Support your LOCAL farmer

[TnT]

I'm with Az, in Oregon local = organic most of the time. In Portland (the largest city @ roughly a million) there are 3 farmer's markets I can walk to from work during a single week.

[gt40]

We've a couple fairly large farmers market here as well.
There's a large menonnite presence in the area, and folks come from hours away to shop there.
The price is much better than the grocery stores, and it's all locally grown.
Other than that, we do tomatoes,lettuce,cucumbers,peppers and zucchini in our own small garden.

[Dr Mordrid]

Some of my family were Pennsylvania Dutch/Mennonites who converted to Lutheran.

The largest part of the family as a whole are still farmers with most of the rest going into public service (medical, police, fire & military), aerospace and engineering.

Dr. Mordrid

[Damien]

I don't have a problem with some GM foods. An example is golden rice and its newer forms whice are modded to create beta-carotine, which can prevent nutritional blindness and death due to vitamin A deficiency (VAD). 2 million die and 500,000 go blind from VAD a year in the third world.

Only problem is that anti-GM protesters, Greenpeace etc. are getting their way

Dr. Mordrid

But you have to agree that the GM company is only looking out for number one. They have been allowed to patent life and dictate to farmers what and how they grow crops. How any sane person can defend the right to patent life is beyond me. These companies have no interest helping people no matter how they modify nature. Are we so naive to believe that they want to help!! We need more protesters!

[Dr Mordrid]

The #1 that the company watches out for are its investors, and contrary to what most people think these are not largely 'the rich'.

FAR outnumbering them in dollars invested are institutional investors like colleges, unions, retirement plans, small cities etc. etc. etc. and the vast numbers of individual investors with 401k's, IRA's, Roths and whatever investment schemes other nations allow their citizens.

Here in the US almost 60% of individuals have such investments.

Patenting DNA sequences is necessary else there is no financial return on investment, therefore no mass research done. That would retard treatments for many diseases including AIDS, cancer, bird and other flus etc. etc., to the detriment of the entire human race.

BTW: DNA sequences are not life. Lifeforms with them included are, but since these are products they too should be patentable....just like any seed hybrid or cattle breed can be.

DNA based patents are not unusual. Most nations recognize them.

Dr. Mordrid