Monsanto and Frescada

Hello people, I'm not really one to create new threads - I merely interject every now and then in other forums so forgive if I'm posting this in the wrong forum.

We've all heard the horror stories of Monsanto and I know in my county that they've established themselves in the area, considering that I see job postings for them on local employment websites.

I live on the Central Coast of California and agriculture and ranching is important to people of this community, with "Santa Maria-style BBQ" being something that these folk hold dear, but I'm not here to talk about that.

Earlier I was reading a free weekly periodical (?), "New Times," and an article on there detailed how a local lettuce breeder (I was unaware such people existed but am not surprised) created a new breed which is...

a new U.S.-grown lettuce that is a cross between iceberg and Romaine lettuce

Misionero Vegetables and
Seminis® Vegetable Seeds Debut New Variety of Lettuce

It's nice to hear of someone local doing something of creating a hybrid which came about from...

(Bill) Waycott—who said he’s one of only about 50 lettuce breeders in the world—began his quest to invent a healthier iceberg lettuce some 20 years ago, crossing it with a romaine variety developed over thousands of years in the Mediterranean region.

Tip of the iceberg
it is disturbing to know that after all of that work, a huge corporation such as Monsanto now owns the patent to it. I'm fairly certain Monsanto is new to the region and what disturbs even further is that now they've set up shop in an area where people value the fresh produce available to them. The county I reside in and the next county over have strawberry festivals and also have various farmer's markets spread out, not to mention FFA is also a big part in the high schools. A lot of these farms are locally owned and operated and from what I've read in the past about the cross-pollination lawsuits, this doesn't bode well for the local farming industry.

reply to post by MR_UNSMiLey


S&F! I read the article you linked "Tip of the Iceberg, and it is rather confusing!

It describes this guy who busted his ass to come up with this breed of lettuce and then it says he patented it and now Monsanto OWNS the patent!!!!!

Did he sell out??

Oh well, as good as this lettuce sounds, if it profits Monsanto, I WON"T BUY IT! PERIOD!!!

Yeah, the guy who developed the breed of lettuce doesn't say how Monsanto obtained ownership of the patent nor does the article expand on their acquisition of it. One would think there would be more background information on the man, as he said it himself that he's only one of 50 or so lettuce breeders in the world and it took him 20 years to create the lettuce.. The only plus, and it's a rather minor plus, is the fact is the lettuce is non-GMO.

reply to post by MR_UNSMiLey


I was recently in southern CA a little bit inland from Pt. Mugu and visited the local Farmer's Market a number of times. This part of southern CA is really like a garden - everything grows and grows well. I've never found anything in this area that should be improved upon. Bees actually still buzz in the trees and flower gardens here. Whatever you plant...grows...except there has been some trouble with geraniums this year. It's almost like being in a 1950's time warp. Basically, Monsanto is the furthest thing from your mind here.

I looked it up after reading your post and found that there is a museum in this general area recieving major donations from Monsanto: Museum of Ventura County's Agriculture.

Monsanto is also advertising jobs in the general area and then I found this story:

Monsanto, GM crops and Ventura County agriculture

How can you find out what genetically modified (GM) crops are growing in your own backyard? You can’t. According to Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales, you can set your mind at ease, for now. “There are no GM crops here,” said Gonzales. “What happens here is traditional plant breeding … allowing nature to pollinate a crop with bees and other such methods.”

For Jan Dietrick, general manager of Rincon Vitova Insectaries, an organic pest control company in Ventura, her concerns are not that easily put to rest. Dietrick said she fears that biotech giant, and longtime target of GM food skeptics, Monsanto Company will cause damage to local crops and vegetation through escaped genes. Monsanto purchased Seminis Inc., a vegetable seed company in Oxnard, back in 2005. Though Seminis has traditionally used natural methods of cross-pollination to produce its hybrid vegetable seeds, Dietrick said she has suspicions that Seminis, now under the control of Monsanto, may begin manipulating seeds genetically and testing them in Ventura County on what she calls “secret, unmarked and unregulated” test plots.

“The biggest problem is that it is a pollution that replicates itself,” said Dietrick. “It is the only invention humanity has ever released into the environment that cannot be undone.”