The Genetically Engineered Bean

[Guest guest]

This is an excerpt from an article that appears in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of VegNews magazine:

 

The Genetically Engineered Bean

 

Bill Freese is a science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety (CFS) who works to promote sustainable agriculture. He says Monsanto, an agricultural bio tech company, has the largest financial stake in the future of genetically engineered (GE) soy. " Monsanto is the only purveyor of GE soy, " says Freese. " They have patents on processes used to GE the seed and on the genes themselves. "

 

Monsanto owns the patent for Roundup Ready soybeans. Roundup Ready (RR) soy is genetically engineered to withstand glyphosphate (the main chemical in Roundup) fertilizers. The original intention of RR soy was to displace the use of other herbicides and rely exclusively on glyphosphate herbicide, to which the plant is genetically altered to be " immune. " So, the weeds die, but not the soy. In reality, farmers are using more herbicides and seeing annual increases in the amount of chemicals used to treat soy crops in order to attain the same results.

 

In the United States, 90 percent of all soy grown is Roundup Ready. That means farmers apply Roundup directly to the plants. Freese says, " Monsanto says it's safe, but there have been reports that pesticide applicators and agricultural workers have a higher risk of having children born with neurological behavior problems. Studies show higher incidences of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia. It inhibits the process of making sex hormones and is responsible for reproductive issues. " Freese says that Roundup has been found in ground water, and has also been found to be toxic to frogs, even at small concentrations.

 

Then again, it's neither environmental sustainability nor the concern for human health that drives multinational corporations--yet. There's big profit in selling herbicide and seed. If you've ever had a garden patch of your own, you know that it is simple to collect some seed from this year's tomato crop and sow them next spring. Not so, says Monsanto. Farmers are required to buy new seed each year and are prohibited from saving seeds from the prior year's yield for replanting. Freese says, " Monsanto sues farmers for saving seeds. Farmers need to buy seeds for each crop, levied with heavy surcharges. " Many farmers have been sued (and defeated) for possession of " stolen " or saved seeds even when RR seeds on neighboring farms migrate and contaminate their organic crops. (See Deborah Koons Garcia's documentary, The Future of Food).

 

It's not only the United States that has been suckered into GE soy. Monsanto is growing most of their GE soy in South America. Picture this: a Paraguayan rain forest is clear cut, leaving its animals unable to survive without their habitat. Pastureland in Argentina that was previously growing indigenous crops gets converted to huge monoculture plantations. GE soybeans are planted and cultivated with pesticides and fertilizers to feed chickens on factory farms in the United States, Europe, and China. These beans may also wind up as bio diesel for " environmentally friendly " vehicles. Of course, the debate about soy only starts in the soil. It's another quagmire altogether once the tofu hits the plate.

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Always buy Organic!!

 

Staci in Oregon

-- "We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We've added years to life, not life to years." - Anonymous