From: owner-comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com (comix-biz-digest) To: comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: comix-biz-digest V2 #49 Reply-To: comix-biz-digest Sender: owner-comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes comix-biz-digest Friday, January 15 1999 Volume 02 : Number 049 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 18:42:09 -0800 (PST) From: Sam Uzi Subject: (cbiz) serious danger ...this is a mesage sent to me by a friend... ...if you have not already heard, there are plans (serious ones) to sell crop seeds that have been genetically altered so that the plants grown CAN NOT produce new viable seeds themselves, thereby making it impossible for growers to put part of their harvest aside as a seed crop for use the next year... why do this? simple: if a farmer can't grow his own seeds, then he MUST buy them from the seed manufacturer... ...this is not a wild fantasy, this is something which is happening... ...to say that this is dangerously insane is an understatment... ...please note that there are also (quite serious) plans to release a genetically engineered fungus into the environment at large which is specifically designed to kill marijuana plants... the fact that it is inevitable that this fungus will mutate and - in all likelyhood - become a predator to other types of plants completely superceeds any argument as to whether it is a good idea or not to attempt the irradication of marijuana [a plant that is highly beneficial in terms of fiber content (for paper, instead of trees), of oil content (for vegetable oil, for food and other uses), of sheer biomass volume (for use as stock to make fuel alcohol), of medicinal use (for the very effective treatment of asthma, glaucoma, nausea associated with chemotherapy, and which has been shown to protect the brain against degenerative disorders which can lead to stroke, etc)]... ...both of these outrageous plans will cause severe and irrepairable damage to the ecosystem of this planet, most likely resulting in massive die-offs of plant life of all kinds, everywhere in the world... ...I don't like to get up in arms, but you MUST take these things seriously... ...if these incontrovertably idiotic things are allowed to happen, they will SEVERELY endanger our ability to SURVIVE Forwarded message: > Remember when I sent you the bit on Monsanto creating that genetically > engineered seed who's produced seeds were not viable and the farmers who > utilized it would be "captured" by the necessity to purchase seed yearly > instead of saving from the last harvest? Also that the fear was that the > genetic alteration could spread to other plants? > > Well... > > Investors Buisiness Daily, Thursday January 14 1999... > > Monsanto Co. plans to auction its algin business which makes products for food, > pharmaceuticals and industrial applications as part of a plan to finance 6 > billion dollars of SEED COMPANY AQUISITIONS! > > I would bet that based on seed company market capitalization levels this would > be quite a chunk of the US if not global seed distribution network... > > The plot STINKIN'S! # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info comix-biz" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email comix-biz@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ End of comix-biz-digest V2 #49 ******************************