"For the cocoa growers of Principe, monkeys, not dogs, are a man's best friend," reports BBC NEWS:
The island of Principe, off the west coast of central Africa, has struck gold . . . black gold. But amid the frenzied [Frenzied? Oh, yah, we forgot: This is the BBC reporting] drilling for their new-found oil riches, one Italian man is determined to restore the island's reputation for producing the best cocoa in the world.
For the cocoa growers of Principe, monkeys, not dogs, are a man's best friend
They provide quality control for new plants and, in the eyes of a plantation owner like Claudio Corallo, they are more than welcome.
"Monkeys are good at choosing only the best cocoa pods, which they open and then strip off the beans inside," he explained.
"They stuff their mouths until their cheeks swell but all they want is the sweet mush on the outside of the bean.
"Once they have sucked them dry they spit them out all at once, and they germinate on the ground. If I see a cluster of seedlings out in the jungle I know they must be top-quality plants straight from a monkey's mouth."
[via MonkeyWatch]
Does Friends of the Earth know about this? Who gave these simians permission to practice genetic modification (GM) of crops, anyway?
In fact, humans and animals (think bears in the woods and birds in the skies, for starters) have been selecting seeds and thereby modifying crop populations from time immemorial. But don't tell Friends of the Earth and their allies. They have an anti-business agenda to sneak in under the radar by planting seeds of doubt in the minds of well-meaning but scientifically ignorant fellow citizens:
More than half of Britons who took part in a nationwide debate on genetically modified crops said they should never be introduced under any circumstances.
An official report on the results of 600 meetings held in June and July around the country reflects widespread doubts about the benefits of GM technology.
Pete Riley from Friends of the Earth -- which spearheaded campaigns against the introduction of GM [they claim that GM pollen may "contaminate" other crops and precipitate the end of civilization as we know it, or something like that] -- said the results had not surprised him.
"This is exactly the same message the public's been brainwashed into giving out over the last six years," he told the BBC.
"They are very suspicious of GM crops and food, they're suspicious of the companies behind it, and they're suspicious of the government motives.
It's obviously Bush's Fault!™ Not to mention Dick Cheney. And don't get me started on Halliburton.
And that is why the Earth is shaped like a banana. Bwah!
Do you seriously not know that selective breeding is not the same thing as genetic modification?
Posted by: Robert McClelland | July 24, 2004 at 03:47 PM
GM is just a high-tech version of selective breeding, you silly. And watch your tone, sir. It's not becoming.
Posted by: Sissy Willis | July 24, 2004 at 05:27 PM
GM is just a high-tech version of selective breeding, you silly.
No, it isn't. The only thing GM and selective breeding have in common is that the desired end result are the same.
I don't know if there is a danger to GM, but given the fact that science has overlooked or been completely unaware of dangers in the past, I can agree that this field must be approached cautiously.
And watch your tone, sir. It's not becoming.
Sorry, but the only thing worse than junk science is a junk rebuttal. If you don a tinfoil hat before writing about something, be expected to be called on it.
Posted by: Robert McClelland | July 24, 2004 at 08:47 PM
I don my tinfoil hat as appropriate, which see:
http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=233
Posted by: Sissy Willis | July 24, 2004 at 09:08 PM