Criminal Fertilizer Company that Already Settled $2 BILLION Lawsuit Wants 18,000 More Acres in Florida

Most health conscious and environmentally concerned people understand the problems facing us today due to modern agricultural and biotech practices. In the U.S. today, less than 1% of our population is producing the food for the country. When the U.S. was founded, about 90% of the population was involved in agriculture, and by the time Abraham Lincoln became president, that number still stood at around 50% of the population producing food for the country. Today, traditional small-scale sustainable farming is rare and has been replaced by biotech and the mass production of food. GMO food, along with the contamination of the food supply by pesticides and herbicides, is fairly well known today. But there is one aspect of modern-day agriculture that often slips under the radar of public awareness that is as ecologically harmful to human health or even worse. It is the worldwide phosphate fertilizer industry. And it is especially out of control here in America, in China, and in other regions to lesser extents. Florida’s phosphate industries supply 75 percent of U.S. fertilizers. Now the world’s largest phosphate mining and manufacturing company, Mosaic Fertilizer, is looking to grab more land in Florida with the usual carrot of economic development, put simply, more local jobs. Those who know the history and methods of this industry are trying to convince ignorant citizens and county commissioners that the risks far outweigh the benefits promised, even if actually fulfilled. Mosaic Fertilizer has already settled a $2 billion lawsuit to clean up 60 billion pounds of hazardous waste in Florida and Louisiana - one of the largest federal lawsuits ever settled. Now it wants to grab even more land in Florida, seeking 18,000 acres for strip mining.

Bakers Green Acres Farm to Stay Open as Place for Veterans to Rebuild Their Lives after War

In a turn of events, Bakers Green Acres farm owner Mark Baker announced last week that he and his family have decided not to sell their farm as previously announced but instead they will transition from production to education. They plan to focus on veteran rehabilitation, using the farm as a place for veterans to come and live, build skills and heal. Mark, a veteran who served for 20 years, says of the recent decision to keep their farm, "We started that process [to sell our farm] and as we went down that road I realized, for a lot of reasons, that it wasn't the best thing to do. For a lot of us. Not just me, and not just my family but there's other people involved as well. I got a lot of input about it. Some of it was heart wrenching, about closing this down." Mark looks to the future saying, "We will stand and change our focus from production farming to transitioning farming for veterans, their friends, their families and associates. Is there room for you in this if you're not a veteran? Absolutely. Absolutely. These are the people you need to wrap your arms around because they're the ones that said, 'I will stand in the gap for you. No matter what I will give my life for you.' I sat with several of them this weekend and I couldn't believe that I've been in the business of chasing dollars for the last ten years when I could have been taking care of them. I can't believe where I was with that but I believe possibly I needed to get some of this training that I've gotten in the last few years in order to do this. That's the direction that I'm going, if anybody wants to come with me, please come along. ...anyone can farm."