Patenting Pig Genes – Genetically Modified Food

These oligarchies, the multinationals, are owned by very few people and groups. They have the kind of power today that no emperor, king or pope ever had in history. Monsanto is one of those global corporations. Very efficient, by the way, and incredibly dynamic and vital. They’re just the latest type of feudal lord.

It’s a very broad patent. It would grant, if it’s accepted worldwide, would grant Monsanto control of a significant percentage of all the pigs in the world. And here’s what’s so critical. The patent isn’t just for the pigs. It’s for the pigs offspring. So mother nature works for Monsanto’s profit. Every time pigs naturally reproduce, that is a violation of the patent that you have to pay Monsanto for.

I think there’s only one reason. It’s to make the farmers dependent on this company. It’s like what has already happened with grain or corn. People have to buy seeds exclusively from Monsanto as well as sprays, fertilizers and so on, and end up totally dependent on the company. If every time a sow or piglet leaves the pen Monsanto can charge a fee. It’s a never-ending source of income.

In some American states, farmers who feed their pigs exclusively with genetically modified corn, or soy, have noticed a mysterious drop in their stocks fertility.

When you insert a gene the DNA can rearrange, can delete genes, turn them on permanently, turn them off. It can create mutations up and down the genome. And these can create unpredicted allergies, or toxins, or new diseases, or nutritional problems.

Enjoying an inside route to the corridors of power, Monsanto was able again and again to place employees in influential positions. Through Washington’s revolving door, corporate players continually traded posts at the licensing authorities, later returning to high paid board positions at the company. In the early 1990s, a blatant scandal played out behind the scenes at the nation’s capitol. It was about nothing less than the fundamental decision on whether genetically modified organisms should be allowed to enter the food supply at all. Several FDA inspectors expressed great concern after studying the test results. The government held back the papers in which they explained their reservations, however, as described by a critical FDA expert.