Is Frankenfood Planting the Seeds of Starvation?

Primary tabs

Secondary tabs

... (Object) stdClass
- vid (String, 4 characters ) 4917
- uid (String, 3 characters ) 316
- title (String, 48 characters ) Is Frankenfood Planting the Seeds of Starvation?
- log (String, 0 characters )
- status (String, 1 characters ) 1
- comment (String, 1 characters ) 2
- promote (String, 1 characters ) 0
- sticky (String, 1 characters ) 0
- nid (String, 4 characters ) 4917
- type (String, 17 characters ) drupalimc_article
- language (String, 3 characters ) und
- created (String, 10 characters ) 1238734968
- changed (String, 10 characters ) 1238737326
- tnid (String, 1 characters ) 0
- translate (String, 1 characters ) 0
- revision_timestamp (String, 10 characters ) 1238737326
- revision_uid (String, 3 characters ) 316
- body (Array, 1 element)
 - und (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (Array, 5 elements)
 
 value (String, 4888 characters ) <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Tra...
 
 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> Can a form of life be patented? Should it? What if it is something essential for human survival? This might sound like a debate from Star Trek or an academic project for ethics class. But in the case of Genetically Modified food, the answer has already been decided to be â€œyes.â€ According to its creators, huge agribusinesses like Monsanto, GM food allows crops to withstand harsher conditions and stronger pesticides than natural varieties. But there are scientific questions and risks. GM foods have been suspected in causing allergic reactions in some humans. They could also become an invasive species, destroying other crops or mutating into something unforeseen. They have been suspected in the deaths of millions of honeybees. Type 2 Diabetes began to increase at about the same time genetically modified corn began to enter the food chain. This may not be a coincidence. Corn products are found in many foods. Corn syrup is a common, inexpensive sweeting agent. Beef and dairy cattle raised in â€œfeed lotsâ€ are fed largely corn diets. Genetically Modified food is sometimes referred to as Frankenfood, after the destructive artificial life form created by Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelly's novel. Even more frightening than that name, or the potential health risks, are the business practices of the companies who perpetuate this stuff. Unlike natural crops, a farmer cannot save seeds from year to year to plant the next season's crop. The seeds are engineered not to grow. Instead, the farmer must purchase new seeds from the company every year. Only the alloted, purchased amount can be grown. Sometimes farmers have to pay an additional license fee to the company. The plants are also equipped with a genetic â€œmarkerâ€ identifying them as â€œpropertyâ€ not of the farmer, but of the company. The companies send out enforcement agents to check that the licenses are being followed and farmers found with these crops â€œillegallyâ€ on their land face lawsuits for patent infringement and hefty penalties. Unfortunately nature does not respect the boundaries set up by the Frankenfood companies. Insects, birds and wind carry pollen from Frankenfood fields into those of neighboring farms who may not have purchased the expensive licenses. When the seeds of those cross-pollinated plants grow, the resulting plants may contain the genetic marker of the GM plants. This is considered illegal and if caught the neighbor could be sued and fined. This is especially a problem in Mexico. NAFTA gave American corporations special rights, and the Mexican legal system is tilted in favor of the big wealthy companies. Mexican family farmers often lose their land after being caught with â€œillegalâ€ GM crops. Unable to pay the steep fines, the farmers end up losing the land which then ends up in the hands of the Frankenfood company. This land may have been in the family for hundreds of years. With no way of making a living these peasant farmers often seek work in the United States, exacerbating the problem of illegal immigration. Iraq is another country where Frankenfood companies have been given special privileges. This was part of the â€œCoalition Provisional Authorityâ€ agreement. Iraqi farmers may not save seeds from year to year, they must purchase new ones from the company every growing season. What happens if the company goes out of business, or a political upheaval drives it out of the country? Suppose economic strife makes farmers unable to purchase costly new seeds? Will the people be able to eat? Will all these GM crops render the natural varieties sterile? There once was a name for this sort of business model. It was called a racket. Now where are all the angry people with their torches and pitchforks? This monster clearly needs to be driven out of town. I would like to thank Jello Biafra, Sam Seder, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Mike Papantonio for providing me with material for this piece.
 
 summary (NULL)
 
 format (String, 9 characters ) full_html
 
 safe_value (String, 4791 characters )  Can...
 
 Can a form of life be patented? Should it? What if it is something essential for human survival? This might sound like a debate from Star Trek or an academic project for ethics class. But in the case of Genetically Modified food, the answer has already been decided to be â€œyes.â€ According to its creators, huge agribusinesses like Monsanto, GM food allows crops to withstand harsher conditions and stronger pesticides than natural varieties. But there are scientific questions and risks. GM foods have been suspected in causing allergic reactions in some humans. They could also become an invasive species, destroying other crops or mutating into something unforeseen. They have been suspected in the deaths of millions of honeybees. Type 2 Diabetes began to increase at about the same time genetically modified corn began to enter the food chain. This may not be a coincidence. Corn products are found in many foods. Corn syrup is a common, inexpensive sweeting agent. Beef and dairy cattle raised in â€œfeed lotsâ€ are fed largely corn diets. Genetically Modified food is sometimes referred to as Frankenfood, after the destructive artificial life form created by Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelly's novel. Even more frightening than that name, or the potential health risks, are the business practices of the companies who perpetuate this stuff. Unlike natural crops, a farmer cannot save seeds from year to year to plant the next season's crop. The seeds are engineered not to grow. Instead, the farmer must purchase new seeds from the company every year. Only the alloted, purchased amount can be grown. Sometimes farmers have to pay an additional license fee to the company. The plants are also equipped with a genetic â€œmarkerâ€ identifying them as â€œpropertyâ€ not of the farmer, but of the company. The companies send out enforcement agents to check that the licenses are being followed and farmers found with these crops â€œillegallyâ€ on their land face lawsuits for patent infringement and hefty penalties. Unfortunately nature does not respect the boundaries set up by the Frankenfood companies. Insects, birds and wind carry pollen from Frankenfood fields into those of neighboring farms who may not have purchased the expensive licenses. When the seeds of those cross-pollinated plants grow, the resulting plants may contain the genetic marker of the GM plants. This is considered illegal and if caught the neighbor could be sued and fined. This is especially a problem in Mexico. NAFTA gave American corporations special rights, and the Mexican legal system is tilted in favor of the big wealthy companies. Mexican family farmers often lose their land after being caught with â€œillegalâ€ GM crops. Unable to pay the steep fines, the farmers end up losing the land which then ends up in the hands of the Frankenfood company. This land may have been in the family for hundreds of years. With no way of making a living these peasant farmers often seek work in the United States, exacerbating the problem of illegal immigration. Iraq is another country where Frankenfood companies have been given special privileges. This was part of the â€œCoalition Provisional Authorityâ€ agreement. Iraqi farmers may not save seeds from year to year, they must purchase new ones from the company every growing season. What happens if the company goes out of business, or a political upheaval drives it out of the country? Suppose economic strife makes farmers unable to purchase costly new seeds? Will the people be able to eat? Will all these GM crops render the natural varieties sterile? There once was a name for this sort of business model. It was called a racket. Now where are all the angry people with their torches and pitchforks? This monster clearly needs to be driven out of town. I would like to thank Jello Biafra, Sam Seder, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Mike Papantonio for providing me with material for this piece.
 
 safe_summary (String, 0 characters )
- field_drupalimc_categories (Array, 1 element)
 - und (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (Array, 1 element)
 
 tid (String, 2 characters ) 25
- field_drupalimc_local_interest (Array, 1 element)
 - und (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (Array, 1 element)
 
 value (String, 1 characters ) 1
- field_drupalimc_migrated_images (Array, 0 elements)
- field_drupalimc_gallery (Array, 0 elements)
- field_drupalimc_author (Array, 0 elements)
- rdf_mapping (Array, 9 elements)
 - rdftype (Array, 2 elements)
 
 0 (String, 9 characters ) sioc:Item
 
 1 (String, 13 characters ) foaf:Document
 - title (Array, 1 element)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 8 characters ) dc:title
 - created (Array, 3 elements)
 
 predicates (Array, 2 elements)
 
 0 (String, 7 characters ) dc:date
 
 1 (String, 10 characters ) dc:created
 
 datatype (String, 12 characters ) xsd:dateTime
 
 callback (String, 12 characters ) date_iso8601 | (Callback) date_iso8601();
 - changed (Array, 3 elements)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 11 characters ) dc:modified
 
 datatype (String, 12 characters ) xsd:dateTime
 
 callback (String, 12 characters ) date_iso8601 | (Callback) date_iso8601();
 - body (Array, 1 element)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 15 characters ) content:encoded
 - uid (Array, 2 elements)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 16 characters ) sioc:has_creator
 
 type (String, 3 characters ) rel
 - name (Array, 1 element)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 9 characters ) foaf:name
 - comment_count (Array, 2 elements)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 16 characters ) sioc:num_replies
 
 datatype (String, 11 characters ) xsd:integer
 - last_activity (Array, 3 elements)
 
 predicates (Array, 1 element)
 
 0 (String, 23 characters ) sioc:last_activity_date
 
 datatype (String, 12 characters ) xsd:dateTime
 
 callback (String, 12 characters ) date_iso8601 | (Callback) date_iso8601();
- signature (String, 0 characters )
- spaminess (Float) 0
- cid (String, 1 characters ) 0
- last_comment_timestamp (String, 10 characters ) 1328067715
- last_comment_name (NULL)
- last_comment_uid (String, 3 characters ) 316
- comment_count (String, 1 characters ) 0
- name (String, 10 characters ) AlBrundage
- picture (String, 1 characters ) 0
- data (String, 4 characters ) b:0;
Krumo version 0.2.1a
| http://krumo.sourceforge.net
Called from /home/members/rochindymedia/sites/rochester.indymedia.org/web/includes/menu.inc, line 527

Upcoming Events

Is Frankenfood Planting the Seeds of Starvation?

Primary tabs

Secondary tabs

Krumo version 0.2.1a

Local News

Recent Comments

Syndication

Account Creation Policy Change

Editorial Meeting Times / Locations

Upcoming Events

Is Frankenfood Planting the Seeds of Starvation?

Primary tabs

Secondary tabs

Krumo version 0.2.1a

Search form

Local News

Recent Comments

Syndication

Account Creation Policy Change

Editorial Meeting Times / Locations