Monday, July 29, 2013

Poison and The Grange

When I was a delegate to the Washington State Grange annual convention two years ago the agriculture committee heard from a State Master who was our visiting National dignitary. He stopped by while we were considering resolutions to tell us that in his opinion we should not approve any resolutions banning neonicotinoid pesticides because “we won’t be able to feed the world” and “we wouldn’t be able to survive as farmers” if this “very important” tool wasn’t available for their use. The Washington State agriculture committee sagely nodded their heads and did what they were told and agreed that this topic would “need a lot more research” before they would approve it. The good ol’ boys have spoken. I guess they felt honored that someone with a pink ribbon thought highly enough of them to stop by for a chat. I am always interested by the choice of words that people use to describe themselves.

Lately chemical manufacturers have been borrowing language from 20th century fascism movements to describe themselves as victims and to elicit support from other self-described victims, like you know-white people that live in houses, aren’t really bothered very much by anybody and have plenty of food to eat. Anyway, here is another article that originates from outside the U. S. where the only people that see themselves as victims are the people that are being subjected to yet another toxic export from the U. S. Most Europeans are satisfied to be feeding themselves and staying healthy instead of feeling like they have some kind of G-d given right to colonize and exploit the rest of the world in order to enrich themselves. http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-environment/neonicotinoid-pesticides-banned-in-eu-zwfz1307zkin.aspx?newsletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=HE%20eNews&utm_campaign=07.29.2013%20HE%20Corrected#axzz2aS5QLYsP.

This is a relatively new class of chemicals and our agriculture boomed for decades without it. If monoculture industrialized agriculture, most of which depends on European honey bees for pollinization and is only possible with that by now highly artificial manipulation, kills off the honeybee they will have literally killed their own businesses by doing what they are told when offered this poison. What do you think about this language used by the chemical companies to charge up their dependents against “radical environmentalists” that don’t understand why self-destruction is in anyone’s interest? Is there anyone that hasn’t heard these ridiculous arguments? I think we should be thinking about the best way to systematically take these kinds of arguments apart.