In praise of genetically engineered foods (In theory)

[Andy Carson]

Stop price US supports for exported food.
Repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and any other …AFTA.
Tie financial, military and diplomatic assistance to in country support of its people via establishment of sustainable food systems.
Demand that countries that are exporting foodstuffs to the developed world provide adequate food/land to their own people or boycott said product(s) – This should include other importers of the product as well.

Companies that are importing food products from countries whose own population is unable to access food, will be taxed at an extreme rate to provide incentive for them to lobby the govt of country X to make sure its citizenry are able to raise, find and buy decent food.

Rewrite or destroy the Codex Alimentarius. (read it).

I love it when people who berate nearly every government policy in existence look to government to solve problems… I also am amused when people state that it is wrong to interfere with the another countries sovereignty UNLESS said interference fits into their personal goals.

[Andy Carson]

Can someone PLEEEEEEEZE tell me how non GM crops dont have the vitamins any more and why farmers have to sign an agreement to plant seed in land they own and with seed they own.. BTW Geoff you got my vote but im afraid there is a red dot on your suit as we speak …

Non-GM crops have as much vitamins in them as they always did (at least to my knowledge). These vitamin deficiencies (especially vitamin A) are common in areas of the world where the poor subsist on a diet of primarily rice. Granted, a more complete diet would be more ideal, but where people are struggling to even feed themselves, this is lofty goal. I think it is quite practical to produce a food they already eat alot of (rice) that has vitamin A in it.

The patent issues make seed saving messy. Again, I do not support this, but I can understand that if the patent holders truly want to protect their patents it puts farmers in strange situations. One might argue, so example, that although the farmer does own the land, he does not truly own the seed, as it is patented. I can see the argument, but don’t agree with it.

[near horse]

@Countymouse 25256 wrote:

Stop price US supports for exported food.
Repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and any other …AFTA.
Tie financial, military and diplomatic assistance to in country support of its people via establishment of sustainable food systems.
Demand that countries that are exporting foodstuffs to the developed world provide adequate food/land to their own people or boycott said product(s) – This should include other importers of the product as well.

Companies that are importing food products from countries whose own population is unable to access food, will be taxed at an extreme rate to provide incentive for them to lobby the govt of country X to make sure its citizenry are able to raise, find and buy decent food.

Rewrite or destroy the Codex Alimentarius. (read it).

I love it when people who berate nearly every government policy in existence look to government to solve problems… I also am amused when people state that it is wrong to interfere with the another countries sovereignty UNLESS said interference fits into their personal goals.

I berate every government policy? Since those are my “personal goals” they’ll benefit me how? Come on Andy – you can do better than that. Since govt IS the game being played, that’s the only way to address the issues you mentioned. You sure like to sort through and only address certain points while skipping over those you have no answer for.

You’ve succeeded – I’m bored with your responses so I’ll quit now.

[jac]

I dont know if anyone read the “Farmers of 40 centuries” in SFJ but that system they had in Japan and China was awsome and the people were fed. Also in SFJ was the village project in the Congo.. both fed people and neither use Monsanto.. I think the agreements that farmers sign now will be obsolete in a few years anyway because they will simply start with the terminator gene program and then we are all screwed.

Andy I can understand why they want to protect the patent on their seed , however by my understanding the agreement goes a lot further than just saying “you will not save seed from resulting crop”.. which BTW is the only wording that they need, but to go on and hold the farmer responsible for any cock ups arising from the use of the seed !!! but I suppose these companies have lawyers in every department.. mabey someone on DAP has had to sign one of these and could shed some light on the exact wording.. could be Im judging Monsanto too harshly..
John

[Andy Carson]

I berate every government policy?

Yes, you actually do! I usually agree with you though, I also think that government is inept.

Since those are my “personal goals” they’ll benefit me how? Come on Andy – you can do better than that.

I mean personal goals in the sense that they are your goals (not the goals of everyone). In other words, you want everyone to be able to eat and to be able to grown their own food. There is nothing wrong with this desire, I have it too. As much as I like these goals, I am not willing to support the dictatorial and imperialistic lawmaking that would be required to force this to happen. Nor do I think these laws are in the realm of possibility. Nor does this have anything to do with GMO’s!

Since govt IS the game being played, that’s the only way to address the issues you mentioned.

I think this is where our world views are simply different. I think the “game” that’s being played here is economics, not government. As you point out many times in this and other threads, when government and economics fight, the money wins. Even governments are specifically designed to oppose capitalism (IE communism) they eventually topple to capitalistic pressures. It would be very frustrating to really believe that government is (or even can be) in control. One would be constantly disappointed by the influence of business and money into the system… Does this sound familiar??? Government HAS NOT, CAN NOT, and most importantly WILL NOT be the hero. Real change has to start with individuals, including ourselves and what we do, what we buy, and how we chose to live our lives.

You sure like to sort through and only address certain points while skipping over those you have no answer for. You’ve succeeded – I’m bored with your responses so I’ll quit now.

It’s easy to snipe away at the efforts of others, and very tiring to come up with real plausible solutions to such complex problems… I try to keep this in mind when I get really critical of others potential solutions to various problems. I have to admit I have done my share of sniping too. 🙂

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