Interesting Article on Monsato

[Ellie]

me&thegals,
Yes, dacjohns is correct. I have been doing some reading on this subject. Monsanto has been buying up the seed companies for a while. For instance, Burpee would be one of them and there are several others.

Ellie

 

[me&thegals]

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Well, crud! I will have to stop orderning any seed from them. Fortunately, much of mine comes from Seed Saver's Exchange and Seds of Change anyway.

Ellie--do you have any more details, like any other holdings Monsanto has, or companies they now own? I think their practices are so despicable that I would love to boycott them--I hope I'm not causing offense here. I find it scary to have seed monopolies and would love to support anybody out there who's keeping available heritage/heirloom seed varieties.

Irony of ironies, I just found out that my newest CSA (organic!) customer is a crop geneticist for Monsanto. Isn't that incredible?!? And, a new friend of ours works with him. How crazy is that? I'm going to try to have a civil conversation with each of them to try to understand things from the other side...

 

[tiki244]

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I dont know dacjohns I dont really think that I am all that informed although I feel my own choices are right. I have never lived in any other part of the country so I really wouldnt know what to tell you. To me it is just "normal" here.

We have a justlocalfood store like so many other towns and a few "health food" stores. Our farmers market is booming, and Wisconsin does have a lot of small dairys. Places that make their own organic cheese and ice cream are popping up like flys on flypaper

(sorry)

There appears to be a movement- trend towards this type of food, but a lot of people still go grocery shopping the same way their mothers and grandmothers did, at the grocery store. Even though the food, IMO, isnt of the same quality that it used to be. I have seen some documentarys with info on hormones in milk and read some books and IMO it doesnt sound too kosher. But generally it is business as usual for most people in this area. (kinda like the global warming thing)
I am not connected to the dairy industry in anyway so I do not know too much about that.
I do have a relative in the garden and crop seed business and not all seeds are Monsanto seeds. This business sells to quite a few farmers and they are doing quite well., so it appears farmers are buying these organic seeds for their crops also. There are a few nice seed companies that sell organic garden seeds.

Yreah I didnt get the Seeds of Change catalog this year but next year for sure I need to get it and order some dry bean seeds. That is an awesome catalog.

 

[kstaven]

I always thought with the move towards more organics that the monies government spends to keep farmers from farming would be better spent helping those who want to transition to organic crops do so. Considering the food situation world wide wouldn't it be better to grow more in the country and thus have control over more of your own food supply?

 

[dacjohns]

Thanks tiki.

I lived in Medford for 9 months and like the area. Lots of dairy farms. I appeared that the dairy business is highly regulated and safe but the growth hormone subject never came up when I talked with people about milk.

I realize not all seeds are Monsanto but I got the impression from looking for heritage seed information that most prepackaged seeds you get from your local store are Monsanto even though there is a different brand on the package.

Miss good cheese and fresh curds. If they don't squeek they aren't fresh.

 

[kstaven]

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It is legalized extortion in my opinion. The mafia in the 30's were not that greedy.

The one thing that it has done is pushed cowshares and farmshares into the forefront because that is the only choice left to the consumer here. Farmers involved in these types of operations are actually making money again.

Currently we get 8 - 10 enquiries every month from farmers asking how to set up in this manner. They are seeing that demand is so much greater than the supply. Some operations haven't had shares available in several years now, and new operators sell out very quickly. It is encouraging to see more people sending a message with their buying choices. Of course the powers that be are always looking for ways to shut us all down. If we can stay in the game long enough to get enough public support that game will come to an end. Even the government can't afford to annoy too many consumers. They just may not get elected and have to find a real job!

 

[tiki244]

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yes definetely squeak squeak

I think Medford is fairly close,,,,within 120 mile radius of here

 

[tiki244]

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YES I think so,,,,,,,,

and with the price of gas it makes sense to grow local,,,,,

well one can hope,,,,,,there could be a drastic turn of events here,,,,,,,,,,its not impossible is it?

 

[tiki244]

I have heard tell that Maine has a lot of Organic dairy farmers and progressive thinkers,,,,,,,,,,, I wonder what they are doing to succeed?

 

[chickenannie]

me&thegals :

kstaven--thanks for the perspective from the other side. These issues get so hot that it's hard to step back and try to see the reasoning from the other side.

My husband is a crop farmer who has bought seed from Monsanto. He has very few other options from seed dealers in our area. Until this year, his crop prices have been horrific. It is very difficult for a small farmer to get by, and so they go for the highest yield possible, even if that includes GMO. Even if most of the GMO corn goes to ethanol anyway.

I, on the other hand, have an organic CSA garden. So, as you can imagine, we "discuss" these issues with great passion and vehemence in our home! There are really many sides to every issue.

Unfortunately, it usually comes down to money. If you want GMO-free food, buy organic. It will cost you more, but you will be certain of getting GMO-free food. People (farmers) will grow what people are paying for. In America, though, we are used to really, really cheap food and really, really cheap gas. But, with the explosion of the organic food sector in our country, you can bet that farmers are paying attention. Unfortunately, they don't get help in that tough 3-year transition time from conventional to organic.

So, I think it comes down to money and politics... Just my opinion...

Are you sure that Certified Organic doesn't allow GMOs? I'm not sure about the standards, but I heard the GMOs are allowed (though they absolutely shouldn't be allowed). Anyone know?​