plantyhamchuk:

kineticpenguin:

saga-news-and-fandom:

tilthat:

TIL in 2010, after the devastating earthquake, Haiti was provided by Monsanto 475 tons of seeds to help people who lost their sources of income. Haitians burned as many as possible because they were genetically modified.

via reddit.com

This needs more context. The Monsanto seed was free, true, but required millions of dollars worth of Roundup to grow properly, (not free,) and one of the first genetic modifications allows Monsanto to produce seeds which will not produce fertile offspring. Haiti would have been desperate for seed next growing season. Several developing nations are essentially offer a barrel for Monsanto after taking “free” seed.

Haiti wasn’t stupid. They know colonizer tactics.

Yeah, Monsanto’s fucking evil, and it’s not “because GMO.” In this case it’s literally “you will be forced to buy seeds from us from now on in perpetuity, which we are hoping you’ll fall for under the guise of charity”

This needs even more context.

@saga-news-and-fandom says “

The Monsanto seed was free, true, but required millions of dollars worth of Roundup to grow properly

“

This is not quite how it works. Roundup is not actually a required step, it is an optional one. Farmers can choose to use it or not. It is one method to deal with weeds. Farmers can also till the fuck out of the earth or hand weed. The crop in question will grow regardless of whether Roundup is used or not. It’s just that the Roundup is commonly used to deal with the weeds without having to till the earth or be out in the fields constantly hand weeding. (There’s other methods and options out there, but likely they aren’t available in Haiti yet).

It is also not quite accurate to say that “the first genetic modifications allows Monsanto to produce seeds which will not produce fertile offspring”. I mean that’s not a Monsanto thing, that’s a very basic genetics thing, and it’s been going on for a VERY long time. If you think back to biology class you might remember punnett squares.

@kineticpenguin Plants not breeding true, that’s an F1 hybrid thing (here, seen as GgYy) and is done via traditional plant breeding methods. It’s not done to intentionally fuck over farmers, as these things are constantly framed. F1 hybrids can be bred to have certain characteristics that are superior to the parent plants, such as better disease resistance and higher yields. These characteristics can be the difference between having a crop and losing a crop… they can be a huge technological advantage in the constant, endless, ongoing war against plant pests and diseases. 

Getting seeds in Haiti is a problem! It is a legit issue. Many groups and projects there DO want open-pollinated non-hybrid seeds, so that they can seed save. 

Mold!

Seed saving is not easy, and if not done properly your seeds can mold or carry diseases into the next year, which can be absolutely devastating if this is how you’re going to eat or pay your bills. It also requires additional labor during the already busy harvest season, a place to store the seeds where bugs can’t get into them, etc. It can be cheaper and less headache for the farmer to just buy fresh open-pollinated seeds instead of going to all the trouble to save them. Purchased seeds, here in the US, if distributed in a large enough area, are required to be independently tested for viability so you know that what you’re purchasing will germinate well.

Hopefully this helps to flesh out some of the issues here. Monsanto is problematic, yes. And Haiti has massive issues with access to seeds and capital, in addition to poor infrastructure, poor soil, and massive deforestation. But just saying ‘COMPANY BAD’ doesn’t really paint the whole picture.