I was asked a question and got a answer...

So I work at a co-op feed store, we sell horse feed, chicken feed, cow feed ect (we call it a country store) and also sell fertilizer and chemicals for lawns and weeds ect. Also sell corn seed. I was asked by a customer who was looking at corn seed if we sell any non-GMO products. I wasn't sure so I asked my boss. He simply told me "no were not authorized to sell it". I asked why, he said "because we can't" and went about his paperwork.

So I told the customer "No we can't sell it". He asked why. So I told him what I was told. Then he was reading the label on the back of the GMO seed. He asked me, in a rather vulger manner, why he would need protective clothing to plant the seed and grow it. I told him "because its GMO". He laughed and walked out of the store rather unhappy.

Why couldn't we sell it? Is Monsanto's reach that far where a co-op (for those who don't know a co-op is owned by the consumer) that we can't sell organic corn anymore??

Needless to say I was stunned by this. We value our products but this was hard to swallow for me. I also felt bad for said customer...

-SAP-

a reply to: SloAnPainful

If you have to plant your crop wearing a hazmat suit, don't eat the product!!

A good rule of thumb - if the corn is yellow, it's most likely transgenic GMO.

You see that is an opportunity. You need to enquire why, is a co-op only allowed GMO.

Then you need to see if you can form or get enough people interested in forming a co-op for organic and heritage foods, or, start a local seed bank for everyone. And yes, that might take a group funding it.

Even if all you get into is the enquiries, its still interesting to get more information. And maybe someone else who is more able could go further.

a reply to: SloAnPainful
What amount of corn was this guy seeking? Is he planting a garden or a lot of acerage?
For home gardens or even market patches there are multitudes of non-GMO varieties of sweet corn.
The farmer who tends our land plants non-GMO white corn for grits. He tends about 2000 acres and most of it is in non-GMO corn this year. He uses seeds he grew the year before. He sells the surplus corn to the Martha White company.

a reply to: SloAnPainful
I can't remember the exact percentage but around 90% of organic farms have been bought out in the states by the scum. they were using George soros and Joe lewis to buy out the farms I think they owned around 80% of the worlds farms but It looks like joe lewis was blown up in a helicopter he owned.
Found It
www.cornucopia.org...

a reply to: diggindirt
unfortunately pesticides get taken up with evaporation so in the first few minutes of a rainstorm everything gets covered with it. the legal amount is 900 nano something, so Atrazine the pesticide that contributes to oestrogen imbalances is on everything.

a reply to: Ultralight



Most if not all seed corn is treated with a fungicide to prevent rot.

a reply to: jinni73

Sure it is. That's why I wash all my produce thoroughly before serving it. There's bug poo on everything too!

originally posted by: Sunwolf
a reply to: Ultralight



Most if not all seed corn is treated with a fungicide to prevent rot.

Not even close to half. I work in pesticides and the such. The company I do work for uses a product called Mycocurb from Kemin. Its a spray on purplish liquid. Smells like vinegar and slightly acidic. Its basically a suffocant.
www.kemin.com...

Corn does mold and rot. Once it goes through elevators it is ran through a special dryer to prevent this. Sometimes a product like Mycocurb is added for extra protection though. Thats some nasty stuff.



Let me add. This is very expensive. We charge about 2.50$ a gallon. Basic ship is 55,000 metric tons. Can't give formula on how to work it out, but I'd need somewhere north of 20k gallons to spray that. You do the math. It only goes on if needed or if customer wants it. (Usually Saudi Arabia)

a reply to: Passive
Several local farmers still use the old fumigation method of protecting their seed. They use smoke from red cedar as the fumigant. Native people knew this trick.

a reply to: SloAnPainful

Hi, at one of my local hardware stores, I once asked about getting a Milwaukee cordless drill, I was told they don't stock them, as they aren't stockists, they have contracts with certain manufacturers, and not others.

I suspect this is the same for your co-op, he has a contract to sell a certain type of seed, in this case GM corn, and not other types/brands.

originally posted by: SloAnPainful
Why couldn't we sell it?

Because your country sold its soul to big corps and big money and now you guys are used to pay less for more dangerous products.

Good / non-industrial products are more expensive.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: SloAnPainful

Hi, at one of my local hardware stores, I once asked about getting a Milwaukee cordless drill, I was told they don't stock them, as they aren't stockists, they have contracts with certain manufacturers, and not others.

I suspect this is the same for your co-op, he has a contract to sell a certain type of seed, in this case GM corn, and not other types/brands.

Guitars stores are notorious for that too. You have to maintain a contract or purchase a certain amount of inventory, if there are not enough buyers than you operate at a loss.

If this is the case more local awareness is needed in your community.

originally posted by: diggindirt
a reply to: jinni73

Sure it is. That's why I wash all my produce thoroughly before serving it. There's bug poo on everything too!

so the pesticides don't keep the pests off

a reply to: SloAnPainful

One of My Uncles is Owner/Co-Owner of Crow Seed Co.
I'll drop Him an email on this matter.
Would be interesting to see what He has to say about it all!
Will post his answer here as soon as he replies... Hopefully in the next day or so,,,
A Freakin Haz-Mat Suit indeed???!

originally posted by: jinni73

originally posted by: diggindirt
a reply to: jinni73

Sure it is. That's why I wash all my produce thoroughly before serving it. There's bug poo on everything too!

so the pesticides don't keep the pests off

Look, I would be really worried if there weren't any insects flying and crawling around. It would be a bad omen indeed.
I don't use chemical pesticides. I'm a thrifty person who uses the tried and true ways of grandparents. I've never had a pest problem that threatened a crop but I'm just a garden grower. If a goodly portion of my livelihood depended on the choice to declare chemical warfare, I'm pretty sure I'd do what it took to save my crop.

But a chemical pesticide is a far different subject than this thread. A pesticide will wash off the plant and will eventually degrade. A GMO crop's pollen will cross with whatever is handy and live on..... Will the GMO genetics eventually degrade? That's the info that's still kinda sketchy in my mind. The guy who tends my ground agrees with me.
With all the recent announcements of corporations going non-GMO, he figures the market for his product is going to get even better.

originally posted by: jinni73

originally posted by: diggindirt
a reply to: jinni73

Sure it is. That's why I wash all my produce thoroughly before serving it. There's bug poo on everything too!

so the pesticides don't keep the pests off

well a pest isnt a bug that merely poops on your crops. a pest eats or otherwise ruins the crops.

originally posted by: JUhrman

originally posted by: SloAnPainful
Why couldn't we sell it?

Because your country sold its soul to big corps and big money and now you guys are used to pay less for more dangerous products.

Good / non-industrial products are more expensive.

I don't disagree, however this is a company owed by the people who buy from it. I love my job, but I feel we should be selling organic. But then the price goes up...

Oooops double post.