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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Baker's Creek, GMO, monopoly

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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Baker's Creek, GMO, monopoly
  • Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2009 11:58:50 -0400


On Sep 7, 2009, at 9:33 AM, Richard Stewart wrote:

Companies like Baker Creek and Johnny's are not selling GMO seeds, they are selling hybrids, heirlooms, and organics,

Nitpick 1: Baker Creek I think does not sell hybrids. (Johnny's does. And I do not think hybrids are necessarily bad; though I don't think they're always better than OP's.)

which I suppose, technically, are ALL genetically altered by cross breeding since few if any seed lines are 100% pure.  

Nitpick 2: yes, technically every plant that's been grown by humans for more than a plant generation or two is genetically altered in that sense. This isn't, however, the sense that most people are using it in. The English language is often confusing, and this is one of those instances.

 I do not like Monsanto but if I can EASILY avoid purchasing from them, that is great.  Doing that with our field crops is nearly impossible

Main point of this email: That is exactly the problem that a lot of us are concerned about: that Monsanto has succeeded in getting themselves into a position in which it is nearly impossible for many farmers to get seed from anyone else.

That's an entirely separate issue from the GMO issue; they just happen to be associated with the same company (though some of the association has to do with the current legal situation, which makes it easier for Monsanto to keep control of GMO's than of open-pollinated or even non-GMO hybrid varieties). I would be equally worried about that degree of monopoly if it were held by a company not selling any GMO's.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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