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Where Do I Stand on GMOs?
,----[ Quote ]
| I'm conscious that I've written a lot of
| negative posts about genetically-modified
| organisms on this blog. That might lead
| readers to believe I'm against them. That's
| not the case: I am naturally pro-technology,
| and GMOs are potentially an important tool
| for addressing many of the world's most
| pressing problems. But I have my concerns,
| and I was pleased to find that Salon's Andrew
| Leonard not only shares them, but has
| expressed them rather well:
|
| I don't actually have a position on
| whether GMOs are by definition good or
| bad for the environment or human health
| or even the challenge of alleviating
| hunger in the developing world. My basic
| stance, in fact, is pro-science: I
| believe technological advances have
| greatly advanced human health and
| affluence, and will continue to do so, if
| properly regulated. My concern re GMOs
| has always stemmed from a profound
| skepticism that profit-seeking
| corporations can be trusted to
| responsibly serve the public good. One
| need look only at the constant stream of
| reports detailing unethical and criminal
| behavior by major pharmaceutical
| companies to
| realize that this is hardly a
| hypothetical concern.
|
| In the case of GMOs we are dealing with a
| remarkable concentration of intellectual
| property ownership in just a handful of
| corporations. Like all well-endowed
| corporate actors, these companies do not
| shy from vigorously lobbying governments
| in favor of putting into place place
| legal frameworks that are designed to
| maximize profits and minimize caution.
`----
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2010/03/where-do-i-stand-on-gmos.html
Genetically modified Ghana
,----[ Quote ]
| In the case of GMOs we are dealing with a
| remarkable concentration of intellectual
| property ownership in just a handful of
| corporations. Like all well-endowed corporate
| actors, these companies do not shy from
| vigorously lobbying governments in favor of
| putting into place place legal frameworks
| that are designed to maximize profits and
| minimize caution.
|
| [...]
|
| If you google Ghana and genetically modified
| crops, you will very quickly run into the
| name Walter Alhassan, a consultant for the
| Accra-based Forum for Agricultural Research
| in Africa (FARA), and a strong advocate for
| the position that Ghana's government "needs
| to speed up the passage of the Biosafety Bill
| to the global trend to improve agriculture
| and food security."
`----
http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/03/16/ghana_and_genetically_modified_crops/index.html
Switzerland stands strong against GE
,----[ Quote ]
| The Swiss Parliament has just extended its
| ban on the cultivation of genetically
| engineered (GE) plants for three more years.
| Originally enacted in 2005, Switzerland will
| stay GE-free until at least 2013.
`----
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/switzerland-GMO-moratorium090310
Recent:
Monsantoâs Seed Patents May Trump Antitrust Claims (Update2)
,----[ Quote ]
| âJustice is clearly trying every way it can
| to see whether Monsanto is exceeding its
| rights under the patent,â said James Weiss, a
| Washington-based attorney at K&L Gates LLP
| who helped defend Microsoft Corp. against a
| federal antitrust probe. âAt the end of the
| day, they may not be able to do much with it
| because of the scope of those patents. In
| almost all the cases, the courts come out on
| the side of intellectual property.â
|
| Yet Monsantoâs seeds are so ubiquitous that
| they have become like AT&Tâs telephone lines
| before the companyâs 1984 breakup or
| Microsoft Corp.âs Windows operating system in
| the 1990s, said James P. Denvir, an attorney
| who represents rival seedmaker DuPont Co. and
| led the governmentâs AT&T case.
|
| [...]
|
| Monsantoâs attorney, Dan Webb, defended
| Microsoft in 2002 against government
| antitrust claims. A former U.S. Attorney in
| Chicago, he also prosecuted Admiral John
| Poindexter in the Iran- Contra affair.
`----
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-12/monsanto-s-seed-patents-may-trump-antitrust-claims-lawyers-say.html
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