[school-discuss] Self-Stopping Seeds

[Joel Kahn <jj2kk4@xxxxxxxxx>]

Justin Riddiough wrote:

> With genetics tweaking, seeds' logic is being tweaked
> (example, terminate after one season.)  Seeds and crops
> are a big patent battleground with their own 800lb gorilla.

It was Monsanto that tried the game of selling seeds that
wouldn't reproduce, so that farmers would have to keep
coming back to the company to buy more. The response from
growers was overwhelmingly hostile; lawsuits were only
part of the public relations cataclysm. Monsanto backed
down and dropped the whole project.

And it is not just one 800 lb gorilla in the agriculture
wars, but several clashing titans. Archer Daniels Midland
is about the same size as Monsanto, and their record is
equally ugly. Beatrice is another behemoth in the biz.

For more info:

http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/

Watch what you eat. :-(

Joel