GreenWatch

B. McPherson The development of genetically modified field crops is a lucrative business. Monsanto corporation is often cited as the entity responsible for the proliferation of GM field crops. It is a leader in this industry, but there are many others eager to cash in on the bonanza. Sometimes that eagerness combined with crop losses in normal plants pushes GM seed release before it has been independently tested for health and environmental risks. Information is now available that puts a shadow on the Bangladeshi government’s approval of four varieties of GM eggplant(brinjal) seeds. That eagerness to release Bt brinjal(eggplant) to farmers may come with health impacts. The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute(BARI) has admitted that there were no independent health/toxicity tests done before the release of the seed. The reason, or excuse, given was that there were no suitable labs available. Instead, BARI relied on information released by the corporation that had p...

B. McPherson Demand to know the truth about GM food and forage crops. The UK is currently wrestling with the issue of whether to allow the commercial planting of genetically altered or genetically modified(GM) field crops. To this end, the central government has commissioned a study authored by independent scientists to advise them. According to the Daily Mail, the scientists advised the UK government in November to fast track the introduction of GM seeds in time for the spring sowing. With this information made public this March some investigation was done on the backgrounds of the five authors of the study. Their conclusions: All five authors are respected leaders in their area of study. All five authors have commercial ties to the GM industry. The “independent” scientists: ·          Professor Sir David Baulcombe, Cambridge University, consultant for Syngenta ·          Professo...

B. McPherson Let's make sure future generations have a chance to witness this. For many N. Americans the return of the monarch butterflies is a sure sign that summer is here. These special butterflies with their cheery black and orange coloring are unique in their migratory habits. Because the monarchs are vulnerable to cold, they fly south in the autumn to winter in Mexico and California. They gather in the thousands in trees and enter a state of reduced metabolic activity, living on their fat reserves. The epic journey of the monarchs is under siege.   In both the eastern and western populations, butterfly counts have plummeted in California and Mexico. The November 1997 count in California was 1,250,000 per site. In 2009 there was an average of 1250 at each site. In There are several factors that are thought to have affected the numbers. Lack of Food Monarch butterflies’ life cycle includes a caterpillar stage. The caterpillar must feed on milkweed plants or d...

B. McPherson Mexican honey producers in the Yucatan Peninsula have lost their legal bid to keep out widespread planting of GM Soybeans in their area. The honey industry in Mexico supports the economy to the tune of about $90 million per year. Much of the Mexican honey is exported to the European Union. This industry has now been thrown into jeopardy. Most countries in Europe require the labeling of produce and products that contain genetically modified ingredients. Honey is made by bees that gather nectar from flowers. Some pollen from the plants inevitably finds its way into the honey. With the widespread planting of GM crops, the honey producers can no longer market their honey without labeling it GM contaminated. Mexico is a major world producer of honey. The fourth largest producer has about 16 000 people directly dependent on the industry. The widespread planting of GM crops threatens the livelihood of the honey producers in ruining their lucrative European mar...

B. McPherson There’s an arms race going on in N. America’s cornfields. The race is developing genetically modified crops to resist ever more lavish spraying of herbicides. An early winner in the weed race was Monsanto, a corporation that developed seeds containing weed genes that could resist the spraying of that other Monsanto product, Roundup. Roundup was an effective weed/plant killer for many years, but gradually as Nature will do, some weeds survived Roundup to reproduce. So farmers sprayed Roundup(or the generic glyphosate) in ever heavier doses. The effect has been to breed a wide number of SuperWeeds that will not die when sprayed with the herbicide. Now rival Agro company Dow AgroSciences has developed a GM corn that carries a gene resistant to Dow Chemical’s herbicide 2,4-D. It is seeking to be allowed to start widespread planting of the genetically altered seeds in time for the 2013 crop year. Fields planted with the new corn, dubbed Enlist, could be ...