This was a little too Dickensian to pass up: An Associated Press report on a lawsuit by Monsanto against a soybean farmer who allegedly violated their patent on replanting genetically modified soybeans without paying for them. By and large, “farmers appreciate what we do,” David Snively, Monsanto’s top lawyer, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Now the whole GMO thing is complicated, but really, a lawyer named “Snively” seems a bit blatant. Who is writing this melodrama? Next thing there will be a square-jawed hero named “Doright” speaking on behalf of the downtrodden farmers.
I do wonder about all these herbicide-resistant crops that make up more and more of our daily diet. I’m hoping that as I get older, and am less and less of a rolling stone, I’ll still gather no moss because I’m just too full of herbicide.
For a really dark and creative futuristic view of the logical consequences of GMO patents, and corporate control of agriculture, check out the fiction of Paolo Bacigalupi: “Yellow Card Man” and “The Tick Tock Girl”… wonderfully scary stuff!