http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/new...ating-impact-o
f-monsanto-practices-on-u-s-farmers/


February 18, 2013
New Report Exposes Devastating Impact of Monsanto Practices on U.S.
Farmers

Among the report¹s discoveries are several alarming statistics:

As of January 2013, Monsanto, alleging seed patent infringement, had
filed 144 lawsuits involving 410 farmers and 56 small farm
businesses in at least 27 different states.

Today, three corporations control 53 percent of the global
commercial seed market.

Seed consolidation has led to market control resulting in dramatic
increases in the price of seeds. From 1995-2011, the average cost to
plant one acre of soybeans has risen 325 percent; for cotton prices
spiked 516 percent and corn seed prices are up by 259 percent.

The report also disputes seed industry claims that present seed patent
rules are necessary for seed innovation. As Bill Freese, senior
scientist at Center for Food Safety and one of the report¹s contributors
notes: ³Most major new crop varieties developed throughout the 20th
century owe their origin to publicly funded agricultural research and
breeding.²

Additionally, Seed Giants vs. U.S. Farmers reports a precipitous drop in
seed diversity that has been cultivated for millennia. As the report
notes: 86% of corn, 88% of cotton, and 93% of soybeans farmed in the
U.S. are now genetically-engineered (GE) varieties, making the option of
farming non-GE crops increasingly difficult.

While agrichemical corporations also claim that their patented seeds are
leading to environmental improvements, the report notes that upward of
26 percent more chemicals per acre were used on GE crops than on non-GE
crops, according to USDA data.

Further, in response to an epidemic of weed resistance to glyphosate,
the primary herbicide used on GE crops, Dow AgroSciences is seeking USDA
approval of ³next generation² corn and soybeans resistant to 2,4-D, an
active ingredient in Agent Orange. Monsanto is seeking approval for GE
dicamba-resistant soybeans, corn, and cotton.

--
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or
E Pluribus Unum
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