Current Events > Black Farmers sold crap seeds, while their white counterparts got the good stuff

(+) Yeah! (+)

On another installament of "They Really want to make us 2nd Class citizens"

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/black-farmers-deliberately-sold-fake-seeds-scheme-steal-land-report/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Black farmers in the Mid-South region surrounding Memphis used science to uncover a multi-million dollar scheme to put them out of business and steal their farmland, WMC News reported Tuesday.

At the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show show in March of 2017, African-American farmers believe that Stine Seed Company purposefully sold them fake seeds.

Thomas Burrell, president of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, explained how black farmers were receiving one-tenth of the yield as their white neighbors.

Mother nature doesnt discriminate, Burrell said. It doesnt rain on white farms but not black farms. Insects dont [only] attack black farmers landwhy is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

The results were so stark, resulting in millions of dollars in losses, the farmers took their seeds for scientific testing by experts at Mississippi State University.

The tests revealed the black farmers had not been given the quality certified Stine seeds for which they had paid.

Burrell suggested a land grab was the ultimate motivation of the perpetrators.

All we have to do is look at here: 80 years ago you had a million black farmers, today you have less than 5,000. These individuals didnt buy 16 million acres of land, just to let is lay idle. The sons and daughters, the heirs of black farmers want to farm, just like the sons and daughters of white farmers.

So we have to acknowledge that racism is the motivation here, Burrell concluded.

The farmers have filed a class-action lawsuit in United States District Court for the Western Division in Memphis.

#ButWeHadABlackPresident
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Trumps America
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Wow

. . . used science to uncover . . . .


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I question your decision to post a rawstory link instead of the source material
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Nomadic View posted...

. . . used science to uncover . . . .

They had the seeds tested by experts at Mississippi State University. I don't understand why that is funny.
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Black privilege strikes again!
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Waiting for the usual suspects to somehow explain this away.
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FrisbeeDude posted...

80 years ago you had a million black farmers, today you have less than 5,000.

Given our history in the US, I can't tell if that's good or bad for black folks.

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?
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More proof of just how much Obama set race relations back.
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eston posted...

Nomadic View posted...

. . . used science to uncover . . . .

They had the seeds tested by experts at Mississippi State University. I don't understand why that is funny.

Its worded like an episode from the Power Puff Girls.
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darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?
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Nomadic View posted...

. . . used science to uncover . . . .

you are truly a piece of shit

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?
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assuming the results are conclusive and hold up in court, punitive damages should be through the roof on something like this

like, to the level that the company has to declare bankruptcy and shut down completely
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That's fucked up. If true, I wish them the best of luck.
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Christ. I clicked the homepage of raw-story and this shit is legit propaganda lmao

anyways, where is the evidence? how do they know the seeds were bad?

But racism is dead I was told.
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Milkman5 posted...

anyways, where is the evidence? how do they know the seeds were bad?

the testing done at MSU, which was presumably entered as evidence in the courtroom

the only thing that might save the seed manufacturer is if it can be proven the distributor acted on his own
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Cocytus posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

80 years ago you had a million black farmers, today you have less than 5,000.

Given our history in the US, I can't tell if that's good or bad for black folks.

It's do to mechanization. Farming used to be the profession for 70% of the population just a couple generations ago, how it's like less than 1%.
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darkjedilink posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?

I guess you think he just pulled that shit out his ass. I bet he has seen a lot in his time to make this assumption. It's not baseless. It's not based on those seeds alone. If want to know that bad, make a trip to Tennessee and ask him directly.

Like that matters in the grand schem of things anyway. What matters is they got bad seeds from that company when others didn't.
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darkjedilink posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?

shut the fuck up

Darkman124 posted...

Milkman5 posted...

anyways, where is the evidence? how do they know the seeds were bad?

the testing done at MSU, which was presumably entered as evidence in the courtroom

the only thing that might save the seed manufacturer is if it can be proven the distributor acted on his own

Ok, I found this from a better article

At the news conference, BFAA officials distributed laboratory results from Mississippi State University showing that none of the farmers' seeds that had been submitted for testing germinated.

Apparently, they had the results with them. Although it's not like it's posted anywhere

Milkman5 posted...

Darkman124 posted...

Milkman5 posted...

anyways, where is the evidence? how do they know the seeds were bad?

the testing done at MSU, which was presumably entered as evidence in the courtroom

the only thing that might save the seed manufacturer is if it can be proven the distributor acted on his own

Ok, I found this from a better article

At the news conference, BFAA officials distributed laboratory results from Mississippi State University showing that none of the farmers' seeds that had been submitted for testing germinated.

Apparently, they had the results with them. Although it's not like it's posted anywhere

Way to not post the source

Let me guess.. I should go find it..
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holy crap
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known2FAIL posted...

Way to not post the source

Let me guess.. I should go find it..

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/07/10/black-farmers-settlement-lawsuit-fake-seeds/771505002/

It blows my mind how anyone can be that racist, that a company has the capacity to discriminate like that.

Honestly this seems like a plausible scheme to steal land. Hell, this type of thing happens by shear accident without govt. regulations and meddling.

Controversial opinion time . . . this is why they should have bought from Monsanto. Monsanto is an outstanding corporation that has had its name ran through the mud and slandered against. (That said I don't know that this would have been an option.)
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Milkman5 posted...

known2FAIL posted...

Way to not post the source

Let me guess.. I should go find it..

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/07/10/black-farmers-settlement-lawsuit-fake-seeds/771505002/

Interesting. I'm a little confused though. Was that the exact same results that MSU had for the testing they did with the seeds the black farmers brought in? I think that's implied but I'm not 100% sure
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Fuck this company fuck racism and fuck people naive enough to believe shit like this doesnt happen.
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http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/38610463/lawsuit-alleges-company-sold-fake-soybean-seeds-to-black-farmers

Mid-South farmers filed a lawsuit against a company that they said sold them fake soybean seeds at a convention.
A group of African-American farmers from Louisiana and the Mid-South, say that Stine Seed Company purposefully switched seeds in order to sell black farmers a subpar product at the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in March 2017.

Despite above average rainfall, experienced black farmers saw limited soybean yield from the Stine seeds during the 2017 harvest.
"Mother nature doesn't discriminate," President of Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association Thomas Burrell said. "It doesn't rain on white farms but not black farms. Insects don't [only] attack black farmers' land...why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?"

After losing millions of dollars, the farmers took the seeds to experts at Mississippi State University to have them tested. They say the tests show the seeds sold to the black farmers were not certified Stine seeds.

The black farmers said the distributor working for Stine Seed Company used labeled certified seed backs--tampering with factory sewn seals, in order to remove the certified seeds. The distributor would then sell the fake certified seeds to black farmers at a high price.

The farmers bought more than $100,000 in soybean seeds from the distributor, plus an additional $100,000 purchase in chemicals.

As for a motive, Burrell said farming is a very competitive industry and unscrupulous people see black farmers as easy prey. He said by hurting those farmers' bottom line, someone else would be able to swoop in and buy up the land that belongs to black farmers.

"All we have to do is look at here: 80 years ago you had a million black farmers, today you have less than 5,000. These individuals didn't buy 16 million acres of land, just to let is lay idle. The sons and daughters, the heirs of black farmers want to farm, just like the sons and daughters of white farmers. So we have to acknowledge that racism is the motivation here."

The farmers filed a class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Western Division in Memphis on April 19, 2018 against Stine Seed Company of the largest genetic seed trait manufacturer in the world.

Tennessee Rep. G.A. Hardaway said he will push the state government to investigate these allegations.

"We will explore the avenues--whether its civil, whether it's criminal--dealing with fraud. Those issues which have negatively impacted our black farmers, those who are in the chain of commerce in agriculture, we'll be looking at how the state of Tennessee can protect the interests of those citizens," Hardaway said.

Stine Seed Company President Myron Stine issued the following statement addressing the lawsuit and the allegations his company intentionally sold bad seeds to black farmers:

The lawsuit against Stine Seed Company is without merit and factually unsupportable. Stine takes seriously any allegations of unlawful, improper, or discriminatory conduct and is disturbed by the baseless allegations leveled against the company. Upon learning of these claims, the company took swift action to conduct an internal investigation, which has not revealed any evidence that would support these allegations. Stine intends to vigorously defend itself against this meritless lawsuit and has filed a motion to dismiss. Our focus is on continuing to serve all our customers with the highest degree of integrity and respect that are the bedrock of our companys values.

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Alphamon posted...

darkjedilink posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?

why would we ask that, when we can just cry racism?

Indeed.
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darkjedilink posted...

Alphamon posted...

darkjedilink posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?

why would we ask that, when we can just cry racism?

Indeed.

No one here is on the jury so I'm not sure incredible rigor is as prudent here as you think.
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What I'm betting is that the Distributor that they bought it from at the convention had a "Bait & Switch" ready and sold them bags of seeds that had most of the seed contents replaced by fakes with only a few real ones to give the appearance of real seeds.

I highly doubt the company would risk it's own business ability to make profit by doing this non-sense.

The Distributor, which is usually some middle company or individual probably did that to make more money and treated these black folks as rubes who couldn't tell the difference between this and the genuine product.
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josifrees posted...

fuck people naive enough to believe shit like this doesnt happen.

I mean I believe it happened with this evidence but it is so comically evil it's hard to readily accept.

clearaflagrantj posted...

I mean I believe it happened with this evidence but it is so comically evil it's hard to readily accept.

Ignore the race aspect for a minute. Is the greed part that unbelievable?
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darkjedilink posted...

Alphamon posted...

darkjedilink posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?

why would we ask that, when we can just cry racism?

Indeed.

Why is it you're in every racially motivated topic pretending that racism is dead and never ever happens? It's really weird tbh
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

clearaflagrantj posted...

I mean I believe it happened with this evidence but it is so comically evil it's hard to readily accept.

Ignore the race aspect for a minute. Is the greed part that unbelievable?

No.

But exclusively ripping off black people is.

Like I understand the greed part but I still cant comprehend how people can be that maliciously racist.

clearaflagrantj posted...

Like I understand the greed part but I still cant comprehend how people can be that maliciously racist.

This is America
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josifrees posted...

Fuck this company fuck racism and fuck people naive enough to believe shit like this doesnt happen.

They believe it. These people are trolls who show up in every topic where they can shit on black people and do it.
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And these are only the ones who've been caught.

known2FAIL posted...

Milkman5 posted...

known2FAIL posted...

Way to not post the source

Let me guess.. I should go find it..

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/07/10/black-farmers-settlement-lawsuit-fake-seeds/771505002/

Interesting. I'm a little confused though. Was that the exact same results that MSU had for the testing they did with the seeds the black farmers brought in? I think that's implied but I'm not 100% sure

So no response. I'm calling bullshit until you confirm otherwise. I saw you post in other topics so I know you're around. I swear... you give people a chance...
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The Great Muta 22 posted...

darkjedilink posted...

Alphamon posted...

darkjedilink posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

darkjedilink posted...

How do we go from 'these black farmers were sold shit seeds' to 'a cabal of white farmers are secretly working with this seed company to steal farmland from black people?'

Do we know that the white farmers bought their seeds from these same people?

"why is it then that white farmers are buying Stine seed and their yield is 60, 70, 80, and 100 bushels of soybeans and black farmers who are using the exact same equipment with the exact same land, all of a sudden, your seeds are coming up 5, 6, and 7 bushels?

And, again, how does he know that? The seeds in question were bought from ONE trade show, according to the article. Are you suggesting that no white people bought soybeans there?

why would we ask that, when we can just cry racism?

Indeed.

Why is it you're in every racially motivated topic pretending that racism is dead and never ever happens? It's really weird tbh

I don't. I just choose to actually determine if it's racism, instead of immediately assuming it.
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You seem to always assume it's not racism, even when it almost certainly is
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KamenRiderBlade posted...

What I'm betting is that the Distributor that they bought it from at the convention had a "Bait & Switch" ready and sold them bags of seeds that had most of the seed contents replaced by fakes with only a few real ones to give the appearance of real seeds.

I highly doubt the company would risk it's own business ability to make profit by doing this non-sense.

The Distributor, which is usually some middle company or individual probably did that to make more money and treated these black folks as rubes who couldn't tell the difference between this and the genuine product.

This seems the more plausible scenario.
No actual corporation with an actual board of directors is actually this stupid, at least not since the 50s or so.

ITT: People actually defend this
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