Millions of people from around the globe have been expressing their well-founded views about the need for substantial changes because they realize in order to survive as a species we have to change what is in our heads.
As an example, we collectively know the core scientific factors regarding climate change – explosive global population growth has put greater and greater pressure on every resource imaginable without any regard for the limits of the planet. Infinite growth is totally irrational on a finite planet. We document what is happening to our atmosphere, plants, oceans, animals, birds, bees, pollinators, fish, land and water so we have the evidence. We also collectively know what the consequences of these political and financially-based decisions will be, yet the majority of us continue to ignore/disregard the inevitable.
Photo by Louise Docker, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
If we believe humans are the only species on the planet to have a concept of a “future,” then at this specifically critical point in history, we should be asking ourselves, “Is what we are currently doing working in the best interests of the planet and all its constituent parts?”
There are millions of people around the world doing positive things to exist on the planet using the most intelligent, proven practices. Farmers who practice bio-regenerative farming incorporate their practices based on the symbiotic relationship between animals and plants. They do not depend on industrial fertilizers, so they add manure, compost and cover crops to nourish and rebuild the nutrients in the soil. They treat their soil organically as a natural, integrated and interwoven system, which means there is a very limited amount of tilling done. The Biggest Little Farm and Kiss the Ground are excellent films that document how regenerative farming works and can be accessed on Netflix.
Insects need plants for food and birds need insects for food and intelligent farmers know that using herbicides or pesticides kill not only the plants and animals but the microbes in the soil as well. We know that most of the world’s food comes from small farm operations and organizations like local farmer’s markets and food hubs help not only feed the community but bring the community together socially. We are very fortunate to have great farmers and a growing food hub here on Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island). I would be remiss if I did not also mention that eating a plant based diet (vegetarian or vegan) is one of the primary ways we can significantly/collectively help the planet [See: Michael Milburn’s contributions to the Cape Breton Spectator.]
As consumers, many of us are concerned about the food we eat because we believe that food is medicine and medicine is food. Just as we stopped trusting the tobacco industry many years ago, we can no longer blindly put our trust in the food industry. There is a parallel between these two industries because of what scientists have shared with us. We have been made aware that glyphosate is the active ingredient in a poison that is sprayed on food crops like corn, soy, and wheat. We also know that this poison is connected with genetically modified organisms. We know (from scientific testing) that this poison is absorbed and retained within the plant even after it is processed into “food” which in turn is ingested into the bodies of those people who eat it.
Still from The Biggest Little Farm
The World Health Organization has determined glyphosate is a probable carcinogen, yet those regulatory organizations whom the public believes are there to protect them are not taking the appropriate actions to ban it. Why not? Why are we all not working together to make this planet a healthier, happier place to live and grow? I believe that everyone has a right to a healthy environment and that is what so many organizations are trying to bring about but they need your help.
There are dozens of countries and thousands of municipalities that have banned or are in the process of banning products containing glyphosate. The US and Canadian federal governments have not yet done so. Filmmaker/activist Aube Giroux documents her love of growing healthy, organic food and her quest for information about the Canadian government’s policies on GMOs in her film Modified, which is available on DVD or for rent on Amazon and Vimeo. In fact, requests for a judicial review to ban glyphosate have been denied as recently as February 2020.
I encourage you to contact the Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu or phone 1-613-996-4792 to voice your opinion about this issue.
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the Inverness Oran.
Paul Strome worked 12 years as an educator in the Northwest Territories/Nunavut where he experienced the culture, language and geographic parameters of Indigenous people. He has petitioned the government at every opportunity to bring about the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. As an elder and David Suzuki Ambassador he has championed the Blue Dot Movement in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) and in recent years was the Atlantic regional representative for the Council of Canadians.
