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the future of food and farms?



>I usually don't pass this stuff on, but this is well done and the
>issue is important.
>
>>>
>>> This is an urgent call to action to prevent possible disasters
>>> of unimaginable magnitude.  The USDA is considering licensing
>>> Monsanto's technology to make seeds fertile for one generation
>>> only, which would mean that farmers would have to buy seed every
>>> year, putting them at the mercy of fluctuating market conditions,
>>> and possible communication and distribution problems.  This could
>>> be especially disastrous in developing countries, where social
>>> unrest could interfere with receipt of American seed.
>>> There is also the probability that these genetically manipulated
>>> organisms will cross-pollinate with "wild" plants to inhibit seed
>>> production in naturally occurring species as well, which could
>>> create an ecological disaster.  There is an urgent international
>>> email campaign on by RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation
>>> International) at:
>>>
>>> http://www.rafi.org/usda.html
>>>
>>> to stop the USDA from negotiating with Monsanto to license the
>>> Terminator technology. This feature of genetic manipulation
>>> sterilizes seeds from harvests so that farmers are forced to
>>> go back to the commercial seed market to purchase seeds for
>>> the next season. Traditionally farmers keep their seeds for
>>> the next season's planting. This is especially true in third
>>> world countries. And guess what?  Monsanto has targeted
>>> developing countries as their main market...talk about
>>> strangleholds on the poor, much less the global food market.
>>>
>>> The campaign is fully automated, so one can send a letter to
>>> different senators and USDA officials with just a click of
>>> the mouse - you don't have to write anything. It also doesn't
>>> matter what country one is from.  The negotiations are
>>> underway now and will be finalizing these coming weeks.
>>>
>>> Please take a few minutes to go into the RAFI web site
>>> http://www.rafi.org/usda.html and send a protest letter;
>>> or for maximum effectiveness, take a few more minutes
>>> and handwrite a few points and mail your letter to:
>>>
>>> The Honorable Dan Glickman
>>> Secretary of Agriculture
>>> 200-A Whitten Bldg.
>>> 1400 Independence Ave., SW
>>> Washington DC 20250
>>> USA
>>>
>>> Please pass on this information to all your friends,
>>> favorite news groups etc., and any international
>>> connections you may have.  We were successful in
>>> saving Organic Standards (at least for the moment)
>>> in the U.S. with a similar letter-writing campaign,
>>> and this issue has even further-reaching consequences.
>
***********


Lauren E. Augusta, Executive Director
Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA)
5337 College Ave., #508, Oakland, CA 94618
Tel: 510-654-8858/ Fax: 510-843-6280
http://www.wenet.net/~mesa/

"Promoting sustainable farming communities around the world through 
farmer-to-farmer exchange"