roperty of Monsanto, protected under numerous United States patents (Pollan 460) The New Leafs are patented by Monsanto, giving farmers only the rights to grow one generation of these potatoes, which means that the farmers will have to constantly come back to Monsanto year after year. As the popularity of the New Leafs increase so does the earnings of Monsanto. Since Monsanto is currently the only producer of the New Leafs, and has a patented right to do so, no one else can supply these plants. Consumers have already seen what had happened with Microsoft and the software industry. Many of us would not want it to happen again, especially not with the agriculture. I think the ultimate concern of the consumers will be the final price of the biotech foods on the market. After all, all consumers are economical and we often opt for the lower priced goods.Second, the quality of the goods. When I called the E.P.A. and asked if the agency had tested my Bt potatoes for safety as a human food, the answer wasnot exactly. It seems the E.P.A. works from the assumption that if the original potato is safe and the Bt protein added to it is safe, then the whole New Leaf package is presumed to be safe (Pollan 467). Although consumers are economical, I do not think many of us would choose to buy a good that has not been assured safe to eat even if it is being offered at a reduced price. Pollan as a consumer did not trust the judgments of the supposedly reliable government agencies and refused to eat the potatoes he had grown. All our lives, as consumers we have relied on the judgments of the Food and Drugs Administration to tell us whether the quality of the good is safe or harmful to us. When the F.D.A. or the E.P.A. can no longer assure us the quality of the food we are about to consume, then we are no longer protected against anything we eat.Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech foodour interest is in selling as much o...
