Happy farmers, court ruling.

[Windy in Kansas]

There will be a lot of happy farmers today with the supreme court ruling allowing GM alfalfa. There will also be a lot of disgruntled other folks to counterbalance the ruling.

[Sawmill Jim]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

There will be a lot of happy farmers today with the supreme court ruling allowing GM alfalfa. There will also be a lot of disgruntled other folks to counterbalance the ruling.

Of course the court ruled for the GM hay Guess who owns them

[Patt]

Kinda nice what with Monsanto having their own man on the court.....

I am disappointed.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Patt

Kinda nice what with Monsanto having their own man on the court.....

I am disappointed.

And you would be one of the aforementioned counterbalances to a happy farmer. You're not alone for certain.

[Prismseed]

There will be a lot of happy farmers today with the supreme court ruling allowing GM alfalfa. There will also be a lot of disgruntled other folks to counterbalance the ruling.

GM is a rising wave in the modern world. I don't think we'll be able to do much aside from slowing it down. That said how do we preserve, maintain, and supply/acquire natural varieties in the face of this growing trend?

[Patt]

Originally Posted by Prismseed

GM is a rising wave in the modern world. I don't think we'll be able to do much aside from slowing it down. That said how do we preserve, maintain, and supply/acquire natural varieties in the face of this growing trend?

Good question!

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Prismseed

That said how do we preserve, maintain, and supply/acquire natural varieties in the face of this growing trend?

The same way we fondly remember old airplanes, autos, etc., buy putting them in a preservation unit such as a museum or in the case of plants in a germplasm storage facility. http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/acc/acc_queries.html

One may even request seeds for research from the facility. The request may or may not be filled however. http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/orders.html

That addresses the older and known varieties. Natural varieties----keep looking just as researchers do.

[JuliaAnn]

Diversity of germplasm is extremely important, and that means preserving germplasm that is INTACT and UNALTERED. GM crops could and probably are the dominant varieties in certain monoculture fields--corn, soy, etc. Like the dangers of monocropping that farmers discovered in the past, we absolutely cannot afford to have GM/Monsanto products become the dominant varietites being grown. Feel sorry for those who live next to big farms where the pollen drifts...

Having said that, I request germplasm from the USDA/GRIN system all the time. One must carefully research the accessions of various materials and make sure they are available (not in quarantine, etc) because the people filling the requests don't have time to fill one that merely says "I want X kind of green bean". You should also have a legitimate reason for requesting other than "I want genetically pure, neat, or funky old varieites of vegetables". You would likely be referred to find a retail source. And be prepared to pay shipping, because it has become too expensive for the USDA to ship quantities of seeds or plant material; they suggest getting a Fed Ex account to which they can charge your shipping fees at the time of shipment.

[unioncreek]

Windy,

Most times they will supply seed if you request it all they would like back is information on it. I work for the USDA/ ARS NPGS mainly with cool season grasses and safflower. In the past they would send to anyone, but it got so they had so many requests from people just wanting the seed and with no intentions of giving info back that they changed their policy.

Also we do not knowingly have any GMO's in the grass and safflower collection. I don't fully agree with the use of GMO's, but there may be a time and place for them.

Bobg

[tinknal]

Maintaining alfalfa genetics here will be no problem, alfalfa doesn't set seed here.

[Patt]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

The same way we fondly remember old airplanes, autos, etc., buy putting them in a preservation unit such as a museum or in the case of plants in a germplasm storage facility. http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/acc/acc_queries.html

One may even request seeds for research from the facility. The request may or may not be filled however. http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/orders.html

That addresses the older and known varieties. Natural varieties----keep looking just as researchers do.

Yeah well what about the people who save their own seeds and will be forced not to because they live next door to someone with GMO's planted? Once again the rights of the individual have been mowed down in favor of the profits of a big corporation.

So what happens when all the seed banks run out and all the seed is contaminated?

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Patt

So what happens when all the seed banks run out and all the seed is contaminated?

I absolutely do not believe even for the briefest of a second that would ever occur. Do you think even for a second that that is a remote possibility? If the seed banks run low on a variety they will simply stop sending it out, at least until it can be replenished.

But to answer the question----we'll simply grow GM crops. I believe the figure for U.S. grown soybeans is already at 90% genetically modified.

[haypoint]

That's the best news I've heard all month. The heavy clay soil around here is difficult to get plowed up and smoothed/fitted to a nice smooth hayfield. It takes a lot of fuel to turn over and disc down a field. I'll save on fuel by not needing to plow as often. The higher protein in the weed free hay is better for my livestock. There will be less erosion of the topsoil because I won't have to open up the fields as often.
The radical examples sited by the anti-Monsanto fringe were an embarrassment to informed small farmers. "What I don't understand, I fear and therefore oppose." seems to be their motto.

[Patt]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

I absolutely do not believe even for the briefest of a second that would ever occur. Do you think even for a second that that is a remote possibility? If the seed banks run low on a variety they will simply stop sending it out, at least until it can be replenished.

But to answer the question----we'll simply grow GM crops. I believe the figure for U.S. grown soybeans is already at 90% genetically modified.

Thanks for ignoring the point of my question. What about for those of us who do NOT want GMO's? Obviously if 90% of soybeans in America are now GMO my scenario is not so far fetched now is it?

[Trisha in WA]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

Of course the court ruled for the GM hay Guess who owns them

The 7-1 decision issued today by the Supreme Court was on the appeal of the Center for Food Safety's (CFS) successful suit, which resulted in a ban on GMO alfalfa. And, while the High Court ruled in favor of Monsanto by reversing an injunction that was part of the lower court's decision, more importantly, it also ruled that the ban on GMO alfalfa remains intact, and that the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa remains illegal.

[byexample]

GMOs are a ticking time-bomb. I have every confidence that our descendants will look back on this time period and ask "what the hell were they thinking??!!". No long-term studies have been conducted to determine the long-term health effects of consuming GMOs. That's a really bad sign if you ask me. And when one considers things like the "terminator gene" that's getting added to these franken-foods it seems like the big corporations want to fully control the food supply. Once that happens we're all slaves.

Every time humans try to "improve" upon nature there are horrific, unintended consequences. This is one of the primary motivators for us in our decision to grow and raise the majority of our food. I simply don't want to sustain my body via someone's science project.

And I refuse to economically support and reward those practices.

[Windy in Kansas]

Interesting info added. From the news stories I'm reading now the ban has been lifted on the sale of the seeds, but if farmers buy them they are not allowed to plant them until the USDA does more research and tells them that they can.

[sammyd]

terminator gene

A lie perpetuated by anti GM folks.
There is no terminator gene currently used in GM products.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by byexample

And when one considers things like the "terminator gene" that's getting added to these franken-foods it seems like the big corporations want to fully control the food supply.

You kind of torpedo yourself with this claim.

While there was some work done on a terminator gene, it proved to not really work out, and has never been used in any seed sold. It is not actively being worked on any more at this time.

The idea behind it was to control the cross-breeding of gmo crops with other crops - something everyone anti-gmo in this thread is asking for!

Think about it - if the terminator gene was actually being used, there would be no chance for cross-pollination would there?????

I can accept if you wish to be anti-gmo. But please become educated on the topic if you wish to speak out about it.

--->Paul

[partndn]

Originally Posted by rambler

You kind of torpedo yourself with this claim.

While there was some work done on a terminator gene, it proved to not really work out, and has never been used in any seed sold. It is not actively being worked on any more at this time.

The idea behind it was to control the cross-breeding of gmo crops with other crops - something everyone anti-gmo in this thread is asking for!

Think about it - if the terminator gene was actually being used, there would be no chance for cross-pollination would there?????

I can accept if you wish to be anti-gmo. But please become educated on the topic if you wish to speak out about it.

--->Paul

Every time humans try to "improve" upon nature there are horrific, unintended consequences.

Gene or no gene.. whatever. The quote from him I put in bold though, will in my opinion be 100% true for eternity.