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From: Lance (You Decide?)
Remote Name: 65.88.106.1
Date: 01 Apr 2004
Time: 02:45:44
A friend wrote to me about this subject: This article taken from: http://www.whatareweswallowing.freeserve.co.uk/withoutbars.htm . Titled: WITHOUT BARS- TERMINATOR. ------ Monsanto is renowned for its ‘terminator’ seed development. Terminator seeds allow for one crop growth only. No viable seeds are produced from that crop. This brings an end to ongoing independent food production. The grower has to return to Monsanto to buy more seed. He is in effect being controlled. He has been swallowed up. In Terminator Unleashed – Patenting Life, Patenting Death, Mary Jo Olsen states: "The only thing that can keep pace with the rate of agricultural biotechnological change these days is the speed with which the transnational Life Industry is eating itself. In the last couple of years, Monsanto has spent more than $6.7 billion buying seed and other agri-biotech companies. We have at best two years, and at worst six months to safeguard the right of farmers as seed-savers and breeders. Who's interests are being served? The right of farmers for thousands of years to save and improve seed could be coming to an end - now."[23] . ----- Despite the high levels of concern amongst ordinary citizens, the GM crop drive continues unabated. At a recent CropLife International meeting, Belgian Farm Minister Jaak Gabriels announced that agriculture needed to embrace GM crops and related biotechnology and promised to promote the issue during the Belgian presidency of the European Union. Gabriels, who for six months from July 2001 chaired the monthly EU farm ministers meetings, said he would devote an informal ministerial meeting to biotechnology in September 2001. Said Gabriels, "I want to give this technology the chance to be applied in Europe as well." Hendrick Verfaillie, chief executive officer of Monsanto, was also at that meeting. He applauded Gabriels, stating: "I appreciate his balance and also his commitment and courage to take a leadership role over this controversial issue…"[24]. -------- Would Verfaillie say anything else? -------- And as of August 7, 2001, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) concluded negotiations to license terminator seed technology to its seed industry partner, Delta & Pine Land (D&PL) - the world’s 9th largest seed corporation, with revenues of $301 million in 2000. D&PL has joint ventures and/or subsidiaries in North America, Brazil, Argentina, China, Mexico, Paraguay, South Africa, Australia, and China. There are of course many groups opposed to this latest marauding move. Ms Hope Shand is research director for RAFI, (Rural Advancement Foundation International) an organisation dedicated to sustainable use of bio-diversity. Says Ms Shand: "USDA’s decision to license Terminator flies in the face of international public opinion and betrays the public trust." Colleague Ms Silvia Ribeiro stated "USDA’s role in developing Terminator seeds is a disgraceful example of corporate welfare, involving a technology that is bad for farmers, dangerous for the environment and disastrous for world food security." [25] ------- . [25] Commodities Bureau report, Mumbai, 12th August, 2001 at; http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010811/commo15.html ------ End of Article condemning GM Terminator Crops. Next a discussion, which follows are some of my thoughts on this article. ------------- This is an interesting subject in that. First, the Environmentalists and Academia were concerned that the GM Crops would take over, spread out side of growing areas and change the lanscape of every living organic plant, crop and insect. Worried about wild Sun Flower Plants, Rice and Corn. Now Monsanto has come up with a new idea to solve that problem by "Terminating Seeds" so in fact this problem that all the academia and alarmists warned us about is totally solved. So then what is the problem now? After all terminator seeds also insures they can continue to sell their seeds to get a return on their investment in research and work towards feeding the human race across the surface of the planet. Sounds like a WIN/WIN to me? Yes in many cases. If Monsanto holds them selves out as extortionists by overly inflating the prices as the article seems to accuse them of doing before they have actually introduced it, then the free market would in fact take over and other companies willing to sell for less would emerge as at first smaller and then much larger competing players would they not. Isn’t that the basis for our proven capitalist system, which has given Americans great quality of life, choices and the largest GNP of the next four other nations combined? HMM? So, Monsanto is also bound by the principals of free markets so they cannot overly over step their bounds. ------- Now then remember if the farmers or corporate farmers do not wish to buy the terminating seeds well then DON'T BUY THEM? I do not see it as holding life for ransom as these pessimist attackers claim. ----- There is nothing immoral about Monsanto's Terminator GM seeds, it seems to kill many birds with one stone. It does not hurt farmers in rural areas, they can still save some of their seeds, they can simply buy seeds that someone else makes or pay more for Monsanto’s non-terminating regular seeds. It actually opens the door to small entrepreneurs and co-ops and the organic farmers if the consumers choose otherwise. Small poor regions of the Globe may wish to save their seeds, nothing is stopping them from saving those seeds. This may very well be an incredible bonus for them and spur on a new seed business on top of their crop business. If they say their seeds are not worth saving, then do not save them. But if they are wanting to feed more people for less using the R and D efforts of Monsanto then pay for it. If they do not then they can save their own, if they cannot meet the increasing hunger demands STOP reproducing so fast. Or use GM Seeds and crops. The world without GM Crops probably cannot be maintained more than two more decades and why start from behind in crisis, Monsanto has solved those problems now, done deal. ----- I applaud Monsanto for their R and D. I would like to meet the head R and D man there and shake his hand for his drive and stick-to-it-ness to find solutions to feed the world. ----- There are so many seed companies, which are poised to take the market if Monsanto was to force this product onto a world market when in fact the world market did not desire it. Terminator seeds are one of their lines of seeds, I see by this article a bigger and bigger chunk of it. When a Corporate farmer plows under the crop for next season then he might say this is a problem for him, well then use seeds which will spring up next season and grow, non-terminator seeds? It’s all about choice? Do not like Monsanto? Then buy the seeds elsewhere. Or when a small farmer of let's say Mustard Seed holds some of his acres for harvest for the seeds of the next season, he can use those again and maybe some left over for others too. Said farmer could buy another seed from a different company to grow his own. And if in fact other farmers were interested, he could be in the seed business himself thus if Monsanto went too hog wild on this idea, they in fact might alienate the ag community and corporate farmers and thus have problems. ----- If a farmer plants the same crop three seasons in a row he might like to have the non-terminating, but if he plants winter wheat and regular wheat he gets paid by the purity as part of his yield and therefore, would prefer the terminating, having no left over seeds growing within his ranks. Also he can plant GM one year when needed for Ethanol and then another type later for another purpose. Which means it is a very good thing not to mix and this solves a need of the market, purity of product and higher prices paid to the farmer (who is leveraged on the commodity side also so he is downside protected in case of poor yields that season), it ain’t easy being a farmer these days. Farming is a tough row to hoe these days nearly 50% of the family farmers in the US were unable to make it in the couple of decades, it is a travesty. ------ Monsanto must have some ROI on their R and D otherwise they will stop trying, and last time I checked we need GM drought resistant corn for ethanol which uses little water without turning the World into a Giant GM one size fits all crop. We need to solve hunger problems with less water for a growing world population, Monsanto and companies like them are able to help. Maybe some of the people complaining ought to go to Africa and tell people to stop breeding like rats? Think of all the GM Crops can do for plastics, synthetic material and even for NASA since they are working with these R and D facilities to make organic materials with GM crops. All this special R and D is paid for by these companies due to the future promise of potential profits, but it is not without risk. ------- The only question I would have I guess in this issue, which was not addressed is the low sperm counts of the human race over the last 5 years, it is getting critical reduced by half in the UK and one-third in the US. Are the human species also entering an era of Terminating Genes, if so why? Overweight, bad diet? What if those building blocks of life, which are passed into future viable offspring are effected due to the intake of crops with GM - terminating seeds? Would this in fact affect the humans, which eat those seeds within a ear of Corn, bowl of rice, Sun Flower seed. This of course is an interesting thought. Will this effect fertility of livestock too, since they eat GM feed? And can we control World population growth and unnecessary children mortality rates if popultions were to agree that if the sperm count was raised slightly in the UK and lowered in Africa and China, in fact less people would be born and there would be enough food and water for everyone? And then the quality of life of each goes up along with reduced death rates in children, no lack of food or water and more safety from disease, famine, virus, pathogen, etc. ----- Another question not addressed in GM in many of the online white papers is: What is known about Bee Pollination with regards to these things, if the seeding an cross-pollination cannot use the services of the Bees then this too could mean lower yields and thus hurt Monsanto and those which buy certain seeds from certain crops from them as well as feeding the world? And what about Wild crops in some countries that feed people? Would they be slowed due to a larger percentage of Terminating seeds? ----- For anyone to say that a reality based decision such as the decision by the USDA to allow further implementation of Terminating GM Seeds: “flies in the face” is utter International liberal biased rabble rousing by environmental terrorists involved personal agendas and therefore is a bogus notion indeed. So what if flies in the face of public opinion if it is a viable solution? After all what is “public opinion” these days but a mirror of our daily TV intake and newspaper controversy driven sound a fury daily bombardment? HMMM? Are we going to allow destruction and havoc and future starvation of billions of people based on a minority group with sharp tongues for media sound bites? Or are we as a human race dedicated in the cause of serving mankind and bring him to the absolute fullest potential in this period and set a course to go beyond the perceived possible future of the next period. Because we are capable and reasoning creatures. We can you know? We can bring ourselves into the next forward step for mankind. ----- Regarding this statement: “Colleague Ms Silvia Ribeiro stated "USDA’s role in developing Terminator seeds is a disgraceful example of corporate welfare, involving a technology that is bad for farmers, dangerous for the environment and disastrous for world food security." ----- How is GM Terminator Seeds bad for farmers, after all if the Monsanto Company fails to see the needs of it's customers it will invite a new line of business and competition. If you do not service your customers someone else will. For instance farmer Joe and friends growing crops to sell the seeds to neighboring farmers, thus offsetting the incredible costs in farming with unknown and risky payoffs. It could be a blessing and help a farmer to greater profitability, that is if in fact Monsanto is out to bilk the industry and set a course for a hyper taxation on the human races foods supply, which last time I checked they are certainly out to make money but have no intention of destroying the human race, after all that would neither serve them or anyone else. Also the other issues stated serve said farmer if they did. ----- Why is it bad for the environment? GM crops were said to be bad, this terminates them from spreading to other strains of DNA, RNA of natural crops. Thus helps the environment. It is a relatively brilliant “Green Technology” We get to have our cake and grow it too. ------ It is not disastrous for the world food security, it may very well end up saving us and feeding the world until we understand the full impact of our playing God with seeds. This way you do not end up with resistant Mosquitoes, Modified insects or losses of Natures own best evolved plants, crops and foods. So it is a great interim step to make sure that we have enough food to eat while figuring out how science can fix the future problems we face, which look bleak but we are a smart creature these humans. We do not know all we need to know yet. By Monsanto and others making more money they can feed the world and make people healthier, happier and safer from diseases; all of which problems tend to increase during long drought periods as known by history of plagues, viruses and diseases. ------ Meanwhile, I wish to point out that this is a stepping stone. And this Ms. Ribierio ought to be out and about telling people to stop reproducing us into oblivion, because if people would do less baby making and more thinking none of these problems would even be eventful enough to cause a stir of controversy for us to be arguing over “means” when people are dying around the world of AIDS, Cancer, Malaria, Dysentery and a host of other things due to over taxation of our current Bio-system. We need now, such things as cohesive and complex inter-related strategies for: weather control, GM Foods, infrastructures, education, common stable currency world wide. ------ You know this is all sound and fury stuff, this article is. We need to do something, this GM thing by Monsanto is something and by God, they are doing something. The little NGOs are complaining, spitting, inciting mass media hysteria without seeing the full implication of their spitefulness, people are dying now, every minute a child dies, how was your cup of coffee today. Spent an hour in traffic in the city? 60 children died of starvation. These small groups come with no solutions, no vision and no realization that what is being done now is not working, we cannot feed this growing populations with our current resources and yet, every possible solution is attacked out of the box. The Gate’s Foundation said we could put vitamins in the food, well that one comment and all hell broke lose, have you noticed in our country how much better we are with vitamins in our foods? ----- Regarding this statement: “The official statement by USDA states that the Agency “had a legal obligation” to license the technology to D&PL.” Yes, well true enough and I would say they also have a moral obligation for the billions of under nourished children in the world whose brains are not fully forming and are starving to death. For we can still feed them with GM Crops without sacrificing the killing off of millions of native natural species that the evolutionary process has gifted to us and that humans have adapted to them to get the most out of them. ----- And we have some checks and balances here they are looking into too. Here is a statement of record from the USDA: “2) USDA scientists will be involved in safety testing of new varieties incorporating the GM trait for seed sterility, and a full and public process of safety evaluation must be completed prior to regulatory sign-off by USDA.” ------ The way I see it is; "We didn't start the fire, the fire has been burning since the world's been turning." If let's say we are heading for a Global Warming Climate Cliff as some report and as we watch the fresh water issues, and over population of the Earth's Land mass. People need to understand you cannot have it both ways. Either we modify the world a little bit to meet demand; I.E.: Reservoirs, treatment plants, dams, roads, GM Crops, weather control. Or we stop the population expansion and reduce the number of people in the world. If we fail to do either then Mother Nature has it's own plan and we may not like it. Mother Nature is what it is, it is not good or evil. If we over populate we will see some terrible things. No one wants to kill people, yet they fail to stop reproducing. ----- Fact: We cannot continue to feed the world at this current rate and resources. ---- Modify said resources or we are in big trouble. This is a minor modification in the grander scheme of things. Perhaps we should thank Monsanto, a huge multi-national conglomerate for their resources and research, not attack them. We have people working on it, let's continue to see where it leads us. ----- “Any thing worth doing is worth doing for a profit,” glad to see people and companies like Monsanto are working on solutions out there. We need to stay heads up and pay attention, but we must stay the course for the future of mankind depends on us. When there are lack of any resources; Food, Fuel, Water, etc. society starts to break down leading to civil unrest and war and a melt down of common decency and social "Love thy neighbor" status and chaos erupts. That is the other choice. ---- Those are my thoughts. What did your group come up with? ----- I would like to hear better arguments on the little NGO Environmental side. The ones in the article, were not compelling to me at all. People are starving, got RICE? Got a better idea? Well, let's here it? Really the world is listening let’s here your solutions, are they better than Monsanto’s ideas? Got a better idea with resources behind you? Again what is it? We need to stop listening to attacks and spiteful comments and work on solutions. ----- There are ways to keep this in check by allowing free markets to allow those who wish to sell the other types of seeds a market, I have a hunch that the terminator seeds do solve a huge issue that we are to have been worrying about. So if someone else has a better plan, bring it on? ----- Any comments or questions email me: Lance@carwashguys.com .
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