Frankenfish

[drew03cmc]

Oddhow that analogy works out for other "pests", like atheists, liberals and such.. lol

Cricket, until this post, I had quite a bit of respect for you, but I find it hard to believe that being atheistic or, god forbid, agnostic is a bad thing. It is also odd how most homosexuals (no problem with it either) I know come from ultra conservative households...your analogy just failed.

Anyhow, about this frankenfish thing, we eat so much crap with added hormones, etc in it that nobody would notice a difference. I wouldn't be against trying it, but would want to read up on it first. Genetic modification has been going on for decades in plants and even animals.

[eric1978]

Odd how someone always has to bring up religion, politics and such...

And it's not even the atheists, liberals and such...

And we were doing so well! T minus 4 posts until Lilley locks it down

Cricket, until this post, I had quite a bit of respect for you, but I find it hard to believe that being atheistic or, god forbid, agnostic is a bad thing. It is also odd how most homosexuals (no problem with it either) I know come from ultra conservative households...your analogy just failed.

Just so y'all know...

Cricket was joking, and at this very moment he's sitting at home giggling like a little girl as he watches the bedlam unfold. Sorry to ruin your fun, Cricket.

[Fly_Guy]

And of course it is the corporations that laughing all the way to the bank while the family farmer is trying to just get buy spending tons of money for this genetically mutated seed.

and increasing his yield. (devil's advocate) It's funny how big corporations (the ones that give salary to so many people) are evil... I think they are evil as well - just not the one that employs me, allowing me to buy things...

What's killing the family farmer is not gm crops, but big corporate farms. If there was a case for feeling sore at a corporation, I feel that the the mega-farmers (where the owner sits in his office)do more damage to the family farmer than a company that produces the seed that they both use. just my two cents. Of course, government subsidies do help relieve the sting.

We seem to oscillate in the U.S. between loving the big companies (when the economy is good) to hating them (when the economy is bad).

I'm not saying I'm right, I'm just saying everyone else is wrong (jk)

is putting (jk) after a sentence redundant if you already have used ?

[Wayne SW/MO]

Amen, its just a forum. No use getting bent out of shape because Cricket does a little poking and jabbing. Man up.

[flytyer57]

and increasing his yield. (devil's advocate) It's funny how big corporations (the ones that give salary to so many people) are evil... I think they are evil as well - just not the one that employs me, allowing me to buy things...

What's killing the family farmer is not gm crops, but big corporate farms. If there was a case for feeling sore at a corporation, I feel that the the mega-farmers (where the owner sits in his office)do more damage to the family farmer than a company that produces the seed that they both use. just my two cents. Of course, government subsidies do help relieve the sting.

We seem to oscillate in the U.S. between loving the big companies (when the economy is good) to hating them (when the economy is bad).

I'm not saying I'm right, I'm just saying everyone else is wrong (jk)

is putting (jk) after a sentence redundant if you already have used ?

Actually, I have worked for many corporations and it really pisses me off how much money they have and the guy on the floor busting his butt off everday is the first to get screwed over.

As for those farm subsidies, a lot more of those family farms would have survived had they gotten a chunck of those subsidies. They mainly go to the corporate farms. Just like tax breaks for oil companies to produce alternative fuels? Government, both sides, has their heads up their asses and their hands in corporate pockets.

Earlier somebody posted about who does the genetically mutated salmon farmer know at the FDA. My response of course was the cashier.

[Outside Bend]

and increasing his yield. (devil's advocate) It's funny how big corporations (the ones that give salary to so many people) are evil... I think they are evil as well - just not the one that employs me, allowing me to buy things...

What's killing the family farmer is not gm crops, but big corporate farms. If there was a case for feeling sore at a corporation, I feel that the the mega-farmers (where the owner sits in his office)do more damage to the family farmer than a company that produces the seed that they both use. just my two cents. Of course, government subsidies do help relieve the sting.

We seem to oscillate in the U.S. between loving the big companies (when the economy is good) to hating them (when the economy is bad).

I'm not saying I'm right, I'm just saying everyone else is wrong (jk)

is putting (jk) after a sentence redundant if you already have used ?

I guess IMO things like GM foods are precisely why America's small farmers are in the predicament they are. When you can grow 70 bushels of wheat an acre, it depresses the price of wheat. When you can house 5000 hogs in a shed, it depresses the price of pork. A guy can't make money in that game unless they have a lot of land to work, and unlike corporate farmers, most of the little guys don't have the capital to be buying productive farmland at a couple grand an acre.

Moreover, farmers are aging just the same as the rest of the population- many are on their way off this mortal coil. When faced with losing money on a farm or gaining revenue by selling the land to developers, I figure many folks are going to go towards the latter.

I'm not sure what the answers are. Reconfiguring farm subsidies to help small farmers compete would be a start, but I don't see it happening. Remember the outrage when food prices went up a few years back? We love cheap food like a fat kid loves cake, to use the parlance of our times. But it's just unreal to me that we can consume as much food as we do in this nation, while at the same time the people producing it are going bankrupt. Craziness.

[Chief Grey Bear]

You'er close OB. It is because of the corprate farms that the family farms are struggling at best. They own millions of acres and control pricing at every aspect. They force the family farm to sell out. That and most family farms are or have seen their last generation. Most kids are finding life in the city and the money that can be made there much easier.

Those kids must be so proud to take their kids out to the county and show them where they grew up in what is now a housing district. I can take you all around and see the the 20 or 30 or more acres of houses where I used to hunt. And that is one of the main pushes behind seeds that produce more per acre. They stopped making land years ago.

[Wayne SW/MO]

"What's killing the family farmer is not gm crops, but big corporate farms. If there was a case for feeling sore at a corporation, I feel that the the mega-farmers (where the owner sits in his office)do more damage to the family farmer than a company that produces the seed that they both use. just my two cents. Of course, government subsidies do help relieve the sting."

The reason big corporate farms put the small farmers in a bind is do to their ability to cuts cost, while raising yields. This effects the market prices and puts the family farmer in a pinch trying to match their efficiency. Being very efficient can take a considerable investment.

[Fly_Guy]

You'er close OB. It is because of the corprate farms that the family farms are struggling at best. They own millions of acres and control pricing at every aspect. They force the family farm to sell out. That and most family farms are or have seen their last generation. Most kids are finding life in the city and the money that can be made there much easier.

Those kids must be so proud to take their kids out to the county and show them where they grew up in what is now a housing district. I can take you all around and see the the 20 or 30 or more acres of houses where I used to hunt. And that is one of the main pushes behind seeds that produce more per acre. They stopped making land years ago.

Precisely. Half of my family are small farmers. The older generation farmer is fading, and the middle generation farmer has either been forced to buy more land (or farm other folk's land), or find supplemental income. Government subsidies in fact do help the small farmer, but since the industry is dominated by large corporate agribusinesses, it makes it hard for the small farmer to compete. My uncle would love to devote all his time to farming, but is forced to work in a factory to supplement his income so he can afford machinery, seed ect... He has three children - all of whom grew up farming. One is a botanist, one is a geologist, and one is a computer programmer. Chief hit the nail on the head.

Good point OB though - I hadn't thought of it like that. That's the beauty of a civil forum. If the large businesses with extra capital are able to buy better gm crops, the small farmer almost has to in order to keep up - costing him more $.

If there is a silver lining, it is that there seems to be a push toward more organic, non-gm foods. Some small farmers have local produce in stores and actively advertise such. We can help by buying from them.