45 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 14 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News    H4'ed 8/6/12

Empowered Communities and the Diminished Power of Megalithic Corporations Such As Monsanto

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   3 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Burl Hall

 

Buy Local
Buy Local
(Image by Unknown Owner)
  Details   DMCA
e="Buy Local" class="wwscontentsmaller">Buy Local

True democracy is empowerment and begins within ourselves, living within the context of our families and communities.   Our health and the community's health are not separate.  

 

By community, I'm not just speaking of people.   I mean the natural ecosystem that surrounds the house that a person lives in as well as the human neighborhoods.   These all make up the larger neighborhood.   Indeed, when speaking of neighborhood, we should be speaking inclusively of foxes, soil, rabbits, trees, thorn bushes, air, water and crows.   Each of these is instrumental in a well functioning neighborhood.  

 

Can you imagine what would happen to the oxygen you breathe in to live if all the oxygen producing trees died due to deforestation.   The trees are necessary to your functioning and the deforestation of the planet will ultimately lead to yours and your family's extinction.   Alternatively, imagine the air or water quality in your neighborhood turned toxic, or having no access to natural foods.

 

In modern day culture, we live under a philosophy called reductionism.   In science, this is the breaking down of phenomena (e.g., the weather) to its component parts.   The world simply doesn't work this way.   Reductionism is proof and has been challenged by theoretical positions based on evidence such as chaos theory which posits that everything is caused by everything else.  

 

Life cannot be broken down into parts.   Indeed, for us to live in a stable environment, we need a healthy planet and the healthy planet requires healthy ecosystems.   These include the neighborhood you live in and, even, the house you live in.   What you do locally affects the planet.   Even a simple act such as breathing is necessary for a well-functioning system.

 

Yet, there are many barriers to our redeveloping a healthy planet that has been made sick by our industry and lifestyles that throw out chemicals that change the makeup of the atmosphere, land and waters of our planet. One of the primary barriers includes many who refuse to admit we have a problem and that our lifestyles are killing us.   The other barrier is that there are powerful organizations such as the genetic engineering firms who want to continue making money at the expense of the planet's health and, in turn, our health and the health of those we love.

 

It is this latter barrier that organizations like Maine Feeds Maine tries to battle through education and encouraging communities such as Sedgwick to enact local food ordinances.   These ordinances take the bite out of the power of megalithic food corporations such as Monsanto and Cargill.   In essence, local food ordinances place power back in the hands of families and communities and out of the hands of corporations and their bought and sold government underlings.

 

As Bovine (March 7, 2011 reports ( http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/sedgwick-maine-declares-food-sovereignty/ )

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Burl Hall Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Burl Hall is a retired counselor who is living in a Senior Citizen Housing apartment. Burl has one book to his credit, titled "Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature." For more information, search the book on Amazon. (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact EditorContact Editor
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Physicist Tom Campbell's Big TOE or Theory of Everything

Through Music and Story Telling: Makana Speaks

Beyond Monsanto: Rekindling a Healthy Earth in the Face of Corporate Farming

Sex as Natural Process: A Primary Step to Healing Alienation?

Corporate Psychopaths Housing Senior Citizens: A Personal Editorial

Rob Kall's Vision: A Transcript of His Interview With Envision This!

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend