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Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

blog.cloudant.com

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Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#41

Post by tptacek »

carbocation wrote: post #18
temphn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Monsanto has received terribly negative press, this is true. Part of that negative press is due to public dislike of GMO foods in Europe. Part of that is due to their DRM-like technology that stops farmers from replanting seeds after one generation. If you invented a new kind of seed which was significantly more productive but cost billions in R&D to develop, what business model would you use instead? Put in other wo…

No, those aren't really the major problems that people have with Monsanto. We should start by discussing their lawsuits against farmers because Monsanto grain blew onto their fields and move up from there.

To be fair: farmers weren't simply getting sued for having Roundup-ready crops; they were finding their fields populated with Roundup-ready plants, and then using Roundup on the field. There was an element of getting-something-for-nothing on the farmer's side, too.

Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#42

Post by davidandgoliath »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #12

Heh. I didn't know what to expect when I came here, but frankly I was a bit surprised to see the ethical implications of this deal weighed so heavily here. Not that I view the HN community as cut throat necessarily, but certainly often business oriented. Granted this was only posted an hour ago, but I will try to less judgementally provoke a discussion regarding ethics and startups... Is it wrong to even associate wi…

"Is it wrong to even associate with a company like Monsanto? What if they're providing some tangential support infrastructure that doesn't relate to the actual business practices that people are so ethically opposed to?"

Certainly. Ethics should trump finance in every scenario. There are very few companies as evil as Monsanto, and helping them further their cause is akin to direct involvement.

I see the nazi / ibm situation being tossed out in the thread, but in this case I think it's more like the RIAA.

Would you help the RIAA further their cause?

Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#46

Post by sitkack »

oldstrangers wrote: post #2

Fuck Monsanto, and by association, fuck Cloudant. "We’ve been working with them for a few weeks now and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the partnership." Thrilled? I guess money is thrilling. "The data & reporting interfaces will be used across Monsanto and should be instrumental in the making of key business decisions." Key business decisions like which small farmer to sue into oblivion? Or what third world nation…

I think if I wanted to round out the mix I would add in

BP

Halliburton

Xe Services (Blackwater Worldwide)

The creation of roundup resistent crops is possibly the worst mistakes that the human race has ever made. It took what 3-5 years to make roundup impervious parasites?

Terminator seeds that can't actually create a viable organism? You have to go back to the source (Monsanto) every year.

Mono-cultures and engineered genetic pollution. Monsanto shouldn't exist.

Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#47

Post by kongqiu »

This raises a real dilemma: at what point does a company or organization cross the line from "not my cup of tea" to "ethically ambiguous" to "pure evil"?

What if Cloudant were to power analytics for Trader Joe's?

Goldman Sachs?

Halliburton?

The Sinaloa Cartel?

Certainly there's a line...

Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#48

Post by WiseWeasel »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #12

Heh. I didn't know what to expect when I came here, but frankly I was a bit surprised to see the ethical implications of this deal weighed so heavily here. Not that I view the HN community as cut throat necessarily, but certainly often business oriented. Granted this was only posted an hour ago, but I will try to less judgementally provoke a discussion regarding ethics and startups... Is it wrong to even associate wi…

> Is it wrong to even associate with a company like Monsanto?

Yes. Associating your name with the likes of Monsanto, especially as an entrant to the market, is PR suicide. You would be hard-pressed to come up with a more universally reviled entity than Monsanto... maybe the Church of Scientology, though even that is probably not enough.

I've got it; Intellectual Ventures!

Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#49

Post by rdouble »

famousactress wrote: post #25
heydenberk wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, I think Monsanto is quintessentially ethically ambiguous. Their cutthroat business tactics (including excessive litigation and political lobbying) must be weighed against their technological achievements that have had an enormous role in the "green revolution" increases in agricultural productivity allowing the human population to grow while malnourishment rates shrank. They are also partially responsible f…

I could give a fuck how much less electricity my lightbulbs use if it's weighed against actively making it impossible for people to make food . Also, there's a very good reason you put "green revolution" in quotes, and "agricultural productivity" deserved them in that context also.

The Green Revolution is a specific phrase that means increased agricultural productivity. It should have been capitalized, not quoted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution

Re: Monsanto chooses Cloudant to power its genome analytics

#50

Post by dionidium »

zquestz wrote: post #39

Supporting Monsanto is supporting the end of our organic food supply. It saddens me to see any YC company supporting such an evil organization. Money just isn't worth it.

Supporting Ford is supporting the end of our organic transportation industry. I'm kidding, but it is worth remembering that the word "organic" doesn't contain in it some magical counterargument that requires no further elaboration.
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