The rainforests of the Amazon may seem very far away and what happens there may seem like it has no effect on our lives here on the edge of Europe. But this couldn’t be further from the truth for so many reasons, here is a little story of one reason of why that may be.
Imagine this you are sitting at your breakfast table, eating your toast, and your partner, dog, child, is sitting next to you eating their porridge, you are both happy in the knowledge that this is a good start to the day.
Well somewhere in Europe it has been decided for us, that our porridge is allowed to contain twice as much glyphosate as our toast. Now this may not mean too much to you, but many moons ago I questioned a department of Agriculture official about why this was the case. Surely, the MRL (Maximum residue limit, read the amount of chemical allowed in my food) should be the same for all food, not different for different crops?
The reply was humorous at best and worrying at worst. I was told; people eat less porridge so the limit can be double what it is in wheat. The actual limits right here in Ireland are 20mg/kg for oats, and 10mg/kg for wheat. The level in the USA is 30mg/kg. Prior to 2008 it was 0.1mg/kg, the same for Europe. So why did it get bumped up so much? If 0.1 mg was deemed safe prior to 2008, was it rigorous safety data that said of course it is ok to consume 300 times more of this potential carcinogen?
Well funny enough, (but of course it is not funny at all) it had little to do with human safety and much more to do with the prevalence of GMO crops and the adoption as routine of spraying crops with glyphosate to dry crops out (now banned here in Europe, well done Brussels on that one).It is clear that the EU increased its limit for glyphosate in our food in response to global trade and residue data, much of which was coming from the United States and South America.
So, what connection could this possibly have with the ever-shrinking rainforests in South America. Well, here is the thing, the land is being cleared to grow more GMO soya and corn (Corn and soya to feed more animals, and this soya is also imported into our lovely green island right here in Ireland, and corn if found in many products including cornflakes)
This chemical more than any other on the planet, has changed the way and the type of food we grow, it is directly and indirectly responsible for habitat loss and biodiversity loss right across our planet, on a scale never witnessed before.
So our breakfast it seems and hence our food choices, can be a massive force for positive change, or we can get swept along by the tide and have our food choices, made by these massive global corporations, many of which we never even here about, but who are in the background, (If you are curious look up the ABCD group, yes this is a real acronym) supplying and orchestrating and controlling commodity crops and food.
We can choose, and our choices matter. Thank you for supporting us, your help is changing our food system and is making a difference.
Kenneth