I recently watched “The Future of Food” (Deborah Koons Garcia, 2004) via Netflix online.
It presented arguments I had not heard before. I previously viewed anti-GM food activists as Luddites. After all, we’ve been genetically modifying plants & animals for centuries, we just have better tools now. Right? Wrong.
The end goal does appear to be cornering the food market.
The power play here is that Monsanto & others have acheived patents on their life forms. This apparently is new territory. Then their seeds intermingle with family farm stocks (“oopsie”) and Monsanto goes after the farmers for patent royalties. The law seems upside down here. Seems to me the farmers should be able to sue Monsanto for alduterating their royalty free seed stock.
I better understand now the increased Internet advertising for “heirloom” seed collections.
Seems another example of big corporations bending legislators to make laws that are good for them and bad for everybody else. The film does raise the issue down the road that will come up: Suppose they are able to create replacement body parts (kidneys, whatever) with patented technology. They place the kidney inside you. Do they now own you? A part of you? Must you pay royalties for your remaining days of life?
