Tax Season and Court Cases

Instead of paying my annual sales tax and filling out 1099s for the deadline tomorrow, I am blogging. After blogging I plan to surf the internet for “insulated tote bags” while cooking up a batch of vegetable paella.

The Midwest Organic farm conference is next month.  Todd and I normally save up to go to this since it is the meeting place for all sorts of beginning and prospering small farmers from Main to California.  It is where I once heard a scientist definitively link pesticides to cancer, where I learned about the endangerment of organic beet seed and the success of high tunnels, and where I learned to have optimism in this line of business.  It is where Todd and I go to feel inspired.

Alas, we will not make the trip this year, but we can garner inspiration from other sources.

One such source is the publication by MOSES (the same organization that does the farm conference) called  Organic Broadcaster.  I read an article that detailed the new class action suit against Monsanto.  To get all the details you can visit the Public Patent Foundation website at www.pubpat.org/mnsanto-seed-patents

It is a complicated case but the reason for it is this:  “The organic plaintiffs were forced to sue preemptively to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement should they ever become contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed, something Monsanto has done to others in the past.”

The article I read and am now quoting from is

“Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v. Monsanto  -- David Takes on Goliath”

Organic Broadcaster v. 20, No. 1.

 “Society stands on the precipice of forever being bound to transgenic agriculture and transgenic food.  Coexistence between transgenic seed and organic seed is impossible because transgenic seed contaminates and eventually overcomes organic seed.  History has already shown this, as soon after transgenic seed for canola was introduced, organic canola became virtually extinct as a result of transgenic seed contamination.  Organic corn, soybean, cotton, sugar beet and alfalfa now face the same fate, as transgenic seed has been released for each of those crops, too.  Transgenic seed is being developed for many other crops, thus putting the future of all food, and indeed all agriculture, at stake.”

Scary stuff, huh? 

A more amusing quote from the same periodical:

Chick-fil-A Says “Eat More Kale” Shirt Confuses Public

A silkscreen design artist from Vermont is being warned by national fast-food chain Chick-fil-A to stop selling his bestselling t-shirt that simply states “Eat More Kale,” citing the phrase muddles the company’s famous “Eat Mor Chickin” campaign. 

I think I'll go google "Eat More Kale."  And THEN I'll do my bookkeeping.

Peasantly,

Julia

ps  KEEP THE RENEWALS AND SIGN-UPS COMING! NOW'S THE TIME!