HI FOLKS, WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR. 2020, THE YEAR OF PERFECT VISION.
Each year the Organic philosophy gets stronger, more established and deeper entrenched into our society. This all spells a brighter future for our civilization. We certainly need to change, the science is in, our present course doesn’t bode well unless we do. If one looks at the current mathematical statistics in human health or environmental well-being, in all categories we are
sloping downward.
The solution to that is Going Organic. Organic is simply logic and ethics in action and is thoroughly science based. Often, we are asked where at MicroLife do we get the information we use and cite? We spend a lot of time reading, going to lectures, researching and visiting with folks from across the country. We get a good composite picture and it forms our belief system. What we are doing with the new MicroLife Newsletter is to present to you a few of the science articles we read. From there, you can make your own informed decision about the validity of Going Organic. It is important to know that we as humans can’t separate ourselves from the environment, to harm the environment is to harm ourselves. Then there is the food issue: instead of nutrient-dense, poison free food; most of the food produced in the US is garbage and is causing American massive problems. For example, The New England Journal of Medicine
just reported that based on current US trends, 35% of American adults will be obese in 10 years. That then leads to diabetes, cancer and heart problems. Obesity is preventable. We think awareness is the key. Knowledge to empower us so we can make the right decisions which we feel most people want to do. Right now, it’s massive amounts of corporate money that buys advertising, influence and politicians and is the main driving force of America’s behavior. We simply can’t stand for this and must rebuild, renew and strengthen our society. Organics is the best answer—logic and ethics in action. Team together, teach others and let’s build a beautiful world together.
THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES FOR A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!
Mike Serant
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE CAN FEED THE WORLD BY ANDRE LEU
Organic agriculture practices are often blamed for being unsustainable and not able to feed the world. In fact, several high-profile advocates of conventional agricultural production have stated that the world would starve if we all converted to organic agriculture. They have written articles for science journals and other publications saying that organic agriculture is not sustainable and produces yields that are significantly lower than conventional agriculture.
Thus, the push for genetically modified organisms, growth hormones, animal-feed antibiotics, food irradiation and toxic synthetic chemicals is being justified, in part, by the rationale that without these products the world will not be able to feed itself. Ever since Thomas Malthus wrote An Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798 and 1st raised the specter of overpopulation, various experts have been predicting the end of human civilization because of mass starvation. The specter of mass starvation is being pushed again as the motive for justifying GMOs. In June 2003, President Bush stated at a biotechnology conference, “We should encourage the spread of safe, effective biotechnology to win the fight against global hunger.”
WE MUST NOW ASK OURSELVES: IS GLOBAL HUNGER DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF FOOD PRODUCTION? In this decade, many farmers around the world are facing a great economic crisis of low commodity prices. These low prices are due to oversupply. Current economic theories hold that prices decrease when supply is greater than demand. The reality is that the world produces more than enough food to feed everyone and has more than enough suitable agricultural land to do it. Unfortunately, due to inefficient, unfair distribution systems and poor farming methods, millions of people do not receive adequate nutrition.
Read Full Article https://regenerationinternational.org/2018/10/22/organic-agriculture-can-feed-the-world/
GLYPHOSATE: WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS, AND WHAT IT’S REALLY DOING TO YOUR BODY BY DR. DAVID MINKOFF
It is in our soil, in our water and in our food. In the wake of the landmark $289 million lawsuit ruling that glyphosate gave a man cancer, we are just beginning to get a glimpse of what may be the single greatest health crisis of our time. However, to fully understand the health implications of glyphosate, we need to start with the basics and look at why it is such a potent herbicide so we can clearly see how it affects our own biology.
WHAT IS GLYPHOSATE
Glyphosate is essentially a variation on the amino acid glycine. Amino acids are the building blocks of all protein; and protein is just about everything in biology. Glycine is the smallest, simplest amino acid. Your muscles are protein, as is all of your connective tissue, cellular structures, digestive enzymes, organs, detoxification enzymes, and the bonds between cells that keep toxins and pathogens out. Your cells are little protein factories, and quality control is far from perfect. Sometimes the wrong amino acid gets put in the wrong place. Usually when this happens, the protein misfolds and gets marked for destruction. Glyphosate looks like an amino acid, so cells use it like an amino acid. It’s called a glycine-glyphosate substitution. It gets incorporated into proteins. According to Monsanto’s unpublished internal studies released through the Freedom of Information Act, mammals metabolize glyphosate and incorporate into their proteins. The problem is that to your cell, the glyphosate protein looks fine but it doesn’t function properly.
GLYPHOPHO-FOOD AND FOOD ALLERGIES
Much like EPSP-Synthase, certain digestive enzymes also have glycine in a critical site for their action. This includes a digestive enzyme called trypsin, which has a special structure called a glycine hinge. pass into the lower digestive tract undigested, where they cause intestinal inflammation. Trypsin helps break down large globular proteins like casein in milk and gluten in wheat. When trypsin malfunctions, these proteins This leads to the release of a compound called zonulin. Zonulin breaks down the tight junction between intestinal cells-normally a strong barrier between the digestive tract and the rest of your body. Not only is zonulin released, but a new study showed that glyphosate itself breaks down the tight junctions of the intestinal wall. This breakdown is also known as leaky gut. Leaky gut, in turn, leads to a systemic immune response that can create a confusing variety of symptoms and health problems, some of them being autoimmune conditions and food Allergies.
MICROBIOME DYSBIOSIS
A healthy gut is a thriving ecosystem of trillions of bacteria. These bacteria perform thousands of critical functions for your health. Everything from making neurotransmitters to regulating your immune system, to digesting food and keeping pathogens in check. Many of these bacteria have the exact same enzyme as plants and glyphosate kills these beneficial bacteria the same way it kills plants. Once these bacteria die off, the delicate balance of the microbiome is disrupted and pathogens like candida and salmonella begin to take over. Once the microbiome is out of balance, immunity, brain function, and energy levels are all compromised.
THE AUTISM CONNECTION
Many of the issues described above are often present in autistic children. 50–80% of autistic individuals have a paralyzed gut. The normal mechanisms of peristalsis simply don’t function. Their gut flora often lack many of the most beneficial bacteria strains, especially bifididiumstrains. Many leading researchers, including MIT researcher Dr. Stephanie Seneff, now point to glyphosate as the common connection between gut paralysis, dysfunctional myosin, microbiome dysbiosis, autism and other cognitive impairments.
GLYPHOSATE, COLLAGEN AND CHRONIC PAIN
Of any protein, collagen contains the highest concentration of glycine: nearly 35% glycine. Again, Monsanto’s internal studies reveal glyphosate accumulates the most in connective tissue and bones. Collagen is the single most abundant protein in our body. It makes the fascia between internal organs, makes skin supple, protects joints, and forms ligaments.
WHY REDUCING PESTICIDE USE IS CENTRAL TO REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
BY KENDRA KLEIN, PH.D.
By farming and ranching in ways that draw carbon down from the atmosphere into the soil beneath our feet, regenerative agriculture can sequester carbon and build healthy soils that save precious water resources, increase soil biodiversity, improve crop yields and bolster resilience to drought and extreme weather associated with climate change. Regenerative agriculture achieves these goals by keeping the soil covered and maximizing crop diversity through practices like cover cropping, crop rotation, reducing tillage, using compost to maintain soil fertility and rotational grazing for animals. This brief summarizes the science on a 3rd critical principle of regenerative agriculture that receives comparatively little attention: minimizing use of pesticides. The science is clear that pesticides disrupt soil biotic communities—the very life that drives soil carbon sequestration and, therefore, the heart of regenerative agriculture.
HOW PESTICIDES HARM SOIL LIFE
A single teaspoon of healthy soil holds billions of soil microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and other tiny life forms. These organisms have been sequestering carbon for hundreds of millions of years. They form symbiotic relationships with plant roots through mycorrhizal fungi. These networks help plants access nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil in exchange for a steady flow of carbon in the form of carbohydrates the plant photosynthesizes from the air. The flow of carbon to the soil depends on this partnership between plant roots and soil microorganisms. But toxic pesticides can damage this microbial bridge. Pesticides—a term that encompasses herbicides, insecticides and fungicides—are chemical compounds designed to kill, each with their own targets and mechanisms of action. As little as 0.1% of an applied pesticide interacts with its targeted weed or pest. The remainder contaminates the soil, air and water and can have significant non-target effects throughout the ecosystem. Pesticides can undercut regenerative agriculture goals by harming soil communities and altering critical biochemical processes in the soil.
DISRUPTING SOIL COMMUNITIES
Pesticides can cause significant changes in composition, diversity and basic function of important soil microflora. This soil life is critical both to carbon sequestration and to a thriving & sustainable agriculture system. Research shows that pesticides can impact larger fauna that help maintain the structure and fertility of the soil.
THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG
This is only the beginning. If we look for other potential health issues with glycine-dependent proteins, the massive increase in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune conditions, infertility, and cancer may be implicated by glyphosate. Glyphosate is the most used pesticide in the history of the world. Agribusinesses and farmers sprayed 300 million pounds of RoundUp in 2016 alone. Over 8.6 billion pounds worldwide since it was introduced in 1974, nearly 75% of that in just the last 10 years. The bioaccumulation is pervasive.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The effects of glyphosate take time to show, but are immensely toxic. And this chemical is everywhere, including inside your body. So what can you do to protect yourself? The best option is prevention by avoiding exposure as much as possible. Here are 4 steps you can take to minimize your exposure to glyphosate:
- Eat only organic fruits & vegetables. RoundUp uses special chemicals called surfactants to help glyphosate penetrate the plant’s cell wall, you cannot wash glyphosate off of conventionally grown produce. The glyphosate is inside the food. The only way to avoid it is to not eat it.
- Avoid all inorganic wheat and sugar products. RoundUp is used as an artificial “ripener” on wheat and sugar crops. A dying plant uses its last resources to ripen it’s seeds in hopes of procreating. Agribusinesses noticed this and now use RoundUp as the finishing touch on ALL wheat & sugar. The only way to protect yourself is to not consume it.
- Eat only organic grass fed meat. Glyphosate drenches the corn and soy fed to factory farm animals. This means all inorganic meat is contaminated with glyphosate. All of it. If you eat meat, the only way to protect yourself is to buy meat that has been fed an organic grass diet.
- Avoid processed foods made with gelatin. Animal gelatin is one of the most common additives to processed foods, especially anything gummy or “reduced fat.” Gelatin is derived from collagen & bone tissue, which is guaranteed to be contaminated with glyphosate.
Read Full Article https://bodyhealth.com/blogs/news/glyphosate-in-your-body
PROTECTING THE LIVING SOIL AND ALL LIFE
Mounting evidence shows that overuse of pesticides is decimating insects and other pollinators that are central to a sustainable food system. A recent global meta-analysis points to agricultural pesticides as a key driver of plummeting insect numbers. The researchers predict that over 40% of insect species may face extinction in coming decades, leading to widespread ecosystem collapse, if we don’t change the way we farm. And the most comprehensive scientific assessment to date warns that loss of biodiversity is a global challenge on par with climate change. Along with the environmental costs of agricultural pesticides, the human health costs are “catastrophic” according to a recent United Nations report. Yet, over one billion pounds of pesticides are used in the U.S. every year—and use of pesticides in the U.S. and globally is increasing. Phasing out toxic pesticides must be a core part of what it means to be “regenerative” for life below ground as well as above and to ensure that regenerative agriculture doesn’t become co-opted or used as a cover for maintaining chemical-intensive industrial agriculture. The good news is that regenerative agriculture practices like cover cropping and crop rotations can reduce farmers’ need for toxic pesticides. A recent study in Nature reveals that most farmers could decrease pesticide use while maintaining or even improving their productivity. And decades of data debunk the myth that pesticides are necessary to feed a growing world population.
As our climate and biodiversity crises worsen, regenerative farming offers a crucial path to growing food in a way that nourishes both people and the planet. Innovative solutions should be guided by the best available science. And the science shows that eliminating or greatly reducing toxic pesticides is key to building healthy soils and ecosystems for a healthy planet.
Read Full Article
http://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PecticidesSoilHealth_Final-1.pdf
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“Being an owner of a small, local business I absolutely love that my favorite organic
fertilizing products come from a local, family owned and operated business. I’ve searched everywhere for a quality organic fertilizer that truly supports soil biology and a healthier environment and MicroLife has done just that!”
AJ Olson | Hippie Fertilizing | https://hippiefertilizing.com/ | 832-277-3710
