Thread: Bush Admin+WTO!
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Old 02-24-2006, 05:25 PM   #44 (permalink)
Jefferson
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Quote:
Originally Posted by onlyoneplanet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jefferson
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlyoneplanet
Not to mention the fat cat companies are making the third world dependant on their products (as a result of the self-terminating gene), and there's also the risk of contaminating the natural environment.

And let's face it, nature simply didn't intend it. Some of the mutations that are created as a result of genetic testing are downright creepy. It's just sad.


That's BS. You really need to provide a CREDIBLE link for that.
Sure thing. It all depends on what you consider credible, but I'll give you a few.

http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/mar26shah.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/339240.stm
http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=3325
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/1998...-sells-hunger/
Gotcha. And I pretty much knew you'd put up those links - or at least several like them.

I want to remind you that ALL of those sites use terms like "allege" and "fear" and "accuse". In addition, some of what they report is outright false. The article by Sonia Shah is blatantly false. The lady is an idiot!

I also want to remind you that my whole family is in agriculture and farming.

Here's the deal on these "scandalous" hybrids that American companies are SUPPOSEDLY using to starve third-world children to death: You CAN plant seed corn (or just about any other crop) right out of the bin. However, "bin-run seed" will NEVER produce more than about one-fourth the yield that hybrid seed produces. This past year, most of the farmers in my part of the country saw corn yields of OVER 200 bushels per acre (it was a great year). The few farmers who REFUSE to "support those corporations" and decided to plant bin-run seed got NO MORE THAN 50 bushels per acre. That is how hybrid genetics have ALWAYS worked. It is NOT a new development, and it is NOT some scandalous conspiracy.

So I ask you: Would poor farmers in India be better off planting corn that could yield them 5 bushels per acre, or 150 bushels per acre off the same ground? IF they are starving, this is a no-brainer!

In addition, the Monsanto Corporation developed what is known as "RoundUp Ready" Seed. You can plant it, then spray right over it with RoundUp - a herbicide that kills EVERYTHING - except crops that have been "genetically modified" to resist the RoundUp herbicide. This was one of the greatest developments, in recent times, for American farmers. However, before he can buy this RoundUp Ready Seed, a farmer MUST sign a contract agreeing that he will NOT plant "2nd Generation" or "bin-run" RoundUp Ready seed. Some farmers have been sued, by Monsanto, because after they signed the contract, they planted bin-run seed anyway.

My father - who is still farming even though he's 70 - has planted RoundUp Ready Seed for YEARS. He has had NO problems of any kind. In fact, it is an EXCELLENT resource.


The people that put up these blog-sites REALLY need to do more research into the genetics of all this before they post stuff that leads gullible people astray.