Monsanto is in the news a lot. Some of us gardeners and seed savers refer to the company as ‘Monsatan’, and for good reason. With the looming food crisis, Monsanto has stepped up to the plate. Literally. They are pushing the gmo’s more than ever, claiming that they will be the salvation of every starving nation. Rice and corn and wheat that’s has built in pesticides, built in drought resistance, built in poisons, will save us all. There is just one little catch. You may not save the seeds for use from year to year, as has been the farmers’ and gardeners’ custom for centuries. You may not trade the seeds with other farmers or gardeners. You must buy the seeds every year from Monsanto, who will sue your collective asses off if you so much as accidentely have a ‘patented’ gmo on your property, which may have blown over from a neighboring farm and pollinated your crop, or a bird crap had seeds in it that germinated. Just ask Percy Schmeiser. If you haven’t heard his story, you should. There are many small farmers just like him, fighting the good fight. Too many aren’t.
And in the meantime, the seeds that have sustained people for centuries, the ones that have adapted to their growing conditions, are falling by the wayside. The variety of seeds that contain the genetic diversity that someday may be necessary for our very survival. Sounds futuristic, ominous, almost grandiose in it’s pessimism, that statement of mine. But I believe it.
Ask any French farmer (France) about their draconian seed laws. It’s pretty hard to see the logic. And it seems to be where we are headed. But at least France, along with the rest of Europe, is not as easily swayed by Monsatan.
I grow tomatoes. They are not genetically modified – yet. I grow heirlooms/open pollinated, so that I can save the seeds for next year. And trade with other gardeners or simply give them away, to people who are waking up to the reality of our food. But you cannot survive on tomatoes alone. (Besides, as many know, I don’t even really like them raw…but I’m learning.) So this year, I’m also growing corn and potatoes, along with a lot of other vegetables, all of them open pollinated. And I plan to try and save as much seed as I can. I also support small seed companies, like BakerCreek, because I believe in what they are doing. And grass roots organizations like Seeds of Diversity, here in Canada. I talk to other gardeners on line, who have similiar views, and are taking similar actions.
So what else can be done? Labels in the supermarkets are pretty frightening, and not one of them identifies gmo’s in the product. But you can bet the farm if there is corn, fructose-glucose (sugar from corn), high fructose corn syrop, canola, corn oil, or any of the hundreds of deceptive ingredient terms that are used, that it came from genetically modified corn or canola. Same with wheat. Or rice. Avoid it like the plague! Organics are becoming a grey area, thanks to the big companies wanting to cash in on the wave, but at least if it is labelled organic, it cannot be from a gmo. Yet. Even better, check out a local CSA!
Support your local farmers, and growers and ask questions.
Write to our politicians! Tell them we want better labels, identifying gmo products! Monsatan fights tooth and nail to avoid it, but as consumers we should have the right to know!
Read about it. Don’t just take my word for it. Research. Talk to friends and co-workers. People need to know! Too many just don’t have a clue!
