Dirty Little Secrets of Mother Nature – Part 3

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

She

By Dahni

She will push up from the soil

She the hand of beauteous and wonderdrous things

She will feed the planet with her bounty

She will in conception bring forth the living thing

She will replenish, perserve and protect

She will send forth fountain sweet for drink

She will fill the lungs with purity

She as unclothed; naked and unashamed

She is the desire of the nations, a fertile and willing lover

She is mother to us all, but

She onced angered, will set loose the whirlwind

She will grind the stones and bones to dust

She will let loose the deafening cry

She will blind the mind and eye with madness

She will erupt, boil and burn

She will choke and plague

She as a woman in labor and travail will wail

She will deliver the unholy thing

She will spew from her lips the poison she is given

She will rain it down, this acid and melt the poison

She will correct her balance with violence

She will not cease until peace and balance comes again

She an empath – a loving or vengeful Mother

She a metaphor of a loving God and Father

We have rejected

And brought forth the wrath we made ourselves

From the collection: ‘Letters from Earth’ © 2006

by the same author

Beautiful & Balanced Mother Nature

   How have we come to such a two edged sword?

   WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 24 (coming soon)

Dirty Little Secrets of Mother Nature – Part 2

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

Fast Forward to the 20^th Century

Iron Eyes Cody (April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999), was an American actor. He made his living portraying Native Americans in films. His most notable and memorable role was that of, the “Crying Native American Indian.”

In the early 70′s there was broadcast on television,  a public service announcement called,  Keep America Beautiful. Cody is seen paddling a canoe up what appears to be a serne river and he is dressed in period costume. Then he passes the modern polluted skies of 20^th century industry. He paddles his canoe to shore, gets out and begins to walk. He appears out of place in the midst of cars and trucks, skyscrapers and teeming numbers of strangely dressed people. A speeding car passes by and throws out trash which lands at his feet, and he sheds a single tear.

The announcer– William Conrad, of “Bullwinkle” and “Cannon” fame– sternly and memorably declares: “People start pollution; people can stop it.”

A mini ‘Dirty Little Secret‘ is that Iron Eagle Cody was not a Native American Indian, his ancesters are Italian.

The word ‘Industry’ above reminded me of another movie which started out originally as a series of fantasy books.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s, ‘Lord of the Rings Trilogy,’ is high epic fantasy. The books created their own cultures and included  philology, (love of language or learning). Tolkien created his own languages in this series, i.e. Elfish etc. Mythology and religion were used and the author’s distaste for the effects of industrialization were symbolized by the ‘wheel.’ The wheel meant industry and it was the purposes of the Dark Lord Sauron, to destroy the world of men by its evil use.

Lord Sauron’s & the white wizard Saruman’s wheel of industry at Isengard

Flashback to Cowboys (cowgirls too), and Indians

When we were children, many of us used to play ‘Cowboys (cowgirls too), and Indians.’ But in real life, the characters we played were quite different. Quite often the Native Americans were portrayed as uncivilized savages and the ‘white man’ was civilized and gentile. The truth though, was very different!

Most Native American tribes were peaceful, peace seeking and peace keeping. They were highly organized, efficient, self-reliant and self-sufficient. They respected the land and all of life, even that which they killed for food. They often shared their bounty with others. If it were not for them, it is doubtful that our forefathers and foremothers would have survived their first year in this new country. The National holiday of Thanksgiving has its origin during this time.

‘The White Man,’ lived a lot differently than did the Native Americans. In their expanse, they did not respect the land and life as their different colored skinned, brothers and sisters. They took over lands which did not belong to them. Hunters nearly destroyed the buffalo and often to the shock of Native Americans, they would kill the animal, skin them for their hides only and leave the flesh to rot. They brought guns, alcohol and disease. Believing the Natives were little more than red savage beasts, they hunted them neither for food or purpose, but often just for sport. Many tribes in order to protect their own livelihood, responded to violence with violence. Wars and treaties were waged, made and broken. Often the ‘white man’ behaved without honor. Many people perhaps still feel that the Natives were just ignorant and stupid, citing for example, the sale of what is now the island of Manhattan or New York City, New York, just for a handful of beads.

However, there is an abundance of information to support that most Native Americans had no concept of the sale of land. The so called beads of sale were in essence, a peace treaty or a token of friendship to share the land, not to own it!

This utter disregard for land and life reminds me of a line from the 1999 sci-fi movie, ‘The Matrix.’ The software program and an agent of the system, ‘the Matrix,’ Mr. Smith said the following:

“I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus! Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.”

Agent Smith, ‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Are all these events, from all these ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ a metaphor? Are all these consequences and calamities, just Mother Nature’s ‘payback for interfering with her’s or God’s ordered balance?’

Is this the reaping from the sowing?

Mother Nature – Dena Dietrich starred as the forest matron, Mother Nature in a series of successful 30-second commercials for Chiffon Margarine (1971-79). Dressed in a gown of white and adorned with a crown of daisies, Mother Nature addresses an unseen narrator who informs her “That’s Chiffon Margarine, not butter.” A perplexed Mother Nature replies “Margarine, oh, no, it’s too sweet, too creamy.” When the narrator tells her “Chiffon’s so delicious, I guess it fooled even you, Mother Nature,” the perturbed woodland goddess lets loose lightning and thunder to express her anger. Her trademark catchphrase was “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”

It’s not nice or a good idea to mess with Mother Nature either.

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 23

Dirty Little Secrets of Mother Nature – Part 1

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

We have seen that the ‘Dirty Thirties‘ was caused primarily by humans. The ‘Funkycide’ (herbicide), Fifties’ destroyed a lot of life forms and caused more deficits in soil nutrients. We have seen the sterile consequences of hybrids and the total takeover of seeds by chemical companies. We looked at the health quality of animals due to human interference for higher yields and greater profits. We have seen some of consequences of an imbalanced pH. We have looked at the horrific possibility of mutations and the frightening potential of genetic engineering. What other possible consequences could there have been, due to human invasion?

Flash Back to the Times of the Incas & Aztecs

These civilizations were highly advanced and they kept detailed records. It is estimated that their population were around 60 million or roughly 9% of the total world population at the time. Central and South America was the primary location of these people and to sustain the population, forests were cut down and replaced with farmland and crops of over 193,000 square miles.

In the 16^th century, Europeans began to explore the area and they brought with them, diseases unknown to the Incas & Aztecs. In an article for Discovery, Monday December 22^nd, 2008, Michael Riley wrote…

“…the diseases Europeans brought to the New World decimated native peoples. With no natural defense against smallpox, yellow fever, and a host of exotic new pathogens, 90 percent of the population was dead by 1600.

According to Richard Nevle of Bellarmine College Preparatory School, in San Jose, California and co-author Dennis Bird of Stanford University, farmland no longer being used in an area the size of California, allowed the return of the rainforest and it sucked most of the carbon dioxide (CO₂ ), out of the atmosphere.

Around 1500 until 1750, global temperatures fell, but were even more cataclysmic in northern Europe.

“We see a similar sort of reforestation following a real
crash in population after the Black Death, from 1350 to 1450.”

Jed Kaplan of Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland

A 2008 study of sediment cores and soil samples further suggests that carbon sequestration via reforestation in the Americas contributed to the Little Ice Age.

The Little Ice Age was a time of cooler climate in many parts of the world, especially northern Europe. Although there is some disagreement about exactly when the Little Ice Age started, there is a consensus that it ended around 1850 when the climate began to warm.

In 1816, there was severe weather changes and many crops were destroyed. This was the year called, ‘The Year Without a Summer,’ ‘The Poverty Year,’ and ‘The Year There Was No Summer.’ Northern Europe, the American Northeast and eastern Canada seemed to be hardest hit. Temperatures plummeted and summer was just another winter of snow, frost, and ice. In July and August, lake and river ice were observed as far south as Pennsylvania.

Many believe following the hardness of this year in the North east part of the United States, this was the begining of the westward expansion, when people began to move towards the midwest in search of better land and milder climate.

This same year (1816), a young woman of eighteen, her husband and a famous poet had made arrangements to vacation together in Switzerland. The weather was so cold and generally lousy, they were held up in their living quarters and amused themselves by reading ghost stories. It is intersteing to note that this period is often referred to as the time of gothic romance. One of the characteristics of this writing style can be summed up with a sample first line, “It was a dark and stormy night.” This most likely, was reflective of these times.

A challenge was put to the three companions to see who could write the scariest story. Only one completed the challenge. The story became a full length novel and was published two years later. It was filled with imagery and descriptions, no doubt reflective of these strange climatic changes.

At the age of 21, Mary Shelley published ‘Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.’ Part of the story deals with the creator, Dr. Frankenstein and another with the monster he created. Critics and reviewers have hypothesized and believe that there are so many parallels between the Dr. and the monster; they are one and the same. Shelly’s original title included the ancient Greek mythological Titan named Prometheus.

Prometheus tried to bring fire to humankind. The consequences of this action so angered the Olympic god Zeus, that he was bound to a rock, his liver was eaten by an eagle each day, it was regenerated each night and his fate would continue in this manner for eternity.

The traumatic events of 1816 have been directly attributed to volcanic activity and specifically the eruption and aberrations of Mount Tambora between April 5 – 15^th, 1815. This super volcano threw enormous amounts of ash into the upper atmosphere. It is believed to have been the largest eruption to that point, in over 1,600 years.

Nature, whether due to man made problems or internal stress, responds in effort to correct itself.

Basic Laws & Principles:

“To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”

“All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world

is for enough good men (women too), to do nothing.“

Edmund Burke

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 22

Dirty Little Secrets of the Animals – Part 3

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

Fast Forward to 1991

In 1991, a special revolutionary project began. Initially, it was started  by James D. Watson at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. A draft of this work was presented in 2000 and completed in 2003, with further analysis still being published. At about the same time, the Celera Corporation was conducting a similar parallel project.

Most of us did not understand what they were doing or what they did. But The Human Genome Project(HGP), was an international scientific research project with a primary goal to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint

Most of the research was conducted by government-sponsored sequencing and  performed in universities and research centers in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain.

Their primary focus in mapping human genes was an important step in the development of medicines and other aspects of health care.

It should be noted that if it were not for computers, much of this research would have never been conceived or realized.

Alarmists, moralists and science fiction writers quickly became involved. Catchwords and catchphrases as mutations, genetic engineering, cloning and simply, DNA, caught the imagination of many and horrified others with their implications.

This is not new. Hilter, during WWWII was obsessed with purifying the race, the German race, to make and sustain the Aryan Nation, believed to be far superior to all others and the only true race. Experiements were conducted to develop new forms of tortue and ways to strenthen their race and weaken others. People were experimented on just to see what would happen and in some cases, because it was just fun, sick fun!

The former Sovient Union has a long history of mind control and athletic experimentation to produce stronger, faster and overall better athletes. Even in the U.S.A. and nearly every day, people are paid, sign wavers and are used as lab rats to test new drugs. Sports are plagued with ‘doping.’ The CIA and the FBI are not strangers to this behavior either.

After all, the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few right? Wrong! Sometimes the needs of the one or the few, outweigh the needs of the many. Sometimes what is good for just one, is good for the rest of us. This of course, goes to the heart of the issue which is morality. Is that too close to religion for you? Well how about just FREEDOM?  The U.S.A. is screwed up in many ways and in other ways is getting worse. It never was and never will be perfect. It was not the first, the oldest or is it the only republic, but it is the longest running such government of the people, by the people and for the people.  Freedom, individual freedom, is the reason.

Imagination is a wonderful thing and combined with individual freedom it is an incredible thing! But with it comes responsibility. Writers have opened doors to possible futures and science walked right in.  So much of what we have today is because it was first conceived and then a way or ways were found to bring those ideas into fruition. This goes on everyday, somewhere in the world in the open or in secret. People are kidnapped, bought and sold into slavery and some are used for experiments.

In the so-called civilized world, people are more or less considered ‘off limits’ for testing and animals are used as this new technology moves forward. Stories abound about mice being engineered to grow human ears, and unsuccessful attempts at animal cloning shortened the lifespan of the cloned animal. It became common to find multi-legged creatures or other genetic anomalies as a direct result of these experiments. It would not be long until the focus of this research would center on humans for the good intended idea of it all being, for the good of humankind.

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

(anonymous)

It matters not the intention, when all roads lead to the same end.

 Mutations                                        Cloning

 A ‘Matrix’ solution of software and Genetic Engineering?

In 1993, Hollywood gave us the sci-fi movie, ‘Jurassic Park.’ The premise of the movie was that scientists were able to extract blood from a mosquito which had been preserved for millions of years inside a drop of Amber or petrified tree sap. The blood contained ‘Dino’ DNA. From this, geneticists were able reproduce dinosaurs that had been extinct for millions of years. The island would become part laboratory and part Theme Park. A few renowned specialized scientists were flown to the remote island with the idea that their acceptance of the work would give it credibility

The facilities were all state-of-the-art, impressive, and “no expense was spared,” as the owner was fond of saying. One of the scientists flown in to the island said the following which is appropriate to these ‘Dirty Little Secrets…‘

“Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

Dr. Ian Malcolm, ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993)

By the way, science is really now trying to determine if they really can re-animate ‘dino’ DNA.

And cloning? How about calling them exact copies? Copies have a tendency to lose some of their image quality after a period of time. Stuff gets a little ‘fuzzy’ after awhile. Rent, buy or watch the movie ‘Duplicity.’ This shows in a humorous way, what happens with copies of people after time. Yep it’s pretty funny, but sometimes truth is more weird than fiction. There are laws of the universe involved here, like Mendel’s Law of dominant and recessive genes. We are really talking about cell reproduction and cells divide, based on the quality of the life of, the original cell or cells. 

Let’s suppose your right ear falls off. Go ahead and have your ear cloned and grown in a mouse if you like. Perhaps you believe this is a good thing for yourself or to work and make this happen for others? But don’t blame me if the cloned ear falls off too. Don’t blame me if you develop a new new syndrome called,  ’falling off right ear syndrome’  and it gets passed onto your future children. And don’t blame me if somehow you develop a fondness for cheese, peanut butter, crawling on the floors, rummaging through stuff and if cats start chasing you.

It’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature or nature. Sooner or later, nature wins and we will lose unless we play nice and we play by her rules or the rules of nature.

Does this all sound ridiculous to you? Too preachy? Well, each of us must decide right now for ourselves and for future generations, where we want to go and what the future will or will not look like. Can’t keep others from knocking us down? Maybe not, but we can determine the direction we will go when we get back up. Too simple? How about this – Can’t fight City Hall? Who do you think made a city hall possible? We did, we do and we can. The strength we have is in the voter’s booth. Oh, my vote does not count; it does not matter, is this what you think? What matters to those that govern? Money and power! Stop paying taxes? But they will arrest us. We cannot all be arrested. People in the USA (only about 10% of the population), once stood up to the most powerful nation with the greatest army in the world, at the time. They cried “taxation without representation.” True, many lost their lives, their fortunes and were branded as traitors, but the Constitution of the United States of America came out of this and we have the right to this day, this time and this very moment, to change our government. It is the law!

All of these Dirty Little Secrets depend upon the FREEDOM to change and the whole subject of Dirt and all its associations is presently the greatest crisis in the world today!

Dirt and all its associations must be HEALED and it must begin NOW, right NOW, with you and I!

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

 Dirty Dahni

Chapter 21

Dirty Little Secrets of the Animals – Part 2

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

The same mills grinding grain for bread, ground things like corn for animal feed. This opened the door to the animal feed industry.

St. Louis, Missouri would later be once again, a primary center for change. Back in the late 1800′s it was common to sell feed in “pretty print” feed bags so the material from the bags could be used to make many useful household items.

In 1846 with the invention of the “stitching machine,” it was possible to sew double locking seams strong enough to hold the contents of a feed, seed or some other bag.

Feedbacks were initially made of heavy canvas, and were used to obtain flour, sugar, meal, grain, salt and feed from the mills. They were reusable, with the farmer bringing an empty sack stamped with his mark or brand to the mill to be filled. This changed when the North East mills began weaving inexpensive cotton fabric in the late 1800′s.

Feedsacks (or feedbags), were initially printed on plain white cloth and in sizes that corresponded to barrel sizes. One company even made pink feed bags. The brand name of the flour, seed or feed was simply printed on the side of the bag.

A 1942 estimate showed that three million women and children of all income levels were wearing print feedbag garments.

Feedsacks were used to make:

• Clothes
• Quilts
• Toys
• Underwear
• Pillowcases
• Diapers
• Laundry bags
• Curtains
• Table cloths
• Towels, dish cloths

After WWII, technological innovations provided more sanitary and effective packaging made of heavy paper and plastic containers. It was cost effective too. A cotton bag cost 32 cents to make, as opposed to 10 cents for the paper bag. By 1948, this new industry cornered more than half of the bag market and the cloth bag fell out of use. But not entirely! Some Amish and Mennonite communities demand, and receive, their goods in feedsacks.

As far as animal feed, these were compound feeds or feedstuffs blended from various raw materials and additives. These blends are formulated according to the specific requirements of the target animal. They are manufactured by feed compounders as meal type, pellets or crumbles.

The beginning of industrial scale production of animal feeds can be traced back to the late 1800′s, this is around the time that advances in human and animal nutrition was able to identify the benefits of a balanced diet, and the importance that role in the processing of certain raw materials played in this. Corn gluten feed was first manufactured in 1882, while leading world feed producer Purina feeds was established in 1894 by William H. Danforth. Cargill which was mainly dealing in grains from its beginnings in 1865, started to deal in feed at about 1884.

*“Cargill has a long history in the animal nutrition business. William W. “Will” Cargill, who started Cargill, Inc. in 1865, started selling feed in Lacrosse, Wisconsin (USA) about 1884. In the mid-1930s, John MacMillan, Jr. started selling manufactured feed under the Cargill name when he opened a new facility in Conrad, Montana. In 1939, a new feed mill was included in an upgrade of Cargill’s Lennox, South Dakota grain elevator. That new feed plant, along with seven other facilities built over the next several years and the Conrad, Montana business, all started selling a new line of feed products called “Blue Square Feed.”

“In March 1941, Cargill purchased a facility just west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began marketing “Cargill Feeds” and “Du-All Feeds.” At that time, there were two distinct groups within Cargill marketing feeds. In some areas, they were in direct competition with each other, a scenario that would be repeated several more times in Cargill’s history as they built brands designed to serve diverse groups of customers.”

“Starting in November 1942, Cargill Feeds broadcast a barn dance every Saturday night on a Minneapolis radio station, featuring a group called the Red River Valley Gang.”

*Excerpts from Cargill History at:

http://www.cargill.com/company/history/index.jsp

* “Mr. William H. Danforth outlined his philosophy in a number of books, the best known of which is entitled “I Dare You,” now in its 28th edition. He believed each person has not one, but four lives to live, and to illustrate he would draw a familiar “checkerboard” on a piece of paper. On the left side of the checker he would write “Physical”; at the top he would write “Mental”; on the right-hand side he would write “Social”; and at the base of the checker he would write “Religious.” A man’s ingredients for life are a body, a mind, a personality and character, Mr. Danforth would say, and all four must grow in balance with each other. The mind should not be developed at the expense of the personality, nor the body at the expense of character.”

“Four-Square principles have been pillars of strength in my life,” he continued. “I have never had cause to change. The longer I live with such fundamentals, the more valuable they become.” Feed stores dotted every corner, the way gas stations do today. Other than hay, only two kinds of horse and mule feed were known, corn and oats. Oats were costly, and every year thousands of horses died from colic caused by bad corn. The two men convinced young Danforth to join them in the manufacture of feed, and the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company was formed in 1894. By the late 1890s, depression gives way to great prosperity. St. Louis grows to become the nation’s fourth largest city by the turn of the century. Farm prices increase, and agricultural products account for one-third of the nation’s trade surplus. More than half of this comes from manufactured feedstuffs, like Purina’s – “Where Purity is Paramount.”

“Consumer products companies begin to thrive as entrepreneurs deliver devices of safety and convenience. King Gillette gives men a close shave with the safety razor. Conrad Hubert and his American Ever Ready perfect the “electric hand torch”- the early name for a flashlight. Food processing becomes a major U.S. industry. Condensed soup makes its debut in 1897, courtesy of Campbell’s; Swift, Armour, and Beech-Nut can hams and other meats; Heinz, Kellogg’s, Quaker Oats and Pillsbury begin to integrate mass production with mass distribution, and become household names in the process.”

“1902, Ralston brand cereals and Purina brand feeds are so promising, the company name is changed to Ralston-Purina.”

* Excerpts from Ralston-Purina History at:

http://www.purina.com/company/History.aspx

With the addition of food for humans like corn, wheat, oat and rice Chex®, I always hoped that somehow these human foods did not get mixed up with say, their monkey chow.

Even though many farmers would continue to mix their own feed in the 50′s, the trend for outside companies, was quickly becoming the accepted way of farming. What farmers had done for centuries was becoming a system of organized control by corporations. Farmers would come to depend upon chemical companies, science, herbicides, genetically altered seed and receive lower profits, while paying higher costs. To reduce costs and increase yields they were in a manner of speaking, forced into these ‘necessary evils’ to survive at least and to compete at best. What else would the smart people in charge do next?

This ‘Dirty Little Secret‘ is, what you lose control of, is taken over by others.

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 20

Dirty Little Secrets of the Animals – Part 1

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

Most of us have heard the horror stories and some of us have had personal experiences with animal cruelty. There is perhaps, some animal rights activist group, for nearly every species of animal upon the planet. It is the animals used for food which should be more of a horror to us and the alarm here should sound.

The dynamics of farming and the plight of farmers come down to this. How can they increase their yields?

Once upon a time, animals grazed in the fields. The fields stopped producing as much because the soil was depleted of its nutrients and became pH imbalanced. Over fertilization with  just three primary nutrients of potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen made matters worse as did lack of crop rotation and growing crops closer and closer. Herbicides were nor only further destroying the soil, but other life forms as well. Hybrid plants were followed by chemical alteration and genetic engineering. With animals used for food, the same would follow.

Increasing yields of animals for food seemed to be answered with the same thing people had a ‘taste’ for. What makes meat taste good to those that like it? Fat! How can you increase your yields? Increase the fat content and you increase the weight, as meat is sold by weight.

Feed, chemicals and drugs which could increase animal fat content, would increase weight. And this would increase the farmer’s profits. This is what was done and still is.

Please do not misunderstand. U.S. farmers are some of the hardest working, nature conscious, self-reliant and self-sufficient people to be found anywhere. Their work has fed millions for years with quality food. But when government sets the price it is good for the rest of us and usually not so good for the farmer. Often the government pays them not to grow stuff. The bottom line is that they must survive and they must make a profit. They turned to anyone and anything that could promise them higher yields.

Just like farmers turned to the chemical companies to help make it so more of their crops could make it to market, they depended on the same for their animals. Preservatives and food coloring were added to the meat, to keep the products so called ‘fresh’ longer or to make it seem so. Come on now, this is not so difficult to believe. After all, we have food grade dyes injected into our otherwise ugly fruit and edible wax on many of our fruits and veggies all nice and shiny. Why not the same kind of edibble stuff for meat?

Farming left the fields and went into more corporate barns. Animals became overcrowded, stressed and full of fear. All of these conditions lead to a pH imbalance and combined with the lack of nutrients in the soil, the plants and the altered seed, this all leads to sickness, disease and death. Even animals not sick became contaminated by animals that were. Antibiotics would be used in feed and administered to animals on a regularly basis. It is conditions like these which draw the concern of the animal rights activists, but the most important thing is that they are UNHEALTHY! These conditions are unhealthy to the animals and they are unhealthy to meat eaters, other animals or humans that consume animal products or use animal by-products.

The attempts to weed out weaknesses of plants with hybrid technology would also be used with animals. If more fat would make the meat taste better, increase their weight and in the end, increase the farmer’s profits, what else could they do by crossbreeding?

What is more docile than a horse? A donkey! What is stronger than a donkey? A horse! Why not cross them? So they did and produced a mule, a sterile animal that cannot reproduce. This is but one of many examples.

It used to be that farmers would raise their own crops and make their own feed for their animals. But most of them did not have their own mill.

” I grew up on a farm in W. St. Louis County, back in the ’50′s. We started out with beef cows, and if you raise livestock, the only way to make money is if you raise your own feed (for those of you who don’t have that experience). And so we raised our own corn, and our own soy beans, and our own hay, and we had a truck come out from the mill. This truck would come out from the mill, they would grind up the corn, and the soy beans, and the hay, and then we would add sacks of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and we would make pellets out of it, and this is what we would feed…”

Dr. Joel Wallach

The primary reason for adding vitamins and minerals to animal feed was because it was the ONLY HEALTH INSURANCE available to the farmers to protect their investment.

This ‘Dirty Little Secret‘ is that if it is not in the soil; if it is not in the plant, and if it is not in the animal, it had to be supplied. This is eaxctly what vitamin and mineral supplements are, to supply that which is lacking! And farmers used this as health insurance protection for their investments.

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 19

Dirty Little Secrets in the Dirt – Part 2

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

We have seen a progression of ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ affecting the soil, the relationship of plants and animals (including ourselves), to soil. We have looked at our obsession with or our affinity with soil and found that the very elements which should be in soil should also, be in our bodies. We are in essence, dirt or soil. We have looked at pH with a view towards an understanding of the key word ‘balance’ and have seen much is, out of balance! We have looked at the sterile products in developing hybrid plants. If the ‘dirty thirties’ messed up the dirt, ‘funkicide 50′s messed up the dirt, and we’re dirt, what would ‘They’ think of next? How about what goes into the dirt? Right, mess up not just the plants, but the seeds!

Quietly, in another country, ‘This Dirty Little Secret‘was just beginning. His record as a businessman suggests he has an eye for undervalued assets. In 1985, he bought  Cigarrera La Moderna, Mexico’s largest cigarette company, for $85 million. In 1997, he sold that business for $1.5 billion. It helped that during his ownership of the company, Mexico’s liberalized markets, allowed him to raise prices. “Things broke my way,” he says.

Alfonso Romo Garza is an aristocrat. His ancestors include a Mexican president. He became best known outside Mexico for having founded one of the world’s richest prizes for horse jumping. It is difficult to isolate specific information about him, but careful scrutiny will show his name popping up from his seeds, almost everywhere in the world.

Outside of Mexico he was virtually unknown, but quickly and quietly, his pursuits turned to seeds. In a short period of time, he became the Global King of seeds and most people never knew that or recognize his name, even today.  His title is not one that any previous seed seller ever held or sought. Why should they? Vegetables seeds are a low-margin, slow-growth, and an uncreative business. Even by the standards of the agriculture industry, vegetable seeds are as boring as dirt. But this man had an entirely different vision.

We have already seen DuPont acquiring Pioneer Seeds and they paid millions for Monsanto’s soybeans, which were resistant to Monsanto’s very own ‘Round Up,’ broad spectrum herbicide.

While Alfonso Romo Garza was quietly cornering the vegetable-seed business, the giants of the world-wide chemical industry were snapping up the sellers of seed for corn, cotton and soybeans. These are the BIG-MONEY CROPS!!. They feed the plant food factories and textile mills. By altering the genes of these crops, the chemical giants are creating new foods such as synthetic meat, as well as medical products, such as antibiotics.

The chemical companies were so absorbed in buying up the crop-seed business – Monsanto (there is that name again), had spent nearly $8 billion on that pursuit. They paid little attention to the items people buy in the produce section of their local store like: lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, squash. This business is minuscule compared with industrial crops such as corn.

Still, fresh produce in North America was, is, and has, a huge market. What if sweeter fruits, tearless onions and ‘pretty’ fruits and vegetables could be engineered? By the time the chemical companies saw the potential to do just that, most of the seeds in the world, already belonged to a Mexican billionaire named, Alfonso Romo Garza. Any plans to genetically enhance food, had to pass through him, his companies or those he controlled.

Garza set out to acquire companies that sell vegetable seeds. Quietly, he bought five in the U.S., two in Europe, and three in Asia and one in South America.

Soon, 40% of all vegetables sold in the U.S. supermarkets were derived from his seeds. Half of what we eat from most restaurants in the U.S. is from his seeds.

“In a short period of time, Alfonso has become a major factor in biotechnology,” says William S. Stavropoulos, chief executive officer of Dow Chemical Co., which also pushed into agro-biotechnology.

Latin America had not produced a bumper crop of new technologies. Mexican billionaire Alfonso Romo Garza set out to change that. The chairman and majority owner of Pulsar Internacional, a $2.8 billion Mnterrey-based holding company, pushed to make Pulsar, a global leader in biotechnology. His company’s specialty: hybrid vegetable and fruit seeds that produce high-yield, disease-resistant crops. ”More Mexican companies have to move out of old-style industries and into new technologies,” Romo said.

For the past several years, Pulsar’s agricultural subsidiary, Empresas la Moderna, had been snapping up biotechnology companies around the world. Now, with a global network of 56 biotech labs, Romo boasted of one of the world’s most extensive seed banks of varieties bred to thrive in many climates.

Romo, a descendant of early-20th-century President Francisco Madero, started in business in the early 1980s with a bakery chain. Backed initially by investors including his father-in-law, a member of Monterrey’s powerful business elite, he added a cigarette maker, a packaging company, and an insurer. Trained as an agricultural engineer, Romo helped his tobacco suppliers by passing on hybrid seeds and modern curing methods. But sensing that the global tobacco business was becoming too competitive for local players, he sold the cigarette company to BAT Industries PLC for $1.7 billion. He spent some of that cash to buy two distressed Korean seed companies and expand them.

Monsanto (again), had agreed to apply its biggest biotechnology breakthrough to Romo seeds. Scientists from Romo’s company, Empresas La Moderna SA, placed in a lettuce, a gene that gives it immunity to Roundup, a Monsanto herbicide.

ELM, which supplied over half of the lettuce seeds used by U.S. commercial farmers, sold the altered seed for at least two times the price of conventional lettuce seed. They went into agreement with Monsanto to split those premiums 50-50. In another venture between the two companies, ELM planned to use Monsanto technology, to make bug-resistant plants.

Besides accumulating a storehouse of seeds, ELM performed its own breeding experiments, and its scientists have placed hit products on the shelves of U.S. supermarkets. Mr. Romo’scompany lowered the heat factor of the jalapeno pepper, helping salsa pull even with ketchup in the U.S. in dollar sales. The baby carrot, one of the most successful innovations in the produce section? His plant breeders invented it

It was with ELM’s seeds that Vlasic Foods International Inc. grew the novelty of cucumbers that would yield a hamburger-size pickle slice, designed to lie perfectly between a pair of buns. Mr. Romo’s company received U.S. regulatory approval to sell squash, genetically altered to resist disease, and tomatoes that have been altered to last longer on the shelf.

Consumers started to balk when they had to pay more for these ‘new foods.’ In the United States, “biotechnology” wasn’t an appetizing word. Even though everything from animal feed, soda pop, cooking oil, and almost every single ‘processed’ food we eat from the super market is, made from genetically modified or engineered corn and soybeans, few U.S. consumers know it.

European consumers grew wise sooner and labels were required if the food stuff was genetically altered. Then in 1997, 93% of those surveyed in the U.S. wanted bio-engineered food to be labeled — presumably because many would avoid it. The point though, most of us born in the 1900′s have been eating it, for most of our lives!

Through a series of mergers and acquisitions series, ELM controlled such seed companies as Asgrow (US), Petoseed (US), and Royal Sluis (the Netherlands). Then in 1995, a new name appeared, Seminis. Seminis came about from a merger of these three companies.  After the creation of Seminis, the seed and coating technologies of these three divisions were all placed under the INCOTEC name. In July 1998, Seminis then acquired 70% of Hungnong Seed, Korea’s largest seed and vegetable firm, and Choong Ang Seed (AGROW, 1999). Hungnong and Choong Ang are leading companies in the oriental vegetable market. In November 1998, Seminis purchased the vegetable division of Sementes Agroceres, a Brazilian company that produces and distributes vegetable seeds throughout Brazil. In 1998, Seminis acquired the distribution rights to LSL PlantScience tomato varieties.

LSL PlantScience is a world market leader in tomatoes developed for long shelf life. In September 1999, Seminis acquired Barham Seeds, a company dedicated to the research and development of seedless watermelon varieties.

Garza predicted that within a decade, 80% of the fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S. will be genetically modified in one way or another. This would include frozen-vegetable packers, fruit-juice makers and, of course, the most of the food consumed world-wide, by the average shopper. “We will change consumer habits entirely,” said Romo while jabbing a cigar in the air.  Investors bought it.

Poor-quality produce being one of the biggest sore points in the supermarket, there is little doubt consumers would pay more for better fruits and vegetables. But what is better? Coca-Cola Co. decided that its new recipe for Coke was an improvement, but the public rejected the idea. In other areas, people rejected bruised, blemished or ugly fruits and vegetables, believing there was something wrong with it. Did you know that is the state of Florida in the USA, they actually have ‘ugly’ fruit inspectors? They may not actually be titled as this, but that is exactly what they do. Ugly or un-beautified fruit is not to be shipped from Florida as it might give them a bad reputation. What’s wrong with so-called ugly fruit? Probably nothing and in fact, as to its nutritious value, it may be superior to the more beautiful fruit that has been genetically modified. Please don’t misunderstand, food that is attractive is appealingto the eye and is part of the pleasure of eating a fine meal, but there are many ways to make food attractive, without messing around with Mother Nature or what is natural.

The nation of Japan seems to be obsessed with freshness which is also equated with appearance. My wife and I had the pleasure to experience much of Japan several years ago. Most Japanese shop every single day, because they want their food FRESH! Fruits were protected in their own little protective baskets to prevent bruising, because they want their food to look good which equates to being FRESH. The food there was expensive, very expensive, but it was FRESH. As an example for comparison, let’s suppose you went to a USA store on the day the produce truck arrived. This would mean your stuff is pretty fresh right? Well, maybe that same truck of produce would have been rejected in Japan two weeks earlier, because it was not fresh enough. In the store, most of us have seen the little white Styrofoam packages of food which have been sealed with some clear plastic wrap right? Well, in Japan we saw this same type of packaging, but underneath the clear wrap, the food was still wiggling because it was alive! Now that’s what I call an obsession for FRESH!

How something tastes is also, equated with what is deemed as FRESH.

“We don’t’ know how to define qualities yet like taste. How can you engineer something you can’t define?” said Harry Klee, a University of Florida molecular biologist and former top tomato scientist at Monsanto.

The now-infamous Flavr-Savr tomato from CalgeneInc. was the first genetically modified food approved by U.S. regulators, the supposedly better-tasting tomato bombed with shoppers.

But Mr. Romo contends that Calgene made a series of errors, beginning withthe choice of an ordinary-tasting tomato to engineer, and ending with excessive spending to get a consistent product into stores. He predicted his products will fare better, and Roger Salquist, Calgene’s last chief executive officer before it was sold, did not doubt it. “Mr. Romo has got a lot of money, charisma and seed,” said Mr. Salquist.

Mr. Garza alliance was not with the public, but with the farmers. If the farmer paid more for his seeds and their profits went up, then he could increase his sales. This is precisely how he quietly and quickly became the Global Seed King.

As much money as we are talking about in the sales of food products, it is still minuscule in comparison to drugs and chemicals derived from genetically modified plant sources!!!

Well have you ever heard the expression, “if you can’t beat em’ join them’? Here is one better. Don’t beat them or join them, buy them!

In St. Louis, MO (Jan. 24, 2005) – MonsantoCompany announced its definitive agreement to acquire Seminis, Inc., for $1.4 billion in cash and assumed debt… “The deal included keeping Romo Garza as Chairman and CEO of Seminis under Monsanto, according to the company’s press release announcing the deal. The ‘deal’ effectively made the St. Louis, MO based chemical company, the largest seed producer in the world!

“Seeds are software and we have the seeds.”

Alphonso Romo Garza – Seminis

“DNA is the most interesting software there is.”

Bill Gates – Microsoft

Well, the one time richest man in the world may know a lot about software and the King of seeds may know a lot about genetic engineering, but this Dirty Little Secret is that seeds are life that grow from the dirt, not the science or the computer laboratory. What else would ‘they’ think of next?

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 18

Dirty Little Secrets of pH – Part 5 FINAL

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

Yes, understanding and applying pH and pH balancing is absolutely essential with regards to dirt. Now don’t forget, we have an affinity for dirt because, basically that is what we are made from.

To arrive at a balanced pH, it is generally accepted that ‘neutral’ is between 6.8 and 7.2 on the pH scale. Anything that rises above 7.2 may be too alkaline for our skin and cause dry skin, skin irritation or possibly even burn the skin. It follows the same rule if it becomes too acidic and falls below 6.8 on the pH scale.

Remember when this series started with vacuuming and our fictitious Mrs. Jones? Remember telling Mrs. Jones during the vacuum cleaner demonstration that it is one thing to walk on dirt (on the carpet), and another to sit on dirt (on the furniture), but it is an entirely different matter in lying in the dirt (lying on a mattress)? It becomes extremely important in removing dirt, soil, and oil, to understand and apply pH and pH balancing. Well it’s one thing to talk about pH with regards to the exterior or outside of our bodies, but what about inside of our bodies?

What’s the relationship of dirt to pH inside of us?

Have you ever had an upset stomach? Have you ever had acid indigestion? Do you suffer from acid reflux? To alleviate the symptoms we often turn to what? Antacids! What is going on?

Within our bodies, how many organs would you guess are acidic? There is just one, the stomach. The stomach produces acid to break down our food so that it can be absorbed by our bloodstream and carry the nutrients to all parts of the body. There are two acids which the stomach produces:

1. Hydrochloric Acid has a pH of 1 and is about 1,000,000 times stronger than pure water with a pH of 7.
2. Gastric Acid has a pH of 2 and is about 100,000 times stronger than pure water with a pH of seven.

If the stomach is mostly acidic, then the rest of our body should be mostly alkaline. When our pH is not in balance, we are open to a whole lot of problems, the least of which would be an occasional upset tummy.

Why do we get an upset stomach? Could it be our diet? The following things are common to many of us and they are highly acidic or acid producers:

1. Caffeine (coffee and some teas). pH=5 acidic
2. Soda Pop. The sugar in a can of pop will cause your body to become acidic. Sugar is an acidifier. And if you’re drinking sugar free pop, you’re not much better off as the aspartame in it turns into formaldehyde and acid in your body.
3. Anything containing carbon dioxide, phosphoric acid, aspartame^TM. If you drink charged water, you are drinking a waste product. Our bodies give off CO2 as a waste product. Why would anyone want to drink a waste product (if they thought about it long enough)? Aspartame® turns into formaldehyde and acid in your body. When you are acidic, your metabolism gets clogged down. The drink might say “Diet” but you won’t lose weight with this stuff in your body.
4. Meat, poultry, and fish. All of these “cooked” proteins cause our bodies to become acidic. Eating them raw would be a better option but ONLY if the methods we raised them and processed them were healthier.
5. Sugar, especially white sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Anything with sugar added will increase its acidifying properties immensely. One teaspoon of sugar will lower your resistance by 50% for up to 24 hours. (Mountain Dew has 8 tablespoons of sugar in one can.) And don’t think about substituting sugar with Aspartame®, it’s even more acidifying.

When pH is chronically out of balance, it usually does not happen immediately. It is a slow process that may take some time, even years to show telling signs. Once it appears, there is an increase in problems. You may feel less healthy without knowing why. Each acid-forming food produces different forms of acid like:

Uric acid, Phosphoric Acid, Sulphuric Acid, Carbonic Acid and others.

Each of these acids affect our health differently and can cause different health problems.

Our bodies will always try to correct pH balance, especially in the blood. Blood pH is between 7.35 and 7.45. The slightest deviation can result in acute health problem, coma and even death. Our body will therefore sacrifice massive amounts of vitamins and minerals to bind and eliminate the excess acid in the blood, even if this meant that what it takes resulting in a deficit of nutrients (like calcium), could leave the body open to Osteoporosis and the malfunctioning of other organs! This it will do, rather than endanger the pH-value of the blood!

Excessive acid in our bodies can lead to the condition known as acidosis.

If you are out of balance, your body will try to repair this imbalance by binding excess acid to minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc in order to excrete the acid through the kidneys. If there are insufficient minerals available from the food we eat (we have seen through this series there is a great chance of that), our bodies will use vitamins and minerals from our bones, muscle tissue and organs to bring the balance back. This will eventually drain us of reserves and lead to a vitamin and mineral deficiency. In the end, our bodies may become unable to maintain a healthy pH balance.

“ACIDOSIS is the basic foundation of all disease. We need to understand the simple process of alkalizing our body and the important role a properly alkalized body plays in restoring and maintaining our overall health. Our glands and organs function properly in exact proportion to the amount of alkaline and acid levels in our system.”

from “Alkalize or Die”, by Dr. T.A. Baroody, Jr

Smoking can affect the body’s pH balance as do many drugs, prescribed or otherwise. Stress can cause the body to become more acidic. I am sure you have heard the term ‘We are what we eat.’ It would be more accurate to say that we are what we ingest or absorb and we are what we think plays a tremendous role in pH balancing or the lack thereof.

Often in situations it becomes necessary, for saline solutions. A pure sodium chloride solution is neutral (pH 7). Sometimes mild acid or alkali chemicals are added to the solution to change its pH. These are usually buffered as found some place on the pack or the data sheets. This means that a small amount of a weak acid and weak acid salts have been added to maintain a constant pH. This is important because, the saline (assuming it is for intravenous use), will be going directly into the bloodstream. Any significant changes in pH could cause major circulatory problems. Sea water just has a slightly higher pH (8), than our bodies. For around nine months, we are perfectly surrounded in our mother’s womb with a perfectly pH balanced ‘bag of waters.’ Often pH is used to produce an optimum situation for conception and sometimes it is believed that a slightly altered pH (more acidic or more alkaline), could determine the sex of the child.

This understanding and application of pH is important to dirt, cleaning, swimming pools; spas, plants, animals, humans and to all of life!

This ‘Dirty Little Secret‘ is to:

Find your Body’s pH

There are a variety of ways to determine your body’s pH, the most accurate of which is to find the pH value of your blood using a pH meter. However, that can be impractical since it would require drawing blood and purchasing a special meter. A more practical and inexpensive method is to find the pH level of your urine or your saliva using litmus paper. But, since your urine and saliva pH varies with what you eat, you should measure your pH after fasting for at least 12 hours, or when you get up in the morning, before you exercise, eat or drink anything. Dip the pH strips into your urine or saliva and compare the color against the chart from the package the strips came with. Normal healthy body pH should be around 7.4. I know what I said earlier that pH balance is generally accepted neutral from 6.8-7.2. But our bodies are, or should be, a little more alkaline to be in proper pH balance.

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 17

Dirty Little Secrets of the Heart

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

It just happens that by course, this chapter was written on Valentines Day, February 14th and it is appropriate.

We have looked at our obsession with dirt and particularly its removal. We have looked at soil from many different perspectives. We have seen that basically we come from dirt and therefore we are dirt. We have looked at four parts of pH with one more final part to come following here. Again, we have an affinity for dirt because basically that is what we are made from. So therefore, so would be the heart.

Physically, this organ, this pump, this complex and powerful muscle is about the size of a clenched fist. It is highly efficient under normal and optimum conditions. It distributes our blood to all parts of our bodies. The blood contains nutrients to feed our body, antibodies to protect us from some foreign invasion and a host of chemicals. Our entire body could be summed up as a series of electrical-chemical reactions.

Philosophers and poets have referred to the heart as a metaphor, a figure of speech to describe the seat or house of the soul or our unique personalities. The physical heart could be called the seat or the house of our physical body. There is a relationship between the heart-soul, the mind, or call it our unique personality, with that of our heart-body. The brain would be the organ of physical perception and this soul or mind, would be the organ of mental perception. Each are dependent upon nutrients which directly or indirectly produce chemicals necessary for life.

We have seen that even stress can alter our physical health. This happens when chemicals ordinarily produced are not and others not ordinary produced, are. We have seen that pH is a factor in this as well. We are what we ingest or absorb and we are what we think.

Our relationship with plants are supposed to be symbiotic. From them we receive nutrients and oxygen. As we exhale we give off carbon dioxide (CO2), which the plant needs along with what it receives from the sun, water and the soil, soil with which we have this affinity or relationship with. Life is a series of timely and complex chemicals reactions. So it is of sickness which is death in part. Sickness or death is the consequence of chemical reactions.

Many of us when we were born received either a physician’s coaxing slap or a tickle to encourage us to take our first breath. The stimuli sends signals to the brain and chemical reactions occur. Pain or pleasure is a series of chemical reactions.

Some mothers troubled with nursing their newborn babes were encouraged to relax or even consume a moderate amount of alcohol for the ‘let down effect’ to release milk. Both of these methods to produce the same thing are a series of chemical reactions.

Some women immediately following the delivery of the child have experienced ‘postpartum depression.’ This is a chemical reaction whether it is mentally or physically induced.

Pheromones attract and repel and they are chemical reactions. There are some people which seem to be addicted to the high emotional feelings of ‘falling in love.’ When the newness wears off they seem incapable of maintaining a normal relationship and move on to more.

Some people for example are really afraid of dogs and many dogs pick up on these chemicals which are produced and secreted through the skin and are angry or afraid of the person. It has been suggested that these individuals have some sort of chemical imbalance.

Manic depression is an inordinate chemical imbalance which is most often treated with another chemical, or simple salt known as Lithium.

The list and examples of chemical reactions would be almost endless.  I am confident there are many more which are  going on at this very moment, in each of us that has yet to be discovered and understood. But whatever they are, it is primarily the heart that distributes these chemicals by way of the blood.

This ‘Dirty Little Secret‘ is that the heart truly is the seat of our physical and mental lives, for it carries and distributes chemicals. If we have nutrient deficiency or excessive toxins ingested or absorbed, there will be a change in our pH and we will not be in balance. The circle of dirt continues, we cannot escape the dirt.

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 16

Dirty Little Secrets of pH – Part 4

© Copyright 2009
by Dahni

After the carpet was dyed, sooner or latter it would get replaced because we couldn’t stand it anymore or it was just time for something new. What did our friends, the chemical companies have to offer?

At one time it was only the fortunate few which could afford to hire their own interior decorator. It was a statement of their style and affluence. Over coffee table talk you could refer to your style by the name of your decorator, much like some would speak about their designer clothes. Oh, he is wearing Armani or she is wearing Valentino (or some name of some other top fashion designer). Most of the style was the designer’s own choosing. We did not influence the style; we were influenced by their style or were just ‘lucky’ I guess, to live with their likes.

Along the way, people became much more involved in the process. We decided we wanted what we want. Well, what goes with just about everything, white right? Is white all right? I guess so if you want all white walls, but what about carpet. Well, we went there too. Remember dye sites? Lighter carpet has more available dye sites and the darker colors have less. The ‘in’ thing became white carpeting. Back to the chemical companies, we go again. They came up with a kind of invisible dye to try and fill up all those open dye sites.

Which do you suppose is harder to clean and keep clean, darker carpets or white? Which of these do you think might last longer? Sooner or later (usually and mostly sooner than than later), we would have to replace the carpet, so we do.

The carpet installers would come in, pull up your carpeting and you notice spots on the pad beneath it. They pull up the pad and maybe there are some more spots or stains under the pad. Maybe you notice the nails in the tack strip which held the carpet and pad in place are rusty. Now how do you suppose that happened? Maybe we discover some spot that belongs to Fido the dog or Fifi the cat, but they certainly could not be our pets, because our pets would not do that right? Well, it turns out that those spots are stains. Stains are permanent. So what do we do? We turn to the Chemical Companies of course.

Most of these chemicals only mask the smell, why, because they do not use and apply the principles of pH balancing. Here is a dirty little secret. Urine never completely dries! If you doubt this or that you pet ever has accidents, just turns the lights off in the room so it is good and dark. Borrow a black light from some hippie friend from the 60′s, turn it on and watch those hidden spots glow or fluoresce. To really get rid of this from the carpet, you usually have to cut out the carpet, the pad beneath and if it is a wooden floor, you need to treat it and then paint it with pigmented shellac. If you do not do all of these things, the chances are great that when the humidity rises, so will the odor, why, because urine never totally dries.

Oh, and after the carpet and pad is removed; rusty tack strip is removed, and stains are handled, what is sand, grit and other strange looking stuff doing lying on the floor? How did that get there? The answers are the lack of proper vacuuming and equipment; tracking, grinding, over wetting, and chemical residue left from cleaning agents, Teflon coatings and other stuff, forced into the carpet by gravity, into the pad, through that and there that stuff is, laying on the floor, underneath the pad. What other stuff?

Carpet is woven into a mesh like material, usually made of Polypropylene. Another name for this is olefin and it is made from petroleum or oil. Like oil, it floats on water. This is good material for outdoor carpet or if you live on a boat, but anywhere else? This material is used to prevent moisture from penetrating the carpet and damaging the floor beneath, but it is not 100% effective. Oh, did I mention that like oil, it attracts oil or soil. It does not stain like other fibers, but it attracts soil!!! It can only be solution dyed (while in the liquid polymer state), colors or not as vibrant and is not as soft as other fibers. Oh, and the pads were usually made of recycled used sponges melded together.

To protect the carpet from more moisture damage and to give carpet it’s stability, another backing is attached and this mesh is glued or sandwiched together with a combination of latex and other material. If these two layers become separated from excessive moisture and possibly from chemicals, they can become ‘de-laminated’. Flooding can also cause this to occur.

Once carpet becomes de-laminated it either in part or in full, must be repaired or replaced. Backing material in carpet can also break down. So when you see this strange stuff underneath your carpet and pad on the floor, now you have an idea of what it is and how it got there.

Please do not misunderstand. Carpeting can be a good thing, as it acts like a filter. It filters noise and makes the room quieter, warmer and more comfortable. It filters dirt and all kinds of stuff that otherwise might migrate to somewhere else. It filters dust and dirt that might otherwise be dislodged when we walk on it or is picked up by air movement and inhaled into our lungs or absorbed through our skin. For many, this is a major source and cause for allergies and other health related problems.

Oh, so you think this is not important since you have hardwood floors. Trust me on this, it is cheaper to maintain carpet than it is to maintain hardwood floors, IF you care for the hardwood floors correctly.

Here is one simple way to compare carpet and hardwood floors. Get two cats and allow them to live in your home where you have carpet. Then remove the carpet and either refinish the hardwood floors underneath (if you have them), or install them new. Now watch the cat hair fly, float, clump up and check how often you might sneeze, even if you are not allergic to pet dander. No problem, use a dust mop and dust cloths etc. right? Carpet you may need to vacuum around once a week and cleaned 2 – 4 times a years, but  hardwood floors where cats live, how about mopping or dusting EVERY DAY! The point is not whether or not one should not have or should get rid of their wonderful pets, but carpet filters stuff you just might not want to inhale and hardwood floors do not.

Test:

Sound? Right, what does the room sound like before and after; with or without carpet. We bought a new piano. We had to buy an area rug to put under it, just to absorb some of the sound or maybe go deaf. We either must live with this or buy a lot more stuff for walls, floors, stairs and rooms to absorb the sound. What used to be a more quiet environment now more gives off, echoes, echoes.

Test 2:

Go stand in a well lit room of carpet then another one with hardwood floors and watch what floats in the air you might be breathing.

Carpet does a pretty good job of keeping the room warmer, slowing cold or hot air drafts, and in overall insulating the room.

Test 3:

Check your utility bills if you have carpet and then compare those bills with hardwood floors after you tear out the carpet.

Don’t get me wrong, I love hardwood floors and they are the ‘in’ thing in many areas now. But finishes darken over time, break down and moisture from various sources can penetrate the wood and stain it. Wood can scratch, especially if you are an animal purist and do not believe in having your pets de-clawed. Wood floors need to be dusted, mopped, cleaned, buffed and eventually, re-finished. All of this translates into time and money. I guarantee you, it is cheaper to properly maintain carpet, unless you just don’t care how the floors look or how long they will last.

Remember, I said trust me on this? Well, we tore out all our carpet and everything you have just read is exactly our situation! The truth is, hardwood floors are beautiful, a personal choice and they need a lot of TLC (tender loving care). So if you are OK with the extra time and money needed to maintain hardwood floors (one way or another), by all means, Go for It!

So this carpet, this filter can be a good thing, but it just needs to be taken care of properly and professionally. You should note that when it is made at the factory it is wound in rolls and protected with a sleeve of plastic. Immediately after it is installed for several hours, all new carpet releases what are called, ‘off gases.’ Your room should be properly ventilated with fresh air. If you are highly sensitive it might be a good idea to leave your home for several hours with the windows open and or fans blowing to move out these gases. Don’t forget to move the pets out too, including birds! Maybe it is not a good idea to do this when it’s cold outside?  The dirty little secret to having your carpet last as long as possible and when to have it professionally cleaned is…

…always clean, clean carpet!

It is cheaper in the long run and your stuff lasts longer if you clean, what appears to be clean. If it looks like it needs to be cleaned, it may already be too late. Hire a real professional. Don’t forget the IICRC and to check credentials and references.

So, back to pH, to clean an oil (acid), you need an alkaline. In the end, your cleaned item should be as close to neutral or a 7 on the pH scale as is possible. The same principles used for cleaning carpet, apply to upholstered furniture, clothing, the floors, walls, your vehicles, and basically anything you would ever need to clean. This includes our pets and US as well!

Yes, pH is extremely important to clean the dirt or soil from our bodies too. Look on the bottle of your shampoo, bath gel or some other personal hygiene product and see if it reads something like…

“pH balanced.”

Oh, one more thing. What about the so-called NEW, neutral based cleaning products (chemicals), touted, spouted off about, sold and used everywhere today? Well, if they did not work at all, no one would buy them or use them. But pH is a fact and pH balancing is a law. Neutral based cleaning agents (chemicals), might protect the producers and applicators from liability and lawsuits, but they cannot replace the laws of science and pH balancing. It may start off as neutral and may not harm you or your pets, but they just might not be ‘killing’ bacteria, dust mites and other creep-crawly things that you just might not want living in your home, on your stuff, in your stuff, on your skin, under your skin or inside of your body. You can put chlorine into a swimming pool or a hot tub and ‘neutalize’ the bacteria and bad stuff and then instead of swimming or relaxing in water full of ‘live’ stuff, it’s just dead stuff that has been neutralized. But more about that in another chapter when we get to the dirt on or in, water.

I have here, bored you to tears, tried to impress you with my knowledge and experience with pH and pH balancing, or I really care about you and really, really want you to be healthy, wealthy and wise. It’s in your hands to decide what my motives are; my true intentions, and my super-secret agenda. 

WOW, this stuff is really getting dirty! We are not done. There is much more to come and more ‘Dirty Little Secrets‘ to share next time.

Dirty Dahni

Chapter 15