanced stage in our consultations with BP, Veolia and Monsanto to provide them with the opportunity to help remediate the land on a voluntary basis. We expect to make further progress on this matter in the next few months. If this approach is unsuccessful, we have the power to carry out the work needed ourselves and recover our costs. The three companies have been identified under the legislation as inheriting the liabilities of companies who were associated with depositing wastes at the quarry.
This is not the only site used by Monsanto which has problems with PCB or other toxic contamination - the company doesn't mind polluting its home country, wrecking the health of its own workers, generally running roughshod over the interest of countries in which it operates and, if the Ecologist is to be believed is not above bullying witnesses to its bad corporate behaviour.
* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.
Thursday 10 February 2011
I'll buy your fallen bananas Queensland
I’ll buy your fallen bananas Queensland because that’s what mates do when times are tough.
But because these bananas will be going to my very elderly mother who suffers with health problems, I ask all growers to remember consumer safety ranks higher than their need for income.
If in doubt chuck it out!
Mike
Grafton NSW
* GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration.
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