Re: [Re: Suicide Seeds on the Fast Track]

[Steven Green <sgreen@gobeyond.net>]

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Hi Lizzi,

On Sun, 2 Apr 2000, Lizzi wrote:

> more things that seem to be overlooked in your
> arguments 1)many of the sites and whatnot stress
> that there is no benifit for farmers or
> consumers...then why would a farmer or consumer
> bother to buy the seeds?

I missed the beginning of this thread, but this question seems to scream
for a simple answer:  Because many farmers throughout the world don't have
the luxury of choice when it comes to sources of materials, like seeds.
Plus, international corporations producing the seeds can offer them at
lower costs than traditional ones.. if you were a farmer supporting your
family, do you really have a "choice"? And if you're a low income
consumer, do you have a "choice" between cheap altered and more expensive
"natural" foods?

If the world focused on altering agribusiness to include more sustainable
practices, this whole mess of trying to make superfoods that grow in the
resulting shit would never have started.

You're #2 question seems like a good one to me.. and i don't know enough
to have an answer on that one, so i'll leave it to the specialists. But as
for this:

> ...anything to reduce the
> drinking water problems and cancer rate around
> farming communities ought to be held in high esteem.

If you can conclusively prove that altering the very fabric of nature
will, without a doubt, will cause less harm to humans and their natural
environment then the use of pesticides currently does.. then I would agree
with you.  Trouble is, you can't.. and neither can anybody else, hence the
whole debate.

And to throw your own question back to you: If "anything to reduce the
problems" for farmers is really your concern, then isn't a focus on fixing
cash-crops, monocultures, and top-soil erosion due to over-farming in
environmentally sensitive areas a greater problem then Terminator seeds?

Doesn't matter how great yer seeds are.. if there ain't no ground to stick
'em in.

-Steve





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