Author Topic: The World According To Monsanto (Read 10767 times)

RUSTYME · « **Reply #15 on:** November 15, 2009, 09:01:49 pm »

hello Annie,
it is all about timing .... you have to wait till the video plays .... then click the pause button on the left...and then wait for the faded red line to appear from behind the little circle thingy (techno talk again) . Sometimes it can take a while for it to pop out from behind , but you have to wait till it does ...then let the shaded red line go towards the right hand side.
It is to do with download speed of the clip . This can be effected by your computer speed , your amount of ram and your internet connection speed , as well as how many people are connected to the net on your phone exchange . Also some files on youtube are bigger than others , so will take longer to load . All broadband speeds should cope with youtube though , but you may just need to resort to the pause button now and then , as I do . I just can't handle the stop start bit ....drives me mental ...( well yes ..as you said before Annie , I probably already am

).

cheers

Russ

sellickbhoy · « **Reply #16 on:** November 15, 2009, 10:16:45 pm »

Russ

i assume you have seen Food, Inc?

there is a bit on it about Monsanto prosecuting farmers who are saving their own seeds

basically, from my take on it (i watched it on a plane, so wasn't really paying 100% attention) they were sellig GM seed to a farm, then they were taking (stealing?) samples of crops from neighbouring farms and if it turns out the neighbouring farms had a similar genetic make up as the monsanto seed, they were prosecuting the innocent farmer - of course, some might have stolen seed (or not paid the license fee) but many others would have had their crops cross polinated from the GM version across the road

more worrying is that the government were on Monsantos side

it got to the point this guy wasn't able to buy seed to grow anything

i think GM might be necessary just because of the huge population growth but i do worry that if we don't maintain the diverse genetic make up of different plant varieties, we'll all end up like inbred hicks from many a soutern US horror film!!!

diversity is good!!

Gordon M · « **Reply #17 on:** November 15, 2009, 10:31:59 pm »

I don't believe that any GM foods are necessary, or good for mankind. GM is a means of controlling the world food supply, not providing more food for the hungry! I did have a DVD given to me by an Australian friend, it was about Monsanto (and the US government) bankrupting many farmers in the US who refused to pay Monsantos licencing fees for having their crops contaminated with GM seed which had been either blown by the wind from passing trucks and trains or dropped by birds, I don't believe they were stealing seed. I'll try to find the disk and see if I can get it copied.

sellickbhoy · « **Reply #18 on:** November 15, 2009, 10:39:43 pm »

http://www.mininova.org/tor/3088568

if any of you know how to download via bit torrent, here is a link to download Food, Inc.

interesting film. Features Eric Schlosser - authoer of Fast Food Nation, which is a great read

you might also like this from the bbc - the future of food

http://www.mininova.org/tor/2910914

doganjo · « **Reply #19 on:** November 15, 2009, 10:50:28 pm »

Brilliant. Got it now, Russ. Many thanks!

MiriMaran · « **Reply #20 on:** November 16, 2009, 08:03:48 pm »

Sellickboy - what is bit torrent?

sellickbhoy · « **Reply #21 on:** November 17, 2009, 09:06:30 pm »

it's a method of file sharing - so if someone else has, for example, an album or movie you would like, you can download it from them

it's free and whilst downloading isn't illegal - uploading is

but so long as you only take and don't give, then you should be fine

Canadian Sheepfarmer · « **Reply #22 on:** November 17, 2009, 10:22:16 pm »

I think we should be encouraging plant research and ways to grow more with lower inputs. A fascinating development is the field of Biomimicry and Polycropping. This enables farmers to use some of Nature's tricks and tools rather than bludgeoning her with chemicals and horsepower.

Just one example, Nature conserves nutrients by putting things into partnership, there are several forms of soil fungi called mycorrhizae that can extract phosphorus but have trouble getting carbon. What they do is enter into a symbiotic relationship with plants which naturally put carbon compounds together through photosynthesis.The mycorrhizae grow into the plant roots and in exchange for carbon they deliver usable phosphorus compounds to the plant.
Phosphorus, and its overuse by farmers is a big problem in rivers and lakes.

This is just one example and we have lots to learn around this whole subject. On a practical level 20% higher yeilds in both crops are being recorded by growing canola [OSR] and yellow peas together. I myself grow oats and peas together for making into hay - greenfeed. The oats support the peas and get them up off the ground, the peas fix nitrogen for the oats. Dredge-Corn as it was known in the UK is an old idea.

None of this is new, the North American Indians grew the famous 3 sisters combination, corn, beans and squash all sown together, but we are starting to understand a little more. Wheat, beans and canola have been sown together to produce up to 10% higher yield of each variety plus the peas hold the ripening canola pods and stop them moving around in the wind and shattering, it binds the plants together and provides a canopy. It also makes it possible to straight-cut with the combine rather than swathing first, a diesel saver.

Just a few examples, but farmers have seen the advantages of no-till, which was decried when it was first introduced as toes in the earth, but you would have to drive a long way across the prairies to see a ploughed field nowadays. Again, working with Nature.

sausagesandcash · « **Reply #23 on:** November 17, 2009, 11:17:15 pm »

Quote from: Canadian Sheepfarmer on November 17, 2009, 10:22:16 pm

I myself grow oats and peas together for making into hay - greenfeed. The oats support the peas and get them up off the ground, the peas fix nitrogen for the oats. (Excellent idea....gonna borrow this one!)

Just a few examples, but farmers have seen the advantages of no-till, (How do you plant seeds or reseed if you don't till ?) which was decried when it was first introduced as toes in the earth, but you would have to drive a long way across the prairies to see a ploughed field nowadays. Again, working with Nature.

Canadian Sheepfarmer · « **Reply #24 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:44:12 am »

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=no-till

Sometimes called zero-till farming it has produced much better results here on the Canadian prairies. Typically farms here are at least 1000 acres and up, so a big area to cover. Most crops are spring sown due to the hard winter and the annual rainfall is low compared to the UK, so minimal cultivation, the fewest number of passes by machinery, helps conserve critical moisture at seeding time.
The breakthrough is the airseeder which supersedes the old packer drill.