Interesting new/old concept from Monsanto. The figured out the whole Frankenfood thing was going to be an increasingly problematic way of bringing new and better fruits and veggies to the market. So they went back to Gregor Mendel and cross breed their new products. The New Monsanto Way Identify plants with recognizable, desirable traits. Crossbreed the plants. Sift through the offspring genome for known markers for desirable traits. Grow only the plants with those markers. Won't have to label them GMO. Interesting article. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/01/new-monsanto-vegetables/
That link doesn't work... I'm a long-time Monsanto shareholder and I encourage all of you to buy as much Frankenfood as your stomachs can handle. It's good for you... All of this commie propaganda against Monsanto can't change the fact that all foods are genetically altered anyway. For example: corn is really a grass. The ancient Egyptians experimented with cross-breeding it and changed it into what you see today. So belly up to the breakfast table lads and make JO'Co rich. In some states, it works as fuel too...
I tried to access the link as well last night. It looks the url was truncated when you tried to copy/paste it. GMO = bad??? Most of the foods we eat have been modified using one method or another. I'm not sure the world's masses could be fed if only unmodified food as it existed 2k years ago were still being grown/bred.
Fixed it. I also posted this on ND Nation. Some guy who apparently knows a lot about genetic modification of fruits and vegtables jumped in and made some very interesting observations that back up JO'Co's point. Read the responses by NGIrish09...first one is a rant the others are very interesting. http://www.ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=backroom;pid=177207;d=this
Is that a Florida peach in JO'Co's picture.... I agree it was a great article and self explaining to those who will chose to believe fact over fiction. The current peach I am growing is a 60 year effort of crossbreeding to enable a peach to be grown in our sub-tropical climate. With the ability to optimize the qualities the consumer demands in fruits and vegetables and promote strong plant growth that 60 year period can be trimmed by 50 years. The U.S. public acknowledges that American food production is superior in comparison to most if not all other countries but still has the romantic idea that Pa farmer is still wearing overalls while bouncing on his John Deere tractor. Today's farming technology is on par with the advancement we enjoy with computing technology as far as advancement from where we were a few short years ago. But its just not very sexy to talk about a new squash or asparagus as it is the new iPhone. On a side note I spent a few days in Georgia this week and was educated where farmers have planted 10,000 acres of pecans the last five years while pushing up their peaches. They can now bring a pecan tree into production at five years of age because of new technology. The old standard has always been 15-20 years. Items such as this is amazing to those of us in the Ag business and I can't be happier that my offspring is pursuing a degree in Horticulture Science. Hell he has already been told from a few major companies that he has a job at graduation or he can get his masters paid for by them and he's only a junior. What's the old saying....People gotta eat...
That was a great article and this is a fun topic. I'm learning quite a bit. However, Monsanto and their off-shoot Solutia aren't just some great company that is the victim of communist propaganda. They turned the beautiful little city of Anniston, Alabama into a chemical dumping ground for more than 30 years and there's clear evidence they knew they were harming the community dating back to the 1960s. While I believe the GMO issue is ********, Monsanto is not some corporate do-gooder. I view them as the 'cool uncle with short eyes.' Sure, he gives you the awesome presents come the holidays, but he's still the asshole naughty touching your sister. I had a much longer response to this in which I go all into a failed business venture I had, that failed solely due to Monsanto. Long story short, they aren't this great company. They are pretty damned sketchy.. but they are a good investment.
I also own DuPont... ...and CF Industries... ...and B&G Foods... ...As a great man said, "People gotta eat!"
JO'Co I see you listed CF industries, my father worked there for a couple years as one of his many, many jobs after retiring from the police dept. The area of central Florida I was raised in has one of the largest deposits of phosphate in the world. In that part of Florida the phosphate companies own most of the acreage and made Pa & Ma farmer rich beyond their dreams. There was 17,000 acres behind our house that was owned by CF and on the waiting list to be mined. It was the best of times for a 15 year old and his dog to explore Florida's wildlife. My father eventually became assistant to the land manager on CF and they would host turkey hunts, quail hunts and dove hunts all within reach of the $3 million dollar hunting lodge. One day they hosted a large dove hunt with over 500 people in attendance, every judge, sheriff, politician and dignitary who could find the time was there shooting dove. Well the field was really too large to adequately hunt on and the birds would just fly and land on the opposite side of the field. My father was asked to drive the buggy and flush the birds up so the hunters could get more shots. As he was driving he felt a large bump in the field and possibly a grunt but he continued driving. About 20 minutes later a dozen Fish & Game officers emerged from the high grass with one being carried. It seems they heard about this big hunt and planned on busting CF with any infraction they could see. All they got was an officer who was run over by a buggy and a reprimand from the numerous judges on hand hunting. My father did have to go to court for the infraction of flushing birds but the judge lowered the fine to $1 as he promised he would once he was done hunting and back in court the next day.
And by the way this farming crap is for the birds when you are up at midnight working a freeze as I am tonight. I am old enough to appreciate my pillow more than my wife these days as each cold event comes through. And the pillow doesn't talk back either.... 8)
re: CF Great story and a great stock. People gotta eat and plants need fertilizer. CF industries has grown from a small holding in one of my portfolios to the largest holding there with no end in sight. It's just crap to some people, but it's solid gold to me...