Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a big problem with GMO seed. Monsanto has a patent on seed that's genetically modified so that Roundup won't kill the wheat and soybeans along with the weeds. Both those plants 'volunteer'- after planting, they will seed themselves the next year, and have the same Roundup resistance the original seed has.
Monsanto is trying to force farmers into buying only their seed, year after year. Farmers traditionally reserve some of the best of their harvest for seed stock. This cuts down the expense of purchasing new seed, and the variety of the seed stock is always the best that's suited for a particular farm in a particular region. The variety that Monsanto modified may not have other very desirable qualities, such as resistance to early freezing, that the farmers need.
Not all farmers want or use Roundup to control weeds. Many dry farmers use older methods of weed control, such as summer fallowing, where a piece of land is rested for a year and is only worked a few times with weeding implements, which tear weeds out by their roots mechanically.
Irrigated farms tend to be planted year after year with no resting for the soil, but the soil's fertility is maintained by rotating crops that are soil depleting with crops that are natural soil builders. Monsanto's GMO seed encourages over planting the depleting crops, which may be profitable for a while for the farmers, but is ultimately very bad.
If a piece of land is not allowed to rest and lie fallow, naturally regaining it's fertility, the use of fertilizers year after year ends up creating soil that is as naturally un-fertile as a desert. Once that happens, all that grows are weeds.
More importantly, once the natural varieties disappear, a new plant disease can spring up and wipe out a harvest completely. This was the cause of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. The Irish grew dependent on potatoes for basic sustenance, and when their harvests failed, they starved.
While it might seem remote to us now, the very same thing could happen again here. Many of our most vital crops have been highly bred for huge bearing qualities, not disease resistance. They are similar to over-domesticated dogs who cannot breed without human assistance and cannot survive on their own.
This is the reason why apple farmers are now growing 'heritage' trees from seed stocks that have been carefully preserved. Apple crops have become increasingly vulnerable to diseases, changing weather patterns and insects. The heritage apple trees cross-polinate with the domesticated varieties and give their fruit natural resistance.
And, of course, none of us know what the effects of GMO crops will be on the human genome. Adding genetic modification may add a wild card into our own genetics, and the genetics of our domesticated animals, which we also depend on for food. GMO animal feed may bear huge crops, but may also cause birth defects or stillbirths in cattle, sheep, hogs, or chickens.
Most farms buy their own seede, often have to borrow for it.
Let me see you want to buy the stuff once, and make copy after copy of it while not paying the royalty fee.
Sounds to me you are a PIRATE, and you know what we do to pirates, don't you.
BTW, I know what happens when a human doesn't eat - the genome dies completely for that person, er, um corpse.
It is illegal to experiment on humans without their consent.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
