Re: Not a good grazier until?

E. Ann Clark, Associate Professor (aclark@plant.uoguelph.ca)
Mon, 7 Dec 1998 17:25:14 EST

Greg: I gave a talk a week ago to the AGM of the Ecological Farmers
Association of Ontario, on the issue of risks and opportunities of GE
for organic farmers (now mounted on my homepage).

One of the points I made is that organic farmers will soon be one of
the few repositories of "how to" do it knowledge with neither
chemicals nor biotechnology. As a result, they will be (and perhaps
are) perceived as a direct threat by purveyers of the "chem vs.
biotech" mantra - a chant which can lead to only one outcome -
biotech.

Particularly as the practical and eocnomic problems of biotech become
more apparent to farmers, I foresee an increasing effort to discredit
alternatives to the "one way", and you are pretty well front and
center in the ranks of "other way" farmers.

Thus, it doesn't surprise me that you are encountering an active
effort at discreditation. My only surprise is that they would be so
obvious about it.

Given the source, I'd take it as a compliment. Ann

ACLARK@plant.uoguelph.ca
Dr. E. Ann Clark
Associate Professor
Crop Science
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON N1G 2W1
Phone: 519-824-4120 Ext. 2508
FAX: 519 763-8933
http://www.oac.uoguelph.ca/www/CRSC/faculty/eac.htm

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