The World According to Monsanto

[Toma]

Our future food supply threatened and monopolized??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Rml_k005tsU#!

Rml_k005tsU#!

[CUG]

That company is the worst kind of evil.

[Supa Dexta]

The only thing we use roundup for on our farm is along fence lines to keep the growth off the electric fence, so the power doesnt get drug down.

[rage2]

Dwfinstely evil. They have roundup resistant grass but they won't sell it to homeowners. I want my perfect lawn!!!

[Supa Dexta]

Weeds big business, in any way you want to take that statement.

That farmer is brainwashed POS shit too. The good news is there is a shift in how people want their food produced. A small step, but it will gain ground eventually.

[Kritafo]

I refer to them as MonSatan

[e31]

The reason that I dislike companies like Dow chemical, Monsanto, etc is because their products are the reason the world's population has gotten out of control. Many of us would not exist to complain if not for the agricultural products they invented in the 50's and 60's.

I remember Toma posting a thread like this not long ago, and it appears to be exactly as one sided as ever! Take the scientific approach for once, an unbiased opinion will allow you to see where both sides are wrong (and right). I don't mind using a youtube video to encourage others to investigate their own conclusions, however, watching a single video and claiming an educated opinion on subject matter is foolish.

[Bobino]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta

The good news is there is a shift in how people want their food produced. A small step, but it will gain ground eventually.

We've seen quite a bit of evidence of this over the past few years about people wanting to know where there food comes from, which is a HUGE step in the right direction. McDonalds has recently allowed a group of blogging moms into their processing facilities to see how things are produced.

Hearing those farmer's stories is horrible though...

[ZenOps]

TomatoFish, or should I say Fish Tomatoes and Genetically modified rice with human genes.

And people wonder why they are starting to eat each other, once you get a taste of soylent green there is no going back.

[Mckenzie]

I work with a venture capital fund that invests in growth companies in the food and agriculture industry with a focus on sustainability. The shift towards healthy, organic/natural food and sustainable agriculture is seismic, and predominantly at the grass roots level. These companies are then picked up by the larger compaines as they demonstrate the brand and value proposition of their products as they have margins that are far higher than conventional products. That being said, the big ag-chemical companies are absolutely 110% looking for safer and more efficient ways to protect crops, increase yeild, increase durability, increase nutrient uptake, reduce susceptibility to disease/pests, etc. We work with the companies and their senior management on many projects so have a pretty cozy view of the product pipeline and what they are looking to develop. There is no conspiracy. It is just business, and until a product can demonstrate the right economics to encourage a Syngenta/Monsanto to change the formulation of a patented pesticide product bringing in billions of dollars a year to incorporate a new ingredient, they will continue on. They are accutely aware of the public perception and spend a lot of money on R&D. The regulatory environment is crippling when it comes to developing a new, patented product to use, so that is why it is slow to change. They are doing their best to balance innovation with protecting their market (they tend to specialize in certain crops, so it is somewhat of an oligopoly) and as technology can be developed and approved, it will eventually make its way into the product mix.

More food for thought- the world could not be feed without innovation in GM agriculture, so that is a good thing. It is not as dirty as it sounds.

[Toma]

Originally posted by Mckenzie


More food for thought- the world could not be feed without innovation in GM agriculture, so that is a good thing. It is not as dirty as it sounds.

It's worse. And it can be fed. Projections claim with future growth, that demand cannot be met. VERY questionable projections with iffy assumptions.

[e31]

Toma, do you have any empirical evidence to substantiate any claims you make? Either your sources are too few & shallow, or you have a selective memory; it's apparent that you have no agricultural experience at all. Start by growing a garden and you'll learn.

There are a great deal of successful farmers in my extended family, going back 5 generations in Canada & the US. Even as late as the 70's most farms in Canada had huge problems with invasive weeds (even later for some who could not afford to spray). When 75% of your hopper contained wild oats, guess how much of that you are paid for? You certainly aren't feeding an expanding population with foxtail and thistles now are you?

My point is that current yields were once unattainable before modern pesticide and drought resistant crops were developed. Unless you
suddenly find another continent containing 3x the currently farmed arable land of the world, there is no way "organic" farming practices could sustain a growing (literally & figuratively) population.

Maybe you should direct some of that negative energy onto the corn lobby, as they deserve it.

[Toma]

Originally posted by e31
Toma, do you have any empirical evidence to substantiate any claims you make? Either your sources are too few & shallow, or you have a selective memory; it's apparent that you have no agricultural experience at all. Start by growing a garden and you'll learn.

There are a great deal of successful farmers in my extended family, going back 5 generations in Canada & the US. Even as late as the 70's most farms in Canada had huge problems with invasive weeds (even later for some who could not afford to spray). When 75% of your hopper contained wild oats, guess how much of that you are paid for? You certainly aren't feeding an expanding population with foxtail and thistles now are you?

My point is that current yields were once unattainable before modern pesticide and drought resistant crops were developed. Unless you
suddenly find another continent containing 3x the currently farmed arable land of the world, there is no way "organic" farming practices could sustain a growing (literally & figuratively) population.

Maybe you should direct some of that negative energy onto the corn lobby, as they deserve it.

Keep in mind, I do have a degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology.

So, for your information, there is a huge difference in selective breeding and "cross pollination", which are a natural states as nature intended.... (more or less)

and direct genetic modification and gene splicing, sequencing etc.

We may think we are smarter than mother nature, but we defiantly are not. The GM foods are not proven, and don;t have a thousand year history like our natural food stuffs.

In fact, if you watch the video, and read what independent SCIENTISTS are saying, they are scared to death of altered Gene's, and lack of thorough testing,and shocked at how quickly some of these foods are "approved", without ANY sort of real study in some cases.

[v2kai]

How can stuff like this just fall through the cracks... just ridiculous. Very disheartening that the honest scientific community faces this kind of bullshit. Integrity is cheap it seems.

[v2kai]

an update in the right direction on the subject

http://www.nature.com/news/monsanto-may-lose-gm-soya-royalties-throughout-brazil-1.10837


The biotechnology giant Monsanto is one step closer to losing billions of dollars in revenues from its genetically-modified (GM) Roundup Ready soya beans, following a ruling this week by the Brazilian Supreme Court of Justice.

The decision marks the latest chapter of an epic legal battle, in which millions of Brazilian farmers are trying to recover payments made to the company over the past decade.

[FixedGear]

I haven't watched the video yet, but I plan to.

I am a proponent of GM foods, despite the ecological risks which IMO are the biggest safety concern. I do not have an ethical problem with GM either. I think it's good to have rice that produces vitamin a, or even anal lubricant for that matter. :dunno:

However, IMO the biggest issue with GM is how it is regarded in patent law. It's not right that multinational corporate crooks are able to patent gene sequences that are the result of thousands of years of selective breeding, after making relatively minor changes to them. These companies make too much money as it is, and they should not be able to own nature.

[Supa Dexta]

Keep throwing money and food at africa, we'll fix them some day.