As I stood by an Amish farm stand in Pennsylvania, I found my thoughts going back to when I was a child eating watermelon in my grandparents big city backyard.
“Grandma, what do I do with the pits?” I then presented a fist full of pits in my left hand as I held a slice of watermelon in the other.
“Toss the seeds in the garden on the pile of coffee grinds,” Grandma directed as she pointed to the small compost pile she had that was mostly comprised of egg shells and coffee grinds.
Then some years later the pits magically disappeared from watermelon. I was older then and at first I thought this was fantastic! Today I miss the pits and not because of memories, but because of my need to know why…
Nevertheless, we must feed the masses and the “only way” we are told (or sold) this can be done is through GM foods. That is why they are working hard in the lab to have corn stalks produce two or three ears of corn per stalk instead of the natural God given one. Only way? Sorry, there is always another way!
How about more people start to have their own gardens. Let them be in an unused field, backyard, rooftop or window sills. What is wrong with people helping to feed themselves and others? Lower profits, that’s what is wrong.
So what do “We the People” receive from companies that put money first and people last?
– Lacking seeds means there is no capacity to propagate from the fruit, so man has to propagate by “vegetatively” with cuttings or grafting. Bananas are done this way and are genetically identical clones.
There are known disadvantages with seedless crops. A decrease in genetic diversity occurs for the species. So a disease or insect that attacks one version can be capable of affecting each clone of that version. One example now being used is from bananas. A vast majority of commercially produced bananas are from a single source called the Cavendish cultivar. These plants are now being attacked worldwide by a new fungal disease. All the cloned Cavendish cultivar are highly susceptible and mankind doesn’t have anything to stop this attack.
So there I stood by the Amish farm stand looking at watermelons and I asked, “Do your watermelons have the big seeds in them?”
“Yes, they have seeds,” was the answer I received with a smile that seemed to say why won’t they have seeds.
“Can you sell me some of your watermelon seeds?”
The young lady smiled, turned around and looked at her little sister who then reached behind a basket. She came up to me and handed me a fist full of watermelon pits. There was no charge. I smiled and thank them.
I will be growing my own watermelons with seeds in my backyard from now on. My grandma would be proud.
Bill Lauto, GTG
Environmental Scientist at
GoingTrueGreen.com
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Mr. Lauto has an Environmental Science degree from St. John's University, Energy Auditor Certification from New York Institute of Technology, and Certification in Thermal/Heating from S.U.N.Y. at Farmingdale. He interned at Equitable Environmental Health that brought him to evaluate the environment at LILCO's Nuclear power plant that never opened. As an entrepreneur, he operates EnergyHotwire.com, GoingTrueGreen.com and holds a U.S. Patent with a Trademark on an environmental and energy-related product.
Mr. Lauto has done and managed thousands of energy audits for homeowners. Not one recommended a single action that implied sacrifice. He never stated once that to save money and energy one must turn down their thermostat and wear a sweater. During the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day, Bill Lauto was the Energy Advisor to the Earth Day Committee in New York. Mr. Lauto was the attending expert witness to the press conferences of former New York’s Major Dinkins and Commissioner Mark Green. His expertise has been utilized by power companies such as: the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Lighting Company as well as by Mr. Mark Green, former Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, NYC.
Mr. Lauto has served as the Environmental and Energy expert on several television news and radio talk shows. He has provided information and consulting services on topics such as: air, cooling, heating, lighting, appliances, recycling stations, solar, wind, bio-fuels, hydrogen and water to: Clearwater, Consumer Report Magazine, European American Bank, Home Depot, LILCO, NBC, Macy*s, New York Power Authority, NYPIRG, Time Warner, EPA, thousands of homeowners, celebrities, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and many government accounts.
Information about Mr. Lauto, his articles, and work have been published in newspapers across the country, including: Consumer Report magazine, Kiplinger's Financial magazine and Business Ethics magazine. Mr. Lauto has been interviewed by ABC news, the New York Times, Cable News L.I. and was in a special television home audit hosted by Al Roker of NBC, but was never aired due to breaking news.
For over twenty years, Mr. Lauto has been stating that we don’t need foreign oil, we have the technology to make America energy independent. EnergyHotwire.com serves to educate the public for free on how to lower energy cost by 60% or more, while GoingTrueGreen.com uses videos and Mr. Lauto's Blog to help dispel mis-information and provide the facts about truly Going Green.
