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GM Coffee

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Just heard about this today. 70% of all coffee is grown by smallholder farmers because coffee doesnt ripen at the same time - making large mechanised farming unpracticle. A US company ICTI is developing GM coffee beans which can be made to ripen at the same time. These GM coffee beans can be 'switched on' when sprayed with a chemical.
Obviously this is being developed so that multinationals can increase the size of their operations and reduce their workforce.
Im surprised this hasnt had more media coverage, I think it must have been hushed up.

Anyway, if you get chance copy & paste the e-mail here: http://www.actionaid.org/campaigns/coffee2.html

Some interesting stuff on http://www.actionaid.org.uk regarding patenting of basmati rice etc.

Cheers Eskimo


Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thank u for not forcing ur opinion, is appreciated. i aint been to the links, but i'm guessign ur against GM foods.

    i'm just wondering if u fail to see the economic benefits of it, or if ur argument is based purely on ethical and moral grounds?

    Look into these tired eyes. See something you might recognise.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Turtle:

    i'm just wondering if u fail to see the economic benefits of it, or if ur argument is based purely on ethical and moral grounds?


    It seems that you don't put much emphasis to the ethics and moral values. Why is that?

    Zenius
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    because the greatest benefit of GM foods, by a long long way, is the economic benefit.

    GM foods are a great breakthru - being able to design a good so it is able to grow where and when they demand is, reduces transports costs, and, looking at this from an economics perpective, it shifts the supply curve down the way, thus reducing the price at any given demand.

    and i fail to see the sense in restricting such an important breakthrough. the moral and ethical arguments of it are all well an d good, but in my opinion, they are far outwieghed by the economics arguments.

    Look into these tired eyes. See something you might recognise.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The economic arguments? Put forward by who exactly?

    Will you or I benefit from this? Will the "Third World" benefit from this?

    Or will it just enable the huge multi-national corporations to make even bigger profits?

    Money isn't everything. Surely ethics has a role to play.

    Have you ever heard of BSE and vCJD? This is an example of what happens when science interfers with nature.

    Scientists are to busy finding out if they CAN do something, perhaps they should think about if they SHOULD do it.

    [This message has been edited by Man Of Kent (edited 27-05-2001).]
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Man Of Kent:
    Or will it just enable the huge multi-national corporations to make even bigger profits?

    Money isn't everything. Surely ethics has a role to play.

    Have you ever heard of BSE and vCJD? This is an example of what happens when science interfers with nature.

    Scientists are to busy finding out if they CAN do something, perhaps they should think about if they SHOULD do it.

    [This message has been edited by Man Of Kent (edited 27-05-2001).]

    Yap...you said it....ethics surely have a role in it.

    I guess that Switzerland does not have to worry about ethics since they live in a country surrounded by mountains to the rest of Europe.
    They are bankers and insurers. They don't give a shit what happens to the rest of Europe. They benefit from our misery.

    Zenius
  • Girl-From-MarsGirl-From-Mars Posts: 2,822 Boards Guru
    Originally posted by Zenius:
    Yap...you said it....ethics surely have a role in it.

    I guess that Switzerland does not have to worry about ethics since they live in a country surrounded by mountains to the rest of Europe.
    They are bankers and insurers. They don't give a shit what happens to the rest of Europe. They benefit from our misery.

    Zenius

    if thats an insult to turtle... ummmm it wont be, he hates the swiss and is actually australian <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"&gt;

    I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
    ~ the late, great Douglas Adams
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    LMAO <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif"&gt; thank u wemma <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"&gt;

    and yes zenius, they are a country of bankers, surrounded by moutains. they're nationalistic (and god knows why), they like their economy, they dont like the idea of free trade, and the EEC would hurt them a bit.

    U asked about what i thought. U got my thoughts. Don't make a meagre attempt to insult me if u dont like my views.

    Look into these tired eyes. See something you might recognise.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Zenuis, even if you don't like Turtle's opinion, don't diss him. It may be misguided but he's entitled to it.

    Remember, opinions are like arseholes. Everyone has one and although we don't always want to listen to them, occasionally we have to.

    "So raise your fists and march around
    Don't dare take what you need
    I'll jail and bury those committed
    And smother the rest in greed
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh, come on!

    I wasn't insulting Turtle. I was criticizing Switzerland. The fact, that his location happens to be in Switzerland should not be a reason to take my criticism personally, right?
  • Girl-From-MarsGirl-From-Mars Posts: 2,822 Boards Guru
    well why else would you bring up switzerland in the middle of this? no one else did. it seemed to be you were taking turtle's opinion as representative of switzerland's, or something. thats how i saw it anyway.

    I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
    ~ the late, great Douglas Adams
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    leave it. just play nice zenius.

    Look into these tired eyes. See something you might recognise.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oops...I really did make an unnecessary connection between Switzerland and Turtle's opinions. What was I thinking <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/confused.gif">. Sorry.

    Besides Switzerland has nothing to do with this thread at all. This is all about personal opinions about GM coffee or other GM foodstuffs.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thats ok mate. ur forgiven


    anyways. more about GM crops.

    Look into these tired eyes. See something you might recognise.
  • Girl-From-MarsGirl-From-Mars Posts: 2,822 Boards Guru
    i wasnt being argumentative, just pointing something out <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif"&gt;

    ok GM crops. i think they're a good idea. ive studied A level biology and i know the ins and outs pretty much. i think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, personally. okay, so there are chances of mutations and losing potential cures to life threatening diseases, losing immunity to various pesticides or diseases to the plants themsleves and the whole species beind wiped out... but is it really that likely that genetically modifying stuff is a dangerous thing? its this big scare tactic by various groups trying to convince people that GM is on a par with frankenstein's monster. and personally, i dont see it.

    I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
    ~ the late, great Douglas Adams
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Girl-From-Mars:
    okay, so there are chances of mutations and losing potential cures to life threatening diseases, losing immunity to various pesticides or diseases to the plants themsleves and the whole species beind wiped out...


    Nothing to worry about then <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/wink.gif"&gt;

    Depends on the species of course.

    I'm not saying that I can't see potential benefits, (ie corn that grows in desert conditions etc)but I get the impression that companies like Monsanto are doing this more the profit than the benefit of mankind.

    Multi-nationals aren't well know for their caring nature - Nike's child exploitation, Philip Morris Tobacco, remember McLibel? - and I know that they won't want to destroy potential markets by killing them off. However, how do they KNOW that GM food is safe, afterall scientists thought that feeding herbivores with the remains of sheep was a good idea.....and we get BSE and vCJD.

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I definitely agree with MOK here (hmn... that's a surprise)...

    GM foods could be incredibly dangerous, and I think it's immoral for multinationals to assume they're 100% safe just so they can make a huge profit.

    I think at the very least, GM foods should be labeled (I believe this is the case in Europe but it's certainly not in the US). GM tomatoes now have fish DNA in them to make them less prone to freezing in cold weather. Obviously this was done through some sort of animal exploitation. Being vegan, I wouldn't feel at all comfortable eating a tomato that I knew was part fish.

    Your cycles have bled into ones supposed to be my own
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