makes me NUTS!!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

For the record: “U.S. declares Iraqis can not save their own seeds”

"As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds, which include seeds the Iraqis themselves have developed over hundreds of years. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo:Pay Monsanto, or starve."The American Administrator of the Iraqi CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) government, Bremer, updated Iraq's intellectual property law to 'meet current internationally-recognized standards of protection'.The updated law makes saving seeds for next year's harvest, practiced by 97% of Iraqi farmers in 2002, and is the standard farming practice for thousands of years across human civilizations, to be now illegal.. Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license for genetically modified (GM) seeds from American corporations. These GM seeds have typically been modified from seeds developed over thousands of generations by indigenous farmers like the Iraqis, and shared freely like agricultural 'open source.'"Iraq law Requires Seed Licenses November 13, 2004"According to Order 81, paragraph 66 - , issued by L. Bremer [CFR], the people in Iraq are now prohibited from saving seeds and may only plant seeds for their food from licensed, authorized U.S. distributors.The paragraph states, "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds of protected varieties or any variety mentioned in items 1 and 2 of paragraph [C] of Article 14 of this chapter."Written in massively intricate legalese, Order 81 directs the reader at Article 14, paragraph 2 [C] to paragraph of Article 4, which states any variety that is different from any other known variety may be registered in any country and become a protected variety of seed - thus defaulting it into the "protected class" of seeds and prohibiting the Iraqis from reusing them the following season. Every year, the Iraqis must destroy any seed they have, and repurchase seeds from an authorized supplier, or face fines, penalties and/or jail time. "Iraqis Can't Save Seed January 19, 2005

[Guest guest]

Hi Shari, et al,

I took a botany class several years ago. The professor indicated that there is a real problem with the world's farmers using fewer and fewer varieties of food plants. If some kind of pest or plague wipes out the single variety being used, we will all be in the same boat as the Irish were during the great potato famine in Ireland. The problem in Ireland was that a blight hit the kind of potatoes they were growing, and there were no other varieties available which were resistant to that particular disease.

In addition, according to what I have read, Monsanto is big time into genetically modifying the crops they grow. These modifications are thought by some to be dangerous to the health of those who eat them.

TerriLynne PomeroyStudent AdvisorBlind and Visually Impaired Students of Utahhttp://www.bvisu.org/

----- Original Message -----

From: Shari Viger

I"m not sure I follow what you are saying Toni. You think it's right that the Iraqi farmers cannot keep their native seeds? Monsanto is trying to govern the world market of seeds. It's already illegal for farmer's who have bought Monsanto seeds to use anyone else's or to even save seeds from year to year and that is in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Who says I can't use my seeds from my gardent next year? Seems Monsanto wants to be able to.

I sure hope I misread what you wrote.

Shari

[Guest guest]

<snip>

> The problem in Ireland was that a blight hit the kind of

> potatoes they were growing, and there were no other

> varieties available which were resistant to that particular

> disease.

That was part of the problem in Ireland.

Another part of the problem was that the rich land owners, who'd been

given that land by the Crown in England, were exporting all the other

food crops.

There were other things being grown in Ireland (wheat), the Irish just

couldn't get access it them.

There was a plot to get the indigenous people off the land any way

possible.

The blight was thought of as a convenience by many land owners.

The blight had started in Belgium. The political conditions there were

different.

Penel