"U.S. Declares Iraqis Can't Save See," by David Deschesne

[justinsb]

I dunno if this has been posted here before, but just in case...

Bud Landry
Iraqis Can't Save Seed
By Bud Landry
Jan 19, 2005, 10:58



"U.S. Declares Iraqis Can't Save See," by David Deschesne

According to Order 81, paragraph 66 -, issued by L. Paul Bremer , the people in Iraq are now prohibited from saving seeds and may only plant seeds for their food from from licensed, authorized U.S. distributors.



The paragraph states, "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds of protected varieties or any variety mentioned in items 1 and 2 of paragraph of Article 14 of this chapter."



Written in massively intricate legalese, Order 81 directs the reader at Article 14, paragraph 2 to paragraph of Article 4, which states any variety that is different from any other known variety may be registered in any country and become a protected variety of seed - thus defaulting it into the "protected class" of seeds and prohibiting the Iraqis from reusing them the following season. Every year, the Iraqis must destroy any seed they have, and repurchase seeds from an authorized supplier, or face fines, penalties and/ or jail time.



This is the freedom that comes with the American form of democracy?


http://magic-city-news.com/printer_2812.shtml

[w4rma]

1. That order isn't worth the paper it's written on in Iraq. Iraqis will do

as they please.

[Sporadicus]

2. A Possible Rationale for This Directive:

Amid consumer health concerns and federal support for increased fruit and vegetable consumption, a major crop technology company’s plan to diversify into horticultural crops could offer fresh opportunities for specialty growers.

Monsanto recently announced it was acquiring California-based Seminis Inc., the world’s largest fruit and vegetable seed company. Monsanto Chairman Hugh Grant maintained the $1.4 billion-plus acquisition would be “an excellent fit for our company as global production of vegetables and fruits, and the trend toward healthier diets, has been growing steadily over the past several years.”

Seminis has global vegetable and fruit market expertise, with major sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America, while Monsanto’s work in genetics and advanced breeding could help improve Seminis offerings for a changing consumer market, Monsanto’s Lori Fisher said.

http://farmweek.ilfb.org/viewdocument.asp?did=7550&drvid=114&r=7.017154E-02

Gotta look out for Monsanto's interests, doncha know!