GMO Farmer: ‘I Won’t Eat My Own Crops’
Like a thousand other farmers across the US, Kirk Bair is a farmer looking for ways to grow food economically and with as little labor as possible – but what are the moral implications of planting food you are aware is toxic, and selling it to your friends and neighbors? Is Bair in the right for planting GMO seed, even if conventional seed is hard to come by?
Bair has said:
“When you put a herbicide gene inside a corn seed, soybean, wheat, whatever you’re working with, you’re eating that. You’re ingesting it.”
It is clear that Bair realizes the health dangers of GM crops, but he plants them anyway? Why? He feels he has no choice, and there is a multi-billion dollar industry calling the shots.
“I’ve got some good looking ears coming,” said Kirk Bair, admiring his genetically modified corn crop, developed with Monsanto’s technology.
When asked why he has planted GM corn, Blair states:
“To use conventional corn, non-GMO, I’d have to till, apply pre-emergence herbicide. It’s more economical and more convenient to use GMO corn on real ground. I only use it because I felt like I had to. My seed supplier said, ‘Kirk it’s harder and harder to get a hold of conventional seed.’”
In less than a decade, the US has gone from planning 100% conventional seeds to almost 90% genetically modified seeds. Corn, soybeans and cotton are some of the most commonly grown GM crops – all considered staples.
Even though Blair grows GM crops, he says:
“I want to know what I am eating and I don’t want to eat GMO foods.”
Imagine that – a farmer who won’t eat his own crops. He has even supported labeling initiatives in California stating:
“People need know what they’re eating. People want to know what they’re eating.”
Read: 800 Scientists Demand Global ‘GMO Experiment’ End
This is a strange phenomenon – when farmers will knowingly plant crops they realize are dangerous to human health. Are they right about giving in to Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta when banned GM crops are being found in Europe, or when they are growing in Oregon and Minnesota fields without permission?
What about cross-pollination? Is a farmer’s ability to grow non-GMO completely compromised already to such a degree that she or he has to just shut down their tilling machines like a defeated warrior laying down his sword?
One biotech company claims the following reasons that farmers plant GM crops:
“Because they benefit from the technology – after all, 17.3 million farmers around the world do so, and their numbers grow each season.
In addition to higher yields and higher farm income, their reasons include:
- Increased management flexibility
- Easier adoption of no- or reduced till farming, which saves time, equipment usage, and carbon emissions
- Improved weed control
- Soil preservation
- Less worry about pest damage
- Less time spent on crop walking and/or insecticide application
- Savings in energy use – mainly associated with less spraying and tillage
- Savings in machinery use (for spraying and possibly reduced harvesting times)
-
Improved quality (e.g., lower levels of mycotoxins in GM insect-resistant maize)”
To the astute reader, there are several items on this list that are completely false – ‘less worry about pest damage’ could elicit an entire book of refutation. GM crops have increased worry about pest infestation. The emergence of superweeds and superbugs was in tandem with GM planting.
The ‘savings in machinery’ is arguable too, as more and more herbicide and pesticide use likely eats up any saved costs from having to spray more often – not less. The soil is also not preserved with GM crop planting – but destroyed. This has been proven many times over.
Multiple studies have looked at GM planting and its effects on the soil. One such study explains:
. . .residues of Bt maize plants that are ploughed into the soil following harvest suppress its ability to respire (produce carbon dioxide), it also reduces mycorrhizal colonisation and seriously alters bacterial populations within the soil ecosystem. This function of soil is vitally important for regulating plant growth and vitality, and for increasing availability of minerals and nutrients.
. . . Bt toxins persist in the soil for a considerable amount of time, which impedes the soil flora recovery and impacts upon plant health and growth in subsequent growing seasons.”
Addressing the other items on the list like improved quality are questionable, as are many other of the fallacious reasons given by EuropaBio.
Many farmers simply won’t accept the biotech misinformation that has been dished out for decades. The Rodale Research Institute on Organic Farming and Gardening lists thousands of farmers who know a better way. Since the 1940s and prior, this country has been growing food without chemicals and GM technology. It is more than possible, and now more than ever, vital.
It is understandable how farmers could initially feel drawn to the Big Ag model, based largely on the calculating lies of the biotech industry – but hopefully more farmers are seeing through biotech’s façade.
Bair seems to have seen behind Oz’s curtain to some degree, but he and other farmers like him obviously need public support to choose non-GM seeds and grow them.
You don’t fight a multi-billion dollar industry on a few acres. Perhaps Bair will join the ranks of Dr. Theirry Vrain, a former pro-GMO scientist who now whistleblows on the entire industry. That would be redemption.
“This is a strange phenomenon – when farmers will knowingly plant crops they realize are dangerous to human health.”
>>No, what’s strange is the blind acceptance of an idea, i.e. GM crops are dangerous, without any credible evidence to support it.
Sarich even admits in her article that these crops are more economical to grow, “It’s more economical and more convenient to use GMO corn.” So in light of this and coupled with the absolute dearth of evidence demonstrating harm, what’s strange is that anyone listens to know-nothings like Sarich. That is the strange phenomenon.
Canadian Skeptic you are really showcasing your ignorance by stating there is total dearth of evidence regarding the harm of GM crops. On the contrary there is a plethora of evidence that GM crops are health destroying monstrosities for both humans and animals. For openers read some of Jeffery M. Smith’s books and articles. He is one among multitudes of educated and intelligent people sounding the alarm about GM seeds and crops. Since you are ignorant of the tsunami of damning evidence regarding GM crops I do not expect you to do any serious reading because you are the sort who always believes serial liars and criminal enterprises like Monsanto and their globalist and political enablers. Monsanto’s battery of 40 predatory lawyers who sue non gmo farmers for patent infringement when their vile seeds sprout on their neighboring farms should tell anyone with half a brain that Monsanto is a criminal enterprise. This is but one of Monsanto’s criminal tactics. Sarich is an intelligent and discerning woman and the only know nothing is you Canadian Skeptic. And by the way Sarich is quoting Bair as being the one who believes gmo’s are cheaper. Bair is a soil miner and not a farmer and I doubt he has read or even heard of truly great farmers like Louis Bromfield or Joel Saladin or read a single page from Acres USA or similar publications. They are anything but cheap to produce as gm seeds are more expensive and require an abundance of deadly toxins to grow with pesticide receptors engineered into seeds like roundup ready seeds. in addition these deadly toxins destroy soil at a vastly accelerated rate and produce super weeds as a side effect. I could go on and on but since you are programmed to tune out any contrary evidence I am sure you would ignore any evidence no matter how compelling.
“Monsanto’s battery of 40 predatory lawyers who sue non gmo farmers for patent infringement when their vile seeds sprout on their neighboring farms….”
WOW!
Did not know that. What arrogance.
The farmers should counter-sue for trespassing and destruction of private property.
This has been going on for years.
i agree with you, that guy doesnt do any reading. opinion doesnt count
The stupidity in your comment is astounding. That is an opinion. The fact is, however, that this is a closed matter to the scientific community. No connection exists between GMOs and health risks, period. You should read.
Common sense dear Guest , common sense, there is your evidence. How can you play god and go against nature and expect a healthy outcome. Dont be so stupid
if it aint broke don’t fix it. the earth has did fine growing food forever why mess it up now
So you are not going to use modern medicine, drive a car or use electricity? Those are other areas that weren’t broken before, I suppose. The issue is that the food supply in the future is broken.
This is the same sentiment GMO scientists have.
not true in the slightest.
here is a perfect example of a farmer knowingly and willingly committing crimes against humanity. seize his land and give it to someone who is willing to bring that soil back to organic and prosecute him for his crimes. what a scumbag.
The vast majority of farmers are college educated in agriculture and they have been taught that the farming methods they use are cutting edge and the only way to go. Are you going to seize zillions of acres of land and give it to whom, pray tell? I have been farming my entire life, live on my grandpa’s farm and can trace our roots back to farmers all over Germany. I do not think chemicals are the way to go. Nor do I think GMO’s are the way to go. But only someone that has been removed from the earth and farming for generations would make such a comment as yours. If you have ever used a pharmaceutical- been vaccinated or used an antibiotic- you are just as culpable and fallible as farmers spraying their crops and growing GMO’s because you are falling prey to junk science and killing the microbiome that ultimately protects us. People that get out and work their land love it more than their own lives. If you grow up on a farm, you innately know that the farm comes first. My grandfather died of a stroke at 83 from shoveling out his own grain bin. My neighbor in the last throws of cancer was out hoeing the weeds out of his crops by hand. I find your comment so insulting and so misguided as to be an embarrassment to common sense. Until you’ve spent a few years in a farmer’s shoes, please keep your socialism to yourself.
have you heard of polyface farms and how successful they are at going
beyond organic, some videos going around, check them out if you have the
chance. seriously interesting even for a non-farmer like me.
That name sounded so familiar so I searched it- of course, then, Joel Salatin! Yes, he is wonderful! And very eclectic and interesting;) I might have to revisit his work again now that you mention it. Thanks!
Another interesting farmer you should chekc out is Paul Kaiser. read ”
Organic Farmer Grosses $100K An Acre” here on Natural Society.
It’s Polyacre Farms; Joel Salatin. A farmer doing it right indeed!!
Monsanto is the criminal outfit. Not the individual farmer, almost forced to use their crap products by illegal unconstitutional immoral monopolistic, unscientific, underhanded ‘business’ practices. Monsanto are the ones guilty of crimes against humanity.
It’s a huge responsibility to grow the food supply for a nation and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. To be in that position and knowingly contribute to the poisoning of that food supply is indeed a crime and that also should not be taken lightly. We have the tools and processes at hand to turn this around. All we have to do is turn off the tv and go outside and exercise the power that we do possess. They blew their horns and the walls came down… We have the numbers we have the power silence is violence and apathy is terminal etc. etc. etc.
Go home Canadian Septic find honest work like the rest of us.
They have been banned every where but here in America, Why?
Because Monsanto, Dow, ConAgra, are all DoD created companies. Monsanto goes back to WWII, ConAgra to Korea, Dow to Vietnam (agent orange anyone).
It has been sold to the common man, the idea that money is power. These companies have much money and therefore are seen as powerful by all the individuals that they employ as well as those who are outside of their companies and under their influence as victims of their propaganda or those who invested everything in the products as is seen in the thousands of farmers that have committed suicide in India. They are brilliantly run by pathologically ruthless individuals who are justifiably feared following well-thought-out plans based solely on monetary gain with no morality or ethical considerations.This is why they own our media, attack our journalists, portray anyone of principal as weak. We are not weak. We are powerful and the scales are tipping. They are banned elsewhere because they do not own the leaders or press in the countries where they have been rejected.
That’s a really interesting take on why the government is protecting these companies at all costs.
Right on Frank. This combination of corporatism and militarism overshadowing civil society and agriculture in this manner is best described by the word “FASCISM.”
Cos Americans are slaves.
When people in the highest positions with unlimited power and wealth
STATE they want a 95% reduction in population you better pay attention
to what they’re saying because they’re talking about you!
Big globalist corporations like Monsanto that bribe congressmen. It’s now legal to bribe congressmen too as the Supreme Court declared that “speech”.
For starters, your statement is not true
The GMO farmers also have the cost of tires for their various tractors and harvesters in addition to the seed and chemical inputs, herbicides and pesticides. GMO corn stalks cause wear and punctures that is way beyond that of conventional and organic crops. This is another market created by the same companies that create and sell the seed. Farmers that can are paying $300 per tire for Kevlar tires. I seem to remember the tires are made by DuPont.
I’m sorry but this is the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever heard. We don’t do corn, but I’ve been farming since I was born and all my neighbors farm corn. We bought some JD 9200 tractors in about 97 and the triples are just fine. No one is “replacing” tires on anything. I’ve never seen a combine that needed to have new tires put on it. Tractor tires rarely wear out. I’d like to see where this is supposedly happening. My dad bought a tandem Ford truck in 74 and I don’t believe he’s ever even put new tires on that. We farm 2500 acres and that includes trips to the elevator 20 miles round trip and farming sugar beets. I’m all for clean and real food, but please ensure you have the facts straight.
lol at the farmer saying he wont eat them but he will still grow them and sell them.
Eat up, wash it down and breath deeply.
That farmer has turned his back on the rest of humanity in the name of profits and ease of production ! Money is the root of all evil and this farmer is choosing his “roots” carefully,isn’t he ! What a rotten example of a human he is and he even justifies his actions in his own mind knowing fully that he is doing wrong ! I would say that his behavior is not uncommon today and he seems to think it is acceptable. American consumers are not informed on this subject and most probably don’t even care to know about it. We are in big,big trouble because of this kind of willful ignorance ! That is how the Mon-Satans And DOW etc. can continue to kill us softly. And to think that I am considered the “crazy one” for bring this kind of injustice to the forefront,only to be silenced by the “normal” people. I need to stand on my head to see the world the way they see it !
I don’t trust GMO food.
If it was good they would of left it as a choice and marked it foods with it, but THEY DIDN!T. And that tells me otherwise something fishy about it.
Will it one day destroy and terminate our genes??? And I’m not talking about Levi’s going bankrupt!
Folks, this is about thinning the herd by soft kill weapons. This is not my words, this is the globalists own words. Don’t believe it, research it. It’s worse than what I’m stating.
Just curiously, (and I’m on your side) where can we find their words? Everybody says this stuff, but they NEVER quote or reference anything. It would be really nice to see it.
Agenda 21 is the document. Wikipedia lists the following as one aspect of it:
Birth control Family planning Control Overpopulation Zero growth
Everytime you eat gmo– Think — I may die from eating this garbage.
Thank you Monsanto for helping to destroy the word and humanity with your garbage.
Compromising your integrity means you have none. It’s all double speak. Lawyers and politicians do the same. They and people like them deserve no sympathy and are useless and guilty for compromising doing the right thing for a buck.