I had the opportunity to interview Andy Kimbrell, the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety, at the recent Justice Begins with Seeds Conference in San Francisco. CFS currently has five cases in the courts to regulate or restrict GM crops. As Kimbrell says, “at CFS we don’t get passive aggressive, we just get aggressive – we just sue.”

Listen to Kimbrell rip the industrial meat system, particularly Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, known as CAFOs, and the e-coli contamination they spread… see the transcript below. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Andy%20Kimbrell%20-%20CAFOs.mp3 width:400 height:300]

Hear the complete Andy Kimbrell interview here. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Andy%20Kimbrell.mp3 width:400 height:300]

For more information about the Center for Food Safety, check out the CFS website. Continue reading →

As part of my Environmental Policy Masters program I am researching the industrial food system, conventional versus organic agriculture, and developed an interest in genetically modified organisms.

I attended the first Justice Begins With Seeds Conference to deepen my understanding of the issue. This feature highlights some of the activists I interviewed, and their concerns. I’m still unclear on what the impacts of GMOs are, especially on human health, but I wanted to give voice to the critics, who I think are often overlooked in the general media stories.

• Listen to my No GMOs Conference feature.

Hear particularly interesting segments from interviews and panels below, and find a list of GMO resources at the bottom of the page. Continue reading →

Developing Effective Strategies: Addressing Food Security, Climate Change and Agriculture with value driven narratives

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Listen to Journalist and Communications Director for the Global Justice Economy Project Jeff Conant discuss four GMO story arks he finds in the media, and alternative narratives.

Conant says the common narratives are: Feeding the World is only possible with Biotech, Innovation versus Fear (which also includes the Green Revolution in Africa), Separate but Equal (GMOs and conventional seeds can comingle), and The Big Green Narrative, which is about commodifying all life forms based on carbon. See the partial transcript below.

For more information about the conference see San Francisco Justice Conference Plants A Seed.

Continue reading →

Justice Begins With Seeds conference attendees talk about why they honor seed and soil, and offer prayers and songs to pachamama at a seed exchange.

Hear why some attendees honor seeds. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Seeds%20Mix.mp3 width:400 height:300]

Listen to songs and prayers for pachamama from attendees. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Seeds%20Songs%202.mp3 width:400 height:300] Continue reading →

I attended the first Justice Begins With Seeds Conference to deepen my understanding of sustainable agriculture and genetically modified organisms. This feature highlights some of the activists I spoke with, and their concerns.

I’m still unclear on what the impacts of GMOs are, especially on human health, but I wanted to give voice to the critics, who I think are often overlooked in the general media stories.

For more information about the conference see San Francisco Justice Conference Plants A Seed.

[middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-No%20GMOs%20Conference%20Feature.mp3 width:400 height:300]

Continue reading →

Jeffrey Smith with the Institute for Responsible Technology, Andy Kimbrell from the Center for Food Safety and Dave Murphy with Food Democracy Now discuss their efforts to label, legislate, and ban GMOs.

Whether using direct action campaigns, litigation, or lobbying politicians, all three are committed to keeping genetically engineered organisms out of our food system.

Listen to their panel discussion here. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish Growing%20the%20Non-GMO%20Uprising.mp3 width:400 height:300] Continue reading →

I had the opportunity to see Mari Margil, the Associate Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, speak at the recent Justice Begins with Seeds Conference in San Francisco. Her perspective on environmental regulation in the United States, and the ‘box of allowable activism’ that communities are forced to work within, is fascinating. Listen to the recording below. For more information about the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, visit their website.

Listen to Mari Margil Speak, and read the transcript. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Mari%20Margil%20-%20CELP%20AD.mp3 width:400 height:300] Continue reading →

I had the opportunity to interview Pamm Larry at the recent Justice Begins with Seeds Conference in San Francisco. This grandmother has become the ‘original instigator of the genetically engineered labeling act in California,’ and is touring the state in her quest for consumer choice. Listen to the complete interview below. For a list of Larry’s upcoming events, and more information about her campaign, visit the Label GMOs website.

Listen to the Pamm Larry Interview and read the transcript. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Pamm%20Larry%20Interview.mp3 width:400 height:300] Continue reading →

I had the opportunity to interview Jeffrey Smith at the recent Justice Begins with Seeds Conference in San Francisco. Smith has been speaking on GMOs since 1996, and has two books on the subject – Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette. Listen to the complete interview below. For a list of Smiths’ upcoming events, and more information about the campaign, visit the Institute for Responsible Technology’s website.

Listen to the Jeffrey Smith Interview, and see the transcript below. [middmedia JBRADISH jbradish JBS-Jeffrey%20Smith.mp3 width:400 height:300]

Continue reading →