Another Opinion: On Aubergines and Corporate Seeds

BioPiracy in India

If you're not familiar with Monsanto, you need to be. This belligerent corporation is snatching up seeds, modifying and patenting them, and corporatizing agriculture in big and terrifying sweeps. A rash of farmer suicides in India caused an international stir when desperate conditions evolved from adopting this companies manipulative farming practices, and poverty stricken men chose to end their lives from the shame of failing their children and families.

Lately, not only is Monsanto sliming into the ancient Himalayan kingdom of Nepal amidst plenty of muffled ado, they have also allegedly made off with 9 indigenous brinjal varities. The eggplant! Centerpiece of succulent curries and sauces.

Trifiling with these seeds destroys the viability of the original, indigenous plant by forcing it to compete with a manipulated organism, that may or may not be a better version of the original. In my experience and observations, we generally suck at being overlords of the planet, or  universe, or whatever. My blunt intuition tells me variety, biodiversity, is one of the things we better hold onto for dear life. Dear, dear life.

Because Monsanto failed to consult the Biodiversity Authority of India, they're ready to sue the corporation and it's Indian affiliates for. Once Monsanto patents this seed and begins to market it to already-struggling farmers, the farmers inevitably become eternally tied to the daddy corporation for their livelihoods. Like countless other models that breed oppression: coal companies, haciendas, it's all slavery to a corporate head.

Monsanto, along with Dupont and Syngenta own 75% of all seeds traded on the market. These giant corpoarations have almost entire control over a market of inflated food prices and farmers barely getting by.

I spent time on a multitude of farms in Nepal last summer, many already ravaged by imported American farming techniques that failed their rich, Himalayan river soil to a point of disaster. Many are remote enough to preserve traditional farming methods and are back pedaling as fast as they can.

There's no intelligent question to ask. Monsanto is just another corporation that seems unstoppable, despite thousands of voices raised against it. How do we end this madness?

Is my opinion clear