Pesticide linked to reproductive issues found in Cheerios, Quaker Oats and other oat-based foods

[Smokin Joe]

We use no chemicals on our garden... the bugs eat half of it most the time. Those stupid Tomato moth caterpillars get as big as my thumb. I squish them green guts out the whole season.

For me, the birds get the bugs, and the few years I have had trouble with slugs eating the tomatoes, I made beer traps* for the slugs, and eliminated most of that.

*Apparently, slugs can't resist free beer (hooda thunkit?). slugs will go to the beer and drown in it. I set two nested plastic cups below ground level (about even with the surface) and put beer in them, about 1/2 inch below soil level. If you use two cups, nested, it's easier--just remove the inside cup after a week or so, dump the slugs and flat beer, replenish the beer supply in the cup and put it back in the one still in the ground. The slugs will be distracted from your crops. In a bad year, before using this, I had to toss between half a bushel to a bushel (from 122 plants) due to slug damage.

The only time I regret not using a pesticide was when my garden got invaded by cucumber beetles. They left bacteria in the soil and I still cannot grow cucumbers, melons, or squash over 20 years later. Had I known the damage they would do, I would have sprayed the little bastards.

[Smokin Joe]

Probably my favorite thing is restorative farming, which is largely about diversification and bringing livestock back to the farm setting as the primary fertilizers. It takes a different, older way... Busting fields into fallow hay fields, cattle pastures (cattle and chicken tractors), and arable farm lands, and the rotation between them.

You may for instance, only get one cutting off the hay... Because you need to turn the cattle into the hay fields late in the summer to take the weight off the pastures, which are fainting under the summer heat. The hay fields become a buffer, and added acreage when it's needed... And in return, the cattle fertilize the hay field much better than the chemical fertilizers ever could - So the need for second cutting is offset by the cost of fertilizers *not* used because the cattle were on it.

Add chicken tractors going along behind the cattle (mob-grazing), and they'll spread out the cow patties looking for the maggots laid in them, thus taking down the fly pressure AND spreading the fertilizer, AND adding their own fertilizer, hot as it is....

It's different thinking. Older thinking. But I find it to be a charm.

Old school, but developed because it was effective. My Grandfather and his brother farmed that way.

[roamer_1]

Old school, but developed because it was effective. My Grandfather and his brother farmed that way.

More than that, the restorative aspect... Putting it back. I watch a feller on youtube over in SC (I think) who bought a 160 acre farm. It was a wore out and abandoned tobacco farm from back in the day... All grown to brambles and forest, with only a half inch of top soil left above the clay.

I dunno, maybe 5 years in now... He has thirty head or so of angus on it now. Been mowing it and mowing it for the first couple years... now the cattle... Mob grazing, hay bombing, rolling out bales so the cattle will stomp a third of it (and its seed) into the ground...

He don't spray. He handles weeds by cutting behind the cattle, and never letting the weeds top out to seed. Other than organics, the only additive I saw him lay was lime.

and it's working. He's gaining topsoil at an inch a year. That's brilliant. That's the right way.

[Smokin Joe]

More than that, the restorative aspect... Putting it back. I watch a feller on youtube over in SC (I think) who bought a 160 acre farm. It was a wore out and abandoned tobacco farm from back in the day... All grown to brambles and forest, with only a half inch of top soil left above the clay.

I dunno, maybe 5 years in now... He has thirty head or so of angus on it now. Been mowing it and mowing it for the first couple years... now the cattle... Mob grazing, hay bombing, rolling out bales so the cattle will stomp a third of it (and its seed) into the ground...

He don't spray. He handles weeds by cutting behind the cattle, and never letting the weeds top out to seed. Other than organics, the only additive I saw him lay was lime.

and it's working. He's gaining topsoil at an inch a year. That's brilliant. That's the right way.

Absolutely. My family's farm was cultivated over 350 years (including tobacco as a cash crop) using crop rotation, reincorporating leftover material from the crops, and very minimal fertilizer or pesticide (for tobacco mosaic virus, when it popped up). Cattle and sheep (and the occasional) goat and horses grazed and trampled a lot in, and chickens seemed to roam at will. A few hogs, too, but in a restricted area.  The land that was not put in timber is still being farmed today.

[Free Vulcan]

We use no chemicals on our garden... the bugs eat half of it most the time. Those stupid Tomato moth caterpillars get as big as my thumb. I squish them green guts out the whole season.

Here's a link to an overview of how to control them. I've used Monterry products quite a bit and have had good luck with them.

https://www.hiddenspringshomestead.com/15-ways-to-naturally-control-tomato-hornworms/

[mountaineer]

I had Quaker oats for breakfast today. Livin' on the edge, baby!

[Free Vulcan]

More than that, the restorative aspect... Putting it back. I watch a feller on youtube over in SC (I think) who bought a 160 acre farm. It was a wore out and abandoned tobacco farm from back in the day... All grown to brambles and forest, with only a half inch of top soil left above the clay.

I dunno, maybe 5 years in now... He has thirty head or so of angus on it now. Been mowing it and mowing it for the first couple years... now the cattle... Mob grazing, hay bombing, rolling out bales so the cattle will stomp a third of it (and its seed) into the ground...

He don't spray. He handles weeds by cutting behind the cattle, and never letting the weeds top out to seed. Other than organics, the only additive I saw him lay was lime.

and it's working. He's gaining topsoil at an inch a year. That's brilliant. That's the right way.

It may or may not be the same guy, but I've watched some videos on the UTubes by a guy named Joel Saladin that used his pasture animals to take old worn out scrub land and revitalize it. Been around that stuff all my life and never have seen that. Truly fascinating to see something come from virtually nothing.

[Free Vulcan]

The problem I've seen with farming is that farmers used to be some of the most innovative entrepreneurs out there. Some still are, but too many have gotten into a complacent rut. For example they cry about low prices, but seem to refuse to understand that when you grow a commodity product, you get a commodity price. Differentiate yourself and watch the income flow.

Good example is one discussed here before - selling meat direct. Almost no one does it. Thing is you can charge a buck more a pound, and the customer is still getting it cheaper per pound than the store. Any time you propose anything like that most farmers turn up their nose because they think it's too risky or too much work. The few that I've known to try it not only make great money, alot of it is cash. 

Don't get me started on ethanol. There are other hydrocarbons that could be made from sugars and into fuel that don't have all the problems that ethanol does. They won't even touch it. There are simple processes that are cheap and proven that will separate the fats, protein and carbs with no heat and make a superior product. Knows some local guys that tried to make it happen for years and no one would put even a modest pilot plant level investment into it. Yet, I've seen them pour everything they got into boondoggle projects that will never come to production, or stupid unproven scammy crap like the CO2 pipeline their trying to ram thru here.

[roamer_1]

It may or may not be the same guy, but I've watched some videos on the UTubes by a guy named Joel Saladin that used his pasture animals to take old worn out scrub land and revitalize it. Been around that stuff all my life and never have seen that. Truly fascinating to see something come from virtually nothing.

Not the same guy, though I am quite familiar with Saladin... He's a GOAT in the homesteading community. Excellent source. But the guy I was talking about is Stoney Ridge Farmer, I believe.

[roamer_1]

The problem I've seen with farming is that farmers used to be some of the most innovative entrepreneurs out there. Some still are, but too many have gotten into a complacent rut. For example they cry about low prices, but seem to refuse to understand that when you grow a commodity product, you get a commodity price. Differentiate yourself and watch the income flow.

Good example is one discussed here before - selling meat direct. Almost no one does it. Thing is you can charge a buck more a pound, and the customer is still getting it cheaper per pound than the store. Any time you propose anything like that most farmers turn up their nose because they think it's too risky or too much work. The few that I've known to try it not only make great money, alot of it is cash. 

Don't get me started on ethanol. There are other hydrocarbons that could be made from sugars and into fuel that don't have all the problems that ethanol does. They won't even touch it. There are simple processes that are cheap and proven that will separate the fats, protein and carbs with no heat and make a superior product. Knows some local guys that tried to make it happen for years and no one would put even a modest pilot plant level investment into it. Yet, I've seen them pour everything they got into boondoggle projects that will never come to production, or stupid unproven scammy crap like the CO2 pipeline their trying to ram thru here.

The problem to me is reliance on chemicals. Don't get me wrong, I see why.... Back in our father's day, maybe even back to our grandfather's, when those chemicals were a blessing, and nobody knew any better...

But in the long run, monocultural farming and chemicals have left the soil barren - those tobacco farms are a good example... Half an inch of top soil left. It's a crying shame. And the same thing is going on out on the plains, they just had feet of top soil to go through... But surely they are headed the same way.

And massively, stupidly, expensive machinery. Mortgage the farm and pour all your chips on a single machine that can't be fixed without a technician in the midst of a harvest... Sure it can do five times the work that ol Massey can do. I get that... But you can get five Masseys for a fraction of the cost, fix em yourself, and be diversified at harvest, where one machine may break down, but four others keep chuggin away.

It has to go back to the old ways. Production today is trading top soil for a momentary benefit... And the farm your sons would inherit will be less than it was in your day.

And don't even get me started on big ag. Corporate farms are a blight.

[Free Vulcan]

But in the long run, monocultural farming and chemicals have left the soil barren - those tobacco farms are a good example... Half an inch of top soil left. It's a crying shame. And the same thing is going on out on the plains, they just had feet of top soil to go through... But surely they are headed the same way.

And they'll all say 'we got to feed the world' like a mantra. Except that it's a crop with no nutrients and totally imbalanced for human consumption. People that eat it do nothing but gain weight while starving for nutrition, and try to fill it with more chemicalized worthless food that eventually gives them every health problem known to man and unpayable medical bills.

[roamer_1]

And they'll all say 'we got to feed the world' like a mantra. Except that it's a crop with no nutrients and totally imbalanced for human consumption. People that eat it do nothing but gain weight while starving for nutrition, and try to fill it with more chemicalized worthless food that eventually gives them every health problem known to man and unpayable medical bills.

That's right - The whole dang show is messed up.

[libertybele]

I had Quaker oats for breakfast today. Livin' on the edge, baby!

        I will probably continue to consume Quaker Oats .... whatever chemical that is in them is already entrenched in my body and any harm done I'm sure that I'm already experiencing the negative side effects. I enjoy my oats ... how many more years will it extend my life now if I don't eat Quaker oats or Cheerios?  I doubt at this point it'll make a whole lot of difference.

[libertybele]

And they'll all say 'we got to feed the world' like a mantra. Except that it's a crop with no nutrients and totally imbalanced for human consumption. People that eat it do nothing but gain weight while starving for nutrition, and try to fill it with more chemicalized worthless food that eventually gives them every health problem known to man and unpayable medical bills.

Amen!

[roamer_1]

       I will probably continue to consume Quaker Oats .... whatever chemical that is in them is already entrenched in my body and any harm done I'm sure that I'm already experiencing the negative side effects. I enjoy my oats ... how many more years will it extend my life now if I don't eat Quaker oats or Cheerios?  I doubt at this point it'll make a whole lot of difference.

If you're of a mind, I know you can get both oats and quick oats off the Azure truck (if they come to your town).

I am partial to the Quaker packets, which I get in a monster box from Costco - But that because they are flavored already, and are a really good trail food - I can't begin to guess how many times I have had oat meal for breakfast on the trail. So it has suited me to keep that stuff around, and like everything, you need to cycle it through to keep em fresh, so those packets are part of the pantry here.

But I have made my own... mostly quick oats, with some whole oats for texture... Throw in some berries, some raisins or cranberries, a bunch of different seeds and nuts... Brown sugar, butter... you know the deal, I'm sure... Man! WAY better than them sorry little packets...

Maybe best to go back to that.