GMO vs Organic

[Joods]

It is my understanding that when Montsano first showed up on the scene, their idea for GMO's was that it would be able to feed massive nations in third world countries.

I'm fine with that.

What many people were not told about, however, is the fact that Monsanto put a patent on the crops and then proceeded to sue small farmers who didn't want GMO seeds. They were sued because when samples of the small farmers crops and seeds were taken, GMO evidence turned up. Montsano claimed those farmers were stealing GMO seeds and using them in their fields. The problem is that winds would carry some of those seeds to other areas, thus causing cross contamination (for lack of a better word). Small farmers don't have the money for expensive lawyers like the big corporations do, so the small farmer was sued and lost.

This is my understanding of the outrage behind Montsano. And the real reason they sued was because some farmers didn't want to be a part of genetically modified food. GMO seeds can be found in nearly every type of crop grown in the US. Montsano holds a patent on those seeds so they can literally control the food production in this country.

As I said, I personally don't have an issue with GMOs in general. What I take issue with the Montsano Corporation and their lack of ethics on the matter.

[Alex K]

I haven't really researched their behavior and what was behind these scandals ( They haven't however invented patenting crops, and pressuring farmers to use certain brands of hybrids was a thing before genetic engineering iirc ). I just think that these issues of corporate ethics and science ethics must be clearly separated.

What I've seen of the Anti-GMO movement, many of them simply aren't fact based, they are first and foremost an ideological, propaganda based movement. Which is bad for everyone, because legitimate concerns are drowned out by their lies and breathless fear mongering.

[Joods]

I will be more than happy to admit that I'm wrong about them, until proven so, however, documentaries have been done on Montsano that show what they are doing. They don't hold patents in crops themselves, but they do hold patents on seeds that have been genetically modified and that's the rub. Crops like wheat have seeds that can get carried away in the wind, thus spreading to other farmland. Farms that don't have the exclusive rights to plant GMO seeds are being sued.

Personally, if the GMO seeds can be used and they yield better crops and in turn, those crops can go to feed starving people, I'm all for it. No one should go hungry. You have a seed that can produce plants which can resist bugs, drought and disease, by all means, get those suckers in the ground and start planting. Let corporate greed stand in the way and it becomes nothing more than a power trip to control food production.

[Alex K]

I will be more than happy to admit that I'm wrong about them,

I have no emotional investment in whether Monsanto is evil or not. They could be run by Hitler and Stalin jointly, that wouldn't drastically change my position on whether GMO technology should be pursued in principle.

until proven so, however, documentaries have been done on Montsano that show what they are doing. They don't hold patents in crops themselves, but they do hold patents on seeds that have been genetically modified and that's the rub.

Ok, that's what I meant actually.

Crops like wheat have seeds that can get carried away in the wind, thus spreading to other farmland. Farms that don't have the exclusive rights to plant GMO seeds are being sued.

I understand that they want to protect their intellectual property, but if that's how it plays out that sucks of course. Did anyone actually get convicted just because seeds accidentally blew onto their land?

[Joods]

I can do some research on that when I get home, if you can wait a bit? I want to make sure if I'm going to make that statement, that I can back it up.

[Joods]

I found quite a few articles in my phone, I will post them when I get home.

[Clueless Morgan]

[Joods]

[The Valkyrie]

Don't eat GMO!

It's designed to make men impotent and weak as part of the agenda of feminists to take over the planet at the behest of their Illuminated Overlords and the Reptilians.

[FatAndFaithless]

As always whenever someone brings up GMOs and Monsanto, I feel the need to make the statement: Don't conflate Monsanto's shady and otherwise sketchy business practices with the safety/efficacy/efficiency of GMOs. The actions of the corporation say nothing about the science behind their products.