Friends, Al Jazeera today has an interesting article on how a small group of corporations are controlling the supply and price of grain crops which are the basic foods of most of the world’s people.
It makes interesting reading and shows just how merciless the seed, chemical, oil manufacturers and grain trading conglomerates are as they put profit ahead of caring about the world’s poor. Below are a few excerpts from this illuminating report (BLEAK HARVEST – read it all, please).
“Market Domination.
The international agricultural industry is dominated by a few grain, seed, chemicals and oil companies.
Such is their market power that three companies control the global grain trade and one company controls 60 per cent of seed production. The grain trading conglomerates have unchecked market power to hoard and influence world prices.
Seed companies have employed breakthroughs in biotechnology to produce seeds that are compatible only with certain brands of pesticide or supply patented terminator seeds which germinate just once, and therefore the seed from a harvest cannot be used to grow a second crop. This last feature of the seed business ensures a seed serfdom for the farmer, who cannot set aside part of the harvest for replanting.”
Does that blow you away? Sadly, there’s more!
“It is no wonder, then, that the profits of the grain traders soared to astronomical heights in 2007, in one case up by 60 per cent over the previous year.
And it is no wonder that small farmers are bankrupted by one crop failure because of their inability to afford to buy or finance the procurement of seed for a new crop.”
Ah, the wonders of capitalism, don’t they just fill you with a warm glow?
While rich countries protect their food producing industries and distribute any excess they have as food aid, people in poor countries starve to death.
These inhuman, parasitic monopolies should be broken up and those who have profited from them should be stripped of all their assets and jailed (and this includes shareholders).
Bread and water is all they should be given, give them a taste of what starvation means.
Yes David the big biotechnology companies today have purchased 60% of the world’s seed providers predominantly in third world and stupid first world countries. It is true that once farmers could store some of the grain harvested as seed stock for next year’s crop. But things are changing, In India the poor farmers there whom initially took up the contracts offered by these companies, they fell for the spin. Now they are revolting en masse, with farmers suicide rates in India are astronomical due to not being able to afford the costs of seeds, chemicals and equipment needed to plant these freak crops. They are turning back the tied by forming growing co-ops, where resources are shared like tractors, bulls and labour. Not only this but the biotech companies are ready to defend their freak crops by taking small landholders to court and dragging them though the system till they can no longer cope and have to sell their land. Guess what happens here, the companies fund a farmer whom loves these crops to buy that farmers land and grow more freak crops using the original land holder as labour. Billions of dollars are budgeted by the companies to defend and seek prosecution of any farmer whom doesn’t abide by their contract, they even employ inspectors (non official government inspectors, they have no authority) to go onto farms and look for any evidence of none contractual compliance so a legal case can be made against the farmer or even his neighbour who doesn’t grow freak crops. The will say that the neighbour has their crop on his land but didn’t have contract with the companies and therefore has stolen the patent or growing without a contract, even though the seeds from these freak crops were blown onto his property and he can’t kill it with usually weedicide.
You have the pig farmer in Canada whom has proven that by feeding his stock freak corn it has lowered the stocks fertility rate and have even caused deformities in sexual orientation and hormone levels in the stock, but the good news is this scenario is reversible if you get on it quickly. What are these crops doing to Humans?
The science of these freak crops is only compiled by the companies themselves and feed to governments and farmers as the bee knees and eventually adopted like here in Victoria. Dr Nosal whom headed up a state government inquiry into the viability of freak crops in Vic and he is a paid consultant of Monsanto and others, so naturally his science came from the companies and he has an interest in seeing freak crops being adopted state wide and the government took his report as comprehensive proof freak crops are great and must be adopted.
In Japan at their ports they take delivery of freak canola and corn from the USA, and now at those very same ports guess which is the dominant vegetation, yep you guessed it freak corn and canola. The Japanese have found that they are now using more powerful and toxic chemicals to kill these freak weeds, which is a further detriment to the environment from runoff. Having recently worked for a roads corporation in the planning and environmental dept, a huge issue will be how to deal with these super freak weeds in the future. Their policies are tended towards protection of remnant species of vegetation and fauna, but the super freak weeds will become dominant specie on all major roadsides, competing with remnant natural species and by using more powerful and toxic chemicals to kill the super weeds will also cause some native remnant species to become extinct. Genetically modified crops are not the saving grace they are sold as and in the future the only thing that will stop this capitalistic madness is for the farmers to unite and launch strong counter lawsuits against these companies as governments of all levels are in the pockets of these companies for profit only, screw the environment and peoples health, for we are consumers to them, nothing more nothing less.
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David G Reply:
May 19th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
We are also producers as well as consumers!
Thanks, Kemosobi, for your enlightening comment.
How were these people allowed to do these things? Aren’t we supposed to have Government authorities protecting us from these vultures? Why are we being used as guinea pigs for these experiments? Aren’t monopolies supposed to be illegal?
I guess it’s just another demonstration that democracy doesn’t work and that the rich control our world for their benefit.
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I read that same article and it is truely frightening how something as important as food is controlled by a few with no conscious or concern for anything but profit.
I know a farmer who has never met a chemical or GMO seed he did not like. He listens to the reps from the seed and chemical companies and beleives every word thay say.
He is like so many other people and beleives whatever he is told and does not question anything. He is totally unable to see the harm he is doing and refuses to listen to anyone who tries to tell him differnet.
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‘seeds of deception’ is a good book to enlighten us all. it’s by jeffrey m. smith and exposes corporate and government lies about the safety of genetically engineered food.
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It frightens me when I listen to the standard left wing on the far right of the radio dial – or watch PBS (public broadcasting) and the show will be sponsored by Monsanto! or Archer-Daniel Midland (ADM)! Creators of a Bio-tech future for all of us – then proceed to report the world news! Oh and then, the next commercial break will be for a fund drive because you know, this is listener sponsored radio or television. Don’t you know – the only way to assure unbiased news reporting? Never mind that it is also sponsored by Monsanto. These are the educated folks, folks.
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Jeannie, I guess a farmer is a business person too and he is motivated more by profit rather than concern for caring for the earth and its people.
Coco, thanks for mentioning that book.
Grace, as with the Jewish lobby, the corporate lobby is adept at pulling strings and providing disinformation. The God ‘Profit’ has many disciples and zealots who will do anything for a buck!
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So than how is one able to grow food that has not been genetically altered, how can you obtain clean seeds and for that matter unfloridated water? It seems even if there was a way to get ahold of clean seeds you are still putting crap in it when you water them!
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