Minister Mike posted a Blog item about Monsanto and Medical Marijuana. The post prompted an email to me from Monsanto. I asked and was granted permission to post their email here.
The message is there are two sides to every story.
"Dear Webmaster and Minister Mike,
I just Medical Marijuana = Monsanto Marijuana online and wanted you to know that someone from our office is always available if you have a question or need information.
Rumors like this have been circulating on line for the last couple of years. To clarify, Monsanto has not and is not working on cultivating cannabis. We also have not and are not working on GMO marijuana. For more information on the biotech industry’s take on the subject please visit: GMOAnswers.com (http://gmoanswers.com/search?query=marijuana)
Reaching out to you is not a request for a correction or retraction. It is simply a way to provide you with additional access through my contact information. You can also connect with us through our media line (314) 694-NEWS or through a media inquiries request. Thanks and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything in the future.
Thanks.
Charla
Charla Lord
Corporate Engagement - Monsanto Company
314-694-2993"
Replies
Walter are you still here?
I said we were all done here. And we are. If you are still interested in this conversation feel free to go back over the thread and actually read it this time around. Maybe take a moment to consider all the points presented already instead of asking for more evidence to ignore.
For the record I am a retired computer engineer. You gotta work on those instincts bud. So far youre batting 0%.
Whoop dee frickin do. So you are a computer engineer. That somehow makes you an expert on GMOs and gives you permission to judge others in an online public forum?
Can't we all agree to disagree without personal insults directed at people we don't even know. We all have opinions- some are more educated opinions than others.
I stand guilty of judging others as well- seems to be part of the human condition, but I do my best to keep these judgements to myself.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the fact is the majority of modern "farms" in the U.S. are increasingly huge corporate farms. The days of the family farmer are nearly a thing of the past. Even modern "family farms" have become huge enterprises- relying on modern industrial techniques- and chemicals. It is enormously capital intensive. They don't give those chemicals and fertilizers away. A new tractor can cost upwards of half a million and a new monster combine $1 million.
My 85 year old mother and father, along with my sister, are becoming a rare breed- the "small" family farmer. They rent the majority of their farmland from absentee landlords. To survive they have incorporated modern techniques- like chemical intensive no-till farming. The price of wheat seed is almost unbelievable.
I have no strong opinions on GMOs, other than they are vital to modern agriculture and are controlled by a handful of companies. As far as the health effects on humans of this genetically engineered food, the jury is still out.
Call me cynical, but I don't see anything going back to "the good old days". Modern farming, like most industries, is all about economies of scale. Nixon's Secretary of Agriculture told farmers to plant "fence row to fence row" and to "grow or die". When I was a kid a third of the land was left fallow every three years to let it rest and replenish. Now farmers are double cropping the land- literally mining the soil. Obviously not sustainable.
If you get bored there are some good books about the Dust Bowl, which was a direct result of the consequences of capitalism and greed.
May the old timey farmers RIP.
One last thing- the tax haters could consider moving to Somalia or South Sudan. Taxes are a part of life in civilized societies. Accept that fact or complain and be pissed off the rest of your life.
I am fortunate to live in an area of small hardscrabble cow-calf operations and organic produce farms, weekend farm markets in every village. Of course this is a seasonal blessing, but one does what one can. During the winter months we can't avoid sharing our food with the urban lemmings but when I move to Panama I admit to holding out some hope that there will be fresh unadulterated produce available and maybe even chicken from time to time. Perhaps naive, but at least not shipped in from Peru and Cali! Except for the grapes?
The tax comment was in response to the person who feels that consumer goods should be inexpensive here because there's a Free Trade Zone.
About a decade ago, I discovered Panama had one of the highest kilos per hectare of pesticides in the world (Costa Rica is high too). There are a lot of bugs and plant infirmities that needed to be treated. I don't know what it is now. I suspect less with the covered green houses. I don't know how one confirms organic here. Testing and certification?
If an organic farm is next to a non organic farm, there is pesticide crossover.
When I first moved here there was a seller at the BCP who was suposssedly selling organic produce- can't remember exactly who it was. They did not allow visitors to their farm. I was immediately suspicious.
Moral of the story- wash everything you buy as thoroughly as possible.
GrayRiver Farms does not sell produce at the BCP, but I can tell you that a working farm is a really busy place. To have people come to look is a great distraction and time consuming.
We use no chemicals, hormones, routine antibiotics on our animals or food plants. We grow most of our own animal food.
But we do not have time for visitors. I suspect that most small producers are just like us.
Their response-
"We pursue these matters for three main reasons. First, no business can survive without being paid for its product. Second, the loss of this revenue would hinder our ability to invest in research and development to create new products to help farmers. We currently invest over $2.6 million per day to develop and bring new products to market. Third, it would be unfair to the farmers that honor their agreements to let others get away with getting it for free. Farming, like any other business, is competitive and farmers need a level playing field."
Kind of puts a tear in your eye doesn't it?
Rather than waste time on the facts/evils of Monsanto/Corporatism, I'd really enjoy some proof of "chemtrails". I can see the links coming already. Spare me. I'm quite capable of doing the Google. Spoiler alert- I don't believe everything I read. Anyone with half a brain realizes that some chemical sprayed from 30,000 ft. would become so dispersed that it likely would never even reach the earth surface- let alone target some population.
Color me disillusioned, but not paranoid.
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