For the non-botanists in the room - the bulk of the calories that we consume are seeds - wheat, corn, soybeans, you name the grain - all are seeds. Seeds are produced when the pollen from the flower of a plant travels on the wind to the flower of another plant, where the pollen fertilizes the flower by mixing genetic material - the same principle as human sex that has resulted in the magnificent variety of life forms on this planet. When GM pollen fertilizes the flower of a non-GM plant, the seeds that are produced are essentially half GMO, and carry some of those traits. A few years ago Monsanto launched a new type of seed imbued with a gene they called the Terminator, which made it impossible for the plants that grew from those seeds to produce viable seeds themselves. Because of the extreme danger of introducing the Terminator gene into the food supply, where (through cross-pollination) it could easily sterilize many of the world's food crops, the Terminator gene was abandoned. However, Monsanto has achieved a similar outcome through patent law - farmers who buy the seed must sign a contract stating that they will not attempt to save seed (save some of the year's crop for planting the following year, as farmers have been doing for thousands of years). If they do, or if a non-GM farmer's crop is pollinated by GM pollen, they can be sued for theft of intellectual property (despite the fact that the law does not account for the laws of physics or botany).
Sadly GMOs have made their way into every facet of American life - from the health food store to batteries to the gloss on magazines - and beyond, to the world, to India, where farmers commit suicide en masse because they can't afford the fancy chemicals Monsanto salesmen are pushing down their throats. It is an ugly mess, and the only way out is to demand proper labeling of GM foods, to avoid them like the plague, and to spread the word to your friends. Your dollar is your vote.
yeah until you flood people with this crap, and then they become desensitized and spiteful of all mail and stop opening anything or learn a trick to spotting it because they are sick of being harassed.
Judge Sumi is a left wing political hack. The only requirement of a meeting during a special session, is that it is posted on the assembly and senate bulletin boards. It was. A rule, I might add, that was written by Democrats.
That has got to be tough for the lefties to swallow.
Judge Sumi should change her ruling to the constitutionally correct one, and then resign. She is a perfect example of why Ms. Kloppenburg is wrong for our highest court.
Never let the constitution get in the way of creating your own laws.
Concerned Tax Payer
I thought the same thing at first, but it could also easily be someone inspired by their work. They did something similar with rebuilding of government-funded housing in Louisiana the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as well.
Hi,
For the non-botanists in the room - the bulk of the calories that we consume are seeds - wheat, corn, soybeans, you name the grain - all are seeds. Seeds are produced when the pollen from the flower of a plant travels on the wind to the flower of another plant, where the pollen fertilizes the flower by mixing genetic material - the same principle as human sex that has resulted in the magnificent variety of life forms on this planet. When GM pollen fertilizes the flower of a non-GM plant, the seeds that are produced are essentially half GMO, and carry some of those traits. A few years ago Monsanto launched a new type of seed imbued with a gene they called the Terminator, which made it impossible for the plants that grew from those seeds to produce viable seeds themselves. Because of the extreme danger of introducing the Terminator gene into the food supply, where (through cross-pollination) it could easily sterilize many of the world's food crops, the Terminator gene was abandoned. However, Monsanto has achieved a similar outcome through patent law - farmers who buy the seed must sign a contract stating that they will not attempt to save seed (save some of the year's crop for planting the following year, as farmers have been doing for thousands of years). If they do, or if a non-GM farmer's crop is pollinated by GM pollen, they can be sued for theft of intellectual property (despite the fact that the law does not account for the laws of physics or botany).
Sadly GMOs have made their way into every facet of American life - from the health food store to batteries to the gloss on magazines - and beyond, to the world, to India, where farmers commit suicide en masse because they can't afford the fancy chemicals Monsanto salesmen are pushing down their throats. It is an ugly mess, and the only way out is to demand proper labeling of GM foods, to avoid them like the plague, and to spread the word to your friends. Your dollar is your vote.
yeah until you flood people with this crap, and then they become desensitized and spiteful of all mail and stop opening anything or learn a trick to spotting it because they are sick of being harassed.
I contacted Whole Foods, and they denied an agreement with Monsanto. In fact, I doubt Monsanto would open a door for future litigation from farmers.
I thought the same thing at first, but it could also easily be someone inspired by their work. They did something similar with rebuilding of government-funded housing in Louisiana the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as well.
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