Bees

Did anyone see the "Bee Movie"?  Stupid cartoon movie done by Jerry Seinfeld.  But it has a good message.  When bee populations die- what also dies along with it?  Plants, flowers, crops.  AKA our food and everything we rely on.
Another film to watch is the documentary Food, Inc.  Click here to watch it - it's a must see for every American who eats.  Yes that means you!
The thing that concerned me the most was the information about Monsanto.  This is a big company that is buddy buddy with the USDA and in my opinion, does some really despicable things.  The biggest thing discussed in Food, Inc is their genetically modified corn.  Now, I personally don't necessarily have a big issue with genetically modified organisms.  What I do have a problem with is the patenting of genes and creating monopolies on something as necessary as corn, so that Monsanto can make billions at the expense of farmers and the rest of us.  (And you didn't actually make the gene, you just discovered it and tweaked it for your benefit, so why exactly should you be rewarded for that?)
Well apparently there is another effect of this GMO corn.  It's possibly the cause of the declining bee population.  Remember: if bees go bye-bye so does your food.  Here's a great article about Monsanto's next great move to keep the bee research and activism in check so they can continue making money:
Monsanto Blamed For Bee Collapse, Buys Leading Bee Research Firm

And now yet another thing to upset me, this time from my Multicultural Instruction class.  Chapter 1 of the book Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol depicts life in East St. Louis, Illinois which has the highest crime rate in the US, has no garbage collection due to lack of city funds, gets frequently flooded with raw sewage, and is victim to air and soil pollution from nearby chemical plants, including - you guessed it - Monsanto.  Apparently, large companies like this can make their own incorporated towns so they don't even have to pay property taxes, so their presence doesn't put any money into the economy of East St. Louis.  Also, they don't provide jobs to any of the residents who aren't educated enough.

I'll get down off my soapbox now, but I would recommend anyone to check these things out, they are rather eye-opening, especially the Food, Inc. documentary.  Thank you...save the bees! :)