I've read Genesis 1:11-12 many times. But I had never particularly delved into the importance placed on seed. It's the vegetation's ability to yield seed that is emphasized through repetition. It's not just "plants and trees" but "plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed."
In contrast, today's WSJ "The Evening Wrap," (paid subscription required) by Mark Gongloff (whose clever presentation of the day's business news I've come to enjoy, not least of which is because its arrival in my e-mail inbox signals that it is soon time to leave work for home), gave this news about Monsanto:
Monsanto said it earned $440 million in its fiscal second quarter, up 18% from a year ago. The maker of seeds, Roundup herbicide and other farm products said its sales rose 15% to $2.2 billion.However one might interpret Genesis chapter one, calling Monsanto a "maker of seeds" struck me as just wrong! Plants yield their seed, not Monsanto!
I probably would have just skimmed over the mention of seeds had I read these two items without the experience of watching my seeds sprout during these past days.
8 comments:
I grew up with Burpee seeds which I ordered from Pennsylvania but I know now that many were grown here in Ventura County. Seminis gradually bought up many seed brands including Burpee. Monsanto recently bought Seminis so they are mentioning this apparently. Very interesting.
But don't get me started on ADM as far as comparing the corporate reality with their advertisements.
P.S. Gardening is one of those activities that changes your perspective. Wonderful.
I didn't realize Ventura grew a lot of seed crops as well as fresh market produce. Monsanto did attribute its increases to the seed side of its business, including Seminis.
Yes, the ADM ads are questionable. I'm a fan of Jim Lehrer's NewsHour, but I wish it had different sponsors! (And I just noticed Monsanto touts their sponsorship of America's Heartland, which I've never seen, on their home page.)
The Skagit Valley and nearby Whidbey Island produce about 90% of all the spinach seed grown in the country. We also grow alot of other seed crops. Some of this type farming began in the late 1800's. A little extra note. We have 500 acres of tulips in bloom now and several hundred acres of daffodils.
I hope the weather has been nice for all the tulip tourists.
I still have the newspaper series on the Skagit Valley seed business. It is quite fascinating.
I read the Evening Wrap too, and have come to enjoy the Gongloff "take" especially his closing human/animal interest pargraphs.BUT somebody else seems to be writing it (past several weeks). So where is Gongloff?
Gongloff got another WSJ assigment shortly after I quoted him here. Market Beat, I believe.
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