Earth Sentinels

The GMO Suicides

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ox cartSince 1997, there have been over 200,000 suicides by farmers in India’s Cotton Belt.

The entry of Monsanto in the Indian seed sector was made possible with a 1998 Seed Policy imposed by the World Bank, requiring the Government of India to deregulate the seed sector.¹

In 1997-98, Monsanto started open field trials of its GMO Bt cotton illegally with the intent to sell the seeds the following year.¹

Cotton seed has historically been among farmers’ lowest expenses. During the harvest, cotton growers would cultivate crop seeds and save them for the following season. As a general practice, they also would swap seeds with neighboring farmers, ensuring through natural selection that subsequent generations of cotton seed would be best suited for the region. Although local cotton did not provide the same potential yields as cotton seed from the Americas, it had adapted to India’s unique climate — an intense monsoon season followed by months of drought.²

After the introduction of GMO seeds, fifty percent of an Indian farmer’s debt was for the purchase of new seeds. GMO seeds cost up to 10 times more than traditional seeds and are structured to self destruct, ensuring that farmers must purchase new seeds the following year—further increasing their debt.²

To afford GMO cotton seeds, the farmer must take out a seed loan from the State Bank of India. If the crop fails, which is highly probable since GMO cotton is designed for use in irrigated fields, the farmer will not be able to pay back the loan and will be denied a second loan. The farmer then will turn to an unregulated private moneylender who charges usurious rates, sometimes as high as 100 percent. A second crop failure, or even an underperforming crop, can place the farmer in a hole so deep that many turn to suicide.²

As Monsanto’s profits grow, farmers’ debt grows. It is in this systemic sense that Monsanto’s seeds are seeds of suicide.¹

jim carey monsanto

 

 

 

Credits:

¹Global Research: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-seeds-of-suicide-how-monsanto-destroys-farming/5329947

² Combat-monsanto.co.uk: http://www.combat-monsanto.co.uk/spip.php?article549

Saving Mother Earth—Before It’s Too Late!

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The video below, sung by Michael Jackson, vividly shows the devastation that is currently besieging our world. And, it’s only gotten worse since. We have to educate ourselves about what is going on around us. We can no longer afford to stick our heads in the sand. Once we know, we can begin using earth-friendly methods for fuel, food and products—responsibly producing, using and disposing of these things, as well as demanding that our government and community do the same, before it’s too late!

Earth Sentinels, The Storm Creators

Earth Sentinels, The Storm Creators

My novel, Earth Sentinels: The Storm Creators, takes a harsh look at some of the unjust actions that are destroying our environment: GMOs, oil spills, fracking, tearing down the rainforests and the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. The story takes you on an epic adventure where the main characters fight back to protect our planet.

Knowledge is power! We can make a difference. Let’s start today.

Earth Sentinels — A Journey Through Self Discovery

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Earth Sentinels, The Storm Creators

Earth Sentinels, The Storm Creators

When I write a story, my underlying motive is to learn and grow spiritually. My latest novel, Earth Sentinels: The Storm Creators, is no exception. Although the plot seems like a protest against the environmental assaults besieging our planet, it was written to help answer a strong, underlying question that kept nagging at me, If we are One, connected to every particle in the universe, how can we attack anyone or anything without attacking ourselves? 

I went around in circles trying to figure out how to “save” the world without attacking myself, but I couldn’t find an acceptable solution. So, before I started writing, I set the intention that I would discover the answer by living vicariously through my book’s characters. In each chapter, I explored their anger at having their lives and way of life threatened and the land destroyed. I let them feel empowered and justified as they demanded that the world use only earth-friendly methods. And, as the events escalated and the world retaliated, I let them feel remorse, guilt and even more rage.

One of the conversations in the book that offered valuable insights was between the character, Haruto, who lives in Fukushima, Japan, and her spirit guides—three samurai soldiers, a crone and priestess. At this point in the story, she is talking with them while sitting around a firepit:

The priestess picked up a delicate, white smoking pipe with cherry blossoms painted on its bowl. She lit it with a twig plucked from the fire. After a few puffs, she passed it to Haruto who smoked it, then passed it to the samurai sitting next to her. As the pipe made its rounds, the crone spoke in a hoarse voice, “I believe you received an answer earlier today, one which you ignored.”

“You mean when I was told that the nuclear disaster was a reflection of my own mind?” Haruto asked.

The crone chortled, “You do remember!”

Haruto ignored the comment, instead appealing to the samurai soldiers, “You must understand the need to fight! You made warfare a sacred calling.”

The samurai in black armor answered, “In a sense, everything is spiritual. However, attack is always against yourself. Oft times, we must fight a battle, if only to learn to lay down our arms.”

The red-armored samurai piped in, “When you understand that fighting’s sole purpose is to preserve your own illusions, you will stop fighting.”

“What’s the point?” Haruto asked, exasperated.

“There is no point, except to learn there is no point,” the samurai in green offered.

 

I invite you take this marvelous journey and hope you find it as insightful (and fun) as I did.

Blessed journeys!
Elizabeth

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