I’ve been asked several times how I could work for a company that cares so little for life that we turn a blind eye to the plight of Indian cotton farmers due to Indian suicides. Some people have heard that farmers there are committing suicide because of the biotech seeds we sell. I’ve had long conversations trying to explain the complicated cultural phenomenon that is at fault and illustrate clearly it is not the seeds we sell. I also have personal connections in India who have made it possible for me to see things for myself, to ask people questions. This blog post on Discover Magazine does a clear job of discussing the topic of Indian farmers committing suicide and the reality is complex:

Ironically, the documentary (Bitter Seeds) that perpetuates the GMO/Indian farmer suicide myth also indirectly captures those complex factors. I was actually quite moved by the film, which showed a side of the story that indicts Indian cultural mores and predatory lending practices way more than it indicts Monsanto. This is a side of the story that the Vandana Shiva’s of the world choose to ignore. But don’t take my word for it; watch the movie for yourself.

The truth is that the real causes of farmer suicides in India cannot be pinned on Monsanto, however venal you may regard the company. To discuss those causes you have to wade into a very complex equation that includes institutional, social, and governmental factors in India.  Doing this requires a cold objective eye and cultural sensitivity. I’m fairly certain that Vandana Shiva, in her heart,  knows well why so many Indian farmers have taken their lives over the last several decades. Just as I’m sure that she knows all about India’s high rate of suicide and the reasons for it. After all, she is a student of inequality and social justice. That Shiva prefers to keep the conversation squarely and inaccurately focused on GMOs and Monsanto reveals to me that she cares more about advancing an ideological agenda than addressing the root causes of suicide in India. That she has succeeded in exploiting real tragedy and distracting conversation away from those true causes is something I find utterly offensive.

via The Real Seeds of Deception : Collide-a-Scape.

Please read the entire article. Reality is the vast majority of Indian farmers have to work their fingers to the bone, they live in tough conditions without nice things like sharp shovels much less tractors. I want to help them improve their lives, make it possible to send daughters to school, have clean water available to them (many carry water for miles to get it to their homes) and to produce enough of a crop that they can sell it fairly.

Indian cotton farmer irrigating

I was lucky enough to visit India several years ago for work and while there I took some vacation time to visit my friend Geeta’s village and several other places. Seeing what the vast majority of of the Indian public deals with on a daily basis was hard. You see women and children doing heavy labor — picking cotton would be seen as light work compared to the people hauling bricks. You see people using animal dung as a heating source, even for cooking. You see people begging on the streets in ways that make you realize Slumdog Millionaire was probably all too accurate in portraying. Below are some of my trip photos that show you what I mean.

When you live in a world where people complain because the restaurant we are at doesn’t have the exact soda we like, it’s hard to imagine the challenges Indian farmers can face. I have to make myself remember and I have to keep talking to people who can help me see the difficulties in Africa and other world areas. And it’s nearly impossible to understand that a technology that offers a way to limit exposure to insecticides is more than a way to make the job easier, it has the potential for changing your health for the better as you and your kids are no longer breathing in insecticides as you walk the field.

I can see how its easy for people to be vulnerable to stories that sound like an injustice is being done. And injustice should bring outrage. But sometimes what we read on the internet is just a story and the storyteller may have a different agenda than they admit to, like Keith found while at the Botanical Garden.

This brings me to a point I really need to make….

Before you believe the things that are said on the internet, do some research. That can be said of this article as well as the ones that make the other claims. Look at the sources you normally agree with and some of the ones you may not, look for people or groups who may be experts on a topic who aren’t out on book tours, who may just be trying to make a positive difference. There are a lot of people on the internet who use fear as a motivator in others and they manipulate facts. There are also a lot of people who would like to have the truth heard…. they just don’t

I’m okay answering questions about these things as long as people are okay thinking through various information, some of which may not be in line with other things you’ve heard. Use those critical thinking skills we used to cultivate so much as kids and question folks who make big statements about things you are unfamiliar with…. if they really want people to understand what’s happening in the world around them, they will be fine taking time to answer your questions.

Ellen at OneHundredMeals.com also wrote a blog post about an encounter she had with Vandana Shiva. I have never met or heard SHiva speak personally, but have seen video that I felt was incredibly mileading and done so for her own reasons other than honesty.

(Feel like I should remind you about the disclaimer at the bottom of this page. These are my thoughts, not thoughts I am paid to articulate. Now back to work I go.)

Related articles

• The myth of India’s ‘GM genocide’: Genetically modified cotton blamed for wave of farmer suicides

The post Breeding Bitter Seeds of Deception That Hurts Indian Cotton Farmers appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.

Today a friend of mine has a post on the company blog that, with the exception of growing up in Texas and the whole mom thing, feels like I could have written it. Like Molly, I have friends or people I meet when I’m out and about, show some sense of surprise when the conversation turns to where we all work. When I say I work in agriculture that’s usually surprising but it goes up a notch when I explain I work for Monsanto (reminder as the footer says, this is my personal blog).  Sometimes people want to dismiss it as “everyone needs a paycheck” and I have to explain that’s not it. I have a lot of choices. Other times people want to help me see the error of my ways. I usually explain that I choose to work here because I am a true believer in agriculture. I want to make a difference.

Molly does a great job capturing my thoughts as she speaks for herself. The blog post reads:

This is a question I hear again and again from new friends, surprised to hear that I work for Monsanto.  Their surprise is certainly understandable.  I don’t exactly fit the stereotype.  I’m politically progressive, I shop at my local natural food store and the local farmers’ markets, and I belong to natural parenting and attachment parenting mommy groups.  I’ve got my own little organic garden growing in pots out on my back porch.  I even cloth diaper my baby.

So why on earth would I find myself working at a place like Monsanto?  Everyone who’s ever read anything on the internet knows what they say about Big Bad Monsanto.  So why does someone like me, a liberal, political activist, lactivist, environmentalist, marginal locavore, and attachment parenting advocate work for a company like that?

Here’s what I tell my friends:

I didn’t fall into a job and Monsanto.  It wasn’t something that just happened.  I actively sought a position with the company.  I wanted to work here, because I believe the work we are doing has a positive impact on the environment and the world.

I’ll use cotton as an example.  I grew up in the Brazos River Valley in Texas, and cotton is something I know a little about.  My family used to go every year to a local cotton gin festival. We took tours of the cotton gins. I learned about pickers, strippers, modules, and bales in 4H.  And it was always fun to pick up the leftover fluff at the side of the road to play with, pick the seeds out, and comb it until it was soft enough to go into a doll bed.

(continued at You work where? | Beyond the Rows)

I am passionate about agriculture. I love working with farmers and especially enjoy knowing I’m making a positive difference. And I’ve worked for a few companies and made a conscious choice to join Monsanto. I talk to farmers almost daily — whether they use biotech or choose not to, heck, some of my friends are organic farmers, and I really think that we are all better by sharing information freely. With only two percent of America involved in agriculture, we have to look at how all of us can do better to meet the challenges ahead. And in case anyone is interested, agriculture of all sorts is always taking applications! I’d love to see more folks joining our ranks! At Monsanto, on the farm or wherever!

What are things that people are surprised to hear about you?

Related articles

• Meal Six: At Monsanto, I Learned I Am the Problem
• Why would a farmer plant GMO cotton?
• Cotton Is Life in Texas – Cotton Farmers Tell Their Story
• What our fields actually need is a heavy application of honesty

The post Idealistic about the Future of Farming & Working at Monsanto appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.

People frequently ask me why cotton farmers do this or that. One of the most common questions is about GMO cotton, or why they would plant a cotton variety that has been genetically modified in one way or another.

I have talked about the choice in bits and pieces, but I think this post by Suzie Wilde of I Kissed a Farmer fame does a great job of explaining her farm and the choices they make.  Rather than try to speak for her, I am just putting the first couple of paragraphs here with the recommendation you visit her blog to read the rest.

A Buggy full of Cotton

For harvest season this year, I left my office each day at noon to go run the boll buggy for the Farmer I Kiss.  So why would I go to work early to get my office work done, then drive 40 miles to the dusty, noisy, bumpy, late night job of cotton harvesting?   Because harvest season is the best time of the year.  It means we actually beat the Chihuahuan Desert and produced cotton!

The post Why would a farmer plant GMO cotton? appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.

My friend and one of great patience, John Blue asked me the question “can people eat cottonseed?” some time ago. I’ve meant to write the blog post a number of times. But I kept dragging my feet. I think now maybe it was because there since there isn’t a simple yes or no answer. Its more of a yes, no and maybe. The closest thing I can give you to a simple answer is for now, no, don’t try eating cottonseed.

What Complicates the Ability to Eat Cotton or Cottonseed?

There is a natural chemical produced by cotton plants called gossypol. I love when I have a good friend who’s awesome at science who has already explained a scientific topic I need to refer to, that’s the case with Jesse Bussard having posted about gossypol. Jesse writes about gossypol and livestock saying:

Gossypol is a toxic compound found in the cotton plant.  This compound is concentrated in the cottonseed but can also be found in other parts of the plant such as hulls, leaves and stems.  Gossypol exists in two forms: free and bound.  The free form is toxic, while the bound form binds to proteins is not toxic.

Amounts of free gossypol in cottonseed can vary.  Many factors affect gossypol concentration in seed including species of cotton plant, climatic conditions, soil conditions, fertilizer, etc.  With all these factors it is impossible to come up with one easy way to determine gossypol levels.  The only way is to test the cottonseed….

Gossypol affects mainly the heart and liver.  The reproductive tract, abomasum, and kidneys are also affected.  Monogastric animals, such as pigs and horses, are hightly susceptible to gossypol toxicity.  Ruminants, cattle and sheep, can tolerate higher levels of free gossypol because free gossypol bings to proteins in the rumen.  Even so, gossypol exposure can be toxic to cattle over a cumulative period.  Levels of 800 ppm are considered toxic.  The longer the cattle are on the ration the more likely toxicity will develop.

Common symptoms include:  weakness, depression, loss of appetite, difficult breathing, blood in the urine, inflammation of the intestines, and reproductive problems.  Gossypol toxicity must always be considered anytime their is a death loss in young animals that have been on cottonseed for several weeks (less time if gossypol levels are extreme).

No treatment exists to cure gossypol toxicity.  Removing cottonseed from the ration may have some reversal effect but is not guaranteed.  Some animals have still died even 2 weeks after gossypol was removed from their diet.

via Forage Facts: Gossypol Toxicity in Livestock | Pearl Snaps’ Ponderings.

Is there the potential for change?

Indian cotton farmer using flood irrigation near Hyderbad several years ago. Could he benefit from potential gossypol-free varieties?

If you can read that and think you want to eat cotton seed, you are much stronger mentally than I am. Cattle eating a diversified diet that includes cottonseed is okay, but that’s because they are ruminants — they have multiple stomachs that assist in processing gossypol. BUT as I started this, I said maybe because a researcher at Texas A&M has been working on reducing the levels of gossypol in cotton in order to make the high protein source an option for both people and a wider array of animals. The researcher, Keerti Rathore was honored with recognition in January 2012 for his breakthrough work:

According to Dr. Don Jones, director Agricultural Research for Cotton Inc., Rathore’s ultimate goal is to create cotton plants that produce seeds that contain gossypol at levels below what is considered safe by the Food and Drug Administration while maintaining normal levels of gossypol and related chemicals in the foliage, floral parts, boll rind, and the roots. Gossypol helps cotton plants defend against insects and pathogens.

Dr. Wayne Smith, Texas A&M soil and crop sciences associate department head, applauded Rathore’s honor.

“Keerti has lines that show 95 percent reduction in seed gossypol that makes these seed – an excellent source of oil and protein – edible by humans,” Smith said. “This effort could lead to a new, high-quality food source for people around the world.”

Rathore earned his bachelor’s degree in animal and plant sciences from Rajasthan University, his master’s degree in plant biochemistry from Gujarat University, both in India. He earned his doctorate in plant physiology from Imperial College, University of London. Before joining AgriLife Research and Texas A&M in 2003, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate and a research scientist at Purdue University for 10 years

via Keerti Rathore Receives 2011 Cotton Genetics Research Award.

Yes, No and Maybe

So I guess you see why I answer the question of whether people can eat cottonseed with a yes, no or maybe. For now, it’s best not to because gossypol can be toxic to people. Cows can eat it though and veternarians like my friend Kathy Swift look at the feed combinations to make sure cows are getting too much of it (sort of like too much sugar is bad for us & leaves us hyper or crashing). But researchers are looking for a way that cottonseed could be eaten as a protein source. If that were to happen, it could bring a protein source to parts of the world where there are currently few options. That’s good for the cotton business but more importantly, it would be fantastic for people in parts of Africa and India.

What do you think, can you picture yourself eating cottonseeds instead of sunflower seeds at a ballgame?

The post Cotton 101: Can you eat cotton or cottonseed? appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.