-20th century manufacturer of nitrogen-based bombs (WWI) lead to development of nitrogen-based chemical fertilizer
-nerve gas (WWII) - slightly modified to make insecticides
-green revolution - new technologies used for agriculture
-large fields planted with only one variety of crop
-mono-cultures created an ecological vacuum
-insects and disease could easily exploit weakness
-uniformity of crops led to greatest famines in history
-mid 1800's (Ireland) - few potato crops, diseased supply led to millions of deaths
-similar potato blight (Peru) - suffered fewer consequences
-only four varieties widely grown today
-97% of varieties of vegetables grown in beginning of 20th century - extinct
-genetic uniformity leads to increased vulnerability to insects and disease
-the more farmers sprayed, the more they had to spray pesticides
-increased costs, polluted waters and increased health risks
-1970's - Monsanto introduced Round-Up (popular weed-killer)
-90's - green revolution turned into GENE revolution
-Monsanto genetically modified seeds to be Round-Up ready
-sells seed and herbicide (monopoly)
-tried to patent seeds (controversy on moral grounds)
-plant-breeders granted permission to patent work (not subsequent generations of seed)
-1978 - first living organism taken to patent office (oil-eating microbe)
-denied permission - took to supreme court with GE and won
-this opened flood gates for genetic engineering
-Monsanto bought $8 million worth of seed companies and patented genetically modified seeds and seeds that were not genetically engineered
-Monsanto owns about 11,000 patents
-1997 - Canadian farmer sprayed Round-Up around power lines - some canola did not die
-Monsanto found out and went on farmer's land, took samples without permission
-decided it was their patented canola seed
-1998 - Monsanto sued farmer for "illegally" obtaining patent
-court decided it did not matter how Monsanto's seed got on land (cross-pollination, blown off trucks, wind, etc.) - farmer infringed on patent
-farmer advised not to reseed with own seed (as it has been contaminated by Monsanto's seed). over 1,000 pounds of crop that had naturally grown immune to diseases of area over decades were destroyed
-2000 - North Dakota farmer sued by Monsanto - farmer infringed on patent
-told to never save seed
-75% of world's 1.4 billion farmers depend on saved seed
-Canadian court ruled any plant mixed with Monsanto seed becomes Monsanto property
-only way to know if crops are contaminated is to spray with Round-Up
-kill your crops and surviving crops belong to Monsanto
-1975 conference held to discuss safety and ethics of new gene modifying technology\
-pledged to keep genetically modified organisms safely within labs
-Medical Biotechnology has created many life-saving products (vaccines, insulin, treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility, hepatitis all created in labs)
-plants reproduce and genetically modified plants released into environment cannot be controlled
-to genetically modify foods, bacteria and viruses are created to invade cells and deposit foreign genes
-three government agencies are responsible for regulation of GMOs
-Department of Agriculture - environmental impact, regulates GMO field testing
-study of over 8000 GMO test applications showed USDA did not require a single environmental assessment
-Environmental Protection Agency - regulates insecticides - BT (a natural insecticide) is engineered into every cell of genetically modified BT crops
-Food and Drug Administration - responsible for food safety/any novel substance in food must be tested
-companies argued that what they were doing was "substantially equivalent" to classical breeding practices and should not be regulated
-at the same time, companies were insisting on patenting products - in order for patent, product must be different from everything else (contradiction)
-80%-90% of Americans want genetically modified organisms to be labeled, companies do not to avoid liability and traceability
-bill stagnates in congress for over ten years
-several Monsanto employees held government positions and helped limit regulations on the company and its campaign to push GMOs
-"super weeds" (immune to herbicide) cause farmers to use deadly chemicals to kill off weeds, such as one similar to agent orange (shown to cause birth defects)
-companies do tests themselves and report to government - voluntarily
-in U.S. alone, genetically modified canola, corn, cotton and soybeans:
-1980's - 0 acres
-1996 - 3.7 million acres
-2003 - 100 million acres
-1998 - Mexico banned GMOs to protect varieties of corn and heritage
-1970 - corn blight in U.S. destroyed millions of acres of corn
-America lucky to find strain of Mexican corn resistant to blight
-in 2000 genetically modified corn was found growing in remote area of Mexico
-GM corn entered gene-line of ancient Mexican strain
-cheaper for Mexicans to buy imported American seeds than to grow it themselves
-3 or 4 applications for patents of tortilla in Mexico
-by 2003, the U.S. sold millions of pounds of GM corn to Mexico for less than the cost of growing it - resistance around the world grew against U.S. GMO exports
-$1.50 for bread - all companies take percentage, by the time profit comes to farmer, only a nickel is left. powerful input suppliers on other side of food production can take that five cents
-a bushel of corn to a farmer costs $3.20, net return is $2.20. there is a loss of $1.00/bushel
-government subsidies keep farmers in business (only support corn, wheat, cotton and soybeans)
-2002 - president Bush signed one of the largest subsidy bills yet
-results in every American taxpayer paying personal subsidy to agricultural biotechnology industry - $20 billion
-U.S. subsidizes crops, Europe subsidizes its farmers, Canada and Mexico subsidize neither
-vast majority of food NOT genetically engineered - controversy over GM wheat (possible threat)
-GM wheat - potential for contamination through GM wheat fields
-do not know where the fields are in the U.S.
-biotech industry aggressively attacked scientists/universities whose research questioned the safety and impact of GM crops
-40% of monarch butterflies fed BT corn in lab died unexpectedly
-patented gene used in breast cancer research - attacked people working for cure
-multinational corporations are merging to monopolize food industry (consolidation)
-80% of beef products come from four companies
-majority of seeds farmers use come from four clusters of companies
-retailers consolidating too - no choice of products for consumer in future
-marketing for biotech - "cure for world starvation"
-800 million people starve - due to huge loans from bankers
-grow expensive export crops - back to 1st world to pay off loans
-problem of hunger NOT a production problem, but an ACCESS problem
-biotechnology created terminator technology - a suicide gene (after one planting, seeds become sterile) - 15 patents on suicide gene
-more crops approved for GM release (future of "Biotech")
-including pants used for plastics, pharmacueticals
-looking to genetically modify fish and other crustaceans and ocean foods
-estimated that if 60 genetically engineered salmon are released - extinction in 40 generations
-livestock, poultry, insects, trees all planned to be genetically modified
-people, however, want a different relationship between food, nature and their bodies
-grow locally and organically (with human relationship to food in mind)
-crops travel 50 miles, not 15,000
-learn to respect the evolution (natural) of crops and balance in nature
-1990 - government tried to define "organic" to include irradiation, sewage sludge, and GMO's
-received largest civil protest (275K people)
-decided to keep standards PURE
-consumers spent $1 billion or organic food in 1990, $13 billion in 2003
-number of farmers' markets in U.S. increased by 79% between 1994 and 2002
-ten states passed state constitutional amendments banning non-family farming
-efficiency vs. diversity
-organic farming, farmers' markets and community supported agriculture are three (of many) alternatives to the industrialized food model
