Monsanto - the planet killer is at it again.

[seedcorn]

Here is a very interesting article. It seems Monsanto's ultimate goal is to wipe out farmers who save and plant their own seed, leving them as the only suplyer.
http://farmwars.info/?p=845

Ultimate goal is to have the best seed, protect technology. So far, the terminator gene is outlawed. No doubt that needs to stay that way.

Watermellon/cucumber industry uses it, has it caused watermellons/cucumbers to become extinct?

 

[wifezilla]

The ironic thing about this whole Monsanto debate is the person championing Monsanto is named seedcorn....

"seed corn
n
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Agriculture) the good quality ears or kernels of corn that are used as seed
2. assets or investments that are expected to provide profits in the future"

Of course if you get your seeds from Monsanto, the next season, you wont HAVE any seedcorn unless you go out and spend more money...which kind of works against both definitions of the word

 

[seedcorn]

The ironic thing about this whole Monsanto debate is the person championing Monsanto is named seedcorn....

"seed corn
n
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Agriculture) the good quality ears or kernels of corn that are used as seed
2. assets or investments that are expected to provide profits in the future" which is exactly what hybrid seed does, provide profits over open pollinated varieties.....duh

Of course if you get your seeds from Monsanto, the next season, you wont HAVE any seedcorn unless you go out and spend more money...which kind of works against both definitions of the word

If you recognize a good deed done by anyone that is championing them? think not. interesting that some on this board, can't deal w/facts but instead go right to name calling like grade school children do. From facts, draw illogical conclusions or make assumptions as to the evil they perceive will happen.

 

[hoodat]

Call me a cynic if you will but from long hard experience I expect ANY corporation to be on the dark side. They are all about making money and nothing else. That's what their shareholders demand. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are people expect the stuation to get worse.

 

[Wildsky]

If you recognize a good deed done by anyone that is championing them? think not. interesting that some on this board, can't deal w/facts but instead go right to name calling like grade school children do. From facts, draw illogical conclusions or make assumptions as to the evil they perceive will happen.

Name calling! Darn I missed that - I'll have to start again from page 1. I didn't see any name calling the first time round.

 

[Wildsky]

Call me a cynic if you will but from long hard experience I expect ANY corporation to be on the dark side. They are all about making money and nothing else. That's what their shareholders demand. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are people expect the stuation to get worse.

I totally agree!! All a bunch of greedy money grabbers, they don't really care what happens once they get the money in their hands!

 

[wifezilla]

People often forget that I am a capitalist. But cheating, lying, stealing, bullying, etc... ARE NOT part of the capitalist system. They are ATTACKS on it.

Monsanto has every right in the world to try and make money. But when you make money by making people helpless and dependent, you have crossed the line in to evil.

You can become a market leader by simply offering a superior product. For some that is not enough. They actively seek to destroy anything they perceive as a threat or actively block alternatives. That isn't capitalism. That is jerkism.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

In the light of the often heated ' conversations' we have been having in the last few days on this thread I would beg you to read this article from the Rodale organisation. I have been reading books & articles by them since I came across them on my first visit to the US in the early 1970's. Since then I have grown to trust them & their practical research.

http://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com/the-true-cost-of-doubt-and-denial/

Why would we want to send seeds to the already hard-pressed people of Haiti that might need these kinds of chemical extras to make them work efficiently. Why would we want to encourage the use of lethal pesticides that erode health & land.

Your own President's Cancer Panel has come out with warnings & advice re pesticides on food in the US.

This overuse & dependency on chemicals is killing us, slowly & surely & this is is why we don't trust these large seed & chemical companies whose only concern is making BIG MONEY !!


Hattie

 

[lesa]

Excellent article, Hattie. Hard to argue with that! Happy Gardening!

 

[Lavender2]

That is the more important issue here ... the people, and farmers of Haiti ... not the M guys ...

This is what bothers me ...

The hybrid corn seeds Monsanto has donated to Haiti are treated with the fungicide Maxim XO, and the calypso tomato seeds are treated with thiram.[3] Thiram belongs to a highly toxic class of chemicals called ethylene bisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs).

Huffington Post

Currently, most vegetable seed treatments rely on old broad-spectrum chemicals, such as thiram, which are indiscriminate in their target organism and could be removed from use eventually.

In recent years, new chemicals that are safer and can better target pests and diseases are being developed for use in broad-acre crops like wheat and canola.

Vegetables Victoria

Thiram and other seed treatment chemicals are considered hazardous waste, banned from landfills. They are harmful to animals if eaten.
Packaging and unused seed must be stored and disposed of as a toxic substance.

I have nothing against hybrid seed ... I do not like harmful chemicals.
I don't know enough about the whole ag seed industry ... but I pray for the people of Haiti ...