Quote:
Originally Posted by laserlight
Patents for food is way wrong imo. it makes too many issues and food isnt a luxery.
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I have no problem with a plant breeder patenting a plant. The patent rights are short-lived and the breeder gets royalties for their work. Many of the fruit cultivars you enjoy were once patented plants.
Quote:
Originally Posted by laserlight
... food should only be grown by farmers imo and it should mostly be organic except maybe cereal and candy and stuff like that.
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The common belief of what is "organic" and the reality of "certified organic" food are two different things. Here is a primer:
Are you gardening organically?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yug
My major issue is when a company creates crops that contain self-destructive genes that prevent them from producing viable seed.
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I agree this is a greedy practice and a good reason to boycott Monsanto.
Monsanto is also the leading developer of pesticide-resistant and herbicide-resistant plants. Several of these are not self-sterile plants. Monsanto cotton strains are a good example. The problem with these plants is that they encourage farming practices that in the long run have severe impact on the environment. However, high quality cotton draws a good price and cotton processors have come to expect "pristine" harvests. Thus, the cotton farmer must either use the Monsanto seed or not grow cotton. In the U.S., 100% of commercially farmed cotton uses Monsanto seed. Thus, to boycott Monsanto would require a public boycott of cotton.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yug
If the small farm was there first, I guess monsanto shouldn't have moved in.
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As I've stated before, I don't care for several of the practices of the Monsanto company. On the otherhand, there is a huge difference between the facts in the case you are referring to and the rumor it has turned into on the internet and in organic-lifestyle magazines.