RUSSIA, GMOS, AND SLAYING THE MON(STER)SANTO
October 2, 2013 By
There
is an icon that is quite popular in some places in Orthodox countries,
and it is the icon of St. George slaying the monster. For our purposes
here, the icon is, well, “iconic” of some looming problems, perhaps, for
Duponzanto and Mon(ster)santo and American agribusiness companies that
have come under fire around the world. We’ve covered the story of GMOS
and the tactics used to defend and challenge their efficacy here, and
co-author Scott DeHart and I wrote about them in a chapter of our Transhumanism: A Grimoire of Alchemical Agendas.
We’ve pointed out how the principle of “substantial equivalence” was
developed to allow the agribusiness giants both to have their GMOs,
their patents, and eat us too.
In following the story of the growing global opposition both to the product and to the “science and law” behind it, one of the things I’ve repeatedly suggested is that one could expect, as the BRICSA entente bloc grows in cohesion and shared vision, two things: (1) growing oppositions to GMOs and increasing bans of the products, and (2) a pushback from the BRICSA nations in the form of making their own bid for the world’s agribusiness, by offering natural seeds, with all the regrowing rights farmers have traditionally practiced for millennia.
Well, it seems that at least phase one – the growing opposition to GMOs – has reached yet another benchmark, as Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev is indicating that Russia is considering a total ban on the products:
Russia Considers Total Ban on All GMO Products
Given the close relationship between Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin, one may reasonably infer that this reflects the considered view of the Russian government, a view that would quickly become policy. The article notes Russia’s membership in the WTO, which has been acting as a shill to move the parameters of American patent law as the standard for international law, a clear boon to the GMO industry.
Thus, Russia’s actions here are very dramatic pushback in a certain sense, and I rather suspect that the geopolitical reasoning is clear: Russia is not about to forego the sovereignty over its own food supply that a total cave-in to GMOs and their American agribusiness corporate sponsors would imply. And recently, yet another news story has surfaced that China intends to rent 5% of the Ukraine’s land for growing food for its own population. Hence, one may reasonably infer that we might be looking at the gradual beginnings of some BRICSA pushback on GMOs.
This is not to say that either Russia or China are backward luddite nations opposed, on principle, to the idea of genetic modifications to crops. But one may safely infer that, given the rising indicators that the initial science and “testing” of the products was fraught with problems, and given the mounting stories of “sharp practice” by the American agribusiness giants, gaining the confidence of the world’s farmers by the sale of alternatives to GMO seeds would be a political and economic windfall for the BRICSA countries…
…. keep your eyes peeled folks, for if recent current trends of clever diplomatic maneuvering coming out of Russia continue, that initiative, if it ever transpires, may be announced by that country.
In following the story of the growing global opposition both to the product and to the “science and law” behind it, one of the things I’ve repeatedly suggested is that one could expect, as the BRICSA entente bloc grows in cohesion and shared vision, two things: (1) growing oppositions to GMOs and increasing bans of the products, and (2) a pushback from the BRICSA nations in the form of making their own bid for the world’s agribusiness, by offering natural seeds, with all the regrowing rights farmers have traditionally practiced for millennia.
Well, it seems that at least phase one – the growing opposition to GMOs – has reached yet another benchmark, as Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev is indicating that Russia is considering a total ban on the products:
Russia Considers Total Ban on All GMO Products
Given the close relationship between Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin, one may reasonably infer that this reflects the considered view of the Russian government, a view that would quickly become policy. The article notes Russia’s membership in the WTO, which has been acting as a shill to move the parameters of American patent law as the standard for international law, a clear boon to the GMO industry.
Thus, Russia’s actions here are very dramatic pushback in a certain sense, and I rather suspect that the geopolitical reasoning is clear: Russia is not about to forego the sovereignty over its own food supply that a total cave-in to GMOs and their American agribusiness corporate sponsors would imply. And recently, yet another news story has surfaced that China intends to rent 5% of the Ukraine’s land for growing food for its own population. Hence, one may reasonably infer that we might be looking at the gradual beginnings of some BRICSA pushback on GMOs.
This is not to say that either Russia or China are backward luddite nations opposed, on principle, to the idea of genetic modifications to crops. But one may safely infer that, given the rising indicators that the initial science and “testing” of the products was fraught with problems, and given the mounting stories of “sharp practice” by the American agribusiness giants, gaining the confidence of the world’s farmers by the sale of alternatives to GMO seeds would be a political and economic windfall for the BRICSA countries…
…. keep your eyes peeled folks, for if recent current trends of clever diplomatic maneuvering coming out of Russia continue, that initiative, if it ever transpires, may be announced by that country.
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