Farmers, Consumers, and GM Crop Seed Issues
The GM Conflict Began in the 90's with Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide
Nov 14, 2008
Agricultural giant Monsanto broke ground with genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the mid-1990s by developing seeds with genetic resistance to Monsanto's universal herbicide Roundup. While the resulting plants are unable to reproduce viable seeds, they can, however, transfer genetic material to other plants through natural pollination.
Farmers Claim Bullied by Big Business
According to Tom Philpott’s article "Our Ruined Harvest" in the June 2008 issue of Grist Magazine, the Midwestern farm belt grows 44 percent of the world's corn and 38 percent of its soy, primarily Monsanto’s Roundup Ready seed designed to sell more of its herbicide. But farmers have been disappointed partnering with Monsanto. Some are downright afraid.
Farmers stated in the February 2008 PBS Independent Lens (Ellis and Cheney) video documentary King Corn© that they not only couldn’t produce savable seed for future planting, but were contractually required to annually purchase Monsanto’s seed. The company’s stroke of commercial genius was patented seed; thus, any non-GM crops proven GMO-contaminated, even through pollination, belonged to Monsanto. Writers Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele discussed some of Monsanto's dealings in "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear" in Vanity Fair, May 2008.
Few farmers can or will stand up to the agri-giant under threats of legal action that could force them out of business. Labeling it as “Intellectual Property Thuggery”, blogger Cognitive Dissident discusses Monsanto’s aggression toward farmers on science.slashdot.org April 14, 2008, quoting Joseph Mendelson of the Center for Food Safety (CFS): "I don't know of a company that chooses to sue its own customer base," says Mendelson. "It's a very bizarre business strategy." (Mendelson was originally quoted in the Vanity Fair article by Barlett and Steele.)
The CFS 2005 Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers Report is posted on the web site of Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser, who challenged the gene giant in court and reached a settlement with the company in spring, 2008.
While many claim that farmers’ rights should trump Monsanto’s patent, Monsanto’s web site says they are "helping farmers grow food more efficiently through science and .. agricultural technology," and that they "invest more than $2.6 million per day in R&D that ultimately benefits farmers and consumers… something that would be impossible without patent protection."
In 1998, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) addressed Redesigning Food Products on their web site. Union of Concerned Scientists spokesperson Dr. Margaret Mellon said consumers feared the lack of strong regulatory systems for businesses like Monsanto monopolizing agriculture with GM seeds.
Retribution from the Ground Up
An excerpt from Dave Margoshes’ Aug 14, 1999 Vancouver Sun article says "Monsanto…makes the popular herbicide Roundup. Farmers all over the Prairies spray it on their fields, whereupon it kills ever-thing [sic] growing there. Then they plant.”
According to the Ellis and Cheney documentary, Monsanto’s less than ethical practices included buying up the majority of U.S. seed companies, and raising their prices from $15/gallon last year to more than $40/gallon of their now "necessary" herbicide, making their GM crops far more expensive than conventional crops. Dr. Charles Benbrook, the Organic Center's Chief Scientist and expert in agricultural policy, science, and regulatory issues, in his statement Monsanto’s Big Lie says, "Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans... use 2-5 times more herbicide than non-GE soybean varieties."
What Monsanto apparently didn’t foresee was the unsurprising appearance of naturally glyphosate-resistant plants a few years ago in Roundup-sprayed areas. This was noted in a Media Statement on the APWG Mailing List December 20, 2006 by Craig Dremann, University of Western Australia, entitled UWA Scientist Sounds Warning on Weed Control regarding the overuse of Roundup creating glyphosate-resistant weeds. This referenced the paper Evolved glyphosate resistance in plants: Biochemical and genetic basis of resistance, by Powles, S.B. and Preston,C., which appeared in the April 2006 issue of Weed Technology, Vol.20, Issue 2, pp. 282-289.
A press release August 9, 2008 from the University of Missouri in GENET-News, "Conventional Soybeans Offer High Yields at Lower Cost", mentioned that growing clamor in world markets for non-GM foods indicated conventional soybeans are now bringing ever higher prices for farmers than GM seeds, even in the U.S.
Monsanto, having developed and commercialized genetically modified crops, now continues to deal with the implications and objections to GMOs.
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