Re: [tomato] This seems insane to me

Thomas Giannou (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Wed, 21 Oct 1998 08:35:06 -0700 

Hello,

What do you radical garden growers have to say about a certain company named
Montsano?  Are they the "seed collectors" or "gardeners" or "farmers"  ....
friend?

Best Regards,
Thomas Giannou

-----Original Message-----
From: Margaret Lauterbach <mlaute@micron.net>
To: Tomato@GlobalGarden.com <Tomato@GlobalGarden.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 1998 7:20 AM
Subject: Re: [tomato] This seems insane to me


>At 05:35 PM 10/20/98 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>
>>Some of you may have seen this tidbit.  Since we all garden, many of us
>>save seeds, and there has been a recurring discussion about hybrid seeds
>>and "heirlooms,"  I'd like to hear from the list about the "Terminator"
>>gene Monsanto intends to loose on the world with the assistance of the
USDA.
>>
>>The commentary is a remnant of a posting I did to a local (on my provider)
>>general discussion bb.
>>
>>If you don't garden but do eat and can imagine that someday there will be
a
>>cataclism which interrupts trade, industrial production, or some other
>>unimagined stupidity, then contemplate farmers and gardeners who have
>>nothing but sterile seed available.
>>
>>Take a look at how broad the patent is.  What happens if the
>>terminator gene is transmitted to open pollinated plants?  Suddenly the
>>heirloom varieties which we love for their taste, productivity, resistance
>>to pests and disease, and the repository for genes not yet recognized for
>>their importance will be lost.
>
>snip>
>
>It seems insane because it is insane.  Hitler lives, but he's with the
>USDA.  With "friends" like that, we don't need enemies.  If we don't want
>to see a wracking famine, we'll have to pay Monsanto whatever price they
>ask, year after year, to buy seeds for third world countries to grow and
>eat.  Newscasters are even afraid of this story.  They put it out, say the
>altered genes have been shown to be transferred to other plants then a
>feeble "heh, heh" and they move on more confidently to something else.
>Margaret
>>
>
>