The hidden beauty of pollination

Sustainability on Our Backs

There are so many ways in which sustainability is and should be part of our lives. In fact, we believe that it must be a foundational piece of how we live. Sustainability doesn't need to be difficult or inconvenient either. If we look closely at the systems we have in place for sourcing, producing and consuming it becomes clear that subtle modifications can have huge positive impacts on our collective quality of life. The systems work, they just are misused!

We've got a huge opportunity if we'd just be more cradle-to-cradle in our thinking. Systems thinking is essential to improving our current lives in ways that do not negatively impact our futures!

Take the article we've linked to for this discussion for example, which shows that there is a great demand for sustainably grown cotton. Opportunity to change!! Clothing, and cotton in particular, is a pretty dirty industry.

Some facts: (taken from Wikipedia)

• The U.S. cotton crop was 93% genetically modified (GMO) in 2010;
• The Chinese cotton crop was 68% genetically modified (GMO) in 2009
• The cotton industry relies heavily on chemicals, such as herbicides, fertilizers and insecticides;
• The 25,000 cotton growers in the United States are heavily subsidized at the rate of $2 billion per year;
• Many farmers in developing countries receive a low price for their cotton;
• Some countries are criticized for employing child labor & damaging workers' health by exposure to pesticides.

This is an industry that impacts ALL of us! There are multiple levels of its production where there are opportunities to make the industry better without breaking the bank and with higher quality all around. Making oneself aware of how our consumption contributes to degrading and improving our environment and our quality of life is important.

Visionary Values is getting very close to the unveiling of the first level of our consumer sustainability database that will enable everyone to see these complex processes in much more detailed and more easily accessed formats. We believe in the transparency of processes and in giving consumers the information that can help them make choices of all kinds that benefit our planet, ourselves and the species we share this beautiful life with! Stay tuned!!

Farmers against Monsanto

This is a battle that needs to involve everyone who cares about the safety, integrity and control of our global food systems. It is a basic rights issue. We have reached a point where governments have given large corporations far too much control over our economy. However, WE have been the ones responsible for giving our governments that power and not holding them accountable! It is only when we recognize this and do something about it that we can expect good things to happen more regularly.

The most recent backlash against the biotech giants of the world, especially Monsanto, is a social indicator of many things. The Occupy movement is encouraging a concerned populace to change economic dynamics from elitist to inclusive. We must require this of our food producers as well. Many well-intentioned farmers are stuck in cycles of destruction that is encouraged by government and industry alike.

So, we are here to say that these brave farmers who are standing up to Monsanto are also standing up for us! Let's give them some help and make those changes in ourselves as consumers and demand GMO labeling to start with. Then, let's be better shoppers and purchase products that do less harm and more good!

Here is a link to an article reporting on the farmer lawsuit against Monsanto.

This is a great Tedx video of an eloquent young man speaking his mind on the issues of GMO$:

Celebrating Bob Marley's Birthday

Get Up Stand Up

Most people think great God will come from the sky

Take away everything and make everybody feel high

But if you know what life is worth

You would look for yours on earth

And now you see the light You stand up for your right

….

We’re sick and tired of your ism schism game

Die and go to heaven in Jesus’ name

Lord, we know when we understand Almighty God is a living man

You can fool some people sometimes

But you can’t fool some people all the time

So now we see the light

(What you gonna do?)

We gonna stand up for our right.

Jah, Jah, Jah …

Get up Stand up, co-written with Peter Tosh, demonstrates an anti-imperialist, strident and militant tone, that acts as the rallying cry for oppressed people to fight back and in the spirit of Marcus Garvey’s self-reliance philosophy do something about their own situation.

Celebrate the spirit of Bob Marley and his philosophy with this video:

Perhaps it is time to return to the blog!

So many pieces of the social media pie! We will do our best to keep this palette colorful and informative enough to keep you coming back! In the meantime, enjoy this video: