EnviroLink Forum

"India announced last month it is pursuing charges against Monsanto for "stealing" an indigenous crop -- eggplant -- and using it to create a modified version without permission, a violation of India’s decade-old Biological Diversity Act. It’s the first prosecution of a company for the act of "biopiracy" in the country, and possibly the world."

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/10/03 ... _ref=false

"Monsanto has developed other controversial products in the past—including saccharin, Agent Orange, bovine growth hormones and a variety of genetically modified seed—and has been a defendant in several international lawsuits. Other controversies involving Monsanto include the illegal dumping of toxic waste in the United Kingdom, bribery of Indonesian officials to avoid environmental impact assessments, and false advertising in France."

http://blog.izilwane.org/monsanto-sued-for-biopiracy/

The bad should be punished, it's a nice move from the gov of India.

Good for the Indian Government for standing up to Monsanto. I just wish the British Government would have the backbone to do the same. Nobody wants GM seeds, plants or foods here.

Mother Nature has provided us with all the edible plants & fruits we need for health and sustenance.

_________________
It is our deeds, the accumulated acts of goodness and kindness, that define us and ultimately are the true measure of our worth. Service is the coin of the spirit.

http://holy-lance.blogspot.com

Except for the near future when there will be more people than food, that is.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

Apparantly Monsanto has the future in mind .... and their aims are completely altrusistic of course, as they were with Agent Orange and Aspartame for example. They are a loving people ... and care deeply for the well being of future generations ..... regardless of their present share-holders .... who have nothing to benefit. Monsanto is deeply concerned about world hunger.

This is true but Monsanto is not the answer ..... they will and are causing more problems than they are solving. Their technology is short-sighted and driven by the usual. They are not concerned as you are, or as I am, or as we are. We need to look after each other and there is no way we can or should leave it up to yet another corporation and their bottom line ...... because their bottom line is uncommon wealth.

It is not even their fault ..... we would all go for it probably. They are not really interested in solving world hunger. They are a business and are acting as businesses do. And if you are hired on .... well, what's the salary .... and can I afford to send my kids to college, go on that cruise, etc., etc.

Bill Gates is not the visionary that Steve Jobs was.

Not even Monsanto employees want to unwittingly subject themselves to their own product ....

http://crisisboom.com/2011/08/22/gm-foo ... cafeteria/

Shouldn't we all have choice?

Then what IS the answer? Please feel free to be specific. What problems exactly will they cause? How were these problems not connected to interbreeding species or using radiation for random mutation generation?



And the government cannot because of money issues with the conservative type, so we just do nothing and hope for a miracle perhaps?



Steve Jobs was still out for the bottom dollar too ......

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

Don't you have the same choice as they do? As far as you practicable can remove GM soya and maize from your diet.

“as far as practicable, GM soya and maize (has been removed) from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve.”

Of course, the definition of practicable may prohibit all but a few, if any, removals, but it might keep a few squeaky wheels quiet.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

That's a cute comment Wayne. Have you met this lovely 'squeaky' lady? She is "squeaking" big time .....

She's currently rocking India ... after retiring from her current posiion as physicist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYwOTLopWIw

There is no way that you could support this idiocay ... in this culture .... or any other .... unless you buy into the wholesale sell-out of people in general. To do so would be to support a corporation that would OWN food .... and that is not wise.

Vendana Shiva ... a physicist and ecologist. Check her out. She is talking sense beyond the corporations' nonsense.

Completely.




Yes, you do, just as the notice stated.



No, you can choose to buy certified organic or locally grwon corn where you know are produced from non-GM seeds ... or GM seeds of which you approve.



No in both cases.



You grow it yourself, buy it from local sources you believe are trustworthy, or go with another provider which guarantees the lack of GMO.



It could be due to the knee-jerk assumption that new is bad. Many consumers know so little they go with any claim which sounds good. That is why homeopathic treatments are popular and vaccinations are not with some groups.



As much as anyone usually can.





You mean only one lady caused the notice to be posted?



It seems you are again confused as she appears to have no connection to the notice quoted.




You are correct, I do not support the idiocy illustrated by blind opposition to new food production based upon assumption



Corporations, people, farmers, governments, and the like all can own food and this has been the case for as long as there have been corporations and people.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

Not even Monsanto employees want to unwittingly subject themselves to their own product ....

http://crisisboom.com/2011/08/22/gm-foo ... cafeteria/

Shouldn't we all have choice?



Excuse me? Are you serious?



You couldn't be. Do I or anyone have any decsion at all?



What notice? Are there notices posted when we shop for groceries? Monsanto has lobbied with their millions of dollars to make sure the consumer does not know what they are buying. Why have they spent millions to ensure we are kept in the dark? Maybe because they know we would vote with our consumer dollars and walk.

Are you suggesting that we have choice because we can decide NOT to include corn from our diet?



Great. But consider the wind. Organics are being contaminated by GM seeds. Alfalfa seeds, for example, are tiny and easily spread. We know that farmers are being sued for growing GM seeds when it wasn't there intention ..... That is not a choice. We have no choice.

You MUST be kidding ..... if not, maybe you are working for Monsanto?



If you are not kidding then make it more apparant that you are not, because so far it seems that you are. What's your investment?

Most of us would like to know what products are Monsanto grown. If they aren't labelled, how do we know? We know how to stay away from sugar, salt and food coloring ..... but Monsanto has lobbied ferociously to prevent us from knowing. C'mon ... what's that about?



Can't do ..... GMO's are prolific .... as is the wind.



It could be due to the knee-jerk assumption that new is bad. Many consumers know so little they go with any claim which sounds good. That is why homeopathic treatments are popular and vaccinations are not with some groups.

This is the elitist argument again. Why not just let our leaders decide for us because we don't have the smarts to figure it out for ourselves. We may as well have lobotomies. No. Reaction to GMO's is anything but knee jerk. We have a serious problem on our hands and people are smart enough to NOT let corporations do the deciding for us. That is a very dangerous position you are taking and given your apparant smarts .... bizaar! Why in the world would you say such a thing?

Do you know what you're buying?



WTF does that mean? There was a time when we knew what we were buying. We can read the ingredients on a label. This was made law and rightfully so. How has Monsanto managed to evade so that consumers can no longer make informed decisions? What do they have to hide? If they are so confident in their product ...... LABEL IT!



That's a cute comment Wayne. Have you met this lovely 'squeaky' lady? She is "squeaking" big time .....



????????? You are quick to respond to a person who has spent several decades researching a very serious threat which causes one to realize your own knee jerk reaction. Why don't you tell us what you know about this one lady?





Seems I am not confused at all. No. Clarity is at hand. I'm not confused and for you to say so gives me cause to consider yours (where i hadn't before .... hmmm)

There is no way that you could support this idiocay ... in this culture .... or any other .... unless you buy into the wholesale sell-out of people in general.



Assumption? Why are you so reactive? Blind opposition? Blind? ...... You respond to my post within 3 minutes which shows little investigation on your part .... There's hardly any reason to even talk to you at this point. Give me "reason" Wayne. Be reasonable.

Why would any of us wish to support a corporation that would OWN food .... and that is not wise.



Holy f*ck ... This is a little out of character for you Wayne. In your words, ... people and corporations can own food .... and this has been the case for as long as there have been corporations? .... and people? I can hardly respond to the lack of logic .... Weird. Who has been around longer ... people or corporations? Should corporations own air soon in your mind?

You're just way off right now Wayne. Your level of reasoning is a little bizaar at the moment but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt ..... But to do so, you must come up with something a little more reasonable! Even if I don't agree with you .... at least give me some fodder here. And if you don't agree with Vendana, at least do a little research on her for Christ's sake!

You do. I have pointed it out and you seem to have ignored it without comment.



The notice in the link you posted and which is quoted at the beginning of this post. Did you not read your own references?



You can still do so. You can walk from any product for which you do not have knowledge of the source as was noted below.





No, they are not. There can be some localized cross pollination but no known contamination by seeds.



Actually that reference is to pollen not seeds and I know of no person who consumes alfalfa, do you?



I always try to make it clear when I am joking and when I do not indicate it I am therefore serious. I have no investment in the issue other than the science and the truth it conveys.



Monsanto does not grow many cropsso you should not be worried. Monsanto does not produce all of the GM products either, but it is a nice whipping boy it seems.



That is because there is a known issue with excess consumption of sodium, and sugars ...but I know of none who avoid them all completely. Do you?



The protection of a market against bias. The FDA and USDA would call for labels if there were any documentation of concern. The FDA has been fighting a similar assumption regarding vaccines for a time and the ignorance still causes death and injury in spite of their efforts.



You can, or the act of labelling would not be an issue, would it?





Call it whatever makes you happy, but it is the truth.



The leaders who have the information from the majority of scientists and biologists on the subject.



Some seem to have just that in the circular logic of their discussions.



Really? Why then is ther much more rhetoric than scientific data used in your argument?



What problem exactly? Give us the actual scientific data indicating any problem with GMOs in general or any specific variety.




The truth is sometimes dangerous, but I am comfortable with it. I say it because it is true.



Just what it says, there is some adulteration is all foods. There is a small amount of rodent feces and parts allowed in each ton of grain processed. I know this is the case, but I doubt many others do. I cannot say how much I will get in any product, but I am aware that the product will generally be safe when I purchase it.



No, there was a time when you thought you knew what you were buying, but were really just as in the dark. How many products did you buy which were the result of irraditation of seeds to cause random mutation which was then determined to be better or worst then the initial plant? Don't know? Point made.



So where is the irradiation aspect on the label?



It is not Monsanto's product you are buying, but again the whipping boy aspect comes in handy.



Really? You know where this quote originated?
“as far as practicable, GM soya and maize (has been removed) from all food products served in our restaurant. We have taken the steps to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve.”

It had nothing to do with India, but it did have a connection to your previously posted link. Now if you are not confused, why are you rambling on about two unconnected things and claiming I am confused?



What investigation do I have to do to respond to unsupported opinions? What investigation have you undertaken? You have claimed seeds contaminate organic alfalfa when the reference was clearly to unsupported claims made by opponents to GMOs in litigation attempts concerning pollen transfer. To make such errors shows a lack of basic understandig of the situation.

http://www.capitalpress.com/newest/mp-a ... ing-011312

A federal judge has rejected allegations by biotech critics that USDA violated environmental laws by fully deregulating transgenic alfalfa.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti has refused to overturn the agency's approval of the crop, which was genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate herbicides.



"None of the purported deficiencies raised by plaintiffs in this area, considered independently or holistically, provide sufficient grounds to set aside APHIS's deregulation determination," said Conti.




Critics claimed the agency failed to properly evaluate the potential for Roundup Ready alfalfa to cross-pollinate with conventional and organic varieties, thus harming non-biotech farmers.

Conti rejected that argument, ruling that "there is no indication that Congress intended APHIS to regulate genetically engineered crops as plant pests based on their potential to interbreed with other crops."




Yes, I own the food in my house, just as people have done since there were people, the corporation that owns the grocery store owns the food stored inside unless and until they sell it to someone like me.



People, but as long as there have been corporations they have had the ability to own food and other things.



They do own air and other gases. I buy quantities of both from a supplier all of the time.



Good, I would hate to be doubted due to your confusion.



I have. A philosopher with a background in physics is an unusual combination, but not as unusual as if the science was less theoretical.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva

She was educated at St Mary's School in Nainital, and at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Dehradun.[5] After receiving her bachelors degree in physics, she pursued a M.A. in the philosophy of science at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), with a thesis entitled "Changes in the concept of periodicity of light". In 1979, she completed and received her Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. Her thesis, titled "Hidden Variables and locality in Quantum Theory,"[4][6] was about the philosophical underpinnings of quantum mechanics. She later went on to interdisciplinary research in science, technology, and environmental policy at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein

No, they are not. There can be some localized cross pollination but no known contamination by seeds.

There is some "cross pollination" but no "contamination"? Localized? Is the wind local?

Ohhh Wayne, I have no more time for this than I do the colonization of Mars as a solution to the problems we encounter on Earth!


Anyways, stay tuned!