Mutant Seeds for Mesopotamia
October 22nd, 2008Via: Uruknet:
One would think that Iraqi farmers, now prospering under “freedom” and “democracy,” would be able to plant the seeds of their choosing, but that choice, under little-known Order 81, would be illegal.
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What makes this Order 81 even more outrageous is that Iraqi farmers have been saving wheat and barley seeds since at least 4000 BC, when irrigated agriculture first emerged, and probably even to about 8000 BC, when wheat was first domesticated. Mesopotamia’s farmers have now been trumped by white-smocked, corporate bio-engineers from Florida who strive to replace hundreds of natural varieties with a handful of genetically scrambled hybrids.
Where does such hubris come from? It comes from the entire mission surrounding the invasion of Iraq, which, upon closer inspection, had been planned years in advance by a faction of “neo-cons” who adopted Leon Trotsky’s glorification of the state, his theory “permanent revolution,” and his goal of exporting revolution worldwide. The neo-con revolution aims to alter the economic, political and cultural foundations of nations on the other side of the planet (rejecting old-fashioned notions of self-determination, popular sovereignty and even the nation-state system). This mission includes the transformation of agriculture and the establishment of “food control” over local populations.
Order 81 fits into this revolutionary program, and it is quite diabolical upon closer inspection. First, it forces Iraq’s commercial farmers to use registered terminator seeds (the “protected variety”). Then it defines natural seeds as illegal (the “infringing variety”), in a classic Orwellian turn of language.
This is so incredible that it must be re-stated: the exotic genetically scrambled seeds are the “protected variety” and the indigenous seeds are the “infringing variety.”
As Jeffrey Smith explains, author of Order 81: Re-Engineering Iraqi Agriculture:
“To qualify for PVP [Plant Variety Protection], seeds have to meet the following criteria: they must be ‘new, distinct, uniform and stable’… it is impossible for the seeds developed by the people of Iraq to meet these criteria. Their seeds are not ‘new’ as they are the product of millennia of development. Nor are they ‘distinct’. The free exchange of seeds practiced for centuries ensures that characteristics are spread and shared across local varieties. And they are the opposite of ‘uniform’ and ‘stable’ by the very nature of their biodiversity.” (3)
Order 81 comes with the Orwellian title of “Plant Variety Protection.” Any self-respecting scientist knows, however, that imposing biological standardization accomplishes the exact opposite: It reduces biodiversity and threatens species. So Order 81 comes with an Orwellian title and consists of Orwellian provisions.
Jeffrey Smith peels away the layers of mischief behind Order 81, finding it nonsensical that six varieties of wheat have been developed for Iraq:
“Three will be used for farmers to grow wheat that is made into pasta; three seed strains will be for ‘breadmaking.’
Pasta? According to the 2001 World Food Programme report on Iraq, ‘Dietary habits and preferences included consumption of large quantities and varieties of meat, as well as chicken, pulses, grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy products.’ No mention of lasagna. Likewise, a quick check of the Middle Eastern cookbook on my kitchen shelves, while not exclusively Iraqi, reveals a grand total of no pasta dishes listed within it.
There can be only two reasons why 50 per cent of the grains being developed are for pasta. One, the US intends to have so many American soldiers and businessmen in Iraq that it is orienting the country’s agriculture around feeding not ‘Starving Iraqis’ but ‘Overfed Americans’. Or, and more likely, because the food was never meant to be eaten inside Iraq at all…”
Just in case Iraqi farmer can’t read, Order 81 enforces the new monopoly on seeds with the jackboot. Order 81 makes this clear in its own text, buried at the bottom of the document, as is most screw-you fine print:
“The court may order the confiscation of the infringing variety as well as the materials and tools substantially used in the infringement of the protected variety. The court may also decide to destroy the infringing variety as well as the materials and tools or to dispose of them in any noncommercial purpose.”
Order 81 is about power and profit, but it disguises itself as humanitarian legislation.
Research Credit: EB
Aye, I’ve known about this for a while, but it’s worth mentioning if only because it qualifies for almost half your tags simultaneously.
Yet another example of why we American are so loved and revered around the world.
Jeffrey Smith also wrote the excellent book “Seeds of Deception”, as well as “Genetic Roulette”.
Future generations will wonder, not only why so many ignorant people accepted having GMOs forced on them, but why the families of scientists and workers at the food & biotech firms didn’t step-up to the plate and do the right thing by discouraging their loved-ones from supporting this horrible industry.
I really encourage people to read “Seeds of Deception”. Sure, it’s one of those books that most people think, “I already know GMOs are bad, I don’t need to read about why”. I only read it because an executive at Organic Valley brought Jeffrey Smith in for a conference, and afterwords an executive there bought me a copy to encourage me to read it.
Long story short, it’s stunning how really bad this junk-science really is, and how dangerous a situation we’re in already.
For one example among many, in order to cross two different species of life-forms, you have to disconnect a kind of “off”-switch on the gene (the same switch that prevents, say, your meal of chicken and rice from cross-polliting with the genes in your stomach lining). Once the switch is disconnected, however, it can’t be re-connected. So when you eat GM rice, yes, it does cross-pollute with your stomach lining. And intestinal wall as well. The corporate researchers didn’t actually do any research on these kinds of problems whatsoever, and just touted that the stomach acids would destroy such virulent genes.
And the list of concerns goes on… (“Genetic Roulette” was written to provide a handy two-page spread on each of about 50-something documented “concerns” that independent scientists have discovered regarding GMOs).
Again…if you know someone who works in this industry, I encourage you to educate yourself about these issues. And then press them to work against this industry as far as reasonably possibly…and to leave their position and speak out when they can no longer work against it from within.
If I put myself in the place of an Iraqi, you know pretend I am me as a small time gardener and orchardist – practicing soil enrichment, seed saving, no pesticides ever, I think I’d be about on my 4th heart attack by now.
This article, and I’ve read about this “seed programme” many times now makes me re-remember all the “whys” given for invading Iraq.
These convoluted douche bags want a scorched earth. A land free of the dirty freaking Muslims in order to create another “land of the free and home of the brave” where the place and the people they’ve destroyed is just another playground for the next bubble in the making.
Yea-uh. Imagine a food bubble bursting where the people creating the bubble – of course imaging their know it all and imagine they are going to create plenty of whatever- have the unintended – or is it intended – consequence of food shortages.
These dickheads monkeying with the food chain ought to be fed into the wood chipper. Just like in the movie FARGO. Snort.
The day some dickhead tells me I have to plant his seeds is the day I’ll be having an abortion.
One conservative radio commentator this morning was claiming we had “won” in Iraq. Won what? Respect? Love? More likely, fear. I read recently where just about everyone of the Iraqi “common people” had some relative killed or assaulted by American troops. Few had ever had similar experiences with Saddam Hussein’s goons. How are we going to heal our image now? Candy bars for the children? Seed control for the farmers?