There seems to be a gross misunderstanding here about GM. Please, let me explain. And please, read all the way to the end of this post, it get juicier as we approach the end!

Firstly, there's this misconception that there isn't enough food for the world population and that's why we need GM plants because it makes more food. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) has determined that we make more food in the world today than the world needs and that we can meet the demands of future needs without the use of GM crops. The reason people go hungry is because the produce is being poorly distributed worldwide, consumable food is being used on things like Biofuel while people die of hunger and many others.

For more information of the facts and international reports on food security, go here:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ca...orld-facts-vers

Here's a quick glimpse into the rosy world of GE agriculture:


The other misconception in this thread is about what GE is all about. I'm going to limit my discussion here on GE foods and agriculture only. I'm not going to even talk about designer babies, petroleum eating fungus, glowing cats and all other forms of GE organisms.

So really, what is GE agriculture? Is it all about making plants produce more vitamins? Is it about making plants live on less water?

Well the answer is, as usual, both yes and no. Yes, genetic engineering can make plants produce nutrients it naturally could not. Yes, genetic engineering can make plants grow using less resources while making more food.

But no, that's not all there is to it. And this is where things get real bad. I'm talking so bad that it's just downright evil.

Genetically modified plants are not like other plants. Most people think that GM plants is all about taking specific genes from some plants to boost the ability of another plant or editing the genetics of one plant to make it produce more food, more nutrients and use less resources like water and fertiliser.

Well, there's actually more to it than just that. Genetically modified plants are also made by adding those plants with genes from certain animals and bacteria. Fish genes in corn? While we're there let's also stick some spider genes in potatoes.

Modern genetically modified plants are made genetically resistant to certain powerful herbicides made by the same company that makes the GM plants in the first place. This means you can plant your entire farm with GM plants, then just spray the entire place with herbicide from the same company that sold you the GM seeds. All other plants like grass, weed and others will die except the GM plants. Convenient yes?

But wait, because you did that, the soil of your farm and the groundwater in your farm has now been polluted with that powerful herbicide. So now, you can't plant any other plants on your farm except the plants made by that GM plant company for the next few years! Talk about customer lock-in! Sounds a bit like iPod and iTunes now doesn't it? It is... it's just far more serious.

Why not use some other herbicide instead? Because those might not work with your GM plant and might end up killing the plants that you planted using expensive GM seeds from the GM plant company.

Aww poor thing. Can't you afford to buy more of those expensive GM seeds for the next round of farming? How about saving seeds from the previous harvest for re-plantation? Opps! Wait! You can't do that! Go and re-read your contract with you GM plant company! You have given permission, through the contract, for the GM company to do random spot-checks on your farm and all your facilities to make sure you're not reusing the seeds for re-plantation. And yes, they can audit you and then sue you all the way from the court to bankruptcy.

Oh and one more thing too, normally after a harvest, farmers plant plants like peanuts or other specific plants that suck in nitrogen from the air and lock it inside the ground. This is important as the restoration of nitrogen allows the next batch of plants to have a fertile land to grow in. But you can do this any more. Oh no, because you used that herbicide that your GM plant company gave you, now you cant even restore the fertility of your land. So what do you do? Buy fertiliser of course! And guess what? The same company that sold you the GM plants, the same company that sold you the herbicide also sells fertiliser! How cool is that! Kill 3 birds with one stone? I don't think so.

Oh do you also have problems with insects in your farm? Don't worry, the GM plants have been genetically modified to emit toxins that kill insects and other pests! You're free! So what about the effects on humans who consume these toxin emitting plants? Oh don't worry, they'll be fine. Studies have been inconclusive so far, so we assume it's safe until someone proves otherwise.

You must understand that all GM organisms are patented globally and are considered intellectual property. So who owns the intellectual property of GM organisms? Who are the guys who sell the GM plants, the herbicide and the fertiliser? 90% of the patents are owned by Monsanto Corporation while the he other 10% is among others owned by Syngenta AG, Bayer AG and DuPont Corporation.

Try YouTube for "Monsanto" and see what kind of a company we're talking about here. These are the same evil masterminds people who plan to "feed the world".

But the farmers have a choice right? I mean if they don't want to get screwed by companies like Monsanto, they can just stick with the tried and true method?

To answer that, let me tell you a story. This is a true story. It's a story of an illegal war, a story of invasion, a story of fallen dictators and a story of the imposition of a new order at gunpoint. This is the story of Iraq.

During the invasion of Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, almost all of the farmland in Iraq was destroyed. Iraq's seedbank (most governments store agricultural seeds for food emergencies) was bombed and hence there's no more seed in Iraq to resume farming after the invasion. Once the invasion was complete and the coalition took control of Iraq, the countries established a new government led by the United States, called the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) which was eventually led by a guy named Lewis Paul Bremer III (Bremer for short).

So now we have a hungry nation that desperately needs seeds for farming. Don't worry! America will save them all! And so the US brought in Monsanto and gang to provide the seed needs of Iraq. So now, almost all Iraqi farms are GM farms! Cool eh? Look how GM is "effectively feeding the world"! GM is great! Wohooo!!1

While he was boss, Bremer authorised a series of 100 orders called Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 1 all the way to 100. The full list of orders is available here: http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/i...tml#Regulations

From that list, look at Order 39, Order 17, Order 57, Order 77 and finally Order 81.
(Heads Up: Those links on that page is PDF files)

Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 81 - Patent, Industrial Desgin, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Law

In those orders you would find that all Iraqi public businesses are automatically transferred to foreign hands and how it has been made illegal for farmers to save seeds. It's also illegal for farmers to try and cross breed the GM plants with others, also illegal for farmers to plant a mix of GM and non-GM plants.



If you have a non-GM farm and somehow your field gets contaminated by GM plants, you can get yourself sued.

And oh guess what? The CPA Orders also cannot be reversed by any democratically elected Iraqi government for the next 40 years! That's 2043 mind you! Now this is serious lock in! I'm sure Steve Jobs wishes he could get in on this!

This is what GM is all about. It's always all about the money. You want to feed the world? You want to end hunger? You must spend your time thinking of ways to improve logistics, you think of ways to have more equal distribution of food and you think about how to prevent greed.

More information on GM and GM-related issues:
1. Greenpeace Genetic Modification page (lots of info)
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ca...tic-engineering

2. Blog from an Argentinian girl about the destruction GM causes in her hometown
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/ge/archives/001374.html

3. An Iraqi guy's views on Paul Bremer's 100 orders (CPA Orders @ Bremer Orders)
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=42948

4. More on why Iraqi farmers and people are suffering
http://www.alternet.org/world/62273/

5. More on Iraq seed issue
http://hubpages.com/hub/Seeds-ofChangeDemo...Farming-Methods

6. How the Coalition Provisional Authority has completely taken over Iraq's economy
http://www.ifg.org/news/IraqHandOver.html

7. Complete list of CPA Orders
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/i...tml#Regulations

8. YouTube video explaining the problem of GM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H9WZGKQeYg

This post has been edited by DeniseLau: Oct 27 2009, 03:59 PM