GMO giants and the humble farmer

That is frightning! And I thought I knew a fair amount about GMO's but this was eye opening to say the leaste...
"If they can't find a farmer at home and they don't know his mailing address, they can go to the local municipality and get the location of his land. They will then use a small airplane or helicopter and drop a Monsanto Roundup herbicide spray bomb on the field. It covers about 30 feet in diameter, in the centre of a canola or soybean field.

About 12 days after Roundup has time to activate, they'll fly back. If the crop, which was hit by the spray, has died they'll know the farmer has not been using Monsanto's Roundup, but if it hasn't died, God help the farmer.

These are the tactics. I'm talking about Canada and the US. This is what a multinational corporation is doing here."

Also
"Believe me, as a farmer for half a century, I know that once you introduce a GMO gene into the environment, into any seed or plant, it's a dominant gene. It will eventually take over whatever species of plants it gets into. You can't have GMOs in the country and have organic or conventional farmers.

The other issue is wheat. If GM wheat is ever given regulatory approval, which is before the federal government right now, it will totally destroy the organic farmers because wheat comes from the grass family and again will cross-pollinate into both the close and even the distant cousins in canola and wild mustard. So, remember there's no such thing as containment or co-existence.
I'll say that if anything is going to lead to starvation or hunger it's the introduction of GMOs around the world."

And lastly:
"In the US there are six major drugs now being produced by plants. I'm told by scientists from universities in Indiana, Ohio and Nebraska that there is already cross-pollination with close cousins of these species. The pharmaceutical plants are primarily sunflowers and corn, or maize. Some of the prescription drugs being produced by plants are vaccines, industrial enzymes, blood thinners, blood clotting proteins, growth hormones and contraceptive drugs. These are all prescription drugs now being produced by plants which are in the open.
What if someone has major surgery and then eats a food laced with a blood thinner, or if a pregnant woman eats a food laced with a contraceptive? The introduction of what they call pharma-plants, or prescription drug plants, is the worst curse that is coming. Whether it's GM wheat or soybeans these prescription drugs are something we should all be concerned about."

I used to think if you buy organic then you'd be spared GMO's, but it sounds like a matter of time before all food crops could be contaminated!!! Monsanto and their like just piss me off to no end!!!

Edited to add - I commend this farmer and his persistant resistance to intimidation by Monsanto. I hope he wins his court case - it seems like the only way to make a change in the steamroller tactics of Monsanto...

I am terrified. Utterly terrified. How does one fight something like THAT back???

Oh, yeah. I've been following this for some years, now. This is a really big deal to farmers.

Outside of the Ag. newsletters, etc., you only could read about it in Mother Jones and the business pages of a decent daily (like NYT or WSJ or WP). After all, Monsanto's stock might have been at risk if Schmeiser won his case!

I grew up on a small family farm. It has been in our family since the mid-1800s. Moved away at 18, like so many other farm kids, & now live in a city on the other side of the planet..... You could drop me there blindfolded today, & I'd still know the place like I never left.....

Along the way I picked up a few college degrees, first in PoliSci/natural resource management, then a master's in env. studies, & now, finally, I'm working on a degree in plant ecology & invasive weed management. So I think it's fair to say that I have a pretty good understanding of the reproductive biology of plants & how different species spread & adapt to new habitat and/or environmental conditions.
.........

Could have told them (Monsanto) ten years ago when they first started with the GMO crops that there was no way to prevent cross-pollination. Unless their botanists were totally incompetent (& I don't think they were), they no doubt understood this too. No one will ever be able to afford to prove that in court, of course.

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This topic makes me feel pretty angry deep down inside. The intimidation of farmers & their families in particular really gets me wound up. But, on the other hand, Monsanto is a massive multi-national corporation with a duty to make as much money as possible for their shareholders. What more can we expect from them, really??