Meet the Opposite of Monsanto — These Are the Folks That Really Feed the World
Meet the people fighting resource grabs, cultivating traditional crops, and defending their communities from exploitation by multinationals.
When it comes to ‘feeding the world,’ agribusiness keeps selling the same old “solutions” that are actually undermining people’s access to healthful and sustainable food: massive industrialized farming operations, biotech (GMO) crops, pesticide-intensive mono-cropping, and so-called “free trade” agreements. They insist we just need to produce more food (with their seeds and petrochemicals) for the nearly one billion people who go hungry each year—yet landfills overflow with food waste in countries where agribusinesses have gained control of seeds, livestock, markets, and prices.
In spring 2013, Monsanto grabbed headlines when its genetically modified wheat, MON71800—not approved for production or consumption—was found growing in a farmer’s field. Yet in June, Monsanto and Syngenta executives were rewarded with the 2013 World Food Prize, even as evidence keeps pouring in about how these corporations undercut farmers’ ability to survive and feed their communities.
How could corporations whose technologies undermine food sovereignty—destroying plant diversity and displacing millions of farmers— be honored for fighting hunger? And while Monsanto’s lobbyists were pulling out the full court press on members of the House to protect agribusiness payouts in the Food and Farm Bill, SNAP benefits for almost 2 million families in need were slashed. If Monsanto is trying to end hunger, you have to wonder where their priorities were during Food and Farm Bill negotiations. GMOs are the antithesis of food sovereignty—patented technology that robs communities of the ability to feed themselves.
These corporate-controlled seeds are both destructive and unnecessary: evidence continues to confirm the effectiveness, and efficiencies, of agro-ecological sustainable farming. In April, a long-term study on soil health published in Crop Management demonstrated that organic farming not only improves soil quality, but can also boost yields per acre.
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Source: http://www.riseearth.com/2013/10/meet-opposite-of-monsanto-these-are.html
