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I think the main issue is that Monsanto is cornering the market [1]. Farmers basically have a hard time to buy normal seeds at reasonable price on the market be

I think the main issue is that Monsanto is cornering the market [1]. Farmers basically have a hard time to buy normal seeds at reasonable price on the market because mostly GMO seeds are offered. It's a bit like Microsoft or ATT/Verizon. Just switch providers.. good luck with that. [1]: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091214/0856327337.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091214/0856327337.shtml

jjoonathan 13y ago
Microsoft uses compatibility and bundling as leverage to maintain their monopoly ATT/Verizon use municipal contracts and large barriers-to-entry to maintain their oligopoly All Monsanto has are patents on their specific crop strains. What prevents a seed producer from going into business other than the benefits of using Monsanto strains? EDIT: ok, after googling around (the techdirt link was broken), it looks like they were bundling http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/monopoly.cfm http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/monopoly.cfm http://www.patentdocs.org/2008/05/monsanto-and-sy.html http://www.patentdocs.org/2008/05/monsanto-and-sy.html
dr8899 13y ago
False. There are several competitors like Dupint, Dow Chemical, and Bayer.
Blahah 13y ago
This is just nonsense, it is extremely easy for farmers to buy non-GMO seed. Not only are there several other huge seed producers (Bayer, BASF, Dupont, Syngenta, Pioneer, etc.) that sell high-quality non-GMO seed, but there is a huge ecosystem of regional cooperative seed producers that make decent seed. Farmers choose GMOs because they really do get more return on their investment. They aren't idiots and they aren't being forced.
randomdata 13y ago
As a grain farmer myself, I don't know this to be true. In fact, the only GMO crop we do grow is field corn because there is no advantage of non-GMO varieties in that crop. Perhaps you could elaborate some more?

jjoonathan 13y ago

Microsoft uses compatibility and bundling as leverage to maintain their monopoly ATT/Verizon use municipal contracts and large barriers-to-entry to maintain their oligopoly All Monsanto has are patents on their specific crop strains. What prevents a seed producer from going into business other than the benefits of using Monsanto strains? EDIT: ok, after googling around (the techdirt link was broken), it looks like they were bundling http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/monopoly.cfm http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/monopoly.cfm http://www.patentdocs.org/2008/05/monsanto-and-sy.html http://www.patentdocs.org/2008/05/monsanto-and-sy.html

dr8899 13y ago

False. There are several competitors like Dupint, Dow Chemical, and Bayer.

Blahah 13y ago

This is just nonsense, it is extremely easy for farmers to buy non-GMO seed. Not only are there several other huge seed producers (Bayer, BASF, Dupont, Syngenta, Pioneer, etc.) that sell high-quality non-GMO seed, but there is a huge ecosystem of regional cooperative seed producers that make decent seed. Farmers choose GMOs because they really do get more return on their investment. They aren't idiots and they aren't being forced.

randomdata 13y ago

As a grain farmer myself, I don't know this to be true. In fact, the only GMO crop we do grow is field corn because there is no advantage of non-GMO varieties in that crop. Perhaps you could elaborate some more?