Farm Fears
Resist before it's too late: Your piece about the mounting fears over Monsanto's outsize influence ("Monsanto Menace," Chris Parker, July 25) is excellent, but you omitted the latest coup d'état in the works by the biotech juggernaut. In its determination to leapfrog over opposition to its tactics and products, it is now engaged, at this moment, in secretive trade pacts that will give the company full license to steam ahead without national governments having much say in the issue of global monopoly of the food supply. It is horrifying and looks like it will go through with the U.S. government twisting the arms of foreign governments to accomplish this coup. It is NAFTA on steroids, and we'd better get on top of it before it is too late and the final nail in the coffin to the resistance to genetically modified food and Monsanto is sealed, changing our world forever. pdjmoo
GMOs work better: If you doubt why GMOs have taken off, just look at how wheat yields have fallen because there's no way for seed companies such as Monsanto to make profits with them. What is being done about that by academics? Nothing in ten years, while the average corn yields in that time have gone up 20 percent or more. Insecticide use is down dramatically in corn and cotton due to GM traits. Why do you think most of the soy and corn in the U.S. is genetically modified and farmers pay for those traits? Because they work. ajkmsteph2
Ruined by bias: The writer makes a few good points and even sprinkles in some facts. However, much of the information is presented in such a biased manner (like the so-called Monsanto Protection Act, which was really passed for the protection of farmers) that it's hard to take this article too seriously. Texano78704
Label GMOs: At least 90 percent of the public supports labeling genetically modified foods, so why doesn't that exist? Because of Monsanto's money. Washington could be the first large state to impose mandatory GMO labeling this fall if a ballot initiative succeeds. If you oppose Monsanto, you should support the GMO labeling push in Washington state. excinit2
Animal Instincts
Hiding behind mom: In your story about animal rights protesters going after Matthew Block's mother, who owns a company that sells animals for research ("Monkey Business," Kyle Swenson, July 25), Block claims his 93-year-old mom "isn't active in the business" anymore. But Gertie Block has been officially listed as the secretary and treasurer at Worldwide Primates for many years. If it's true that she is no longer active in the business, Matthew Block should remove her from the official list of corporate officers. But he is well aware that his own name is tarnished, so he hides behind his mother. Campaigns
Political Payback
Black-on-black crime ignored: As usual, Uncle Luke's argument that President Obama should go after black politicians who supported Stand Your Ground laws ("Obama, Trayvon, and Money," Luther Campbell, July 25) is the same old crap. Luke is looking for another excuse to blame someone else yet again. He never writes about the disproportionate number of murders and felonies that black criminals commit and never writes about black-on-black crime. How many kids are killed or injured in drive-by shootings in Chicago, Compton, Watts, Detroit, Miami, and Camden? Yet he continues to write about the Trayvon Martin killing. Why doesn't he write a letter to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to ask them when they will visit those cities and call out the black-on-black crime? Until then, I will still look forward to Luke's columns, and I will laugh at every one. kirkslade1
No Stand Your Ground case: Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me. You write that legislators who supported Stand Your Ground, such as Frederica Wilson, "never imagined someone would invoke Stand Your Ground to kill an unarmed 17-year-old black boy." Actually, if you had followed the trial of George Zimmerman, you'd know that Stand Your Ground was not invoked. Also, how do you explain Zimmerman's injuries? If he were uninjured, he wouldn't have feared for his life. But the man had head injuries and was on the losing end of that confrontation. Harry The Handyman
Don't blame the feds: I have to respectfully disagree with Uncle Luke's comments on President Obama's speech about George Zimmerman's acquittal. The truth of the matter is that Obama's speech about Zimmerman's verdict will go down in history as did Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. What Uncle Luke doesn't realize is that Obama entered his candidacy for president as a black man but he will solidify his place in American history as a great man. Uncle Luke criticized him over Stand Your Ground laws, but those breakdowns didn't happen because of the federal government. Stand Your Ground is on the state government in Florida and elsewhere. dadainc1
Correction: A July 25 article, "Monkey Business," incorrectly stated Matthew Block's role in the firm Worldwide Primates Inc. He consults for the business and owns the building where the company is located.
