permaculture

[venaurafarm <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 12/31/2012 2:13 AM, Toby Hemenway wrote:

> I could do a great design for Monsanto, and reduce their energy
> footprint, have them develop new GMO strains in the greenest labs on
> earth, and put hugelkultur GMO-corn guilds on every farm they
> control. But even though the methods, the approach, and the cool
> synergies might be straight out of Mollison, Holzer, or Holmgren,
> it's the ethics that would stop me or any ethical permaculturist from
> doing it. It would never be permaculture, because Monsanto is
> bankrupting people, poisoning the planet, and concentrating their
> surplus. That design fails on the most important, basic level, that
> of ethics. Only someone for whom the ethics were irrelevant could
> call that permaculture. That's why they matter.

Let's flood Stephen Colbert with requests to interview our Congressmen 
on his segment, "Better Know a District" and ask them why they want to 
automatically deregulate GMO's, allowing Monsanto immunity from federal 
law in the farm bill, HR 5973, section 733.

Go to http://www.colbertnation.com/better-know-a-district, enter your 
zip code and then request that Stephen ask your Representative about 
GMO's, their ties to Monsanto, and the money they have received from Big Ag.

After you nominate your representative, go to 
www.facebook.com/thecolbertreport and tell Stephen and the 2 million who 
are following him all about GMO's. We have to educate the masses!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are at a critical point in the fight for a fair farm bill. At this 
time, the farm bill still contains the rider that will allow Monsanto 
immunity from federal law. They are doing everything they can to get the 
farm bill passed by the end of the year!

It is imperative that EVERYONE contact their Representatives and state 
Senators quickly before it is too late (links below). CALL THEM NOW and 
tell them to drop the Monsanto rider from the "Agriculture 
Appropriations Bill" H.R. 5973, Section 733. Be sure to write on their 
facebook wall as well - they all have a FB page and Twitter account - 
just search their name in the FB search bar.

Below are two links, one to find your House Representative and one to 
find your State Senator.

Find your House Rep: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Here are a few talking points to get you started. Feel free to add other 
points as you see fit, but the rider is the main concern at the time.

1) I'm calling to ask my Member of Congress to vote for Rep. DeFazio's 
amendment to the 2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill to remove Sec. 733.
2) Sec. 733 is a rider that would strip federal courts of their 
authority to stop the planting of illegal or hazardous genetically 
engineered crops.
3) The rider is an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review.
4) Courts have ruled that planting genetically engineered crops before 
their environmental impact has been assessed can mean the "elimination 
of a farmer's choice to grow non-genetically engineered crops, or a 
consumer's choice to eat non-genetically engineered food."
5) I hope my Representative will stand up for farmers and consumers by 
voting for Rep. DeFazio's amendment to remove Sec. 733 from the 
Agriculture Appropriations bill.

After making a call, please report back and tell us what happened on 
your call(s).

Thank you for getting involved!

> The methods of permaculture are not the point; that's not what makes
> it permaculture. What makes it permaculture is how you use the
> methods--both as a way of creating beneficial connections, and in a
> way that is consistent with the ethics. Otherwise, permaculture is
> reduced to one more collection of cool techniques that can be used to
> gut the planet and its people.
>
> Toby http://patternliteracy.com