Saturday, November 19, 2005
Movie Review: The Future of Food
The Future of Food
A scientific and scary account of what genetics and big business are doing to our food. Particularly moving was the story of Percy & Louise Schmeiser, farmers from Saskatchewan who were taken to court by Monsanto for having patented Monsanto genetically altered canola on their land. The Schmeisers had never bought seed from Monsanto, they saved their own seed year after year and reused it. They ended up destroying a lot of their seed because it had come into contact with the Monsanto seed and had been altered (as far as I understand it). The courts ruled that it didn’t matter how the seed got onto their land (wind, birds, passing trucks carrying seed), the Schmeisers were in the wrong. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 4-5 in favour of Monsanto.
What was lacking in the movie was the presence of Dr. Vandana Shiva, a well know ecologist and seed activist. Many people will remember her from The Corporation. It is surprising that a movie about seed engineering didn’t have her voice.
Overall an eye-opening account of what is going on in the world of genetically modified food and the quest of big business to make a profit at any cost.
To learn more about Percy Schmeiser and his case go here
To find out where you can see this movie go here
A scientific and scary account of what genetics and big business are doing to our food. Particularly moving was the story of Percy & Louise Schmeiser, farmers from Saskatchewan who were taken to court by Monsanto for having patented Monsanto genetically altered canola on their land. The Schmeisers had never bought seed from Monsanto, they saved their own seed year after year and reused it. They ended up destroying a lot of their seed because it had come into contact with the Monsanto seed and had been altered (as far as I understand it). The courts ruled that it didn’t matter how the seed got onto their land (wind, birds, passing trucks carrying seed), the Schmeisers were in the wrong. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 4-5 in favour of Monsanto.
What was lacking in the movie was the presence of Dr. Vandana Shiva, a well know ecologist and seed activist. Many people will remember her from The Corporation. It is surprising that a movie about seed engineering didn’t have her voice.
Overall an eye-opening account of what is going on in the world of genetically modified food and the quest of big business to make a profit at any cost.
To learn more about Percy Schmeiser and his case go here
To find out where you can see this movie go here
# posted by melanie : 8:02 PM
