Friday - June 04, 2010

Moonbat Island

Four months after a devastating earthquake ripped apart their country, the people of Haiti are still suffering, so you’d think a multi-million-dollar donation of vegetable seeds would be welcome news. But two Haitian groups, backed by the activist group Grassroots International, are urging farmers to do the unthinkable: burn the donated seeds.

This evil campaign puts politics ahead of humanity, and it is sad that charities like the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the New York Community Trust are funding Grassroots International’s perversely named “social justice” campaign.

The two groups, the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) and the National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papay (MPMKP), argue that the hybrid seeds donated by Monsanto will somehow undermine the “food sovereignty” of Haiti. They also assert, without any scientific basis, that the donated seeds are somehow unsafe. Nothing could be further from the truth, as seeds like those donated have been used safely for generations.

It isn’t the crop they’re against, it’s the corp — they just don’t like private companies. They’re convinced that “agri-business” is a bad thing, as if private companies shouldn’t be in the business of innovating and selling agricultural products to people trying to grow food.

Right. Economies of scale is just one more thing that Haitians have no awareness of. I guess every person on earth is supposed to walk down there and hand over a kernel of corn.

“A new earthquake” is what peasant farmer leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) called the news that Monsanto will be donating 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn seeds and vegetable seeds, some of them treated with highly toxic pesticides. The MPP has committed to burning Monsanto’s seeds, and has called for a march to protest the corporation’s presence in Haiti on June 4, for World Environment Day.

In an open letter sent May 14, Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, the executive director of MPP and the spokesperson for the National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papay (MPNKP), called the entry of Monsanto seeds into Haiti “a very strong attack on small agriculture, on farmers, on biodiversity, on Creole seeds ... and on what is left our environment in Haiti."(1) Haitian social movements have been vocal in their opposition to agribusiness imports of seeds and food, which undermines local production with local seed stocks. They have expressed special concern about the import of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

“We’re for seeds that have never been touched by multinationals. In our advocacy, we say that seeds are the patrimony of humanity. No one can control them,” said Doudou Pierre, national coordinating committee member of the National Haitian Network for Food Sovereignty and Food Security (RENHASSA), in a recent interview. “We reject Monsanto and their GMOs. GMOs would be the extermination of our people.”

A march is being held in Haiti today for World Environment Day, called by at least four major national peasant organizations and one international one. The march’s purpose is to protest the new arrival of Monsanto seeds. The day’s slogans include, “Long live native seeds” and “Down with Monsanto. Down with GMO and hybrid seeds.”

Several U.S. organizations are planning simultaneous events to protest the entry of the controversial multinational in Haiti.

Last month, Haitian citizens learned the news that the giant agribusiness Monsanto will be “donating” 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn seeds and vegetable seeds. While the seeds are free this year, peasant organizations see a Trojan horse, with Monsanto seeking to gain a foothold in the Haitian market. Hybrid seeds typically do not regenerate, so that farmers would have to buy them again each year, and they generally require large quantities of fertilizer and pesticides (two products that also fill Monsanto’s annual coffers).

So far, Monsanto has said that the donated corn seeds are not genetically modified but are hybrids, which means that they may not be suitable for replanting in the subsequent seasons. By cultivating Monsanto’s corn, Haitian peasant farmers will be forced to make annual purchases of seeds.

After the earthquake, much of Haiti’s rural seed stocks were used to help feed people who fled to rural areas from devastated towns and cities. In a message to Haitian farmers, Chavannes stated, “Monsanto is taking advantage of the earthquakeŠto open the country’s doors to this powerful company. We cannot accept this.”

Somewhat famous Moonbat Queen Jill Richardson agrees:

In the past few days since I’ve returned from the Land of No Internet, there’s been much buzz about Monsanto’s “generous” donation of hybrid seeds to Haitian farmers. I have just witnessed agricultural success in Haiti’s nearest neighbor - Cuba - and I saw firsthand that in most cases, farmers use open-pollinated (not hybrid) seeds, and they save their own seeds from one season to the next. I’d imagine it may be different on large sugarcane or tobacco operations, but those places would be growing crops for export. The places I saw grew food to feed their communities, which will be of the utmost importance in Haiti.

I must admit I’m quite pleased to see this headline: “Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto Hybrid Seeds. Hybrid seeds cannot be saved, and saved seeds have a limited shelflife, particularly in a humid, tropical environment. Thus, a donation of hybrid seeds can be like a donation of an addictive drug from a drug dealer. You get your first bit for free, and then you’re hooked. You need to buy the next batch yourself. Of course, Haitians can accept the donation and then buy open-pollinated seeds the next year, but that doesn’t negate the fact that hybrid seeds are a very short term gift because they don’t produce seeds you can save.

...

Thus, Haiti’s Peasant Movement of Papay has called on Haitian farmers to burn Monsanto’s seeds and march in opposition to Monsanto on June 4, World Environment Day. All I can say (besides hallelujah!) is that I hope Haiti’s next door neighbor Cuba comes through with agricultural help, both open pollinated seeds adapted to the local climate and technical expertise. Haiti is truly lucky to be located next door to one of the world’s best example of food sovereignty in the making.

Yeah, that’s it. The ultimate leftist fantasy. CUBA is going to save the day. Because the people there are all so damn fat from all the food they grow themselves that the country can just give it all away. And look at how much help Cuba has been to Haiti with this earthquake disaster relief! Hardly any other country on earth has had to come to Haiti’s aid, no donations from anywhere have been needed, no volunteers, no military presence to keep the peace, no non-stop airlifts of the sick and wounded to Florida and other places with terrible oppressive health care. Fidel and Raul did all themselves!

Whadda SLAG. Whadda maroon.



So ... Haiti’s farms were devastated by the earthquake, and in the aftermath everyone ate up all the seeds that had been set aside for planting. So Haiti has NO remaining native seed stock. And nothing growing in the fields. And no fertilizers or pesticides. So some EVIL corporation donates them a whole bunch - literally a small shipload - of seeds that will grow now, grow fast, and grow there, which are pretreated to resist bugs, maybe even pre-fertilized, etc. Which means they will allow Haitians to feed Haitians this year. No, this doesn’t give them a permanent solution, but it would keep people from starving. Next year maybe somebody else will donate some more seeds. Or maybe what little seed stock Haiti has left can be grown purely to produce more seed stock, on a small bit of land, while this supercrop grows on the rest and feeds the people.

So of course it gets rejected. Because you have a right to remain on welfare unless you are offered an easy job that pays $15 million a year. Same logic. Naturally, a bunch of protesters and various other dirty hippies will be burning Monsanto seeds today in commiseration. All on World Environment Day. Because all that extra smoke and CO₂ in the air is good for Mother Earth! Plus it’s always a great idea to get rid of pesticide coated seeds by burning them. Toxic vapors? Whatchu talkin bout Willis?

“Genetically Modified” always makes me laugh. Because it’s ever so much more evil than plain old hybridization, which has been going on for 10,000 years, ever since wheat was a 6” tall variety of lawn grass and corn grew ears 2” long. And cows were these big nasty critters in the forests called Aurochs, which would kill you in an eye-blink whenever they got the chance. The wheat, corn, and cows we have today are all products of the slow method of genetic modification: selective breeding. Hybridization. Same thing, just slower. Science merely speeds up the process. And let’s face it, not all hybrids are sterile, or even first generation. Those tasty Beefsteak tomatoes you grow in your garden were hybridized decades ago ... and then the ones that bred true were selected. Repeat that a few times and you get “heirloom” seeds that make the same plant every generation!

Monsanto has a statement ...

First, Monsanto had to identify seed from its inventory that would be well-suited to Haitian growing climates. That was perhaps the simplest part. The seeds include corn (field, not sweet), cabbage, carrot, eggplant, melon, onion, tomato, spinach and watermelon. Contrary to some online reports (sparked by this erroneous blog posting), these seeds are not derived from biotechnology (GMO). They are conventionally bred, hybrid seeds. Also, Monsanto is not donating herbicide or fertilizer, as those reports falsely state.

Though hybrid seeds were widely grown 30 years ago in Haiti, we were sensitive to the fact that hybrid seeds are not widely used in Haiti today. Hybrids have been in use for decades in other countries, including the Dominican Republic. Given the choice, farmers generally select hybrid seeds because they generate more food and grain per acre or hectare. Monsanto personnel consulted with the Ministry of Agriculture in Haiti and heard very clearly the ministry sees the opportunity for increased yields that hybrid seed creates for Haitian farmers.

and also a spokeperson, Mica, who patiently answers all the attacks aimed at them. Gosh, because HuffPo got their facts wrong about the pesticides and the fertilizers and so forth. Yes, to continue to grow very high yielding crops, the Haitian farmers would need to buy fresh seeds every year. Just like every other commercial farmer on the planet. Subsistence farming with heirloom seeds and no soil management grows less and less food every year. All of which means that Monsanto gave these island farmers a chance to climb up out of the mud and join the rest of the world. Of course they rejected that!

Posted by Drew458     on 06/04/2010 at 03:09 PM   
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People • TURD WORLD •  
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