[from the n+1 website]
The other evening the old-timer came over with his wife. He brought a present for the farmer’s four-year-old son:
It was a grinning action figure in a farmer’s jeans and cap—Dan, the “Answer Plot Man”! The package reads: “He fears no acre or field. / He is able to merge top genetics and leading technologies into a single seed. / He is a friend to growers and a foe to rootworms, aphids and all others who would dare hinder your yield. / He’s DAN—the “Answer PlotTM Man”—your friendly CROPLAN® GENETICS seed specialist, and he’s here to help …”
The next day, the farmer and I couldn’t decide whether the neighbor had intended the gift as a joke. Little farmers-to-be are supposed to play with Dan and grow up with an affection for genetically modified crops and artificial pesticides. Every generation has a different idea of progress. For the old-timer, it’s GMO crops. For us, it’s worms in every ear of corn.
AVI DAVIS 