Monsanto is Evil

I just read an article about the USDA getting in trouble for not doing a better job of regulating Monsanto's destructive genetic engineering practices. Hopefully, this will spur the USDA on to really put a dent into Monsanto's dangerous ways. It is not a light thing to call a person or business evil, but let me be perfectly clear: Monsanto is evil.

Did you know that a farmer has to pay Monsanto for growing their seed, even if they don't want it and it has just contaminated the farmer's seed through pollination or spillover from trucks driving down the road? Did you know that almost all rice grown in the U.S. now is contaminated and contains GMO's (genetically modified organisms)? Did you know that Monsanto is filing for patent after patent on seeds and that they are reducing the diversity of the seeds being planted in the U.S.? That may not seem too important, but what happens when one (or more) particular variety of plant is struck by some sort of disease? Widespread famine. Now they are looking into patenting animals. Why should it be legal to patent any kind of life? Farmers have been saving their own seed since the beginning of time, but this is putting an end to that. And how can those who oppose GMO's keep them from cross-pollinating their fields/gardens? Impossible. There's even GMO corn with a built-in spermicide. Imagine if that stuff got loose in our country. And an even more awful thought: what if it already has?

If you want to learn more about how our food supply is coming under the control of only a few mega-corporations, you should watch The Future of Food. It is here for free, you could borrow the dvd from me sometime, or you can buy it from here. This is really so very important, and one of the main reasons why it is great to buy locally and buy organic. You can tell I feel very strongly about this, yes? Next week, I'll write about some of the effects of GMO's and how you can avoid GMO food.