GreenWatch

B. McPherson Making children unknowing guinea pigs undermines trust in official pronouncements The genetically altered grain known as Golden Rice has been touted as the answer to Vitamin A deficiency in many countries around the world. The premise is that a gene inserted into the DNA of rice would produce beta-carotene, a precursor to Vitamin A. This would be the first GM organism that would be aimed at improved nutrition rather than having commercial traits inserted into the genome. While those who fully support the growing of GM field crops are still supporting the Golden Rice and castigating those who would criticize tinkering with the genes of one of the world’s most important foods, Golden Rice has been field tested and found wanting. The International Rice Research Institute(IRRI), located in the Philippines, is a non-profit organization that is overseeing various research projects that seek to improve the nutrients in rice. Both traditional selection and hybri...

B. McPherson Superweeds are a new reality for N. American farmers. Weeds capable of resisting the herbicide glyphosate are sprouting in all the wrong places after years of inadvertent selection by farmers depending on chemicals to keep weeds down. Since the ‘70s when Roundup was introduced, farmers and homeowners alike have used the liquid to kill plants that they didn’t like. Mother Nature has surprises for the unwary. What seemed like a quick, cost effective solution to elimination of weeds in soy and corn fields has turned out superweeds instead. Iowa is finding more and more Palmer amaranth(pig weed)  infestations. This weed is capable of putting out half a million seeds for each plant. And it’s only one of a plethora of superweeds washing back over croplands that have been sprayed with glyphosate . Glyphosate(Roundup Ready) resistant crops are genetically modified(GM) to not die when sprayed with the chemical. Palmer pigweeds can produce up to half a million se...

In a move that has opponents to GMs in food cheering, General Mills has announced that their iconic cereal, Cheerios, has gone non-GMO. While Cheerios in Europe have never had GM beet sugar added, those in N. America have. The switch back to pure cane sugar marks a triumph for consumers wishing to eliminate or reduce genetically altered sources of food. "This is a big deal," says Todd Larsen, corporate responsibility director at Green America, a green economy activist group. "Cheerios is an iconic brand and one of the leading breakfast cereals in the U.S." What's more, he adds, "We don't know of any other example of such a major brand of packaged food, eaten by so many Americans, going from being GMO to non-GMO." GM Watch This is an example of the consumers’ power to influence. While there is no direct proof that GM organisms are harmful to health, there is also no proof that they are safe to consume. Because foods, particularly ...

B. McPherson Brazil may be the first country to defy the 13 year UN moratorium on the commercial sale of terminator seeds. This would be the “thin edge of the wedge” to gradually collapse the ban on the engineered seeds.   Terminator seeds are those engineered to produce a crop but the seeds from the crop will not germinate or sprout if planted. So if a farmer buys a GM seed that also has the terminator trait, he cannot save seed and avoid buying seed from the corporation next planting. That is bad enough but many of the crops that are GM spread their pollen via insects, other animals and the wind spreading their traits to non-GM fields. The spread of terminator traits would be disastrous to organic and more traditional farmers, forcing them to purchase seed from corporations. It would eventually drastically reduce the biodiversity of food crops as seed houses sell what is commercially viable. The Judicial Commission is meeting this week to review their decision about ...

B. McPherson Remember the old adage You Are What You Eat The AquaBounty Fish Company , manufacturer of the genetically modified salmon made up of three species of fish has been accused of shirking its environmental responsibilities. The fish eggs for the supersalmon are prepared in Canada, in the Province of Prince Edward Island. They are then shipped to Panama for hatching and raising the young salmon to market size. The fish have the appearance of Atlantic salmon, but carry genes from the Chinook salmon(a different species) as well as genes from an Ocean Pout . Both of the latter species have genes that promote rapid growth. The Canadian government has recently given the go-ahead for the PEI labs to start commercial production of the GM salmon eggs. The Environmental Advocacy Center in Panama has submitted a complaint about AquaBounty to the Panamanian National Environmental Authority alleging that the biotech company has failed to submit required reports a...

Comparison of natural apple vs Arctic apple(GMO) over 24 hours B. McPherson Granny Smith has been tinkered with. The fine folks at Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc . have developed a genetically altered apple that cannot turn brown when exposed to air. The BC company, located in Summerland has managed to turn off a gene that allows the apple’s normally white flesh to turn brown when it is damaged. They have dubbed their altered version of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples Arctic Apples.  While the trees have been grown, the GM apples have not yet received approval from either Canada’s   food protection agency or the US, but they are definitely in the pipeline. If they receive approval for commercial plantings, the “silenced gene” trait may spread to other apple varieties as apples are pollinated by flying insects. One of the ways that a shopper can judge the quality and freshness of fruit is visually. If apples have brown spots and ugly bruising, they...

B. McPherson A group of 85 scientists, academics and physicians have issued a statement that there is no consensus on the safety of GM foods. This move was prompted by claims from some scientists and GM Corporations that the food is safe. The statements made by the supporters of the biotech food are not scientifically based. Here is what one scientist had to say about the claims: Another signatory, Professor C. Vyvyan Howard, a medically qualified toxicopathologist based at the University of Ulster, said: “A substantial number of studies suggest that GM crops and foods can be toxic or allergenic, and that they can have adverse impacts on beneficial and non-target organisms. It is often claimed that millions of Americans eat GM foods with no ill effects. But as the US has no GMO labelling and no epidemiological studies have been carried out, there is no way of knowing whether the rising rates of chronic diseases seen in that country have anything to do with GM food consumption ...

B. McPherson GM Corn linked to cancers in independent study GM corn has been banned in Mexico. Both Pioneer and Monsanto have been given notice that they are no longer welcome to plant their transgenic corn in that country. A federal judge has ruled that the GM corn poses an imminent threat to Mexico’s agriculture and food. This ruling suspends the planting of transgenic corn seeds. Herbicide resistant corn varieties have been found to pollute the genetic makeup of native varieties of corn, the birthplace of that important crop. There is well founded fear that the genetically altered varieties will damage the biodiversity of the many varieties of maize(corn) developed over thousands of years, each adapted to differing soil and climate conditions. This comes as good news to those who have engaged on a class action suit to keep the artificial corn varieties from damaging Mexico’s corn. As more years of GM field crops have been grown, evidence is mounting that transgenes have b...

B. McPherson Are you ready for Roundup in your baby's food? In the fight to keep GM crops from polluting their fields legislators in El Salvador have banned the chemicals used on them, taking any advantage in buying GM seeds away. In total, 53 agricultural chemicals have been banned with glyphosate, paraquat and endosulfan topping the list. Glyphosate was first developed as the herbicide Roundup, an effective killer of broad leaf plants. Monsanto developed a genetically engineered corn that wouldn’t die when sprayed with the chemical – Roundup Ready corn. The GM corn has been widely planted in the US as well as soybeans, canola  and sugar beets, all resistant to glyphosate. The US has found over the years that superweeds that won’t die have evolved in many areas. Canada is starting to recognize the presence of superweeds as well. While that is troubling, questions have been asked about the widespread use of glyphosate and the health of people who ingest trace amounts...

B. McPherson BigAgro Silences Naysayers A farmer in eastern Washington State has had his alfalfa crop rejected by a broker because of pollution by RoundUp Ready plants. The RoundUp Ready alfalfa was found when the crop was tested. Many countries refuse the importation of genetically modified seeds and food. The GM alfalfa is resistant to the herbicide glyphosate which kills most broadleaf plants. Costs are reduced because weeding becomes unnecessary when herbicide can be sprayed onto the fields. It is legal to grow GM alfalfa in the US. People who are opposed to the growing of GM plants have long pointed out that once in the field, the pollen(male gametes) is not under control and can be spread by wind and by animals. This has led to disputes about whether a farmer has made unauthorized use of the genetically altered seeds owned by the biotech company. If a farmer chooses to grow GM alfalfa, then a neighbouring farmer who grows organic alfalfa will soon have his fields...