Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Will You Support Monsanto's Organic Varieties?

I have mixed feelings about Monsanto right now.  Breeding better varieties by crossbreeding has long been accepted whereas using enzymes, bacteria and viruses to genetically modifying genes has had a lot of us concerned, and calling for an all out boycott of Monsanto and other biotech corporations.

For me it's not so much that I fear their food, but more that they are not required to keep those genes contained and isolated, and when they escape they are legally allowed to claim ownership of plants infected by their Frankenstein genes.   It seems obvious to me this law was bought and paid for. So much for logic in our legal system,

Here's where is gets troublesome. Monsanto also breeds better varieties the same way it's always been done, but they are using their knowledge of genes to select only the offspring that they wish to propagate allowing them to create superior varieties thousands maybe millions of times more efficiently than traditional crossbreeding. 

I have to say this is brilliant, but here's where I find trouble brewing.  Monsanto is likely to use the same laws that allow them to detect their genetic patent in plants that are accidentally infected (pollinated) by these varieties.

I would love to show my support for Monsanto's crossbred varieties, but not if it will hasten their ownership of every seed and plant on Earth.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/01/new-monsanto-vegetables/

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