Excerpt from essay by Frank Morton, Wild Garden Seeds/Shoulder to Shoulder Farm

"Corn, soy, canola, and cotton have been the Biotech ag-industrial hits thus far. In these crops, Monsanto and Biotech have overcome consumer objection by pure stealth, avoiding labeling and public oversight at every turn in the United States. The fact that production of these GM ag-dustrial foodstuffs has now well out-stretched conventional versions of the crop species, can only be attributed to the fact that consumers have no way to avoid GMOs except by purchasing Certified Organic products. If a "NON-GMO Certified" label emerges, as a choice distinct from Certified Organic, I still believe we would see these trends in Biotech-stock fortunes make a sudden reversal. Witness the recent run from Monsanto’s Prosilac (rBST) by dairy cooperatives, once consumers had their say. The investment rating for Monsanto stock is CC—the most risk-laden class for investment."

Please read the entire essay here.

http://www.wildgardenseed.com/article.php?id=3

2009 POSTED UPDATE TO THIS ARTICLE FOLLOWS THIS.

GMOs At The Brink

See Entire Article Written by Frank Morton at Wild Garden Seeds

http://www.wildgardenseed.com/article.php?id=7

"Brink" is an old Norse word indicating some critical boundary, an extreme edge, a verge, beyond which something will occur. The run up in acreage for GMOs has paralleled other unnatural growth rates in the financial world. We have watched the dramatic reversal in financial fortunes since September 2008. That was a brink if ever there was one. We are not yet beyond that verge."

2008 PREDECSSOR TO THIS ARTICLE POSTED AHEAD OF THIS ONE.

"Understanding Glyphosate"

Article Written by Frank Morton.

"Roundup Herbicide, generically known as glyphosate, functions systemically as a cation binder, inhibiting the uptake and utilization of trace minerals like manganese, molybdemum, iron, et al., as well as the major nutrients potassium and calcium. By shutting down cell metabolism and normal immune response to common (normally non-pathogenic) Fusarium spp. found in all soils, glyphosate acts as a promoter of disease via the root zone. This is its normal mode of action against weeds. Roundup also stimulates soil fungi to sequester minerals, especially potassium, and has been shown to induce K-deficiency, even in Roundup Ready corn. RR-soybeans do not fix nitrogen efficiently because Rhizobium bacteria cannot function symbiotically with a crop exuding glyphosate into the root zone. The N-fixation enzymatic system requires molybdemum and iron, which are unavailable under the influence of glyphosate.

RR-crops indeed translocate a significant portion of their absorbed glyphosate directly into the root zone, bypassing the soil-surface photoreactions that typically break down direct glyphosate spray. Once in the root zone, glyphosate strongly effects soil ecosystems by stimulating reproduction of some fungal species and suppressing others. Sprayed weeds’ decomposing roots and RR-crop root exudates can supply a constant glyphosate ‘drip rate’ influence on these soil ecosystems that induce a "pathogenic tendency" on crop-fungal relationships. Crop residue decomposition continues to supply glyphosate to the root zone of subsequent crops, resulting in yield losses for up to 18 months in some studies. Glyphosate readily travels with runoff waters from fields, and results in high mortality to amphibians in ditches and streams draining RR-farms. To understand glyphosate, imagine a systemic magnet for essential cellular nutrients that disrupts ecological relationships and turns harmless neighbors into flesh eating monsters."

Excerpt from essay by Frank Morton, Wild Garden Seeds/Shoulder to Shoulder Farm

"Corn, soy, canola, and cotton have been the Biotech ag-industrial hits thus far. In these crops, Monsanto and Biotech have overcome consumer objection by pure stealth, avoiding labeling and public oversight at every turn in the United States. The fact that production of these GM ag-dustrial foodstuffs has now well out-stretched conventional versions of the crop species, can only be attributed to the fact that consumers have no way to avoid GMOs except by purchasing Certified Organic products. If a "NON-GMO Certified" label emerges, as a choice distinct from Certified Organic, I still believe we would see these trends in Biotech-stock fortunes make a sudden reversal. Witness the recent run from Monsanto’s Prosilac (rBST) by dairy cooperatives, once consumers had their say. The investment rating for Monsanto stock is CC—the most risk-laden class for investment."

Please read the entire essay here.

http://www.wildgardenseed.com/article.php?id=3