Capitalism and GM food

The main threat presented by genetically modified foods is the total and complete domination of farming and the food supply by large biotech corporations.

This probability is evident in the efforts of companies like Monsanto and Novartis to develop terminator seeds; seeds which produce plants which do not produce seeds of their own, forcing farmers to purchase seeds every season.

Additionally, agribusiness companies are busy flying "bio-prospectors" all over the world in an effort to patent all sorts of crops and genetic material; primarily crops which local and indigenous farmers have been growing for generations. If a corporation patents such a crop, the WTO rules on intellectual property allow said corporation to sue any farmer growing the patented plant if said farmer does not pay royalties to said corporation.

A recent scary example: Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian farmer, was recently sued (successfully) by Monsanto for growing Roundup Ready canola, an organism genetically engineered by Monsanto. The catch? Schmeiser never planted Roundup Ready canola. The canola he was growing was cross-pollinated by a nearby farm which was growing the Monsanto canola. Schmeiser's canola picked up the Roundup Ready trait, and Monsanto sued him for growing it without paying Monsanto for the honor.

This points out several of the scary aspects of GM food. The first being the fact that it is unknown to what extent GM crops will affect naturally occuring (or farmer cultivated) plants via cross-pollination or other adverse interactions with the natural environment. Second is the clear intent of the legal system to defend the interests of corporations over the rights of everyone else. This is the result of things like NAFTA (which allows corporations to trump all local, state and federal law via litigation in the NAFTA tribunal), the WTO, the IMF, and the hopefully-to-be-defeated FTAA.

The solution to world hunger is not GM food. Farmers around the world need their land returned to them, and access to the necessary resources to grow food. The US and Canada need to stop using the vast majority of the grain and corn they grow as animal feed. World hunger is a problem of distribution and greed. The hungry need justice, not seeds with registered trademark and copyright symbols stamped on them.