Must - Hold In - ANGER!

I posted in my Facebook page about how today is Spank Out Day, which contrary to its initial appearance as some sort of homage to sexual perversion, is actually an anti-spanking children day. Two friends have already posted about how spanking is a fine form of parenting and they turned out OK, and they can't let their kids win or they lose authority, blah blah blah...

So I needed to run over to my blog so I could let out some steam.

I broke my arm when I was a kid and I turned out OK, too, but it doesn't mean I want to break my kid's arm! Spanking inflicts pain, period. Stop doing it! It IS violence whether you do it in anger or not! You wouldn't smack your wife's hand or your senile grandfather's hand, so don't do it to your kids!!! Violence breeds fear and violence! Children are not dogs!

I don't know how much longer I can be civil in the discussion, but I am trying reason first instead of the "You horrible monster!" approach. Which is, of course, how I really feel.

I made my first curtains!

If you don't already know, I have a Craft Blog, but I'm so excited about these curtains that I'm posting them everywhere. The fabric makes me VERY HAPPY. Learning to sew has been one of the best decisions I ever made.

Happy Birthday, Papa.

Roy King, 1942 - 2003

My voice went up 2 octaves when I saw this!

LDS Church Participates in Earth Hour, Meets With Al Gore

Elder M. Russell Ballard and Al Gore

There is a fraudulent belief running through the LDS sub-culture that "real Mormons" would never be liberals. No matter how unkind or incompetent a Republican official may be, it's nearly impossible for him to be replaced by a Democrat. Always I hear the same issues, gay marriage and abortion, gay marriage and abortion, with socialism thrown in on occasion for good measure.



More than one church authority has tried to speak out about this, but it's difficult to break the habits that come with "tradition."



This recent news article was tucked away inside The Deseret News. Nevertheless, I took notice, and so did many of us more liberal Mormons. - Alisa



http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705294746,00.html




Gore and LDS leaders meet
By Lisa Riley Roche
Deseret News
Published: Thursday, April 2, 2009 9:23 p.m. MDT


Former Vice President Al Gore met with LDS Church leaders Thursday evening to talk about global warming, a meeting that was his only stop during a brief visit to Salt Lake City.


The environmental activist had a brief courtesy meeting with LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson before sitting down with other church officials for a more detailed discussion, LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said.


"Mr. Gore had a cordial meeting with Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder Quentin L. Cook, and others members of the church's public-affairs committee," Trotter said. "He gave a 30-minute presentation and expressed his concerns about CO2 emissions, which was followed by several minutes of questions and answers."


The meeting was scheduled at Gore's request, Trotter said.


The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not taken a position on global warming, but did participate in last week's "Earth Hour," by dimming the lights of the Salt Lake Temple.


"Prudent stewardship and wise use of resources are principles that church leaders have emphasized throughout the history of the church," Trotter said last week of the church's participation in the worldwide event.


Gore was not available to the media while in Utah, but someone involved with his efforts explained that he "speaks frequently with a broad cross-section of people about the climate crisis, (and) this will be one of those conversations. Vice President Gore did initiate the meeting, but we are not commenting on the process."


A Washington, D.C., public-relations firm representing the environmental activist referred press inquiries about the meeting to the church.


Kirk Jowers, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, said the visit validates "the church's significant efforts to construct environmentally friendly buildings," including part of the massive downtown City Creek development that is under way.


And, Jowers said, having a leading Democrat sitting down with Mormon leaders "can only reinforce what the church has been saying for a number of years: that both parties have principles compatible with the church's principles," which should encourage Utah Democrats.


Utah State Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland agreed. "Absolutely it helps, especially when it's clear the church has an interest in this issue and has always had a history of stewardship of the planet," Holland said. "That the church is talking with people like Vice President Al Gore is good for us."


Gore — the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming, as well as an Academy Award for a film on the subject, "An Inconvenient Truth" — wasn't expected to spend much time in Utah. He spoke Wednesday night in Chicago about three "crises" facing the country: the environment, economics and security, according to the Chicago Tribune. He is scheduled to address a wireless-communications-industry convention in Las Vegas on Friday morning.


Even though Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a Republican, has been active on climate-change issues, he did not meet with the former vice president, his spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, told the Deseret News.

Dutch Homebirth Study Reaffirms Safety of Homebirth

http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2009/04/dutch-home-birth-study.html

"A few days ago the results of a large study of midwife-attended births in home and hospital in Holland were published. This study examined a remarkably high number of births: 529,688 to be exact. 60.7% (over 321,500) of those were planned home births. Previously, the largest study of home birth outcomes was the CPM 2000 study, published in the British Medical Journal, which examined the outcomes of 5,418 planned home births in North America with Certified Professional Midwives.

The Dutch study concluded that "planning a home birth does not increase the risks of perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity among low-risk women, provided the maternity care system facilitates this choice through the availability of well-trained midwives and through a good transportation and referral system.""

This is someone's blog post, so follow the link to read the rest.

Physical activity may strengthen children's ability to pay attention

http://news.illinois.edu/news/09/0331activity.html

3/31/09
Melissa Mitchell, News Editor

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As school districts across the nation revamped curricula to meet requirements of the federal “No Child Left Behind” Act, opportunities for children to be physically active during the school day diminished significantly.

Future mandates, however, might be better served by taking into account findings from a University of Illinois study suggesting the academic benefits of physical education classes, recess periods and after-school exercise programs.

The research, led by Charles Hillman, a professor of kinesiology and community health and the director of the Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory at Illinois, suggests that physical activity may increase students’ cognitive control – or ability to pay attention – and also result in better performance on academic achievement tests.

“The goal of the study was to see if a single acute bout of moderate exercise – walking – was beneficial for cognitive function in a period of time afterward,” Hillman said. “This question has been asked before by our lab and others, in young adults and older adults, but it’s never been asked in children. That’s why it’s an important question.”

For each of three testing criteria, researchers noted a positive outcome linking physical activity, attention and academic achievement.Study participants were 9-year-olds (eight girls, 12 boys) who performed a series of stimulus-discrimination tests known as flanker tasks, to assess their inhibitory control.On one day, students were tested following a 20-minute resting period; on another day, after a 20-minute session walking on a treadmill. Students were shown congruent and incongruent stimuli on a screen and asked to push a button to respond to incongruencies. During the testing, students were outfitted with an electrode cap to measure electroencephalographic (EEG) activity.

“What we found is that following the acute bout of walking, children performed better on the flanker task,” Hillman said. “They had a higher rate of accuracy, especially when the task was more difficult. Along with that behavioral effect, we also found that there were changes in their event-related brain potentials (ERPs) – in these neuroelectric signals that are a covert measure of attentional resource allocation.”

One aspect of the neuroelectric activity of particular interest to researchers is a measure referred to as the P3 potential. Hillman said the amplitude of the potential relates to the allocation of attentional resources.“What we found in this particular study is, following acute bouts of walking, children had a larger P3 amplitude, suggesting that they are better able to allocate attentional resources, and this effect is greater in the more difficult conditions of the flanker test, suggesting that when the environment is more noisy – visual noise in this case – kids are better able to gate out that noise and selectively attend to the correct stimulus and act upon it.”

In an effort to see how performance on such tests relates to actual classroom learning, researchers next administered an academic achievement test. The test measured performance in three areas: reading, spelling and math.

Again, the researchers noted better test results following exercise.“And when we assessed it, the effect was largest in reading comprehension,” Hillman said. In fact, he said, “If you go by the guidelines set forth by the Wide Range Achievement Test, the increase in reading comprehension following exercise equated to approximately a full grade level.“Thus, the exercise effect on achievement is not statistically significant, but a meaningful difference.”

Hillman said he’s not sure why the students’ performance on the spelling and math portions of the test didn’t show as much of an improvement as did reading comprehension, but suspects it may be related to design of the experiment. Students were tested on reading comprehension first, leading him to speculate that too much time may have elapsed between the physical activity and the testing period for those subjects.“Future attempts will definitely look at the timing,” he said.

Subsequent testing also will introduce other forms of physical-activity testing.“Treadmills are great,” Hillman said. “But kids don’t walk on treadmills, so it’s not an externally valid form of exercise for most children. We currently have an ongoing project that is looking at treadmill walking at the same intensity relative to a Wii Fit game – which is a way in which kids really do exercise.”

Still, given the preliminary study’s positive outcomes on the flanker task, ERP data and academic testing, study co-author Darla Castelli believes these early findings could be used to inform useful curricular changes.“Modifications are very easy to integrate,” Castelli said. For example, she recommends that schools make outside playground facilities accessible before and after school. “If this is not feasible because of safety issues, then a school-wide assembly containing a brief bout of physical activity is a possible way to begin each day,” she said. “Some schools are using the Intranet or internal TV channels to broadcast physical activity sessions that can be completed in each classroom.”

Among Castelli’s other recommendations for school personnel interested in integrating physical activity into the curriculum:

• scheduling outdoor recess as a part of each school day;
• offering formal physical education 150 minutes per week at the elementary level, 225 minutes at the secondary level;
• encouraging classroom teachers to integrate physical activity into learning.

An example of how physical movement could be introduced into an actual lesson would be “when reading poetry (about nature or the change of seasons), students could act like falling leaves,” she said.

The U. of I. study appears in the current issue of the journal Neuroscience. Along with Castelli and Hillman, co-authors are U. of I. psychology professor Art Kramer and kinesiology and community health graduate student Mathew Pontifex and undergraduate Lauren Raine.

Hathor's Illustrated Homebirth

http://www.mama-is.com/the-birth-story-of-ean-campbell/

3 Short Video Clips About What Just Happened To My Gallbladder

If you don't already know, I checked into the hospital Wednesday evening right before midnight and was immediately checked in and scheduled for gallbladder surgery. They had found gallstones by using an ultrasound to view my internal organs, and my liver was secreting excessive enzymes, which meant it was having to work overtime.

I had the surgery Thursday morning around 10:00 am.

During the surgery, they found gallstones in the bile ducts as well. Rather than make larger incisions to remove them, they scheduled a different procedure that I had this morning. They placed a camera down my throat, through my stomach and into my large intestine, where they could access the duct. Then, they inserted a thin wire down the length of the tube, inflated a small balloon, and pulled it down, dragging the stones with it.

My mother and friends stayed with me until I was checked into the hospital. The Walkers took the kids the first night and my mother took them the second night. Bryan has been out of town presenting a paper at a conference, so I have been without my beloved during this time.

During playgroup yesterday, various mamas nursed both Connor and Deirdre, and both Bryan and I are so grateful to those mothers who gave their bodies to our children for both nourishment and comfort. I know some people think that's weird, especially since Connor is over 3 years old, but I feel incredibly lucky that they were willing to do that for my family.

They also cleaned our house and did our dishes and laundry.

I feel very, very blessed to belong to this group of friends.

I am home now and I don't feel very good and my incisions hurt, especially when I laugh or cough. It's a lot like having a third c-section. I am surrounded by friends who brought food and playmates for the kids, and the Walkers will be staying the night in case something goes wrong and I need to go back. I'm supposed to look out for pain after I eat and/or jaundice.

These short videos are animated and explain the gall-bladder removal surgery. I have these exact 4 incisions.

Monsanto's Dream Bill Will Destroy Farmers Markets and More

BILL H.R. 875 concerns and disturbs me and I hope, as my reader and/or friend, you will consider sending an email to your representative to get this bill either completely rewritten or dropped altogether.

I am an admin for a Facebook group started by a friend of mine. If you are on Facebook, please join.

Here are the gory details and a sample letter as written by my friend. - Alisa


REWRITE OR KILL BILL H.R. 875: FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2009

In the United States, a new piece of legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that you may not have heard of or don't think it applies to you. It is H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.

Although an okay piece of legislation, the language is too broad and non-specific as it stands. It is intended to improve food safety, but is diluted by poorly written language that could jeopardize your rights if taken literally.

For example, the bill defines a "food production facility" as:"FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."

Additional ambiguous statements in Sec. 3 read:"SEC. 3 DEFINITIONS"(9) CATEGORY 5 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-The term "category 5 food establishment" means a food establishment that stores, holds, or transports food products prior to delivery for retail sale."(13) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-"(A) IN GENERAL-The term "food establishment" means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or tranports food or food ingredients."[The bill defines "food" as "a product intended to be used for food or drink for a human or an animal and components thereof"].

As written, this bill could potentially create some serious future issues for anyone that grows, stores, or distributes fruits and vegetables or other foods including:

-private citizens with well-stocked pantries and food storage
-private gardeners who grow their own fruit and vegetables
-private gardeners that donate their produce overage to food banks
-backyard poultry owners
-community bake sales
-farmer's markets
-Slow Food Nation gardens-urban community gardens
-roadside produce stands

Because of the nonspecific language of the bill, the above could be required to adhere to strict federal registration, tracking, and inspection guidelines or be subject to a fine of $1,000,000. Are you potentially a "food production facility" under this broad definition?

There are a number of groups that are opposing this legislation with tactics that can be interpreted as "fear mongering" which this group hopes to avoid in order to have our legitimate voice be heard in a more respected way.

If you have not read the full text of the bill, you can do so at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875

If you feel that this bill needs to be rewritten or killed all together because of its ambiguity and lack of definition, the first action you can take is to write to the member of Congress that represents you. You can do that via the internet by visiting http://www.congress.org/Take part in making sure that the laws being formed and passed in our nation's capital are in your best interest.

The following is a sample letter that you may wish to use as a springboard when writing your own letter:

Dear Rep. ___________,

Please oppose H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 as it is currently written.

The definition of "food production facility" is too broad as it stands reading:"FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."

Additional ambiguous statements in Sec. 3 read:"SEC. 3 DEFINITIONS"(9) CATEGORY 5 FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-The term "category 5 food establishment" means a food establishment that stores, holds, or transports food products prior to delivery for retail sale."(13) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-"(A) IN GENERAL-The term "food establishment" means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or tranports food or food ingredients."[The bill defines "food" as "a product intended to be used for food or drink for a human or an animal and components thereof"].

As written now, this bill has a huge loophole that would require federal regulation of all of the above as well as:
-private citizens with well-stocked pantries and food storage
-private gardeners who grow their own fruit and vegetables
-private gardeners that donate their produce overage to food banks
-backyard poultry owners
-community bake sales
-farmer's markets
-Slow Food Nation gardens
-urban community gardens
-roadside produce stands

This is a waste of taxpayer dollars and an infringement on basic Constitutional rights. Instead, resources would be better utilized byfocusing on improving the existing FDA regulations.Please oppose this bill until it is re-written with specific size delineations that will not impact small farmers and any of the above.

Sincerely your constituent,
You

In addition, here is an article describing some of the repercussions if this bill passes:

Monsanto's dream bill, HR 875
by Linn Cohen-Cole
http://www.opednews.com/

To begin reversing GM contamination will require ending the power biotech companies such as Monsanto exert over our government and through that, over our food.

HR 875, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro whose husband Stanley Greenburg works for Monsanto.

The bill is monstrous on level after level - the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hours GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights, the imposition by the filthy, greedy industrial side of anti-farming international "industrial" standards to independent farms - the only part of our food system that still works, the planned elimination of farmers through all these means.

The corporations want the land, they want more intensive industrialization, they want the end of normal animals so they can substitute patented genetically engineered ones they own, they want the end of normal seeds and thus of seed banking by farmers or individuals. They want control over all seeds, animals, water, and land.

Our farmers are good stewards. That is who is threatened by Rosa DeLauro's bill (and because of that, we all are). At a time in this country when wise stewardship and the production of anything real - especially good food - is what is most needed, it is our best stewards whom Rosa DeLauro threatens, under the cruelly false name of "food safety."

And now Monsanto wants its own employee, Michael Taylor back in government, this time to act with massive police power as a "food safety tsar" from inside the White House. This is the man who forced genetically engineered rBGH on us (unlabeled, and without warning) when the Clintons placed him over "food safety" in the 90s. HR 875 would give him immense power over what is done on every single farm in the country and massive police state power to wield over farmers and punishments to break them at will.

The following quotes show Monsanto and its biotech ilk are not "stewards" at all. Their inhuman focus on profit has led to inhuman, insane, sickening products that require intense corruption of democracy and science institutes and media, to foist them on country after country which don't want them.

It is our farmers who stand between us and this outrage which masquerades as science, as food, as normal business, as government. And it is our farmers who need not only protecting but actual freeing from government intrusion, control and harm.

Vegetarians and vegans do not identify with farmers who raise animals but what is at stake here is critical for all of us. "First they came for the Jews" is an apt reminder of what matters in standing with each other because the overwhelming bureaucratic burdens, the record requirements, the warrantless inspections, the end of farmers' markets, the criminalization of seed banking, the ten years in prison for stepping out of line in any way -- this will next be applied not to animals breaking out of fence onto a neighbor's farm, but for such things as not spraying pesticides on an organic farm to eradicate earthworms (now listed as an invasive species) because the government's "food safety tsar" has deemed it necessary.

HR 875 is the beginning. This time, it is about handing over control of our food supply to enhance profits of the chemical industry. This time it is aimed with ferocity at farmers who keep animals. Next time it will be totalitarian control.

Rosa DeLauro and Stanley Greenburg have a great deal to account for in attempting through a mislabeled bill with hidden intent to wipe out our farmers and harm all of us. HR 875 gives Monsanto greater power and opens doors wider to the following ...

Click here to read the quotes and the rest of the article

GPs to be bypassed in move to 'normalise' childbirth

Since this is how it's done in the nations with the lowest infant and maternal mortality rates, I applaud Scotland's move to go with reality instead of politics (like England has been for quite some time). - Alisa

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/GPs-to-be-bypassed-.5142970.jp

GPs to be bypassed in move to 'normalise' childbirth

Published Date: 05 April 2009
By Kate Foster

WOMEN will no longer see their GP during pregnancy following a controversial Scottish Government decision to cut medics out of maternity services.

The decades-old tradition of women visiting their family doctor to have their pregnancy confirmed and undergo health checks will be scrapped and the job taken on by midwives.

The new rules, to be launched throughout Scotland later this year, are aimed at healthy women with normal pregnancies who are not experiencing any complications.But GPs last night expressed their "anger and frustration" at the scheme, insisting they are best placed to spot potentially dangerous problems. When GPs conduct the first antenatal appointment, health and any child protection issues are usually discussed.

Under the new system, women who have tested positive in a home pregnancy test and are phoning their GP surgery for an appointment will be booked with a midwife unless the woman voices a specific objection or has serious health problems such as diabetes or obesity.

The move is part of a Scottish Government strategy, Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic, aimed at "normalising" pregnancy, and putting midwives in charge of most women.

GPs will be asked to send relevant health records to midwives whose job it will be meet the woman and carry out a risk assessment of the pregnancy by around six weeks of her pregnancy.If she is assessed as being "normal" then she will continue to see her midwife but she will be referred to an obstetrician if the midwife deems it necessary.

Dr Jim Cowan, a GP representative on a group examining the issue, said his colleagues were "disappointed".

Cowan said: "We are being sidelined. We feel we are being excluded from this important part of a woman's medical history. There seems to be a desire to hive off that bit to midwifery and keep GPs out of it."There may well be a holistic benefit from seeing a doctor. You may well be able to offer advice and discuss the pregnancy and the context of that woman's particular life situation," he added.

The move was also discussed at a recent meeting of Lothian Local Medical Committee. A minute from the meeting reveals many GPs are "angry and frustrated" at the scheme.

Women have also voiced caution. Sally Russell, director of the online parenting network Netmums said: "Many women feel that they trust midwives and develop a relationship with them. But I do worry that it's not one-size-fits-all and people would prefer to have the choice."

But Gillian Smith, director of the Royal College of Midwives, welcomed the strategy as a policy for treating women as individuals throughout their pregnancy. She said: "I think this is a good piece of work. I think it's the midwives working as a linchpin, and as the first point of contact. Quite a lot of GPs have a lot of work to do, although this is a nice part of their job they will be reluctant to relinquish."

Cynthia Clarkson, maternity services convener for the National Childbirth Trust, who helped draw up the plans last night said she was "delighted" they are going ahead.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic aims to ensure women giving birth have as natural an experience as is safely possible."

WHEN Stephanie Herrera found out she was pregnant she saw her own GP immediately. Stephanie had a difficult time during her pregnancy, not only was she carrying twins but her mother died shortly before they were born.

Stephanie says she does not know what she would have done without the support of her doctor and says the relationship is too important to abandon during the antenatal period.

Speaking from her home in Aberdeen she said: "My midwife was very nice, but I only saw her a couple of times. I was referred to a multiple birth specialist who was only really concerned with the health of the babies, but my GP was incredibly understanding of both my physical and emotional needs."

Stephanie, a marketing manager, is a patient at Camphill Medical Practice, and saw her GP, Dr Marga Hogenboom, about a dozen times during her pregnancy. The GP confirmed the pregnancy and referred Stephanie for scans and checks. "With my mother being diagnosed with cancer and dying two weeks before the twins were born, it was a horrendous time," she added. "I was worried about the health of the babies because they shared a placenta which can cause problems. (Which means you would have been able to see your GP under the new system anyway, so what's your problem? The doctors will still be at the hospital if something goes wrong so stop worring- Alisa) My GP made numerous home visits and the surgery was an oasis of calm.

"My midwife was lovely, but if I was to become pregnant again I would still want to see a doctor and have the GP involved."I would feel happier having my overall health assessed by a GP and I feel strongly they should have some involvement with antenatal care because they are going to be involved with me and the child afterwards. The person you have an ongoing relationship with is the GP, not the midwife, who you stop seeing six weeks after the baby is born."

Mrs. Obama Gets An Anti-Organic Gardening Letter

You have GOT to be kidding me.


PS - Since I'm snarky, I've made comments in PINK for your entertainment as well as your education. And by education, I mean "Most of this is spin and BS." Check out all my added links, especially, since I just spent an hour and a half on them. - Alisa


http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do;jsessionid=9BC3BFA718175A86B5A8E7563A45FF6D?diaryId=1309


Organic White House Garden Puts Some Conventional Panties in a Twist
by: Jill Richardson
Sat Mar 28, 2009 at 12:47:36 PM PDT


In the aftermath of breaking ground on the new, 1100 square foot White House garden, Michelle Obama named chef Sam Kass to head the White House Food Initiative. And we know how Kass feels about food... he agrees with us!

All of this positive PR for organics feels very threatening to Big Ag. So one group, the Mid America CropLife Association, has sent an email defending chemical ag to Mrs. Obama. See the letter reprinted below.

After sending the letter, MACA forwarded it around to others, with the following message:
Did you hear the news? The White House is planning to have an "organic" garden on the grounds to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for the Obama's and their guests. While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made Janet Braun, CropLife Ambassador Coordinator and I shudder. As a result, we sent a letter encouraging them to consider using crop protection products and to recognize the importance of agriculture to the entire U.S. economy.


Except one person on the forward list didn't shudder at the idea of an organic garden - and that's how the letter reached me. Here it is:


March 26, 2009
Mrs. Barack Obama The White House Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mrs. Obama,


We are writing regarding the garden recently added to the White House grounds to ensure a fresh supply of fruits and vegetables to your family, guests and staff. Congratulations on recognizing the importance of agriculture in America! The U.S. has the safest and most abundant food supply in the world thanks to the 3 million people who farm or ranch in the United States. Which is why Europe's ban on the importation of genetically modified foods from the US is wrong!


The CropLife Ambassador Network, a program of the Mid America CropLife Association, consists of over 160 ambassadors who work and many of whom grew up in agriculture. Their mission is to provide scientifically based, accurate information to the public regarding the safety and value of American agricultural food production. Because actual science has apparently never linked pesticides to leukemia, nerve damage, kidney cancer, fatigue, dizziness, low energy, rashes, weaknesses, sleep problems, anxiety, or depression. Many people, especially children, don't realize the extent to which their daily lives depend on America's agricultural industry. For instance, children are unaware the jeans they put on in the morning, the three meals eaten daily, the baseball with which they play and even the biofuels that power the school bus are available because of America's farmers and ranchers. But not organic farmers. Organic farmers don't produce anything useful.


Agriculture is the largest industry in America generating 20% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. Individuals, family partnerships or family corporations operate almost 99% of U.S. farms. Over 22 million people are employed in farm-related jobs, including production agriculture, farm inputs, processing and marketing and sales. Through research and changes in production practices, today's food producers are providing Americans with the widest variety of foods ever. Especially frogs mutated to have multiple legs! Vive la Cuisine francaise!


Starting in the early 1900's, technology advances have allowed farmers to continually produce more food on less land while using less human labor. Over time, Americans were able to leave the time-consuming demands of farming to pursue new interests and develop new abilities. Today, an average farmer produces enough food to feed 144 Americans who are living longer lives than many of their ancestors. Except for our children, who are expected to live shorter lives. Technology in agriculture has allowed for the development of much of what we know and use in our lives today. If Americans were still required to farm to support their family's basic food and fiber needs, would the U.S. have been leaders in the advancement of science, communication, education, medicine, transportation and the arts? Because people who take time to garden never do anything significantly artistic, educational or scientfic.


We live in a very different world than that of our grandparents. Americans are juggling jobs with the needs of children and aging parents. The time needed to tend a garden is not there for the majority of our citizens, certainly not a garden of sufficient productivity to supply much of a family's year-round food needs. So don't even try.


Much of the food considered not wholesome or tasty is the result of how it is stored or prepared rather than how it is grown. But we won't be posting any references to back this up because we don't have any. Fresh foods grown conventionally are wholesome and flavorful yet more economical. Local and conventional farming is not mutually exclusive. However, a Midwest mother whose child loves strawberries, a good source of Vitamin C, appreciates the ability to offer California strawberries in March a few months before the official Mid-west season. In which case you should forget about what we just said about "more economical" because fruit out of season is more expensive.


Farmers and ranchers are the first environmentalists, unless you are talking about air quality, water pollution or wildlife populations, maintaining and improving the soil and natural resources to pass onto future generations. Technology allows for farmers to meet the increasing demand for food and fiber in a sustainable manner.


Farmers use reduced tillage practices on more than 72 million acres to prevent erosion. and increases the need for chemical herbicides substantially.


Farmers maintain over 1.3 million acres of grass waterways, allowing water to flow naturally from crops without eroding soil. But not organic farms. They grow their crops in mid air, thus having no benefit on soil erosion whatsoever.


Contour farming keeps soil from washing away. About 26 million acres in the U.S. are managed this way. And we own this method, so organic farmers can't use it.


Agricultural land provides habitat for 75% of the nation's wildlife. Except honey bees.


Precision farming boosts crop yields and reduces waste by using satellite maps and computers to match seed, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions.


Sophisticated Global Positioning Systems can be specifically designed for spraying pesticides. A weed detector equipped with infrared light identifies specific plants by the different rates of light they reflect and then sends a signal to a pump to spray a preset amount of herbicide onto the weed.


Biogenetics allows a particular trait to be implanted directly into the seed to protect the seed against certain pests.


Farmers are utilizing 4-wheel drive tractors with up to 300 horsepower requiring fewer passes across fields-saving energy and time. Woo.


Huge combines are speeding the time it takes to harvest crops. Combines are a trademark of Monsanto and only conventional farmers may use them.


With modern methods, 1 acre of land in the U.S. can produce 42,000 lbs. of strawberries, 110,000 heads of lettuce, 25,400 lbs. of potatoes, 8,900 lbs. of sweet corn, or 640 lbs of cotton lint. As opposed to organic gardens, which only grow 100 ears of corn on one acre.


As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply. America's farmers understand crop protection technologies are supported by sound scientific research and innovation. Again, we'll refrain from actually referencing any of this "science."


The CropLife Ambassador Network offers educational programs for elementary school educators at (Removed by me) covering the science behind crop protection products and their contribution to sustainable agriculture. You may find our programs America's Abundance, Farmers Stewards of the Land and War of the Weeds of particular interest. We thank you for recognizing the importance and value of America's current agricultural technologies in feeding our country and contributing to the U.S economy. Which I really hope Michelle Obama doesn't cave in and do.


Please feel free to contact us with any questions.


Sincerely,
Bonnie McCarvel, Executive Director Janet Braun, Program Coordinator Mid America CropLife Association 11327 Gravois Rd., #201 St. Louis, MO 63126