GM Failures Continue

[Guest guest]

GM Failures Continue

 

" The SHAE Institute "

>

> ISIS Press Release 16/04/08 GM Failures Continue

>

> *The GM industry has been ailing at least as far back as 2005, but

kept

> alive by an aggressive campaign of disinformation. **GM Watch** (

> www.gmwatch.org) brings you the latest GM failures 2007-2008*

>

> GM cotton debacle in India

>

> GM cotton has been failing in India and elsewhere for years [1]

(Broken

> Promises <http://www.i-sis.org.uk/BrokenPromises.php>, *SiS* 22),

escalating

> the epidemic of farmers' suicides [2] (Stem Farmers' Suicides with

Organic

> Farming <http://www.i-sis.org.uk/farmersuicides.php>, *SiS* 32).

> Unfortunately, the Indian government has allowed the commercial

planting to

> continue with drastic consequences.

>

> *BT cotton failed in Vidarbha*

>

> A study on the introduction of Bt cotton in India's cotton-growing

belt of

> Vidarbha revealed that it failed in the region. Suman Sahai, director

of

> Gene Campaign, which conducted the study, said that despite knowing

that Bt

> cotton would not work in rainfed areas, the state government

introduced it.

> The high input costs of Bt cotton increased indebtedness, and the

study

> showed that 70 per cent of small farmers lost their landholdings as

> collateral for loans that they could never repay.

>

> The study also showed that farmers who adopted Bt cotton had a net

lower

> income than non-Bt cotton farmers. Seed dealers had promised farmers

that

> they would get 12–15 quintals per acre when the actual yields were

3–5

> quintals [3]

>

> In February 2007, five districts of Vidarbha where Bt cotton was

widely

> adopted reported nearly 1 500 farmers committing suicide in the

previous 20

> months [4].

>

> *More livestock deaths from grazing Bt cotton*

>

> With reports of deaths of livestock that had grazed on Bt cotton in

2006

> still fresh [5] (Mass Deaths in Sheep Grazing on Bt

> Cotton<http://www.i-sis.org.uk/MDSGBTC.php>,

> *SiS* 30), more deaths and illnesses in sheep and goats were seen in

the

> early months of 2007. Symptoms included bloating of the stomach, black

> patches on the intestines, lung congestion, green and red mucus flow

from

> nostrils, reddish urine, sneezing, and skin allergies. Women cotton

pickers

> also reported skin allergies [6], another problem with Bt cotton

reported

> widely in 2006 [7] (More Illnesses Linked to Bt

> Crops<http://www.i-sis.org.uk/MILTBT.php>,

> *SiS* 30).

>

> *Minister gives compensation to Bt cotton farmers*

>

> Tamil Nadu minister for agriculture Veerapandi S. Arumugam

distributed

> compensation to 996 farmers whose crop suffered after using

> Monsanto-Mahyco's GM Bt cotton seeds. The firm offered compensation of

Rs. 5

> 000 per acre [8]

>

> *Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Department warns against Bt cotton*

>

> The state department of agriculture in Andhra Pradesh has finally

conceded

> that Bt cotton is not beneficial to rainfed farmers. The commissioner

and

> director of the state department of agriculture has furthermore

admitted

> that " the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops, engineered

for a

> specific trait, was also resulting in new pest problems " [9]

>

> *New pathogens with Bt cotton*

>

> Punjab Agricultural University plant pathologists have warned about a

high

> incidence of fungal and bacterial pathogen problems associated with Bt

> cotton [10]

> Failing the world's hungry

>

> *The great GM miracle? *

> BBC Radio 4's *Costing the Earth* set out to answer the question of

whether

> GM crops are the answer to feeding the world's starving. The programme

> tellingly concluded [11], " Despite the hype, pro-GM advocates failed

to

> identify a genetically modified crop that could be planted today to

put food

> in the hungriest mouths. "

>

> *UK chief scientist plays fast and loose with the truth*

>

> So lacking is the biotech lobby in success stories that it resorted to

> stealing one from sustainable agriculture. Late last year, the UK

> government's outgoing chief scientist Sir David King stated that a GM

> breakthrough in Africa had increased crop yields by 40–50 percent.

But the

> project he described had nothing to do with GM crops. It was a

'push-pull'

> system of managing pests and increasing yield that relies on companion

> planting, a mainstay of organic and sustainable farming. Commenting on

the

> incident, Dr Richard Horton, the editor of medical journal *The

Lancet*,

> said Sir David took his faith in science into " the realms of

totalitarian

> paranoia " [12].

> Pests and superweeds on the rise

>

> *US corn pest expansion a consequence of GM crops?*

>

> A corn pest that can devastate yields may be increasing in prevalence

across

> Illinois and other states because Bt crops are reducing predators that

once

> kept the pest at bay [13]. Western bean cutworm, a major pest in

Nebraska

> and Colorado, was first detected in Illinois in 2004, and has since

spread

> to 49 counties.

>

> *US superweeds on the march*

>

> In Arkansas, state agriculture officials are turning to Syngenta to

solve

> problems of Roundup-resistant weeds caused by Monsanto's GM crops. The

> Arkansas Agricultural Extension Service is teaming up with Syngenta to

push

> farmers to add the company's herbicide, Reflex, to their arsenal. They

raise

> the possibility that by bombing their fields with Reflex before

planting

> their cotton, farmers have a chance to avert a possible " explosion " of

> superweeds this summer.

>

> Chillingly, a scientist brought in to advise the state seemed to

suggest

> that such broad-spectrum herbicides might need to be applied

year-round to

> avoid a resistance outbreak, even when fields are resting between

plantings

> [14]: " We need almost a season-long programme of controlling

[superweeds].

> Any gap in the season could increase the likelihood of resistance

> evolution. "

> Transgenic contamination and economic losses in billions

>

> *GM rice claims exceed $1 billion*

>

> Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed and more are expected in the wake

of

> the GM contamination of US rice. In one class action suit, attorney

Don

> Downing has filed suit on behalf of hundreds of Missouri and Arkansas

> farmers, representing over 248 000 acres of rice.

>

> Downing said [15], " Many farmers have decided to quit planting as much

rice

> as they have in the past... the rice price isn't where it would have

been

> had this not happened - and we've lost a chunk of our export market. "

Total

> compensatory damages may approach or exceed $1 billion - and that's

before

> taking into account punitive or statutory damages.

>

> *Robobank: less US rice farming due to GM*

>

> According to Rabobank, rice acreage in the US in 2007–8 was likely

to

> decline due to concerns over GM contamination, which has already led

to the

> loss of a major share of the EU market [16].

>

> *Attack of the mutant rice*

>

> Collectively, farmers and seed companies have lost hundreds of

millions of

> dollars as a result of the US rice contamination, according to an

article in

> *Fortune *magazine. The rice was never approved for commercial

growing, so

> the contamination must have come from GM trials. " This is the most

traumatic

> thing I've seen in the rice industry in 30 years,' said Darryl Little,

the

> director of the Arkansas State Plant Board, who has tried to clean up

the

> mess [17] " It's been devastating. "

>

> *GM drags down value of farmer's crops*

>

> The huge expansion of GM maize and soy in the US, Argentina and Brazil

has

> dragged down the world price of grains, and that is having an impact

on the

> viability of farms, British farmer Peter Lundgren told GM Watch.

>

> He said the world price of grains is set by the Chicago Board of Trade

and

> is therefore sensitive to the US grains market.

>

> When the US adopted GM varieties and failed to ensure segregation of

GM and

> GM-free varieties, it lost its two most profitable markets, Japan and

> Europe. That left the US attempting to dump its excess grain (mainly

GM)

> onto the world market or into food aid. Both actions dragged down the

world

> price. Now that the Bush administration is pouring funding into

biofuels,

> the previously exportable surplus of GM maize is in demand by the

domestic

> bioethanol industry. Suddenly the dragging effect was removed and the

world

> price of grains doubled [18]

>

> *GM canola has destroyed the organic market*

>

> As a result of the introduction of GM canola (oilseed rape) in Canada,

> organic canola farmers say they've suffered loss of market access;

loss of

> income; loss of choice; and loss of control over what they produce,

how they

> produce it, what value it has, and who will buy it [19].

>

> Organic canola farmers in Saskatchewan say coexistence doesn't work

and they

> want legal redress. But, in May 2007, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal

> denied the farmers class-action status in a lawsuit aimed at recouping

> damages from Monsanto [20].

>

> *GM canola fails non-organic farmers too*

>

> For anyone under the illusion that at least GM crops are turning round

the

> fortunes of non-organic growers, Statistics Canada figures show that

despite

> rising grain prices and the surge in demand for agrofuels, Canadian

farmers'

> incomes continue to decline. In other words, any economic benefits are

going

> to the likes of Monsanto, Cargill and Exxon. Meanwhile, the number of

farms

> in Canada continues its descent - down 7 percent in five years [21].

> Market failure of GM hormone

>

> A growing number of US consumers are choosing milk that comes from

cows not

> treated with Monsanto's controversial GM growth hormone, rBGH (also

known as

> rBST and Posilac), the *New York Times* reports [22]. The marketplace

has

> responded, and now many food retailers, from Whole Foods Market to

Wal-Mart

> Stores, sell milk that is labelled as coming from cows not treated

with the

> hormone. Some dairy industry veterans say it's only a matter of time

before

> nearly all of the milk supply comes from cows that weren't treated

with

> Posilac. The article commented: " It may be the last stand of Posilac. "

>

> Monsanto has attempted to defeat consumer choice by introducing bills

to US

> states that would ban milk labels claiming products are " growth

> hormone-free " [23]. Pennsylvania dairies successfully fought to keep

their

> labels. Monsanto is now using a front group, American Farmers for the

> Advancement and Conservation of Technology, or Afact, to fight its

corner.

> Afact describes itself as a grass-roots organization that came

together to

> defend members' right to use Posilac. But the *New York Times

*revealed that

> Afact was organized in part by Monsanto and a Colorado consultant who

lists

> Monsanto as a client. Furthermore, it has received help from Osborn &

Barr,

> a marketing firm whose founders include a former Monsanto executive

and

> receives financial support from Monsanto [24].

> http://www.i-sis.org.uk/gmFailuresContinue.php

>

> --

> The Southern Health and Ecology Institute

> Zero Waste

> Community Exchange

>

[Guest guest]

Robert and all,

 

It is very sad that Monsanto and Syngenta and others

are out in the Philippines destroying our medicinal

plants. They have now gmodified rice, papaya (yes,

our philippine papaya is known for its papain potency

that can eat away the proten covering of cancer

cells), egg plants (the purple ones, also known to aid

in fighting cancer), and now, they have partnered with

a local on the production of moringa oleifera -- the

super food. This will probably be the next thing they

will gmodify. Of course they don't want us to live so

they take away the healthiest foods around.

 

BTW, for a chart on what moringa leaves contain please

visit this website:

 

www.moringanews.org/actes/foidl_en.doc

 

Happy to note moringa leaves have no trypsin.

 

Melly