GM CROPS HIGHLY DANGEROUS, WARN AUSTRIAN CAMPAIGNERS

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GM CROPS HIGHLY DANGEROUS, WARN AUSTRIAN CAMPAIGNERS

Vienna, Nov 28, 2005

http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=175469 & cat=Health

 

Genetically modified crops have the potential to wreak economic havoc

on farmers, Austrian campaigners told a press conference Monday, warning

that the development was the " biggest danger of our time " .

 

One day after a Swiss referendum in which 55 percent of people voted

against planting gene-altered organisms, Austrian campaigners insisted

the rejection rate would have been 70 percent in Austria.

 

" But we're not allowed to vote, " protested biological farmers'

spokesman Volker Helldorff. " The European Union is forcing us to use gene

technology - against the will of the population, " he added.

 

In 1997, a total of 1.2 million Austrians signed a petition against

gene technology.

 

" Gene technology serves to enrich gene seed firms. Everyone else comes

to harm, " said Helldorff, citing the example of farmers in Iraq who

were urged to burn their seeds, and instead use gene-manipulated products

from the US firm Monsanto.

 

There was adequate proof of the dangers, he insisted. He cited the

example of the first " gene farmer " in Germany, who fed his cattle

gene-altered maize, watched the entire herd of more than 60 cows

" wither away

and die " .

 

The reason was that with each kilogramme of " gene-maize " , the animals

had eaten 8.3 nanogrammes of insecticide. " Gene technology is the

biggest danger of our time, " Helldorf warned.

 

Richard Tomasch, founder and spokesman of the anti-gene pressure group

" Pro Leben " , warned of the irreversibility of gene manipulation.

 

He spoke of so-called " terminator plants " which destroyed ability of

seeds to germinate again once they had ripened.

 

In India, planting gene-altered cotton had led to " catastrophic harvest

losses which drove thousands of farmers to suicide " , Tomasch said.

 

In Argentina, the population suffered hunger because gene-altered soya

destined for export had pushed back the planting of traditional foods,

he said.