video at link
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/This-Company-May-Be-the-Biggest-Threat-to-Your-Future-Health-60284.aspx
On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television. It is a
documentary most Americans will never see, explaining how the gigantic biotech
corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity
which has served mankind for thousands of years.
For millennia, farmers have saved seeds from season to season. But when
Monsanto developed GM seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup,
Monsanto patented the seeds. For nearly all of its history the United States
Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant patents on seeds, viewing them as
life-forms with too many variables to be patented. But in 1980 the U.S. Supreme
Court allowed for seed patents in a five-to-four decision, laying the
groundwork for a handful of corporations to begin taking control of the worlds
food supply.
Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification
of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company.
Farmers who buy Monsantos Roundup Ready seeds are required to sign an
agreement promising not to save the seed produced after each harvest for
re-planting, or to sell the seed to other farmers. This means that farmers must
buy new seed every year.
Monsanto puts pressure on farmers, farmers co-ops, seed dealers, and anyone
else it suspects may have infringed its patents of genetically modified seeds.
To do this, Monsanto relies on a shadowy army of private investigators and
agents. They secretly videotape and photograph farmers, store owners, and
co-ops. They infiltrate community meetings. They gather information from
informants about farming activities.
Some Monsanto agents pretend to be surveyors. Others confront farmers on
their land and try to pressure them to sign papers giving Monsanto access to
their private records. Farmers call them the seed police and use words such
as Gestapo and Mafia to describe their tactics.
Sources:
Vanity Fair May 2008
between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99
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