Filthy Wal-Mart

[Nobody]

Nobody, it gets even worse.

Back in the '70s Pioneer Hi-Breed started selling corn with the Male Sterile Cytoplasm gene. It was the early version of the Terminator seeds of today. In short, the seeds are sterile. You can't save them and grow more. Back then there was a blight which darned near wiped out the US corn crop - it attacked the Male Sterile seeds. Fortunately, they found a wild variety of corn in Mexico which was resistant. The site where they found it is now a parking lot.

Things have changed. Back in the day farmers saved seeds and traded them. Now that's violating the "intellectual property" of the agro-chem companies. You don't actually buy seeds. You buy a license to grow them for one season. Anything else? They come after you with lawsuits and the police. It's bad here, worse in places like India. The whole point is to (and I quote) "Remove all surplus value from the farmer". In some places it's illegal to grow traditional varieties. The companies come in, find the traditional varieties, patent them (!!!!) and then sue or have prosecuted anyone who tries to keep using them.

This isn't wild-eyed conspiracy theory ********. This is absolutely above-board unapologetic and not even hidden plans to make all agriculture the property of a few multinationals and force everyone to do business on their terms or starve. It makes it hell to be a farmer or a consumer. And don't even get me started on the implications for food security and the potential for disaster.

Am i understanding you to say i can not grow what i want on my land?
I was thinking i had the right to grow none patent plants if i want.

If so this totally explains all of the people trying to become Ninja's i.e. me you an everyone on here.:uhyeah:

 

[tellner]

It wasn't a documentary. It was a whole bunch of books and articles for a paper I wrote for a small review article.