Reposted from www.anitaroddick.com, our favorite catch of the day in the sea of the "internets"....
DISPATCH: Genetically Modified Mesopotamia Posted on February 8, 2005 by Anita Roddick
Welcome to the new millennium, Iraq. Now, like farmers in many other developing nations, Iraqi farmers are no longer allowed to keep the seeds from their crops, even if those strains of seeds have been in their families and communities for centuries. No, now farmers will have to buy their seeds from massive megaconglomerates like Monsanto. It's all part of the new economic plan for the country from its liberators in Washington, DC and London. Like farmers elsewhere in the world, Iraqis will be forced to buy seeds from Monsanto or AstraZeneca which have been genetically modified to resist pests and weeds. Of course, they also require special chemicals and fertilizers, which are also only available from those companies. The result is the virtual enslavement of Iraqi farmers to Western corporations. And it's just plain wrong. This is profiteering on the backs of a people who did not ask for this. What kind of "freedom" are we spreading when it comes with the price of livelihood and tradition?
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