http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/917:monsanto-in-haiti#
http://www.monsanto.com/improvingagriculture/pages/haiti-seed-donation.aspx
https://sleuth4health.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/haitian-farmers-burn-monsanto-aid-seeds/
Tuesday
What happens now?
Haitian farmers and civilians continued to spread the word about Monsanto seeds. They feel that the government may have been bribed and that the Monsanto brand does not have their best interest at heart. It was difficult to find out what else has happened after the burning of the seeds, or even how the farmers have held up since then but I have a feeling that they have figured out a way to work with what is best for them. Haitians are a strong people even when faced with adversity.
The new meaning of GMO= Get Monsanto Out!
On the Monsanto company website they describe how and why they have decided to lend a "helping hand" to Haiti. After the earthquake millions of lives were impacted negatively. An already struggling population has been exposed to an even greater hardship. Monsanto says they have donated money however, Monsanto believed a donation of products would have a better impact on the lives of those affected.
As we've already covered, the farmers and citizens of Haiti strongly disagree with the helpfulness of Monsanto's donation. If the people feel so strongly about this how is the government dealing with this? Monsanto has had a reputation for having aggressive marketing and speculations surrounding illegal maneuvers. So why accept the seeds?
In Haiti, a US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded agricultural project accepted the Monsanto "gift." USAID/WINNER (Watershed Initiative for National Natural Environmental Resources) is a five-year, $126 million US taxpayer-funded agriculture and environment program. WINNER is run by Chemonics International. USAID/WINNER's Chief of Party (COP), is not just any old Haitian… it is Jean Robert Estimé. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs under dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and subsequently worked for Chemonics in Africa. As a native of Haiti, Jean-Robert Estime held a number of positions in the Haitian government, including deputy minister of finances and economic affairs, ambassador of Haiti, and as minister of foreign affairs.
When Monsanto announced that they were fiving Haiti a gift, they said that it was because Haitian farmers did not have sufficient seeds. However, this was 2 months after the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) – which has extensive experience in Haitian agriculture development work – released a "rapid seed assessment" report for southern Haiti, one of the areas worst-hit by the earthquake. The assessment, circulated to humanitarian and development organizations working in Haiti, and another one whose findings were distributed in June, both recommended against the importation and distribution of seeds.
CRS wrote:
"Direct seed distribution should not take place given that seed is available in the local market and farmers' negative perceptions of external seed. This emergency is not the appropriate time to try to introduce improved varieties on anything more than a small scale for farmer evaluation."
Nevertheless, in its post-earthquake strategy document, the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture (MARDNR) called for massive seed distribution for three seasons post-earthquake, and gave its warm approval of the Monsanto "gift," even though allowing new varieties (the maize and most of the vegetable varieties) onto Haitian soil directly contravenes Haitian law and international conventions.
As we've already covered, the farmers and citizens of Haiti strongly disagree with the helpfulness of Monsanto's donation. If the people feel so strongly about this how is the government dealing with this? Monsanto has had a reputation for having aggressive marketing and speculations surrounding illegal maneuvers. So why accept the seeds?
In Haiti, a US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded agricultural project accepted the Monsanto "gift." USAID/WINNER (Watershed Initiative for National Natural Environmental Resources) is a five-year, $126 million US taxpayer-funded agriculture and environment program. WINNER is run by Chemonics International. USAID/WINNER's Chief of Party (COP), is not just any old Haitian… it is Jean Robert Estimé. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs under dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and subsequently worked for Chemonics in Africa. As a native of Haiti, Jean-Robert Estime held a number of positions in the Haitian government, including deputy minister of finances and economic affairs, ambassador of Haiti, and as minister of foreign affairs.
When Monsanto announced that they were fiving Haiti a gift, they said that it was because Haitian farmers did not have sufficient seeds. However, this was 2 months after the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) – which has extensive experience in Haitian agriculture development work – released a "rapid seed assessment" report for southern Haiti, one of the areas worst-hit by the earthquake. The assessment, circulated to humanitarian and development organizations working in Haiti, and another one whose findings were distributed in June, both recommended against the importation and distribution of seeds.
CRS wrote:
"Direct seed distribution should not take place given that seed is available in the local market and farmers' negative perceptions of external seed. This emergency is not the appropriate time to try to introduce improved varieties on anything more than a small scale for farmer evaluation."
Nevertheless, in its post-earthquake strategy document, the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture (MARDNR) called for massive seed distribution for three seasons post-earthquake, and gave its warm approval of the Monsanto "gift," even though allowing new varieties (the maize and most of the vegetable varieties) onto Haitian soil directly contravenes Haitian law and international conventions.
Understanding the seeds
Now if you are like me, and even though you may know the basics of farming (or not) understanding how these different seeds work can be tricky. However, that is essentially the key to all of this. There is a lot of confusion between GMO (genetically modified organisms) and Hybrid seeds. The first 2 minutes of this clip is helpful in getting an idea of how these are different.
Thursday
Monsanto vs Haiti
As stated in the link from project censor, 6 months after the earthquake in Haiti Monsanto donated 475 tons of corn and vegetable seeds to the country. Shortly after thousands of Haitian farmers rallied together to destroy and burn the seeds given. They said that Monsanto seeds will eventually destroy their crops.
In the first video below an interviewer talks to a farmer to see how these seeds will change his farming habits, they also touch on how the people of Haiti are malnourished because instead of buying vegetables they eat many carb filled food because its cheaper and filling enough for an entire family. They then discover that if the farmers understood how the seeds worked they would be better off without Monsanto's interference.
The second video shows the people of Haiti marching in protest of the "gift" from the Monsanto brand. They are rejecting the seeds not only because they are bad for the farmers land, but GMO or "hybrid" foods in general are not seen as a trusting source of food.
INTERVIEW WITH A HAITIAN FARMER
HAITIAN PROTEST
Tuesday
What do we know about Monsanto?
How Monsanto sees themselves;
According to the company, Monsanto believes they are the source of empowerment to farmers both large and small. In their about me statement they claim to help farmers "produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy." And they are able to do this with their seed brands in crops such as corn, cotton, oilseeds and fruits and vegetables.
Vs
How the World sees Monsanto
Many sites that talk about the Monsanto company describe Monsanto as a monopoly and a bully. There are many claims that Monsanto purposely runs small farmers out of business. How? They are able to do this by filing lawsuits against these small farmers for having traces of Monsanto patented crops on their farmland. Even if the majority of crops are produced from the famers own seeds, or despite the fact that many have accused Monsanto for purposely placing their crops near the farm, Monsanto is always able to get a ruling in their favor. There has even been an issue with the fact that Monsanto crop pollen from nearby farms can easily blow onto other farms who are not using Monsanto crops.
With stories like this it certainly does not appear that Monsanto is as "empowering" as they claim.
Monday
I have decided to choose this topic because I've been hearing so many things about Monsanto over the years, many of which have not been good. People accept a lot of things as good or bad without further research because the government, or authority figure says so. I want to know, need to know, what it is that is not being told to the mass population, and I need to know why. Many of the products that we place into our body are the result of business deals made by Monsanto and companies alike. If there are underlying factors that are not up to par, we as the consumers deserve to know.
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