Originally published September 14 2015
Ultra-leftist SXSW Eco Conference features talks on Black Lives Matter, but total silence on glyphosate, herbicides and GMOs
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) The annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Eco Conference is one of the biggest environmental and sustainability-related events to happen in Austin, Texas. Disappointingly, however, this year's "Eco" gathering featured a lineup of panel sessions and presentations that had almost nothing to do with helping the environment, and everything to do with pushing politically-correct agendas — like the United Nations' Agenda 21, Black Lives Matter and other non-environmental issues.
One would think that with pressing issues like the global pandemic of colony collapse disorder (CCD) among bees, SXSW Eco would have chosen to feature some breakout sessions on neonicotinoid pesticides and their role in destroying nature's premier pollinators. Instead, the event featured panels on "#BlackLivesMatter in Advancing Energy Democracy" — wait, what?
A quick rundown of the three-day event reveals that SXSW Eco ended up being more of a celebration of corporate special interests than it was a creative space for small businesses and budding entrepreneurs to share ideas and thoughts on how to create positive social and environmental change. Just take a look at some of the session names and ask yourself — are these the most pressing environmental issues of our day?
Standardizing Farm Animal Welfare: A CSR Benchmark Workshop
Based on its title, you might think this session was about getting animals out of confinement on factory farms and back onto the pastures where they belong. But it was actually more about how to "greenwash" corporate agriculture under the guise of sustainability while contriving new ways to trick animal rights groups into supporting this environmentally destructive method of food production.
Designing The Cheeseburger Of Tomorrow
This session was more aptly titled, having focused on how science is developing ways to manufacture artificial meat and dairy products in a laboratory for eventual sale on the commercial market. Remind us again — how is creating fake food sustainable and good for the environment?
Money, Meteorology, Military and Climate Change
This breakout multimedia session was centered around the theory of climate change, but provided little in the way of education on the biggest issues causing it — factory farming and the destruction it's causing to natural habitats; chemical pesticide use and its effect on our oceans; and Fukushima's ongoing destruction of the environment, to name just a few.
SXSW Eco sponsors include PepsiCo, Stella Artois and the United Nations
The entire SXSW Eco event seems to have sidestepped talking about many of the most important issues of our day, and instead focused on other things that are much less relevant. Well, what can you expect from an event which has PepsiCo, Stella Artois and the United Nations as some of its sponsors?
While a few SXSW Eco sessions stayed on point by addressing issues associated with food independence and labeling transparency, it would have been nice to see more of a focus on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their effects on humans; glyphosate (Roundup) herbicide being dumped by the millions of tons on crop land every year; the plethora of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the food supply and environment; and various other issues that affect all of us every single day.
Is talking about the Black Lives Matter campaign really more important than dealing with the ongoing destruction of rainforests throughout South America to make way for GMO soy plantations? What about Fukushima radiation creating dead zones in our oceans?
For an event that claims to be about informing and developing solutions to environmental issues, this information blackout seems to be a whole lot more than just an accidental oversight.
Source:
Schedule.SXSWEco.com
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