Monsanto's Many Attempts to Destroy All Seeds but Their Own

[Guest guest]

Monsanto's Many Attempts to Destroy All Seeds but Their Own

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/07/Monsantos-Many-Att\

empts-to-Destroy-All-Seeds-but-Their-Own.aspx

 

 

Some say that if farmers don’t want problems from Monsanto, they simply

shouldn’t buy Monsanto’s GMO seeds. But it isn’t quite that simple.

Monsanto contaminates the fields, trespasses onto the land taking samples, and

then sues, saying they own the crop.

 

Meanwhile, Monsanto is taking many other steps to keep farmers and everyone else

from having any access at all to buying, collecting, and saving of normal seeds:

 

 

1.  They’ve bought up the seed companies across the Midwest.

 

2.  They’ve written Monsanto seed laws and gotten legislators to put them

through, that make cleaning, collecting and storing of seeds so onerous in terms

of fees and paperwork that having normal seed becomes almost impossible.

 

3.  Monsanto is pushing laws that ensure farmers and citizens can’t block the

planting of GMO crops even if they can contaminate other crops.

 

4.  There are Monsanto regulations buried in the FDA rules that make a

farmer’s seed cleaning equipment illegal because it’s now considered a

“source of seed contamination.â€

 

Monsanto has sued more than 1,500 farmers whose fields had simply been

contaminated by GM crops.

Sources:

 

  Surviving the Middle Class Crash February 5, 2009

 

 

 

 

  Dr. Mercola's Comments:

 

There is a reason why I believe Monsanto to be one of the most evil companies on

the planet, and this is in large part due to its activities relating to

controlling food production through controlling the seeds to produce it.

 

For nearly all of its history the United States Patent and Trademark Office

refused to grant patents on seeds, viewing them as life-forms with too many

variables to be patented. But in 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for seed

patents in a five-to-four decision, laying the groundwork for a handful of

corporations to begin taking control of the world’s food supply.

 

Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of

seeds and has won at least 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other

company.

 

This is not surprising, considering they invest over $2 million a dayon research

and development!

 

But Monsanto is not only patenting their own GMO seeds. They have also succeeded

in slapping patents on a huge number of crop seeds, patenting life forms for the

first time -- again without a vote of the people or Congress. By doing this,

Monsanto becomes sole owner of the very seeds necessary to support the world’s

food supply … an incredibly powerful position that no for-profit company

should ever hold.

 

How do they defend this blatant attempt to control the food supply? They write

on MonsantoToday.com:

 

 

“Patent protection allows companies to see a return on their investment which

enables further investment in R-and-D and product development. This

profit-investment cycle drives product innovation that is responsive to farmer

needs.â€

 

Farmers’ needs?

 

Farmers who buy Monsanto’s GM seeds are required to sign an agreement

promising not to save the seeds or sell them to other farmers. The result?

Farmers must buy new seeds every year, and they must buy them from Monsanto.

 

Meanwhile, these same farmers who Monsanto is claiming to help are being

aggressively targeted and pursued for outrageous patent infringements on these

same seeds.

 

The “Seed Policeâ€

 

Monsanto employs an arsenal of private investigators and agents who secretly

videotape farmers, snatch crop samples from their land and even fly helicopters

overhead to spy -- all to catch farmers saving or sharing seeds.

 

As of 2005 Monsanto had 75 employees and a $10-million budgetsolely to

investigate and prosecute farmers for patent infringement.

 

And until recently, Monsanto has even been known to sue farmers for GM crops

growing on their land that got there via cross-contamination. In other words, a

neighboring farm’s GM seeds blew over onto their land, and Monsanto slaps them

with a lawsuit.

 

I realize this seems incredible, but it is true.

 

Have You Heard of Terminator Seeds?

 

Creating and promoting GM crops is, in my opinion, a major threat to public

health. Patenting those same seeds takes it to an even higher level of evil. But

there is another reason why I don’t believe for one second that Monsanto has

the virtuous intentions they claim: terminator seeds.

 

Monsanto is considering using what’s known as terminator technology on a

wide-scale basis. These are seeds that have been genetically modified to

“self-destruct.†In other words, the seeds (and the forthcoming crops) are

sterile, which means farmers must buy them again each year.

 

This solves their problem of needing “seed police,†but they are obviously

looking the other way when it comes to the implications that terminator seeds

could have on the world’s food supply: the traits from genetically engineered

crops can get passed on to other crops, and often do.

 

Once the terminator seeds are released into a region, the trait of seed

sterility could be passed to other non-genetically-engineered crops, making most

or all of the seeds in the region sterile.

 

Not only would this mean that every farm in the world could come to rely on

Monsanto for their seed supply, but if the GM traits spread it could destroy

agriculture as we now know it.

 

How Can You Get Through to Monsanto?

 

First, I urge you to get informed on the issue by watching The Future of Food.

This in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind genetically

modified foods is one of the best documentaries I have ever viewed. It will help

you understand the very real threat that ALL future generations face as a result

of genetic engineering.

 

Next, hit Monsanto where it counts … their bottom line. By boycotting all GM

foods and instead supporting organic (and local) farmers who do not use

Monsanto’s GM seeds, you are using your wallet to make your opinions known.

 

This means abstaining from virtually all processed food products (most are

loaded with GM ingredients) and sticking to fresh, locally grown, organic

foodstuffs instead.

 

The True Food Shopping Guideis a great tool for helping you determine which

brands and products contain GMO ingredients. It lists 20 different food

categories that include everything from baby food to chocolate.

 

I’ve also compiled an excellent list of resourceswhere you can still find

pure, GM-free foods, and I encourage you to refer to it often and also share it

with your friends and family.