Monsanto has developed genetically engineered seeds that make second generation plants sterile. This means farmers can't save seeds from their crops for next year's planting; an integral part of farming since Mesopotamia.
The call them "terminator" seeds, because they terminate the reproductive genes of the plants in second generations seeds.
This means farmers that buy from Monsanto have to buy new seeds every year, raising costs for farmers and us.
Companies like Monsanto are aiming to
control the food supply. In times where food riots are becoming increasingly common, how can something like this be legal?
Genetic use restriction technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is so dangerous and immoral, and dangerous!
In India, farmers are committing suicide in huge numbers. This is due to the increasing costs of pesticides, fertilizers and seeds like these.
India's suicide-prone farmers go back to basics
Monsanto has not been shy about enforcing its "patents" on genetically engineered plants. (How the hell can one patent FOOD??)
Monsanto Sues Midwest Farmers for Saving Soybean Seeds Quote:
PILOT GROVE, Mo. | Soybean farmer David Brumback calls himself a loyal customer of Monsanto Co. His product of choice: genetically engineered seeds resistant to pesticides and weed killers.
So when the biotech giant named Brumback and more than 100 other local farmers in a subpoena seeking five years of sales records, his first reaction was befuddlement. Then anger.
"With Monsanto, you're guilty until you're proven innocent," he said.
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What say you? Do you think this is a dangerous development? What can and should we do about it?