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To: gunsequalfreedom
I don't have to study the issue...I want the small independent farmers to have choice on whether to grow GM, conventional or organic, and not have some government official or greenpeace type tell them how to run their business. The didn't work too well when they do in Communist or Socialist countries. Very difficult for me to understand how anyone who is for freedom is for telling a farmer on what crops the must grow. What I am seeing from you supporters of Prop 37, is that is a sham...you don't just want labeling, you want to tell the farmer what they must or cannot grow.
358 posted on 10/31/2012 4:08:59 AM PDT by Aussiebabe
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To: Aussiebabe
I don't have to study the issue...I want the small independent farmers to have choice on whether to grow GM, conventional or organic, and not have some government official or greenpeace type tell them how to run their business.

We are having a productive discussion and we are both conservatives.

That said, if that is your position, then you agree with me. Here is why.

- Farmer "A" uses Monsanto patented seeds.
- Monsanto determines that Farmer "B" is has crops that are partially from its patented seeds.
- Farmer "B" is taken to court to pay a royalty.

I'll try to find you the link. Mine is a very short synopsis. But that is what they issue is about.

The question to answer is this. Should a farmer that never bought Monsanto seeds for his field have to face the giant Monsanto in court over crops Monsanto says it is owed a royalty?

363 posted on 10/31/2012 9:23:54 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience. It is a guide to your actions.)
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To: Aussiebabe
"The company (Monsanto) is notorious for suing those farmers when their non-GMO crops become contaminated by GMOs growing in nearby fields. And the non-GMO farmers hoped the suit would protect them from any litigation in the event that their crops become contaminated against their knowledge via drifting pollen or cross-pollination from bees."

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"According to a 2007 report from the nonprofit Center for Food Safety, Monsanto each year investigates 500 farms whose fields purportedly contain Monsanto's patented crops, even going as far as trespassing illegally on one Indiana farmer's land."

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"Farmer CAN exclude genetic adulteration of seeds (GMO or otherwise) they intend to harvest for next year's crops and maintain the purity of the cultivar by placing a BARRIER on the blossoms, hand pollinating them, and saving the seeds from ONLY those blossoms. Even for those species that are strongly inbreeding (like lettuce and legumes), but especially for those species that are strongly outbreeding (like corn, beets and brassicas).

As you can imagine, this process is time and resource consuming, but it is the only way to guarantee separate cultivars do not cross-pollinate since wind, rain/run-off, animals, people and insects can all carry pollen for hundreds and thousands of miles."

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Monsanto's history of aggressive investigations and lawsuits brought against farmers in America has been a source of concern for organic and non-GMO agricultural producers since Monsanto's first lawsuit brought against a farmer in the mid-‘90s. Since then, 144 farmers have had lawsuits filed against them by Monsanto for alleged violations of their patented seed technology.

Monsanto has sued more than 700 additional farmers who have settled out-of-court rather than face Monsanto's belligerent, and well-financed, litigious actions.

364 posted on 10/31/2012 9:36:05 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience. It is a guide to your actions.)
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