This is a thread inspired by another member. But it is a good idea and one to which I would be interested in seeing the reaction.
Various Agricultural Conglomerates(of which I'm almost afraid of naming for fear their lawyers would dare) such as Monsanto(based in Missourri) have taken to genetically modifying crops. It started out in the interest of human needs but...
Many people challenge the idea that GM(Genetically Modified) crops are safe to eat. I won't get into the messy technicalities of Transgenic and Intragenesis mods and why complex Transgenic mods can be a bit tricky, or that of Genetics in general. But safe to say that the court is still out on whether or not they are harmful. There is even talk about specifically modified corn either producing chemicals that will kill a human's liver or combining with certain pesticides to produce it.
Also of concern, is the process of patenting living creatures and sueing for infringement. The aforementioned Monsanto created a Round-Up Resistant gene in Canola plants and as of today 90% of Canola plants have this gene. Canola growing in the wild can be found to have this gene. This gives rise to a huge problem for farmers.
Many farmers rely on economic tricks to survive and one is the reseeding of crops. If the plant is patented, like Monsanto's Canola GM is, then reseeding is patent infringement and is actionable. Monsanto has taken extreme measures to bring action against all farmers who reseed canola. Farmers, who often do not have a steady and great income cannot compete with the court costs and these lawsuits are usually settled out of court.
Some of the farmers sued had gone to great and expensive lengths to make sure their crops did NOT possess the aforementioned patented gene. They were sued for encouraging others to patent infringement. These lawsuits were settled out of court. Monsanto even sued a milk company called Oakhurst for claiming their milk did not possess Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone.
Monsanto as a company has produced numerous pesticides proven to be harmful over the years and even produced the infamous Agent Orange of Vietnam Fame and Aspartame.
Their ethics are questionable...their budget for lawsuits is considerable and many former Monsanto employees now hold official office. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was once one of the many crack lawyers Monsanto employed. He has ruled in favor of Monsanto on occasion. There are many more which you can find in a cursory search on Wikipedia or through the documentary Food inc.
This is the company that is spearheading GMs in our Agriculture. The ones producing them, patenting them and making ungodly amount of money from them.
With all this considered, can you still support Genetic Mods... Or atleast support them in our Agriculture?
-Sin
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