Ever since reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, in which poor Oklahoma farmers are forced off their land after the take-over of industrial farming, I have been bothered by the idea of large, agro-businesses bankrupting the small farmer trying to eke out a living. In The Future of Food documentary, one protestor put it well: “Endangered species: Family farmer.” I thought that our government was against monopolizations of sectors; that our government was supposed to ensure Americans are eating safe foods; and that our government is “of the people, for the people, and buy the people.” Now, I’m not so convinced.
In The Future of Food, I found many facts startling. For example, it was stated that “ninety-seven percent of vegetables grown in the beginning of the 20th century are now extinct.” This, I learned, is because a few huge companies, such as Monsanto, are patenting almost every seed ever stored at the United States Seed Bank to control what is produced, and essentially, to control food in totality. Since when has the U.S. Patent Office allowed the patenting of life? How can a company own a seed, an organism of its own entity? Apparently, Monsanto spent eight billion dollars buying up seed companies as well. I am quite surprised this practice has yet to be overturned, but then, Monsanto is generously funding the political campaigns of many, including Attorney General John Ashcroft. I thought law and justice were supposed to be blind? Do monetary bribes not count anymore? Can our legal system really be influenced by dollars? This is scary, people. If only a few select companies own all of the seeds, grown all around the world, technically they have the right to sue anyone who grows or eats any seed or any plant owned by them without paying fees to the patent-holding companies. There was a farmer in the documentary, Percy Schmeiser, who was sued by Monsanto after some of their genetically modified canola seeds blew into Schmeiser’s field. Because of this invasion by a few seeds, Percy had to destroy over 100,000 pounds of seeds he had been saving his whole life for they now might be contaminated with Monsanto’s patented seed. The worst part of this situation, I think, is that the judge ordered that no matter how a patented seed gets on to someone’s property, whether it be dropped by a bird, a storm, wind, it is the farmer’s responsibility to destroy his small crop and payout to Monsanto.
How is this justice? Why are we letting these huge agro-businesses take over our governments? Monsanto has sent out 9,000 letters to farmers. Most farmers choose to pay to avoid lawsuits. They have to agree to never discuss their settlements. Farmers should be able to save and reuse their own seeds. They should be able to buy seeds from their neighbors without having to worry about whether they are infringing on somebody’s patent.
According to The Future of Food, “The Green Revolution has become the Gene Revolution.” There are three government agencies that are supposed to monitor genetically modified foods. The USDA is charged with the duty of ensuring the safety of these engineered foods, but companies with genetically modified products are not made to label. If the genetic modification of food is supposedly such a good thing, why aren’t companies perfectly happy to include labels of ingredients and modifications? Because the people don’t want to eat them! In fact, all fifteen countries of the European Union set strict regulations for labeling GM foods, and have refused to import any more food from the United States since its contaminants are not labeled. In 1999, the “GM Food Right to Know Act” was introduced to Congress, but it is still waiting to be voted on. Agro-businesses have won out over the American people for ten years already, and who knows how much longer before any legislation is even considered. The documentary featured the story of an American woman who had a severe allergic reaction after eating food she was not allergic to. Tests showed that the chicken quesadillas she had eaten were made with GM corn. There was no label. This happens to people every day, for they have no idea what they are eating! If someone eats a tomato that has been injected with a flounder gene to better survive cold weather, and they are allergic to fish, what is to tell them not to eat it? Also, genes that are deposited into GM organisms are essentially viruses that can disrupt naturally-existing cells. What happens when these genes and cells mutate to the human species from plant species? We have seen the jumping of viruses to different host species, as in the H1N1 virus. Also, some GM foods are considered to be toxic because of all the pesticides necessary for them to grow, including Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” herbicide. For example, when caterpillars of monarch butterfly were fed GM corn pollen, a high percentage died unexpectedly. After 2002 Bush legislation, every American taxpayer pays a subsidy to biotechnology crops, even though the majority of people don’t want to eat something constructed in a lab or something that is hazardous to their health. Also, hardly any of the subsidies pumped into agriculture are accrued by smaller farmers; it all goes to big business.
Luckily, only a small percentage of our food produced is genetically modified. There has also been a countermovement to the biotechnology industry: organic farmers’ markets. Since 1994, the number of farmers’ markets in the U.S. has increased seventy-nine percent. In 1990, Americans spent only one billion dollars on organic food. In 2003, it was up to thirteen billion, and I’m sure the upward trend has continued to 2009. People are becoming more aware of the importance of where a food comes from and how it is grown. The average crop travels 1,500 miles to a supermarket. By eating locally, we can support smaller farmers and cut pollution. Eating organically and locally is a sure way to combat the “Gene Revolution”; we must make it known that we are not lab rats to be experimented on with tampered food. We are people who deserve what nature intended: no pesticides and no genetic engineering. We should not have to worry how safe the food we eat is and we should never let big business influence the justice of our political system. As stated in the last words of The Future of Food: “It’s up to you.”
Hey enjoyed this. didn’t know you were doing this as well – How are you managing your time so well.
I highly enjoyed reading this blogpost, keep on writing such interesting posts!