Day 44: GMO OMG, Military Roads and Trails, Blue Mound

Day 44: Saturday July 19th, 2014.
Prairie Du Chien, WI to Blue Mound State Park, Blue Mounds, WI. 79.4 miles.

When my eyes opened on this morning in Prairie Du Chien, the sheen of amber-colored droplets resting on my tent caught my eye.  I was under a pine tree, and convinced myself that it was dew, and the yellow tint came from pollen, rather than the dreadful alternative - tree sap.  But, after packing up just about everything but the tent, I had to find out.  I took a small sponge with soap and water that I use for cleaning dishes and applied it to one of the globular droplets, hoping that it would disappear into the sponge.  It didn't.  Despite the soapy sponge, the sap, with it's incredible stickiness, left a glue-like residue on the tent and sponge after cleaning.

I made my way into the town center for breakfast at a coffee shop.  Discarded on the table I chose, a used copy of today's Telegraph Herald newspaper, a paper from nearby Dubuque, Iowa.  As I ate breakfast, I read a headline story, "Railroad's Plan Still on Track in Prairie Du Chien".

I learned from this article that city officials voted not to fight plans to expand a frac sand transfer site, despite complaints from residents about dust, noise, and light pollution coming from the existing site.

The railroad wrote a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) citing the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution, which they claim gives them right to break ground on Monday, despite the fact that no state or federal permits have been granted, nor any environmental impact studies conducted.  As part of the expansion, the railroad plans to add a 7-track rail storage yard to be built on a wetland site in the Mississippi River floodway, currently regulated by the Wisconsin DNR.  The project is exempt from the city's zoning ordinances too.  One thing is for sure - Wisconsin is "Open For Business" when it comes to getting the much needed frac sands to the oil companies of the Bakken.

I followed the voice coming from my GPS as I headed out of town.  Initially riding on the same Great River Road, I was comfortable with the directions I had been given.  Along the way, I crossed the Wisconsin River, near the juncture where all of its water is forfeited to the Mississippi.

As I approached the transition from the Great River Road I was on to Highway 18 East, my GPS led me on a shortcut up Hicklin Hollow Road.  Questioning its authority and intelligence, I stopped at the intersection of this road, as it was gravel.

I usually try to avoid gravel roads because of less traction, more effort, more risk for flats, and more tire wear.  But, this shortcut was about 2 miles and the road surface seemed to be ok at the beginning.  Committed to it, I took the shortcut, only to find out that the conditions were worse than I had calculated, and after a few bends, the road steepened.  I worked hard to maintain traction on the ascents, and I corrected often to keep my wheels in the cleanest of recent car tire tracks to avoid the bigger rocks on the road.

Finally arriving at the T-intersection of Highway 18, I turned into the shady pull-out at the corner to catch my breath before continuing on.  There before me, a historical marker highlighting the fact that I was on, and would be continuing while on Highway 18, the Old Military Road.  This road connected Fort Howard on Green Bay to Fort Crawford at Prairie Du Chien, built in 1835.

I would be continuing down Highway 18 until I reached Dodgeville, at which point I would transition onto a bike trail and proceed almost exclusively off the road until I reached Lake Michigan over the next two days.

Along the way, I passed by a field of soybeans with a sign identifying the seeds being used that have since grown into the lush healthy vegetation extending out across the horizon.  The sign read, "Pioneer 92Y51".

Presumably, the sign is placed to show off the productivity of a particular "brand" of seed.  I'm not sure what would compel the farmer to do such a thing, unless he/she was paid to do so, or if the seed company owned the field.  It was interesting to say the least, and compelled me to pay closer attention to these signs, and to learn more about it.

I decided to do an Internet search to find out more about these particular beans.  The parent company with proprietary rights to the seed variety is a familiar name - DuPont.  Don't they make carpet?  These GMO beans contain genes that, among other traits, confer a tolerance to glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.  These soybeans are thus "Roundup Ready".  Spray away!

A bit further, I came upon a field that had alternating rows of different seeds, with at least 12 signs highlighting the particular brand and model.

Looking up just one of these varieties, the "Croplan 4975VT3P RIB" variety, I found that it was a GMO produced by Monsanto (the same company that produced Agent Orange, DDT, Aspartame, Petroleum-based fertilizers, RoundUp, Saccharine, bGH-bovine growth hormone, and more), boasting their proprietary "Genuity VT Triple Pro Corn with RIB Complete" technology.  This corn has been genetically modified to provide "protection" from below-ground insects, specifically corn rootworm, and "dual modes of action for above ground insect protection", according to the Monsanto website.  And the corn has the "Roundup Ready - 2 Technology" genes that allow broad-spectrum Roundup herbicides to be applied at higher rates over longer periods through the growth of the corn without harming the corn, and killing everything around it. 

Alas, a different brand of soybean.  Could this one be a non-GMO?  The sign read, "Asgrow AG2431". 

Nope.  Not only was this another GMO crop, it was also a trademark name of the Monsanto Corporation, and contained some of the same pest-control genes and "Roundup Ready" genes as the others.  On the information sheet about this seed, a note to farmers reads, "Patented germplasm is licensed only to grow a single commercial crop of harvested material for use or sale for food, feed, processing, or fiber.  No license is granted for subsequent germinations of seed or plants for any purpose."  Thus, farmers can't create a seed bank from these plants, and must purchase seeds each year from Monsanto, the corporation that holds the "license" to this food.

On further investigation, Monsanto markets their proprietary seeds under 18 different names.  Some of them, like Dekalb, used to be an independent source of seeds, now just a front for the Monsanto name.  Other Monsanto names include Channel, Deltapine, Seminis, Gold Country Seed, Stewart Seeds, Rea Hybrids, Jung Seed Genetics, Lewis Hybrids, Hubner Seed, Fontanelle Hybrids, Trelay Seeds, De Ruiter, Stone Seed Group, Westbred, and Kruger.  Monsanto owns close to 1,700 patents for seeds, plants, and chemicals.

I found only one field of locally produced seeds in the Mt. Hope area of Wisconsin, advertized as Kussmaul.  While a family-operated company, the billboard next to their field boasts "elite genetics".

I wondered just how much of the crops grown in the U.S. are genetically modified Monsanto products.  According to organicconsumers.org, 40% of U.S. cropland, or around 151 million acres, are grown from Monsanto seeds.  And, 40% of the World's GMO crops are grown in the U.S.

All of this brought into real focus for me, the questions and issues of such widespread use of these genetically modified plants without full understanding of the impact of their use on the environment and on the people and animals that consume them, as documented by such great films as Food, Inc. and Vanishing of the Bees.  

    (1947 Pennsalt Chemicals DDT Ad)

I emerged from yet another GMO field of corn into the town of Montfort, and came to a large stand-alone store, home to Rural Route 1 Popcorn.  Really?  A huge stand-alone popcorn store?  There was no way I was going to pass this opportunity up.  See corny picture below (GMO? - I don't know).

Besides selling bags of white and yellow popcorn kernels, they had the buttered and salted popped version for sale, and a huge assortment of different flavored popcorn as well, including chocolate, caramel, cheese, and more.

Continuing East on Highway 18, as I pedaled out of Montfort, I followed a trail of popcorn scattered along the shoulder of the road for miles.  I guess the patrons busting into their fresh bags were eating it with the windows down as they drove down the highway.

Reaching Dodgeville, I had a quick bite to eat before pedaling onto the Military Ridge State Trail.  An old rail line converted into a bike path, this trail would lead me all the way to Madison, Wi.

The surface, crushed limestone, was not as smooth as those trails with the same surface type in Minnesota.  And, Wisconsin charges $4/day to use the trails.  But, relative to most states in the U.S., the trail was a welcomed relief from riding on the roads alongside traffic.  And, the tunnel of green was spectacular.

I emerged from the forest in the town of Ridgeway, arriving at the old Ridgeway Train Depot.

Back into the forest briefly, I then passed through Barneveld, the last small town before reaching my desitnation for the evening.  Barneveld was recently featured on the show, "Tree House Masters", and is known for it's wood carvings and mythical troll presence.

The forest became more dense after Barneveld as I entered Blue Mound State Park.

The bike trail traverses right through the park, and runs adjacent to the park campground, with a separate camping area alongside the trail dedicated to bicyclists.  The biker section of the campground was full, and I squeezed into an occupied site with permission for the night.  Being a Saturday, there were quite a few people from Madison, about 30 miles to the East, that hopped onto their bikes and rode to the park to camp for the weekend.