Magic seeds
June 10, 2013 11:04 PM   Subscribe

"When crops failed in the past, farmers could still save seeds and replant them the following year. But with GM seeds they cannot do this. That's because GM seeds contain so-called 'terminator technology', meaning that they have been genetically modified so that the resulting crops do not produce viable seeds of their own. As a result, farmers have to buy new seeds each year at the same punitive prices. For some, that means the difference between life and death." The GM Genocide
posted by flapjax at midnite (10 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: The accuracy of this particular story is apparently not uncontroversial. Aside from that the Mail is a sensationalist tabloid, not quite the most reliable newspaper in Britain and certainly not the most popular one on Metafilter. -- goodnewsfortheinsane



 
What could go wrong?
posted by slater at 11:17 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Just imagine if these terminator genes were to cross pollinate wild strains in neighboring fields.
posted by benzenedream at 11:20 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Because terminators are going to be highly selected for in breeding, right? Jesus, this article is so bad.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:21 PM on June 10, 2013


If you're going to link to a Daily Mail article, can it at least be one about how Monsanto causes cancer? seriously, good to see them scaremongering about something actually scary for once, but it's still not okay to link to the Daily Mail as a serious news source.
posted by Vetinari at 11:24 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


That's because GM seeds contain so-called 'terminator technology', meaning that they have been genetically modified so that the resulting crops do not produce viable seeds of their own.

Is this actually true? I remember more than 10 years ago Monsanto pledged never to commercialize the technology.
posted by peeedro at 11:25 PM on June 10, 2013


Okay, I actually stomached the entire article. This is just terrible journalism and scaremongering. The fact that we're talking about INDIA just adds the icing on the shit cake of agrarian science.

The framing of this post is also highly disingenous, sorry but I have to say it. Even the Daily Mail doesn't try and convince us that the farmers are committing suicide because of terminator genes. It says multiple times that they are killing themselves because of the DEBT they acquire over-borrowing from predatory local money lenders to purchase seeds that have been modified for the climate. I'm not going to waste my time and typing refuting a Daily Mail article point by point, but it's worth at least pointing out that this post is highly misleading and the article is 90% inflammatory scaremongering crap.

Here's a recent post on GMO issues that I found well-reasoned and thoughtful, which I really can't say for this article.

Time to call out the anti-GMO conspiracy theory.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:33 PM on June 10, 2013 [2 favorites]


Couldn't at least one of the seeds have said "Come with me if you want to live"?

(Oh, and yes, this smells of bullshit. Monsanto are evil, but this kind of hyperbole just makes critics look stupid.)
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:34 PM on June 10, 2013


That's because GM seeds contain so-called 'terminator technology', meaning that they have been genetically modified so that the resulting crops do not produce viable seeds of their own.

OH MY DEAR GOD!

[goes back to munching on seedless grapes]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:35 PM on June 10, 2013 [4 favorites]


When I read something like "one of an estimated 125,000 farmers to take their own life as a result of the ruthless drive to use India as a testing ground for genetically modified crops" I think to myself "estimated by whom".

And then I think "Top men. Top. Men."
posted by Justinian at 11:35 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Wasn't there just an FPP about Monsanto suing and winning damages against an Indiana farmer who saved seeds and replanted them? Daily Mail or not, these seeds are definitely being sold, and Monsanto is using copyright to sue 'pirates.'
posted by Ghidorah at 11:35 PM on June 10, 2013


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