Re: GMO in Developing Nations

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Dean Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>On 10/13/03 6:58 PM, in article [EMAIL PROTECTED], "Bruce
>Sinclair" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Oz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> wrote:
>> (snip)
>>> They can do that now for hybrids, and have been able to for decades.
>>> Nothing new there then, but make it too dear and it's not worth growing,
>>> so you don't get to sell any seed.
>   Bruce asked:
>> .. not even if they add a terminator ?

>    I think hybrid seed corn came into use sometime in the 1930s.  Farmers
>have been buying fresh hybrid seed each year since then.  The yield of corn
>raised from the offspring of the hybrid seed stinks.
>  A farmer friend of mine used homegrown seed although he knew better.  He
>ran out or hybrid seed just before he finished planting.  He didn't want to
>spend the $100 U.S. or so for a bag of seed since he wouldn't use all of it.
>A bin full of last year's crop was right there so he used some of his home
>grown stuff.  The home grown seed didn't yield for crap compared to the
>fresh hybrid seed.   The yield difference encourages farmers to buy fresh
>seed each year.  A terminator gene in corn won't change much.

Theoretically true. In practice ? 
I guess it's the amount of trust you are prepared to put in large 
corporations. My number is small ... yours may be larger :)

... and of course we are also ignoring the possibilty that a disease destroys 
the hybrids (or even the GE stuff). The effect of this would be large if our 
dependence was high. 

Bruce


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It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to 
think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone´s fault. 
If it was Us, what did that make Me ? After all, I´m one of Us. I must be. 
I´ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No-one ever thinks 
of themselves as one of Them. We´re always one of Us. It´s Them that do 
the bad things.         <=> Terry Pratchett. Jingo.