Our Toxic Food Supply

Agriculture growing season is coming rapidly upon us in Indiana. Soon, we will see tractors and planters and sprayers across fields. What is not immediately visible are the genetically modified seed (GMO), the poisons on the seed, and later the poison sprayed on the land and crops…. poison and genetic modification that follow into our food supply. Bayer/Monsanto and Syngenta have already been successfully sued for millions for disease caused by their pesticides. Monsanto for glyphosate (Roundup) and Syngenta for paraquat… both killer toxic chemicals.

We hear complaint from President Trump that other countries will not take our agriculture products. Why? They don’t want our genetically engineered corn and soybeans and other GM crops…. And they don’t want the poisons that contaminate them.

We have a new Secretary of Health and Human Services in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He knows how sick our country is from our food supply. Hopefully he, with HHS and USDA, will change how we grow crops. The strangle hold of the big agriculture corporate giants must end. The constant escalation of the toxicity of agriculture poisons with the genetically engineered plants must end. It can be done.

Below is an excerpt from a book about a small community in northern Italy that went totally organic and saved their culture, people, and the health of their lands. We need to learn. What she writes about India largely applies to the United States of Americ
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[Exerpts from the Foreword from the book, “A Precautionary Tale”. Forward written by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a highly recognized and respected scientist in India]

For more than a century, a poison cartel has experimented with and developed chemicals to kill people, first in Hitler’s concentration camps and the war. These chemicals were later sold as inputs for industrial agriculture.

The poison cartel I refer to her is the handful of global corporations that push chemicals and genetically modified organism (GMOs) in farming — Bayer/Monsanto, Dow/Dupont, Syngenta/ChemChina. Killing is their expertise.

In India, a country of small farmers, the assault of the poison cartel has driven millions off the land and pushed 300,000 farmers to suicide due to debt for costly seeds and chemicals. The genetically modified (GM) seeds have failed to control pests and weeds. Instead they are creating super pests and super weeds, trapping farmers deeper in debt.

And it is not just farmers who are dying. Our soil organisms and pollinators are dying. Our soils are dying. Our societies are dying. Our children are dying — because of diseases caused by food loaded with toxics.

Pesticide pollution knows no boundaries, and the pesticide sprays contaminate entire ecosystems, our food, our water. These corporations take away our right to be free from harm.

They do not poison just people, our farms, and our food; they poison regulatory systems and science. Corruption of science, of regulation, of centralized government is their expertise.

The agrochemical industry and its new avatar, the biotechnology industry, do not merely distort and manipulate knowledge, science, and public policy. They also manipulate the law and the justice system.

That is why the movement for freedom from poisons in our food and agriculture is the most important freedom movement in our times. It is a movement for the rights of the Earth, the rights of all species, of all peoples to be free from harm, to be healthy. It is a movement to protect the diversity of species, of cultures, of economics, of knowledge, of decision making from the local to the global.

It is the movement for justice, for the right to life and livelihood. It the right to know about the potential harm from poisons and poison producing plants — GMOs. It is freedom from manipulated alternative facts and post-truths, which hide truth and try to bury it, as we are witnessing in the case of glyphosate and GMOs.

Water, Water, Water!

Dear (Kokomo Tribune) Editor:

We the people of Kokomo, Indiana (www.wethepeoplekokomo.com) are concerned that some groups are using propaganda to try to make us think that we have “ample” water in our county. There have been two newspaper articles (Kokomo Tribune) in the past few months citing the same Indiana Finance Authority studies. The March 15th article states, “A state water plan would be used in similar fashion to a municipal comprehensive plan, with collected data being used to make decisions about how Indiana’s water resources are tapped.”

The reason we are concerned about any of our officials saying we have plenty of water is because we do NOT. Period. Howard County is not drinking water rich — even from the IFA studies which, according to several analysts, is a flawed study. Currently, 60% of Kokomo City water comes from the Wildcat Creek. Indiana American Water would not be using that source IF there was abundant ground water available. This is very important because the water needed for the Electric battery projects here in Kokomo are huge (3 million gallons per day) and has to be extremely pure — even exceeding drinking water needs.

The flaws in the IFA requested studies are major because they don’t separate out drinking water from what is called “brown” water. Sure you can clean up any water, but it becomes EXPENSIVE. The better the source water, the less expensive the clean up. Our suggestions to the city are to require major water hogs to recycle and pay more per unit will help with how much the rest of us have to pay for our water usage.

Never take water for granted. It is invaluable. Never take clean water for granted. It is a HUGE blessing. Indiana is blessed to have this natural resource in abundance, but that does not mean there is “ample’ water for pet projects that could destroy this natural resource forever.

Mr. Mike Day has done an extraordinary job of evaluating the IFA studies and here are his three key statements:

  1. A reduction of non-consumptive water withdrawals provides ZERO justification for water grabs (redistributions) or regional planning.
  2. A reduction of water at the tail of a river provides ZERO justification for water grabs (redistributions) up stream.
  3. A reduction of brown surface water provides ZERO justification for taking pure ground drinking water.
    Lots more to discuss about all this. Please ask our officials about what companies they are giving tax abatements to and why and if these companies are protecting our (water) resources rather than sucking them dry.

    Very Sincerely,
    We the People Kokomo

Small Nukes

The February 24th editorial in the Tribune from the Anderson Herald Bulletin that knocks small scale nuclear power is both short sighted and in instances inaccurate. The writer suggests why would Hoosiers want the “bane of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl in our backyard, when technologies for wind and solar power are much cheaper, more stable and less dangerous?”

Of course, no one wants a Three Mile Island or Chernobyl anywhere. Both were large scale nuclear power plants. The Three Mile Island incident in 1979 was pretty minor in scope. The American Nuclear Society concluded that average local radiation exposure was equivalent to a chest X-ray and maximum local exposure equivalent to less than a year’s background radiation. In short, the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere was too small to result in discernible direct health effects to the population in the vicinity of the plant.

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 is another matter. From the very beginning, experts knew of design flaws and risks of this Russian designed plant. The results were catastrophic with consequences still ongoing. This one is way off base for any comparison.

However, neither of these incidents has anything to do with small scale nuclear power plants. It behooves us to explore what possibilities there may be with such plants. Think about it. The United States Navy has submarines and air craft carriers powered for years by small scale nuclear power plants. I cannot think of a single adverse incident reported from any. So, engineers do have significant experience with small scale design.

Yes, nuclear technology does need to be advanced, but turning ones back on possibilities is not wise. Already we have been told that electric power generation in the United States is lacking and will become even more so with large data centers coming, electric vehicles, and manufacturing moving back to the United States…. and the decommissioning of coal plants.

One of the major advantages of nuclear power generation over both wind and solar generation is that it is full time. Wind depends upon unpredictable wind. Solar depends upon unpredictable sun and even then only half the time. Users of electricity cannot bank on erratic energy sources. Full time availability is essential. Oh… and wind and solar are not cheaper and surely not more stable.

For historical accuracy, Indiana’s Marble Hill nuclear plant (a large scale plant) construction began in 1977 and was terminated in 1984. It never got close to operation and that was about 45 years or so ago. Nuclear technology has advanced since then.

So, small scale nuclear generation of electricity may be the way of the future. It must be explored.

A New Day: MAHA

You know, there are days and there are days. Today, I deeply believe has been one blessed day for the United States of America. We have witnessed the swearing in of Robert F. Kennedy Jr to be the Secretary of Human and Health Services (HHS) for all of us.

Kennedy has dedicated his life to the betterment of our environment and the health of all people in our country. He has pointed out time and time again that as a country we are sick and getting sicker with every day that passes. He strongly believes it is all connected to our food supply (Big Food) and to Big Pharma and Big Agriculture. I could not agree more.

Ever since my encounter with Rachael Carson’s book, Silent Spring, in the very early 1970’s, I have done whatever was in my power to help address environmental issues. This was first when the CEO/Publisher of the Kokomo Tribune, then as a biological scientist at Purdue working on graduate level research. That was a long time ago and much has happened since. The advent of genetic engineering of crops and the use of very toxic poisons in agriculture has only gotten worse. It continues to grow.

And in our food supply, the use of all sorts of chemicals in food is rampant. It seems the food production companies don’t really given a damn about our health. They want us addicted to whatever they produce.

And we see the push for more and more pharmaceuticals about every minute we watch television. The advertising is all over the place. I hope you have been listening to the possible side effects of everything promoted. As a scientist, I have from the very beginning been very skeptical of the mRNA vaccines that never were properly tested for effect and safety.

So, we now have a Secretary of Health and Human Services that is going to take a look at it all… and make drastic changes. This is really Bobby’s way of lifting us all up. He has said that every day for the past 20 years he has gotten out of bed, gotten on his knees, and prayed for God to bring him a way to make change. He has said God brought him President Donald Trump. Trump and Kennedy have joined in a mission to Make America Healthy Again.

When I saw him being sworn in, I have to admit it brought tears to my eyes. We all need to be very grateful. Thank God.

US AG & Poisons

We have heard frequently the complaint from President Donald Trump that other countries will not buy or permit in U.S. agriculture products. I think there is a darned good reason why they will not.

Generally speaking, our agriculture products are tainted with poisons (pesticides) of all kinds. These poisons follow the products into human food supplies. The best example of this is the use of glyphosate (RoundUp) on corn and soy beans and on other crops that have been genetically engineered to tolerate that poison. There is strong evidence glyphosate causes cancer.

But that is not all. Weeds are now showing adaptation to glyphosate, so higher and higher doses of it are applied to crops to kill weeds. And Dicamba is being added as well; a more toxic and dangerous poison. The cycle continues with more toxic chemicals added all the time. This is just one example of many.

The only way for the consumer to avoid the pesticides in their food is to purchase only “Organic” products. Yes, they are more expensive, but is one’s health worth it in the long run?

We have a chance now to clean things up. Robert F Kennedy Jr will become the next Secretary of Human and Health Services. He is a strong advocate for getting harmful chemicals out of our food supply. He will tackle big Pharma, big Agriculture, and big Food. Hopefully, he will have cooperation from the new Director of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, and the new Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, to clean up the food supply.

Things must change. We are the sickest society on the planet…and getting sicker… and spend the most money on health care than any of the developed nations.

President Trump needs to get the message. He can complain all he wants about other countries keeping our agriculture products out, but until we take serious and significant action to clean up our own act, that will continue to be the case. To date, we have capitulated to Big Agriculture and Big Food. That must end. The era of poisons must end.

As long ago as 1962, Rachael Carson in her book, “Silent Spring”, tried to warn us. That was 63 years ago! It is long past time to wake up.

Who’s on First

The letter in the Kokomo Tribune on January 6th by residents concerning the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and the Kokomo electric vehicle battery plants, StarPlus, points out several issues. The primary one may be the functioning of the IEDC in Indiana. This “Corporation” is a child of the Indiana General Assembly. The President of the Corporation is Indiana’s governor, now Governor Mike Braun. All of the board members are appointed by the governor alone.

This “quasi-private government” entity has a lot of power and can operate quietly with millions of dollars. That is, make decisions that seriously affect communities without full and open knowledge of all citizens therein well ahead of time. The Stellantis-Samsung StarPlus electric vehicle battery plants and the Jaewon plant in Kokomo are prime examples.

Now, late in the process, citizens are asking questions. There are questions about the available water supply, surface and underground, and what a draw of about 2.5 million gallons per day per battery plant might mean. The water needs of the Jaewon plant are not presently clear. There are claims the most recently released water shed study by the State of Indiana showing plenty of water is available is flawed.

There are questions about how waste water will be transported and handled and what chemicals such waste water will contain. A report is water used for cooling will be recycled. Water for industrial processes will be containerized and sent off site for treatment and not to the local waste water treatment plant. Water used for human waste will go to the local waste water treatment plant. Storm water off of buildings and parking lots will go to holding ponds, but there is a question as to whether the ponds will be lined to prevent leakage to ground water. Given the above, one must wonder why over 2 million gallons per day of utility provided water will be consumed.

We have already seen the expenditure of millions on the extension of a gas line to serve the battery plants which reportedly is to be paid for by the gas consumers. We have to wonder about what electricity needed and where it is to come from.

There is another company, Jaewon, that is building a plant next to the StarPlus plant. Jaewon is to handle certain chemical waste products from StarPlus. How much water will this operation require and what is to become of whatever products and/or wastes it will generate? Answers are not clear to the public. And now, there are questions about construction quality practices going on in the building of this plant. Reports are that shoddy workmanship has resulted in project shutdown at times by Kokomo Fire Department officials only to be overridden by some State agency. Reports are that complaints will be submitted to OSHA.

Unrelated to the battery plants, there was a proposal for a lithium electric battery plant nearby to store electricity for feeding back to the power grid in high demand times. It was denied so far due to serious safety concerns centered around possible lithium fires.

Cost numbers of all of these projects are in the billions with more to come. What is the cost per job generated? We already know at least a few hundred of the jobs at the battery plants will be held by Koreans, not US citizens. How many US citizens will actually be continually employed when all is done?

There is a residential and commercial development proposed just south of the battery plants and the Jaewon plant. Now, questions about the elevation of ground levels compared to the 100 year flood level were raised by the City Engineer. The development has been put on hold. There is land requested for rezoning to intensive industrial zoning for Jaewon immediately adjacent north to the land with elevation questions. How about the Jaewon land? Is it, too, of insufficient elevation above the 100 year flood height? What restrictions may be the result?

Finally, there is yet another $7 billion in loans either offered or already taken down related to the battery plants. It appears billions and billions of dollars are being risked in the development of all projects related to the EV battery plants. This is at a time when President Trump may well terminate the mandates of the Biden administration regarding electric vehicles.

Our new governor and the Indiana General Assembly need to take a careful look at the IEDC and what it has done here and elsewhere in Indiana.

Let Wind Blow & Sun Shine?

The headline in the article in the Kokomo Tribune on December 14th said, “Facing looming energy shortage, Indiana utilities slowly adopt battery storage”. In October 2024, the Kokomo Planning Board turned down a application from Spearmint Energy to build a battery storage system station on approximately 25 acres of now farm land near the intersection of Lincoln and Goyer Roads. Spearmint Energy said they would reapply in six months.

Citizens objected. The “No” vote was 9-0. The Tribune article said citizen concerns centered around the possibility of one or more of the batteries catching fire posing a safety risk to buildings and residents nearby. This has happened elsewhere. The article pointed out lithium ion battery fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish as the salts in the batteries are self-oxidizing, which means they cannot be “starved out” by traditional fire fighting methods. That and lithium battery fires release toxic gases including hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. These gases can cause severe respiratory distress, skin burns, eye irritation, and even death.

But what is all the push for electric battery storage for in the first place? The reason shouts! The demand for more and more electricity supply is on the increase. And electricity is not something one can store up at home or in an office space or a data center or factory. The demand is instantaneous and the supply must be there then, not later.

On the other hand, electric utilities have been closing down traditional power generating plants, many of which were coal fired. They have been depending more and more upon unpredictable generating like wind mills and solar panels; neither of which can be depended upon continuously. Locally, look at the wind mills in Tipton County and the to-be solar fields in Howard County and Cass County. The answer to lack of instant electricity seems to be build large battery electric storage facilities that can feed electricity back to the power grid when demand is high and instant generating capacity cannot meet the demand. This looks a lot like a huge band aid solution.

We need an updated electric power grid to deliver electricity. We need full time dependable, instantaneous electricity generating capacity to meet demand; not battery storage band aids. We need utility companies to build new or refurbish old generation plants powered by dependable full time energy sources. Does this mean coal and natural gas….or, perhaps, nuclear plants? YES. Those until a better solution emerges. Wind and solar sources will not do.

We need to get off of the fascination with wind and solar farms. Neither are efficient or cost effective. Neither are dependable full time. Both start deterioration from the day they become operational. Time to rethink.

The Rest of the Story

There was a radio newsman long ago, Paul Harvey, that ended his daily broadcast with a saying: “And now you know the Rest of the Story.” The problem in Kokomo is we don’t know the rest of the story.

One has to wonder who thought it a good idea to bring a huge EV battery plant or two to Kokomo. Was it the Indiana General Assembly or the Indiana Economic Development Corporation or Stellantis and Samsung…. Or who? Who was it that brought a large diameter gas pipeline down Highway 35 from the Logansport area and north to Kokomo to serve two EV battery plants? Who was it?

And who was it that bought up large numbers of private properties at highly elevated prices, many of which were personal residences and most of which were highly fertile agriculture lands? And who was it that benefited financially from these purchases? And where did all the money come from and go?

And who was it that promised as many as 1,400 jobs per battery plant or 2,800 for two plants only to have it turn out that 700 of 1400 or 1400 of 2800 of those jobs would be for imported Koreans who would work for a time, then be recycled back to Korea? The result is the cost per job for US citizens is through the roof.

And who is it that did the planning for the operation of the EV battery plants? What materials would be inputs? Are any toxic and dangerous? What electricity is needed and where is that to come from? And maybe most importantly, what water is needed. It has been reported that over 2.5 million gallons of water per plant will be required. Where is that to come from? The excess availability of both surface and ground water to serve one plant let along two plants appears not to be available. The Indiana American Water Company is already casting about for one or more additional well drilling sites. What effect is to be expected on the water table below us? Has this been analyzed? There are already plumes of contaminated water underground from past industry such as Continental Steel Corp and General Motors operations. EPA remediation is ongoing.

Where is the water for proposed commercial and residential development to come from? We see expansion of all sorts of residential areas, hotels, meeting centers, and stores proposed everywhere around Kokomo.

What products are to be produced from the battery plants? Where are they to be shipped or stored? What waste products will result as well? Are any toxic or poisonous? What is to be come of the 2.5 million gallons of water per day required? Word has it that it is to be processed by our local Waste Water Treatment plant which is primarily designed for treating human waste, not industrial waste water. And how is that water to get from the battery plants to the treatment plant? Word has it that existing sewer lines are not adequate to handle such load on a daily basis. And what toxins or chemicals, if any are in the waste water? How would any be handled?

Why is there proposed a waste recycling plant near the battery plant as a separate company and operation? What waste and what toxic chemicals are to be handled and/or required? What is the final destination of waste? The Kokomo Plan Commission just recommended to the City Council the rezoning of a parcel to high intensity industrial zoning to add to land already zoned that for a waste recycling facility without concern about whether such land was suitable for such use. Word has it that there is exposure to potential ground water contamination from such use of this particular land.

And we know that there recently was turned down a proposed electric battery storage operation to be located east of the Lincoln Road and Goyer Road area due to concerns about safety of such a facility. Word has it the company will be back in six months with a new request.

Finally, a mention of the Engie Emerald Green solar panel farm is called for. The Drainage Board continued a vote for the water drainage plan that was submitted late. More incompetent planning, it seems, for a project that will begin to deteriorate the day it is put into operation. And it turns out Engie revised the proposed grading of 350 acres of fertile top soil to 17 acres after objection from Greg Lake, the county surveyor and stormwater administrator for the Howard County Stormwater District.

Both the approved solar fields and the approved EV battery plants appear to be hysterical moves and totally incompetently planned projects focused around the Biden mandates for so-called passive electricity and electric vehicles. What accompanies both is financial greed and power on the part of the State of Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, local officials and others. It is likely President Trump will pick a different direction.

The bottom line is we do not know the “Rest of the Story”. That will unfold in days to come. My prediction is that more and more incompetency will be revealed and more and more greed and seeking of power will come to light. Considering all, there is a deep concern our county may become unlivable. That would be the “Rest of the Story”.

The Garbage Man Cometh

It seems the Kokomo Tribune is trying its best to get Kamala Harris elected. Her promotion is about all I see in the articles, letters, and columns on the Opinion page. But, guess what. It will not work. The Garbage Man Cometh!

We can be called Deplorables, Irredeemables, Nazis, and Garbage but the truth: We are true patriots who oppose what is and has been going on in Washington DC with the Biden/Harris administration and all its cronies for the past four years. No more.

No more open borders. No more support of endless foreign wars. No more spending us into high inflation. No more lawfare against political opponents. No more energy dependence on foreign nations. No more off shoring of our jobs and companies. No more high food costs. And soon to come, no more harmful chemicals in our foods. No more Big Pharma pushing unknown chemicals into our faces and into our arms.

When you have the team of Donald Trump, Tulse Gabbard (former Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee), Elon Musk, and Robert F Kennedy Jr (a generational Democrat), you have a team that will hold America First. It took great courage for Gabbard and Kennedy to leave the Democrat Party and join forces with the Republican Party and Donald J. Trump. They saw the rot in the Democrat Party and left it behind.

So, now we have the Garbage Man, Donald J Trump, collecting all the garbage folks, the patriots, and heading for Washington, D.C.. The rooting out of the swamp will soon begin.

Frankly, it is inconceivable to me how any person with one functioning brain cell could choose now to vote for Kamala Harris. She has proven herself over and over to be incompetent. The flood over the southern border of millions of illegal aliens is only one factor of many that she has supported and continues to support.

The garbage wave is coming. Harris supporters need to get out their crying towels.

Klamath River: Free Flowing Once Again

The Yurok Tribe
190 Klamath Blvd
Klamath CA 95548

Dear Ones:

Miracles do happen, but in the case of the Klamath River and dam removal, it depended upon the years of dedication to river restoration by the Yurok Tribe. I have to tell you that when I read all about what has been accomplished to give life back to all of the fish species, particularly the salmon, whose existence depends upon a free flowing Klamath River, it brought tears to my eyes.

Fish are special to me. My doctorate at Purdue had sturgeon as my focus for research. Before that were catfish and medaka. Fish, indeed, are incredible creatures from our Creator to be treasured and husbanded.

My wife, Marcia, is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan. They have a history of deep relationship with the fish of the Great Lakes, as you may well know. Their work and dedication to preserving the lakes and streams and the fisheries associated with them has been rewarding to see as well.

When I read the mission statement of the Yurok Tribe on line, one can hope that someday all will adopt the philosophy of your Tribe. Earth and all therein are, indeed, sacred.

So, I deeply thank you for what you have accomplished. I wish you all the best for the future.

Blessings,

Kent H Blacklidge Ph.D.