We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, December 14, 2015

Poisoned Agriculture: Depopulation and Human Extinction

Click here to access article by Colin Todhunter from Global Research

Todhunter is a British writer who has lived in India for extended periods of time and has done a considerable amount of study on the deleterious effects of biochemical technology widely used by multi-national corporations engaged in agricultural operations. I have followed Todhunter's essays for a number of years and I regard him as an especially reliable and credible source of information regarding his area of expertise.

In this article he focuses on a recent paper published in a major scientific journal (behind a paywall) authored by Rosemary A. Mason which makes some startling accusations regarding the widespread application of biochemical substances used by agribusinesses throughout the world.
She claims that plans are under way to depopulate the planet’s seven million plus people to a more manageable level of between 500–2000 million by a combination of means, including the poisoning and contamination of the planet’s food and water supplies via chemical-intensive industrialised agriculture. Mason also notes that health-damaging GMOs are being made available to the masses (under the guise of ‘feeding the poor’), while elites are more prone to eat organic food.

Although Mason cites evidence to show that a section of the US elite has a depopulation agenda, given the amount of poisons being pumped into the environment and into humans, the thrust of her argument is that we could all be extinct before this comes to fruition – both rich and poor alike.
Mason's evidence supports Todhunter's numerous findings about this type of agriculture which he studied in India, and he agrees with her conclusion that "the public must place pressure on governments and hold agribusiness to account." He argues that this is not enough, makes vague references to capitalism, but then ultimately arrives at his own recommendations which, in my mind, do not hold much more promise than Mason's: 
...both farmers and consumers must organise to challenge governments, corrupt regulatory bodies and big agribusiness at every available opportunity.
It seems to me that his conclusion negates any suggestion about the role of capitalism in causation of this huge problem. Capitalist directors such as Bill Gates and the Rockefeller clan today have firm control of the Empire's governments along with all other major institutions. So, it may do some temporary good to appeal to, or "challenge", their governments, etc, but how is this going to solve the problem in the long run? If the cause is an economic system, then the remedy is to organize to overthrow the rule of the system and the rule of the tiny fraction of humanity that it serves.

[An encouraging news item that might interest you, but don't count on capitalist appointed judges for future victories.]