On Fri, 25 May 2007 14:28:19 -0500, Charlie wrote:

On Fri, 25 May 2007 11:07:13 -0900, Jan Flora
wrote:


The price of corn in the US is way up because of ethanol production.
The USDA predicts that more corn will be planted this year than has
been planted since before WWII. (The exact year eludes me. I'd have
to look it up.)

The price of corn is up in Mexico, too, making it hard for poor
folks to afford masa to make tortillas.


The first book Michael Pollen wrote is pretty interesting, too:

"The Botany of Desire."

I'm not quite awake yet. Please excuse the stilted language...


http://hawaiiseed.org/seed_exchange.html

"New legislation in Iraq recently put in place by the US prevents
farmers from saving their seeds. The Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) estimates that 97% of Iraq’s farmers use saved seed
from their own stocks from last year’s harvest or purchased in local
markets. When the new law Order No. 81 (4/26/04) goes into effect,
seed saving will be illegal and markets will offer only PVP (Plant
Variety Protected) seed which has been “invented” and patented and
licensed by the transnational corporations. "

There are many articles about this happening.

It's no wonder farmers in southern Iraq are beginning to grow poppies.

They who control the essentials, control the people.

Next thing you know, we who save seeds will be busted.

Screw 'em.
A bunch of nonsense.

John