"Either join us or grow other potatoes," says Pepsi to small farmers in India it's suing

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/04/26/either-join-us-or-grow-other.html

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Genomic kleptocracy.

ETA: Also, for those who missed BB’s 24 hr Pepsi coverage…

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Make our potatoes great again.

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SIr3

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You%20will%20grow%20our%20potatoes

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I wonder where they got the potato stock if it’s so sooper-sekret and exclusive. Like, was there actual intentional effort to get ahold of these special taters and grow them, or was it accidental, or something else entirely?

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Presumably, any raw potato from any of the “special” crops will do the trick in a pinch.

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Potato spies have eyes everywhere.

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Reboing:

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Right, I get that part. But I’m curious about the specific farmers who are being sued and how Pepsi even knew they were growing the “proprietary” potatoes.

I can see several scenarios, some involving intentional provocation to protest bad laws, some involving entrapment by an evil corporation, and others involving just the usual accidental flustercuck of fate.

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Ah, missed the thread on the other posting on this story. I should read that and see if there’s more information there.

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Done.

Also, o_O.

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How did these farmers get the special potatoes? “Life finds a way.” Imagine if Pepsi found their magic potatoes growing in an abandoned field or in the greenspace of a highway interchange, who do they sue for that? There isn’t much to go on here, did the farmers know these were the special Pepsi-tatoes? Would you or I somehow know that the potato we planted from a cutting off another potato is verboten?

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If they found out Mark Watney was growing their proprietary breed they probably would’ve financed a courier ship to Mars just to send a cease and desist order.

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Maybe the farmers have been growing these potatoes for centuries and Pepsi stole from them? Stuff like that has happened.

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Did they get @beschizza to put all those eyes on the potato?

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No thanks, I don’t want potatoes to have mouths.

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Indeed! It is one of the many possible scenarios.

This is the kind of behavior that created the so-called ‘banana republics’ of Central America.

If this is so important, provide these farmers with seed, fertilizer and machinery to convert to another breed and don’t make a BFD about it. Finally, does this mean that Lays chips are imported from India?

I mean damn! Even our junk food comes from India?

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