I'd mark this offensive, if I could

Facebook offers "recommendations" – either people you might know or pages you might like to "like." Sometimes when you click the little "x" to get rid of it, you get the opportunity to state why you don't want it cluttering up your page any more. Since most of the ones I banish are for right-leaning conservatives, I mark them 'offensive.'

The Weather Channel's farm forecast comes to me as an e-mail every morning; I'm not a Facebook fan of TWC. I will probably lose this alert, as it's very similar to the regular daily forecast I also receive. With the farm forecast, you get an idea of soil moisture. You also get an ad:

I'm not a farmer, I don't even pretend to be. But it's offensive to me that Monsanto sponsors the farm forecast. Monsanto and its genetically engineered seed are responsible for the demise of hundreds of family farms. Planting GE soybeans is raping the soil in the great heartland of this country. Seeds have to be purchased new every year (no seed-saving allowed), adding more profit to this giant corporation, whose mission is to control what we eat and how we eat it.

I'm a gardener, and we need more gardens. My soybeans are organic, delicious and full of healthful nutrients. The row is cluttered with weeds (there are no weeds in an industrial field of soybeans, because the plants are Roundup*-resistant). I've made peace with the weeds, mostly because the remaining seed pods are drying, to provide seed for next year's garden. Also because it's garden fatigue time. You can fight those weeds for just so long. Once the rains stop coming and the crabgrass takes over, it's a losing battle.

I'm sure farmers thought all of this was a great idea when Monsanto started it. I think many are changing their minds but, like commercial chicken farmers, are now beholden to The Mon. (Please watch Food, Inc. for more analysis of this issue. I'm not doing it justice at all!)

*Roundup also is made by Monsanto. They sell you the weed-killer as well as the weed-killer-resistant seed. A win-win for them, but a loss for anyone who wants to farm outside the lines.