Bikes rule, GMOs suck

GRUB’s Garden Bike Tour
The GRUB Cooperative’s sustainability-education program is once again sponsoring its annual Garden Bike Tour on Oct. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“This is an event to get people out on their bikes and see the wonderful food growing in this town,” as the event’s promotional material advises. “When they buy a ticket they will get a passport with 20 garden locations around town on it. Each garden stop will have a garden steward there to share about the garden. There will be special talks, and treat stops along the way.”

Buy your passport ticket at the Chico Natural Foods Cooperative, Lyon Books or the Chico Certified Saturday Farmers’ Market. Items to bring along for the bike tour: a water bottle, snack, helmet and camera, a pen and some paper on which to take notes—and “an excitement to see beauty.” Amen.

Go to www.tinyurl.com/grubtour2012 to view this year’s bike-tour map. Call Stephanie at 354-1646 for more information.

Speaking of bikes
Car drivers: Please, oh please, stay out of the bicycle lanes! I don’t know how many times lately I (on my bike, usually pulling a child in a trailer) have been blocked by a car either partly or fully positioned in the bicycle lane while waiting to turn right. If there’s a car in my lane, I can’t move forward. Seems simple enough. Other methods of obstructing the bike lane that I have witnessed of late: drivers pulling out of business driveways who situate themselves across the bike lane while waiting to enter traffic, so that I have to veer into the car lane to get around them; people cruising along with the right two wheels of their car in the bike lane. Not cool.

It’s a bicycle lane. Cars have their own lanes. Please share the road.

GMO news
Lest anyone think I have forgotten about the topic of genetically modified organisms, recent news reports have it that Russia has banned the import of Monsanto’s GMO corn.

“Russia has suspended the import and use of an American GM corn following a study suggesting a link to breast cancer and organ damage,” the UK’s Daily Mail reported.

The study referred to was conducted by researchers at France’s University of Caen, and looked at the effects on rats of a diet containing Monsanto’s GMO NK603 corn. “The animals on the genetically modified (GM) diet suffered mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage,” reported Reuters.

“The same trials also found evidence that consumption of minuscule amounts of a commonly used weedkiller, Roundup, was associated with a raised risk of cancer,” noted the Daily Mail.

“Historically, biotech companies have proved the safety of GM crops based on trials involving feeding rats for a period of 90 days,” the Mail story pointed out. “However, experts at the University of Caen conducted an experiment running for the full lives of rats—two years.”

Cherishing Childhood

on this nice fall day.

—Josh McBride, 10th grade, Rose Scott Open-Structured School