While people have been torn over beloved astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson's recent comments on genetically modified organisms, another beloved Neil took a stand - largely unnoticed.
While Tyson claims he never took a side, he still holds that genetic engineering is no different than what we've been doing for tens of thousands of years. One gets the impression from his view that corporatism and science become one for survival - despite negative consequences - and anyone who objects can go back to...being backward? Neil Young took an entirely different point-of-view, putting himself in the boots of that oft-forgotten group that gets left holding the bag in this mix: the farmer! Did his speech inspire them? Not at first...
Did he really suggest that Monsanto, the chemical conglomerates, industrialists and the big bankers are responsible for...? His argument below is unique, to say the least.
When Young took the stage at a September 2013 Farm Aid concert, he made what appeared to be an impromptu speech saying that farmers are on the front-lines of climate change. He drew both cheers and jeers when he shared the view that the industrialized farming brought in a dependency on chemicals that led to the disappearance of top soil.
Despite the reaction, he kept on with the role of the banks in bringing down the family farm and compelling the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Following misdirected statements supporting the establishment (corporate) theory of what climate change means, Neil Young gets to the heart of the matter: the poisons that have accumulated and now threaten the earth and the populations of the earth.
He is also on target by offering the real way to take action: support your family farm and reject all of what Big Agri and big bankers have to offer. Whereas Neil deGrasse Tyson's take downplays the cascading ecological effects that genetic transmission poses, Young boldly highlights those concerns showing how this lopsided power leaves farmers and consumers in a bind.
You can fast forward to the 4:00 mark unless you'd like to hear "Old Man."
We'd love to hear your comments below on what he said.