Category Archives: Activism

MLA Sonia Furstenau – ban glyphosate from BC

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To: MLA Sonia Furstenau
cc: Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, BC
Dated: September 9th, 2017
Subject: Ban glyphosate from British Columbia
Dear member or legislative assembly Sonia Furstenau,
I am a Canadian citizen and a resident of Delta, British Columbia. Although I am not from your riding, I write this letter of great concern for all British Columbians, hoping to get your support in the BC legislative assembly. The issue is about banning the use of glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in pervasive week killer Roundup as well as many other lesser known brands of killer chemical concoctions.
I have been involved for a number of years in coaxing the Ottawa government to first set up labs to test foods for glyphosate, since Canada did not have such labs a few years ago, and then to engage in broad based mass testing of foods collected in Canada for glyphosate, then to give me a copy of all those test results. I finally analyzed them all to discover the shocking truth that Canada and the US produces the most toxic foods in the planet, when it comes to glyphosate contamination, and that foods collected in western Canada, that includes all land west of Ontario and includes the prairies, to have measurably more toxic foods in stores than in any other place on earth.  We in short are living in the global epicentre of poisonous foods. My findings are there for all to see in a 400 page ebook on Amazon titled Poison Foods of North America.
I write this letter for the specific reason. I seek your assistance in getting the newly formed Green partnered BC government, in working to ban the use of glyphosate from British Columbia, in agriculture, over forests and from every other area.
I have learned that it is legally possible and within rights of the provincial government to ban glyphosate outright, despite the fact that it is approved federally, and that the BC government cannot be sued by Monsanto or any other commercial entity for hurting their business interest, because it involves concerns of health and sustainability.
We know Lana Popham is the minister of Agriculture and that this issue might be within her jurisdiction. We know she had been a strong promoter of organic agriculture. I have written to her already, and a petition is created about this. However, we also realize that once one is in the government, and in the driving seat, one often comes under commercial pressure to compromise on their core principles. I do not know if Lana is under such pressure. But we decided to strengthen her hand any way by broad scale public support.
This letter is copied to her since she is referred here.
Apart from creating the petition, I have written to my MP, MLA and Mayor to also consider writing to Lana Popham to ban glyphosate from BC. I believe such letters would further bolster her hand. My municipality has circulated my letter to the all councillors and senior staff and decided to discuss it in their general meeting shortly.
I write to you because you have a track record of fighting to protect the land from ecological degradation driven by commercial interest. Many of us believe you might be the most committed person in the BC government to turn the issue of banning glyphosate, from a talking point, into a crusade. And at this point, we do need a crusade, and a crusader.
That is the main goal of my letter to you. British Columbia might show the path for the rest of the world to follow.

I am an activist that tries to encourage others by example. So this letter will be circulated on social media, and in blogs and perhaps video.
I shall be very happy to receive a note of acknowledgement and a pledge to look into this grave matter. I do not ask and never will ask, for any personal favour. I only ask you to consider saving the world.

Thanking you
Tony Mitra
10891 Cherry Lane, Delta, BC, V4E 3L7, Canada
tony.mitra@gmail.com
604-649 7535

Glyphosate brainstorming Sept 8, 2017

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Some of us had our first brainstorming session yesterday, September 8th, 2017, at Richard Miller’s place, the iconic old railway powerhouse at Abbotsford.

Folks that attended in person were: Richard Miller, Tracie Caterole, Justin Cawker and Tony Mitra. Person that joined in long distance by phone, was Larry Wartels. Person that narrowly missed out finding us, was Gina Lipford.

This is an exploratory day, with brainstorming without a specific agenda. Each of us spoke on record, for very short durations on who we are and what we feel.

Tracie came before the camera for the first time, speaking about clean food as the first item to ensure clean health, from her own perspective and experience.

Justin, an 18 year old British Columbian college student of political science that is remarkably articulate, speaks about the issues surrounding food and health. Off the record he said a lot of things about the problems of the younger generation, many of whom have little social skills and even less awareness because they are raised and groomed by their phone. He recognizes some of the root issues that affects his and his family’s health as well as affects the future of his generation.

Justin is also an exceptional person because he not only loves cooking, but bought organic flour from the US to make organic bread for the family. How many of us can do what Justin does for his family?

Richard spoke about writing to Lana Popham to ban glyphosate. he repeated what Larry Wartels already mentioned over the phone, that the province of British Columbia absolutely can ban Glyphosate legally from agriculture, forests and everywhere else, despite the fact that it has been approved in Ottawa.

He warns people to try to eat organic food to avoid glyphosate, and those that cannot buy organic bread, should at least avoid ordinary bread that contain wheat bran, because conventional American and Canadian grown wheat that is almost always desiccated with glyphosate, has been found (by me from the CFIA test results), to contain astronomical levels of glyphosate in wheat bran.

Last to speak was myself. I identified the the root problem as political corruption in Canada, and identified the citizens, that is you and me, as the guilty party responsible for bringing our nation and our future to such a pitiful state.

While all this was going on, we also were shown how to roast seeds of organic pumpkins for eating. They are delicious.

Larry Wartels was a reservoir of important information. To start with, he lives in the riding of Lana Popham in the provincial map and Eizabeth May on the federal map. He provided the “Resolution FAQs”  of the NDP party – which could be used for registered members of the NDP, for raising a resolution, for example on banning glyphosate in BC.

Larry also gave us some good leads. We discussed the issue of the record breaking trio of green party MLAs that were sworn into not only the legislative assembly of British Columbia, but also in the ruling coalition that came to power. The party is expected to bring groundbreaking legislative agenda to greatly improve British Columbia’s ecology, health and environment. Toxic food and pesticides in our environment aught to be one of the high priorities. Larry singled out one of the three Green MLAs – Sonia Furstenau.

She has been a tireless and forceful warrior to protect local areas in the island from commercially induced degradation. I had a bit of difficulty figuring out how to remember or pronounce her last name correctly, and decided to call it first-to-know, thus turning her name as Sonia First-To-Know.

Sonia might be among the best candidate to write to, to transform the issue of banning glyphosate in BC from a talking point, into a crusade. So, I was going to write to her, and encourage everyone else to consider doing so as well, apart from writing to Lana Popham, to your Mayor, MLA and MP and apart from supporting the petition.

MLA Sonia (First-to-know) Furstenau’s contacts are:

Office:

Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC  V8V 1X4

Phone: (250) 387-8347
Email : sonia.furstenau.MLA@leg.bc.ca
 Decision was to make this brainstorming a regular monthly feature for those interested. Perhaps one of the Fridays every month. Details to be sorted out.
Thats all for today. Thanks for the visit. Feel free to pen your views in comments.

 

Tired of detractors like Martin Carlina

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Tired of two bit pseudo activists with little knowledge trying to badmouth me at my own wall. I used the choice word “fuck off” for the first time, out of anger, at them.

I got pretty upset with whole horde of people coming to my own wall on Facebook to badmouth me because I said I was going to talk about why I am disappointed with Vandana Shiva and the like.

It started a few days ago, when I also said why I am disappointed by the GMOs Revealed series.

Some years ago, I had a major fallout with some of my long term associates in anti-GMO fights, because I had publicly criticized Steve Drukers book “Altered Genes, twisted Truth”.

I bought an original copy of the printed book, read through all the twenty odd chapters and was appalled to note how little the menace of glyphosate was mentioned, by someone that claims to research high degree of Government collusion in approval of GMOs. Someone that has researched it so long, to have missed the big picture of glyphosate and the degree of ravages it can cause, was extremely disappointing for me. I could not fathom how a person could spend years on GMO and miss glyphosate.

I criticized him for it on my blog. The news reached Steve Druker, through some US scientists. Steve Druker sent me a long email accusing me of doing him a deserve. he claimed that the book had two additional chapters on glyphosate but he dropped it because the publisher suggested it.

I found it unacceptable that he wrote only two chapters out of 23 to cover glyphosate, and the fact that he had to drop those two chapters just because the publisher might have though the book was getting long. He could have dropped something else. Anyhow, I am a reader and I have a right to review a book and I told Druker if he wishes to discuss, we can talk on phone but I am not budging from my view that this book is greatly disappointing because it imparts half the truth to the people and gives no clue on what to do and keeps them under near total darkness about glyphosate.

Druker did not agree to speak on phone and I remain greatly disappointed about the book and about Druker, till date. A few scientists like liked Druker tried to mediate and make me soften my view. But I did not. I am who I am, Druker or no Druker. I hope he learned a lesson and if he wants to write something again, he will not sidestep glyphosate and he will not sidestep the issue of the American citizens more than Monsanto or FDA being the most responsible groups of people for this shit coming down on the planet.

Anyhow, forget Druker. This blog is not about him o this book. This book is about my annoyance at the so called anti-GMO useless groupies for restricting my freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of action, because I refuse to be a lemming.

I am having an incremental positive action, not much, but tell tale signs are there, both at the political level and also at the grassroots level, that things are moving, even if too slowly, it is at least producing some measurable results.

This is about who I am, where I come from, where I am going, and why I am so stubborn and am unwilling to run with the pack.

This is me. And all you folks, Martin Carlina and the rest – can go fly a kite.

Book Price – Poison Foods of North America

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I am making this video and this blog to settle the issue of the price of the book I wrote.

It has multiple level prices

  • Free for kindle members
  • Low (around $8 US and under $10 Canadian)
  • Quite high for case by case printed copy from Amazon – USD 82 or so as of now.

The first two are for private citizens and general public. The last price is for institutions, libraries etc. Around 90% of that high cost goes to cost of printing and commission for Amazon. That is how the system works.

I also read out the review of the book as penned by US scientist Stephanie Seneff.

 

Why I am disappointed with Vandana Shiva

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I make this video to speak my mind why I am disappointed with Vandana Shiva and in general many of the career spokespersons against GMO and glyphosate.

Vandana is not the first north only one, but I needed to say it, and explain why I think the way I do.

The second part is me rambling on why I chose to walk a lonely path, not wanting to create a cult behind me, or make an NGO or organization, and be a lone walker.

 

 

I believe it is my duty as a citizen of the world to say what I genuinely feel, which is, the famous people of the world on the anti-GMO (they are thick on the ground) and anti-Glyphosate (thin on the ground) are not only not solving anything, but their combined efforts is producing less than zero percent result.

I believe the world does not need these talking heads gurus, and well intentioned people need to step outside the box and think through the issue themselves and make a million fold parallel efforts, first identifying one of the root problems and then trying to address it within their capacity. Stop following any guru, and you might find the solution was already within you  – you were looking for it in all the wrong places.

This is my opinion and I stick by it, talking into a defective camera, sort of barefoot in the park (backyard).

I know my comment will offend many people. Regrettable as that is, I am prepared to pay that price. Those that feel I am wrong – just ignore me and do whatever you were doing.

Those that believe me, also do not need to follow me per se. I would suggest do some introspection yourself and see what you come up with.

I am available to speak with folks, but I am no guru. Just an ordinary guy speaking what I think needed to be said.

My disappointment with GMOs Revealed set of videos

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I am disappointed. Not because GMOs are good – they are not good at all. Not because Glyphosate is good. Quite the opposite – glyphosate is killing the planet more than GMOs are in my honest opinion. So, between two bad things, I would fight glyphosate first, and with it, vast majority of GMOs too would die because they were created specifically for use with glyphosate.

But, I am thoroughly disappointed with the 9 episodes not because what the folks say in them, but because what they do not say, or hide.

I do not consider myself expert on the issue and do not any more bother in “raising awareness”. I believe this “raising awareness” and “badmouthing GMO and Monsanto” has in itself become a lucrative profession for a host of people that milk the system and feed on human misery. They do not seem to want to actually solve the problem and rid the world of this toxic soup. Instead, they keep tap-dancing around the root causes and keep doling out fringe solutions, so that the root problem remains and continues to devastate the planet, and these so called anti-GMO hordes can continue to milk the system.

I do not know the people who created this series of videos or what their actual goal is, but I find it outrageous that they are only half educating the people about GMO and in particular glyphosate, and wanting to charge the people for this stunted view of the problem without offering any real solution to eradicate this menace from the root.

They don’t offer real solutions because they cannot even identify real problems.

There are many very important factors relating to the Glyphosate poisoning of the planet issue and none of them were mentioned or analyzed properly in this series. This is why I am disappointed. I made this 14 minute video to rant about just two of those missing root causes. I do not have the time to elaborate the rest. I am not in the business any more on educating the masses about glyphosate. It has been with us for forty goddam years already and causing wholesale ecocide across the planet. How many more years do folks need to continue to “raise awareness”? Another 500 years ?

I am outta here.

Making a poster on Carla Qualtrough

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Am thinking of making a poster with the attached picture.

This is to be in a poster

The picture is genuine and not doctored. The information on it is factual.

When she voted to defeat bill C-291 about labelling of GMO, I considered her to have stepped outside of the boundaries set by the constitution for her role. She was to check the views of the constituents, and only the constituents, and reflect that on this very important bill. Instead, she make the decision on her own, or on advise of people other than the constituents. In doing so, in my judgment, she betrayed the interest of the people and assumed dictatorial powers instead of being a public servant.

I created the below video to read out a letter I wrote to her. Her office has responded that she will provide a fulsome response within 4 weeks.

Anyhow, I thought of creating a large poster with the top image of me and Carla standing together, with the text as it appears across the picture.

I am thinking of posting one on my front lawn. I am also contemplating standing with one in front of her office in Delta on the days when she attends the office. I would love to have a few like minded folks to join me, perhaps sit on a plastic chair, sip coffee and discuss the future of mankind while holding the poster for the people to see.

It would be cool if news reporters come to take a picture and cover the story. But, instead of waiting for main stream media, we can create our own news by reporting it ourselves.

Before doing all that, I intend to check with Delta Police department to ensure I am not breaking any law. I also intend to check with the Municipality of Delta and ensure I am within my rights according to the Municipal laws. I might inform the BC government in Victoria of my plans and let them know if I am breaking any law.

And finally, I intend to sen an email to MP Qualtrough to keep her advised of my plans and to let me know if she has any objection and if so what are those objections.

This is a preliminary post to air out my views and ideas of expanding the role of an activist and concerned citizen of the civil society, to try to change the behaviour of our politicians and educate them that they need to check with citizens before voting on important bills.

I consider this to be part of my citizens duty, from the day I became a Canadian citizen.

What do you think ?

Stephanie Seneff on Glyphosate, MMR, Infertility

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This is the second part of the interview where Stephanie Seneff speaks with me on glyphosate.

Here we cover how MMR vaccines contain glyphosate, which then results in glyphosate being incorporated into proteins (in place of glycine) and how these rogue proteins can lead to all kinds of immune reaction leading to serious ill-health including autism of the brain.

She also speaks here how the male sperm gets affected which is a well known problem today with severely reduced sperm count in males multiplied with rise in deformed sperm cells, which eventually lead not just to infertility but also to birth defects, high infant mortality and maternal mortality, where US seems to lead the world with the highest deaths in those categories in the industrial world.

She talks about the birth of babies without a brain in Yakima valley, after a high concentration of glyphosate was used as weed killer that leaked into a water body some years ago.

Stephanie Seneff believes glyphosate in our foods and vaccines to be the first suspect item behind this epidemic of disaster.

She also talks about problems in the female reproductive system as well as rise in ovarian and breast cancer.

Rapid rise of Organic Food supply and reduced prices is a welcome reaction to the rising concern about industrially grown foods.

Here is the link to part 1 of the interview.

Agriculture Minister – ban glyphosate in BC

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The province of British Columbia, Canada, now has a new government, a coalition between the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Green Party. This is a first in Canada where the environmentally conscious Green Party holds the balance of power.

New Ag-Minister BC – Lana Popham

The new agriculture minister, Ms Lana Popham, of NDP, had been a promoter of clean organic food and supporter of pushing back at GMO and herbicides in agriculture. I have met and known her from the time when she was an MLA in the opposition bench under the liberal government for two terms.

A new petition is hereby being created, asking her to consider ways by which the province of British Columbia can push back and ultimately ban the use of Glyphosate in British Columbian agriculture, and perhaps even impose restrictions on import of foods with considerable glyphosate content, and thus get the ball rolling and lead by example for the rest of Canada.

This petition is not aimed solely at residents of British Columbia. Since this beautiful western province is a major tourist destination for people within Canada as well as from the United States and the wider world, we are asking everybody everywhere, to chip in, sign the petition, and also write individually to the agriculture minister (AGR.Minister@gov.bc.ca) that you wish to have clean, glyphosate-free food when you next visit this beautiful land.

I read out the letter to the new Agriculture Minister in the video that goes with the petition.

===============================================================
I started asking my elected representatives (politicians from my riding in Ottawa, Canada, in Victoria, BC and in Municipality of Delta, BC), asking them to support this petition. The body of the message is also given here as an example for other citizens that might like to write similar letters to their own representatives, to support the petition, to write to the Agriculture Minister and to create a broad based support for her to lead the way for the other provinces to follow.

To: Carla Qualtrough, MP, Delta, BC, Minister of Sports
Ravi Kahlon, MLA, Delta, BC
Lois Jackson, Mayor, Delta, BC
Dated: Friday, September 1, 2017
Subject: Petition on Banning Glyphosate in British Columbian Agriculture.
Ms Carla Qualtrough, MP
Mr. Ravi Kahlon, MLA
Ms Lois Jackson, Mayor
I write to you about my petition on banning glyphosate from this province.
It is the active ingredient in the popular weedkiller brand ‘Roundup’. It is the most used herbicide in Canadian agriculture. Ottawa has never disclosed safety data and documents based on which it considered glyphosate to be safe for agriculture. In my judgment it is illegal to allow the use of a product while withholding its safety data. Our federal government is therefore breaking its own law in allowing glyphosate to be used in Canada for the last 35 years.
Ms Qualtrough knows something about it when I personally handed her over 23,000 signatures demanding that Health Canada releases all hitherto hidden safety documents on glyphosate. She should have first hand experience on how Ottawa continues to drag its feet on this issue.
Mr. Kahlon met me personally at my home for an hour prior to the last provincial election, and had promised to do something about getting Ottawa to release the hidden documents should he get elected. Now that he is elected, I remind him of his promise, and shall wait to see what he is prepared to do.
Mayor Jackson has not had any communication from me about glyphosate per se, although I have written to her in the past about pushing back at GMO from Delta agriculture lands. Anyhow I expect she knows about glyphosate. I am also requesting the mayor to share this letter with the rest of the Delta Municipal Councillors.

For reference you may consider reading my 400 page book, ‘Poison Foods of North America’ as an analysis on near 8,000 food samples tested by CFIA, that shows Canadian and US grown seed based foods to be the most toxic in the entire world with glyphosate contamination. I had a role to play in getting our federal government to set up labs that could test food for glyphosate and then for it to order massive tests of all foods available in Canada, locally grown and imported, and finally demanding that I be given a copy of all the test results. This body of data is the largest and most comprehensive in the entire world, and paints a very grim picture of Canadian and US agriculture. 

And out of this toxic mix, foods collected in Western Canada, which includes the mega farms of the prairies west of Ontario, proved to be more toxic than foods found anywhere else. We are at the epicentre of poisonous foods in the entire planet. We are also the sickest in the entire industrial world, in spite of spending the most on healthcare.
I write this letter to you three for the following reasons:
1) I request you to sign the petition asking the newly appointed agriculture minister of British Columbia, Ms Lana Popham, to find ways to push back at the use of glyphosate in British Columbian agriculture, despite the fact that its use has been, illegally in my opinion, approved by Ottawa.
I further request you to write individually to Minister Popham about above and also encourage her to find ways to restrict or impose tax on any imported food that contain measurable amounts of glyphosate.
I have met Ms Popham on a number of occasions when she was an MLA in the opposition bench, and know her to be a promoter of organic food and against the use of GM crops and glyphosate. Now that she is the Agriculture Minister, I expect she might be facing commercial pressure to compromise on her original views, and as a counter, she perhaps needs broad based public support. Your letters would therefore help.
2) I understand that in a functioning democracy, people aught to be the masters and the elected officials their public servants. However, the roles often get diffused and the public as well as politicians sometimes forget who is the master and who is the servant.
This letter therefore serves the second purpose where I, a citizen voter, am telling you, my representatives in Government, what my wishes are, with regard to demanding clean, glyphosate-free food in my province.
3) I also use these letters as an example for other citizens of Canada to let their own politicians to know of their wish.  this is the essence of building large body of public support for Minister Popham on banning glyphosate.
Therefore, these letters are designed to also be circulated through blogs and social media and forwarded email, to lead by example and encourage other voters to join up and work to take back the controls of democracy in this country, a control that appears to be slipping out of hands of its citizens.
In closing, I shall be delighted to receive a positive response from you or an invitation to speak face to face on this. I am willing to lead a delegation to see any of you should you wish. But even a negative response, or a non-response from you, will be used to encourage ordinary people to get involved.
I would however caution you not to use select science, or quote Health Canada or any other government institution, in telling me that glyphosate is safe. You do not have the right to make that decision. People have that right. The only thing Ottawa needs to do about glyphosate, is to stop parroting about its safety, and place all hidden safety documents in public domain.
Thanking you,
Tony Mitra

10891 Cherry Lane, Delta, BC, V4E 3L7, Canada
605-649 7535

Tony with Lana – 2013 April

Back in 2013 when I first met her, she was an MLA and a promoter of clean organic foods.

Today, she is the Agriculture Minister of BC.

I do not know if my knowing her earns me any currency today, but if it does, I intend to spend every last cent of it in trying to convince and help her in finding new ways to push back at Ottawa and cleanse our province from this toxic soup of glyphosate.

Stephanie Seneff on glyphosate-autism link

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Part 1 of the interview

Had a half hour long talk with US based scientist Stephanie Seneff on Aug 28, regarding possible link between glyphosate getting into our body and the apparent epidemic of autism that newborns and children are apparently experiencing these days, especially in North America.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff

According to Dr. Seneff, if glyphosate comes to us through food, it all usually starts at the gut. Directly and indirectly, glyphosate ends up disrupting the gut barrier, causing the leaky gut syndrome, where molecules that should not be able to get out of the gut intestine, does get out.

Next step is for them to cause various degree of harm depending on where these rogue molecules end up. In the brain, it can trigger the brain immune system to also disrupting the brain barrier, triggering damage to the insulation of the nerve system in the brain and impairing the communication system of the brain, and slowing it down. Many of the symptoms suffered by autistic children are common to gut related problems. What I write here is not exactly what Dr. Seneff said, but more in line with what I understood from her talks.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff is a Senior Research Scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She has a BS degree from MIT in biology and MS, EE and PhD degrees from MIT in electrical engineering and computer science. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings.

Her recent interests have focused on the role of toxic chemicals and micronutrient deficiencies in health and disease, with a special emphasis on the pervasive herbicide, Roundup, and the mineral, sulfur.

She has authored over thirty peer-reviewed journal papers over the past few years on these topics, and has delivered numerous slide presentations around the world.

Of note are a series of six peer reviewed papers that Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff wrote about glyphosate being the pathway to various modern diseases, covered by me earlier on this blog.

The long talk was broken down into smaller segments. This particular blog covers the first part, showing link between glyphosate in the gut leading to to autism in the brain.

Other parts of the talk will cover glyphosate that can also come to us through vaccines, and in particular, the MMR vaccine.

Here is part 2 of the interview.