Evo
Staff Emeritus
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Fears associated with GM seed are not substantiated. I don't think the companies should be so greedy if their seed cross polinates naturally and creates a superior seed.256bits said:Seed for food crops around the world was historically that a farmer can use you use a percentage of the previous year's yield for plantation of this year's crop. GM corporations such as Novartis and Monsanto would have you believe through their public relations that their products will solve all agricultural problems from disease to world hunger. In fact, through the patents granted to these products, no farmer can use a ssed from these products without their consent. These companies are not altruistic to say the least but would like to monopolize the global market. At least Monsanto, but only through intense pressure, has recinded one of its goals to splice an infertility gene in their agriculural poducts - ie a farmer would have to buy seed each and every year. Problems with GM agricultural products are cross-pollination, reduced bio-diversity, health problems in humans, environmental concerns, contamination of the food supply and economics. The older method of picking winners and losers for a better plant was slow and gene-splicing in a lab solves that problem . The return on investment of research that GM corporations want by charging dollars for seed is justified. The subsequent control the seed market is not something I am in favour of.
I had a rare opportunity to get to know the father of the Vice President of Mobile Oil, in Houston, TX when I was in my early 20's. Turns out that the guy was a rose hybridizer that held several patents. I wanted to be a horticulturalist as one of my many loves. I learned a lot from him, and a lot of it was politics in the hybridisation of plants. I guess all fields of science are highly political. It really disillusioned me.
I'll pass on the best advice he ever gave me, it was how he made his millions. "buy a piece of land and forget about it, someday, someone will come to you and offer you a fortune for it". Well, the land he bought turned out to be the most valuable land around Houston back in the 20's and he did indeed make a vast fortune. Unfortunately, any land I could afford is still swamp land, so I was not able to take his advice.
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