> Did/do the Europeans have a somewhat easier time showing
> Monsanto etc. the door because they are a foreign company,
> not one of the good old Euopean boys you might say.
Ciba, (now Novartis) based in Switzerland was first on the market with Bt
corn. I think Monsanto created ill will by appearing too aggressive.
> Also wondering it appears that Europe is going to be GMO free,
Some GMO constructs have been accepted in Europe. The bigger issue there is
labeling.
> does that not mean that Monsanto etc. will fight even harder
> to get Americans to eat it?
I don't think Monsanto, etc. are fighting about this in the U.S. market.
Eating GMO's appears to be a non-issue in the U.S.
> Of course if the farmers and grain elevators find separation
> more difficult, some for Europe, different for US, they might
> just give up and go back to regular seeds.
I think the days are numbered for "regular seeds." Whether GMO or not,
there is an explosion of diversity in grain and agronomic characteristics of
varieties. There is money to be made by the development of
identity-preserved channels. Non-GMO grain is just one type of specialty
item. There are special wheats for noodles, steam bread, cookies, special
soybeans that are better for soy-milk and tofu, low phytate soy, non-GMO
herbicide resistance, high-oil corn, corn that mills better, low mycotoxin
varieties etc, etc.
No doubt it will be a bumpy road (especially for the grain companies).
Also, remember, in the US there is a huge sink (domestic livestock) for
out-of-tolerance specialty grain.
> That actually is another question are these GMO seeds really
> easier to grow?
I have looked at a lot of Bt corn, and it REALLY looks good next to
conventional corn under heavy ECB pressure. Herbicide resistant crops offer
a lot of weed management flexibility. The seed industry was taken by
surprise at how fast these products took off. It is all market-driven by
farmer demand.
Dale
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