GM Seeds & Bremer Decrees Ensure US Control of Iraq Food Supply

[DuctapeFatwa]

For Americans paying attention, here was some "happy news" from Iraq by way of the United States Central Command, Sept 28:

MOSUL, Iraq – Multi-National Forces, in cooperation with Texas A&M Unviersity, Colorado State University, Kansas State University and the World Wide Wheat Company will distribute more than 1,000 pounds of wheat seeds to Iraqi farmers located in the Ninevah Province by October.

...

To help this area’s wheat yields meet demands, leaders from the World Wide Wheat Company in Arizona began meeting with agriculturalists from Texas A&M, KSU and CSU to determine what wheat species would best survive Iraq’s arid climate. They chose several winter wheat variants from Arizona because the state’s climate is very similar to Iraq.

Here's what the Occupier's press release neglects to mention: Iraqi farmers are now forbidden from saving their own seeds, because the market is now the property of the huge transnationals and their genetically-modified, patent-protected product.

This, according to Paul Bremer's "100 Orders," which engraved Iraq's economic thralldom into law before the "handover of sovereignty." Specifically, "Coalition Provitional Authority Order 81: Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Law."

Here's what GRAIN says about the impact of the patent law upon Iraqi farming:


http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2004/10/iraq-against-grain.html

[OKNancy]

1. It's a disgusting law but

it won't work. It will be just like poppies in Afghanistan. I imagine there will be little anyone can do if the farmers decide to save their own seed.

[DuctapeFatwa]

2. They'll bomb it, burn it, and the farmers and their kids along with it

Poppies are a different story. Big money there.

[meganmonkey]

3. oh, no

another f*cked up way for war to increase corporate profit for the most immoral companies who wouldn't succeed without war and force. aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!! don't these f*cked up GM people realize that no one wants their product? that the whole concept is creepy at best? now they have to force it on people whose infrastructure is wrecked and they probably have no choice but to plant the shit?
granted, the contracts regarding seed-saving are probably useless given the state of things in iraq, but just the idea that these f*cked up companies are trying to do this.
sorry, i'm a little passionate about GM seeds and bullshit forced biotech seeds.

[DuctapeFatwa]

4. kick

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. kick for lurkers who may sometimes eat food