What do you all think of genetically modified food?

[Corley5]

Weeds in some places have/are developing a natural resistance to Roundup.  It's been and is being used too much.

[Tom]

So, what are you going to do when Monsanto finds "their" GMO corn in your cornfield?

[SwampDonkey]

Well boys, genetically altered foodstuff bothers me no matter if it's agriculture or livestock.  Sure, corporations will tell you it's safe because it's money in their pocket.  It may be years before anyone can determine if it's safe or not.  It also might be safe for humans but have a negative impact on the lifecycle of harmless wildlife (ie: butterflies).  Sure, you can say that the people doing it are ex-spurts and scientist but remember ex-spurts and scientist brought Love Bugs to Florida.....Killer Bees to South America from Africa and ultmately to the U.S. and the list goes on and on.  How about chemicals that were supposedly tested and safe that were found not to be safe later on. Thanks a bunch but I kinda wish they wouldn't tamper with the genetics in the lab.

I have to side with Charlie.

The only people making money out of ge is the big companies. The farmers are just working harder for less of the pie.

Stonebroke

Yes, and the cost of the genetic modification on the environment and health is not fully known. And the cost of this seed is set at an equivalent level to match what it would cost to apply chemicals to the crop. For the moment it looks good, because we are not spraying chemicals. Who knows about the long term.

When someone controls these genetic patents you can't grow and sell seed. And some companies are processors that modify seed like potatoes and if you want a contract with them you have to buy their seed. So think about that when your dealing with a monopoly. ;)

[Don_Papenburg]

Tom , If that was directed at me , They will not find their corn on my farm as I will not buy any that has monsanto gene event.  I have never signed any agreement with monsanto.  I buy from small seed companies or from Syngenta based companies. 

[Tom]

Don, I was referring to their thinking that they had the right to come on your farm and look for plants that had grown from their seed.  It just seems to me that Monsanto has the idea that they own the farmers and the farms.  If the government of Canada will let them inspect farms on their whim and sue and win with no apparently allowed defense, then I may be right.

The way I see it, they only "own" the right to be the one to make the seed for sale. What nature does is out of their baileywick.  I think the farmers who choose to not use Monsanto's product, have every much a right to make Monsanto suffer for the tresspassing of their employees and their seed as Monsanto wants to think it has the right to control who grows it.   I side with the farmer.

It is my understanding that you don't have to buy their seed to have it in your fields.  That makes it a mighty tough world to live in.

[WDH]

Hear hear............

I am with Tom .

[Quartlow]

His claim it came in from the neighboring farmers fields is pretty hard to believe. I'm guessing Percy got caught replanting last years harvest of round-up ready seeds. Ocassionly someone around here gets nailed for it too only it's soybeans for us, corn's hybridized so you can't do it with it. Because the seed costs for round-up ready crops are so much higher than regular seed the temptation is there but it is illegal. Folks around here would side with Monsanto over the guy replanting harvested seed.

As for gmo seed it is about the most important advance in crops since hybridization. We used to spray corn with some really nasty pesticides before bt corn was introduced. Now that spraying has gone. Since they have introduced round-up ready corn it gets sprayed once at knee high and for the most part that's it. Before we were spraying twice and still running a tractor to cultivate the rows. Even then you'd see some guys spray with airplanes just to make sure they got them all. We have a very high cancer rate in the older farmers here, I can't help but believe it's from the amount and kind of chemicals they were exposed to.

Isn't most of that seed close pollinated? In which case saving seed is a moot point since it won't produce beans. I wouldn't know since cous buys all his seed every year and I never asked. And my brother plants all open pollinated stuff that isn't roundup ready.
As for GMO seed, Let's just say its not nice to fool with mother nature. If your smart don't mention GMO seed to my brother. You'll get an ear full about it

[Sprucegum]

Schmieser is just one farmer who won't sit down and shut up.

He tours all over the world now, making speeches against Monsanto and their seed.

If you want to live healthy don't eat anything your Grandmother wouldn't recognize.

[DanG]

Schmeiser was growing Canola(rape), not beans.  Apparently, the genetic modifications are passed along to successive generations.  GM is not the same as hybridizing.

[thurlow]

It's been 5 years since I made a crop (retired), but the seed (soybeans)was not a hybrid .......at that time...........in the sense that it wouldn't reproduce.  It would.  As far as signing something giving Monsanto or anyone else access to your farm/fields, I NEVER signed anything..........PERIOD; not even an agreement not to plant "saved" seed.   It was definitely understood........by all the farmers........that we would not do so and would be sued if we did.  The genetic modifications are passed along to successive generations.  I was never tempted to save 'em,  although I did have a neighbor who wanted me to just "leave a trailer full on the turn-row"  which he would pick up and pay me for;  wasn't tempted to do that, either.  There were a couple of local farmers sued, but the details were not made public;  more Monsanto making a statement, rather than collecting big bucks.  They were caught by someone turning them in and the seed then checked at the elevator when they were sold. 

Around "here", most farmers would buy enough new seed to plant 5-10% of their acreage each year and would save enough of that to plant 90-95% of next years crop.  From seed that was in the "public domain", not the RR varieties.  That all changed when the RR became available.  There were 2 seed cleaners locally (both also ran elevators);  they're both out of business.

[Don_Papenburg]

Tom I gotya now .  If I happen to find a monsanto rep, employee , agent ,or goon on my farm I will not be very kind to them . I read one of the tags on the bag of soybeans . It said that you had no right to plant the seed that you bought without asking Monsanto for permission to do so.  That initself chaps my britches . Why do they sell the seed if they do not want the purchaser to plant it .  Just the act of putting a seed up for sale implies that you expect the purchaser to plant it.

[Percy]

We think we are so smart. But we are not. If this geenetically modded food/seed/whatever is so good, Im thinkin,God/nature wudda thought it up along time ago. It was smart people like these Monsanto folks that came up with Thalidimide and even nuclear fusion. Stuff we could do with out. I think before I die(im 52) we are gonna pay for this Genetically Modded crap. Somthing is gonna go wild that we cant stop.

Its a greed based concept the way its being used right now. If they were usin this to help the starving, I might be more compassionate toward it but the way its run now.....not my cup of tea. >:( >:(