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In reply to the discussion: I'm just going to leave this here quietly, then run like hell.... [View all]Major Nikon
(36,855 posts)I think some larger conglomerates have managed to modify patent laws to their benefit. Whether this best serves the interests of the public or best serves the interest of companies like Monsanto is certainly debatable.
I'm not going to defend Monsanto, but one thing I will say that at least some of the charges leveled against them don't seem to be very balanced. The case of the Indian farmer suicides was sensationalized by the film that was released, but that doesn't seem to be all there is to the story. At least one news outlet in India seems to think their financial system is more to blame. Farmers in developing countries tend to be poorly educated and highly susceptible to predatory financial practices. The same thing happened to American farmers for many decades. The product that Monsanto produced doubled yields while reducing pesticide use by 40%. This can't be altogether a bad thing. Now perhaps they were in cahoots with the financiers who took advantage of the farmers, but I just don't see how destroying their customer base ultimately benefits them. I'm not sure we'll ever know the whole story because press freedom is not exactly the same in India as it is here.
http://www.firstpost.com/living/indias-farmer-suicides-film-indicts-us-corporate-greed-482009.html
Personally I think there's going to be a lot more anti-GMO converts after Mark Lynas. GMO is not turning out to be the bogeyman some made it out to be and GMO is beginning to solve problems that traditional farming has no answer for like growing staple crops like rice in areas which can't be used to grow traditional rice and fortifying it with vitamins that are going to save millions of lives. I just don't see the Mark Lynas of the world feeding hungry people and preventing children from dying or going blind from vitamin deficiencies. At some point you have to start wondering who the real bogeyman is. And while I would certainly agree with you that plant patent laws should receive a thorough review, hopefully by someone like Elizabeth Warren who can ferret out corporate greed, I don't think half-baked ideas like scraping all the plant patent laws is going to serve the interests of anyone save those who want to bring down Monsanto regardless of the cost.
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