Do you like to eat?  Even if you don't like to eat, do you eat?

If you are or know someone who eats, please consider signing this petition

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Tell Obama's Antitrust Czar: Investigate Monsanto

Massive seed corporation Monsanto — through acquisitions and cut-throat business practices — has cornered 90% of the soy, 65% of the corn, and 70% of the cotton market, and has a rapidly growing presence in the fruit and vegetable market, all without government anti-trust officials raising an eyebrow.

Not only that, but in order to be productive, the entire line of Monsanto's seeds all but require the use of Roundup herbicide, trapping all of their customers into buying it. And who owns Roundup? You guessed it, Monsanto.

Monsanto has, it seems, cornered the market on abusive monopolistic practices as well. In the middle of a recession, while farmers' incomes are dropping, Monsanto recently announced a 42% price hike on its most popular genetically modified seeds. When in many areas of the country distributors carry nothing but these seeds, this sure looks like evidence of a monopolist abusing its market position.

President Obama's antitrust chief Christine Varney has promised rigorous enforcement of antitrust law with a special focus on the agricultural sector. She should start with the worst of the worst, Monsanto. Sign the petition to demand that Varney immediately open an investigation into Monsanto and its abusive business practices.

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I included the following comment with my signature

Allowing Monsanto to restrict and control seed strains through business leveraging and lobbying restrictive indigenous seed laws is both dangerous and stupid - I would call putting "all our strains in one basket", a National Security Risk that MUST NOT BE IGNORED to our peril.

As the descendant of several generations of grain and dairy farmers, I grew up seeing some of the awful things that Monsanto and other industrial framing companies have done to not just farmers, but to the food we eat.

If you are interested in reading further, the following article from satavic.org concerning indigenous seeds, and what is happening because these seed strains are being restricted:

One of the most negative results of the commercialisation of agriculture is the total dependence by the farmer on external sources for all his farming inputs, including seeds. Whereas earlier farmers used to save and share their seeds, today they depend wholly upon seed companies for their requirements. Indigenous seeds are more suitable to a particular region or situation than any hybrid variety.