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Volume2- Issue
4 Spring 2005 ISSN # 1545-8903 | GREEN
DOVEPeace
Magazine |
Speak truth to power and they call
it revolution... ...Eugene V. Debs | ||||
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| Peace,
Like Water Sheri
Rene' Watson Peace
"As the one fire assumes | | WE Margarita Engle Two letters as far removed as the football scores and battlefields viewed on the evening news. Connected, W and E allow us to call our invasion defensive and their defense an offense the vocabulary of high school seniors chatting with uniformed recruiters who criss-cross the campus handing out brochures about team spirit camaraderie war. | ||||
IRAQ
VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR (Statement on the second
anniversary of the invasion) Today marks the second anniversary of the invasion
and occupation of Iraq, a key milestone in the current U.S. Government’s campaign
of lies and deceit common since 9/11. We were first told that there was a link
between Iraq and the horrible 9/11 attacks. But there was none. Then we
were told that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction; yet only a few old warheads
and some dormant bacterial cultures have been found despite rigorous searching.
Then finally, we were told that Saddam Hussein was training terrorists to attack
the United States, but no terrorist presence seems to have existed in Iraq prior
to the massive build-up in early 2003. Post-invasion Iraq, however, has
clearly become a hotbed for new terrorist threats.
We, the veterans of the war, now know all of these reasons for invading the sovereign country of Iraq were false, and we have paid a heavy price for these lies. Two years into a seemingly endless war, our nation has incurred a terrible debt, while the corporations who profit from the business of war reap millions. Our deficit has climbed to a rate that can only be paid - Continued on Page 3 | ||||||
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The best indicators of the health and prosperity of Bloomington are those that show a balance in human livability, environmental responsibility, economic efficiency, and social/cultural equity. These can be measured by looking at the city’s ecological footprint – its resource and energy use. Such measurable indicators as: air quality, home ownership, affordable housing, job growth, water consumption, recycling, traffic congestion, vehicle miles traveled, tree canopy, toxic releases and green space can be monitored and evaluated on a regular basis, thus determining the well being of the community at regular intervals. Economic
growth must not take precedence over the city’s environmental, social and cultural
health or over the future quality of life of Bloomington residents. Greenspace
preservation and incentives for alternative transportation should be encouraged
as should the development of green business. Mixed use neighborhoods, with retail
spaces and affordable housing, close to public transportation routes are development
to strive for. The Center for Sustainable Living can be
reached at 812-332-8796, or visit at 521
West Kirkwood, Bloomington IN. Special supplement of the INDIANA
HOLISTIC HEALTH Network’s CRANE NEWSLETTER AND LOCAL
FOOD NEWS! | IN THIS ISSUE - One Million Service Members Go Underserved - A Defeat for an Empire – Robert Jensen - Eat Where You Live: Five
Reasons to buy Local Food by Denise Breeden - Iraq’s
Crop Patent Law A threat to food Security by GM Free Cymru - Drowned Questions
by David Keppel - Fighting In the Plurl by Norma
Lee Harrison - Before You Come Rejoicing by
Kennenth Rehill - Consumer Food News * - ON LINE ONLY at http://www.greendove.net/zine - Global Water News Monroe County Water Resources - Alternative
News Radio and Television Links - Poets
for Peace - www.greendove.net/peacepoets.htm - CALENDAR of events and alerts www.greendove.net/calendar - Green Shopping, Local Food, Farmer’s Market,
Children’s Book List
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People in such a system are more than twice as likely to be employed and drug
free. In such a system Ms. Comiskey might still be alive. The problem is such
a system relies on scientific facts, logic, and reason. It diminishes moralists
who feel certain drug use is simply wrong, and should be punished. Given the current
budgetary state of affairs in Indiana and America, we should re-evaluate our current
approach if for no other purpose than to save money. The additional benefit would
be healthier people, fewer broken homes, more people in the work force.Epilogue
Mitch Gooldy apparently will spend the next 40 years in jail for his vehicular
homicide of Ms. Comiskey. Current costs for incarceration alone are over $26,000
per year (not including courts, police and legal expenses- actual costs closer
to $78,000 per year) which will drive the cost to society to over $1 Million for
this man. This does not include the loss of life and productivity of Ms. Comiskey.
Society will also pay any and all of Mr. Gooldy's future medical care and feed
him. Outpatient drug rehabilitation costs about five thousand dollars per treatment
cycle with 'cure rates' of about 20 percent. Even if it took 5 or 6 treatment
cycles to 'cure' Mr. Gooldy, this would have been a pittance compared to what
we as a society today face for his penance. Who does his incarceration punish?
Him? Certainly. Society (tax payers)? Certainly. Ms. Comiskey's family? Certainly.
Is there any benefit to anyone with his vehicular homicide and incarceration?
Nothing apparent. In retrospect, had we as a society been forward thinking could
this sad event have been prevented? Perhaps. What if Mr. Gooldy had been directed
into a treatment program instead of DEA snitchery? Who would have benefited? Mr.
Gooldy? Certainly. Society (tax payers)? Certainly. Ms. Comiskey's family? Certainly.
So what is keeping civil society from forward thinking about drug use and abuse?
Is it fear? Guilt? Weakness? Shame? Religion? Societies where drug users and abusers
are treated as people with nuisance behavior, public health problems, medical
problems, or mental health problems have by far: fewer people in jail; less crime;
higher employment rates; fewer drug users (especially youthful users); healthier
people and neighborhoods; and stronger family units. These countries recognize
the value of harm reduction, prevention, and education. Here in America we have
approached such problems as tobacco and alcohol use in such a fashion quite successfully.
This also has included legal regulated markets that guarantee quality, concentration
and tax revenue. We should be so intelligent about drug use. Clark Brittain is
57, happily married to the incomparable Mary Mahern, father to Parker, Marti'n
Diego, Anyah and stepfather to Aaron Nadell. He is a practicing Gynecologist
in Bloomington, IN, where his family attends the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Social justice issues drive him to explore improvements in how society deals with
real and perceived problems. There are many areas ripe for such improvement, and
one of his favorites happens to be substance use/abuse. - On the web at - www.drbrittain.com | Green Dove Note Dear People, Finally pulling my head up out of a mental cocoon. Finally developing a clear picture of how to move forward with Green Dove. Move forward with the energy I can and the resources made available. Please donate to Green Dove. Contribute your resources and your time into our/your community. Help Bloomington on its road toward becoming a Sustainable City. Green Dove is an anchor and a connector to peace resources, locally and globally. A link to ideas and creative energies that help in accessing sustainable community and world resources. Green Dove Peace Magazine will be published as a quarterly and we are pleased to announce the First Annual Green Dove Chapbook Competition : $100 first prize plus 25 copies. Manuscripts 16-24 pages, including title/contents/acknowledgements. Reading fee: $10 00 non-refundable. Deadline - September 4th postmark. No entries returned. January notification. Entries to: Green Dove Poetry Chapbook, P.O. Box 8172, Bloomington, IN 47407 - Visit www.greendove.net/poetrychap.htm What is peace work worth to you? Make a donation today! Green
Dove Send Mail to - Green Dove Network, Inc.P.O. Box 8172Bloomington, In 47407, mailings@greendove.net Make Checks to Green Dove Network, Inc. ------------------------------------ Green Dove Peace Magazine will be published every four to six weeks on the web by the Green Dove Network and will be available as a print edition four times a year. Green Dove is dedicated to being a presence for peace, featuring articles, book reviews, poetry, art, and current events and resources around Bloomington, the state of Indiana, and the world. Green Dove Network is a 501-C3 non-profit. Your tax-deductible donations contribute to the cost of maintaining and developing Green Dove as a community peace resource. ------------------------------------ FREELANCERS NEEDED! The Green Dove Network articles, reviews, poetry and arts for publication in our web and print publications, The Green Dove Peace Magazine (quarterly), The CRANE, newsletter of the Indiana Holistic Health Network and FOOD NEWS, newsletter for Local Food. -----------------------------------
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Page 2 – Vol.2-4– SPRING 2005 GREEN
DOVE |
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Now Many Go Under Served In the
last two years, nearly one million U.S. service-members have served in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Regardless of how you may feel about the war, most of us agree that
those service-members deserve the best possible care and treatment our country
can provide. Veterans
for Common Sense has made available on the internet, and soon in print, a guide for returning
veterans to help them navigate the available benefits and assistance available. Our
goal is to make it as comprehensive as possible, to let returning veterans know
of where they can get assistance if there are any issues with readjustment on
their return home. Iraq Veterans Against the War – Continued
from Page 1 We,
the veterans of the war, now know all of these reasons for invading the sovereign
country of Iraq were false, and we have paid a heavy price for these lies.
Two years into a seemingly endless war, our nation has incurred a terrible debt,
while the corporations who profit from the business of war reap millions. Our
deficit has climbed to a rate that can only be paid by our children’s grandchildren.
While our domestic programs crumble, the social and economic future of our children
is indeed bleak. Most tragic, over 1,500 of our comrades in arms have given
the ultimate sacrifice for this senseless, imprudent, and immoral policy of war
and occupation. A cross section of our county, these extraordinary men and
women came from all walks of life. They were both poor and wealthy, high
school dropouts and highly trained professionals. All believed in their
country’s leadership and in their own duty to that country, and so they went into
needless slaughter. Every one of these fallen comrades was loved by their
families, and many in their community. They were our sons and daughters,
our husbands and wives, our brothers and sisters, our fathers and mothers; most
of all, they were our friends and they are sorely missed. If
they could arise from their graves and speak, they would tell us to find a better
way to solve our conflicts. Whatever
the reasons for this counterproductive conflict, it is now clear that it had nothing
to do with helping the Iraqi people. We, the troops, were told that we were
not invaders and occupiers, but liberators and protectors of the Iraqi people,
and that we would bring them freedom, prosperity and a better life. Specific
numbers of the Iraqi dead are not known, since “We don’t do body counts,” as General
Tommy Franks said. However, we do know that we shoulder some of the responsibility
for the thousands of innocent civilians that have been killed. In addition,
important commodities such as food, water, power, and sanitation are not readily
available, ensuring the continued suffering and death of countless innocent Iraqis.
Iraqi children play among explosives and clouds of depleted uranium dust, and
bombings of markets and mosques are a daily occurrence. In many ways, we
have made the lives of average Iraqis worse, not better, since the invasion.
It is no wonder, then, that the terrorism that was not present in Iraq prior to
the US invasion is now a daily reality there. On the
second anniversary of this unwise, unjust, and unproductive invasion, Iraq Veterans
Against the War call upon our President, the Congress, and all elected officials
to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq and the
Middle East. We also demand full funding for the medical needs of our returning
veterans, including treatment for post traumatic stress disorder and the effects
of depleted uranium. Finally, we call for all citizens of the United States to
demand that their government end the pillaging and destruction of Iraq so that
everyday Iraqi people can control their own lives and country. Iraq
Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is a group of veterans who have served
since September 11th, 2001 including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation
Iraqi Freedom. We are committed to saving lives and ending the violence in Iraq
by an immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces. We also believe that the governments
that sponsored these wars are indebted to the men and women who were forced to
fight them and must give their soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen the benefits
that are owed to them upon their return home. We welcome all active duty, national
guard, reservists, and recent veterans into our ranks.
(IVAW) http://www.ivaw.net/, Media contact: Katya Kruglak, (703) 304-5075 cell --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
- The World Social Forum is not an organisation, not a united front platform,
but "…an open meeting place for reflective thinking, democratic debate of
ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and inter-linking
for effective action, by groups and movements of civil society that are opposed
to neo- liberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism,
and are committed to building a society centred on the human person".
From the WSF Charter of Principles). http://www.wsfindia.org/
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A
Defeat For an Empireby Robert Jensen The
United States has lost the war in Iraq, and that's a good thing. I don't
mean that the loss of American and Iraqi lives is to be celebrated. The death
and destruction are numbingly tragic, and the suffering in Iraq is hard for most
of us in the United States to comprehend. The
tragedy is compounded because these deaths haven't protected Americans or brought
freedom to Iraqis. They have come in the quest to extend the American empire in
this "new American century." So,
as a U.S. citizen, I welcome the U.S. defeat for a simple reason: It isn't the
defeat of the United States -- its people or their ideals -- but of that empire.
And it's essential that the American empire be defeated and dismantled. The
fact that the Bush administration says we are fighting for freedom and democracy
(having long ago abandoned fictions about weapons of mass destruction and terrorist
ties) does not make it so. We must
look at the reality, no matter how painful. The people of Iraq are better off
without Saddam Hussein's despised regime, but that does not prove our benevolent
intentions or guarantee that the United States will work to bring meaningful democracy
to Iraq. In Iraq,
the Bush administration invaded not to liberate but to extend and deepen U.S.
domination. When Bush said, "We have no territorial ambitions; we don't seek
an empire," on Nov. 11, 2002, he told a half-truth. The
United States doesn't want to absorb Iraq or take direct possession of its oil.
That's not the way of empire today; it's about control over the flow of oil and
oil profits, not ownership. In a
world that runs on oil, the nation that controls the flow of oil has great strategic
power. U.S. policy-makers want leverage over the economies of competitors -- Western
Europe, Japan and China -- that are more dependent on Middle Eastern oil. The
Bush administration has invested money and lives in making Iraq a platform from
which the United States can project power. That
requires not the liberation of Iraq but its subordination. But most Iraqis don't
want to be subordinated, which is why the United States in some sense lost the
war on the day it invaded. One lesson of contemporary history is that occupying
armies generate resistance that, inevitably, prevails over imperial power. When
we admit defeat and pull out -- not if, but when -- the fate of Iraqis will depend
in part on whether the United States makes good on legal and moral obligations
to pay reparations and allows international institutions to aid in creating a
truly sovereign Iraq. We shouldn't
expect politicians to do either without pressure. An anti-empire movement -- the
joining of anti-war forces with the movement to reject corporate globalization
-- must create that pressure. We should
all carry a profound sense of sadness at where decisions made by U.S. policy-makers
-- not just the gang in power today but a string of Republican and Democratic
administrations -- have left us and the Iraqis. But that sadness should not keep
us from pursuing the most courageous act of citizenship in the United States today:
pledging to dismantle the American empire. The
planet's resources do not belong to the United States. The century is not America's.
We own neither the world nor time. And if we don't give up the quest -- if we
don't find our place in the world instead of on top of the world -- there is little
hope for a safe, sane and sustainable future. Robert
Jensen is a journalism professor at the University
of Texas at Austin and the author of "Citizens of the Empire: | The Struggle to Claim
Our Humanity." He can be reached
at rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu. Published on Thursday,
December 9, 2004 by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Texas. Stiglitz Warns of Violence If Wolfowitz Goes to World Bank by Robert Preston , Telegraph/UK
Hearts
of Stone
| Drowned
QuestionsBy David Keppel
--------------------------------------------------
The
Peace Movement
"The Peace Movement" is a feature documentary
that chronicles the landmark speeches, inspiring musical performances, from the
gut poetry and breath taking scenes that rose up out of the American public against
the war on Iraq. A
narrative against the U.S. invasion of Iraq formed on the lips of millions of
Americans and was articulated on the stages of massive rallies and in marches,
the largest in American history from September 2002 to February 2003 just prior
to the war. In editing
this film we focused primarily on this narrative, this American narrative that
was seemingly as painful as it was a joyful coming together of ordinary Americans
in extraordinary activism. -Lloyd Hart To view the trailer and purchase a copy
of "The Peace Movement" go to:
http://alternativemediaproject.org |
| Page 4 – Vol.2-4– SPRING 2005 GREEN DOVE | ||
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Eat Where You Live: Five Reasons to Buy Local Food The Bloomington Farmer's Market starts in April this year. Even if I weren't a vendor, I'd be there, buying as much of my food as possible from my Indiana neighbors. I believe in buying and eating local foods as a powerful political, environmental, health-supporting, and life-enhancing act. Here are some of the reasons I think it's important that we consider not just what we eat, but from where we eat. 1. Conserving fossil fuels and reducing pollution. Commercially produced fresh food travels a long way to get to your table. One study found that tomatoes consumed in the eastern U.S. had traveled an average of 2,786 miles. That's a lot of diesel. Compare this to the food you can buy at the Bloomington Farmer's Market, which must be grown in Indiana. That's a maximum travel distance of less than 250 miles--usually much less, and sometimes just a few blocks. 2. Fresher is better. Most produce begins losing nutrients (as well as flavor) as soon as it is harvested. Local farmers can bring you the freshest, most nutritious foods, sometimes only hours post-harvest. Commercial crops are bred for long shelf life, sturdiness, and uniform size. Small, local growers, who use hand labor and don't ship their product, can choose varieties for taste. 3. Trust. Buying organic at the store usually means relying on a certification agency you've never heard of to verify that Dole or General Mills is telling the truth. The people who sell food at the Farmer's Market are the people who grow it. You can ask the grower exactly how the food was produced, and get detailed answers; you may even be able to visit the farm. I believe local farmers are more likely to tell the truth than are large corporations, because they rely on you, personally, for their income--not on giant pools of anonymous consumers. Word of mouth is a local farmer's best advertising, and his or her good name is an irreplaceable resource. 4. Building Community. When you buy local, you do more than exchange money for goods. You invest in a local economy and help to shape its course. Your money supports the livelihood of your neighbors, not shareholder profits for people who will never see either you or your food. And you participate in creating the world you want to live in: For example, when you ask a local farmer about spraying and request organic produce, you aren't just influencing the residues on that day's salad. If that farmer chooses more natural growing methods to please the local market, his or her decision affects our air and water quality. If that farmer is able to stay in business by selling direct to you, many acres may stay in fields and woodland rather than urban sprawl. When the farmer buys mulch hay, hauls manure, or hires the neighbor kids to pick hornworms instead of buying industrial agricultural products, your dollar enriches our community even more. By supporting and encouraging sustainable agriculture at the local level, you can shape the future of this place. 5. It's also fun. Come to the market--find out what is in season each month, each week. Try something new, or something your grandparents would remember. Say hi to your friends, sign a petition, give a dollar to the guitar player. Buy some plants and get some advice for growing your own local food. Let your kids play in the fountain and meet the adoptable dogs. We'll see you there! Denise Breeden-Ost raises vegetables and a son with her husband, Sean, in and near Bloomington, Indiana. ***************************** Wylie House, 307 E. 2nd Street, Bloomington, IN 4740l, www.indiana.edu/~libwylie/, the garden project saves and makes available for sale historic seed varieties. ***************************** -Hiltop Garden and Nature Center, 2301 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN, http://www.indiana.edu/~hilltop/- ***************************** The Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101http://www.seedsavers.org; network is a membership organization with an annual membership fee and three annual membership publications of mostly small-scale growers and gardeners dedicated to preserving our heritage of open-pollinated heirloom vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Seed Savers Yearbook (mailed each February), makes available (only to SSE's members) the seeds of more than 11,000 rare varieties of vegetables, fruits and grains. In other words, each year - SSE's members offer nearly twice as many vegetable varieties as are available from all of the mail-order seed catalogs in both the U.S. and Canada. The network's underlying purpose is to protect the genetic diversity of our food crops. The SSE's yearbook, published each January, lists varieties that have been saved...then members exchange and grow each other's seeds. Three other valuable references works produced by SSE are Garden Seed Inventory (a complete list of all commercially available non-hybrid vegetable seeds); Fruit, Berry, and Nut Inventory; and Seed to Seed (detailing seed-saving techniques for the vegetable gardener). Continued on page 10 | Organic and Foods News Tidbits with an EdgeFrom The Organic Consumers -Organization http://www.organicconsumers.orgMORE Local Food News and Other Food Resources at http://www.greendove.net/localfood.htm NEW STUDIES SHOW SUSTAINABLE FARMING CREATES NUTRITIONALLY SUPERIOR FOOD -"High nitrogen levels make plants grow fast and bulk up with carbohydrates and water. While the fruits these plants produce may be big, they suffer in nutritional quality, whereas organic production systems [which use slow-release forms of nitrogen] produce foods that usually yield denser concentrations of nutrients and deliver consumers a better nutritional bargain per calorie consumed." [Agriculture expert Charles Benbrook, Ph.D. explains why conventional produce has lower nutrient values than organic produce.]-Eggs from free-range hens contain up to 30% more vitamin E, 50% more folic acid and 30% more vitamin B-12 than factory eggs, while the yolk holds higher levels of antioxidant carotenes.-Beef from cattle raised in feedlots on growth hormones and high-grain diets has lower levels of vitamins E, A, D and beta-carotene and twice as much fat as grass-fed beef. CONVENTIONAL
CHEESE INDUSTRY WORRIED OVER CONSUMER ACTIVISM(RE: BAN OF rBGH) - From: Cheese
Market News March 2005, By Hilary Parker - WASHINGTON - Rick North celebrated
with his fellow advocates when the news broke that Tillamook Cooperative Creamery
Association's (TCCA) board of directors had voted to phase out the use of recombinant
bovine growth hormone (rBGH). http://www.organicconsumers.org/ MONSANTO
WARNS TWO BILLION FARMERS: "STOP SAVING YOUR SEEDS" - Since the
advent of farming, thousands of years ago, farmers have carefully collected seeds
at harvest so as to have enough seed for the next year's planting. Concerned that
seed saving by farmers reduces their profits, seed and biotech giants like Monsanto
have rammed though controversial "intellectual property laws" in numerous
countries that make traditional seed saving a crime. Last year, Monsanto harassed
and/or sued more than 500 U.S. farmers who saved their seeds, forcing them to
pay the company over $15 million in fines, including up to 8 month long prison
sentences. - http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/seed SCHOOLS
GOING ORGANIC - Due to overwhelming pressure from parents of school-age children
in the U.K., Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced the establishment of a new
government based "School Food Trust," wherein junk foods will be removed
from schools while organic "made-from-scratch" meals will be instituted.
According to Blair, "If changes are made it will only be a matter of months
before British health, education and farming could be affected for the better.
It could be one of the biggest food revolutions that England has ever seen."http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/ IN
THE WORDS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT "Studies evaluating the role of pesticides
in birth defects have found an association between maternal and paternal exposure
to pesticides and increased risks of offspring having or dying from birth defects.
"Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (America's Children and the
Environment) www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/ For more U.S. Government statements
on the health effects of pesticides check out this Fact Sheet (PDF) http://www.organicconsumers. MILLIONS
OF CITIZENS COUNTERING MONSANTO'S BUSINESS PRACTICES - Given Monsanto's ongoing,
criminally irresponsible record of disregarding human health and the environment,
the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is stepping up the pace in our "Millions
Against Monsanto" campaign. If you're talking about Agent Orange, rBGH, water
privatization, PCBs, or DDT, you're talking about Monsanto. Sign the "Millions
Against Monsanto" petition now, and forward this Alert to your friends and
colleagues. TAKE ACTION HERE: http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.htmlOCA
& Cancer Prevention Coalition Warn of Hidden Carcinogens in Baby Care - Time
to Protect Babies From Dangerous Productshttp://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/
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Iraq's Crop Patent Law A Threat To Food Security By GM Free Cymru (This is a follow-up on the Seed Patent law the U.S. has inflicted upon the Iraq people published in the last issue of Green Dove - see www.greendove.net/zine2-3.htm) Aid agencies and NGOs across the globe have been reacting with horror to the news that new legislation in Iraq was carefully put in place last year by the US that will effectively bring the whole of the country's agricultural sector under the control of trans-national corporations (TNCs). This will be a disaster for the Iraqi government and especially for the country's farmers, since companies like Monsanto and Syngenta will be empowered to control the food chain from planted seed (1) to packaged food products, thus extending economic colonialism into every walk of life.The new Iraqi Government is now being urged as a matter of priority to revoke Order 81, the offending piece of legislation which was signed and brought into force by Paul Bremer (the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority) on 26th April 2004.The Order has been described by NGOs as "cynical and wicked", since the section relating to the registration and protection of plant varieties was slipped in almost as an appendage to an Order dealing with patents, industrial design, disclosure of information and integrated circuits (2). "The manner in which this Order was imposed on the people of Iraq is an outrage in itself," says Dr Brian John of GM Free Cymru. "There was virtually no Iraqi input into the wording of the Order, since the country and its people were on their knees following the Iraq War (3). The Preamble to the Order justifies its provisions as "necessary to improve the economic condition of the people of Iraq", as desirable for "sustainable economic growth" and as enabling Iraq to become "a full member of the international trading system known as the WTO." That all sounds laudable, but when one looks at paragraphs 51 to 79 of the Order it is clear that they have been designed simply to facilitate the takeover of Iraqi agriculture by western biotechnology and agribusiness corporations."It is not surprising that Order 81 was written as "enabling legislation" for American corporate interests. The US Agriculture Department, which aided Bremer in writing the Order, was headed by ex-management of the huge US seed and biotech companies, such as Monsanto and Cargill (4). Ann Veneman, who recently resigned as US Secretary of Agriculture, had a long career working for large US agribusinesses (including Calgene) before going to work for the government. She appointed Cargill's Dan Amstutz to head Iraq's agricultural reconstruction. The Order fits in neatly into the US/TNC vision of future Iraqi agriculture - that of an industrial agricultural system dependent on a small number of cash crops, with large corporations selling both chemical inputs and seeds. It also arises naturally from the USAID programme in Iraq, which unashamedly confirms the thesis that foreign aid programmes are primarily "commercial opportunity" programmes designed for the benefit of American companies (5). Go to http://www.greendove.net/zine-2-4article-iraqpatent2.htm for the complete article ****FOCUS
on WATER!**** | Food Preservation Gardeners
are busy tilling and sowing a variety of vegis and fruts for individual and family
enjoyment. Most will end up with (if they are lucky) an excess of produce. What
to do with it all, especially when you consider the rising cost of food? Preserve
it and you will be able to enjoy your labors and delicious preserved foods into
the winter months. Never canned or dried? Check out this group for how to and
of course visit the Monroe County Library for lots of take home resources
on food preservation. http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Cultures___ Check
Out The Bloomington Organic Gardeners Series of the Center for Sustainable
Living - http://www.simply EARTH
TALK WE
NEED YOUR SUPPORT - This content is presented to you as a free public service
of Green Dove and E/The Environmental Magazine. Support
this work - make a donation today! WHERE
CAN I GET INFO. ON TRADITIONAL SEED VARIETIES? Contact the Seed Savers Exchange
for suggestions and resources on how to get started. On the web at http://www.seedsavers.org | Code Blue Mobilizing To Save the Oceans Two
high-level commissions have issued a clear message in the past year: Americans
are unintentionally destroying the oceans through pollution, over-development
and over-fishing. These reports have generated a tidal wave of marine metaphors,
with commentators talking about "a sea change" or efforts to "smooth
troubled waters." Now ocean advocates are organizing to turn words into action.
By Jennifer Weeks Go to article - www.findarticles.com/p/articles/ ALERT: STOP THE PENTAGON'S WAR ON PUBLIC HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT The
Pentagon is lobbying Congress to pass a new law that would allow the military
to freely violate a host of environmental regulations. Entitled "The Readiness
and Range Preservation Initiative," the legislation would allow military
facilities to ignore laws like the Clean Air Act. The Pentagon claims environmental
regulations are a threat to national security, since they restrict the military.
The proposal comes on the heels of a sharply different bill sponsored by Senator
Diane Feinstein of California that would hold the military responsible for cleaning
up perchlorate pollution (rocket fuel), which has recently been discovered in
93% of the nation's lettuce and 97% of breast milk samples. Take action here:
http://www.organicconsumers. American
Cities Show Solidarity with Kyoto Signatories by Roddy Scheer The day after
the Kyoto Protocol went into effect last week without U.S. participation, Seattle
Mayor Greg Nickels announced plans to lead a city-by-city effort to limit carbon
dioxide emissions in accordance with the terms of the international treaty rejected
by the Bush administration. Nickels is trying to build a coalition of his counterparts
before the next U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in June. "Seattle, along
with other U.S. cities, will provide the leadership necessary to meet this threat,"
said Nickels.seattlepi.nwsource.com | |
Page
6 - Vol.2-4 - SPRING 2005 GREEN DOVE | |||
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