Paul Stamets patents “universal biopesticide” that Big Ag calls “the most disruptive technology that we have ever witnessed.”

Note, March 5: And see this.

When my boys were young, I once asked each of them what would they ask for if they could have anything in the world. Sean, eight years old, a very pragmatic soul with five planets in Taurus, responded, “a million dollars.” Aquarian Colin, on the other hand, age six, and now inventor of the Garden Tower Project, piped up, “A magic wand!”

Has Stamets patented the magic wand?

US Patents Signal End of Pesticides and GMO

February 27, 2015

by Jefferey Jaxen – Feb 27, 2015

zengardner.com

Mushroom-spore-printing

Humanity is facing a problem. Our immediate environment is riddled with pesticides. They are making us unhealthy faster than we can study the effects. In addition, these pesticides play large roles in the massive bee deaths and decline of soil health. The companies that profit from making these pesticides have made it clear they won’t stop. Our petitions to the EPA and FDA are mostly ignored due to revolving door leadership between pesticide makers and government regulators. Is there an answer? Yes there is!

SMART Pesticides

Paul Stamets, the world’s leading mycologist, filed a patent in 2001 that was purposely given little attention. In the words of pesticide industry executives, this patent represents “The most disruptive technology that we have ever witnessed.” The biopesticides described in the patent reveals a near permanent, safe solution for over 200,000 species of insects and it all comes from a mushroom. After what is called ‘sporulation’ of a select entomopathogenic fungi (fungi that kill insects) the area becomes no longer suitable for any insect(s) the fungi are coded for. In addition, extracts of the entomopathogenic fungi can also steer insects in different directions.

This literally is a paradigm shift away from the entire idea of pesticides. Instead of having an aim to kill all problematic insect, a farmer could simply disperse a solution of pre-sporulation fungi amongst the crops. The insects would then simply live their lives around the crops paying no attention to them. This simple idea flies in the face of the current, poorly thought-out, practice of spraying ever increasing amounts of pesticides on resistant bugs. Going further, this biopesticide would also eliminate the need for round-up ready GMO seeds and BT seeds that grow the pesticides in the crop needlessly endangering us, the consumer. Perhaps the most enticing element of this biopesticide fungi is that it’s essentially free. According to the patent, it can be “cultivated on agricultural waste.” We are looking at a 100% safe, natural technology that literally can end all GMO and pesticide manufacturers overnight with a new class of SMART Pesticides.

“The matrix of pre-sporulating fungi can optionally be dried, freeze-dried, cooled and/or pelletized and packaged and reactivated for use as an effective insect attractant and/or biopesticide.” –Paul Stamets Patent for Mycoattractants and mycopesticides

Optimism Empowers

Even if we stop pesticide spraying now, scores of new research is confirming that our environment, food, soil, and bodies already carry traces of the chemicals. If the chemicals are so bad for us, there would be signs by now right? These are two common rebuttals from pesticide companies and individuals that don’t care to do their research. It’s okay, there just happens to be a patent to help with those issues as well. The US patent filed in 2003, once again from Paul Stamets, describes the utilization of a fungal delivery system for the purpose of

“ecological rehabilitation and restoration, preservation and improvement of habitats, bioremediation of toxic wastes and polluted sites, filtration of agricultural, mine and urban runoff, improvement of agricultural yields and control of biological organisms.”

In addition, there are many out there currently providing solutions to remove/detox any potential pesticide chemicals from the human body. Strategies like community gardens, urban forests, and the resurgence of permaculture are springing up rapidly to pave the way towards a steadily growing number of pesticide free dinner tables and families.

Time to Make History

On a bigger scale, GMO food and pesticides are merely symptoms of an opposite consciousness that is rapidly changing. Put another way, these symptoms are the unwanted gifts from out of control corporations that, by definition, have no empathy towards the needs, health, or life of The People. As Neil Young mentioned in his Starbucks Boycott, pesticide companies like Monsanto are, for the most part, not public-facing companies. As we are witnessing now with GMO brands, a boycott can severely damage their bottom line (lifeblood) but will not eliminate their business model. Due to the fact that they spend untold millions lobbying (purchasing) our politicians and regularly operate revolving doors between public and private positions means that only a paradigm shift will eliminate the entire industry. At that moment, which is approaching, pesticide manufacturers can decide if they would like to cease being the problem and assist in the solution.

The good news is that whatever decision they choose won’t matter. A shift in consciousness around pesticide and GMO use eliminates their influence and knocks them off their fictitious monetary pedestals they believe to be sitting on.

References:

Paul Stamet’s Patent: Pesticide & GMO Solution
Paul Stamet’s Patent: Agricultural Waste Solution
6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World TED Talk
Neil Young Starbucks Boycott Statement Organic Food Demand Exploding

 

About Ann Kreilkamp

PhD Philosophy, 1972. Rogue philosopher ever since.
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85 Responses to Paul Stamets patents “universal biopesticide” that Big Ag calls “the most disruptive technology that we have ever witnessed.”

  1. Paul Stamets is a genius. His mushroom supplements are absolutely the very best. All wildcrafted and/or organic.

    • Hey Wendy, I got the book today. Thanks so much. Unfortunately, my herbal student housemate spirited it away to read first.

      • Rob says:

        To say you are a PhD and philosopher is redundant. From what crack pot university did you get your degree? Respond please. Any person can found a magazine. And you go on to state you believe in the pseudo- sciences of astrology and UFO’S. If you were a medical doctor your license to practice would be immediately revoked. You’re a fraud and a quack, and you bring shame and dishonor to the discipline of science.

      • Rob says:

        Ms. Kreikump, to get your PhD you would have been required to have published three articles in peer-reviewed science journals. Please cite them. Who was your major Professor and who were the other four Faculty who signed your dissertation? At what college or university does your dissertation reside? I seriously doubt you can provide any of this information with honesty.

        • Rob, Thanks for your impassioned point of view, though I am hard pressed to see why I stir you up so powerfully.

          If you click on Founder, you will see where I obtained my Ph.D.:
          http://exopermaculture.com/founder/

          If you want further biographical info, see this:
          http://tendrepress.com/about-the-author/

          Your attitude reminds me of what the “witches” must have gone through. It’s difficult for me to understand how a person’s conceptual helmet (as I call our belief systems, whatever they are) can hold someone imprisoned, but that is what seems to happen. We ATTACH (to a belief system, say, for example, “science”), and then we ATTACK (others) whose belief system seems to differ. I say let’s just take those helmets off and shake out our hair.

      • Lt Dan says:

        Methinks rob doth protest way too much. Big Pharma has pills for that ( though the side effects might kill or maim you). I’ve gotta Wonder who is paying such trolls to spew venom? Because it isn’t normal healthy behavior. Perhaps a little mental health aid would reduce the toxicity.

        • John Wiggin says:

          Academia is full of these small minded puffed up ego piles. Desperate to show their prestige over humanity. Lack of any new ideas drives them to verbal violence.

      • Carlos Nieves says:

        Rob,, if u had seeing one of those few squares fields worked up overnight in such perfect and gorgeous patterns, which actually appear all over the world, and that btw, I SAW MYSELF THE ONE HERE IN CALIFORNIA, NEAR FAIRFIELD ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO,,(awsome thing) u would think possibilities,,

    • Nick says:

      Hi. I am a farmer and think that it would be great if we could find a more natural alternative to pesticides. However you are talking about insecticides which make up a very small proportion of the chemicals that we use. The remainder are herbicides to control weeds and fungicides to control diseases in plants. The recent ban on neonicotinoids, a systemic insecticide, has resulted in the use of vast amounts of contact insecticide being sprayed onto crops. Friends of mine have had to spray their crops 7 or 8 times, where as normally they would perhaps spray only once. The funcicides we use are having to be constantly replaced or applied at higher volumes as the disease causing organisms become more and more resistant. Active chemicals are being banned and the ones we have are becoming ineffective. Perhaps you could spend time looking into plant breeding, creating varieties that are resistant to disease or have a natural protection against the pests that want to eat them.
      I have my own vegetable garden where I try to use as few chemicals as possible, but feeding a growing global population is not possible with organic production or permaculture systems. The yield penalty is just too high.
      I too am nervous about genetic modification, but what if we could transplant the gene for nodule production from legumes into wheat and drastically reduce fertiliser applications? What if we could create perennial wheat that never needed re-planting, but just grew back every year?
      Perhaps if we could get some of you guys to work with the Big Ag companies to monitor them and encourage research into sustainable solutions rather than just being combative you could get somewhere.
      Farmers love wildlife and we only use the chemicals in order to maximise yield. With prices so low and costs so high it is difficult for many farmers to make a living and working every acre we have and producing as much as possible is the only way to stay afloat. US citizens currently only spend 6.6% of their income on food. In 1950 it was 34%. The demand for cheap food is the real root cause of the increased use of chemicals. If you want farmers to produce food without chemicals and still make a living then you will need to do more than just discover a mushroom that keeps a few bugs off their crops.

      • Wow Nick, thanks for this detailed info on what it’s like to be a farmer today. I’m afraid what you are asking from me is way beyond my skill set, but hopefully others will take up the cause.

      • MD says:

        If you can’t make a living farming without poisoning the public and then lying about it (or supporting those who do – ie. big ag and the USDA/FDA), stop doing it. It’s really tiring to hear farmers whine and complain that they can’t make a living farming without government subsidies. Well, then, why didn’t we subsidize the guy who built wagon wheels when we stopped using wagons? Or steam engines when we came up with diesel engines? Or any other businessman who sold his business because he couldn’t make a go of it? Get a different job if you can’t make an honest living farming.

      • Keith says:

        Nick,
        This article is a little brief on the overall benefits of Paul Stamets research into the associated benefits of fungus. Especially when it comes to farming. Pesticide is just one aspect of. He has some strains created and discovered that are the most effective tools known to humanity at fighting bacteria, and virus’s, as well as naturally fertilizing. I wouldn’t recommend taking a leap of faith with ones livelihood, but more research from farmers via test fields could be the start of what becomes a chemical free food supply. Which benefits earth and all farmers. Growing up in mid-west farm country i know that no enjoys paying ever rising prices for earth destroying chemicals to just keep from loosing the farm.

      • maeoll k says:

        MD, your callous reply exemplifies what is wrong with any movement, the anti-GMO movement is no exception. I am strongly anti-pesticides, but as a master’s student in bioinformatics, I can’t help but feel helpless as positive GMOs are demonized, for instance the “golden rice” that has a higher nutritional value than non-GMO rice.
        Still, considering almost the entire brunt of agtech is about developing plants and seeds that withstand larger and larger quantities of pesticides, the entire industry is misguided, dangerously so.
        To ignore the plight of this farmer, any farmer, is to dehumanize them. They feed the country, the world, and though the decades long practices are coming into light as negative, the spirit of providing is still there. The long hours they invest, year after year, to continue new fields of crops, that is not lost on me, and if it has been lost on you, shame.
        We need to see with our hearts, instead of our eyes on words and abstract concepts of people that are final in our minds, like we know everything. Pride blinds us, and gives us license to act mindlessly, heartlessly. Every living thing has a history, and when we throw labels on them, it becomes difficult to see the sacredness of life.
        Nick, thank you and your neighbors for all your years of dedication to the human race, and I’m glad you recognize that agtech is leading us down the wrong road. But I think you missed something about the article: that the spores will grow into a protective fence, redirect insects away, in essence creating an invisible barrier they wouldn’t want to cross.
        I myself hope to create some kind of solution to neutralize applied pesticides right before harvest, that is permeable and safe to digest. It sounds feasible, and I hope to write my thesis around it, allowing for more options for farmers stuck on the agtech/organic fence, but it won’t be easy.
        As one of my professors from my undergrad said, “if we had a completely free market, farmers would work themselves to death as they raced to the bottom.”
        Still, though, as technology advances, I can’t help but wonder if agtech will eventually create mindcontrolling nanotech substances that will be introduced in GMO seeds, similar to “plant teachers” (if you know what i mean).
        Many blessings, and thank you Dr Kreilkamp for this wonderful blog!

        • bman says:

          I appreciated most of your comment, but must take exception to your endorsement of golden rice. GMO agriculture is, almost by definition, highly toxic to the environment. The risks of genetic pollution and the widespread use of cancer-causing glyphosate in conjunction with genetically engineered crops present a far greater health risk to the world than any lack of vitamin A in rice.

  2. laurabruno says:

    Reblogged this on Laura Bruno's Blog and commented:
    Another inspiring post from Ann today. I love Paul Stamets’ vision. The mycellium create the REAL Matrix … the natural Matrix related to Mother Earth and a culture that knows how to grow life from death and decomposition. My prayer for 2015 is that people in positions of influence start taking Paul Stamets’ ideas to heart and action. From cleaning up Fukushima to removing the need for pesticides to alternative consciousness to overall plant and human health, he’s just full of ideas!

  3. Thanks Laura, this is really greatly great…several of my friends loved it as well!

    Gordon

  4. ohnwentsya says:

    Reblogged this on Spirit In Action and commented:
    Thank you Ann! I have always been so inspired by Paul Stametz. This is such beautiful news! Another sign of how very effective focus on building the new instead of fighting the old can be:-)

  5. shared on facebook…would love this pesticide [or non pesticide as the case seems] fro use around my garden..I dont like killing the insects..and can live with them, but the do tend to wreck my tiny crop in my kitchen garden…

  6. Neil Reichline says:

    Is this a product that is currently sold? If not, why has it taken so long with 2001 and 2003 patents. If it is available, where and under what name?

    • Good question. Better to direct it to Paul Stamets. He may have intentionally kept it under wraps until now, given the rapaciousness of the PTB.

      • But patent protection is only good for 20 years. This means it’s more than halfway expired. If there isn’t a product in the pipeline today, it’s unlikely that this will be commercialized before it expires (and suggest commercial value must not be that great).

        It looks like the 2003 patent is # 6,660,290

        • alantower says:

          Thanks for getting back Mike. Will do on your suggestion. The disruptive technology quote is odd because that very name indicates something that has taken hold with meaning for our culture. This is certainly not the case here, though we all want it to be.

        • I’ve asked my son Colin (of the Garden Tower Project) about what you say, since he has lots of experience with patents. Hopefully, will get a reply from him! BTW: His instant hit was that eight or nine years left is still plenty of time to develop a product.

        • Char says:

          Patents are renewable

  7. In so far as replacing the function of GMO’s – use of fungi could also be used to employ greater yield of crops, increased land fertility, etc.

    Although dangerous in how they are currently managed and used, GMO’s are also one of the only foreseeable options for sustaining such a large population in the future. So – starvation, or innovation? Perhaps GMO is not the only innovation possible! Fungi to the rescue!

    • well considering that there is no shortage of food in the world. I think we can safely say goodbye to GMOs without even missing them

    • FrPhil says:

      Food production is never a problem .. and never will be … it is distribution … get rid of all the BeuroNazi corruption and food can be grown anywhere – and very healthily – every nation has vast untapped food production capability – we here on Oz regularly see orchards ripped out – not because they do not produce – but because they product vast amounts that the “system” cannot handle the excess – Oz alone could increase it pop by 1000 fold and still have room for more [which it one day will] !!!

    • Pete says:

      wrong gmo absolutely is not one of the only foreseeable options for sustaining a large population now or in the future… the way to keep feeding the world’s population is to encourage not destroy small family farming…. its one of the proven ways to end hunger and starvation on the planet…..and,it is one of the main solutions that are being wiped away by monsters like monsanto. Monsanto and the like are not interested in feeding the world… thats clear. the only thing they want to sustain on a large scale are their profits.

  8. Tony says:

    What exactly does a pesticide have to do with the application of herbicides? Poorly written article, this has nothing to do with roundup ready seeds. Also the industry executive quote is unattributed. I usually invite such sloppy work but it came recommended… off to chastise them!

  9. While I have *great* respect for Paul Stamos, this article is very sloppily written. It makes many claims with no supporting evidence provided, and no way for the reader to check their validity or read further. It doesn’t even bother to give the patent number.

  10. Reblogged this on Forever Unlimited and commented:
    This is powerful and exactly the type of solution we need to create if we are to persevere as a species. I saw Paul Stamets speak at a Bioneers Confernece many years ago in Marin County, CA, and now he has taken his ideas to the next level, which is truly revolutionary and will shake up the status quo, with the added side effect of making GMOs obsolete. Marvelous! -PB

  11. Kelly says:

    Hello and congratulations on this development! How do we obtain these mushroom spores for home and agricultural use in Australia?

  12. Alan Tower says:

    Are there any examples of this technology being used effectively on a large farm? Can we wrap our arms around this somehow and have it enter the culture?. Paul is amazing and years and years go by and its still watching him at Bioneers etc. without seeing any impact. Is there impact? is it like the electric car? Squashed for decades until later. If this is truly ground breaking technology wouldn’t an angel investor gotten involved by now? Pulling for all this to happen somehow.

  13. Bruce says:

    Great alternative agricultural philosophy. Paul is presently working with the University of Washington on a mushroom product for beekeepers that boosts immunity and improves health and longevity. http://youtu.be/DAw_Zzge49c

  14. Paul, Thank you so much for all your hard work through the years. I have followed you for years and I wanted to tell you that you are my HERO!!! Heroes these days are not so rare as they were when you started this journey into Neverland. I spread your good news as far as I can. I learned about the blessed Chaga from you and I now use it daily as a tea. I love it and have had a history of MS and Bi-Polar amongst other things. I feel better than ever !!! My health is being restored. I’m once again becoming a productive member of my society. Thank you so very much. I’m thrilled with the results of asking Chaga Spirit for help. It’s amazing that it works so well. I’ve always known that everything is alive yet I was not as Thankful for their gifts as I am now. I start my day with gratitude. Thank you for that. Their aren’t the words to express my deep gratitude. I’ll soon be well enough to enjoy employment again. I’m asking that you continue to be blessed with your family and friends beside you. Keep up the good work. Love and Light. Marth Jane

  15. hopedance says:

    also check out the mushroom garment that people can wear before they get buried via a green burial so the mushrooms, the mycelia will eat up our toxic bodies so we go back to earth lest pesticided than when we were alive…: http://www.ted.com/talks/jae_rhim_lee?language=en

  16. Morgan Morgana says:

    In this article, you have quoted “pesticide industry executives” with a singular quote. Besides the fact it is unlikely several executives spoke the quote in unison, is there any possibility you have interest in divulging exactly where this quote came from and by whom it was actually spoken and in what context…. and when?? (considering the patent was filed in 2001) … you know, journalism stuff.

    • lisa says:

      I am wondering this exact same thing. “In the words of pesticide industry executives, this patent represents ‘The most disruptive technology that we have ever witnessed.'” Who said that?

      • I tracked down where the claim originates. In the original post at Jeffrey Jaxon’s blog he links to the TED talk by Paul Stamets who makes the claim at the 14:42 mark:

        This is the most disruptive technology–I’ve been told by executives of the pesticide industry–that they have ever witnessed. This could totally revamp the pesticide industries throughout the world. You could fly a hundred PhD students under the umbrella of this concept because my supposition is that entomopathogenic fungi prior to sporulation attract the very insects that are otherwise repelled by the spores.

        This link starts his talk about a minute before that quote for full context:

        What seems critical to me here is that this technology may indeed be disruptive to the termite and ant pesticide industries because those are social insects, and the entomopathogenic fungi rely on socialization as a means of spreading. Stamet’s patents make this fact pretty clear. The 200,000 species he mentions that are potentially susceptible are likely not the agricultural pests most farmers are dealing with (and indeed ants aerate soil so this would be counterproductive in a field). There are an estimated 950,000 species, so his patents apply to about 20%.

        In that his invention can prevent homes from being re-infested by termites, I agree with the potential of disruption to conventional treatments. I also imagine there is the potential for unintended consequences to local ecosystems that have these fungi introduced by a homeowner and it spreads into the wild.

  17. P Ols says:

    You should all probably read the patent this is talking about (funny how it isn’t linked here right?). This article is outright lying to you (I say this rather than it getting facts wrong, simply because of how many/how wrong it is….). Seek and you shall find. Science miscommunication is a big problem nowadays, don’t let it continue.

  18. pablorib says:

    Very interested in this new “technology”. I live in the Argentinas pampas and been always very interested in permaculture, never the less I work in a seed & pesticide company. I would like to be informed if any new discover about this mushroom natural pesticide (or any other application that can be spread in large extensions fields) appears. Speccially if any of you develope a product that can be sold. I would be very interested in spreading down here. Regards you all!!

  19. tom k. says:

    Where are the statements about the obvious? Big business will do everything in its power to shut down something such as this. Yes, it sounds wonderful, but if it works, it will go the way of Tesla and 80 mpg carburetors. Talk is cheap and those in power will bury this again and again.

    • Check this out:

      http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/Metarhizium.php

      Metarhizium species (Metschnikoff) Sorokin, also known as green muscardine fungi, have long been recognized for their biological control potential against arthropods. As early as 1879, fungi from this genus were being evaluated for control of wheat chafer beetles, Anisoplia austriaca, and sugar beet curculio, Cleonus punctiventris, in Ukraine.

      The idea of fungal biopesticides isn’t actually so new and is published in the scientific literature widely. I agree that Stamet’s invention has some interesting applications for residential pest treatment, but it doesn’t look particularly applicable to the most common agricultural pests.

      However, this is really fascinating, from the same link:

      Between October-2005 and May-2006, Faria and Wraight (2007) determined that there were 47 different commercially-available Metarhizium-based products available around the world…. The strain of M. anisopliae that is the basis for Met52 (Novozyme Biologicals) is now recognized as M. brunneum.

      Novozyme rings a bell. They have partnered with Monsanto to develop a line of microbial seed treatments. The web page for the product mentioned above says:

      Met52 G is a contact insecticide that provides powerful control against the devastation of black vine weevil larvae and strawberry root weevil for the greenhouse and nursery industries…. Met52 G was developed from the naturally occurring soil fungus Metarhizium anisopliae and is registered for nonfood use, including application on ornamentals, shrubs, and forest and shade-tree seedlings. University, government, and independent studies have repeatedly demonstrated that Met52 G provides consistent efficacy against all larval stages of the black vine weevil and strawberry root weevil, which can attack more than 100 landscape plants.

      I’m not so sure that Stamet’s invention is at all disruptive of the agricultural pesticide industry, because in some ways they’re taking alternate roads toward the same end.

      I also note the “nonfood use”, in greenhouse and nursery industries only. This isn’t used directly on strawberry plants while they are producing food, but to protect the breeding stock. Why is that? Maybe there are other reasons fungal treatments make strawberries less desirable for consumption (a change in taste?)

  20. Leah Kaplan says:

    My question is about herbicide use as well. Excited to hear about this but wondering if theres a way we can use mushrooms instead of roundup to kill weeds?

  21. Lt Dan says:

    Great interesting article, thanks.
    In 1966, I attended the US Army CBR School in Ft McLellan, Ala where they taught us how to kill with the same family of Chemicals that are in chemical pesticides. That and seeing the Agent Orange devastation in Viet Nam in 1968 and subsequent cancers, heart disease, birth defects, etc. both Americans and Vietnamese, convinced me these chemicals are killers of life not just killers of pests. Since then we are as strictly as possible organic food consumers.

  22. Lt Dan says:

    … and organic gardeners.

  23. Ace says:

    why don’t you link to your references? are you afraid someone will discredit you?

    • If you click on the title that the author gives the piece, you will be directed to the original article.

      • Mervyn says:

        That is what dogmatic materialistic science and their money worshipping backers want you to believe. Materialism is based on antiquated Aristotelian Logic.
        These arrogant dogmatists can’t explain why an airtight container of seeds on a balance scale when the moon is waning weigh more as the moon gets full.
        Where does the extra mass come from? Why do you get your best crop of sunflower plants when the seeds are planted when the sun is in Leo.
        With an open mind we know that the mineral is dead and the plant lives because the plant has a life force which obeys the laws of projective geometry,
        life forces coming from a periphery and intersecting and giving life to everything living.
        The Father God has thought all thoughts for eternity, Christ has given Life to these thoughts through Love and the Holy Spirit, through her Wisdom has given form to the
        Life.
        Read Dr. R,Steiner, the founder of the Anthroposophical Society and get to know and experience the truth.

        The four Gospels contain the most valuable knowledge obtainable concerning the occultism of healing. There is no document preserved to man from the past which has more of the mysteries of occult healing than the Gospels.
        Now the Bible as a whole consists of three parts : for the Revelation of St. John is as clearly distinct from the Gospels, as they are from the books of the Old Testament, As the Old Testament depicts the the preparation in earthly history for the Christ-event, and the Gospels the event itself, so the Apocalypse depicts the consequences resulting from that event. But the Apocalypse contains no history of the generations, such as the Old Testament contains, nor the delineation of the life and suffering of any single being, such as the Gospels give us. The Apocalypse depicts future human and cosmic events : it shows the cosmic results of the Incarnation of Christ. These results are not only of a spiritual and moral kind ; they partake of the character of Nature- happenings. The Apocalypse shows what influence spiritual and moral impulses will exercise in time to come upon the forces of Nature. Alterations in the strata of the Earth’s interior and in the etheric strata round the
        Earth, are accurately described in the Revelation of St. John as effects of moral causes The cosmic drama of the Apocalypse deals not only with the struggle which concerns Mankind, but also with the struggle which concerns Nature. It points to facts lying outside the regions of eugenic and hygienic occultism : for the effect of the humanly spiritual on the external Nature-forces is the theme of mechanical occultism. And the Apocalypse is the only authoritative document which preserves to man the knowledge contained in mechanical occultism.

  24. Donna says:

    A message from Paul Stamets indicated that they are working on getting a product ready for market. A need for about $2million and required testing for the EPA and FDA have slowed the process down.

    • jodyannan@msn.com says:

      For Mervyn ( As I was unable to comment directly to his comment ) < The reason the apparent weight of a sealed box of seeds is effected by the moon ( If this is true ) is the same reason the tides are effected by the moon , it is called gravity ! As far as your assertions about the book of revelation , I have read it several times and never came away with the ideas you are claiming , I guess I will have a closer look .

  25. Diana says:

    I wish there was more information on this. It says the product is based on fungi that have properties that kill insects. Then it says dispersing it over the crops would simply make the area uninhabitable for all insects. Including pollinators? And does it kill tjem or not? What are the long term effects? Do we know that ingesting plants grown in soil populated by this kind of fungi will be healthy? This article did not go deep enough into the product and process. I am an organic farmer, so I would like clearer information.

  26. Maria says:

    What I find interesting about this article is the number of people who noticed the gaps in the author’s understanding of the topic, the poor referencing, and the founder’s vague credentials. Yes, the article was not originally published here, but the blog should insist that references be provided as a condition for featuring the article. As for the founder’s credentials, I too found the phrase “PhD philosopher” strange; in academia, one usually says “I hold a PhD in philosophy” or “I earned my doctorate in philosophy.” No Rob, that is not redundant. I’m not sure where Rob got his understanding of what it takes to get a doctorate, but I found it interesting that Ann earned one in what was, at one time, my declared undergraduate major. I recall looking around for some role models back in 1970, and there were damn few women in the field, so I switched to Linguistics. (I’m not a ground breaker.) Anyway, I was curious, so I did a quick Google search and this is what I found in a listing of dissertations on Wittgenstein:

    170. KREILKAMP-CUDMORE. Ann,
    Language as Wittgenstein’s way of life.
    Boston: Boston University
    Graduate School, 1973, 211 p.

    Wow. Ann, if that’s you, then I salute you. If you want to get into all of these alternative perspectives, that’s your business, but it would be a better blog if you insisted on stronger academic rigor, even if it is for the general public.

    I share Diana’s concern about this technology; it seems to ignore the fact that there are beneficial insects that our food supply depends on. Moreover, fungi are highly allergenic to some people, including myself, and I see complications from that angle as well. I think, however, that if we want more information, we have to go to the source, and he should have published in a peer reviewed journal. At least in this case, I don’t think we can rely on a blog to do that foot work for us.

    • Yep, that’s me, with my hyphenated name that I carried then due to an early, short marriage. My sons Colin Cudmore (of the Garden Tower Project, http://www.gardentowerproject.com) and Sean Cudmore, still carry his name. Patrick Cudmore has since died. Here’s an interesting article on him: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1987/3/4/from-flying-cars-to-expanding-minds/

      The real title of the dissertation was “This Is Not A Book about Wittgenstein.” The committee insisted on changing the title before they’d sign off on the Ph.D. So I did give them that title change. I imagine they wanted to make sure the diss. remained obscure! Most likely, the only reason they did consent to give me the degree was because at that point it was being considered for publication by Oxford University Press. So my timing was lucky. In the dissertation I used Wittgenstein’s evident distress as a foil for my own, seeing him as a revolutionary who failed because he was afraid to die. I took to task the entire his-story of philosophy as splitting our bodies from our minds to the point where we have no “common sense,” i.e., no common sensing, sensing in common. I knew that was a huge problem, even then. My main professor, Joseph Agassi, commented: “you are asking us to certify you as one of us while kicking us in the shins.” (OUP finally rejected the manuscript, telling me that they published too many of the philosophers I took to task in the diss.; that it would be embarrassing . . .)

      Yes, no role models for females in philosophy back then.

      Re: vetting posts here: I’m glad others know what they’re doing re: this mushroom business, and glad to help get the discussion going!

  27. Joel Robinson says:

    Monsanto & “Gig Ag” need to fail, but this is not the solution. Small holistic farmers, foragers and certain indigenous communities already know how to obtain food without the need for pesticides. In Mexico, the farmers eat the “pests.” Mass production of this product or any other product on a commercial/industrial scale requires to much energy and resources and creates more ecological problems. Paul already runs an online store, which ships things all over the world in plastic containers. He even sells all sorts of expensive machines (duct fans, timers, transformers) to grow mushrooms indoors. If the demand for these products rises, then more of the earth’s resources will be exploited for industrial purposes. He is simply an entrepreneur increasing demand for a product in a capitalist system.

  28. foamFORM says:

    Don’t forget the detox effects of kombucha! SCOBY’s are specialized yeast and bacteria that produce enzymes that break up toxins and allow you to release them. Be careful though, as the detox can be TOO quick and uncomfortable (even unhealthy)– so start with smaller amounts.

  29. auntymm says:

    i tend to agree with joel robinson. while biochemicals from fungi may be effective against specific insects, the real solution is growing our food in an ecologically healthy, balanced and diverse, polyculture.

  30. Eloise Engman says:

    Why can’t we buy it yet? What’s holding it up?

  31. George d Moore says:

    Fantastic let’s hope it makes it to the market

  32. Alex says:

    https://www.google.com/patents/US20120039976 If anyone wants to have a look for themselves. Patent reads like it’s more for zoonotic diseases tbh.

  33. Reblogged this on home of real food and commented:
    If there is an ecological, sound, non polluting way to grow healthy crops – why wouldn’t we embrace it and make sure it’s universally used. Safe for all

  34. michael mangen says:

    Why won’t anyone associated with this informatio respond to the questions about the effects on pollinators. A very important question. If the fungi kills bees, then it is useless, I believe.

  35. This is SO SO uplifting to read! Monsanto can burn in hell for what they’re doing to us and the soil and the whole planet

  36. Lesa Fork says:

    Thank you. For myself, my family and our planet!

  37. Thierry says:

    Don’t let anything get in the way of paul stamets. You rock.

  38. carlamcgov says:

    Reblogged this on cmcgovney and commented:
    Safe natural pest control

  39. tschnick says:

    Reblogged this on Family Almanac and commented:
    This is important, worth reading and re-blogging. We study mycology and Paul Stamets is THE expert and has done so many incredible things with his science and craft.

  40. Mervyn says:

    That is what dogmatic materialistic science and their money worshipping backers want you to believe. Materialism is based on antiquated Aristotelian Logic.
    These arrogant dogmatists can’t explain why an airtight container of seeds on a balance scale when the moon is waning weigh more as the moon gets full.
    Where does the extra mass come from? Why do you get your best crop of sunflower plants when the seeds are planted when the sun is in Leo.
    With an open mind we know that the mineral is dead and the plant lives because the plant has a life force which obeys the laws of projective geometry,
    life forces coming from a periphery and intersecting and giving life to everything living.
    The Father God has thought all thoughts for eternity, Christ has given Life to these thoughts through Love and the Holy Spirit, through her Wisdom has given form to the
    Life.
    Read Dr. R,Steiner, the founder of the Anthroposophical Society and get to know and experience the truth.

    The four Gospels contain the most valuable knowledge obtainable concerning the occultism of healing. There is no document preserved to man from the past which has more of the mysteries of occult healing than the Gospels.
    Now the Bible as a whole consists of three parts : for the Revelation of St. John is as clearly distinct from the Gospels, as they are from the books of the Old Testament, As the Old Testament depicts the the preparation in earthly history for the Christ-event, and the Gospels the event itself, so the Apocalypse depicts the consequences resulting from that event. But the Apocalypse contains no history of the generations, such as the Old Testament contains, nor the delineation of the life and suffering of any single being, such as the Gospels give us. The Apocalypse depicts future human and cosmic events : it shows the cosmic results of the Incarnation of Christ. These results are not only of a spiritual and moral kind ; they partake of the character of Nature- happenings. The Apocalypse shows what influence spiritual and moral impulses will exercise in time to come upon the forces of Nature. Alterations in the strata of the Earth’s interior and in the etheric strata round the
    Earth, are accurately described in the Revelation of St. John as effects of moral causes The cosmic drama of the Apocalypse deals not only with the struggle which concerns Mankind, but also with the struggle which concerns Nature. It points to facts lying outside the regions of eugenic and hygienic occultism : for the effect of the humanly spiritual on the external Nature-forces is the theme of mechanical occultism. And the Apocalypse is the only authoritative document which preserves to man the knowledge contained in mechanical occultism.

  41. bvilleyellowdog says:

    “to get your PhD you would have been required to have published three articles in peer-reviewed science journals”
    I’m sorry that is serious BS. There in no such general requirement.. I know PhDs with NO publications from Ivy League universities.

  42. Amelia says:

    How do I get involved with this. Support the business. Spread the word. Invest?
    Count me in!

  43. Vera says:

    Ann,

    Your essay contains many inconsistencies and scientific inaccuracies. First of all, it is incorrect to use the words “fungi” and “mushroom” interchangeably. Mushroom is a fruiting body of a particular types of fungi.Since you mention that the use of entomopathogenic fungi kills the insects, it achieves the same goal of killing the insect as conventional pesticides do. The expression “any insect(s) the fungi are coded for” is meaningless. I am a PhD student in biological sciences. I realize that this post is over a year old, but since it still attracts considerable traffic, I would be happy to consult you to make the necessary edits to make this post more accurate. Feel free to contact me if this is in your interest; verapatskevich@yandex.ru

  44. Susan says:

    You may know this, but for the benefit of anyone who does not:
    I would not be surprised if “Rob” is a “ghost citizen-at-large”, paid to work-the-web for Monsanto or whatever large and powerful interest that hires them. They are paid to discredit the competitor and their product. So, any method to cast doubt is used. I have watched this is medicine for decades as targets are called “quacks” and more. I have seen it with other big, deep-pocket, corporate interests too.
    It is outrageous. Take them to court? They outlast you with retained lawyers.
    We must think for ourselves these days and not accept anything in print as true without thinking through it. Of course, everyone is saying that these days, about the “other guy”. Nonetheless, if you know nothing about it, they go learn or do not comment.
    Thankfully, your other readers/commenters point out the ridiculousness of “Rob’s comment”.

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