permaculture

["sal" <sals@rain.org>]

the is no more organic in corn growing states because a one time of the year
the air is full of GMO pollen and your  organic food and Bd food will test
positive for GMOs.US   farmers can contaminate at will.  they can spray you
drift on you and contaminate your water and you can do nothing.  its the
law.  organic forgetaboutit. BD forgetaboutit  in the US soon there will
only be GMO food  and very little organic or Bd anything.  its the law the
contaminators skate and those trying to do good eat it.  the Dream is over
in the US of A.
check out an organic farmers homepage
http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html
sals@rain.,org
----- Original Message -----
From: <dsc17@CORNELL.EDU>
To: <SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU>
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2000 8:29 AM
Subject: GMO's and property rights


> regarding the question " how does a organic grower in
> corn country protect his crop
>    from GMO pollen If he say for religious reasons does
> not want GMO dust
>    covering all he grows?"
>
> I'm an ag economist, so naturally that's how I see the
> problem.
> here's my take:
> our society has already made some very important
> implicit(and not always obvious) decisions about
> property rights that lead to possible externalities like
> GMO pollen drift.
> for example, "we" have decided that farmers have the
> right to spray pesticides and grow GMOs; consumers do
> not have the  right to pesticde-free water or GMO pollen
> free-air. automobile owners have the right to belch our
> exhaust into the air; citizens do not have the right to
> clean air. we do not confer such rights on a religious
> basis; I wish we did. I'd state my religion demands that
> I be free of a world of hatred, violence, environmental
> degradation and poverty. poof! all problems solved
>
> why do we confer rights in this way? who decided it? if
> we consumers had those rights, we could force farmers to
> stop using these products or compensate us. we pay for
> the effects while they reap the benefit. it is an
> example of market failure, when the true cost of an
> activity is not reflected in its price. there is no
> market for clean air or a GMO-free environment in the
> future, so users of these products push the costs onto
> all of us (while we stock up on the "cheap food")
>
> it seems as though information-based measures (like
> organic and eco-labels) may not even work, because of
> the ubiquitous contamination by GMO pollen. it sounds
> like purely non-GMO corn and soy hardly exist anymore.
> perhaps a tax reflecting the risk (or restriction to use
> in isolated labs) on GMO's is the answer
>
> any thoughts?
> David