Genetically modified Alfalfa?...........
Posted on 09/23/2013 8:17:27 AM PDT by opentalk
The detection of a small amount of genetically modified material in a Washington state farmer's non-GMO alfalfa crop constitutes a "commercial issue" only and does not warrant any government action, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday.
The Washington state farmer had complained in late August to state agricultural officials that his alfalfa hay had been rejected for export sale because of the presence of a genetically modified trait that makes the crop resistant to herbicide.
The event triggered a wave of concern from consumer and agricultural groups who have fought the government for nearly a decade to keep biotech alfalfa from contaminating conventional and organic supplies.
Crop experts have warned that the confirmation of contamination threatens U.S. sales of alfalfa feedstock to many Asia nations who reject GMOs, and some are encouraging farmers to test every bag of seed they buy before they plant.
But USDA said the detection of Monsanto Co's patented Roundup Ready herbicide-tolerant trait in the Washington farmer's non-GMO alfalfa crop should be addressed by the marketplace and not the government.
(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.reuters.com ...
</sarcasm>
The USDA is probably the single most sold-out department in the federal government.
The U.S. wheat industry was nearly brought to its knees after the discovery of a genetically modified strain Monsanto (NYSE: MON ) had tested years ago was inexplicably found growing in an Oregon farmer's field. Because most of the rest of the world rejects GM wheat and the wheat from the Pacific Northwest is mostly targeted for export, the ramifications of the discovery were massive.
Now it's deja vu all over again. A Washington State farmer had his alfalfa crop rejected by a broker after it tested positive for the presence of genetic modification. The implications for this recurrence are just as profound as they were for wheat.
They probably will.
They HAVE successfully sued small-time corn farmers for theft because pollen from Monsanto fields blew into the fields of farmers trying to grow heritage corns and perverted their crops.
Should be the other way around. Those bastards should be required to confine their mutant stuff away from natural crops. But they have the teams of $10,000 an hour lawyers, and their government friends, so the little guy doesn’t have a chance against the behemoth.
There is no “probably” about it. They will destroy this lowly peasant farmer. How dare he steal the property of his masters!
Yeah, I don’t often think about this subject, but when I do, it makes me furious.
Genetically modified Alfalfa?...........
Me too! The subject seems to be a bit of a quandary for some conservatives, but only the low information types. Monsanto and its ilk are the epitome of crony capitalism in all her whorish glory.
And like McCarthy to the leftist, anyone who even questions the logic of their potentially destroying the essence of life and liberty is nothing but an ignorant, brutish Luddite.
As long as the wind blows and insects pollinate there will be no way to stop one crop from being contaminated from another.
the only way to ensure that an alfalfa hay field does not become contaminated by the RR gene is to isolate the field at least five miles from the closest RR alfalfa field and to cut the hay before the alfalfa flowers. Maintaining purity is in all practicality impossible unless the entire county prohibits any RR alfalfa production as does the Imperial Valley in CA. Additionally, there has to be a 5 mile buffer from the county line. Individual growers have individual cropping systems with respect to quality of ground and crop rotation. Bees carry the pollen that cause the cross contamination, so either eliminate the bee industry or the Roundup Ready alfalfa or eventually all alfalfa fields will become contaminated by the RR gene. One can soon thank Monsanto for taking over the entire alfalfa seed production in the US.
They probably will. It has happened when other GMO crops pollinated non-GMO crops. The contaminated crop was considered copyright infringement, even though the contamination was NOT desired and occurred in nature.
To many ignorant people, this man represents evil. But then, most people don't even know who he is.
Technological illiteracy and ignorance. I blame public education.
Genetic material is a lot more diffusing than people think. It will be fun watching the “bright line” fade away, and seeing the Euroweenies run in circles.
Wow! Really? Gosh!
That was the basis for my initial rant. If Monsanto wishes to keep control of their proprietary genetic strains, then they should keep THEIR crops hermetically sealed, not expect the small farmer to keep HIS natural crops sealed.
If you are a breeder of champion horses or dogs, or cattle or whatever, and don’t want to have your horses genetics shared in an unplanned way with the neighborhood nags, mutts and cows, then keep them fenced in.
Do you have a reference to a specific case where the claim of wind driven cross-pollination turned out to be truthful?
Not off hand.
Hybrid Seeds Vs GMOs
In both open-pollinated and hybrid seeds,we have always been breeding crops that were genetically able to breed,like two types of stone fruit,or two varieties of squash,or two breeds of dog. But,unlike open pollinated seed selection or hybridization, GMO technology allows us to “play God” in a way that even Mother Nature hasn’t dared.
Today,with sophisticated and very expensive lab techniques (like retroviruses and gene guns),we can now manipulate and combine the DNA of species that could never ,ever breed in nature—like fish and tomatoes,Brazil nuts and soybeans,or bacteria and corn.
regardless, the farmer's crop was rejected for export sale because of the presence of GMO
No sarcasm, they probably will.
Some people may be interested to know who Monsanto’s # 1 lawyer is....Philip Perry. Husband of Liz Cheney, running for senate in Wyoming.
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