GE Alfalfa public comments welcomed

One thought on this is are we all going to have to pay Monsanto for our Alfalfa crop every year???? When the crop is cross pollinated you have to pay for that crop when it comes to corn ect. Our neighbors planted with RRCorn and we planted open pollinated, we got a Bill for the “genetics” in our corn due to cross pollination.
Just a question that is running through my mind about this whole thing.
Joshua

I think that they assumed as we never ended up paying them… we had some other friends that also got a letter and one was a high power lawyer. The end result was that I was unable to save any seed. So we have to buy seed instead.
Joshua

We have a friend who lives in Brandon up in Manitoba and he says that Monsanto will fly small planes over corn fields and drop small bags of roundup. then a week later fly back over and check for dead patches.. no dead patches and they check up and if the farmer hasnt paid a limo pulls up at the door with a demand for payment !!!!! Those guys arent interested in helping 3rd world farmers or food production.. only money and control !! and that is scary to me.
John

Hi Joshua.. Terminator gene !!! that sounds scary. am I right to think their seed is a “one use only” thing..and they build this in deliberatly !?!?
John

And this is legal !?! British government is sleep walking into this. I think your education system is more open to researching this stuff.. We have a more strict carriculum that darent touch on the contraversial.. I knew about the alleged “bumper” crop and drought resistant crops and even the dropping of roundup to check if you had paid your “royalties” but had no idea that they were building in this crap.. So.. potentialy if the majority of say wheat farmers switched to their seed and an unforeseen disease or pest that the seed wasnt imune to struck. , we could have mass crop failure in one harvest !?! this makes my blood boil.. thanks for the education Joshua.. Im away to google
John

I don’t know if this is in conjunction with the terminator gene but I thought there was seed, corn I think, that you can save the seed from BUT it won’t germinate UNLESS you treat it with their patented growth promoter – maybe an enzyme?

With regard to the law suit stuff, wasn’t there that landmark case in Canada about the RR canola that crossed into a farmers nonRR canola. I thought he eventually won, sort of (didn’t have to compensate Monsanto). I know it was big news. People talked about counter-suing for “criminal trespass” of RR canola onto his property – I think that’s fair.

There needs to be some ruling (I know how much many folks don’t like more laws but …) that says, you can plant and grow RR crops under the following conditions:

1) if your RR crop contaminates a neighboring field, you will be held liable for damages incurred to his/her crop.

2) if your RR crop contaminates a neighboring field, Monsanto or other patent holder is NOT entitled to any compensation nor say so in the end use of the neighbors crop/seed as long as the neighbor does not take advantage of the patented gene (EX – not spray Round-Up on the crop).

3)The user of RR seed (or other GMO) is REQUIRED to clearly label and identify all products for sale or trade as a “product of genetically modified seed”, including products that come from the consumption of the GMO – in other words, milk – meat – eggs – wool – veggies – …..

I know that there are other serious concerns about allowing GMOs loose in the environment but the 3 conditions I listed AT LEAST allow fair treatment of those who don’t want to use Monsanto’s GMO crap as well as allowing the consumer to decide whether they want to purchase GMO stuff with their dollars. See how a free market might fix their little red wagon!

The worst of it all is much of this GMO crap comes from our own “land grant universities” where the gene jockeys get nice fat grants from Monsanto to look into this stuff – the universities are proud of how much money these guys bring in AND Monsanto, DuPont etc get the patent rights. This stuff is “dirty” science. You (and anyone associated with the project) are required to sign a confidentiality agreement that you can’t release information regarding the study without approval from the company. That’s why when stuff doesn’t work the way company wants, you never hear about it. I’m speaking from experience on this one.