permaculture

[<fdnokes@hotmail.com>]

Right on Lawrence!
But, are you aware of the contamination of seed?
This is something that is difficult to protect ourselves against...

Frances

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 5:59 AM
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [permaculture] How Monsanto owns and manipulates the world's 
foodsupply Boing Boing

> Like hell they own the world's food supplies. Power to home growers and
> local producers! Viva Independent Growers!
>
> http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/13/how-monsanto-owns-an.html
> How Monsanto owns and manipulates the world's food supply
> Steve Silberman sends us "A major AP expose of how Monsanto uses secret
> licensing agreements for its genetically manipulated crops to squeeze
> smaller seed companies, lock out competition, and keep food prices high.".
>
>     Monsanto's methods are spelled out in a series of confidential
> commercial licensing agreements obtained by the AP. The contracts, as
> long as 30 pages, include basic terms for the selling of engineered
> crops resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, along with shorter
> supplementary agreements that address new Monsanto traits or other
> contract amendments...
>
>     For example, one contract provision bans independent companies from
> breeding plants that contain both Monsanto's genes and the genes of any
> of its competitors, unless Monsanto gives prior written permission -- 
> giving Monsanto the ability to effectively lock out competitors from
> inserting their patented traits into the vast share of U.S. crops that
> already contain Monsanto's genes...
>
>     "We now believe that Monsanto has control over as much as 90
> percent of (seed genetics). This level of control is almost
> unbelievable," said Neil Harl, agricultural economist at Iowa State
> University who has studied the seed industry for decades. "The upshot of
> that is that it's tightening Monsanto's control, and makes it possible
> for them to increase their prices long term. And we've seen this
> happening the last five years, and the end is not in sight."
>
> AP INVESTIGATION: Monsanto seed biz role revealed (Thanks, Steve!)
>
> (Image: Monsanto == Satan, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from
> illustir's photostream)
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