We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, August 1, 2016

The GMO Debate: One Student’s Experience of Pro-GMO Propaganda at Cornell University

Click here to access article by Robert Schooler from Independent Science News

Schooler tells of his experience as a serious student and the numerous difficulties he encountered while rationally trying to understand issues of climate change, food, and farming practices. He is not giving up, but I wish him luck because he will need tons of it.
We live in somewhat of a scientific dark age. Our universities have become extensions of corporate power, at the cost of our health, livelihoods, and ecology. This has to stop, yesterday. We cannot afford to spread lies to our undergraduate students. Cornell, please reconsider your ways. Until you do, I will be doing everything in my power to counter your industry GMO propaganda efforts with the facts.
The reality is that a capitalist organized society is one which ultimately in its advanced form imposes the logic of profitability in all institutions and over every other value--even the continued existence of humans.