This is a longer one than usual I am afraid.

by Kenneth Keavey

During the week somebody raised a valid point, how can we speak about climate change with any conviction when we import food. I have been considering this since and felt it was a point worth addressing.

We do import food and especially now it is more prevalent than at other times during the year, this is the hungry gap and we simply do not have Irish produce in abundance.

We do import food during other times of the year also and yes that food arrives here on the island of Ireland by truck.  It is important to note that we never import food by plane as do many supermarkets. We also have other sourcing policies that some may find contentious such as never buying produce from Israel.

There is in fact no other option if we want to eat tomatoes or peppers or carrots at present but to import, there simply is no commercial Irish supply. This has been particularly exacerbated by the horrendous growing season last year and the equally disastrous start to spring. We are not a market garden, and we need to grow in scale to have the necessary produce to fill our boxes each week, we are commercial organic vegetable farm. I think it is equally important to point out that there are very few of our type of farm at our scale in the country, a handful maybe.

Right now we are preparing fields we have planted some of our polytunnels and have just put our first plants in the ground this week. This will mean if the weather plays ball and these days that is a big if, we will be harvesting the first kale say in July.

Can we as a result of the issues above talk about climate breakdown and how it effects our farming? Can we voice our opinions on why we think large scale factory farming is horrendous and wrong? Can we say we disagree with deforestation in the amazon to feed the animal industries voracious appetite for GM soya? Can we offer an opinion on the fact that we think trees and hedgerows should be an integral part of the farming landscape in Ireland? Can we state the fact that if there was less meat consumed and more plants that less land would be required for agriculture, irrespective whether you eat meat or not, this is simply a fact?

Our intention is to shine a light on these issues whilst being mindful of people’s preferences for food, which is deeply personal, it is a delicate balance. Whilst also acknowledging that there are phenomenal hardworking farmers of all types in Ireland. Farming is a tremendously precarious industry and that government led encouragement to intensification means many farmers have few choices to change the way they farm.

The idea of the “Green Deal” in Europe being abandoned deeply upsets me and I feel it is a sad day in European evolution, the basic principle that we look after the land and set aside more for nature is exactly what we need to do. But how can farmers who to an extent have been encouraged by certain political parties be expected to foot the bill for these changes at least to a degree, when the price of food is so remarkably low, it is not the farmers and it never is that win from inflation led food price increases or indeed the smaller retailers. It is the large corporates and giant retailers they are the only winners, and they always win. 

The bottom line again of course comes back to the system that we now function within, our food system is inherently broken, and it needs to change.

So, whilst we import produce, we also grow 11 acres of vegetables plus 7 polytunnels worth on a farm of nearly 20 acres, some of which is left to forestry, hedgerows and general rewilding. We have agreements with several organic vegetable growers across Ireland to supply crops that we do not grow, such as potatoes, and carrots, and scallions and cucumbers and many more. All grown organically and in Ireland when in season.

I started this business because my fundamental belief to change our food system and protect our planet are dear to me. We are a small farm by any one’s reckoning but we absolutely do what we can.

We will continue to talk about things that will be disagreeable to some, to many maybe, we hope too to encourage others to think that maybe there is another way, that may provide a small ray of light and that leads to a path of change, after all, we all have power and choices to make change real.

And of course, as I say each week and it is something I mean wholeheartedly, without you spending your money with us and buying the produce we sell whether it is grown by us, or some other Irish organic farmer, or an organic farmer in Spain, we would not  be able to run our farm here, and support the other sustainable ethical farmers we buy produce from and we would not have this forum to say what we believe and what we hope some of you believe too.

So, I hope to that person that raised the issue that this has helped address some of your points.

Thank you for your support you make all this possible.

Kenneth

Would you do this in your garden?

by Kenneth Keavey

What I can’t understand is why the conventional approach to growing food has changed so much since my Grandad’s day. Why are we now so much more interested in pushing the land beyond its natural limits, the results of which are evident everywhere. Look at our rivers and lakes, look at the algal blooms that starve the water of its oxygen turning the water to a putrid green in our summers. This was not always the case. The excessive application of fertilisers including liquid manure must end up somewhere.


My granddads farm was a mixed farm, and he grew his own vegetables in his garden. What has happened to our food system since his time, that now as farmers we are actively encouraged to concentrate on monocultures for the sake of efficiency. What has happened to the idea that diversity is the very route to true health on a farm and only through diversity can biodiversity thrive.

Without diversity our planet will start to turn in on itself and we see this globally now, but we also see it in the intensification of the farming practices here in Ireland which are leading to bigger more industrial farming that feed our export driven model of food production.


But what happens to all the little things that are supposed to share the land with us on farms when we continually intensify, all the little things that make all the difference, the little worms in the ground, the little bees and insects that feed the birds, the little fish in the lakes, and the myriad of bacteria in the soil? They disappear.


The increasing application of chemicals on our food destroys biodiversity. We now even have a new name for some of these additions that are added to the sprays, ‘forever chemicals’, as if a systemic carcinogen like glyphosate wasn’t bad enough now we need to package it up in something that never goes away. Are we mad, have we lost the run of ourselves?


Why on earth would we ever consider spraying any of these things on our food. Would you eat out of your garden, having coated your food in an array of chemical insecticides?
The food system is becoming more and more concentrated in the hands of a few, and the whole system is a giant integrated money-making machine: the chemicals, the patents on the seeds we sow, the byproducts from the mass production of crops which in turn has led to the proliferation of the ultra-processed food industry and this feeds an ever-voracious food retail industry ruled by the gatekeepers the giant supermarkets themselves. Where is the place for biodiversity there?


Certainly, when I remember the colour and vibrancy in my grandad’s garden and the way he farmed it was a million miles away from how agriculture looks today. That is what we need to get back to, we need to get back to growing our own food and understanding what goes into that, and why it is so important to keep connected to our how our food is produced.
So as always thank you for your support.


You make our mission possible and thank you for your support.
Kenneth

The greatest danger to our future is apathy……

by Kenneth Keavey

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. The greatest danger to our future is apathy. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.” Jane Goodall.

We know what we need to do to reverse climate change and stop biodiversity loss. We need to Stop polluting our atmosphere with gases that are leading to a warmer climate, and changing what we are using our limited resources for will be critical. We need to grow different crops; we need to reduce our consumption and we need to change what we consume and what we eat. The large corporations may want us to think all is well and we have little power to influence change, but both statements could not be further from the truth. Each one of us has the power to change, the power to make change happen, because we all have choices.

The enormity of the task can seem overwhelming, and this can lead to apathy, to lack of action, to a feeling of what’s the point, what difference can I make anyway? and that is understandable.

But the truth is that business as usual is not working, and we are destroying our planet and the biodiversity that we share this world with. We are making a mark on the planet that we may look back on with regret. We are leaving a legacy to our children that I imagine one day they will point to and say, ‘what were they doing, were they of sound mind?’

But the path to a brighter future is right there before us and there is hope, we can take back our power and make a difference. It can start with our reconnection with nature, seeing the beauty in the natural world and seeing that our choices really matter and can protect our planet and the creatures we share this planet with.

When we make choices that help us to live in harmony with nature then we are most definitely on the right path, and these can be small simple changes like leaving wild areas of our gardens, or cutting down on meat consumption, or choosing non factory farmed meat, or not always jumping in the car, or planting a tree, or picking up a piece of plastic waste, or choosing loose produce in the supermarket, or not choosing ultraprocessed foods, or planting a little vegetable garden, or if we can choosing green electricity, or choosing food that hasn’t been growing with chemicals, or kindly encouraging others to pick up the mantle, now imagine if we were all doing this, wouldn’t that make a difference, wouldn’t it send a message to institutions and corporations and governments that enough is enough?

‘Thinking somebody else will do what needs to be done is the greatest threat to our planet’ Robert Swan

But the opposite is also true. What if we say ‘no’ to business as usual, we leave the corporations to their greed and selfishness. We can choose differently, we can change our relationship with the natural world and instead of seeing it as something we can take and use as we want, we can begin again to treat it with the respect it deserves, and this amazingly beautiful living interconnected organism will thrive again.

Then we have a chance, we have a chance to repair the damage, to reduce our emissions to stop treating animals in the horrendous conditions of factory farms, of taking little steps to stand up to the business-as-usual demagogs, to fight for change, to say no to the vested corporate interests all around us that are pushing us to unlimited consumption.

We can all be the change we want to see in the world as Gandhi said and it is not too late.

Every single day we can do something positive and life affirming all we need is to choose to do it.You make our mission possible and thank you for your support.

Kenneth

PS, Without doubt it has been the wettest spring in our 18 years of growing organic veg, but we still have a good selection of Irish organic produce at least for now! find it all here.

a million tonnes, that is a lot…

by Kenneth Keavey

Just under 1 million tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables are imported into Ireland every year. Right now, we are in the hungry gap the period between the end of old crops and the start of the first new season crops.

We are lucky and still have a fair supply of Irish vegetables but it’s a tough time to source Irish produce. We have a clear sourcing policy from our own farm, from other local organic farms, from Irish organic farms, from European organic farms and finally from further afield but never airfreighted and generally plastic free.Even so the figure above is shocking because it wasn’t always the case there has been a 42% increase in the amount of fresh produce imported since 1992 as Irish production has collapsed. It’s a tough industry to be in and farmers are opting out with good reason.

This represents the loss of a valuable craft, once it is gone it is gone for good, because even though growing food requires a modern scientific approach it also requires understanding for what will and will not work, this comes with time and experience. It is very difficult to bring back a farming industry like commercial veg growing once it is gone. It is sad then that now mostly we grow grass to feed an export led intensive meat and dairy industry. There is little time given to the humble veg grower be it organic or otherwise, given that government and lobbying bodies are focused on beef and dairy. Couple that with weather which makes the complex nature of veg growing even more challenging and loss leading by supermarkets, and you have a perfect storm for the decimation of our veg industry.

It is interesting and not really any surprise then, that organic carrots and even organic potatoes from a well-known large supermarket chain may hail from Israel, check out their website.

We openly acknowledge that we import where necessary and as we have just finished our Irish organic carrot crop from our amazing Irish organic carrot grower, Philip Dreaper from Coolnagrower organic produce in county Offaly our organic carrots are now coming from Spain. We have a partnership with Cameron in Battlemountain organic farm who grows organic potatoes for us and will keep us supplied for the year. So, whatever you think about the madness that has beset the world right now, it seems unreasonable and unjust to me that we can’t have more veg grown right here in Ireland and not only that but more sustainable organic vegetables. Our grandparents did it that’s one generation maybe two ago and it was clearly possible.

On that note I am delighted that Emmanuel and his farm team have started the real and rewarding work of planting the first new season crops in our Polytunnel and that we are still harvesting crops from our own farm.

As always thank you for your support

Kenneth

A reluctant piece of news…

by Kenneth Keavey

It’s been a wet, dark, cold start to the year, we are starting to get a little edgy now as we are behind in our field preparation work, and we will have plants due to go out into the fields in April.

Thankfully we have been busy preparing our tunnels and the first plants went into the ground two weeks ago. We are also continuing to harvest last years crops from the fields which is keeping us busy.

But the main challenge this year is the cost of keeping our business afloat. We have had two major shocks and increases to our cost base; one is in cost of staffing and the other is in transport. There is nothing we can do about either and they are causing concern about how to make the ends meet at the end of each month.

Two weeks ago, one of our logistic partners who we have worked with for several years informed us that they had no choice but to increase their transport costs to us by 57%. To be fair their rates had been well below market cost and their service is first class, but this is still a very sudden and significant increase in cost.  DPD last week informed us of a 4% increase, our Dublin delivery partner just before Christmas announced a 6% increase. All added up we are facing at an increase in transportation costs of over €46k this year. 

Due to the minimum wage increases and other necessary wage related changes, we have also seen our wage cost base for the people we employ here increase by nearly €70k per year! 

Not only that but the price of the produce we source from other farmers is going up as well. We believe this is fair and just, they need to survive just as we do.

Through no fault of our own and totally out of our control, our cost base has increased by €116k over the course of this year, for a business of our size this is a large new burden to bear.

With the backdrop of primary horticultural food producers not being able to stay in business and us not having the deep pockets of the supermarkets or bigger businesses to shoulder these costs out of non existent profit margins, we are left with a difficult decision to make. 

All things being equal how will we pay for these two hefty price increases, this is the question we have been grappling with for the last while?

It’s always with a great degree of reluctance that we introduce any price rise, we are very conscious of putting any more undue pressure on households that are choosing to shop sustainably, it is difficult we know, and it your choices and support that keeps us in business. 

At the same time, we will not be good to anybody if we can’t cover our costs and aim to make a modest profit to reinvest back into the business and farm here. 

We don’t feel we have any choice but to increase our delivery charge by €1, out of which we get an extra €.81c once we pay the government their VAT. 

This will not cover our increase in costs, the costs of the compostable non plastic packaging, the cost of the time and effort that goes into packing the orders (we need a lot of people to pack all your orders, to handle and care and quality check all the fresh produce, to sow, plant and harvest the produce, it all requires people), the delivery to your doorstep and the recollection of the boxes and returning them to our farm. This increase will contribute but we will need to do much more and find efficiencies in our business to keep the show on the road.

I hope you can understand why reluctantly we have had to make this increase and we hope that you will still think that the service the quality and the sustainability of which we aim to always go above and beyond on are worth continuing to give your support to. We would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

This new change from €5.50 to €6.50 will take effect for orders delivered the week beginning the 15th of April which is in two weeks’ time. Remember you can still get free deliveries on all order over €100.

Thank you for your on-going support.

Kenneth.

We won an award, thank you!

by Kenneth Keavey

Yesterday evening after a very busy day of work, I went out the door on top of my head to an awards ceremony in Westport. We had been nominated for the “local food hero” award at the Irish restuarants awards, and we won! Thanks to all of you who nominated us for the award, we were delighted and touched to have our work and the work of the team here acknowledged in such a way.

It can be very hard to keep the focus on the things that matter when you are under pressure, and we as food producers have certainly felt and continue to feel that pain over the last number of years. From the outside it can often seem that all is great, but sometimes if you scratch just beneath the surface, you can see all the hard work it takes to keep the ball rolling by the amazing people that work here.  Scratch a little deeper and all the pressures and strains that we face everyday to get produce out the door become evident, and it can be a lot.  

There have been so many challenges over the last 5 years and it has gotten more and more difficult to keep farming doors open, we have seen in our industry farm after farm getting out of growing vegetables in this country, the reason can generally be traced back to one root cause. Costs have skyrocketed whilst in real terms the rates paid for primary produce by supermarkets to veg growers here in Ireland between 2010 and 2021 has decreased by 8.5%.  

So, it was poignant to be acknowledged and reminded that what we do is valued, that protection of biodiversity whilst producing sustainable food is seen as something that does matter. We know it matters we have banging this drum for nigh on 20 years now and our message has never deviated one iota from day one.

From the days when our neighbours were encouraging us to use a “touch of Roundup”, we were on a mission and chemicals and destruction of biodiversity were not in our handbook.

Having beehives, and rehoming mad not so miniature pigs, growing thousands of trees, planting wild flower strips, growing acres of green manures, and hundreds of meters of hedgerows, of collecting and reusing our cardboard boxes (how many supermarket do that!), of saying no to plastic, being the first ones delivering veg boxes in electric vans, having solar panels on our farm packing shed and rain watering harvesting before it was a thing that everybody was doing (And thankfully everybody is doing it now) and of course growing (and sourcing where possible from other Irish organic growers) organic chemical free sustainable produce. That was and continues to be our path.

So thank you for the nomination and thank you to the judges for choosing us as the winner in our category.

And with that it is back to the work of growing, sourcing, and delivering good healthy food to your tables all over the island of Ireland.

Thank you as always for your support!

Kenneth

It’s about time don’t you think?

by Kenneth Keavey

Back in 2011, we were paying our farm the same price we are paying our farm today for parsnips, and yet our cost of production has over doubled. 

The nature restoration law as it is called, is set to be one of Europe’s biggest pieces of environmental legislation, requiring countries to introduce measures restoring nature on a fifth of their land and sea by 2030. This is an amazing and ambitious commitment and here’s the thing, these environmental measures are critical to our health, our ability to produce food and the health of our planet. Ref a

However there has been fierce resistance to this new law and earlier this month, the European Commission withdrew a proposed law to reduce pesticide use and delayed the obligation for farmers to set aside more land for nature.

There is ample evidence that the pesticide industry lobby has acted as irresponsibly as fossil fuel corporations with regards to our common future on this planet. Stopping harm to biodiversity and ecosystems and addressing the climate crisis are one and the same thing. The lack of action is causing despair among scientists. “We know that ecosystems are collapsing, with major risks to us as well,” said Guy Pe’er, an ecologist at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research. 

In the EU, pesticides are a lucrative business worth more than 12 billion euro annually. The market is concentrated in the hands of four major producers – Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and Corteva – that invest not only in pesticides but also in PR, spin and lobbying to make sure their profits remain high, and the ambitions of the Green Deal stay low. Ref 1

But why does it seem so hard to move away from intensive farming practices in the first place?

One: because our food system has become conditioned and reliant on chemicals as  result of pressure from big agribusinesses and two because it means more variety, more rotations, more complexity for farmers. And that means as farmers we need more skills, more time and more resource to manage it all. We grow over 20 different crops and it takes time.  

Some anti green deal protestors say green policies are not the problem, and instead it is cheap food imports that are the problem.

Farmers can’t bear all the responsibility for the increased cost of production.  The retail chain (aka the supermarkets) must share the responsibility, and this means paying a fair price for the food we eat.  Supermarkets must pay a fair price for the food they buy.

While all other items have increased in price, the price paid by supermarkets to veg growers here in Ireland between 2010 and 2021 has decreased by 8.5%. (see page 13) The sums don’t add up. 

So in my view the answer to get initiatives like the green deal over the line require fair prices to be paid to farmers for the food they produce and for the agri-companies with massive profits at stake linked to destructive chemicals to be silenced. Then we have a fighting chance.

We have a fighting chance to radically transform our food production system to something that really works with nature and provides us with amazing food to boot.

As always thanks for your support

Kenneth

PS, Happy St. Patrick’s day and thank you, we value each and every one of you our readers and customers, without whose encouragement and support we would have quit long ago. 

Zero tolerance will always be the way….

by Kenneth Keavey

I grew up working on a farm, the man I worked for used to refer to soil as “good clean dirt”, he was of the opinion that no harm ever came from handling soil, and he was right.

At that time chemicals were just starting to creep into agriculture here in the west of Ireland and that was back in the early 80s. Food grown locally at that time was generally free from chemicals, with the exception probably and ironically of potatoes, which would have been sprayed for blight. Back then wild button mushrooms still grew in the fields, cowslips were plentiful and generally our fields were full of diversity. This is not the case today, and the funny thing is you never see why. The application of chemicals to our land and to our food occurs all the time but we are generally blissfully unaware that it is happening. They say once awareness dawns you can never go back, maybe that is true for food also, that is of course if we choose not to ignore the facts.

There are certainly more controls and checks and balances in Europe than in other parts of the world, but that doesn’t make chemical agriculture right. But with much of our food in this country being imported and as we don’t have the same visibility on what controls are implemented in foreign parts, (over 85% of all fruit and vegetables are imported) then choosing organic becomes even more important. Organic systems are not perfect, but they do offer an alternative, one that keeps chemicals off our food, and in doing so also helps protect biodiversity. It does sometimes feel ironic that it is the organic producer that must prove their credentials, go through the extra paperwork, and submit samples to prove that we are not doing anything underhand.

So it is that I dig out this event of last November, when a piece of our kale was tested for 1 of 870 chemicals, it came back with a clean bill of health. The fact that there were 870 chemicals on that test list, means I imagine that there are 870 active chemicals that can be applied and are applied in varying amounts to our food. I was shocked, why else would they test for all of these?

It seems ironic that we may go to such lengths to get soil off our hands, we can see the dirt, and we can wash it clean, we can be obsessed with keeping our bodies clean, but how about what we put into our bodies. It is the unseen agents that often do the most damage, and generally a wash is not sufficient to get chemicals off our food, especially those that are systemic (Get absorbed into the tissue of the plant) in nature. These chemicals can’t be removed by washing, they are in and on conventional food and they will inevitably end up in our bodies.

You would have to wonder why sickness is so prevalent in our society today and while there is no definite one root cause and it is certainly a complex issue, there is little doubt that our diet can have a large detrimental effect on our health. Conversely if approached correctly what we eat can only contribute to a more positive well-being.

When we consume healthy fresh organic food, we are doing our body a great service, and similarly we are demonstrating a level of respect for the planet, that is aiding in protecting the amazing biodiversity we share this world with.

Here is to zero chemicals on our food.

Kenneth

PS, Power to all women in the world, without whose compassion and understanding, dedication and hard work we would be lost, happy international women’s day and happy mothers day in advance. I feel that a matriarchal led society would certainly be kinder to our planet too.

When all is said and done…

by Kenneth Keavey

When all is said and done, we started out on this journey with one idea in mind: ‘to do everything in our power to help the natural word, to protect biodiversity and to manage to produce healthy food along the way.’

There was no other reason, it wasn’t to make money, it wasn’t even to create a business, it was just to grow food and protect the planet. It was driven by a powerful idea, and I am thankful for that; as without that belief we would not be here today. One thing these last 18 years of growing food naturally have taught me, is that you can take nothing for granted. This time last year we had our land ploughed and tilled and we were confident that we were ahead of the game, as it turns out it was the worst growing year of our 18 years. This year we are at least a month behind schedule because of the constant barrage of rain, and there is no sign of that changing anytime soon.

But from the beginning every year we put time, energy, money and land aside to invest in the natural world and one step we discovered in our very early days was leaving our kale to go to flower. This is a simple and powerful step that helps the natural world thrive.

Flowering kale is a miracle of nature, in fact the kale plant is a miracle of organic farming for West of Ireland organic farmers and for the little creatures we share our land with especially the bees. Right now, as I write, our green kale plants are forming a little flower head at the top of the plants, and in about 3 weeks they will burst into flower, or at the first sign of a little warmth.

We can continue to harvest right up to this point, but as the plants go to flower the harvest ends, it is a natural cycle every year without fail. As we have limited land, it would be tempting to cut down the kale plants straight away and start using the ground for another crop, but we never do that. The kale will produce a myriad of bright yellow flowers and the bees love it. So, we let it flower. It is in fact a critical food source for the bees and other insects at this time of year when there is very little else.

It may be a small step, but it costs us very little, maybe just the awareness to know that doing so really does make a difference. Not only does it attract bees, but birds follow the insects, and on a bright sunny day it is like a little natural kale rainforest right here in the west of Ireland, teaming with life. We will show you when it happens. So now we wait, we wait for the land to dry out, we wait for the kale to flower and we wait for the wheel of nature to turn.

As always thank you for your ongoing support.

Thank you,

Kenneth

The Big Lie

by Kenneth Keavey

The big lie, do you think that genetically engineered crops and glyphosate are necessary and safe?


The big lie is the idea that if you lie big and continue to repeat the lie enough it will eventually become so common that it is accepted by society.  
As we choose our wild open pollinated flower seed for part of our rotation for the year ahead and wait for our bees to wake up from their winter slumber, it would seem we are a million miles away from the big agribusinesses that dominate our food supply chain. 
These businesses are not in the business of altruism, they are in the chemical and life patenting business, a business which it seems gives them the right to own seeds (to own life itself) and make vast sums of money from the sale of these genetically modified seeds and the chemicals necessary to bring them to harvest. 
One example of a big lie was the use of neonicotinoids in agriculture, we were told they were safe for the bees, they were not, and now after much research they are banned.
Another example is the idea that GM crops and the chemicals used on them are safe, are necessary, and bring benefits to nature, the farmer, and the consumer.  Is this true? Here are a few facts that may help you decide for yourself.

  1. In 2015, 180millon Ha of GM crops were grown.
  2. Of this area, 4 key crops accounted for 178million Ha.
  3. Of these 4 key crops, soya 52%, Maize/corn 30%, cotton 13%, canola/oil seed rape 5% accounted for nearly 100% of all GM crops grown. (read the report here)
  4. All 4 crops have been engineered to allow them to be resistant to glyphosate allowing more of this chemical to be sprayed on the crops, meaning they will all contain higher levels of glyphosate.
  5. GM crops are banned in Europe, but GM products find their way into our food and remember because they are GM they will have been sprayed with significantly higher levels of glyphosate (A potential carcinogen).  Some soybeans have been showed to have as much as 100mg/kg, the maximum residue limit is 40mg/kg in the US, in 1999 a supplier of both glyphosate and roundup considered 5.6mg/kg to be “extremely high”.  (Read the report here)
  6. Many of these crops are grown to feed animals, and many of the by-products of these crops such as high Fructose corn syrup have made it into the ultra-processed foods on supermarket shelves. All are drenched in glyphosate.
  7. This combination of chemicals and plants both owned by agribusiness, makes these companies very rich and gives them a lot of power. Revenue from one leading agribusiness was $26 billion in 2022.
  8. Roundup ready crops do not improve the yield. 

The development of this technology is not about feeding the world, it is about control of our food system, and making vast sums of money, it is about feeding a factory farmed food industry that is making us sick. So, are we to think then that altruism, safe food and doing right for the farmer, for the planet and the consumer are the driving forces behind these mega businesses? I will leave you to decide. With your support we support the very opposite of points 1-8 above.  Thank you,

Kenneth