Genuity, part of Monsanto

[miss_thenorth]

http://www.genuitytraits.ca/about/the_year_2050.asp

Up for discussion. Kinda curious to hear what the farmers on the board think.

 

[Wifezilla]

This is my opinion on anything related to Monsanto...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v60-qRvmzKA&feature=player_embedded

 

[me&thegals]

As an organic CSA grower married to a conventional grain farmer, I think I might qualify to respond

I HATE Monsanto, my husband HATES Monsanto and everyone in my immediate sphere thinks they are purely evil.

I don't know about evil, but Monsanto's justification for everything they do is that the world is going to starve, and they are going to increase productivity so much that they will save the world.

I have a few problems with this:

1. They use technology that is not tested long-term enough (GMO).

2. They are aggressive about protecting their patents and go after small farmers who have genetics in their crops through wind drift.

3. They actually create seeds that have "terminator" genes in them so that when they donate pumpkin seeds to impoverished South African villages, for example, the villagers must BUY the seeds the second year.

4. They make it very difficult for organic (certified) to stay organic. Once Monsanto pollen has drifted into your organic cornfield, your corn is now "infected" and your entire crop is wasted. It cannot be processed as organic with any GMO in it.

5. They are either trying or accidentally becoming a near monopoly on seeds for the world. That is a truly terrifying prospect. When you introduce technology into seeds, you then patent that. That becomes something you can protect, not like most seeds that just "belong to the people."

6. They do not allow farmers to save their seeds and replant. You sign a contract up front that you will NOT save seeds to replant, and you will be sued if you do and they find out.

My husband, while conventional, refuses to buy Monsanto and despises them for most of the above reasons.

That said, I actually have a casual friend who is a Monsanto crop geneticist (and my CSA customer) and his coworker is another of my CSA customers. I don't get into very in-depth conversations about Monsanto because they cannot see things from my perspective and I get so angry that I have a hard time seeing it from theirs. Monsanto, interestingly, gives their employees $200 each year in credit for their employees belonging to CSAs. My introductory letter each year of CSA lists my promises to my customers, one of which is that I will not use genetically modified crops. Take that, Monsanto customers!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I agree with everything you say, me&thegals, except the part about how seeds "belong to the people" . . . I would say "belong to the planet." JMO.

I don't think technology . . . and all the resources consumed by technology . . . will fix the end game in our favor. Humans may be one of the most intellegent creatures on the planet, but that doesn't mean we can outsmart mother nature. JMO.

 

[bibliophile birds]

me&thegals-

1. yes
2. quadruple yes
3. yes
4. yes
5. yep yep yep
6. huge, resounding yes

i avoid them at all costs. i'm pretty sure the high ups in that company would inject their mothers with agent orange AND DDT (both of which they made before becoming your friendly neighborhood seed company) if it meant they could patent them and make a profit.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Thanks, Me&TheGals, your response was one that i was looking forward to reading, and I couldn't agree with you more. I do think they want to be the monopoly.

so, who does your hubby buy from? I tried discussing this with my hubby's uncle who has over 2000 acres, and he does soy, wheat, and corn. He thinks Monsanto is the best thing that aver happened to farmers. That was the end of my discussion with him, since it would result in me banging my head against the wall, probably to the point of bloodshed.

Bibliophile, are you a farmer?

 

[bibliophile birds]

Bibliophile, are you a farmer?

i'm your typical child of a farmer: i ran screaming towards the city as soon as i could. only to find that the concerns of a farmer had worked their way into my heart. i got a degree in Cultural Anthropology and still ended up constantly talking about knowing where your food comes from. some things can't be avoided.

so, i finally put my career on hold for the foreseeable future and am just getting started in the family business. luckily for me, most of the real "farming" has fallen by the wayside in the past several years due to a booming horse boarding business and equestrian school. so now that i'm interested in natural, organic, sustainable farming, i've been given a lot more freedom than usually would be the case.

that was a long answer to what i'm sure was a much less involved question! anyway, growing up in ag communities, i've seen small farmers who have been destroyed by Monsanto. being a Human Rights activist, i've witnessed what companies like Monsanto do to poor communities. like me&thegals pointed out, they make lots of charitable donations that end up being completely useless and actually locking impoverished communities into a bargain with the chemical-company devils.

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks, Me&TheGals, your response was one that i was looking forward to reading, and I couldn't agree with you more. I do think they want to be the monopoly.

Oh my goodness--I am having heart palpitations! My response is being requested!!!!

so, who does your hubby buy from? I tried discussing this with my hubby's uncle who has over 2000 acres, and he does soy, wheat, and corn. He thinks Monsanto is the best thing that aver happened to farmers. That was the end of my discussion with him, since it would result in me banging my head against the wall, probably to the point of bloodshed.

That is getting more and more difficult. We still have many seed salesmen around here, and GMO is now in other seed companies, too, but so far my husband has been able to avoid Monsanto. I believe he has mentioned that they are also pretty expensive, which would make sense with all the legal and R&D costs they must have...

Yeah, I've gotten a bit of a flat head, too People are SO polarized on this one that there is almost no give-and-take conversation to be had.

Above all else, though, I would say that I hate their insidious, spider-weblike takeover of seeds. And, (was it DM who said it?) it's very true that seeds belong to the planet. When you start patenting something that has the ability to give us life, that is very, very scary to me. All for profit.

I also SO do not buy their line of being able to feed the world. There are so many possible costs to growing the way they propose, or at least possible costs, if we would just study them, that I believe we will have tremendously huge repercussions down the road. Possibly we already are. And, this world has enough food already. What we don't have are stable governments and infrastructure to get all that food to where it belongs. There are as many obese people on earth as there are malnourished, at least the last time I checked. More food is not the answer as much as smarter networking and inter-gov't relationships.

Oh boy, this one gets me going! Thanks for starting it!

 

[bibliophile birds]

And, this world has enough food already. What we don't have are stable governments and infrastructure to get all that food to where it belongs. There are as many obese people on earth as there are malnourished, at least the last time I checked. More food is not the answer as much as smarter networking and inter-gov't relationships.

you are so right. years ago, Jamaica appealed to the US for aide because, well, they were starving. the US government's answer was that they would set up a tax-exempt area which would encourage businesses to go to Jamaica to build factories. those businesses wouldn't have to pay the Jamaican government anything to have the factories there nor would they have to pay importation taxes on their goods that were sold in Jamaica.

but to secure this deal, Jamaica had to sign Free Market agreements with the US and the World Bank. these free market agreements meant that American companies could flood Jamaican markets with cheap goods. one of the hardest hit sectors were dairies. powdered milk from the States was so much cheaper than fresh Jamaican milk that dairy farmers were literally pouring milk in the ditches.

so what ended up happening is that 96% of Jamaican dairies went belly up. those newly unemployed workers were then demanding more of the Jamaican government. the Jamaican government's only option was to ask for more help. those displaced farmers end up working for Fruit of the Loom in the tax-exempt area. Corporate American wins again.

eta: oh and don't forget the spin! the message that Corporate America and the politicians in it's pocket put out to the world: We're saving Jamaican children by giving them milk!

 

[me&thegals]

First off, Welcome, Bibliophile!! Anyone who has bibliophile for their screen name AND shares my world view (well, so far ) is A-OK in my book!

Yes, it is contemptible. I really cannot believe some of the things corporate America does to make a buck. Then, when they can't get away with it here any more, they export it. You really have to wonder how some people can face themselves in the mirror or if they truly don't/won't see the repercussions of their actions.

I've done some reading on impoverished countries who gave up their age-old seeds and methods to go Monsanto style. It works great under JUST the right conditions, but if you don't have those conditions it's really tough. Plus, you need to dump on Monsanto chemicals to maintain those conditions. So, some places have lost their heritage seeds because of playing Monsanto's game.

In a perfect year, Monsanto CAN outperform a lot of others. But, those heritage seeds, while gangly, uneven and maybe not quite as productive, have centuries of wisdom (okay, genetic selection) in them to withstand whatever they have been through all that time.

Another reason hubby doesn't buy Monsanto. Their seed actually doesn't do that great, unless everything is just right for that particular seed.



Oh, geez. More milk for the Jamaicans. Don't even get me started on milk. Our schools manage to get 2 servings in all the kids every day. Incredible.